HomeMy WebLinkAboutTR-85-96-' THE CORPORATION OF THE MUNICIPALITY OF CLARINGTON
REPORT
Meeting: GENERAL PURPOSE AND ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE File # '17 ~ C
Res. # ~~rl -_5,~~-~~ro
Date: December 2, 1996
By-Law #
Report #: ~~~File #:
Subject: RECREATION AFFILIATE BOARDS
Recommendations:
It is respectfully recommended that the General Purpose and Administration Committee
recommend to Council the following:
1. THAT Report TR-85-96 be received;
2. THAT the following recreation affiliate boards be disbanded as Boards of
Council:
a) Orono Town Hall (By-Law 79-12)
b) Lion's Centre (subject to legal opinion regarding status of capital
grants repayment potential) (By-Law 86-154 & 87-94)
c) Burketon Park (By-Law 83-105)
d) Solina Hall (By-Law 83-28)
e) Baseline Community Centre (By-Law 80-115);
3. THAT the appropriate By-Laws, as attached to rescind the above establishing
By-Laws be passed effective upon execution of each lease agreement;
4. THAT the Mayor and Clerk be authorized to negotiate and execute lease
agreements, the form of which is to be considered and approved by the Chief
Administrative Officer in consultation with the Solicitor, with the following
organizations for the applicable facility at a lease rate of $1.00 per year:
a) Orono Town Hall g)
b) Zion Park h)
c) Memorial Park i)
d) Burketon Park j)
e) Tyrone Hall k)
E) Brownsdale Community Hall
Solina Hall
Newtonville Hall
Haydon Hall
Hampton Hall
Baseline Community Hall
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TR-85-96 Pave 2
5. THAT the Municipality provide a grant in the amount of $500.00 to each
organization for 1997. or the first year of the lease agreement to be used by the
organization for the purchase of liability insurance coverage with the intention
that the organization will look for alternate financing sources in the future and
a trainlIlg session be held for the groups on liability iesuee with a
representative of Frank Cowan;
6. THAT the Municipality, with the premium renewal year beginning July 1, ,o
1997, will discontinue coverage under the master municipal policy; J
7. THAT the Municipality be responsible for capital improvements through the
annual capital budget process and maintenance of the building envelope
through the Property Managers office;
8. THAT the Newcastle Town Hall Board, Newcastle Arena,.Orono Arena,
Bowmanville Museum and Clarke Museum remain as Boards of Council_ and
their hooka and records continued to be reviewed by-the Municipality s""
auditors and consolidated with the Municipality of Clarington on an annual
basis for financial statement purposes;
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9. THAT the books and records of the recreation affiliate boards sot be rewed4
or consolidated for the 1996 year subject to legal opinion; -
10. THAT a letter be sent. to each of the affected them . a
~~ ° ,~^ "' `Council's direction with a copq of this 'repori'~au "tltem ataf#~'~' ;'
are prepared to meet with the Board members either collectively or
individually to explain the implications of this report and assist in the
transition as necessary and as requested by the Boards; and
11. That staff be directed to report back to Council if these are any concerns
expressed that cannot be satisfactorily accommodated.
1.0 bz 1988, by Council Resolution, the Municipal discontinued requiring the boards
listed in Recommendation #4 above, from submitting their books and records for
annual review. The Newcastle Town Hall Board, Orono Arena, Newcastle Arena,
Bowmanville Museum and Clarke Museum were excluded from this resolution.
1.1 1n 1995, due to the financial failure and dissolution of one board and resulting
obligations imposed upon the Municipality, Council passed a resolution to reinstate
the annual review of the books and records of each board. This is a very onerous
process from both the boards' perspective and the Municipality's perspective.
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TR-85-96 Pa eg,~3
1.2 Due to the recent large liability judgements against Municipalities, risk management
has become a crucial area in preventing claims and *~+A-~ng insurance premiums.
As a result of Council's 1995 resolution to review books and records of each board,
the relationship between the boards' and the Municipality has been reviewed in light
of stricter insurance requirements. In order to be fully covered under the
Municipality's liability coverage the following conditions are necessary:
i) "By-Law establishing Affiliate as Board of Council
_~ ii) _ .Council Representation oa Board
See attached article from Cowan News March 1995 issue and June 1989 issue
(Attachment "A" and "B" respectively). The following recreation affiliate Boards have
Council representation; Orono Town Hall, Brownsdale, Newtonville, Soling Hall and
Tyrone Hall, .Should Council agree to disband the boards, there would be no Council
official representation recommended as legal implications may result. The balance of
the boards under discussion do not have Council representation and some do not have
"'~t#bliahinb~=laws. 'fhe'1Vlunicipaliije~lsti~~s no~t`liave a strict monitoring process
for the policies and practices of these boards from a risk management perspective.
