TO: New City of Toronto Council

City Council, at its meeting held on September 22 and 23, 1997, gave consideration to Clause 50, contained in Report No. 12 of the Executive Committee, titled "Priority-Setting for Community and Recreation Centre Facilities".

While considering this Clause, Council had before it the report (September 22, 1997) from the Budget Review Group.

Council adopted the Clause as amended, and in so doing, took the following action:

1. Confirmed that the following projects reflect the highest priority for funding City community and recreational facilities in 1998 (individual projects are not listed in order of priority):

Upgrades and Renovations: Fairmount Park, Trinity Community Recreation Centre, McCormick Community Recreation Centre

New Facilities or Expansion: Main Square Community Centre, St. James Town, Lord Dufferin Swimming Pool

and directed that the Program of Proposed Capital Works 1999-2002 as described in the report (August 27, 1997) from the Board of Management be forwarded to the New City of Toronto Council as the Council’s proposal for the future expenditures on community and recreation facilities in the City of Toronto.

2. Recommend that the New city of Toronto Council give priority to capital maintenance and repair matters in existing City community and recreational facilities and requested the Interdepartmental Review Committee to review the matter with City Property Services in conjunction with its Asset Management Strategy on appropriate methods for achieving this goal.

Yours truly,

Assistant City Clerk

___bp

CA

cc: Board of Management

Interdepartmental Review Committee

Interested Persons

Recommendation: That the report (August 27, 1997) from the Commissioner of Urban Development Services be adopted and that the Budget Review Group be requested to report directly to Council for its meeting on September 22, 1997.

Comments: At its meeting on September 10, 1997, the Neighbourhoods Committee gave consideration to the report (August 27, 1997) from the Commissioner of Urban Development Services respecting Priority-Setting for Community and Recreation Centre Facilities.

The Committee also had before it the following material:

The Committee recommended that this report be adopted, and requested that this matter be forwarded to the Executive Committee for its meeting on September 15, 1997 for report by the Budget Review Group directly to Council at its meeting on September 22, 1997.

Origin: Board of Management (p:\1997\ug\uds\pln\nh971339.pln) -cc/nbb

Recommendations:

New Facilities or Expansion: Main Square Community Centre, St. James Town,

Lord Dufferin Swimming Pool

Executive Summary: The Interdepartmental Review Committee, comprised of staff from Urban Development Services (Planning), Community Services (Parks and Recreation) and Corporate Services (Property Services, Budget Planning and Policy), was established by City Council in 1993 to report annually on a priority-ranking of capital budget requests for community and recreation centres. This year's report reaffirms the priority assigned to the following projects under the Upgrades and Renovations category: Trinity Recreation Centre (repair and renovations to existing centre), Fairmount Park (construction of a small community facility) and McCormick Community Recreation Centre (major renovations). Trinity Recreation Centre and Fairmount Park are projects currently in the tendering stage and have some funding already approved to commence construction. McCormick Community Recreation Centre is a high use centre that faces deteriorating conditions and therefore requires major improvements. In this regard, Parks and Recreation have submitted this item as part of its five year capital budget.

Under the New Facilities and Expansion category, these projects have been prioritized based on identified needs. Main Square, prioritized last year, is currently in the tendering process with construction to begin early September 1997. The need for a new community facility in St. James Town has also been recognized by Council as a top priority and a $7 million budget envelope was approved by Council in December 1996 (ECR#2, Clause 1) for this purpose. A report respecting a new multi-service community facility for St. James Town together with its required capital costs is being forwarded to this Neighbourhoods Committee.

The Lord Dufferin swimming pool facility is one of the new projects included in this year’s submission. In light of the Toronto Board of Education’s recent plans to construct a new school at Lord Dufferin, the City was given an option to refurbish the existing pool or to construct a new pool. In April 1997, Council chose to construct a new pool. $700,000 was approved to begin the design and tendering process for the construction of a structural shell for a new swimming pool. The remaining $1.8 million dollars would need to be provided for in the 1998/1999 capital budgets to complete the construction.

