2. ROYAL SWAN PROGRAM UPDATE
MISE À JOUR SUR LE
PROGRAMME DES CYGNES ROYAUX |
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATIONS
AS AMENDED
That Council approve the following:
1. That staff continue to communicate with the Save Ottawa’s Swans group with respect to its fund-raising efforts for a wintering facility for the City’s swans;
2. That staff report back to CPS Committee and Council to identify potential requirements for consideration in the 2009 budget.
RECOMMENDATIONS
MODIFIÉES DU COMITÉ
Que le Conseil approuve ce qui suit:
1.
Que le
personnel poursuive ses entretiens avec le groupe Save Ottawa’s Swans (groupe
de sauvegarde des cygnes d’Ottawa) en ce qui concerne ses efforts de levée de
fonds pour construire des installations d’hivernage pour les cygnes de la
Ville;
2.
Sous réserve
de la suite donnée à la recommandation 1, que le personnel fasse rapport au
Comité des SCP et au Conseil sur les exigences éventuelles pour que cette
question soit examinée dans le budget lors du processus budgétaire de 2009;
DOCUMENTATION
1.
Deputy City Manager, Community and Protective Services
Department report dated 9 April 2008
(ACS2008-CPS-BYL-0001).
2. Extract
of Draft Minutes, 17 April 2008.
Report to/Rapport au :
Community and Protective Services
Committee
Comité des services communautaires et de
protection
and Council / et au Conseil
9 April 2008 / le 9 avril 2008
Submitted by/Soumis par : Steve
Kanellakos, Deputy City Manager/Directeur municipal adjoint,
Community and Protective Services/Services communautaires et de
protection
Contact
Person/Personne ressource : Susan Jones, Director/Directrice
By-law and Regulatory
Services/Services des règlements municipaux
(613) 580-2424 x25536,
susan.jones@ottawa.ca
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SUBJECT: |
ROYAL
SWAN PROGRAM UPDATE
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OBJET : |
MISE
À JOUR SUR LE PROGRAMME DES CYGNES ROYAUX
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REPORT
RECOMMENDATIONS
That the Community and Protective Services Committee recommend to Council that:
1. staff continue to communicate with the Save Ottawa’s Swans group with respect to its fund-raising efforts for a wintering facility for the City’s swans;
2. subject to the status of Recommendation 1, staff report back to CPS Committee and Council to identify potential requirements for consideration in the 2009 budget; and,
3. concurrent with the fund-raising efforts and in the event that sufficient funds for an appropriate swan wintering facility cannot be identified, staff be delegated the authority to identify potential recipients of gifted swans so that the swans will have accommodations beyond the 2008-2009 over-wintering season.
Que le Comité des services communautaires et de protection recommande au
Conseil :
1.
Que le
personnel poursuive ses entretiens avec le groupe Save Ottawa’s Swans (groupe
de sauvegarde des cygnes d’Ottawa) en ce qui concerne ses efforts de levée de
fonds pour construire des installations d’hivernage pour les cygnes de la
Ville;
2.
Sous
réserve de la suite donnée à la recommandation 1, que le personnel fasse
rapport au Comité des SCP et au Conseil sur les exigences éventuelles pour que
cette question soit examinée dans le budget lors du processus budgétaire de
2009;
3.
Que,
parallèlement aux efforts de levée de fonds, et dans l’éventualité où il n’y
aurait pas suffisamment de fonds pour construire un abri hivernal pour les
cygnes, on délègue au personnel l’autorité de trouver des personnes qui
pourraient se charger des cygnes pour
qu’ils puissent être à l’abri au‑delà de la saison d’hivernage 2008-2009.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Various options for the operation
of the Royal Swan Program have been reviewed over the years, none of which have
been feasible or come to fruition. More
recently, at the direction of
Council during its 2008 budget deliberations, staff approached the National
Capital Commission to take on the Royal Swan Program, which the National
Capital Commission (NCC) advised it would not be able to do. In addition to that direction to staff,
Council referred to the Community and Protective Services Committee a motion (Document
1) which outlined the issue, identified that the swan facility project was not
recommended in the 2008-2010 budget, and recommended that the swans be gifted
to other permit holders in light of the absence of a facility beyond the
2008/09 wintering season.