13 Also,,underwthe Municipal Act, all bank aCCOt1a~8 and banking transactions of ~e
fw~: ,
Municipality' and Boards of Council are` to beiiuder the direct control of the
§~ Treasurer. As a result, the Boards as they eturently exist do not have authority to
have their own bank accounts or issue cheques. From an operational perspective, it
is not feasible for each board to process tnvoicc„payments, etc., through the{ ~ ,
~,
` ` "lYluniclliai7ty. 'This would require budgei ctinsttlerations and may have d etgntficant
impact upon the level of volunteer support at each board. Conversely, direct
operation of all facilities by municipal staff would have a significant budget impact.
1.4 .The Lion's Centre is a unique situation whereby the building was designated as a
community centre in order to qualify for a capital grant from the Province. There is
some concern that if the designation is removed, the grant monies may have to be
repaid. This will be reviewed by the Municipality's solicitor prior to action being
taken. Should the grant be repayable, a further report will be brought to Council.
1.5 Another area of concern relates to the legal status of any employees/volunteere of
these affiliates with respect to employer obligations. The details of these issues could
be elaborated upon in an "in camera" discussion.
1.6 Upon review of the status of the various Boards, it was noted that the Orono Arena
Board has an operating agreement is place with Orono Amateur Athletic Association,
whereby the O.A.A.A. does not pay for ice time in exchange for managing the facility.
A copy of the agreement is attached marked Attachment "C" for Council information.
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TR-85-96 Pale 4
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION:
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2.0 As a result of the above discussion, it is recommended t~dt the boards be officially
dissolved via rescinding any establishing by-taws.. ~ta,p~-pests to be the direction
undertaken by the Province in its review of the Munictpa~.Act. The boards could then
be operated independently as a community organizattou Simply leasing the structure
for $1.00 per year. As a result should the organtaatton~efault on any financial
obligations the Municipality would not be habk.~';~~ „, ;"'~"~" "'
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2.1 The major issue from the perspective of the ``rely iatea as a result of this
recommendation would be liability insurance coverxa~e,rt therefore, it is also
recommended that the Municipality provide a great, to, each organisation for this
purpose (proof of insurance would be required as'a`oondition of the lease), with the
understanding that each group will commence investigation into an alternate financing
source in the future.
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2.2 The Municipality is still the owner of the varioua oommtuuty Malls and will therefore
,.
continue to carry property insurance coverage. ' The Municipality is also responsible
for capital improvements as well as maintenance of the building envelope. The
Property. Manager will administer this as :s the , y :~ ` in conaultatio "
t ; ~ ~ ~~ ~ with .b ",i
"" '" ;"~~ the: respective Boards. ,~ . `% . ^'"
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2.3 Ihie to the difficulty in co-ordination with then ' o secreadon affiliates and time
3F' ~;
affiliates sot be submitted by the affiliates w
Recommendation #4 to the Municipality for 1
tF~ly-qubmitted, Renews
i'//
Treasurer.
H.BSc., A.M.C.T.,
MM/NT/hjl
Attachments
those listed in
OHIGIRAi. SIGHED
W.H. Stockwell,
Chief Administrative Officer.
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ATTACHMENT "A"
BOARD AND
COMMITTEE
MEMBERS
Are your
liability
exposures
properly
insured?
A liability policy designed far a mu-
Difficulty can arise, however, if such
boards and rnmmittees are not created
and operated as required by Statute or
Regulation.
Community centre boards are gov-
erned by the Community Recreation
Centres Act. Chapter 80, Section 5(8), (9)
and (11) stipulates how a community
centre board is set up. Sections 81 and 82
of the Municipal Act discuss the financial
controls of such boards and committees.
They must submit all funds to the treas-
urer. They must not have their own bank
account. They must not expend monies
without the authority of council. Operat-
ingunder abudget, their activities are
controlled and approved by council: Such
boards and committees would without
question, fall within the definition of an
insured under a municipal liability policy
of insurance.
nicipal corporation will generally
include as insureds, boards and
committees of the corporation, their
members, employees and volunteers.
However, some community centre
boards are created within the community
and while one or more members of council
may be elected io the board, probably
because of residence status, the board is
not created by council within the require-
ments of the governing statute. In such
cases, the board including its members,
employees and volunteer do not fall
within the definition of an insured under
a municipal liability policy, and would be
unprotected against liability, unless they
purchased for themselves, a policy of lia-
bility insurance. If such boards own
property, whether it be furniture or
equipment contained in a municipally
owned community centre, it is unlikely
that the municipal corporation would
have an insurable interest in such
property or an obligation to insure it.
