2024.05.07 – Special meeting of the Gatineau City Council held in the committee room of the Maison du citoyen, 25 Laurier Street, Gatineau, on Tuesday, May 7, 2024, at 11:15 a.m., at which

CONSIDERING THAT the building at 625, chemin d’Aylmer is at the end of its useful life;

CONSIDERING THAT an amount of $16,000,000 was authorized by the plenary committee on June 28, 2022, under recommendation CP-SPVG-2022-003, for the construction of the SPVG service point in the Aylmer sector;

CONSIDERING THAT inflation for the year 2022 was 16.3% compared to a 5% indexation used in cost estimates;

CONSIDERING THAT on October 25, 2022, the plenary committee voted in favor of recommendation CP-SPVG-2022-013 approving the new SPVG 2023-2027 staffing plan;

CONSIDERING THAT the mandates of the professionals in the master disciplines to the firms CCM2 & Confluence Architecture, QDI, and DWB were awarded on January 18, 2023;

CONSIDERING THAT on February 21, 2023, the plenary committee approved recommendation CP-DG-2023-005 changing the LEED Silver certification to a LEED Gold certification for the SPVG service point in Aylmer and the Guy-Sanche library;

CONSIDERING the presence of an ecological corridor on the site, the future arrival of a tramway on chemin d’Aylmer, the future urbanization of chemin Vanier, and the maintenance of the current station in operation during the work, it is necessary to demolish the two SPVG warehouses on the site;

CONSIDERING THAT on July 4, 2023, the municipal council endorsed the recommendation of the Urban Planning Advisory Committee (CCU) concerning the location of the Aylmer sector service point, which includes a cell block and a future expansion to allow for the realization of the transition plan for 777, boulevard de la Carrière;

CONSIDERING THAT on October 23, 2023, the Government of Quebec indicated that the municipal lands (100, rue d’Edmonton and 775-777, boulevard de la Carrière) required for the construction of its new hospital are no longer necessary;

CONSIDERING THAT the headquarters project has a significant impact on the content parameters of the Aylmer sector service point project;

CONSIDERING THAT the preparation of plans and specifications for the Aylmer sector service point has been at a standstill since October 23, 2023, and that the start of construction work is postponed to the spring of 2025, requiring an additional year of indexation;

CONSIDERING THAT the SPVG 2023-2027 staffing plan provides for the hiring of 76 new resources, and that existing police stations do not have the required square footage to accommodate them;

CONSIDERING THAT a real estate opportunity for the acquisition of 975, boulevard Saint-Joseph arose at the end of September 2023 with a view to building the police headquarters at that location, and that the plenary committee authorized on November 14, 2023, recommendation CP-HC-DG-2023-020 mandating the administration to undertake steps for the acquisition of the building;

CONSIDERING the implementation of the SPVG 2023-2027 staffing plan and the future growth of the Aylmer sector, it is more advantageous for the City to carry out the future expansion of the Aylmer service point immediately and use these spaces for the staffing plan, which will be relocated to the new headquarters eventually;

CONSIDERING THAT the two SPVG warehouses at 625, chemin d’Aylmer will be demolished, the addition of a new warehouse paired with the new service point becomes necessary:

IT IS PROPOSED BY MAYOR DANIEL CHAMPAGNE, SECONDED BY COUNCILLOR MARIO AUBÉ, AND RESOLVED THAT, following the recommendation of the executive committee number CE-2024-271 of May 6, 2024, this council authorizes:

• An additional budget of $8.2 million for the Aylmer service point project for the expansion of office spaces (staffing plan/2035 needs) and storage needs, financed by the residual envelope of Block D of the long-term financial plan;
• The treasurer to amend loan bylaw number 924-2022 to provide for the additional funds required to carry out all the work, which will bring the authorized loan to $22.2 million;
• That the relief CCMU (Mobile Command Unit) planned at the Aylmer service point be transformed into office spaces (reduction of the headquarters area);
• The treasurer to make the accounting entries required to give effect to this resolution.

A treasurer's certificate was issued on May 3, 2024. Adopted.

