To: Chair and Members Community and Planning Services Committee

From: Sydney Piatkowski Transportation Network Coordinator

Summer Valentine Director of Planning

Date: June 24, 2021

Subject: of Canadian Green Municipal Fund – Transportation Grant Application Update

Report: CPS-6-2021-4 ______

Recommendation

WHEREAS The of Muskoka (the District) applied for the Green Municipal Fund (GMF) through the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM);

AND WHEREAS the application has passed the first eligibility review and the peer review with a good score;

AND WHEREAS a successful application would support the expansion of the Rural and Community Connection transportation pilot project;

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT provided the GMF funding application is successful, staff report back to Community and Planning Services with an amendment to the 2021 Tax Supported Capital Budget and Forecast of up to $211,994, as needed, once funding contributions have been confirmed;

AND THAT the required grant agreement with the FCM be to the satisfaction of the Commissioner of Community and Planning Services or their designate, in consultation with the District Solicitor;

AND THAT the Commissioner of Community and Planning Services and the Chief Administrative Officer or their designates be authorized to sign the funding agreement with the FCM on behalf of the District and enter into a funding agreement with the FCM;

Page 1 AND THAT the Commissioner of Community and Planning Services or their designate be delegated authority to complete and submit any reporting documentation required by the FCM.

Origin

This report provides an update on the District’s Green Municipal Fund (GMF) grant application to enhance existing community transportation programs and provides staff authority to proceed and accept funds should the application be successful.

Background

On April 7, 2021, staff submitted an application on behalf of the District to the FCM’s GMF. Staff shared their intent to apply for this grant with Committee in Report CPS-2- 2020-1 on February 20, 2020.

The GMF provides grants to support environmentally sustainable municipal feasibility studies and pilot projects. The District’s application seeks to expand the Rural and Community Connection (RCC) transportation pilot project, which launched in January 2021. Applications are assessed based on nine criteria including expected environmental benefits, links to existing plans and policies, and replication potential.

Analysis

If successful, this grant would provide funding to expand on the RCC pilot project from two to four days per week of operation and would provide funding for a software application to manage the expanded pilot project more efficiently. The GMF grant would allow the District to operate the expanded RCC service until 31, 2023. This date aligns with the completion date of the District’s Community Transportation grant, which currently funds RCC.

It is anticipated that more frequent service would support increased ridership, and would have economic, social and health benefits for residents.

The transportation software proposed in the application would assist with managing flex trip requests, allow riders to book trips online or through a mobile application, and provide the District more thorough data about the usage of RCC. Should the District’s application be successful, staff will work with the IT department through the procurement process for this software as needed to ensure that any corporate technical requirements are satisfied. Further, should the pilot project continue beyond the lifecycle of the GMF grant, the ongoing software carrying costs (e.g. annual licensing or support fees) would typically be included in the IT budget and therefore those costs must be appropriately considered and forecast in future budgeting processes.

Staff were initially advised by the FCM that a funding decision could take up to six months from the date of the application. Since that time, staff have received confirmation that the application has passed initial eligibility and received a “good” score from peer reviewers. Staff have been further advised that the application will be

Page 2 reviewed at GMF council in July, where they will make a recommendation for a funding decision by the FCM board of directors. The proposed resolution is proactive and allows staff to act quickly should a positive decision be released by FCM next month.

Financial Considerations

If successful, the District can expect to receive up to $211,994 from FCM as the GMF grant. The balance of the pilot project, which includes the existing RCC service and proposed expansion is primarily funded through the Ministry of Transportation’s Community Transportation (CT) Grant. The FCM requires that 10% of funding be contributed by the District. Staff would propose that this contribution consist of a combination of fare revenue generated by the expanded RCC service and District levy dollars already committed through the CT Grant TPA, with Gas Tax funding available to cover any shortfalls, in case fare revenue is lower than anticipated. As a result, no impact to the Levy is anticipated.

Staff consulted with the Ministry of Transportation to confirm expansion of RCC with FCM funds would not violate our CT Grant TPA with the and will not impact the District’s provincial transportation funding. Both the Ministry and FCM confirmed that funding from the two sources may be combined in order to achieve maximum community and environmental benefits of the expanded pilot project.

Staff will bring forward the required budget amendment to Committee should the application be successful. It should be noted that the District might not receive the full grant request as noted above. Should this scenario occur, the pilot expansion program components would be adjusted accordingly to match the funding received.

Climate Considerations

The District assesses climate implications in all staff reports using the Clean Air Partnership’s ‘Municipal Climate Lens Tool’ to consider climate impacts or benefits associated with any project, program or initiative. The following is a summary of the results.

Municipal Climate Results Lens Tool

Mitigation GHG impact has been considered

Temperature There are no Temperature impacts associated with this report

Precipitation There are no Precipitation impacts associated with this report

Page 3 Climate Considerations Summary: Should the District’s grant application be successful, expansion of the RCC is estimated to reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions by 35.056 tonnes per year through reducing low occupancy vehicle travel.

Communications

Staff will provide an update to committee when FCM makes their funding decision. Should the District’s application be successful, staff will work with the operator to plan for service expansion. Communications with the public will also be a key part of the expansion plan. Staff will work with the operator and the District’s Program Communications Specialist to develop the expanded schedule. Staff would use tools such as Engage Muskoka, the District’s website, social media and community outreach to share the expansion plans and promote the additional features available through the acquired software with the public.

Strategic Priorities

Click on the icons below to view strategies under each priority area.

s 1.1, 1.6 s 2.3 s 3.1 s 4.7 s 5.3, 5.9

Respectfully submitted,

Sydney Piatkowski, Transportation Network Coordinator; Summer Valentine, Director of Planning; and Samantha Hastings, MCIP, RPP, Commissioner, Community and Planning Services

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