Staff has since been working with the Save Ottawa’s Swans (SOS) group, which was formed following the budget discussions with a view to raising awareness about the need for a facility for the Royal Swan Program and to raising funds for that purpose. In addition, staff has been investigating a number of facility design options with a view to reducing the associated project cost, as outlined in Document 2. The various facility design options will be reviewed in greater detail to further refine them and their associated costs, and to identify the most cost efficient one that also meets operational and swan husbandry requirements.
If however funding cannot be secured for a new swan wintering facility and giving due consideration to the health and well-being of the swans as well as to significant time constraints, it would be prudent to be prepared to gift the swans to other permit holders, based on appropriate criteria, by the Spring of 2009 at the latest.
The draft report was forwarded to Real Property and Asset Management Branch, Save Ottawa’s Swans (SOS), the Ottawa Humane Society and the consulting veterinarian, all of which support the recommendations generally. There was also comment that, should the City elect to keep the swans, an appropriate facility should be constructed, that provides swimming water and pair separations, in addition to the standards in place currently, at a minimum.
RÉSUMÉ
Au
cours des années, on a envisagé plusieurs options pour le programme des cygnes
royaux, mais aucune ne s’est révélée faisable ni ne s’est concrétisée. Plus
récemment, selon les directives que le Conseil lui a données au cours des
délibérations sur le budget de 2008, le personnel a pris contact avec la
Commission Capitale Nationale (CCN) pour lui demander de prendre en charge le programme
des cygnes royaux, ce qu’elle a déclaré ne pouvoir faire. En plus de ces
directives au personnel, le Conseil a transmis au Comité des Services
communautaires et de protection une motion (Document 1) précisant le problème,
indiquant que le projet d’installations pour les cygnes n’était pas recommandé
dans le budget 2008-2010, et recommandant d’offrir les cygnes à d’autres
détenteurs de permis compte tenu de l’absence de toute installation pour les
accueillir au‑delà de la saison d’hivernage 2008‑2009.
Depuis, le personnel travaille en collaboration
avec le groupe Save Ottawa’s Swans (SOS), qui s’est formé à la suite des
délibérations budgétaires afin de sensibiliser les gens à la nécessité de
trouver un abri pour le programme des cygnes royaux et de trouver des fonds
dans ce but. De plus, le personnel a étudié un certain nombre d’options de plan
des installations dans le but de réduire les coûts du projet, ainsi que le
souligne le Document 2. Les diverses options seront étudiées plus en détail
afin de les préciser, ainsi que les coûts correspondants, et de trouver la
solution la plus rentable qui réponde en même temps aux critères opérationnels
et d’élevage des cygnes.
Toutefois, s’il n’était toujours pas possible
de trouver du financement pour construire de nouvelles installations
d’hivernage et compte tenu des exigences relatives à la santé et au bien‑être
des cygnes, ainsi que d’importantes contraintes de temps, il serait prudent de
se préparer à offrir les cygnes à d’autres détenteurs de permis, d’après des
critères appropriés, au plus tard au printemps 2009.
Le projet de
rapport a été transmis à la Direction de la gestion des biens immobiliers, au
groupe Save Ottawa’s Swans (SOS), à la Société protectrice des animaux d’Ottawa
(SPAO) et au vétérinaire consultant, qui se sont tous déclarés généralement
d’accord avec les recommandations. On a également entendu le commentaire que,
si la Ville décidait de garder les cygnes, il faudrait construire des
installations appropriées avec au minimum, en plus des normes actuelles, de
l’eau de piscine et un enclos séparé pour chaque couple.
General
The ancestors of the current Mute (white) swans owned by the City of Ottawa were a gift from Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in celebration of Canada's Centennial in 1967. The Australian Black swans that the City also currently owns originated from a pair received in a trade with the Montreal Zoo in 1974.
