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03 - May 4, 2021 RIPA Committee Agenda Package Rural Initiatives/Planning Advisory Committee Meeting Tuesday, May 4, 2021 1:00 P.M. Meeting to be held electronically. Agenda 1. Approval of Agenda 2. Approval of the Minutes from March 9, 2021 3. Disclosure of Pecuniary Interest and the General Nature Thereof 4. Community Grant Program Feedback Survey – Manager of Administrative Services 5. Recruitment/Committee Composition Discussion 6. Correspondence 7. Date of Next Meeting 8. Adjournment DRAFT MINUTES Rural Initiatives/Planning Advisory Committee Meeting Date: March 9, 2021 Location: Elgin County Administration Building, 450 Sunset Drive, St. Thomas Council Chambers Time: 1:00 P.M. Attendees: Members of the Rural Initiatives/Planning Advisory Committee Councillor Ed Ketchabaw (in-person) Councillor Sally Martyn (electronic) (in-person) Warden Tom Marks (in-person) Elgin County Staff Chief Administrative Officer, Julie Gonyou (in-person) Manager of Planning, Nancy Pasato (in-person) Economic Development Coordinator, Colin Galloway (electronic) Supervisor of Legislative Services, Katherine Thompson (in-person) Legislatives Services Coordinator, Carolyn Krahn (in-person) 1. Call to Order th The Rural Initiatives/Planning Advisory Committee met this 9day of March, 2021 in Council Chambers, at the County Administration Building, St. Thomas at 1:00 P.M. Some Committee Members joined the meeting electronically. 2. Approval ofAgenda Moved by: Warden Marks Seconded by:CouncillorMartyn Resolved that the agenda be approved as presented. Recorded Vote YesNo Warden Tom Marks Yes Councillor Dominique Yes Councillor Sally Martyn Yes Councillor EdKetchabaw Yes 4 0 - Motion Carried. 3. Recruitment/Committee Composition Discussion The Committee accepted the resignation of Heather Derks. 4. Adoption of Minutes Moved by: Councillor Seconded by: Warden Marks Resolved that the minutes of the previous meeting be adopted as amended. Recorded Vote YesNo Warden Tom Marks Yes Councillor Dominique Yes Councillor Sally Martyn Yes Councillor EdKetchabaw Yes 4 0 - Motion Carried. 5. Disclosure of Pecuniary Interest and the General Nature Thereof None. 6. Community Grant Program Request Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Port Stanley Festival Theatre has modified their program for 2021, and they requested that the funding they received under the Elgin Community Grant Program for their monthly play reading series be deferred until September when they will run a condensed version of the planned play reading series. Moved by: Councillor Martyn Seconded by: Councillor e RESOLVED THAT the grant amendment request from the Port Stanley Festival Theatre as contained in the correspondence from the Port Stanley Festival Theatre be approved; and THAT the Port Stanley Festival Theatre be notified of the Committee’s decision. Recorded Vote YesNo Warden Tom Marks Yes Councillor Dominique Yes Councillor Sally Martyn Yes Councillor EdKetchabaw Yes 4 0 - Motion Carried. 7. Official Plan Review – Draft Communications and Engagement Strategy The Chief Administrative Officer and the Manager of Planning presented a Draft Official Plan Review Communications and Engagement Strategy for the Committee’s review. Moved by: Warden Marks Seconded by: Councillor Martyn RESOLVED THAT the Rural Initiatives and Planning Advisory Committee endorse the Official Plan Review Communications and Engagement Strategy; and THAT staff present the Communications and Engagement Strategy to Council. Recorded Vote YesNo Warden Tom Marks Yes Councillor Dominique Yes Councillor Sally Martyn Yes Councillor EdKetchabaw Yes 4 0 - Motion Carried. 8. Recruitment/Committee Composition Discussion Members discussed the requirement to have agricultural representation on the Committee. Moved by: Councillor Seconded by: Councillor Martyn RESOLVED that staff research the legislated committee composition requirements for planning committees; and THAT the Chair present an updated Terms of Reference reflecting the current Committeecomposition to Council for their approval. 9. Correspondence None. 10. New Business None. 11. Next Meeting Date Staff will send out a Doodle Poll to schedule a meeting for the first week of May. 12. Adjournment Moved by: Warden Marks Seconded by: Councillor Giguère Resolved that the meeting adjourn at 2:20 p.m. Recorded Vote Yes No Warden Tom Marks Yes Councillor Dominique Yes Councillor Martyn Yes Councillor EdKetchabaw Yes 4 0 - Motion Carried. 1 REPORT TO RURAL INITIATIVES AND PLANNING ADVISORY COMMITTEE FROM: Katherine Thompson, Manager of Administrative Services/Deputy Clerk DATE: April 27, 2021 SUBJECT: Community Grant Program Feedback Survey RECOMMENDATION: THAT the April 27, 2021, report titled, Community Grant Program Feedback Survey, submitted by the Manager of Administrative Services/Deputy Clerk, be received and filed for information; and, THAT the Rural Initiatives and Planning Advisory Committee review the Community Grant Program Feedback Survey. INTRODUCTION: In 2020, the Rural Initiatives and Planning Advisory Committee developed a new Community Grant Program (CGP) to guide the allocation of Council’s grant budget in 2021. The grant program was divided into two streams – Community Services and Festivals and Events. These two streams were further divided into Cultivate (existing programs and events) and Seed (new programs and events) grants. The Committee developed new application packages to correspond with these programs, clearly defining criteria and eligibility. At its meeting held on February 9, 2021, the Rural Initiatives and Planning Advisory Committee approved a funding agreement, feedback survey questions, and