The Interdepartmental Review Committee has reaffirmed its position that it is critical to develop an orderly approach to refurbishing existing City-owned facilities. It is increasingly apparent that the focus in recent years on new projects has had consequences on the need for repairs and system replacements required at existing aging facilities. A large part of the City's recreational plant is quite old (approximately 30% of the City-owned facilities were built prior to 1966). The implications of not dedicating sufficient dollars to maintain these buildings in an adequate fashion are substantial, in terms of both potential loss of facilities and escalating costs as they deteriorate. As such, the Committee continues to recommend that an emphasis be placed on the maintenance of existing community and recreation facilities in budget deliberations and that this matter be reviewed between the Committee and City Property as part of its Asset Management Strategy.

It should be noted that the 1998 capital budget will be approved by the new City Council to be elected in November of this year. The proposed funding plan outlined in this report should be forwarded to the new Council as a reflection of this Council’s priorities. In this regard it is also useful to point out that the Budget Chief has tabled at Council’s meeting of August 21, 1997 his letter to the Transition Team which made it clear that the 1998 operating and capital budgets have not been considered by City Council, nor have they gone through a public process to solicit input from constituents. It also states that the budget submissions from the City are not endorsed by City Council.

We should also point out that at its meeting of August 21, 1997 Council recommended the financial settlement funds associated with the loss of Tower Park West and East be used to finance Phase II of Roundhouse Park and that this redirection of funds was not incorporated in the preliminary 1998 budget proposal which had been sent to Council for information. To include this feature in the capital budget will require that other $2.8M in other projects be re-prioritized or deferred to future years. This may affect some of the priority expenditures on community and recreation facilities proposed in this report.

INTRODUCTION

At its meeting of December 9, 1996, City Council considered the recommendations in the report "Priority Setting for Community and Recreation Centre Facilities" as part of its Capital Budget deliberations (ECR #2, Clause 1).. In recommending priorities for the 1997 Capital Budget, the report once again reflected the conclusions of the Interdepartmental Review Committee. This Committee, comprised of staff from Urban Development Services (Planning), Community Services (Parks and Recreation) and Corporate Services (Budget Planning and Policy, Property Services) was established in 1993 to report on an annual basis to Neighbourhoods Committee and the Budget Review Group on the staging and priority of community and recreation centre projects.

CATEGORIES AND CRITERIA

The following criteria are used in evaluating the relative priority of each project:

STRATIFIED REVIEW PROCESS

A stratified review process is used to ensure that the planning of new and expanded community and recreation centre facilities as well as the need to upgrade and renovate such facilities is tied more closely to the budget process and the ability of the City to provide funds. It consists of four stages:

One of the mandates of the Interdepartmental Review Committee is to review and report on the staging and priority of projects on an on-going basis. Projects are reviewed on both financial and planning criteria at each stage.

There are enough projects in Stage 1 or Stage 3 to occupy the City's 5 year projected capital budget. Any new projects that require capital funds from the City can only be funded if existing projects are reduced in priority. One of the main tasks of the Review Committee is to monitor the initiation of new projects.

1997 CAPITAL BUDGET DECISIONS

The 1997 Priority-Setting process resulted in recommendations that the Main Square and McCormick Community Centres, St. James Town and Lord Dufferin pool facilities be first priority for the City in the New Facilities and Expansion category. Trinity Recreation Centre and Fairmount Park were selected in the Upgrade and Renovation Category.

In recognition of the need for major systems repair and replacement at Trinity Community Recreation Centre, Council authorized $50,000 in 1996 as a partial allocation for design fees and $225,000 for consulting fees in 1997. The total estimated renovation cost of upgrading the centre was $4,460,000. In this regard, $4,185,000 would be required for the balance of the consulting and construction costs in 1998.

Main Square, Fairmount Park and McCormick were approved in the 1996 Capital Budget and Program of Proposed Capital Works 1998-2001. All of these approvals were reaffirmed in the 1997 budget.

The following table shows the final 1997 authorizations as approved by City Council. It should be noted that in some cases, funding partners are obtained thereby reducing the cost to the City from the gross expenditures. This is reflected in the right hand "Totals" column with a breakout of the net or real cost to the City where applicable.