Since that time, the swans have resided on the Rideau River during the spring and summer months each year. Given the nature of Ottawa’s climate and for a variety of other reasons however, the swans cannot reside on the River over the winter months and must be provided alternative accommodations – an indoor/outdoor facility – during those months. The current wintering facility on Leitrim Road was built in 1966/67, with significant structural and other improvements to the building and immediate associated surroundings being completed in 1993. The manner in which the original facility was constructed is largely the reason for its inadequacies today.
Post-amalgamation in 2003, recognizing that the Leitrim facility was starting to deteriorate, a facility audit was conducted. The audit recommended a number of improvements to the facility, which have been completed, and indicated that the facility's lifecycle would come to an end in 2008/09. Additionally and particularly noteworthy is that the lease of the lands upon which the Leitrim facility is located expires November 30, 2009, with no option for renewal.
The Royal Swan Program is managed in compliance with federal regulations governing aviculturalists, administered by the Canadian Wildlife Service and enforced by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, as well as the animal welfare provisions of the Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act administered and enforced locally by the Ottawa Humane Society.
Options for the Operation of
the Royal Swan Program
Other options for the operation of the swan program have been reviewed over the years. In the early 1990s, a proposal call was issued for provision of care of the swans, to which a number of candidates from the public in and outside of Ottawa responded. None of the respondents had a facility in which to house the swans over winter but, rather, expected the City to build one on their property.
Other suggestions about where and by what agency the program could be accommodated have also been put forward – local farmers, Central Experimental Farm, Wild Bird Care Centre, National Capital Commission, Parks Canada, etc. In short, the swan program is incompatible with the mandates of those individuals and organizations, and they would have the same dilemma that the City faces now – the need for a species- and climate-appropriate facility that respects humane considerations as well as practical ones. Most of the aforementioned organizations were approached in this regard at one time or another and declined to take on the program.
An option that was also pursued involved a building complex on Algonquin College property at the Woodroffe Campus, which would potentially have included a facility to accommodate Algonquin College, the Ottawa Humane Society (OHS), the Municipal Animal Shelter (MAS) operated on behalf of the City by the OHS, and a swan facility. For a variety of reasons, none the least of which was financial, the project was not pursued to completion, as agreed by all parties involved. The College has since completed its own facility to accommodate the veterinary technology program. The land on which the OHS-MAS complex is to be constructed cannot accommodate the swan facility nor is there funding to provide for one.
Most
recently, at the direction of Council during its 2008 budget deliberations,
staff approached the National Capital Commission with a request to take on the
Royal Swan Program so that the swans may remain in Ottawa. By letter dated January 16, 2008, the
National Capital Commission advised that it “would not be able to take over the
Royal [Swan Program]”.
Construction of a New Swan Facility
The Real Property and Asset Management Branch has estimated that the
cost to replace the swan facility is $505,000 – $75,000 to initiate the project
(e.g. site investigation, feasibility analysis, design, etc.) and $430,000 for
construction and associated development costs such as building permits and
other fees, environmental assessment, testing and inspection, etc. These Class “D” estimates are in 2008
dollars and do not include land purchase costs as it has been proposed that the
facility be built on City-owned land.
Design would have taken place in 2007 and construction in 2008 in order to meet the timeframe requirements.
Council approved $75,000 in By-law and Regulatory Services’ 2007 capital budget to initiate the project. The funds were not however expended in 2007 largely in light of the City’s financial circumstances and the fact that it would not be prudent to expend such funds until a commitment to complete the project was confirmed.
However, the 2008 budget approved by Council December 12, 2007 identified the $430,000 capital funding for construction of the swan facility among the “Strategic Initiative Projects Not Recommended”, leaving the City with the dilemma of housing the swans beyond the 2008/2009 wintering season. A motion addressing the matter, attached as Document 1, was put before Council during the budget deliberations but, was referred to the Community and Protective Services Committee.
Further, at that time, there was a suggestion in the media that Ottawa’s swans could be housed like those owned by the City of Stratford (i.e. largely outdoors, with one single swimming area and with access to a small, shared indoor area) and that such a facility would be less expensive than the facility being proposed for Ottawa’s swans (i.e. based on the current facility, with individual “per pair” indoor enclosures and swimming areas, and individual “per pair” outdoor enclosures).
