January, 2016

On behalf of City Council, I present to you the 2015 Mayor’s Annual Report.

Charlottetown is the Capital City of and the Birthplace of Confederation. We continue to celebrate and cherish our heritage and our place in Canadian history as we look forward to 2017 when Canadians will celebrate the 150th birthday of this great country.

In Charlottetown we say, “Great Things Happen Here” and for me, as your Mayor, I like to say that our quality of life is a way of life.

We support the quality of life here in Charlottetown through everything we do. Whatever the season, we try to make improvements to our infrastructure and our local programs; we try to find that balance that addresses the needs of all citizens. Our quality of life is exemplified by continuing to make improvements to our storm water management systems, completing the necessary installations for the new water source, new recreational structures and programs, new boardwalk installation and the list goes on.

Charlottetown’s quality of life is celebrated year round by The City of Charlottetown has many beautiful multi-use trails. our thriving arts and cultural sectors, our theatres and all of our amazing residents who dedicate their time to the betterment of this community we choose to call home.

It is a privilege to serve this City as your Mayor. I will continue to be available to you, at any time, at: 902-566-5548 or by email at [email protected]

Kindest regards,

The City of Charlottetown plays host to many cultural events throughout the year. The art and culture sectors are thriving and Clifford J. Lee events like Farm Day in the City, Art in the Open, DiverseCity MAYOR (and many others) provide a venue for artists to share their passion and showcase their talents. The City of Charlottetown was once again alive with events Charlottetown continues to excel and be recognized in 2015, on the heels of the highly successful 2014 nationally as a premiere event-hosting destination. The celebrations for the 150th anniversary of the Charlottetown City’s sport tourism brand, SCORE, was named the Conference. Events hosted in the Capital account for a Canadian Sport Tourism Alliance Sport Tourism significant percentage of overall visitors to the City, Organization of the Year. Additionally, the City was invited essentially driving tourism in Charlottetown. to deliver a best practices session at the newly established Atlantic Event Summit. In addition to annual signature events such as the Jack Frost Children’s Winterfest, PEI Jazz & Blues Festival, and PEI The City of Charlottetown continued to nurture its historic International Shellfish Festival, numerous high-profile sport, partnership with Québec City, which commenced in 2014 meeting/convention, cultural and entertainment events and will continue leading up to the 150th Anniversary of brought much economic and tourism prosperity in 2015. Canadian Confederation in 2017. The partnership includes A few highlights included: a tour stop by Rogers Home- a number of heritage, culture, and tourism initiatives. town Hockey; the Acadian Games; the Sport Chek U18 National Soccer Championships; the National Health As we move toward 2016, event attraction and hosting Leadership Conference; Transportation Association of continues to prosper. Our Strategic Approach to Sport Canada Conference and Exhibition; the Canadian Tourism will guide us through the next decade, and a Society of Internal Medicine Annual Meeting; and the number of high-profile events like the Québec Major Junior May Run Music Festival, Waterfront Concert Series, and Hockey League Annual Session and Draft, Softball Canada Contact East. U18 Women’s Canadian Fast Pitch Championship, and the CCAA Women’s Volleyball National Championship have already been secured.

Charlottetown’s Events Development Officer This photo depicts the 2015 CCAA Men’s Volleyball The City of Charlottetown’s sport tourism Wayne Long and Mayor Clifford Lee sit in National Championship hosted by the brand SCORE! was awarded a 2015 the Rogers Hometown Hockey studio. Hurricanes and supported by SCORE. PRESTIGE Award through the Canadian The two-day ultimate hockey festival Sport Tourism Alliance (CSTA). Events featured appearances by PEI native and NHL Development Officer Wayne Long, centre, Sportsnet Analyst, Doug MacLean, as well accepted the award on behalf of the City as Canadian icon Ron MacLean. from Reggie Lang of WestJet and Jennifer Hedger, PRESTIGE Event Host. Accolades and Business Cultural Development