Such a board would be required to pur-
chase property insurance if it wished to
be protected against loss or damage to
their property.
Sometimes it has been assumed that
the committee will be automatically
covered under the liability policy carved
by the municipality.
A municipal liability policy defines the
persons insured in an extremely broad
manner, but it does restrict its protection
to such persons who can be linked
through to municipal council and for
whom council can be seen to be vicari-
ously resFonsible.
In the event of a claim, it could be dis-
covered that neither the committee nor:
its members were acting as a committee
of council; that they were acting inde-
pendently, and that the municipal corpo-
ration was not vicariously liable for their
actions. As a consequence, the insurer
may choose not to indemnify the commit-
tee or its individual members.
Therefore, it is most important to
realize that your boards and committees
should be created and operated in the
prescribed manner in order to ensure that
your corporation's policy of liability insur-
ance is extended to include such boards or
committees. O
Are'your buildinc
:::insured owalue'
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_ . .~- n:
In the event of a major S or' `
other serious peril,-the damage`do>
to buildings can be significant:;'".
-What will it cast to replace them? ;;
That is the critical gaestion m
determining the appropriatevaluei
to carry in your insurance program
Most public entrhes mvolved rn',
any type of capital works ~ctivity<
will recognize that costa have eats=
lated dramatically in thelas£few
years. This is especially true ,when
the project involves restoration woi
in which the historical nature'of.'
certain buildings needs to be pie-':.
served. The special types of buildii
construction and architecture can':
make the costs increase well in}2;?
excess of normal construction work
It is important thatyoureview
-your schedule of property to maki
sure that realistic values are a
signed to the variousbwldings;=s
structures and contents thatyou`i
insuring. ~ w; i
~' _ra.~t
Call your broker or Cocven.mar
keting representative. if;/ou are in
any doubt. O z:: t ~M1i
2 cownx xsws
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ATTACHMENT "B"
`BONA FIDE'
COMMITTEES
OF COUNCIL
Does your
committee meet
fhe criteria for a
bona fide
Committee of
Councii7
c owan News of December 1994,
carried an amcle on the Liability of
VolunreerOrganiuttions Using
Municipal Facilities. It identified [hose
who qualified as Volunteers under the
Municipality Liability Policy.
The Municipal Liability Policy also
provides coverage of Committees of
Council under the defmition of Insured.
This extension of coverage ofren brings
with it misconceptions by our clients who
attempt to provide protection for certain
groups by having Council pass a Resolution
making the group a Committee of Council.
For committees to qualify as an Insured
under the Municipal Liability Policy, it is
not enough for Council to pass a Resolu-
tion. In a claim, the Insurers will assess
whether the group in question was indeed a
bona fde Committee of Council.
A dictionary defmition of bona fide is
"done or made in good faith." Therefore, a
Committee of Council is one that is
formed by Council in good faith. A simple
test is to check if it meets these criteria:
• Council passes a Resolution stating that
a group of individuals will be acting as a
Committee of Council;
• The Committee is accountable to Council
for all of their actions and activities;
• All finances are directed 6y Council, or
at least approved by Council;
• Typically, one or two Council Members
are appointed to sit on the Committee.
Where the above conditions apply, the
Municipal Liability Insurance protection
for these committees is automatic and no
endorsement to the policy is necessary.
Volunteers of these Committees of Coun-
cils are also included under the defmition of
Insured.
It is not the intent of the Insurers to
extend the Municipal Liability coverage to
any and atl committees formed to provide a
service or benefit to the community. Where
a committee acts completely independent of
the municipality, no coverage under the
Municipal Liability Policy exists. If you
need further clarification, please call us.
4 COWAN NEWS
__... P 91
ATTACHMENT "C"~
STATIiMENT t)F UNDERSTANDING
WHL'lLEAS the Orono Atena/Commuaity Centre Board (hereinafter referred to as the
Board) considers it desirable to assign We operational responsibilities of 'thb Orono
AreLa/Community Centre (hereinafter referred to as the Facility) to the Orono et~niateur
Athletic Association (hereinafter referred to as the O.A.A.A.); .
~ , , , .
