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1. ROYAL SWAN PROGRAM UPDATE – FALL 2008 MISE À JOUR SUR LE PROGRAMME DES CYGNES ROYAUX –
AUTOMNE 2008 |
Committee RecommendationS AS AMENDED
That Council approve:
1.
That staff:
(a) be directed to pursue and further
develop the most cost effective but, appropriate swan wintering facility option
as well as an alternate funding arrangement to provide for such facility;
(b)
be authorized to
access the aforementioned sum provided by the sponsor in order to leverage the
necessary funding for a wintering facility;
(c)
report back to
the appropriate Standing Committee in the New Year with respect to financing
and recommendations for a wintering facility which will have minimal impact on
the tax base.
2. that
should Council choose to eliminate the Royal Swan Program before December 31,
2015, any unspent funds shall be returned to the sponsor to be redistributed to
the charity of its choice.
RecommandationS modifiÉeS du
Comité
Que le Conseil approuve:
1.
Que le personnel:
(a)
sera enjoint de poursuivre et
d’élaborer plus en détail l’option d’installation d’hivernage la plus rentable,
mais aussi appropriée, ainsi que d’autres dispositions en matière de
financement pour une telle installation;
(b)
sera autorisé à avoir accès à la
somme mentionnée ci-dessus fournie par le commanditaire afin de mobiliser le
financement nécessaire pour l’installation d’hivernage;
(c)
fera rapport en conséquence au
Comité en début d’année en ce qui a trait au financement et aux recommandations
concernant l’installation d’hivernage qui aura une incidence minimale sur
l’assiette fiscale.
2. que
si le Conseil décidait d’abolir le Programme des cygnes royaux avant le 31
décembre 2015, les fonds non dépensés seraient reversés au commanditaire afin
qu’il les distribue à l’organisme caritatif de son choix.
Documentation
1. Deputy
City Manager's report, City Operations, dated 10 November 2008
(ACS2008-COS-BYL-0056).
2. Extract of Draft Minutes, 20 November 2008.
Report to/Rapport au:
Community and Protective Services Committee
Comité des services communautaires et de protection
and Council / et au Conseil
10 November 2008 / le 10 novembre
2008
Submitted by/Soumis par: Steve Kanellakos, Deputy City Manager /
Directeur municipal adjoint
City Operations / Opérations municipales
Contact Person/Personne
ressource : Susan Jones, General Manager/
Directrice général/Emergency and Protective Services / Services
de protection et d'urgence
(613) 580-2424 x25536,
susan.jones@ottawa.ca
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SUBJECT: |
ROYAL
SWAN PROGRAM UPDATE – Fall 2008
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OBJET : |
MISE
À JOUR SUR LE PROGRAMME DES CYGNES ROYAUX – Automne 2008
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REPORT
RECOMMENDATIONS
That the Community and Protective Services Committee recommend to Council:
1.
That the swans be gifted to other
aviculture permit holders, based on appropriate criteria, by the Fall of 2009,
and that authority to do so be delegated to the By-law & Regulatory
Services Branch accordingly; and,
2.
That, subject to
approval of Recommendation 1, the 2007 capital project 904443 – By-law Services
Facility Upgrade (Swans) be closed and the $75,000 budget be returned to the
tax supported capital reserves.
Que le Comité des services communautaires et de protection recommande au
Conseil :
1.
D’offrir les cygnes à d’autres
détenteurs de permis d’aviculture selon des critères appropriés, d’ici à
l’automne 2009, et que le pouvoir à cet égard soit délégué au personnel de la
Direction des services des règlements municipaux,
2.
