SUBJECT:

PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE - 2006 ANNUAL REPORT, 2007 WORKPLAN AND REVISED TERMS OF REFERENCE

OBJET:

COMITÉ CONSULTATIF SUR LES PARCS ET LES LOISIRS – RAPPORT ANNUEL 2006, PLAN DE TRAVAIL 2007 ET MANDAT RÉVISÉ

REPORT RECOMMENDATIONS

That the Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee recommend that the Community and Protective Services Committee recommend Council:

1. Receive the 2007 Annual Report of the Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee as detailed in Attachment 1;

2. Approve the objectives contained in the 2007 Workplan, as detailed in Attachment 2; and

3. Approve the Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee revised Terms of Reference, as detailed in Attachment 3.

RECOMMANDATIONS DU RAPPORT

Que le Comité consultatif sur les parcs et les loisirs recommande que le Comité des services communautaires et de protection recommande que le Conseil:

1. reçoive le Rapport annuel de 2006 du Comité consultatif sur les parcs et les loisirs, tel que décrit à la pièce jointe n^o 1;

2. approuve les objectifs qui sont présentés dans le plan de travail 2007, tel que décrit à la pièce jointe n^o 2; et

3. approuve le cadre de référence révisé du Comité consultatif sur les parcs et les loisirs.

BACKGROUND

Pursuant to their Terms of Reference, each City of Ottawa Advisory Committees is required to report annually, through its respective Standing Committee, with respect to its Annual Report and its workplan for the following year. The purpose of the Advisory Committee’s workplan is to identify the activities the Committee plans to undertake in the upcoming year and whether or not these have a budgetary impact. Each activity should be identified, a brief description of the project or activity should be provided.

The Lead Department Representatives are to provide the Committee with information on the departmental workplan and priorities, where the Committee’s workplan ties into the Department’s workplan, and where the Committee can assist the Department. The Lead Department Representative will also advise on what staff and/or financial resources are available as part of the departmental priorities.

There was no funding approved for the advisory committee 2007 workplans.

DISCUSSION

The Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee’s Terms of Reference include the requirement to produce an annual work plan. The work plan is a means to establish projects, activities and initiatives that will take place the following year.

At its 12 February 2007 meeting, the Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee (PRAC) approved its 2006 annual report, 2007 workplan and Terms of Reference. Revisions have been made to the Terms of Reference to include a new responsibility of receiving and commenting on Commemorative Naming Reports for proposed naming requests of recreational parks, pathways, facilities or parts thereof. In addition, amendments were made to reflect the current name of the lead Standing Committee and Department to the PRAC. Additional wording from the Committee was added to enhance the Committee’s responsibilities and strengthen the organization to include a minimum of two citizen appointments representing the rural community rather than one. The final versions of the 2006 Annual Report, 2007 Workplan and Terms of Reference can be found at Attachments 1, 2 and 3 of this report, respectively.

CONSULTATION

Community and Protective Services Department

The mandate of the Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee (PRAC) is to advise on all aspects of the provision of leisure and recreation services in the City of Ottawa, including development of recreation policy, and promoting and maintaining communication with the public on parks and recreation needs.

The Community and Protective Services Department appreciates the advice and support provided by the Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee in 2006 and acknowledges that while Final Reports to Standing Committee are released to Councillors, Advisory Committees and the general public 6 days in advance of Standing Committee of Council meetings, CPS Department is committed to continuously improving the flow and more timely outreach on key policy discussions / presentations to its advisory committees, including PRAC, over the course of the next term of Council.

The Department supports PRAC's 2007 workplan, as outlined in Document 2, including both PRAC's intent to focus on the timely study of issues of broad implication and the preparation of recommendations on these to the CPS Committee, and the workplan objectives such as PRAC working with Parks and Recreation Branch in support of the Branch’s 2007 Workplan of both new and ongoing initiatives.

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

There are no financial impacts from this report.

SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS

Attachment 1 2006 Annual Report of the Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee

Attachment 2 Proposed 2007 Workplan of the Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee

Attachment 3 Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee Terms of Reference

DISPOSITION

City Clerks Branch staff will forward the recommendations approved by the Community and Protective Services Committee to City Council for ratification.

ATTACHMENT 1

2006 Annual Report

PARKS AND RECREATION Advisory Committee.

INTRODUCTION

Members of PRAC would like to thank, our staff liaison, Dan Chenier, and our committee coordinators, Stephanie Brown Bellefeuille and Julie Tremblay, for their support and advice. Our appreciation is as well extended to Councillors Rob Jellett and Bob Monette for their energy and wisdom. Appreciation and our thanks as well are extended to Aaron Burry and all city staff that appeared at our committee meetings throughout the past year. They have proven to be supportive of the work we have undertaken.

Our membership shares a common purpose in championing the changing needs of the recreation community. Our views reflect the insight of a diverse community with expertise drawn from very knowledgeable and dedicated citizen members who through the sharing of their experiences provided valuable information to staff in their preparation of reports and proposals for various city Standing Committees.