NOW THEREFORE the Board and the O.A.A.A. agree:
1. THAI. the daily operation and maintenance of the Facility will be the respbnsibility
of the O.A.A.A. ou the behalf of and reporting to the Board;
2• "I'HA"f' the O.A.A.A. will: ,,,.:,
(a) Prepare a detailed schedule of ice allocations and hall rentals which idcJudes
the name of the permit Molder/organization and the file number of the permit;
. ;,..,
(~) Prepare and submit for approval a detailed schedule of fees to be applied to
hall aad ice rcntais; ,~; , ~, , .
(c) To receive and keep on fiJe~copies of permit applications and permits issued
for the Facility; ;,,::,
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(d) Establish pollcy(ies) for rules to govern the use of the Facility and W submit
these to the Board for consideration and approval;
::.; ..
(e) Keep distinct and regular statements of accounts detailing receipts, piiyments,
credits and liabilities;
(f) Preparc and submit quarterly financial reports for a]! aspects of the acility's
operation including, but not- limited to, Concessions, Hall Ren~ys, Ice
Rentals;
(g) Attend all meetings of tlae $oard end present, verbally and/or in writing, a
progress report of the Facllily operations;
(1~) Maintain a.close, ongoing ~iaison with the Board in all matters relatiye to the
operation and maintenance of the Facility; aud,
:; ~, _
(i) To inform the Board, inwriting, of All maintenance requirements tHat are
considered in the category of capital expenditure(s).
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3. THAT the Board will: ~ }' , ,. , ~ ~,; ~ _
(a} To observe and. comply w~t~,.the parameters of By-laws 78-63 and 93-5~
(being the by-law to amend By-law, 78-63); , ;.,
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(b} To receive and respond to al~ inquiries, both written and verbal, relative to
the activities of the $oatd and the operation bf the Facility;
(c) Maintain a ciose, ongoing lraison with the O.A.A.A. in all matters_ tel2tive to
the operation and maintenance of the Facility; '.
. ,,.
(d) Notify the u6 ' of the oBeain anA~RAIIAIPG.fS~}}rn Re..:l:*... a..a
(e) Ensure that all employees of,the~Board have the necessary and apprbpriate
Health and Safety training. :;~ ~ '
4. TEKM ON' ASSIGNED RESPONSIBILITIES: ~
OCTOBER 20,1993 fA JUNE 30, 1994
5. The Statement of Uoderslanding is to ~e reviewed and revised, a; necessary, on an
annual basis by both the Board and the O.A.A.A.
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'1'flE COBPORA'1'ION OF'1'HE MUN[CIPALI'PY OC CLARINGTON
BY-LAW NUMBER 96-
Being a By-Lew to repeal By-Law #79-12
being s By-Law of [he farmer
Town of Newcastle to establish a
Community Recreation Centre at Orono Town Hall
in the Former Township of Clarke, now in
the Municipality of Clarington, end to provide
for the establishment of a Community Centre Board.
TF1E COUNCIL of the Corpormion of the Municipality of CLiringtan enact us follows:
'THAT effective on the execution of an agreement for each of the
facilities, By-Law #79-12 be repealed.
By-Law read a firs[ and second time [his 9th day of December 1996.
By-Law read n third time end finally passed this 9th day of December 1996.
Mayor
Clerk
1'IfE CORPORATION OF TIIE MUNICIPALITY OF CLARINGTON
RY-LAW NUMBER 9G-
Being a By-Law to repeal By-Law #83-28
being a By-Law of [he former
Town of Newcastle to establish a
Community Recreation Centre at $olina
in the Former Township of Darlington, naw in
the Municipality of Clarington, and to provide
for the establishment o(a Community Centre Board.
THE COUPICIL of the Corporation of the Municipality of Clarington enact as follows:
THAT effective on the ezeculion of an agreement for each of the
fecilitiea, By-Law #83-28 be repealed.
By-Law read a first and second time this 9th day of December 1996.
By-I,aw read a third time and finally passed this 9th day of December 1996.
Mayor
Clerk
THE CORPORATION OF THE MUNICIPALITY OF CLARINGTON
BY-LAW NUMBER 96-
Being a By_Law to repeal By-Iaw #80-115
being a By-Law of the former
Town of Newcastle [o establish a
Community Recreation Centre at Baseline Community Centre
in the Former Township of Bowmanville, now in
the Municipality of Clarington, and to provide
for the establishment of a Community Centre Board.
THE COUNCIL of the Corporation of the Municipality of Claringon enact as Collows:
1~ THAT effective on the execution of an agreement for each of [he
facilities, By-Law #80-115 be repealed.
By-Law read a first and second time this 9th day of December 1996.
By-Law recd a third time and finally passed this 9th day oC December 1996.
Mayor
Clerk