City council to debate Sam’s sign at Wednesday meeting

City council will resume on Wednesday to discuss the relocation of the iconic Sam the Record Man sign, as well as many other issues.

On Tuesday, during their first session back from summer break, city council voted 24-20 in favour of the Scarborough subway extension. Councillors also approved a plan to provide free Wi-Fi in Toronto parks.

The debate over the Sam the Record Man sign was Mayor Rob Ford’s second key matter after the subway and the second item of business on Tuesday’s agenda.

Bobby Sniderman, son of the store’s namesake, sat in council on Tuesday to hear the debate, which started shortly after 7:30 p.m. and was pushed over until Wednesday due to time. Coun. Kristyn Wong-Tam made a motion that council should be extended so Sniderman could witness the decision over the sign’s fate but the decision was voted down.

It is up to council to decide if Ryerson University should be released from the agreement it made with the city, when it purchased the land, to hang the sign on its property or if the sign will be relocated.

Click here for the full meeting agenda.

Maple Leaf forever tree

Council will debate what to do with the salvaged wood from the Forever Maple Leaf tree that blew down during the July 19 rainstorm in Leslieville.

The tree at 62 Laing St. is believed to be the inspiration for Alexander Muir’s Maple Leaf Forever song penned in 1867.

Will some of the 48 salvaged logs be turned into benches or gavels as some have suggested? The city has gotten 200 requests and suggestions, and 50 of them meet the its criteria, including those from major Canadian heritage and cultural organizations that would commemorate the tree’s cultural and historical significance.

Council will also have to decide whether to hold a Maple Leaf Forever National Art Competition at a cost of $150,000. The competition winner would create a public artwork that would eventually be displayed at the Laing site.

The salvaged wood pieces are currently being housed at an Urban Forestry building.

Click here for more.

Development charges

Council will vote on new development charges being recommended by city staff with a review of apartment development fees.

The fees are collected under the Development Charges Bylaw to cover infrastructure, such as new underground pipes and roads that result from the new construction.

Staff recommended nearly doubling development charges on new homes and condos in the fall.

Staff members are proposing residential development charges increase by 90 per cent and non-residential development charges would increase by 30 per cent over current levels.

Development charges on the average single and semi-detached home could climb to $37,457 from $19,412 and for a two-plus-bedroom apartment to $23,036 from $12,412, for example.

The change in the rates would be phased in over a nine-month period with full implementation by July 1, 2014.

Click here for more info.

Toronto Zoo

Council will consider a staff report, which recommends that the City of Toronto continue to own the Toronto Zoo. The zoo’s board had asked a  year ago that it separate from the city and be managed privately.

The staff report said that there’s no guarantee the zoo, which gets $11.1 million each year from the city, would become financially sustainable within a 10-year frame. And it would still require government funding from the city and other levels of government.

The staff report concluded that the risks of the zoo going private outweigh any benefits and recommends that it remain a city agency. It recommended that the province take a strong role in the zoo’s future through a funding partnership given its importance as a regional tourist attraction. It also recommended that the zoo board create an independent charitable foundation for fundraising purposes.

Click here for more.

One-metre passing rule

Council is also looking at ways to improve safety for commuter cyclists on Toronto roads, including a recommendation by the medical officer of health for a one-metre passing rule between cyclists and vehicles.

Councillors will also review a request to the Toronto Police Services Board that is asking police to track so-called dooring collisions. Those are when cyclists are struck by a car door.

According to City of Toronto Traffic Safety Unit, cyclists represent four per cent of all fatalities and six per cent of all injuries in 2011, which translates to 1,000 cyclists injured in motor vehicle crashes on average.

Click here to read the motion, and click here to read the staff report.

Captain John’s

Captain John’s Harbour Boat Restaurant has been at the foot of Yonge Street for more than 30 years, but the city turned off the water to the floating restaurant in June 2012 after it said the owner, John Letnik, owed more than $1 million in arrears to the city, the Toronto Port Authority (TPA) and Waterfront Toronto.

As of Oct. 1, Letnik owed the city $648,947.61 in property taxes, including unpaid water and utility fees. He also owed Waterfront Toronto, $142,492 and the TPA, $224,301.06.

Letnik said the taxes were unfair and has sought in court to declare the ship not a structure which means it wouldn’t be assessed for taxes.

Council will consider its instructions to staff in a confidential report relating to litigation or potential litigation that the city faces. The report would be made public once council voted on a course of action.

Click here for more.

July 8 storm

Council will get an update on the condition of the sewers and stormwater systems in the area that were most affected by the July 8 storm.

On that day, more than 126 millimetres of rain fell in 90 minutes and 4,700 residents called about flooded basements, mainly in Etobicoke and York.

Click here for more.

Settlement with Giorgio Mammoliti

Council will decide whether to reimburse Coun. Giorgio Mammoliti for court costs incurred after an audit of his 2006 campaign finances.

City staff have recommended that Mammoliti revive a reimbursement that is “proportionate” to Adrian Heaps, who was also audited after the 2006 election.

Click here for more.

Filling vacancies

Council could ask the city clerk to review and update the policy on filling vacancies on council. It was last examined in 1999 and came to a head this summer, when Coun. Doug Holyday left council for a successful run at provincial politics.

His seat will be filled by appointment.

Click here for more.

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