For the second year in a row, there has been a marked improvement in the flow of information to our committee. Our views have been sought more often and in a more productive and timely fashion and we have spent less time concerned with what our roles and responsibilities are and more time discussing issues relevant to our mandated areas of interest.

Accordingly our focus has been:

to provide considered, timely advice on the City policy initiatives that have arisen;
to champion parks and recreation issues, concerns and strategies;
to incorporate user needs that our members have brought to the committee from their communities and reaching out to identify the divergent views of user groups in various consultation processes.

The committee has reviewed and commented on all issues that have been brought to our meetings for consideration and comment. Where appropriate we have made motions in support of the report or recommendations. Where we had concerns or there has been no consensus on the issue being considered we have also made motions reflecting our concerns.

When our opinion has been sought and when we have had the necessary time to respond in a responsible manner, following research and preparation of a committee response, the final reports going before HRSS have done so incorporating our input and comment.

It should be re-emphasized that one of the primary roles of an advisory committee is to provide input to staff regarding reports, policies and procedures. We also champion issues and opinions brought to us by the public, which are often overlooked.

We have stated in previous Annual Reports that we have had concerns regarding our ability to influence Standing Committees when they are considering reports from staff that impact Parks and Recreation related issues. While there has been a concerted effort to improve on this, the underpinning problem is that the Final Reports are only made available six days before they are presented to the Standing Committees.

Admittedly, we have had opportunities to comment during the preparation of preliminary and draft reports. However, too often, the time between our input and the preparation of the final report, upon which decisions by Standing Committees are made, has been excessively long and much may have changed. Accordingly, based on the process in place we are often unable to prepare a suitable supportive or dissenting opinion for presentation to the Standing Committee. This lack of opinion should not be construed by Standing Committee Members as our concurrence with the Final Report as written. Lack of sufficient time makes it extremely difficult to arrange to review and prepare a thorough response in support of or against the Final Report as presented. We are unable to effectively discuss with Standing Committee Members in advance of the vote with respect to support of or modifications to the Final Report, which is being considered. Equally frustrating is that often we are required to spend the better part of a day waiting to speak at the Standing Committee in support of or against certain aspects of the final report.

To be truly effective and to validate the role that advisory committees play in the process, it is imperative that our concerns and issues are reflected in the Final Report. If not, we need to be able to point out the shortcomings such that Standing Committee Members can seek clarification from staff in regards to our point of view.

Experiences in 2006 and rationale for 2007 Work Plan

In previous years our Committee had identified four principal functions upon which our work has focused. These were identified as:

Ascertaining and communicating community views on parks and recreation issues and initiatives (in essence a representative or facilitative function);
Providing a recourse for citizens who have specific concerns regarding parks and recreation services (an adjudicative or advocacy function);
Identifying and promoting new programs and policies (a conceptual and developmental function);
Providing advice in response to City requests or on our own initiative with respect to major policy and operational items (an analytical and synthesis function).

In the 10 meetings held in 2006, we addressed 69 Agenda Items, received 6 public delegations, had 3 external presentations, benefited from 10 staff presentations, referred 19 items to staff for investigation, had 3 motions rise to Standing Committees and submitted 19 items or memos to Council and the Parks and Recreation Branch.

Individually, the members of the committee participated in a broad range of consultation meetings with local groups throughout the year bringing their concerns and opinions to the attention of staff at our monthly meetings. It is through our interaction with the community at large that we are able to reflect their views.

We recognize that staff are the professionals whose expertise is best directed in developing the process and policies that guide the parks and recreational programs. We continue to believe that our role should be to synthesize community views, based on our own experience and interests and to provide an overview that can help to integrate and to harmonize local viewpoints into a balanced approach.

Our Work Plan will indicate that we intend to focus on the timely study of issues of broad implication and the preparation of recommendations on these to the HRSS Committee.

For this reason, the second pillar of our Work Plan will emphasize our role in consulting and in coordination of information.

Document 2 (attached) 2007 Workplan Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee lists our specific projects and tasks to be completed in 2007.

