As we draw closer to the construction stage of this exciting project, Niagara Health staff, including Lynn Guerriero, President & CEO Dr. Johan Viljoen, Chief of Staff, Angela Zangari, Executive Vice President - Finance, Redevelopment and Support Services, Chief Financial Officer and Cliff Harvey, Chief Planning Officer provided Niagara Falls City Council with an update on the new South Niagara Site hospital project. 

The South Niagara Site is located on 50 acres at the corner of Biggar Road and Montrose Road in Niagara Falls. The hospital will be 10-12 storeys high, totalling 1.2 Million square feet, with 469 Beds, 8 Operating Suites and Centres of Excellence for Complex Care, Wellness in Aging and Stroke.

The project team is working toward the South Niagara Hospital being the first WELL® certified hospital in Canada. WELL® certification will improve the work-life experience, promote well-being for staff and physicians who will travel across Niagara, and improve the experience for all who use the building.

The site will also be the first hospital to have an Indigenous Healing Space and Garden to create a culturally safe and welcoming space for Indigenous People.

At the meeting, Niagara Health requested the municipality's local share commitment toward the new hospital to be $30-32 million. This was followed by a staff presentation updating Council on the Planning Development Approval & Building Permit Team assembled to undertake the project on the City’s behalf.

Please take a look at the staff presentation here and the Niagara Health presentation here. 

 

With the exception of the Cemetery plot fees, Council approved the 2023 Schedule of Fees, a consolidated list of fees charged by City departments to fund service delivery, effective January 1, 2023.

Fees are an essential revenue source for the City as they reduce the property tax revenue required to fund service delivery. To maintain a sustainable service delivery funding structure, fees must be indexed annually for budget pressures, considering labour contracts, legislative changes, inflationary pressures and service level expectations. 

Cemeteries plot fees were approved but will be increased effective March 1, 2023.

For the full list, view the report here.

A Municipal Recreation Fee Assistance policy and pilot project to help subsidize qualifying children, youth, and older adults, to access programming and activities like open swim and public skating opportunities have been created and approved by Council. 

For the qualifying persons, the subsidy would include the following: 

5073 Kitchener Street is designated Tourist Commercial, which permits Vacation Rental Units (VRU) but is currently zoned Deferred Tourist Commercial (DTC), which does not permit a Vacation Rental Unit. Council approved the site-specific Deferred Tourist Commercial zone that would permit the VRU in the existing building. The property is within walking distance of the tourism area of Niagara Falls (Victoria Ave is about 400 metres away) and is located within the Clifton Hill Tourism Subdistrict. Council also asked staff to investigate possible off-site parking options and report to Council.

The approval was subject to a number of regulations and recommendations outlined in the staff report; the amending Zoning By-law will not be presented to Council for passage until an encroachment agreement, as outlined in the report, has been executed; and the Mayor and Clerk being authorized to execute an encroachment agreement to the satisfaction of the City Solicitor.

To learn more, please take a look at the report and presentation. 

Council considered a staff report recommending the merger of the Anti-Racism and Diversity & Inclusion Committees and decided that the Committees would remain separate. Additional efforts will be undertaken to enhance collaboration and increase communication between the Committees.

Please take a look at the report here.

Transitioning Niagara Falls Transit from a City of Niagara Falls entity to a Regional Niagara entity (Niagara Regional Transit) run by the Transit Commission on January 1, 2023, has been cause for some uncertainty among social service agencies in Niagara Falls that provide services to homeless and those in need. Currently, single-use bus passes are available for these agencies to provide for clients to get from one service location to another.

As Niagara Regional Transit creates a structure for the provision of these passes throughout the various municipalities it serves, they have agreed to honour single-ride passes that are in circulation until March 31, 2023.

View the report here.

Council approved the appointment of the 12 nominees at the time of the BIA election to the Downtown Board of Management for only the four-year term of 2022 to 2026. If one or more Board members were to resign during the current term, the Board would not look to fill any vacancies unless the number of Board members were to drop below nine positions. 

The 12 appointed members are: 

Council reaffirmed a motion made in 2020 and supported the presence of St. John Ambulance in the City of Niagara Falls. They rejected the suggestion that any other Niagara branch or group take over the Niagara Falls operations. 

Based on the success of the Niagara Falls branch, Council would support that their staff, volunteer leadership and Board of Directors are in charge and run any potential amalgamated branch in the Niagara Region.

View the letter Council received from St. John Ambulance here. 

Upcoming Proclamations, Flag-Raising and Illuminations
(approved at Previous Council Meetings)