CONSIDERING THAT, faced with the growing needs of the Service de police de la ville de Gatineau and the obsolescence of certain existing infrastructure, the City has undertaken an evaluation of sites that can meet legal obligations related to the establishment of a new Police Headquarters;

CONSIDERING THAT lots 1 090 415, 1 090 404, and 1 091 207 of the cadastre du Québec, with an area of 20,127.44 m2, have been identified as the best option. In addition to meeting the needs of the Police Service, this property is currently for sale;

CONSIDERING THAT the planning of this project is underway, and given the scarcity of land of adequate size and location meeting the standards of the Police Service, a reserve for public purposes was served to the owner with a view to the future acquisition of lots 1 090 415, 1 090 404, and 1 091 207 of the cadastre du Québec, in order to avoid increases in potential acquisition costs resulting from transactions or the filing of a private development project. Any construction, improvement, or addition to the property concerned carried out after the date of imposition of the reserve will not give rise to any compensation, in the case of an acquisition by mutual agreement or by expropriation;

CONSIDERING THAT despite the reserve notice in place, a tenant of the property having a lease in effect until 2030 represents an issue regarding the realization of the construction project of the future Police Headquarters;

CONSIDERING THAT in this context, being unable to reach an agreement by mutual consent with the tenant in a short time, the Legal Affairs Department and the Real Estate Department jointly recommend initiating expropriation procedures:

IT IS PROPOSED BY MAYOR DANIEL CHAMPAGNE, SECONDED BY COUNCILLOR MARIO AUBÉ, AND RESOLVED THAT, following the recommendation of the executive committee number CE-2024-272 of May 6, 2024, this council:

• Authorizes the acquisition, by mutual agreement or by expropriation, for municipal purposes, of lots 1 090 415, 1 090 404, and 1 091 207 of the cadastre du Québec, with an area of 20,127.44 m2, as illustrated on the plan and technical description prepared by Mathieu Fournier, land surveyor, under number 4435 of his minutes;
• Mandates the Infrastructure and Projects Department to proceed with the preparation of any plan and any technical description, and to carry out any cadastral operation required for this purpose of acquisition, by mutual agreement or by expropriation, for municipal purposes;
• Authorizes the Legal Affairs Department to initiate the procedures for acquisition, by mutual agreement or by expropriation, for municipal purposes, of the lots identified above;
• Authorizes the treasurer to pay the expropriated parties, or on their behalf, the provisional indemnity as proposed by the City or as negotiated by the parties and applicable to the aforementioned lots, in accordance with the Loi concernant l’expropriation, from the funds provided for the construction project of a headquarters for the Service de police de la ville de Gatineau;
• Authorizes the treasurer to perform the accounting entries required to give effect to this resolution.

The mayor or in his absence the acting mayor and the clerk or in her absence the deputy clerk or the assistant clerk are authorized to sign the documents for the purposes of this resolution.

A treasurer's certificate was issued on May 3, 2024. Adopted.

CONSIDERING THAT, faced with the growing needs of the Service de police de la ville de Gatineau and the obsolescence of certain existing infrastructure, the City has undertaken an evaluation of sites that can meet legal obligations related to the establishment of a new Police Headquarters;

CONSIDERING THAT lot 1 090 745 of the cadastre du Québec, with an area of 3,716.1 m2, represents an opportunity to consolidate this property with the adjacent one located at 975, boulevard Saint-Joseph, which site has been identified for the implantation of the future Police Headquarters;

CONSIDERING THAT the planning of this project is underway, and given the scarcity of land of adequate size and location meeting the standards of the Police Service, a reserve for public purposes was served to the owner with a view to the future acquisition of lot 1 090 745 of the cadastre du Québec, in order to avoid increases in potential acquisition costs resulting from transactions or the filing of a private development project. Any construction, improvement, or addition to the property concerned carried out after the date of imposition of the reserve will not give rise to any compensation, in the case of an acquisition by mutual agreement or by expropriation;

CONSIDERING THAT despite the reserve notice in place, a tenant of the property having a lease in effect until 2033 will have to be relocated and could represent an issue regarding the realization of the construction project of the future Police Headquarters;

CONSIDERING THAT in this context, the Legal Affairs Department and the Real Estate Department jointly recommend initiating expropriation procedures:

