Coming up at City Council: August 11, 2025 meeting

St. Catharines City Council meets next on Monday, August 11, at 6 p.m., at City Hall in the Council Chambers (third floor). Residents can watch in person, or online via the City’s YouTube page.

On the Consent Agenda

There are several items on the consent agenda, a procedural tool that allows multiple agenda items to be passed with a single motion if Council is in agreement. City Councillors can also request an item be moved to the discussion agenda (sometimes called “pulled for discussion”). Items listed on consent for Aug. 11, include:

• Memorial Cup Bid Support Request: Council will consider a request to provide support to the Niagara IceDogs bid for the 2027 Memorial Cup tournament, the annual national championship of the Canadian Hockey League's three major junior hockey leagues - the Ontario Hockey League, Western Hockey League and Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. The IceDogs are bidding for the event and are asking the City to cover the fees associated with the rental and operational expenses of the Meridian Centre and a practice facility (either Canada Games Park or Seymour-Hannah Sports and Entertainment Centre) for the tournament. The waiving of applicable fees is estimated to be about $474,184.50, but economic impacts for host cities has typically ranged from $10 million to $15 million.
•  Declare 9 Race St. and 36 William St. surplus and transfer to Municipal Development Corporation: Council will consider deeming properties at 9 Race St. and 36 William St., currently used for parking, surplus with the proposal to transfer the properties to the St. Catharines Municipal Development Corporation (MDC). The MDC has identified the properties as potential opportunities to assist in achieving its goal of delivering an increase in housing supply in St. Catharines. Any future proposals for the properties will require replacement parking spaces to ensure public parking. One of the conditions of the transfer is that the City will continue to be able to operate the parking until any type of sale takes place
• Update to Records Retention By-law and Schedule: City staff are recommending updates to its Records Retention By-law, which provides rules for the preservation, retention and destruction of records. The by-law has not been updated since it was last approved in 2006, so staff is proposing a modern retention by-law and classification system aimed at modernizing the records management program for the City, and to assist in meeting legislative requirements with regard to the retention of documents, as well as capturing electronic records.
• Filling of vacancy on Property Standards Appeal Committee: Council will consider the appointment of a new member to the Property Standards Appeal Committee after a committee member resigned in June.
• Update on potential Renovations and Relocation Licensing By-Law: Responding to a request from Council on Feb. 12, 2024, staff are recommending the City not proceed with a a residential rental licensing program and a renovations and relocation licensing by-law. After detailed research, review and consultation, staff note while some components are already in place, an effective program would require significant resources, and amendments tabled to a provincial bill introduced in 2023 to protect tenants, would - once approved and in effect - close gaps in existing tenant protection and mean municipal by-law amendments may not be required due to the provincial legislation.

Public Meetings

A pair of public meetings are scheduled to take place at the meeting. Feedback from the community at large is welcome in person or electronically for public meetings. To speak virtually during a public meeting, you must submit a delegation request in advance. In-person delegations are encouraged to submit a request in advance, but are not required to pre-register in order to speak at public meetings. Please visit stcatharines.ca/Council for information on how to access and participate in the meeting, and how to request and make a delegation before Council.

• Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF) Downtown Forgivable Loan Program - 2020 Community Improvement Plan (CIP): Council will consider an amendment to the CIP to add the Downtown Forgivable Loan Program (DFLP). The DFLP will provide a one-time interest-free, forgivable loan up to $100,000 per property to help offset project costs for the creation of new residential dwelling units in the Downtown Priority Neighbourhood. The DFLP would offer an additional loan amount up to $50,000 for projects that construct at least one new barrier-free dwelling unit. The intent of this loan top-up is to support housing that caters to a range of community needs, as well as the ability for residents to age in place. See the notice of public meeting for additional details.
• Council-initiated CIP amendment for 527 Glendale Ave.: Council will consider an amendment to the CIP to allow the proposed redevelopment project at 527 Glendale Ave. to incur retroactive project costs prior to entering into a CIP agreement. Currently under the CIP, eligible project costs incurred prior to execution of a formal CIP Agreement with the municipality are not retroactively eligible for the Tax Increment Finance (TIF) or Brownfield Tax Increment Finance (BTIF) incentive. See the notice of public meeting for additional details.

On the Discussion Agenda

Items tabled for discussion are staff reports on the agenda that are considered one at a time. The following is listed as a discussion report:

• Core Services Review Update: Council will receive an update on the Core Service Review, initiated in 2024 based on concerns from Council and staff regarding the ongoing sustainability of delivery of City services in a way that balances taxpayer affordability. After extensive review and engagement, including a public survey, a consultant has identified opportunities for the City to consider undertaking, including:
  • Establish a prioritization framework for City services
  • Improve resourcing and prioritization of capital projects
  • Improve cross-departmental collaboration in planning matters
  • Develop a city-wide user fee cost recovery framework and enhance non-tax revenue.
  • Enhance by-law enforcement services.
  • Modernize customer service by implementing a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system.
  • Additional administrative opportunities.

The entire report from the consultant can be read in the staff report.

Additional Motions Being Tabled

A motion will be tabled by Councillor Jackie Lindal and seconded by fellow Merritton Councillor Greg Miller, requesting the parking lot leased by the Merritton Legion (Branch 138) be exempt from proposed sidewalk installation requirements. The motion indicates a sidewalk is already planned for the other side of street, and a sidewalk installation adjacent to the lot could remove as much as six to eight accessible parking spaces, which Legion members rely on.

Report Requests

Councillors can make requests to staff for reports to come back to future Council meetings. On Aug. 11, Councillor Bruce Williamson and Councillor Marty Mako will be asking City staff to prepare a report on what approaches can be considered to improve the experience, enhance public safety and mitigate issues at City events such as the Canada Day celebrations (most recently the Lakeside Long Weekend events) that take place at Lakeside Park.

Closed Session

Items listed on closed session (also known as in-camera) are portions of the meeting that are not open to the public. They are held during discussions on confidential or sensitive information, as permitted by specific exemptions outlined in the Municipal Act. Reasons permitted can also be found in the City’s by-law regulating the proceedings of Council (see Section H). Listed on the agenda are:

• Annual litigation report for 2024 (litigation or potential litigation, including matters before administrative tribunals; advice subject to solicitor-client privilege)
• Ontario Land Tribunal Hearing re: 1500 and 2000 Pathstone Way (litigation or potential litigation, including matters before administrative tribunals; advice subject to solicitor-client privilege)
• CAO Performance Appraisal (personnel matter about an identifiable individual; labour relations or employee negotiations).

Additional Information

Find the entire agenda for the meeting here. You can also find information on Council meetings, including ways to participate or offer feedback, such as correspondence or delegations, on our website.

Miss the meeting and want to know what happened after? Council meetings are streamed live on YouTube, but can also be replayed afterwards - just visit www.stcatharines.ca/youtube to find the meeting. You can also register to receive the Garden City Current, our e-newsletter, which features recaps of Council meetings, City news and updates, and much more.