City Council meeting overview package for September 2, 2025

Peterborough, ON - City Council endorsed the following items during its General Committee meeting in the Council Chambers at City Hall, 500 George St. N., on Tuesday, September 2, 2025:

• Deferring an update on the Police Stations Renovations and Expansion Project, including updating the program area requirements, for a report back to Council with additional information;
• An update on the Multi-Use Sport and Event Centre project, including approving the use of 182 Townsend St. as the preferred location for the facility in the future and starting a process to receive submissions from the private sector on potential partnerships related to the project;
• Treasurer's Report, 2024 Consolidated Financial Report, 2024 Trust Funds Financial Statement and Five-Year Review;
• Adopting a Cash-in-Lieu of Parking Policy to allow a building owner or occupant of a building on a parcel of land located within the City's Strategic Growth Areas to enter into an agreement and pay a fee in-lieu of providing and maintaining on-site parking that would otherwise be required under the zoning regulations;
• Acknowledging receipt of a notice of intention to demolish the Christian Education Centre portion of Mark Street United Church at 90 Hunter St. E. and that Council advise the property owner that it has no objection to the proposed demolition of that portion of the building;
• Report of closed session - That staff proceed as outlined in closed session report from the Commissioner of Finance and Corporate Support Services respecting an agreement with the Township of Selwyn and the Peterborough Police Services Board for the City to provide contract police services to the Lakefield Ward within the township for a five-year period January 1, 2026 to December 31, 2030;
• Report of closed session - That staff proceed as outlined in closed session report from the City Solicitor respecting small claims litigation;
• Report of closed session - That Council receive for information a report of the City Solicitor respecting litigation update;
• Report of closed session - That staff proceed as outlined in closed session report of the Commissioner, Legislative Services, respecting a proposed land acquisition;
• Report of closed session - That staff proceed as outlined in closed session report of the City Clerk respecting 2024 Civic Awards for Youth Volunteer of the Year, the Holnbeck Award and a Community Betterment Award; and
• Report of closed session - That staff proceed as outlined in closed session report of the Commissioner, Legislative Services, respecting a potential acquisition of an interest in property.

Items endorsed by General Committee will proceed to the regular Council meeting on Wednesday, September 3, 2025 to be considered for final approval.

The meeting is livestreamed at peterborough.ca/WatchCouncil. Agendas and recordings of meetings are posted at peterborough.ca/agendas.

To speak as a registered delegation at a Council meeting, individuals must register no later than 11 a.m. on the day of the meeting. To register, complete the online application at peterborough.ca/delegation, or phone 705-742-7777 ext. 1820.

Police stations renovations

Council endorsed deferring an update on the Police Stations Renovations and Expansion Project, including updating the program area requirements, for a report back to Council with more information at a future date.

Council endorsed that staff report back with:

• A detailed compliance matrix mapping the specific requirements of the Community Safety and Policing Act, the Ontario Building Code, and any other applicable standards to each facility element and its associated square footage, clearly identifying which elements are mandated and which are discretionary; and
• A Class C (or better) estimate and life-cycle analysis for two options: (i) 95,000 square feet (2019 program right-sized for mandates), (ii) 110,000 square feet, each with risk/contingency;
• A budget showing only police facility costs, excluding Civic Administration or future development, with a defined funding plan and budget cap;
• Written confirmation that no decision to relocate City Hall or Civic Administration functions to 1421 Lansdowne St. is included in this item, and that any such proposal will require a separate report, costing, public engagement, and Council decision.

Council heard a presentation on the current project status inclusive of the updated program area requirements for the Peterborough Police Service (PPS), which has increased from 95,000 square feet to 110,000 square feet. The requirements of the Community Safety and Policing Act, 2019 (The Act) that came into effect as of June 5, 2025, have been included in the project during design development.

Through Report LSRS23-002 dated December 4, 2023, Council approved the purchase of 1421 Lansdowne St. W. for the PPS administrative functions with police operations remaining at its downtown facility at 500 Water St., creating a two-site solution to facilitate the requirements of the Police Service Facility Space Needs Study. 