Recommendations 1
and 2
As a result of the Council discussion surrounding the motion (Document 1) during the 2008 budget deliberations and the resultant media attention, a group of concerned citizens established themselves as “SOS” (Save Ottawa’s Swans) with a view to raising awareness about the importance of the swans to Ottawans and to seeking to raise funds to cover the cost of a new wintering facility for the swans.
Early in the New Year, Real Property and Asset Management Branch (RPAM) and By-law and Regulatory Services Branch staff met with SOS to discuss the issue, including the costs to construct a new facility and potential fund-raising efforts that SOS could undertake. Since that time, SOS has made a number of contacts throughout the community to that end and will report on the status of its efforts in April. It would be worthwhile and appropriate to continue to communicate with SOS in this regard.
Further, staff agreed that it would review various options for facility design with a view to reducing construction costs, thereby reducing the amount of funds that would have to be raised. Staff toured the swan wintering facilities of the City of Stratford, the City of Waterloo and the Metropolitan Toronto Zoo, and obtained detailed information about those of the Granby Zoo in Quebec, the latter two organizations accommodating their swans indoors (including swimming areas) and the former accommodating theirs largely outdoors.
As a result of the foregoing, a number of design options have been outlined and cost estimates, at a high level for purposes of comparison, obtained from an external consultant. The variations in the design options are outlined briefly in Document 2 and are based on:
· various facility sizes and configurations;
· various types of physical separations between swan pairs, which are necessary to reduce conflicts and injury/mortality in the late fall and in the spring;
· the location of swimming facilities (i.e. indoors versus outdoors);
· the reconfiguration/renovation of an existing facility used to house domestic geese used in agricultural research at the Greenbelt Research Farm
· the reconfiguration/renovation of an existing facility at the Carp Fair Grounds (note that a cost estimate for this option was not yet available as of the writing of this report).
The costs of the various options range from approximately $240,000 to $545,000. The cost to construct today a facility the same as that of Stratford was estimated at $362,000. That facility, which was built approximately 32 years ago, represents a number of operational difficulties on its own, as advised by Stratford’s swan program managers. For example, due to the absence of the ability to separate the swans, they must be released onto their 1.5-kilometer section of the Avon River no later than the end of March in order to reduce conflicts and resultant injuries/mortalities. As a result of such an early release, the swans must be provided supplemental feed for at least the first several weeks following release. Such an early release would not be possible in Ottawa’s case nor would supplemental feeding be feasible on the 8 kilometers of the Rideau River on which our swans reside. Further, there is no ability to isolate sick swans from healthy ones, or wild birds from the owned flock in Stratford, which has represented some disease control issues there. Stratford program managers also commented that, if the opportunity to build a new facility arose, a different design would be employed.
Staff will continue to review the various facility design options in greater detail with a view to further refining them and their associated costs, and to identifying the most cost efficient one that meets operational and swan husbandry requirements.
Recommendation 3
In the event that funding cannot be secured for a new swan wintering facility and giving due consideration to the health and well-being of the swans as well as to time constraints, it would be prudent to be prepared to gift the swans to other permit holders, based on appropriate criteria, by the Spring of 2009 at the latest. Staff will undertake to review potential recipients over the course of 2008.
Although, in
accordance with Royal policy, a Royal gift cannot be sold, it can be donated,
or gifted, to other recipients. In the
case of the City’s swans, some have been donated in previous years when flock
numbers permitted it.
There is no statutory requirement for public
notification or consultation. A notice advertising the date and
time of the meeting at which the report would be discussed has however appeared
in the local dailies, in accordance with relevant City policy. Copies of the report have been made available
upon request.
Recommendation 1 and 2
There are no direct financial implications associated with Recommendations 1 and 2.