Que, sous réserve de l’approbation
de la recommandation 1, le projet d’immobilisation 904443 de 2007 – Mise à
niveau des installations des Services des règlements municipaux (cygnes) soit
clos et que les crédits de 75 000 $ retournent dans la réserve pour
immobilisations soutenues par les taxes.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Various options for the operation
of the Royal Swan Program have been reviewed over the years, none of which have
been feasible or come to fruition. More
recently, at the direction of
Council during its 2008 budget deliberations, staff approached the National
Capital Commission to take on the Royal Swan Program, which the National
Capital Commission (NCC) advised it would not be able to do. In addition to that direction to staff,
Council referred to the Community and Protective Services Committee a motion
(Document 1) which outlined the issue, identified that the swan facility
project was not recommended in the 2008-2010 budget, and recommended that the
swans be gifted to other permit holders in light of the absence of a facility
beyond the 2008/09 wintering season.
Staff has, over the course of this year, been in contact with the Save
Ottawa’s Swans (SOS) group, which was formed following the 2008 budget
discussions with a view to raising awareness about the need for a facility for
the Royal Swan Program and to raising funds for that purpose. In addition, staff had investigated a number
of facility design options with a view to reducing the associated project cost,
as outlined in Document 2. The foregoing
information was reported to Committee and Council in May of this year, at which
time Council further directed staff to continue to communicate with the Save
Ottawa’s Swans group with respect to its fund-raising efforts for a wintering
facility for the City’s swans and, subject to the results of those efforts,
report back to the Committee and Council to identify potential requirements for
consideration in the 2009 budget. In
short, SOS has raised less than $1,000.
Further, capital funding for a swan wintering facility has not been
included in the 2009 budget requests, nor have any other options to fund a
facility come to fruition.
In that funding for a new swan wintering facility does not appear to be imminent within the required timeframe, and giving due consideration to the health and well-being of the swans as well as to significant time constraints with respect to the current facility, it is recommended that the swans be gifted to other permit holders, based on appropriate criteria, by the Fall of 2009 at the latest.
The report has been forwarded to the former Real Property and Asset Management Branch, Save Ottawa’s Swans (SOS), the Ottawa Humane Society and the consulting veterinarian.
Each of the foregoing groups had generally supported similar recommendations previously. There was also comment that, should the City elect to keep the swans, an appropriate facility should be constructed, that provides swimming water and pair separations, in addition to the standards in place currently, at a minimum.
RÉSUMÉ
Au
cours des années, on a envisagé plusieurs options pour le programme des cygnes
royaux, mais aucune ne s’est révélée faisable ni ne s’est concrétisée. Plus
récemment, selon les directives que le Conseil lui a données au cours des
délibérations sur le budget de 2008, le personnel a pris contact avec la
Commission Capitale Nationale (CCN) pour lui demander de prendre en charge le
programme des cygnes royaux, ce qu’elle a déclaré ne pouvoir faire. En plus de
ces directives au personnel, le Conseil a transmis au Comité des Services
communautaires et de protection une motion (Document 1) précisant le problème,
indiquant que le projet d’installations pour les cygnes n’était pas recommandé
dans le budget 2008-2010, et recommandant d’offrir les cygnes à d’autres
détenteurs de permis compte tenu de l’absence de toute installation pour les
accueillir au‑delà de la saison d’hivernage 2008‑2009.
Au cours de l’année, le personnel a eu des
contacts avec le groupe Save Ottawa’s Swans (SOS), qui s’est formé à la suite
des délibérations sur le budget de 2008 afin de sensibiliser les gens à la
nécessité de trouver un abri pour le programme des cygnes royaux et de trouver
des fonds à cette fin. De plus, le personnel a étudié un certain nombre de
plans d’installations possibles dans le but de réduire les coûts du projet,
ainsi que le souligne le Document 2. Les renseignements qui précèdent ont fait
l’objet de rapports au Comité et au Conseil au mois de mai 2008, et le Conseil
a alors donné instruction au personnel de continuer de communiquer avec le
groupe Save Ottawa’s Swans au sujet de ses efforts de financement des
installations d’hivernage pour les cygnes de la Ville et de faire rapport au
Comité et au Conseil sur les résultats de ces efforts afin qu’il soit possible
de déterminer le financement à envisager dans le cadre du budget de 2009. Or,
SOS a recueilli moins de 1 000 $ à ce jour. De plus, les demandes
budgétaires pour 2009 ne prévoyaient pas de crédits pour la construction
d’installations d’hivernage pour les cygnes et aucune autre option de
financement n’a abouti.