Development The Arts Advisory Board, in collaboration with the City’s In 2015, Charlottetown was named as one of the Top 10 Economic Development Officer, completed and presented cities for economic development in Canada by Site to Council, a new City Public Art Policy that outlines an Selection Magazine out of Atlanta, Georgia. overall vision and the processes for the establishment of public art on the public right-of-way. Two significant buildings in Charlottetown have been renovated and restored. On the corner of Kent and Great A number of cultural and artistic events took place in 2015, George streets, the former Sam the Record Man building but one of the highlights was the annual Art in the Open. and former Bike Shop building were completed, and are a It was once again a huge success. beautiful addition to the streetscapes of our downtown. Invesco completed an expansion to its operations in Tourism Charlottetown by constructing on what was formerly the The Tourism Department was involved in a number of City Shell site. This expansion included the creation of events throughout the year including the Charlottetown approximately 150 new jobs in the Capital City. Christmas Parade, Natal Day celebrations, a Freedom of the City ceremony and Capital New Year in the Park. The City created a “Doing Business” microsite, which Destination Canada listed Charlottetown’s New Year’s Eve provides better navigation and promotes the business event as one of the ten great ways to celebrate New Year’s climate in Charlottetown. Eve in Canada. City Hall hosted the 3rd annual Health Professionals Besides planning events, the Tourism Department operates Reception, in partnership with the PEI Association for a tourism information centre from May to October to Newcomers to formally welcome health professionals who accommodate visitors from around the world. are newcomers to PEI. The event, sponsored by local businesses, shows the appreciation the city has for health Cruise Ship visitation in 2015 included 67 ships and professionals integrating into Island society. approximately 115,000 passengers and crew, representing a total direct economic impact of just over $9.1 million. The City translated business collateral including the Ships started to arrive early in May and the last visit was in investment profile into Chinese. An interpretation service October. has also been established for staff.

The buildings on the corner of Kent and Great George streets Deputy Mayor Mike Duffy (left), and the Queen Charlotte have been beautifully renovated and are a great addition to Intermediate School Principal Parker Grimmer (right) spent the streetscapes of our downtown. some time with students from Ashibetsu, Japan while they were visiting the Capital as part of an exchange program. Finance Human Resources The Human Resources Department provides guidance and City of Charlottetown assistance to employees and managers in areas of recruit- 2015 Budget Expenditures ment, pension and benefits administration, payroll services, Street Maintenance 20.7% General Government occupational health and safety, succession planning, training 12.4% Fiscal Services and development as well as labour relations and collective 11.7% agreement compliance. The City has 212 permanent and approximately 360 non- Police 18.8% permanent employees. Each year, the City hosts a Service Recognition Ceremony to honour long-serving employees at significant points in

Human Resources their careers. The honourees from this year’s ceremony were: 1.4%

Transit System 2.1% Parks and Recreation 10.9% Planning and Heritage Other Fire and Emergency 20 years 2.6% 5.0% Economic Dev., Tourism Preparedness Street Lighting& Special Events 4.1% 2.5% 7.8% Paul Johnston, Public Works Cst. Ross Buchanan, Police Services

Police $ 8,768,615 18.8% Street Maintenance 9,689,905 20.7% 25 years General Government 5,783,903 12.4% Dianne Dowling, Parks & Recreation Fiscal Services 5,488,610 11.7% Parks and Recreation 5,088,718 10.9% Donna Hurry, Tourism Department Fire and Emergency Preparedness 3,668,147 7.8% Gordon MacDougall, Public Works Other 2,355,884 5.0% Economic Dev., Tourism & Special Events 1,897,666 4.1% Sgt. Walter Vessey, Police Services Street Lighting 1,150,000 2.5% Planning and Heritage 1,236,557 2.6% Transit System 978,000 2.1% 30 years Human Resources 650,508 1.4% Deputy Chief Gary McGuigan, Police Services Total Expenditures $ 46,756,513 100.0% Dianne Smallwood, Water and Sewer Utility The Finance Department coordinates the business side of Retirements running a City. Since amalgamation, the City has been Deputy Chief Richard Collins, Police Services fortunate to be able to continue to provide a high level of Dewar Cudmore, Public Works service without increasing tax rates. Finance develops the Linda Thorne, Planning and Heritage annual budget with Council’s input, taking into Sharon Becker, Human Resources consideration infrastructure funds available from other Sue Fraser, Parks and Recreation levels of government, revenue sharing opportunities with Wally Redmond, Public Works the Province, and feedback from the public.