Recommendation 3
In the event that funding for a new facility cannot be secured and the swans are gifted to other permit holders, any costs associated with the gifting of the swans (e.g. transportation) will be covered through the 2008 Operating Budget for the Royal Swan Program. The $44,000 identified in the By-law and Regulatory Services Operating Budget to manage the program is provided by the program sponsor, in accordance with the funding agreement between it and the City. The gifting of the swans would terminate that agreement but, would not provide any operating savings to the City. In addition, capital project 904443 By-law Services Facility Upgrade (Swans) would no longer be required and the debt authority to finance this project would be removed.
CITY STRATEGIC DIRECTIONS
The recommendation has no direct impact on the City Strategic Directions.
SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION
Document 1 – Amendment to Omnibus Motion #5 – 2008 Budget Motion (swans)
Document 2 – Replacement Swan Wintering Facility – Outline of Design
Options
DISPOSITION
By-law and Regulatory Services Branch will
implement any Council direction emanating from this report, in consultation
with RPAM and Save Ottawa’s Swans (SOS), as appropriate.
DOCUMENT 1
AMENDMENT TO OMNIBUS MOTION #5
WHEREAS,
in 1967, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II gifted the former City of Ottawa with
six (6) pairs of Royal (Mute) swans in honour of Canada’s Centennial;
AND WHEREAS, from that year until the early
1980s, the swans were over-wintered each year at an indoor/outdoor facility
located on Leitrim Road, and were later moved to the Lansdowne Park Coliseum
Annex where they were over-wintered until its demolition in 1993;
AND WHEREAS, in 1993, the swans were moved
back to the Leitrim facility following unsuccessful efforts to outsource the
winter housing and daily care of the swans, and following the subsequent
completion of a number of necessary improvements to the building, with the
over-wintering of the swans therefore continuing at the Leitrim facility since
that time;
AND WHEREAS, a condition audit of the
Leitrim facility conducted in 2003 revealed that the lifecycle of building
would come to an end in about 2008/2009 and, given that the lease of the lands
on which the facility is located expires in November 2009, with no option for
renewal, the last wintering season using the current facility would be
2008/2009;
AND WHEREAS, the construction cost to
replace the facility has been estimated at $430,000, that amount however
appearing on the list of “Strategic Initiative Projects Not Recommended –
Future Years Beyond 2010” in the 2008 draft capital budget document (last item,
bottom of page 875);
AND WHEREAS, in light of the husbandry
requirements of the swans in Ottawa’s climate and the observance of the City’s
responsibilities for the health and well-being of the swans, staff can no
longer operate the program;
BE IT RESOLVED THAT the Royal Swans be
gifted to other permit holders, based on appropriate criteria, by the Spring of
2009 and that authority to do so be delegated to staff accordingly; and,
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT the 2007
capital project 904443 – By-law Services Facility Upgrade (Swans) be closed and
the $75,000 budget be returned to the tax supported capital reserves.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED
THAT prior to “re-gifting” the Queen’s gift, the City first offer the entire
swan program and the swans themselves to the NCC in order to give the NCC the
opportunity to keep the swans in the capital in accordance with the NCC’s
mandate.
DOCUMENT 2
REPLACEMENT
SWAN WINTERING FACILITY
OUTLINE OF
DESIGN OPTIONS
N.B. 1. “Current Design”, as referenced below,
means separate poured concrete indoor swimming areas, separate enclosures per
swan pair both indoors (including swimming area) and outdoors.
2.
“Estimated
cost” means a Class “D” estimate, with a +/-20% variance.
Duplicate of Current Design
·
Current design, with 18 enclosures and some
operational improvements such as an isolation enclosure, concrete foundation,
cinder block half-wall, separate room for medical examinations on swans,
includes central corridor for access to enclosures for purposes of feeding,
cleaning, etc. as per current design
Estimated project cost: $545,250 [The
original project cost estimate of $505,000 has increased to $545,250 based on
one year delay in construction]
Option 1
·
Duplicate of current design (as above) but, with only
12 enclosures
Estimated project cost: $502,900
Option 2
·
One large, single indoor swimming area, with less
complex/sturdy pair separations and no central corridor – represents a
reduction in the size of the overall building and in the complexity of
individual swimming areas; resting areas
·
Presents operational difficulties in terms of access
for purposes of feeding, cleaning, etc.