Both buildings at 500 Water St. and 1421 Lansdowne St. W. were built in the 1960s. 500 Water St. is in good condition and has been maintained over its lifespan by the City of Peterborough. All building and site improvements required to service the PPS needs have been incorporated in the design and will be addressed through this project. 1421 Lansdowne St. W. has been under various ownership which included a variety of uses and therefore have resulted in varied maintenance over its lifespan. Necessary improvements and upgrades to the portion of the building and site to be occupied by the PPS will need to be completed within this project.

As the project design development has progressed at both sites several key factors have been identified that have impacted the original project scope and will result in an increased budget requirement.

The original space needs study completed in 2019 identified a requirement of 95,000 square feet to support the PPS with the inclusion for anticipated growth within the Police Service staffing. Through current design development of the project, which has involved a series of Subject Matter Expert (SME) meetings, ensuring each division of the PPS indicated their needs. SZA in consultation with City staff and the PPS have revised the program area to address updates and requirements of the Ontario Building Code (OBC), the recent enactment of the Act and the two-site solution. The current program space needs are adjusted to 110,000 square feet. The increase of 15,000 square feet beyond the original space needs assessment accommodates right-sized detention facilities and additional training space as required by the OBC, the policing standards and The Act. Other minor duplicate amenities are necessary to accommodate the two-site solution. This additional area has added $7,125,000 to the budget.

Parking justification studies have been conducted by a Traffic Consultant that shows the current police station at 500 Water St. is deficient in parking. A new parking structure has been included for the accommodation of additional parking on the site to meet the site plan requirements for public, staff and fleet vehicles. This structure has added $2.4 million to the budget.

To assist in achieving the corporate GHG reduction targets as mandated by the Climate Emergency Declaration approved by Council in 2019, the design strives to achieve a 50% reduction of GHGs at 500 Water Street and an 80% reduction of GHGs at 1421 Lansdowne Street West. City staff and project consultants are selecting elements of the energy conservation studies that have the best return on investment and improve the performance of the buildings and their systems to provide robust, sustainable facilities built to best practices. These efficiency measures have added $4,375,000 to the budget.

Council has approved a total project budget of $66.5 million through the 2025 budget with approved pre-commitment of budget through years 2026 and 2027. 

The Police Stations Renovation and Expansion project budget has covered the purchase cost of the entire property at 1421 Lansdowne St. W. of $15.5 million. The original project budget allocated a $4 million allowance to purchase a new property to support the project. PPS will use just over half of the building, leaving the remainder for future City use with several acres on the surrounding site for future opportunities. To date, the total purchase price of 1421 Lansdowne St. W. has been allocated to the project budget, resulting in an additional $11.5 million added to the budget. An analysis of the acquisition cost by Realty Services has determined that the property acquisition cost relative to the PPS usage of the property is $5,053,200.

The four additions to the budget as outlined above total $25.4 million, this brings the estimated project budget to $91.9 million. The police station portion of the project is $81,453,200, with the remainder of the budget for the property costs associated with the other portions of the property acquisition for future civic administration uses and for future development uses.

The project has engaged a Construction Manager through a CCDC-5B Construction Management Contract. This form of contract has been used successfully with other City projects in terms of managing and containing the overall project budget. Staff will continue to ensure control over the budget is monitored, seek out opportunities for value engineering and will provide a future update for required budget amendments when greater cost certainty is confirmed in later, detailed stages of the project.

Staff will make an application for Green Municipal Fund through the Federation of Canadian Municipalities to assist in offsetting the cost of energy efficiency measures to both buildings at 500 Water St. and
1421 Lansdowne St. W.

Multi-Use Sport and Event Centre project update

Council endorsed an update on the Multi-Use Sport and Event Centre project, including a recommendation to approve the use of 182 Townsend St. as the preferred location for the facility in the future and starting a process to receive submissions from the private sector on potential partnerships related to the project.

The call for submissions for private-sector interest in partnering with the City on the project is recommended to include 182 Townsend St., the portion of Townsend Street right of way between Aylmer and George streets, municipally owned properties on Wolfe Street, and the existing Memorial Centre property east of Roger Neilson Way.