The City’s budget will be presented to Council in March 2016. Budget documents are available at www.charlottetown.ca/budgets.php Fire Department Police Services The City of Charlottetown Fire Department protects It was a busy year for Charlottetown Police Services in citizens and visitors of our City through fire prevention and 2015. Police continue to work on the issue of distracted fire suppression. Throughout the year, several new initiatives driving in Charlottetown. As part of that initiative, were introduced along with the resilient commitment to Charlottetown Police partnered with the PEI Department deliver both protection and education. Some of the high- of Transportation. As of November 2015, there were 165 lights included: tickets issued for distracted driving in Charlottetown. • Initiation of the Firefighter Honor Guard. Charlottetown Police are helping to promote safe Internet • Procurement of 40 new Self-Contained Breathing practices. They have added a link to their webpage designed Apparatus (SCBA). to help kids stop the spread of offensive pictures and videos • 564 Emergency responses. through social media and also to provide them with support • 82 fire prevention education classes with 1,500 should they find themselves needing help to remove images participants attending. from social media. The site also has information on deal- • Firefighters participated in excess of 3,900 hours of ing with cyber bullying, dealing with peers and supporting training. youth who are in crisis. The URL is www.needhelpnow.ca

• Fire Department participated in more than 25 In 2015, Police Services launched E-Watch, a wireless video community events. system to enhance the Police agency’s ability to better • Complete revision of all Standard Operational protect our communities, as well as our Police personnel. Guidelines and Administrative Procedures. By bringing video to more places, protecting the • Volunteer firefighter recruitment campaign resulted community can extend beyond the reach of existing in 55 individuals expressing interest in joining the personnel, allowing Police to better monitor our urban Fire Department. , out-of-the-way locations, high traffic intersections and special events. Police Services members were also involved in many community events throughout 2015 including: prescription drop-off day; presentations for seniors on fraud and personnel safety; the Gold Cup Parade; the PEI Marathon; Kids and Cops; and Habitat for Humanity builds.

The Charlottetown Fire Department established One of the ways that Charlottetown Police an Honour Guard team and performed Services is sharing the dangers of distracted admirably at many department and social driving is through a vehicle wrap. Posed in front occasions in 2015. of a van that has been wrapped with the “No cell phone use while driving” message are off-duty members of Charlottetown Police Services. The Parks and Recreation Department plays an integral • The Parks Division continues to upgrade playgrounds role in the promotion of active and healthy living in our throughout the City, which included the addition of City, including the provision of parks, open spaces, trails, new playground being installed at the West Royalty boardwalks, sport facilities and direct delivery programs Community Centre. that provide residents and visitors with many recreational • The second phase (Allen Street to Belvedere Avenue) of and sport opportunities. the lighting of the Confederation Trial was completed. Highlights from 2015: • The Victoria Park Boardwalk was replaced. The 1.3 • Cody Banks Arena and Simmons Sports Centre km boardwalk project included improving drainage, operated at capacity during prime hours. Both arenas upgrading decking and widening to 10’ feet. hosted many tournaments in 2015. • Educational outreach at Victoria Park has become a • The had a successful 25th year in hub for urban nature education with close to 1,500 operation, hosting numerous annual events and a students participated in the Passport to Nature number of first time events. This was combined with program, guided field trips and environmental/tree 60+ event days with the of the planting events. QMJHL and the of the National • Victoria Park reforestation and conservation continued League of Canada. to be a focus of the department. • The CARI Complex continued to expand and enhance • The Intro to Sports program for pre-school children its programming opportunities with the introduction continues to be very popular and the Outdoor of the Island’s first Mermaid College. Summer and Adventure Camps for teens reached new highs in March Break Camps remain a growing segment of particpation. The Senior Days Trips and Days in the CARI’s operations. Park were also very well attended. • MacLauchlan Arena had another busy season host- • The department continues to offer adult and senior ing many annual tournaments including the Atlantic fitness programs and partners with go!PEI to help Ringette Championships and Maritime Hockey North encourage Islanders to be more physically active and Junior C Championships. eat healthier.

