Parks Governance

On April 9, 2018, the Parks and Environment Committee of city council listed two agenda items related to parks being run partly by new bodies. The parks are Edwards Gardens and Allan Gardens. There was no discussion of either plan, only mutual congratulations among city management, councillors, and external partners, who had evidently all been working together for quite a while to draw up these plans -- in the case of Edwards Gardens, for seven years.

Edwards gardens: big numbers

The Edwards Gardens plan anticipates park operations staff being managed by staff of the non-profit (charity) called Toronto Botanical Garden (TBG), which in turn will be overseen by a board. The executive director of TBG, Harry Jongerden, wrote in a deputation in 2017 that TBG has 1900 members and 500 volunteers. He also wrote that the American city of Houston predicts $100 million a year "benefit to the local economy" from its planned botanical garden, while Philadelphia measures the economic benefit of its existing botanical garden as $252 million a year. He anticipates similar effects in Toronto.

The PFR general manager's report to the Parks and Environment Committee references a capital fundraising campaign for $50 million by TBG, "to be raised over multiple years." Councillor Doucette reminisced that in 2012 TBG came to the committee to tell about their money crisis. But now, she said, their fortunes had turned around, and TBG was back with a success story. Several of her colleagues interjected that it was not the same group that was back, but a different group with this new Edwards Gardens Master Plan.

At the meeting were Harry Jongerden and Vaughan Miller from the Master Plan "Stakeholder Project Team." Miller is also the current president of the TBG board.

The Edwards Garden Master Plan says "As TBG gradually takes on more of the responsibility for operations and management of the Gardens, [city operating] funds will be transferred from the City to TBG to be applied accordingly." Parks director Richard Ubbens said that the Master Plan "looks after the entire envelope" and "a lot more opportunity will be realized." Partnership/Public Relatons manager Matt Cutler praised the "collaborative governance arrangement" outlined in the Master Plan.

Councillor Mike Layton then asked to put forward a motion that then went up on the screen, He moved

That City Council direct the general manager of PFR to include a condition in the Fundraising and Construction Agreements with the Toronto Botanical Garden that existing and future parks maintenance of Edwards Gardens continue to be provided by City of Toronto employees (CUPE Local 416).

This did not appear to sit well with his colleagues. Councillor Jaye Robinson asked him what why he thought he could just intervene at the last minute in a process that has taken seven years of work. She said she should have had some warning of this motion and a chance to talk about it beforehand. Others said things with their mikes off, and quite soon Councillor Layton withdrew his motion, saying that City Legal would neeed to cjheck it first. Therefore it was never voted on.

The Friends of Allan Gardens

There was some applause for the plans for the Friends of Allan Gardens conservatory, in reference to their version of a master plan, called "Refresh." This plan was not discussed either, but the report by the Parks, Forestry and Recreation (PFR) general manager was adopted for information. According to the GM, "Refresh envisions a public space supported and owned by the City of Toronto with spaces, facilities and programming delivered through partnership."

The Lower-Don/Evergreen partnership

There was also this item (adopted) about the Lower Don River, titled "Update on the Partnership with Evergreen and Establishing an Identity for the Lower Don Parklands."

The 2013 Master Plan was linked in the April 9 item. It also includes a link to November 2017 presentation called "Our Common Grounds: Indigenous placemaking in Toronto's parks and public realm": read more

The Bentway Conservancy

This was not an item at the April 9, 2018 Parks and Environment committee meeting. The "Terms of Use Agreement" had already been approved by City Council on January 21, 2018. Economic details of how the Bentway is funded and how it's operated are here.

The statement about governance resembles the others: "The Bentway Conservancy has been building the capacity to program, operate and maintain the site." There is a CEO and under him is a director of operations.

Paul LePage, from CUPE Local 416, who was also at the meeting, said that the union has already filed a grievance because of the Bentway's practice of hiring non-union workers. He said the issue with the other groups is the same.

Paul LePage: parks@local416.org

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