ATTACHMENT 2

2007 WORKPLAN

PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE

Objective	Implementation	Departments Involved

1) Advising Council	Providing Council/Standing Committee Members/Staff with considered timely advice focused on reports.	As brought forward by Council, Standing Committees or staff
2) To become informed, review, and make recommendations on current and emerging park and recreation issues and promote citizen participation and visioning through public consultations	The Committee will receive a series of presentations from staff on relevant issues (some of which are listed below), as well as attend meetings of interest and importance, hold workshops, and/or (where suitable), make recommendations and reports. The Committee will work closely with the department in support of the development of recreational programs and facility needs, with particular focus on those areas experiencing sufficient growth and demand.	Parks & Recreation Branch City departments (i.e., Parks & Recreation)
3) To inform Council Members of the business of PRAC	This will be accomplished through dialogue and/or written communications with Councillors in regards to specific issues of interest and/or concern by Committee Members.
4) To form and maintain useful Partnerships with other advisory committees and with other persons and organizations with common interests	Liaison with other Advisory Committees where ongoing issues in common exist and ad-hoc joint ventures are appropriate Represent or liaise with Committees with specific perspectives on parks and recreational issues - e.g. seniors, disabled, environmental, forests
5) To work with Parks & Recreation Branch in support of their 2007 Work Plan - new initiatives	Review & provide recommendations on issues relating to: § Special Needs Policy and Service Model for Recreation § Access to Recreation § Skating School Service Delivery Model § Hosting of 2007 Canadian Parks and Recreation Association Conference (September 2007) § Monitor NCC Pathway Network § Monitor Rural Pathway Network § Monitor P3 service delivery comparison
6) Work with Parks & Recreation Branch in support of their 2007 Work Plan - ongoing initiatives	Review & provide recommendations on issues relating to: § Maintenance § Allocations, fields, ice, pool etc. § Aquatics Facilities – review of Allocation Policy § Monitor cash-in-lieu, developer deposits, and dedication of funds issues § French Recreation Services § Sports Field Strategy § Sports Field Conversion § Pricing Policies § 2007 Budget Review § Community Infrastructure Strategy Cycling Plan § Hydro Corridor Plan § Greenspace Master Plan § Pedestrian Master Plan § Woodland Conservation Bylaw § Community Gardens § Community Use of Schools § Corporate Asset Management Arenas-Diversion Analysis § Fee Assistance Policy § Park Permit Implementation § Community Center Partnerships- Policy § Public Skating Policy § Helmets-Policy Review § Marketing Plans for Recreation Facilities § Major Capital Partnership-review of recommended projects for funding
7) Create formal Sub-Committees in support of programs or initiatives requiring additional research and championing	§ P & R Master Plan § Sportsfield Assessment § Various as required

ATTACHMENT 3

Approved by City Council on 23 May 2001

Amended 03 December 2003

(As per Council approved Governance Report)

Amended January xxx , 2007

PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE

Terms of Reference

MANDATE

The mandate of the Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee is to advise on all aspects of the provision of leisure and recreation services in the City of Ottawa, including development of recreation policy, and promoting and maintaining communication with the public on parks and recreation needs.

RESPONSIBILITIES

The Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee shall be responsible for:

Providing a forum for citizens to raise issues and concerns regarding recreation, parks and leisure issues in the City;
Providing advice and guidance to Ottawa City Council, through the ~~Health, Recreation and Social~~ Community and Protective Services Committee, on matters pertaining to policies, practices and programs concerning parks, recreation and leisure in the City;
Conducting advocacy on behalf of recreation and park users in the City;

Reviewing and advising on the recreation needs of the community;
Working with community agencies to foster development and implementation of recreational programs and parks in identified areas;
Providing opportunities for the pursuit of leisure and recreation, in order to improve the quality of life in the community;
Providing support and coordination of neighborhood community efforts necessary for the development and implementation of leisure and recreation facilities, parks and programs;
Advising on the development and conservation of park lands and recreational facilities;

· Receiving and commenting on Commemorative Naming Reports, as forwarded by the City’s Commemorative Naming Program Coordinator, for proposed naming requests of recreational parks, pathways, facilities or parts thereof, excluding those within the rural areas of the City, as defined within the City’s Official Plan, Schedule “A”; and

· Championing specific Parks and Recreation initiatives or special programs as required.

ORGANIZATION

The Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee shall have a maximum citizen membership of between 9 – 15, including a minimum of two citizen appointments representing the rural community.

All appointments to the Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee shall be approved by both the ~~Health, Recreation and Social~~ Community and Protective Services Committee and Ottawa City Council.

In addition, the Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee shall also have in a resource, liaison and/or advisory capacity, the following:

· 1 Staff representative from the ~~People~~ Community and Protective Services Department (non-voting);

· ~~A minimum of 1 member of Ottawa City Council, appointed by Council (non-voting)~~

· The process for choosing membership for the Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee will follow the approved Appointments Policy.

LEAD DEPARTMENT/REPORTING RELATIONSHIP

The ~~People~~ Community and Protective Services Department shall be the lead department for the Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee. The Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee shall report through the ~~Health, Recreation and Social~~ Community and Protective Services Committee to City Council, however may report to another Standing Committee where appropriate, depending on the issue.

WORKPLANS AND ANNUAL REPORTS

The Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee must report annually to City Council through the ~~Health, Recreation and Social~~ Community and Protective Services Committee (timing to be determined by the Chair, Advisory Committee Coordinator and City Clerk) on the activities of the Committee in the current year and on the Committee’s workplan for the following year.

COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION

Community and Protective Services Committee

Comité des services communautaires et de protection