Youth from the East Royalty Summer Day Camp enjoy spending Given the multi-dimensional design of the Aquatics time outside. The City offers a summer day camp for nine weeks Complex, CARI is able to offer a wide range of programs each year for youth ages 5-12. that cater to all ages and abilities. CARI is one of the many fantastic facilities in the City of Charlottetown. Planning in the early part of the 20th century has been donated and will be shared on the website. To learn more, visit: www. The Planning Department is working on the new Official charlottetown.ca/searchaproperty.php Plan and Zoning and Development Bylaw. In September 2015, the East Royalty Master Plan was adopted as the The 2015 Heritage Awards Ceremony was celebrated on document to guide future planning in the neighbourhood Heritage Day at The Guild. Individuals and organizations of East Royalty, and Zoning and Development Bylaw were honoured for their hard work to preserve and celebrate amendments are forthcoming. The department has also the city’s heritage. been working with the business community to review its signage regulations and Bylaw amendments are currently The Heritage Office unveiled an outdoor gallery and self- underway. guided walking tour celebrating the City’s historic main- streets entitled Celebrate Mainstreet: Its Rich History and Some notable development projects that took place in Vibrant Future. A partnership between the Heritage Office, 2015 include: the School of Engineering facility at UPEI, Downtown Charlottetown Inc., local merchants and the Palliative Care facility at QEH, Upstreet Craft Brewery on PEI Museum and Heritage Foundation, the exhibit was Allen Street, School of Performing Arts at Holland College, displayed in the storefronts throughout the downtown. Medical Marijuana facility on Innovation Way Almost 100 historic images, ads, and artifacts were shown (Biocommons), Tweel building restoration at the corner of at 18 different sites. For those who missed the exhibit, it is Great George Street and Kent Street, and Princess Auto on online at http://charlottetownstories.wordpress.com, Saint Dunstan Street – to name just a few. with other past exhibits.

Heritage Heritage staff continue to support the Provincial Heritage Fair program by working with committee members from Thousands of records documenting the City of Charlotte- the Federal and Provincial Governments in the planning town’s history and development have been made available and undertaking of the event. The Fair brought together via the Search a Property application on the City’s website. more than 300 students, teachers and volunteers at the Most recently, a collection of images taken of East Royalty Confederation Centre of the Arts.

Councillor Greg Rivard, left, and Mayor Princess Auto construction A 1880 image of the west side of Queen Clifford Lee, right, congratulate Ben Murphy Street, one of the main streets of during the Heritage Awards Ceremony for Charlottetown featured as part of an outdoor receiving an award for outstanding gallery and self-guided walking tour. renovations to his property at 25-31 King Street. Public Works & Urban In 2015, after an assessment of all of the elm trees in the Beautification City (both private and public), it was determined that there were a significant number of elms that had Dutch From late January through March 2015, the City was elm disease. Research led to the development of a manage- inundated with successive storms of significant magnitude. ment strategy which was carried out in early in 2015 and Snow fighting efforts were constant for most of that period saw the removal of 286 diseased elm trees. Monitoring with staff, contractors and extra available resources working continued in the summer of 2015 and 59 more diseased hard to keep travel open for emergency services as well as elms were removed during a fall management program. cleaning up, widening out and hauling away snow. Tree planting continued in 2015, with 708 trees being When our record snowfall of 550 centimetres (well over the planted. These plantings included street trees, plantings in 290 cm average) finally did melt, Public Works and Urban parks and enhancement of riparian zones in City Beautification turned its focus to the regular street and watersheds. Community events included TD Tree Days, sidewalk maintenance and beautification of the right-of-way Home Hardware Planting, TD Green Streets and Arbor though trees, shrubs, flowers and grass. This great presen- Day. The City partnered with McInnes Cooper law firm tation of our City is assisted by many citizens and groups in a business challenge that saw three businesses plant an though adopted corner gardens and work on equivalent number of trees to compensate for the amount private properties, with the City garnering an Urban of paper they use annually. Forestry award in the national Communities in Bloom The City engaged a tree care company to carry out a competition. complete street tree inventory. Approximately 9,000 trees New initiatives in 2015 included the purchase of a small were inventoried with the data collected including things sidewalk sweeping machine, additional equipment for street such as GPS location, tree species, height and canopy and sidewalk snow clearing and increases in the spread, general health, and maintenance requirements. contracted snow clearing services as well. Staff can query the data and produce reports that will help to manage the street trees effectively and efficiently. A Urban Forestry sample parks and woodland inventory was carried out internally. That data will be used to develop proactive Managing the City’s Urban Forest is a collaborative effort strategies and management of these woodlands. involving Parks and Recreation, Sustainability, Public Works and Urban Beautification and Water and Sewer Utility.