IT IS PROPOSED BY MAYOR DANIEL CHAMPAGNE, SECONDED BY COUNCILLOR MARIO AUBÉ, AND RESOLVED THAT, following the recommendation of the executive committee number CE-2024-273 of May 6, 2024, this council:

• Authorizes the acquisition, by mutual agreement or by expropriation, for municipal purposes, of lot 1 090 745 of the cadastre du Québec, with an area of 3,716.1 m2, as illustrated on the plan and technical description prepared by Mathieu Fournier, land surveyor, under number 4436 of his minutes;
• Mandates the Infrastructure and Projects Department to proceed with the preparation of any plan and any technical description, and to carry out any cadastral operation required for this purpose of acquisition, by mutual agreement or by expropriation, for municipal purposes;
• Authorizes the Legal Affairs Department to initiate the procedures for acquisition, by mutual agreement or by expropriation, for municipal purposes, of the lot identified above;
• Authorizes the treasurer to pay the expropriated parties, or on their behalf, the provisional indemnity as proposed by the City or as negotiated by the parties and applicable to the aforementioned lot, in accordance with the Loi concernant l’expropriation, from the funds provided in the financial structure of the construction project of a headquarters for the Service de police de la ville de Gatineau;
• Authorizes the treasurer to perform the accounting entries required to give effect to this resolution.

The mayor or in his absence the acting mayor and the clerk or in her absence the deputy clerk or the assistant clerk are authorized to sign the documents for the purposes of this resolution.

A treasurer's certificate was issued on May 6, 2024. Adopted.

CONSIDERING THAT under Article 69 of the Loi sur la police (RLRQ chapter p-13.1), each municipal police force has jurisdiction over the territory of the municipality to which it is attached to prevent and repress violations of municipal bylaws;

CONSIDERING THAT Article 70 of this Law enacts that the territory of every local municipality must fall under the jurisdiction of a police force;

CONSIDERING THAT the population of the City of Gatineau is 291,041, i.e., 250,000 inhabitants or more, which requires a level 3 police force in accordance with Article 70 of this Law;

CONSIDERING THAT the City of Gatineau is in the Capitale-Nationale region with an agglomeration of nearly 1.3 million population;

CONSIDERING THAT the Service de police de la ville de Gatineau being in the Capitale-Nationale region gives it a certain particularity that other police organizations do not have in the province;

CONSIDERING THAT the main infrastructure of its police force, namely the buildings at 590, boulevard Gréber and 777, boulevard de la Carrière, no longer meet current needs or standards;

CONSIDERING THAT major investments are required by the City for the realization of this project;

CONSIDERING THAT the expenses related to the Service de police de la ville de Gatineau are the exclusive responsibility of the City of Gatineau;

CONSIDERING THAT the citizens of Gatineau contribute, through their taxes, to the financing of the Sûreté du Québec and that they must also assume all expenses related to the municipal police force;

CONSIDERING THAT the government subsidizes municipalities served by the Sûreté du Québec to the tune of 50% of their budget related to police service;

CONSIDERING THAT there exists a Police Services Fund supported by the Government of Quebec from which municipalities served by the Sûreté du Québec benefit for cost-sharing between them and Quebec;

CONSIDERING the inequity between municipalities served by the Sûreté du Québec and those that have their own police force;

CONSIDERING THAT Gatineau citizens are satisfied with their municipal police force;

CONSIDERING THAT the City of Gatineau is not eligible for police service by the Sûreté du Québec:

IT IS PROPOSED BY MAYOR DANIEL CHAMPAGNE, SECONDED BY COUNCILLOR MARIO AUBÉ, AND RESOLVED THAT, following the recommendation of the executive committee number CE-2024-274 of May 6, 2024, this council:

• Requests financial assistance from the Government of Quebec as part of the construction project for the Police Service Headquarters;
• Authorizes the treasurer to apply any grant against bylaw number 958-2024 for the Police Headquarters;
• Demands, from its government, equitable treatment between municipalities that benefit from service by the Sûreté du Québec and those that have or must maintain a municipal police force;
• Mandates the clerk to transmit a copy of this resolution to the following persons: Minister of Public Security; Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing; members of the National Assembly whose constituency includes the territory of the City of Gatineau;
• Authorizes the treasurer to proceed with the required accounting entries.

A treasurer's certificate was issued on May 3, 2024. Adopted.