The highlights of Monday night's meeting included the retirement presentation to Dr. Randall, and the presentations from Mackenzie Health and York Region Police. Staff also provided information about the new Asset Management Plan, estimates for the 2025 Budget, and the Schomberg Brew Works.
You can watch the video for the June 17th meeting here, but remember it will only be live for two weeks.
Quick Links: Mayor's Comments
Mayor's Comments
• Plant herbs, learn about bumble bees, go on a bird walk and talk, and play disk golf all at Cold Creek.
• There are limited spots available at King Summer Camps. Don't wait to register kids for the 40 camps for ages 4-14 with focuses ranging from sports to science and technology and art. Programs are available across the township and support for children with disabilities is included free of charge. Click here.
• Beginner Pickleball league and learn to play programs will be held at the Nobleton Arena and Trisan Centre all summer long.
• King Libraries are offering over 170 summer programs for all ages. They have a parachute club, astronaut academy, red cross babysitting, coding, forts, mini-golf, 3-D printing and more. Click here.
• King Township has many picnic shelters available for rent. Reserve a shelter for your gathering here. Click here.
• King Township has received the Distinguished Budget Presentation Award from the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada (GFOA).
• Heritage Nominations - Nominate your favourite heritage or historic building for a King Township Heritage award. A great way to celebrate our unique history and culture. Award recipients receive an ink portrait of their house. Submit your entry between June 3-28.
• Employment Opportunities - looking for seasonal and permanent staff. Recruiting for part-time staff for new TWRC opening this fall. Click here.
Evening Highlights:
Dr Randall 50 Year Retirement Presentation
Dr. Paul Randall has dedicated 50 years to the health and wellbeing of our community. He is a proud alumnae of the University of Toronto who began his career in medicine in 1972 and became a member of the College of Physicians and Surgeons in 1973. Furthering his commitment to family medicine, he earned his specialty from the College of Physicians of Canada in 1981.
From his practice at 20 Doctors Lane, Dr. Randall has provided comprehensive care to generations of families of King Township and beyond. His expertise spans the entire spectrum of life from newborns to caring for the elderly and everyone in between. For Dr. Randall it has been a profound privilege to watch his patients grow up, many of them becoming parents themselves.
Small town doctors like Dr. Randall are not just health care providers but trusted friends and confidants, often forming deep personal connections with patients. Dr. Randall's unwavering dedication, compassion and skill made a lasting impact on countless lives and his presence will be greatly missed.
We extend our heartfelt gratitude for his many years of service and wish him all the best in the next chapter of his life.
Annual Update on Hospital Operations at Mackenzie Health
At the end of 2023, Mackenzie Health celebrated 60 years. What was once a single hospital operating 126 beds, is now a two-hospital system operating more than 800 beds, encompassing Mackenzie Richmond Hill Hospital, Cortellucci Vaughan Hospital, a network of community-based locations and a long-term care home supporting more than 550,000 residents across western York Region including the southern part of King Township.
Despite just opening the Vaughan hospital in 2021, the volume of patients has been huge and they have surpassed every projection that was anticipated. Both hospitals are completely full, and they have run out of beds. To accommodate the need, they are housing patients in a new hospital in "unconventional" spaces and are once again planning for future growth that is a reality of massive population growth and an aging community.
In the last year, the Richmond Hill site has grown by 6% while the Vaughan location has grown by 11%.
As a result, their Emergency Departments have long wait times and see between 6-700 patients a day with 50 to 60 patients waiting for a bed on any given day. The demands on mental health services has also been huge. When the Cortellucci hospital opened they added 12 new beds for a total of 32 inpatients beds, but the demand has been so high that they will shortly add 20 more beds to accommodate the need.
Despite all of this, the hospital has won a number of awards:
• The “Exemplary Standing” – the highest award a hospital can achieve - for the third consecutive time from Accreditation Canada. This accreditation signals that the hospital is committed to the highest possible standard of quality and performance.
• “Stroke Distinction” from Accreditation Canada which references both the acute stroke care, in-patient rehabilitative care, as well as the outpatient care.
• The IDEA (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility) award from the Canadian College of Health Leaders.
• Nicolas E Davies Award – the only hospital outside of a few in the US that have received this award twice. This is an outcome of the use of electronic medical records.
The group is excited about the new York University School of Medicine which will be built adjacent to the Vaughan location and transform it to a teaching hospital. The first cohort of about 80 students will be enrolled in 2028 and graduate in three years later in 2031. To address the critical shortage in family doctors, this school is geared to graduate about 70% in family medicine.
Block 1 is being looked at for ancillary medical office building in the future.
Block 3 is expansion property for Vaughan site.
Block 4 is where they are building 300+ Long Term Care beds as well as an entire senior village with assisted living option and retirement condominiums all integrated so a client can move from setting to setting as their needs change.
Block 5 is where the new medical school will be built.
You can support Mackenzie Health by being a volunteer, joining a committee, support a signature event, and by making Mackenzie Health a charity of choice for your annual philanthropic gifts.
Overview of 1 District Policing Operations
York Regional Police is made up of 5 districts with #1 being the largest by area covering the full width of York Region servicing Newmarket, Aurora, King Township and East Gwillimbury - about 700sqkm with just over 200,000 people. King Township makes up about half of that area with about 28,000 people. There are 25 officers in the King sub-station at the Municipal building.
