Not all councillors were on board with a one-year pilot project to transport Air Canada passengers between Sarnia Chris Hadfield Airport and Toronto Pearson Airport by bus.
Councillors George Vandenberg and Bill Dennis questioned why the city would subsidize this when other companies, such as FlixBus, include a stop at Pearson Airport.
Director of Economic Development Kelly Provost said the service was part of a flight network where one ticket would include both airfare and bus transportation, with the option to have bags tagged at Sarnia's airport.
Provost also said while the cost to introduce the service is $375,000, the city is pursuing an agreement with Tourism Sarnia-Lambton to cover half of the cost, meaning the city would be responsible for $187,500. If the service is profitable, those dollars (the Minimum Revenue Guarantee) would be returned to the City of Sarnia.
A motion to advance the agreement passed in a 7-2 vote, with opposition from Vandenberg and Dennis.
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City staff have been directed to look at ways to modernize Sarnia's taxi bylaw and report back to council.
Mayor Mike Bradley said he wanted to "level the playing field" for taxis and other vehicles for hire.
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The city will call on the Ford government to review and amend the Residential Tenancies Act to address the issue of 'renovictions'.
As part of Mayor Mike Bradley's motion, staff have also been directed to report back to council on the key issues related to renovictions and recommendations that could be considered at a provincial level.
The motion comes after City/County Councillor Bill Dennis introduced a successful motion in February to have staff report back on a proposed renoviction bylaw.
A delegation from Douglas Kwan, on behalf of the Advocacy Centre for Tenants Ontario, asked council to take a multi-pronged approach to address the issue.
In addition to supporting a renoviction bylaw in Sarnia, Kwan recommended that bylaw officers take a proactive approach in inspecting buildings to ensure they're in good repair, for staff to investigate the efficiency of a rental replacement bylaw, and to work with Community Legal Assistance.
He also said the letter to the province should ask them to adopt key provisions from renoviction bylaws and to introduce reforms to the Landlord and Tenant Board.
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City council accepted an alternative proposal from Marcotte Disposal Inc. to include weekly garbage collection once the green bin program rolls out next year.
The additional cost to maintain weekly garbage pick-up was approximately $335,000 annually. However, there is an option to switch to bi-weekly collection.
The curbside waste collection contract will cost $2.9 million annually, or a total of $20.6 million over seven years.
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A $1.86 million contract was awarded to Clarke Construction Inc. for the full reconstruction of College Avenue, between George Street and Cromwell Street.
The project will include new water, storm and sanitary systems, as well as a new road and sidewalk.
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A $526,302 contract was awarded to Clarke Construction Inc. to replace water mains on Wayne Avenue from Lasalle Line to Marlborough Lane, and on Marlborough Lane from Virgil Avenue to Wayne Avenue.
Council also approved a $777,441 tender from Rapid Drainage Ltd. to replace the Sun Avenue water main, south of the Suncor property on Aamjiwnaang First Nation.
Both projects were eligible for Investing in Canada Plan Green Infrastructure grant funding.
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City gave the green light to purchase five six-metre gas buses and two eight-metre gas buses through the current Metrolinx agreement, for a total cost of $2 million.
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Council accepted a quote from Watford Ford Lincoln to buy 12 pickup trucks for $697,260.
A dozen light-duty vehicles were identified for lifecycle replacement this year.