1997 COMMUNITY AND RECREATION CENTRE PROJECTS PROGRESS REPORT

1. Project Updates

Harbourfront Community Centre has recently completed its construction with occupancy expected in Fall 1997. Details around the design of Main Square Community Centre have now been finalized. This project is currently at the tendering stage with construction to begin early September 1997. Design work for Trinity Recreation Centre has been completed with a Fall construction date schedule. `

An Appendix F study with respect to the Fairmount Park area was adopted by Council in November of 1995. It recommended the enclosure of an outdoor patio area at Bowmore School to provide community space and a connecting point between the outdoor park areas and indoor permitted space. Design and budget issues have been finalized with construction expected in 1998.

In addition, the outstanding issue of a new location for Applegrove Community Centre is still under consideration. Staff at the centre have expressed an interest in exploring the possibility of locating in the Ashbridge’s Home situated adjacent to Bowmore School, which is owned by the Ontario Heritage Foundation. They have also been invited to participate in discussions around social service needs on the site of the old Greenwood Raceway. City staff have indicated an interest in participating on an Advisory Committee to assist Applegrove in potentially relocating their services to the Ashbridge Home. A report respecting this matter is being forwarded to this Neighbourhoods Committee.

In 1996, Council took action to allow the finishing work to proceed on a small facility (approximately 7300 square feet) acquired as a result of an Ontario Municipal Board decision around a site developed in the Bloor-Junction Study area. The O.M.B. order directs that the facility be provided by the developer at no cost to the City. The project is currently subject to lengthy and arduous negotiations with the property owner around the lease arrangements. It may be possible that additional funds may be required to develop the facility as part of these negotiations. Given that funds have already been committed to proceed with the construction of the facility and that the amount of space has been determined through the Board order, this project is now in Stage 4, but requires no additional allocation at this time.

2. Status of Remaining Projects

The current status of community and recreation centre projects not given priority at this time is as follows: (descriptions of each project together with their status can be found in Appendix A):

a) Stage One: Request to Initiate Process

This stage was established to manage the initiation of processes which are expected to result in new requests for funding for community and recreation centre facilities in the future. While there may be initial indicators of need, a full needs and resources assessment process has not yet started.

Projects currently in Stage One:

A recent request has been made by the Community Centre 55 staff to expand the existing facility to include renovations to the basement and a third floor addition for additional programming space. Staff have indicated that there is a need to accommodate expanded programs and services in light of new residential development occurring in the area. This request has initiated the process to undertake a needs assessment for the facility.

The Earl Beatty Community Recreation Centre is a new project which has been considered by the Review Committee. The proposal is for renovations and an addition (3500 sf) to the existing facility to accommodate day-time community use. This will require the completion of a feasibility study as well as negotiations with the Toronto Board of Education around design and construction matters together with a new shared-use agreement. A Working Committee will be established to determine the design and costs for the project in co-operation with City Property. Once this process is completed, the estimated cost for the project will require approval by Budget Review Group and Council.

The inclusion of Harrison Bath in this year’s review of projects by the Review Committee is a prime example of the need to update the City’s aging recreational plant. In this regard, Community Services (Parks and Recreation) have submitted this project as part of their 5 year capital budget projection in order to bring this facility to a reasonable standard. Harrison Bath is an indoor swimming pool facility which was built in 1906 and serves a large portion of street youth and adults. It is estimated that renovations to this facility would cost approximately $1,000,000.

The proposal to renovate or construct an interpretive/information centre facility in High Park within close proximity to the park entrance is still at the conceptual stage and therefore, remains at Stage One.

b) Stage Two: Needs and/or Facility Assessment

Projects in Stage Two have been given authorization to proceed with a full needs and resources and/or facility assessment. Some of these projects have not yet begun the needs and/or facility assessment process. This year’s project lists does not include any projects in Stage Two.

c) Stage Three : Feasibility Study and Final Report

In May 1994, property was acquired at 140 Merton Street in a land swap with a private developer. To date, $300,000 has been secured to renovate the second floor of the building for community use. A needs assessment and scan of local service agencies has demonstrated the need for additional community program and meeting space in the area. In this regard, a co-ordinated area study is currently underway to determine the ability of this site to address the community program requirements as well as the space needs of a number of service agencies, including the Central Eglinton Community Centre. As well, City Property has recently completed an environmental assessment respecting the amalgamation of the City Works Operations yards in which part of its operations are temporarily located at 140 Merton Street. A report identifying various options for the amalgamation will be forwarded in September 1997 for Council’s consideration in determining the final use of the 140 Merton Street building.