#1 District station is in Newmarket and has 238 Police Officers and 10 civilian members. There are 19 patrol cars with 3 cars each in Aurora, King Township and East Gwillimbury, 9 in Newmarket and 1 directed Patrol Car.
Each district is comprised of Uniform officers, Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB), and Community Oriented Response (COR). The officers are organized into four platoons that each have a sergeant on the road and a staff sergeant inside that oversees activity. CIB are in plain clothes and will receive reports from uniformed officers. There are 12 COR officers and a sergeant that work in this branch which responds to community concerns including traffic enforcement, street enforcement, and logistical support for public events. Additional resources include Air Support, Road Safety, Canine, Mental Health Support Team, Investigate Services and more are also available as the need arises.
There were 3,527 calls from the public in King in 2023, all of District #1 had 25,000, and all of York Region has 115,000 calls
Crime Prevention:
Each municipality is getting a CCTV camera placed in a high volume and high crime area that is visible and can help identify suspects and cars. Currently being organized for Nobleton.
Security Camera Registry help the police quickly know where to get video quickly.
Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) to help residences and business to be less vulnerable for theft.
Community Safety Data Portal – Find out which crimes are happening where in York Region
Asset Management Plan Non-Core Assets
In 2017, the province released legislation that requires municipalities to have fully funded asset management plans (AMP) by July 1, 2025. This means that all municipalities must set aside money to fund maintenance, renewal and replacement costs of each core and non-core asset. On the face of it, this sounds financially prudent, but the reality is daunting as it will require the town to put aside much more money than it has been (more on this below) unless changes are made.
To be clear, this is not to say that King hasn’t been saving, we do it every year through the Capital Budget which covers asset improvements and replacement as well as many of the other components that are required in this new AMP process. This is just the first time that staff are putting these components together as a package for Council to consider. This is also the first time that all assets will need to be fully funded at the same time which will be expensive to save for and will also give the town huge reserves.
King has $305.8 million in Non-Core Assets divided into four categories: Road Related, Fleet & Equipment, Facilities, and Parks & Forestry. Assets within each category are then assessed for condition, levels of service, and lifecycle management. Based on this information an “Annual Lifecycle Funding Target” is calculated which is the amount required annually to fully finance a lifecycle management strategy over the long-term. By planning to achieve this annual funding level, the Township would be able to fully fund capital works as they arise instead of budgeting on an as-needed basis.
Based on King’s current practices, the total Annual Lifecycle Funding Target for King’s Non-Core Assets is $8.923 million of which King has $2.64 million leaving a funding gap of $6.283 million. In the next report, staff will present a variety of options for how to close this gap. Options can range from decreasing service levels, increasing user fees, increasing taxes, disposing of assets, and more.
2025 Budget Direction Report
Council gave direction for developing the 2025 Operating Budget. Staff had estimated a tax increase of 4.8% but council advised that was too high. The increased expenses are as follows:
• Inflation, which is estimated between 2.7% to 3% for 2024
• Fuel price increases continuing on from 2024
• Increase in insurance rates up to 10% with the addition of the new TWRC coming into service in the fall of 2024
• Contractual estimates for Labour & Benefits costs
• Operating impact from previous approved capital projects for increased infrastructure added (i.e.Parks for utilities needs)
• Increase in funding allocation for the Capital Tax Levy Reserve Fund and the Infrastructure Reserve Fund of $500,000 per year to address the asset management needs for both core and non-core assets
• Potential increase for staffing in 2025
• The need to incorporate an increased service level for winter maintenance in urban areas for the 2025 / 2026 season.
• Growth pressures with increase in development in King City East and Nobleton areas as they are developed additional services will need to be added.
• Assessment growth will help reduced the overall budget
For 2025, staff will be developing a service-based approach to the Budget instead of the traditional version organized by departments. This is anticipated to better outline the services provided to and accessed by King citizens.
Public Open House for the 2025 Budget is tentatively scheduled for November 13, 2024 and presented to Council on November 25, 2024, with final approval on December 9, 2024.
Schomberg Brew Works By-The-Glass Endorsement
Council approved - with enthusiasm - the request from Schomberg Brew Works Inc. for “by-the-Glass” request to sell and serve their products for consumption at its manufacturing site at 203 Main Street, Schomberg. Council's approval means Schomberg Brew Works can finalize their application with the AGCO so they can proceed to open their business.
New Business
Ward 2 – Asked staff to continue to communicate that unlicensed ATVs are not permitted in town or in town parks. Suggested John Bowerman, Dr. Randall, and Judge Peter Tetley as names for the King Township Street Name Bank.
Ward 3 – A reminder that Fireworks are not permitted within 1km of farms with livestock without written permission from the property owners.
Ward 4 – Greatly enjoyed the Ontario Heritage Conference which was recently held in Gravenhurst. Also, Sunday June 23 is the Garden Tour in Schomberg.
Mayor – The new Township Wide Recreation Centre is now officially been renamed the Zancor Centre. Zancor paid $1.5 million for the naming rights for 15 years.
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