Étant donné qu’il n’apparaît pas possible de
trouver dans l’immédiat du financement pour construire de nouvelles
installations d’hivernage et compte tenu des exigences relatives à la santé et
au bien‑être des cygnes ainsi que des importantes contraintes de temps liées
à l’état des installations actuelles, il est recommandé d’offrir les cygnes à
d’autres détenteurs de permis, selon des critères appropriés, au plus tard à
l’automne 2009.
Le rapport a été transmis à la Direction de la gestion des biens
immobiliers, au groupe Save Ottawa’s Swans (SOS), à la Société protectrice des
animaux d’Ottawa et au vétérinaire conseil, qui se sont tous déjà déclarés
généralement favorables à des recommandations analogues. On a également entendu
le commentaire que, si la Ville décidait de garder les cygnes, il faudrait
construire des installations appropriées avec au minimum, en plus des normes
actuelles, un bassin et un enclos séparé pour chaque couple.
General
The ancestors of the current Mute (white) swans owned by the City of Ottawa were a gift from Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in celebration of Canada's Centennial in 1967. The Australian Black swans that the City also currently owns originated from a pair received in a trade with the Montreal Zoo in 1974.
Since that time, the swans have resided on the Rideau River during the spring and summer months each year. Given the nature of Ottawa’s climate and for a variety of other reasons however, the swans cannot reside on the River over the winter months and must be provided alternative accommodations – an indoor/outdoor facility – during those months. The current wintering facility on Leitrim Road was built in 1966/67, with significant structural and other improvements to the building and immediate associated surroundings being completed in 1993. The manner in which the original facility was constructed is largely the reason for its inadequacies today.
Post-amalgamation in 2003, recognizing that the Leitrim facility was starting to deteriorate, a facility audit was conducted. The audit recommended a number of improvements to the facility, which have been completed, and indicated that the facility's lifecycle would come to an end in 2008/09. Additionally, and particularly noteworthy, is that the lease of the lands upon which the Leitrim facility is located expires November 30, 2009.
The Royal Swan Program is managed in compliance with federal regulations governing aviculturalists, administered by the Canadian Wildlife Service and enforced by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, as well as the animal welfare provisions of the Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act administered and enforced locally by the Ottawa Humane Society.
Options for the Operation of
the Royal Swan Program
Other options for the operation of the swan program have been reviewed over the years. In the early 1990s, a proposal call was issued for provision of care of the swans, to which a number of candidates from the public in and outside of Ottawa responded. None of the respondents had a facility in which to house the swans over winter but, rather, expected the City to build one on their property.
Other suggestions about where and by what agency the program could be accommodated have also been put forward – local farmers, Central Experimental Farm, Wild Bird Care Centre, National Capital Commission, Parks Canada, etc. In short, the swan program is incompatible with the mandates of those individuals and organizations, and they would have the same dilemma that the City faces now – the need for a species- and climate-appropriate facility that respects humane considerations as well as practical ones. Most of the aforementioned organizations were approached in this regard at one time or another and declined to take on the program.
An option that was also pursued involved a building complex on Algonquin College property at the Woodroffe Campus, which would potentially have included a facility to accommodate Algonquin College, the Ottawa Humane Society (OHS), the Municipal Animal Shelter (MAS) operated on behalf of the City by the OHS, and a swan facility. For a variety of reasons, none the least of which was financial, the project was not pursued to completion, as agreed by all parties involved. The College has since completed its own facility to accommodate the veterinary technology program. The land on which the OHS-MAS complex is to be constructed cannot accommodate the swan facility nor is there funding to provide for one.
More
recently, at the direction of Council during its 2008 budget deliberations,
staff approached the National Capital Commission with a request to take on the
Royal Swan Program so that the swans may remain in Ottawa. By letter dated January 16, 2008, the
National Capital Commission advised that it “would not be able to take over the
Royal [Swan Program]”.