The proposal to construct a swimming pool to serve the South Parkdale community is currently on hold at Stage Three. Though the Phase 2 of the Appendix F: Needs Assessment is completed, there is currently no site secured for the pool facility. The initial proposal was to construct a pool as part of the Queen Victoria Public School redevelopment; however, the opportunity to cost share the pool facility with the Toronto Board of Education has been lost. As such, the project is contingent on identifying another appropriate site.

There is a significant need to renovate Annette Community Recreation Centre to address deteriorating mechanical and electrical systems, refurbish pool equipment, upgrade the existing gymnasium and to develop a self-contained boiler system. A large part of this facility’s deterioration is due to its high usage by a large number of families and young children. As such, Community Services have included costs to renovate the facility in its five year capital budget projection.

The North Parkdale Working Committee have completed its Appendix F report including a detailed design proposal together with construction costs in the range of $10.3 million based on a new stand-alone facility to serve the North Parkdale community. In this regard, the Commissioner o f Community Services will be reporting to the Executive Committee in 1997 respecting the purchase of a particular site in North Parkdale.

The potential development of a shared-use facility as part of the Church Street Public School expansion plans is currently on hold The Toronto Board of Education has agreed to a second phase addition to the school for community recreation purposes; however, the proposal is contingent on financing by the City as well as the ability for the site to accommodate the addition.

Projects in this stage have been authorized to proceed with a feasibility study and final report, but have not yet received capital funding from the City.

Projects currently in Stage Three:

Existing Communities:

New Communities:

- Railway Lands

d) Stage Four: Funds for Design and/or Construction

The following projects have started the design and\or construction phases of development, and have had authorization from the City for capital funding. Projects currently in this stage were all in Stage Three at the time of last year's report with the exception of Main Square and Trinity which were already in Stage Four last year and given first priority by the Review Committee. In addition, the Bloor-Junction community facility, also in Stage Four last year, is ready to proceed with construction given that the facility size has been determined and funding secured by the developer; however, lease negotiations between the developer and the City are currently underway to finalize community use of the space.

The Lord Dufferin swimming pool project is a new project which was accelerated to Stage Four largely because the City was offered an opportunity by the Toronto Board of Education to either eliminate, refurbish or construct a new swimming pool as part of its recent plans to construct a new school. Council opted to support the construction of a new swimming pool by authorizing funds as part of the 1997 budget to commence the design and tendering process.

In the case of St. James Town, no site has been secured for a community facility. Council however approved a $7 million budget envelope in December 1996 for the provision of new community services and/or facilities in St. James Town. In proceeding with the development of a new community facility, an Inter-departmental City staff team together with a community working group have developed a proposal for a new multi-service community facility (recreation, daycare and library facilities), including preliminary capital costs for its construction. A report will be forwarded to the September 10, 1997 Neighbourhoods Committee respecting this matter.

Projects currently in Stage Four:

PRIORITIES

Descriptions of each request for capital funds along with information related to the above criteria are included in Appendix A of this report. The priority-setting process has identified first, second and third level priorities for each category. First priority projects are those projects which should be funded before any others. Those projects listed as second priority require funds from the City but are not deemed to be at the same level of urgency. Projects listed as third priority have not initiated or completed the needs assessment or feasibility study and final report or have uncertain timing (eg. Railway Lands). It should be noted that projects are grouped only by first, second, and third priority. Projects have not been placed in order of priority within each level. The following list presents the results of the application of the criteria to these requests:

A) New or Expanded Facilities

First Priority: Bloor-Junction Community Facility Stage 4

Fairmount Park 4

Lord Dufferin Swimming Pool 4

Main Square Community Centre 4

St. James Town 4

Second Priority: Church Street Stage 3

Merton Street 3

North Parkdale (289 Sorauren) 3

Applegrove Community Centre 3

Third Priority: Railway Lands 3

South Parkdale Pool 3

B) Upgrades and Renovations

First Priority: McCormick Community Recreation Centre 4

Trinity Community Recreation Centre 4

Second Priority: Annette Recreation Centre 3

Third Priority: Centre 55 1

Earl Beatty Community Recreation Centre 1

Harrison Bath 1

SUGGESTED FINANCIAL TIME LINE

It is understood that the City may not be able to immediately provide funds for all projects identified as being of high priority. In all instances, contributions are expected towards the total capital costs. The following time line presents a potential cash flow for the provision of capital funds for the high-priority projects. As indicated in the chart on page 4, funds for Main Square, Fairmount Park, Trinity Community Recreation Centre and Lord Dufferin were authorized by City Council in 1997. With respect to Main Square, C.M.H.C. is expected to pay its share when negotiations are complete, with the City's contribution anticipated to be required in 1998. Cash flow requirements for the City with respect to the recommended projects in 1997 and 1998 are shown below.

CASH FLOW REQUIREMENTS

SUMMARY OF:

A) PROJECT CHART APPENDICES

1) NEW STAGE

- Harrison Bath 1

- Centre 55 1

- Lord Dufferin 4

- Earl Beatty Recreation Centre 1

2) UPDATED/REVISED

- Fairmount Park 4

- Merton Street 3 (pending Council decision)

- McCormick Recreation Centre 4

- Railway Lands 3

- St. James Town 4

- Applegrove Community Centre 3

3) NO CHANGES

- Church Street 3

- South Parkdale Pool 3

- North Parkdale (289 Sorauren) 3

- Trinity Recreation Centre 4

- Main Square Community Centre 4

- Annette Recreation Centre 3

- High Park Interpretive Centre 1

- Bloor-Junction Community Facility 4

- Indoor Ice Arenas N/A

- Bedford Park Community Centre N/A

- Central Eglinton Relocation N/A

TOTAL NUMBER OF APPENDICES 21

B) PROJECT STAGE

NUMBER OF PROJECTS AT:

- Stage 1 5

- Stage 2 0

- Stage 3 6

- Stage 4 7

- N/A 3

TOTAL NUMBER OF PROJECTS 21

I wholeheartedly support the recommendation in the report maintaining Fairmount Park Recreation Centre and Main Square Community Centre as top priorities for funding in 1998. It is notable that Fairmount Park at Bowmore School has the funding to start this year and it is imperative that the funding be the top priority for 1998 to complete it.

With respect to the Main Square, I find that it is unacceptable that it has taken so long to be constructed. I strongly believe that funds must be allocated in 1998 to build the centre not in the scheduled 1999 budget.

Applegrove Community Centre which is currently at stage three in the process should be moved to stage four and when the Ashbridges house becomes available or construction of a facility on the Greenwood Racetrack lands take place, Applegrove should be immediately relocated.

Due to the changing needs in the community, I believe that both Earl Beatty Community Centre and Centre 55 should have their needs assessment, feasibility study and final report commenced immediately. Both centres should be upgraded to top priorities.

In conclusion, with the amount of residential units being build in east Toronto there will be more demand than ever for community and recreation centres. I strongly believe that with the advent of megacity, we must make every effort to get our facilities built before the suburbs have an opportunity to veto them.

(COUNCIL ACTION - SEPTEMBER 22 AND 23, 1997)

While considering this Clause, Council had before it the following report from the Budget Review Group (September 22, 1997):

Subject: Priority-Setting for Community and Recreation Centre Facilities

Origin: Councillor David Hutcheon, Chair, Budget Review Group (p:\1997\ug\cnl\brg\971903.brg) - mrm

Recommendations:

Comments: At its meeting of September 22, 1997, the Budget Review Group had before it the attached communication (September 11, 1997) from the Administrator of the Neighbourhoods Committee, with respect to the report (August 27, 1997) from the Board of Management regarding priority-setting for community and recreation centre facilities.

The Budget Review Group noted that the recommendations contained in the report were consistent with the staff proposal for the 1998 draft Capital Budget. The Budget Review Group recommended its adoption and further reiterated that the aforementioned report be forwarded to the New City of Toronto Council for consideration for future year expenditures on community and recreation facilities.

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