The City partnered with McInnes Cooper law firm in a business challenge that saw local businesses planting trees to compensate One of the new initiatives in 2015 for the Public Works Department for the amount of paper they use annually. The businesses was the purchase of a small sidewalk sweeping machine. included Bevan Bros. Plumbing and Heating and Arsenault Best Cameron Ellis and McInnes Cooper. Brook Trout Conservation Plan and Community Sustainability Urban Watershed Protection Micro-grant Program • The City, in partnership with the Ellen’s Creek • In 2015, the City increased the budget for the Watershed Group and the Wrights Creek Environ- Community Sustainability Micro-grant Program in mental Committee received over $25,000 in funding order to support more community projects. Projects from Environment Canada to create a Brook Trout were selected based on their contribution towards Conservation Plan for its urban watersheds. The Plan meeting the goals and objectives outlined in the was adopted by City Council in August 2015 and Integrated Community Sustainability Plan. guides work in an effort to protect urban watersheds, • Ten great projects were funded, including a humming- enhance brook trout habitat and more effectively bird garden, a food-based learning program for kinder- manage stormwater. garteners, a biodiversity enhancing project at Upton • The City also received $7,000 from RBC Blue Water Farm, and a drug use prevention project with Murphy’s Fund to implement enhancement and restoration Community Centre. projects in the Ellen’s Creek watershed and set up a run-off and sedimentation monitoring project in the Transit Wright’s Creek watershed. celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2015 with Corporate Energy Efficiency a news conference and prize draws for transit riders in all three municipalities (Charlottetown, Stratford and Projects Cornwall). The tri-municipal contract for Transit services • In September 2015, the City hired an Energy was also renewed in 2015, with Cornwall, Charlottetown Efficiency Coordinator for a 22-week contract funded and Stratford agreeing to support the service with T3 through a partnership with Career Development Transit for another 10 years. Services. Nicholas Cahill joined City staff and is working to identify additional opportunities for CharloBetown Transit energy efficiency improvements and to create a Ridership Comparison corporate greenhouse gas emissions inventory. 2014 -­‐ 2015 45000

• Energy efficiency improvements made to the City 40000

Works garage in 2015 are expected to reduce total 35000

energy use at the facility by up to 25 per cent, greatly 30000

reducing energy costs. 25000

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Charlottetown Sustainability Officer Ramona Doyle and Energy Efficiency Coordinator Nicholas Cahill are working together to identify opportunities for energy efficiency improvements. Water Conservation Program Spring Park Combined Sewer Highlights Separation • The Utility launched a Residential Water Meter • Phase 5 of this project is complete, including new Installation Program, awarding the contract to collection mains and services installed along University Bevan Bros. Plumbing and Heating. The City has been Avenue between Eden and Allan Street, Allan Street divided into six sections that will be used to define the between University Avenue and Jordan Crescent East, areas and installation sequence. Summer Street east of University Avenue, Eden Street, Young Street a portion of Walthen Drive, Orlebar and • The Utility continues to offer a clothes washer rebate John Street. when a customer purchases an Energy Star® certified clothes washer. More than 100 rebates have been • Phase 6 includes new collection mains and services issued. being installed along University Avenue between Allan Street and Belvedere Avenue and portions of Nassau, • The Showerhead Exchange Program offers low-flow Queen and Belvedere. Construction for Phase 6 will showerheads as an incentive to customers to reduce resume in the spring of 2016. their water consumption. Customers with showerheads having a flow of 2.5 gpm/9.5lpm or more are eligible for two exchanges per account. Miltonvale Wellfield Development • The rain barrel program ended in 2015 with the – Project Update remainder of barrels either sold or donated to local The Utility completed designs for the remaining organizations as part of a fundraiser and to raise aware- infrastructure of the Miltonvale Water Supply. An ness for rainwater harvesting. application for funding through the New Build Canada- • The Utility continued work on watershed and water Small Communities Fund was submitted. conservation education in Charlottetown elementary schools in 2015. Four schools participated in the class- Asset Management room portion of the session. As part of the long-term asset management program, the • For more Water Conservation ideas, visit: Water and Sewer Department is working toward www.charlottetown.ca/waterconservationtips.php rehabilitation and renewal of aging water and sewer infrastructure.

Phase 5 of the Spring Park Project was completed in 2015. More than 2,550 flat-rate customers have been converted Phase 6 will resume in the Spring of 2016. to metered customers since 2010.