Construction of a New Swan Facility
The former Real Property and Asset Management Branch has estimated that
the cost to replace the swan facility is $505,000 – $75,000 to initiate the
project (e.g. site investigation, feasibility analysis, design, etc.) and
$430,000 for construction and associated development costs such as building
permits and other fees, environmental assessment, testing and inspection,
etc. These Class “D” estimates are in
2008 dollars and do not include land purchase costs as it has been proposed
that the facility be built on city-owned land.
Design and construction would have to take place in the coming months in order to meet the timeframe requirements.
Council approved $75,000 in By-law and Regulatory Services’ 2007 capital budget to initiate the project. Only a very nominal amount of the funds were expended in 2007/2008 to conduct initial research and to obtain preliminary cost estimates. Additional expenditures to further development options were not made largely in light of the City’s financial circumstances and the fact that it would not be prudent to further expend such funds until a commitment to complete the project was confirmed.
However, the 2008 budget approved by Council December 12, 2007 identified the $430,000 capital funding for construction of the swan facility among the “Strategic Initiative Projects Not Recommended”, leaving the City with the dilemma of housing the swans beyond the 2008/2009 wintering season.
A motion addressing the matter, attached as Document 1, was put before Council during the budget deliberations but was referred to the Community and Protective Services Committee.
Further, at that time, there was a suggestion in the media that Ottawa’s swans could be housed like those owned by the City of Stratford (i.e. largely outdoors, with one single swimming area and with access to a small, shared indoor area) and that such a facility would be less expensive than the facility being proposed for Ottawa’s swans (i.e. based on the current facility, with individual “per pair” indoor enclosures and swimming areas, and individual “per pair” outdoor enclosures).
Recommendation 1
As a result of the Council discussion surrounding the motion (Document 1 which was referred to the Community & Protective Services Committee) during the 2008 budget deliberations and the resultant media attention, a group of concerned citizens established themselves as “SOS” (Save Ottawa’s Swans) with a view to raising awareness about the importance of the swans to Ottawans and to seeking to raise funds to cover the cost of a new wintering facility for the swans. Early in 2008, the former Real Property and Asset Management Branch (RPAM) and By-law and Regulatory Services Branch staff met with SOS to discuss the issue, including the costs to construct a new facility and potential fund-raising efforts that SOS could undertake.
In addition, staff had investigated a number of facility design options with a view to reducing the associated project cost (Document 2), thereby reducing the amount of funds that would have to be raised. Staff toured the swan wintering facilities of the City of Stratford, the City of Waterloo and the Metropolitan Toronto Zoo, and obtained detailed information about those of the Granby Zoo in Quebec, the latter two organizations accommodating their swans indoors (including swimming areas) and the former accommodating theirs largely outdoors.
As a result of the foregoing, a number of design options have been outlined and cost estimates, at a high level for purposes of comparison, obtained from an external consultant. The variations in the design options are outlined briefly in Document 2 and are based on:
· various facility sizes and configurations;
· various types of physical separations between swan pairs, which are necessary to reduce conflicts and injury/mortality in the late fall and in the spring;
· the location of swimming facilities (i.e. indoors versus outdoors);
· the reconfiguration/renovation of an existing facility used to house domestic geese used in agricultural research at the Greenbelt Research Farm
· the reconfiguration/renovation of an existing facility at the Carp Fair Grounds (note that a cost estimate for this option was not yet available).
The costs of the various options range from approximately $240,000 to $545,000. The cost to construct today a facility the same as that of Stratford is estimated at $362,000.
That facility, which was built approximately 32 years ago, represents a number of operational difficulties on its own, as advised by Stratford’s swan program managers. For example, due to the absence of the ability to separate the swans, they must be released onto their 1.5-kilometer section of the Avon River no later than the end of March in order to reduce conflicts and resultant injuries/mortalities. As a result of such an early release, the swans must be provided supplemental feed for at least the first several weeks following release. Such an early release would not be possible in Ottawa’s case nor would supplemental feeding be feasible on the 8 kilometers of the Rideau River on which our swans reside. Further, there is no ability to isolate sick swans from healthy ones, or wild birds from the owned flock in Stratford, which has represented some disease control issues there. Stratford program managers also commented that, if the opportunity to build a new facility arose, a different design would be employed.