a final report template to be sent to applicants of the Community Grant Program. DISCUSSION: Eighteen (18) applications for funding were received for the 2021 funding period. One (1) of these applications was for the Community Signage Program. Of the seventeen 2 (17) remaining applications, fifteen (15) were approved and two (2) were deemed ineligible based on program criteria by the Committee. After Council approved grants as part of the 2021 Budget, staff sent successful applicants a letter, a funding agreement, a link to the feedback survey, and a template for the final report. The Community Signage Program grant recipient wasnot included as part of the survey as the criteria for this portion of the program remained unchanged. CGP Feedback Survey Over the course of March and early April, staff reminded grant recipients about the survey on three (3) occasions – first as part of the initial outreach and then two (2) subsequenttimes as reminders. The survey was sent to both successful and unsuccessful applicants. Only seven (7) grant applicants decided to fill out the survey. This amounts to approximately 41% of applicants. Overall, as can be seen in the attached survey, applicants were pleased with their experience with the new CGP. Most respondents indicated that the funding amounts were reasonable, although a few would like to be able to request more. All applicants took over an hour to complete the application and many took more than two (2) hours. Most respondents agreed the program guidance documents were helpful, clear and informative. Most agreed that the financial and program/event information required by the Committee to evaluate applications was reasonable. A comment was received that it is difficult for new events or programs to provide accurate budget data. The majority of respondents believed that the intake period of September 1 – November 1 was reasonable. Most respondents understood how the proposals were evaluated by the Committee; however, there was a comment that indicated more information could be provided regarding how points are awarded. If the Committee so chooses, a copy of the evaluation matrix could be attached to the application package to clarify how each element of the application is evaluated. Most respondents believed that the process was fair and 5/7 applicants responded that the CGP was great and they did not have any suggestions for improvement – two (2) applicants did not respond. Disappointment was expressed by organizations who were deemed ineligible for funding by the Committee. They indicated that it was not clear that their organization was ineligible for funding. 3 Previous to the 2020 intake period, two grant programs existed at the County of Elgin. One was administered by County Council and the Rural Initiatives and Planning Advisory Committee. The other was called the Festival and Event Partnership Program (FEPP) and was administered by Economic Development and Tourism. In 2020 these two grant programs were rolled into the Community Grant Program (CGP) and a new set of eligibility criteria was developed by the RIPA Committee. Previous to this new criteria, municipal organizations and fundraising activities were not specifically prohibited in the eligibility criteria. These new eligibility criteria were indicated in the new application packages; however, past experience of eligibility may have caused confusion. The Committee may choose to review eligibility criteria. Funding Agreement Over the course of April and May, 2021, staff received a considerable number of calls from applicants requesting assistance in completing the funding agreement; however, all questions were easily answered and applicants were satisfied with the assistance that they received. Grant recipients have not been required to fill out a funding agreement in the past so it is natural that in the first year of a new program there would be questions. Staff plan to make a few minor adjustments to the funding agreement in order to make it easier to complete. This will not change the terms that recipients are required to agree to, simply the format of some areas of the form. Final Report Template Final reports are not required to be returned to the County of Elgin until November 10, 2021; however, staff have received comments from applicants indicating that they are pleased to have a standardized template to guide them in completing these final th reports. Staff will follow up with the Committee after November 10, 2021 to evaluate this portion of theprogram. 4 ALIGNMENT WITH STRATEGIC PRIORITIES: Serving ElginGrowing ElginInvesting in Elgin Ensuring alignment of Planning for and Ensuring we have the current programs and facilitating commercial, necessary tools, services with community industrial, residential, resources, and need. and agricultural growth. infrastructure to deliver programs and services now and in the future. Exploring different Fostering a healthy ways of addressing environment. Delivering mandated community need. programs and services Enhancing quality of efficiently and Engaging with our place. effectively. community and other stakeholders. LOCAL MUNICIPAL PARTNER IMPACT: None. COMMUNICATION REQUIREMENTS: Survey results will be shared with Community Grant Program applicants. CONCLUSION: On February 9, 2021, the RIPA Committee approved a funding agreement, survey questions and a final report template to be issued to applicants of the Community Grant Program. The results of the Community Grant Program Feedback Survey are attached for the Committee’s review. All of which is Respectfully Submitted Approved for Submission Julie Gonyou Katherine Thompson Chief Administrative Officer Supervisor of Legislative Services