Board of Director’s Meeting – Minutes

Wednesday, April 12, 2023
Location: Online via Zoom 6:30 p.m.

Attendees: Kristina Tesser Derksen (KTD), Colin Best (CB), Miguel Gonsalves (MG), Ian Campbell (IC), Eric Chabot (EC), Sara Bergsma (SB), Eric Parris (EP), Rachel Shuttleworth (RS)

Guest: Tom Dusmet (TD), Patricia Townson (PT)

Regrets: Julie Rock (JR)

EC called the meeting to order at 6:38 p.m. EC asked the board if there was any declaration of pecuniary interest or conflict of interest. None were made. Motion to accept the previous meeting minutes by CB, seconded by EP. Motion passed.

Treasurer’s Report (MG)

  • Expenses for the month are approximately $24k, around $11k not reflected yet in the report
  • SummerFest expenses are starting to come in and some invoices coming shortly.
  • To expect for the next couple months – salary line item will be a bit higher through the ED transition period while RS trains the new ED, also we have summer students with us for the summer, revenues coming in for SummerFest (vendor fees and sponsorship)
  • CB moved to accept the Treasurer’s Report. EP seconded the motion. Motion passed.

Council Reports

Local (KTD)

  • Traffic calming policies being updated. Town keeping an eye on Martin St, already have measures in place for Main Street and other places around town – ie cameras, speed bumps, etc.
  • Patio season is coming – May 12 is when patios can open.
  • Town seeking input from residents related to additional residential units. Relates to Bill 23.
  • Overnight parking exemptions have increased (previously could only park for 18 days overnight but now can park for 25).
  • TD – Has the Town looked at digital signs telling people to slow down?
  • KTD – If residents identify a problem area, Town may install the signs temporarily to encourage people to slow down. Statistics say that over time they lose their effectiveness. Staff also do speed studies in some areas.

Regional (CB)

  • New rental and homebuyer regulations coming in from the province. Could impact leases for people downtown. Visit Ontario.ca for details.
  • Province making changes to Places to Grow regulations which will end the law from 2005 and put in a new one. Planners from Town and Region will then come back to us with new recommendations.
  • Mayor’s Breakfast happening tomorrow morning. Expecting some updates related to the Milton Educational Village and other topics.
  • Regional Strategic Plan available at halton.ca – they are looking for public input into the four key areas.
  • Town approved an apartment building on Nippissing Road. Still waiting for a response from Metrolinx about when the Go Station will be expanded – this expansion will be important for the new building.
  • SB moved to accept the Council Reports. EP seconded the motion. Motion passed.

Executive Director’s Report (RS)

SummerFest – June 3

  • Planning going well for the event. Approved vendors are submitting final paperwork and payment. Sponsorships will be a bit lower this year because more competition for sponsorship dollars. Some customized packages for HolidayFest 2022 sponsors. Vendor fees revenue lower because some vendors using HolidayFest 2022 credits.
  • Speaking to Carriage Square property manager to do kids’ area in Carriage Square instead of car show. Not planning a car show for this year’s event – focus will be other parts of the event and managing workload for the team. Could mean we get some complaints about the ‘size’ of the event because closure would be one block less, but there is a lot happening in the space we have.

Winter partnership event

  • Continued discussions with TJSF about budget and logistics for this possible partnership. Expected budget for joint event is around $75-$78k. There are synergies as compared to running two separate events. However, they spend more on rides and activations, and we spend more on staging and entertainment. We propose the following financial contributions be made: $38k from the Town, $23k from Singh family, $18k from DMBIA. We would do some fundraising to recoup some of our own costs – ie vendor fees, sponsors that we bring in. Previously Singh family was funding the entire event themselves. We would also contribute around $25k worth of staff time.
  • We got Reconnect grants in 2021 and 2022. Funding pool used to be around $50 million but for 2023 is around $19 million. Program renamed to ‘Experience Ontario’ and they’ve made some changes. RS to look and see if we are eligible to apply.
  • KTD – Unknown how the Town will respond to the request for funding. The Town should contribute but will need to see what’s possible. Brampton makes a significant contribution to the event there, Mississauga is interested in running an event this year.
  • CB – Councillors make the decisions. There is some support from Council for this already.
  • KTD – The additional Community Fund dollars that council approved will be awarded as of next year. The timing doesn’t work for this year. Would be ideal to have a staff recommendation about where the dollars would come from before we do a delegation to council.
  • EC – Ask TJSF what the deadline is to be able to move forward for 2023, and do a delegation to council before that.
  • RS – Will get a deadline – maybe June/July. The amount we’d be requesting from the Town to support SummerFest and the winter event is approximately equivalent to our original event contribution request from last year (we asked for more, then lowered the dollar amount after the initial request).

Administration

  • Summer student positions – Finalizing details for our summer student roles and waiting for final confirmation from the federal government about funding for this year.
  • Draft Board of Management policy shared with the board. Updated based on feedback from last month’s discussion and Town Clerk input.
  • SB moved to accept the Board of Management policy. EP seconded the motion. Motion passed.
  • Directors and Officers insurance – Selected a provider, currently working to finalize the policy.
  • Local board code of conduct – Provided by the Town Clerk, it is currently in place through the Town. Reach out to integrity commissioner if you have questions (contact details provided).
  • ED transition – PT will be doing some training days in April with us and then starting full-time May 1.
  • EP moved to accept the ED report. IC seconded the motion. Motion passed.

Adjournment

  • IC moved to adjourn. EP seconded the motion. Motion passed.
  • Meeting adjourned at 7:23 pm.