The call for submissions process would identify the opportunities for a wider district plan for this area of the downtown and to reduce the overall project risk to the City.

The Multi-Use Sport and Event Centre project was started in 2018.

Analysis and highlights from a feasibility study included:

• Proposed capital costs with seating expected to be 5,800 in an approximate 155,000-square-foot overall building.
• Expected project timeline.
• Functional assessment of the PMC along with a cost benefit analysis of upgrades to the PMC versus a new building and when construction should occur.
• Market definition, current status of the market and future market opportunities.
• Potential components of a new facility.
• Existing financial performance of the PMC versus a new facility’s potential financial performance.
• Locational considerations for a new facility and potential economic impacts.

A locational analysis in a subsequent phase included a long list of candidate sites.

In June 2023, Council approved direction that the preferred location be in accordance with the Downtown First public investment strategy in the Official Plan.

The property that is the proposed preferred site is currently used as the City’s Bus Garage as well as a secondary public works site. The site itself would become surplus to the City’s core service needs once the bus garage is replaced with the planned new facility on Romaine Street. The property contains the following advantages and benefits:

• Site is fully in City ownership and does not rely upon land assembly;
• The property is situated adjacent to other City-owned lands as well as large privately-owned parcels which could enhance the MUSEC project as part of a wider redevelopment project;
• Significant regeneration potential exists of both adjacent parcels and the broader area over the long-term relative to other sites;
• Proximity to the downtown core. The site is easily accessible to the core of the downtown so that downtown businesses can see the benefits of its location;
• Offers additional potential design opportunities including the usage of the Townsend Street road allowance adjacent to the site;
• The location does allow for the usage of the significant parking supply in the downtown area on off peak hours;
• Design options are available with respect to daylighting Jackson Creek which will enhance site aesthetics and be a positive contribution environmentally; and
• Provides an opportunity to ensure an existing city owned brownfield site can be redeveloped into a positive community benefit.

Treasurer's Report and 2024 financial statements

Council endorsed the Treasurer's Report, 2024 Consolidated Financial Report, 2024 Trust Funds Financial Statement and Five-Year Review.

• 2024 Treasurer's Report
• Five-Year Review
• 2024 Consolidated Financial Report

Each year the City must undergo an external audit mandated by Section 296.1 of the Municipal Act, 2001. The audit involves the City’s external Auditor, Baker Tilly KDN LLP, conducting the audit in accordance with Canadian generally accepted auditing standards. Those standards require that they plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance that the financial statements are free from material misstatement. The audit also involves examining on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements as well as assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management. The audit also evaluates the overall financial statement presentation. 

Cash-in-Lieu of Parking Policy

Council endorsed adopting a Cash-in-Lieu of Parking Policy to allow a building owner or occupant of a building on a parcel of land located within the City's Strategic Growth Areas to enter into an agreement and pay a fee in-lieu of providing and maintaining on-site parking that would otherwise be required under the zoning regulations.

The use of Cash-in-Lieu of Parking serves as a strategic approach to address parking supply management and support for other Transportation Demand Measures. A Cash-in-Lieu of Parking Policy is frequently employed to achieve various objectives including promotion of shared parking, discouraging excessive vehicle usage, providing funding for transportation demand management programs, revitalizing downtown cores, preserving heritage structures and facilitating redevelopment, particularly in cases where on-site parking options are constrained.

Formalizing and modernizing a Cash-in-lieu of Parking Policy in the City’s Strategic Growth Areas addresses situations where providing on-site parking is difficult or impractical and will incentivize the creation of additional housing in areas served by public transit and alternative modes of transportation while generating funds for municipal infrastructure and other Transportation Demand Measures like car share and bike share programs.

Adopting the Cash-in-Lieu of Parking Policy will support intensification, reduce development barriers, and streamline development approvals to help achieve the City’s Housing Pledge. It will also facilitate housing creation while funding municipal parking and transportation demand management initiatives, aligning with the goals of the Housing Accelerator Fund, the Mayor’s Task Force for Housing Creation, and the Transportation Master Plan.