The foregoing information was reported to Committee and Council in May
of this year, at which time Council further directed staff to continue to
communicate with the Save Ottawa’s Swans group with respect to its fund-raising
efforts for a wintering facility for the City’s swans and, subject to the
results of those efforts, report back to the Committee and Council to identify
potential requirements for consideration in the 2009 budget.
Staff has, over
the course of 2008, been in contact with SOS, which has made a number of
contacts throughout the community; however, less than $1,000 has been raised to
date. Further, capital funding for a swan wintering facility has not been
included in the 2009 budget requests due to the City’s current financial
situation and giving due consideration to budget priorities.
One other option for potential funding emerged – specifically, IBM,
which earlier this year obtained Cognos, the program sponsor since 1996,
approached the City with a proposal to terminate the sponsorship Agreement
through a one-time, lump sum payment equivalent to that which the City would
have obtained if the Agreement were to continue until its end date, December
31, 2015. One of the conditions of the
termination however, was that the lump sum payment not be used for capital.
Staff endeavoured to negotiate this particular condition, but without
success. IBM has since withdrawn the
aforementioned lump sum payment proposal and the original Agreement involving
sponsorship for annual operating costs shall continue.
In that funding has not been secured for a new swan wintering facility and giving due consideration to the health and well-being of the swans as well as to time constraints, it would be prudent to gift the swans to other permit holders, based on appropriate criteria, by the Fall of 2009 at the latest. Although, in accordance with Royal policy, a Royal gift cannot be sold, it can be donated, or gifted, to other recipients. In the case of the City’s swans, some have been donated in previous years when flock numbers permitted it.
Recommendation 2
Subject to the approval of Recommendation 1, the capital project 904443 By-law Services Facility Upgrade (Swans), which would have been used to initiate the swan wintering facility project including design, will no longer be required and can therefore be closed and the remaining of the $75,000 budget returned to the tax supported capital reserves.
There is no statutory requirement for public
notification or consultation. A notice advertising the date and
time of the meeting at which the report would be discussed has however appeared
in the local dailies, in accordance with relevant City policy. Copies of the report have been made
available upon request.
Any costs associated with the gifting of the swans (e.g. transportation) will be covered through the 2009 Operating Budget for the Royal Swan Program. The $44,000 identified in the By-law and Regulatory Services Operating Budget to manage the program is provided by the program sponsor, in accordance with the funding Agreement between it and the City. The gifting of the swans would terminate that Agreement but would not provide any operating savings to the City. In addition, the balance remaining in capital project 904443 By-law Services Facility Upgrade (Swans) would no longer be required and the debt authority to finance this project would be removed.
CITY STRATEGIC DIRECTIONS
The recommendation has no direct impact on the City Strategic Directions.
ATTACHMENTS
Document 1 – Amendment to Omnibus Motion #5 – 2008 Budget Motion (swans)
Document 2 – Replacement Swan Wintering Facility – Outline of Design
Options
DISPOSITION
By-law and Regulatory Services Branch will
implement any Council direction emanating from this report, in consultation
with RPAM and Save Ottawa’s Swans (SOS), as appropriate.
