TOWN OF VIEW ROYAL COUNCIL REPORT - SITE FURNISHING AMENITY AND OTHER DONATIONS POLICY NO. 6000-003

TOWN OF VIEW ROYAL COUNCIL REPORT

TO: Council DATE: September 10, 2018 FROM: Sarah Jones, Corporate Officer MEETING DATE: September 25, 2018

SITE FURNISHING AMENITY AND OTHER DONATIONS POLICY NO. 6000-003

RECOMMENDATION:

THAT Amenity Donations Policy No. 6000-03 be replaced with Site Furnishing Amenity and Other Donations Policy No. 6000-003.

CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER’S COMMENTS:

I concur with the recommendation.

DIRECTOR OF ENGINEERING’S COMMENTS:

I concur with the recommendation.

DIRECTOR OF FINANCE’S COMMENTS:

I concur with the recommendation.

PURPOSE OF REPORT:

To present an amended donations policy for Council’s consideration.

BACKGROUND/DISCUSSION:

The Town recognizes that individuals, families and businesses may wish to mark special events, significant milestones, or the lives or contributions of others. As well, there may be a desire to express appreciation or support to the municipality. With this in mind, Council approved the Amenity Donations Policy No. 6000-003 in November 2007.

After some experience using the Policy, a desire to broaden the scope of donations was expressed and the following motion was passed by Council in May 2018:

THAT Amenity Donations Policy No. 6000-003 be amended to include opportunities for varying levels and types of financial donations. (C-72-18)

Accordingly, amendments have been made to Policy No. 6000-003 as shown in Attachment “A” to broaden the scope of donations. Proposed amendments are shown in red font and areas to be deleted are shown with “strikethrough”.

Attachment “B” to this report is an unmarked copy of the proposed draft, provided for ease of reading. Please note, the schedules to the policy (the forms for amenity donations) are not re-provided in Attachment “B” as there were no significant changes proposed to be made to these.

By way of general comments:

• The name of the policy has been amended from “amenity donations” to specify more clearly that the policy pertains to physical items for parks/trails – the “site furnishing amenity donations” component – and to also add in “other donations” in reference to general financial donations.
• The amended name also serves to differentiate this policy from the concept of “community amenity contributions”; the latter being associated with the rezoning process to address development and growth-related impacts.
• The amendments around “other donations” are less prescriptive than with the more tangible “site furnishings” (the benches, bike racks, trees, etc.) in keeping with the idiosyncrasies generally associated with these types of donations. For these “other donations”, the donor is encouraged to discuss their aspirations with staff to reach a mutually agreeable outcome that is in keeping with both parties’ goals and meets Canada Revenue Agency and any other applicable agency’s requirements.

CONCLUSION:

There are many opportunities for donations to be provided to the Town. While it would be difficult to develop a policy that addresses all the possible donation opportunities that may arise and the associated conditions or stipulations that may accompany such donations, the proposed amendments reflect a broader donation scope – specifically varying levels and types of financial contributions.

If the proposed amendments are approved, the draft brochure and existing website information can be changed to reflect these additional elements.

RECOMMENDATION:

THAT Amenity Donations Policy No. 6000-03 be replaced with Site Furnishing Amenity and Other Donations Policy No. 6000-003.

SUBMITTED BY:

S. Jones, Corporate Officer

REVIEWED BY:

K. Anema, Chief Administrative Officer