·
Potential disease control and conflict issues given
less complex pair separations in the swimming area
Estimated project cost: $427,220
Option 3
·
Stratford model (i.e. outdoor swimming area with
bubble system) but, with some improvements, i.e. shelter building with open
interior “enclosures” (pens), isolation area, feed storage area, work area
·
Presents significant and numerous operational issues
including but, not limited to conflicts between swans causing injury/death,
potential illness/disease transmission issues
·
Operational issues associated with outdoor “pond”,
e.g. snow – there is an overhang on buildings but, no roof over “pond”
Estimated
project cost: $380,250
Option 4
·
Outdoor swimming area with some level of pair
separation and a shelter building on either side of the “pond” with
individual/per pair enclosures, isolation pen, work room
·
Potential disease control and conflict issues given
less complex pair separations in the swimming area
·
Operational issues associated with outdoor “pond”,
e.g. snow – there is an overhang on buildings but, no roof over “pond”
Estimated project cost: $470,870
Option 5
·
Renovate an existing facility previously used to
house domestic geese – the renovations would result in a facility similar to
the current design
·
The existing facility’s size significantly exceeds
that which is needed
·
Would have to negotiate a long-term lease with the
National Capital Commission, the same owner of the lands on which the current
facility is located
Estimated
project cost: $239,020
ROYAL
SWAN PROGRAM UPDATE
MISE À JOUR
SUR LE PROGRAMME DES CYGNES ROYAUX
ACS2008-CPS-BYL-0001 CITY WIDE / À
L'ÉCHELLE DE LA VILLE
The following correspondence was received in support of the staff recommendations:
a. Bruce Roney, Executive
Director, Ottawa Humane Society letter via email dated 14 April 2008.
Susan Jones, Director, By-Law Services gave an
updated status of the report in a Power Point presentation. A copy is held on file.
In response to a question from Councillor
Cullen regarding the funding of the City’s Royal Swan Program and whether
further direction was needed on the options listed in the report, Ms. Jones
indicated that the program is completely paid through a sponsorship agreement
by Cognos Incorporated to be funded for another eight years and noted that no
further direction is needed to support the options.
Clarence S. Dungey, Save Ottawa Swans (SOS) advised that SOS will not be able
to generate the kinds of funds required to build a new home for the swans, but
it is clear that the swans have a special place in the people’s hearts and
minds and thanked the organizations and citizens that came forward to offer
assistance and encouragement to save the swans. Mr. Dungey requested that the City not abandon its responsibility
in the area of caring for the Royal Swans, rather support a future amended
proposal put forward by staff to build new facilities for the swans. He confirmed that SOS would continue their
funding efforts and communication with City staff. A copy of his submission is held on file.
While he supported Recommendations 1 and 2,
Councillor Cullen requested a recorded vote on Recommendation 3, which talks
about By-Law Services identifying potential recipients of the gifted
swans. Ms. Jones confirmed that staff
do not want to give the swans away, but the Branch would need sufficient time
to be able to give the swans a home in the event there is no funding. The councillor noted that in the event that
sufficient funds cannot be found, staff have to look to gifting the swans and
he did not want them to spend staff time looking for alternatives when this
program rightfully belongs to the City.
That the Community and Protective Services Committee recommend to Council that:
1. staff continue to communicate with the Save Ottawa’s Swans group with respect to its fund-raising efforts for a wintering facility for the City’s swans;
2. subject to the status of Recommendation 1, staff report back to CPS Committee and Council to identify potential requirements for consideration in the 2009 budget; and,
CARRIED
3. concurrent with the fund-raising efforts and in the event that sufficient funds for an appropriate swan wintering facility cannot be identified, staff be delegated the authority to identify potential recipients of gifted swans so that the swans will have accommodations beyond the 2008-2009 over-wintering season.
LOST
YEAS
(3): M. Bellemare, G. Bédard, S.
Qadri
NAYS
(4) A. Cullen, D. Holmes, P.
Feltmate, C. Leadman