HomeMy WebLinkAboutPD-69-86 TOWN OF NEWCASTLE
REPORT File # Pr 31,
Res. # 9
-�. By-Law #
MEETING. General Purpose and Administration Committee
(ATE: Monday, March 17, 1986
REPORT #: PD-69-86 FILE #: Pln. 23.1
SUBJECT: ONTARIO BASIC MAPPING PROJECT
OUR FILE: Pln 23.1
RECOMMENDATIONS:
It is respectfully recommended that the General Purpose and Administration Committee
recommend to Council the following:
1. THAT Report PD-69-86 be received; and
2. THAT the Planning and Development Department budgets be amended in accordance with
the recommendations of the Director of Planning as contained within Staff Report
PD-69-86.
BACKGROUND AND COMMENTS:
In 1984, Council of the Town of Newcastle approved municipal involvement in the Ontario
Basic Mapping Program operated by the Ministry of Natural Resources. This program
provided Provincial funds for undertaking topographic mapping in accordance with
provincial standards, subject to the terms and conditions of an agreement entered into
between the Province and the municipality. Upon consideration of the Town's application,
the Province approved a mapping project with a total cost of $72,376.00. of this,
$52,376.00 was eligible as a provincial grant with the balance being funded by the
municipality. Funds sufficient to cover the cost of the project were allocated from
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REPORT NO. : PD-69-86 Page 2
the OHAP Reserve Account to protect against the possible cancellation of the
Program and to ensure that the mapping project was completed if this
occurred.
At this point in time, the Town has received a total of $51,027 .00 from the
Province and has just issued the final invoice for the remainder of the
grant portion leaving a balance of $20,000.00 to be paid by the Town and
drawn from the Planning and Development Department Consulting Services
account.
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(' e Department budgeted cover the full amount of the
Given the fact that th Depa t t budge to c v Ii
project and given the fact that all eligible funds have now been received
from the Province, at least $35,200.00 can be re-allocated for other
purposes within the Planning and Development Department Budget. In that
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regard, although the mapping project provided significant map coverage and
established the necessary mapping controls for a large portion of the Town,
the Province did not approve the total package requested by the Town and
there are a number of areas for which, Staff feel, additional mapping should
be purchased. This can only be economically done through the Mapping
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Contractor who is currently working on the project and a quote of $12,358.50 j
has been received from the contractor for the seven (7) additional map
sheets required. Of these, four (4) would cover the Hamlet of Hampton and
three (3) would supplement the mapping for the Courtice area.
Staff are therefore recommending that, of the funds available for
re-allocation, that $12,500.00 be reserved for purchase of additional
mapping from MacElhaney Mapping Services . Staff are further recommending
that the remaining funds, $22,700.00, be combined with another $6,000.00
from the OHAP Reserve Account to be utilized for the following: rental of
portable radio equipment for the Building Inspectors for an eight (8) month
trial period at a cost of approximately $1,600.00; an upgrade of the memory
capacity of the Planning Department's Micro Computer, at a cost of
approximately $1,000.00; and the balance of these funds, $26,100.00, held in
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REPORT NO. : PD-69-86 Page 3
reserve in the event that building activity reaches a level where an
additional Inspector, or a Plans Examiner, is required in order to maintain
our existing level of service.
In this regard, a total of 130 building permits have been issued as of the
end of February, 1986, 39 of which were issued in January. Based upon
current workloads Staff feel that building activity, in excess of 1,000
permits in one year, would require an additional Inspector or a Plans
Examiner. This equates to approximately 85 permits a month with all of the
requisite inspections being spread over a longer period of time. Given the
fact that over 100 permits were issued in February alone, Staff are
concerned that building activity may far exceed our earlier expectations
based upon the past year's performance. If this is the case, and it is
borne out by similar levels of permit activity in the next two or three
months, Staff feel that it will be incumbent upon the Town to increase the
number of available Inspectors if we wish to maintain current turn around
times on permit processing and requests for inspection.
Staff feel that a budget allocation equivalent to eight (8) months worth of
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salary and mileage charges would be appropriate and will report back to
Council in May or June once we have had an opportunity to further monitor
building activity for the current year.
Respectfull tted,
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1
T. . Edwards , M.C.I.P.
Director of Planning
TTE*jip
March 5, 1986
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