DOCUMENT 1
AMENDMENT TO OMNIBUS MOTION #5
WHEREAS,
in 1967, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II gifted the former City of Ottawa with
six (6) pairs of Royal (Mute) swans in honour of Canada’s Centennial;
AND WHEREAS, from that year until the early
1980s, the swans were over-wintered each year at an indoor/outdoor facility
located on Leitrim Road, and were later moved to the Lansdowne Park Coliseum
Annex where they were over-wintered until its demolition in 1993;
AND WHEREAS, in 1993, the swans were moved
back to the Leitrim facility following unsuccessful efforts to outsource the
winter housing and daily care of the swans, and following the subsequent
completion of a number of necessary improvements to the building, with the
over-wintering of the swans therefore continuing at the Leitrim facility since
that time;
AND WHEREAS, a condition audit of the
Leitrim facility conducted in 2003 revealed that the lifecycle of building
would come to an end in about 2008/2009 and, given that the lease of the lands
on which the facility is located expires in November 2009, with no option for
renewal, the last wintering season using the current facility would be
2008/2009;
AND WHEREAS, the construction cost to
replace the facility has been estimated at $430,000, that amount however
appearing on the list of “Strategic Initiative Projects Not Recommended –
Future Years Beyond 2010” in the 2008 draft capital budget document (last item,
bottom of page 875);
AND WHEREAS, in light of the husbandry
requirements of the swans in Ottawa’s climate and the observance of the City’s
responsibilities for the health and well-being of the swans, staff can no
longer operate the program;
BE IT RESOLVED THAT the Royal Swans be
gifted to other permit holders, based on appropriate criteria, by the Spring of
2009 and that authority to do so be delegated to staff accordingly; and,
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT the 2007
capital project 904443 – By-law Services Facility Upgrade (Swans) be closed and
the $75,000 budget be returned to the tax supported capital reserves.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED
THAT prior to “re-gifting” the Queen’s gift, the City first offer the entire
swan program and the swans themselves to the NCC in order to give the NCC the
opportunity to keep the swans in the capital in accordance with the NCC’s
mandate.
DOCUMENT 2
REPLACEMENT
SWAN WINTERING FACILITY
OUTLINE OF
DESIGN OPTIONS
N.B. 1. “Current Design”, as referenced below,
means separate poured concrete indoor swimming areas, separate enclosures per
swan pair both indoors (including swimming area) and outdoors.
2.
“Estimated
cost” means a Class “D” estimate, with a +/-20% variance.
Duplicate of Current Design
·
Current design, with 18 enclosures and some
operational improvements such as an isolation enclosure, concrete foundation,
cinder block half-wall, separate room for medical examinations on swans,
includes central corridor for access to enclosures for purposes of feeding,
cleaning, etc. as per current design
Estimated project cost: $545,250 [The
original project cost estimate of $505,000 has increased to $545,250 based on
one year delay in construction]
Option 1
·
Duplicate of current design (as above) but, with only
12 enclosures
Estimated project cost: $502,900
Option 2
·
One large, single indoor swimming area, with less
complex/sturdy pair separations and no central corridor – represents a
reduction in the size of the overall building and in the complexity of
individual swimming areas; resting areas
·
Presents operational difficulties in terms of access
for purposes of feeding, cleaning, etc.
·
Potential disease control and conflict issues given
less complex pair separations in the swimming area
Estimated project cost: $427,220
Option 3
·
Stratford model (i.e. outdoor swimming area with
bubble system) but, with some improvements, i.e. shelter building with open
interior “enclosures” (pens), isolation area, feed storage area, work area
·
Presents significant and numerous operational issues
including but, not limited to conflicts between swans causing injury/death,
potential illness/disease transmission issues
·
Operational issues associated with outdoor “pond”,
e.g. snow – there is an overhang on buildings but, no roof over “pond”
Estimated project cost: $380,250
Option 4
·
Outdoor swimming area with some level of pair
separation and a shelter building on either side of the “pond” with
individual/per pair enclosures, isolation pen, work room
·
Potential disease control and conflict issues given
less complex pair separations in the swimming area
·
Operational issues associated with outdoor “pond”,
e.g. snow – there is an overhang on buildings but, no roof over “pond”
Estimated project cost: $470,870
Option 5
·
Renovate an existing facility previously used to
house domestic geese – the renovations would result in a facility similar to
the current design
·
The existing facility’s size significantly exceeds
that which is needed
·
Would have to negotiate a long-term lease with the
National Capital Commission, the same owner of the lands on which the current
facility is located
Estimated
project cost: $239,020