Report to: Development Services Committee                         Report Date: November 17, 2009

 

 

SUBJECT:                          Doors Open Markham Committee

PREPARED BY:               Regan Hutcheson, Manager, Heritage Planning, ext 2080

 

 

 

RECOMMENDATION:

1)                  That the report dated November 17, 2009 entitled “Doors Open Markham Committee”, be received;

2)                  That the Doors Open Markham Committee be established as a Town of Markham committee to assist in the planning and implementation of the annual Doors Open Markham event;

3)                  That the Manager, Heritage Planning and the Manager, Community Relations or their designates, be assigned as staff resources for the Committee;

4)                  That a Councillor be appointed to the Committee;

5)                  That the Friends of the Markham Museum appoint a representative (staff or volunteer member) to the Committee

6)                  That Heritage Markham appoint up to two members to the Committee;

7)                  That the Unionville BIA and Markham BIA each appoint a member to the Committee;

8)                  That the Clerks Department be directed to advertise for appointments from the public or other organizations to the Committee;

9)                  That staff be authorized to submit the Doors Open registration forms and fee to the Ontario Heritage Trust on behalf of the Town;

10)              And that Staff be authorized and directed to do all things necessary to give effect to this resolution.

 

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:

Not applicable

1. Purpose                     2. Background                      3. Discussion                        4. Financial        

 

5. Others (HR, Strategic, Affected Units)                                   6. Attachment(s)

 

PURPOSE:

To establish the Doors Open Markham Committee as a formal Town committee to assist in the planning and implementation of the annual Doors Open Markham event.

 

BACKGROUND:

Markham has participated in Doors Open since 2003

The Doors Open concept is a province-wide celebration of a community’s cultural heritage resources.  It was designed to create access, awareness and excitement about our heritage across Ontario.  It provides residents and visitors with a unique opportunity to explore and enjoy sometimes hidden and always interesting places and spaces in our community and all free of charge.  Markham has been an active participant for the last seven years (2003-2009).  Markham traditionally has held its event in late August and has included both private and public sites as well non-traditional heritage sites such as the Pacific Mall.

 

 

 

The organizational committee has been ad-hoc and community based.

Since its inception in Markham, the organizational committee for Doors Open Markham has been an ad-hoc group of individuals connected to various local heritage groups and associations.  For the first few years, the Markham Village Conservancy took the leadership role followed in other years by the Unionville BIA.  There is little structure as to how the committee is created each year and the number of committee participants varies.  Occasionally required deadlines and tasks have not been met.

 

The Town’s involvement has included providing funding assistance and staff resources primarily from the Heritage Section of the Planning and Urban Design Department as well as from Corporate Communication and Community Relations.

 

Funding assistance from the Town

Originally, the organizational committee secured funding assistance through specific financial requests to Council on an ad-hoc basis.  For the last few years, Doors Open has been part of the Celebrate Markham funding program.  In 2009, Doors Open Markham was allocated a budget of $9500.00 from the Town.

 

The responsibilities of the organizational committee have been extensive

To undertake the planning and implementation of this event involves a vast number of tasks including:

Ř      Registration of the Event

o       Registration forms and fees to Ontario Heritage Trust

Ř      Financial Assistance

o       Secure grant from Town

o       Secure other donations, revenues         

Ř      Site Selection and Implementation

o       Identify potential sites, themes

o       Identify related activities that can participate during event (i.e. artists program)

o       Contact owners for participation and obtain completed application forms

o       Follow up before and after event

o       Pre-event meeting

o       Distribute signs, handouts and operational materials

o       Thank you letters

Ř      Sponsorship and Partnerships

o       Identify and contact potential sponsors and partners (water, food, services, shirts)

o       Secure media sponsors

Ř      Advertising and Promotion

o       Develop promotional materials (brochures, maps, etc)

o       Contacts with Media

o       Develop and place advertising, brochure distribution

o       Media Releases/ Community Calendar/ website

 

Ř      Volunteer Support

o       Secure volunteers for event day (other organization, community hours)

o       Preparation of materials for volunteers

o       Identify responsibilities of volunteers per site

o       Thank you to volunteers

Ř      Statistics, Evaluation and Reporting

o       Develop and undertake visitor surveys during event- tabulate/summarize

o       Track expenditures and revenues

o       Evaluation and recommendations for future events

o       Final financial statement for Town

 

The typical timeline for the year is outlined below:

November to mid January

-          select and secure 10 sites, including written confirmation

-          submit initial sites to Ontario Heritage Trust (OHT) for inclusion in provincial publication

Mid-December                  

-          obtain registration fee from Town

-          register event with OHT

February to May

-          approach and confirm additional participating sites

-          secure media and other sponsorships

-          website content

-          produce and finalize promotional materials

-          prepare info handouts

June

-          secure volunteers including high school students

-          ensure all forms are returned (insurance, liability, etc)

August

-          host participant meeting

-          distribute signs and other materials to sites

Late August

-          Doors Open Event (1 or 2 days)

September

-          Collect signs and materials from participants

-          Thank you letters

-          Summary of event/surveys

 

 

 

 

OPTIONS/ DISCUSSION:

A more formal organizational structure is needed for Doors Open Markham

There is a need to formalize the organizational structure of the Doors Open Markham committee to ensure there are sufficient committee members to undertake the workload, to improve operational and administrative efficiency and to ensure that a committee is in place within the appropriate timeframe.

 

A review of organizational models for Doors Open events in other municipalities has revealed that the event is coordinated by a variety of bodies including municipalities, chambers of commerce, heritage organizations and business associations.

 

Heritage Markham has recommended a Town committee be established

On September 9, 2009, Heritage Markham recommended “that Council formally establish a Doors Open Markham Committee for the Town of Markham for the purpose of appointing members, providing support resources and to plan and implement the event on an ongoing basis”.

 

Staff recommends the Doors Open Markham Committee become a formal Town committee

To address the noted concerns, staff recommends creating a Doors Open Markham Committee similar to other Town committees involved in planning major Town events.  The proposed committee structure would include a Councillor, the Manager, Heritage Planning (or designate), the Manager, Community Relations (or designate), a representative of the Friends of the Markham Museum (staff or volunteer member), a representative from both the Markham Village and Unionville BIAs and up to ten citizen appointments (members of the public or organizations).  Consideration of recruitment will also include areas not represented by a BIA.  The budget allocation for Doors Open would be retained within the Town’s Operating Budget and all expenditures be approved by the committee and processed by the Finance Department.

 

The draft Terms of Reference of the Committee is attached (Appendix “A”).  The Committee will make suggestions and contribute to Markham’s heritage legacy through the materials and learning opportunities developed for the program.

 

Given the timing that would be required to establish the proposed Doors Open Markham committee and the need to register the event and pay the registration fee to the Ontario Heritage Trust in mid December, it is recommended that staff be authorized to undertake this task.

 

FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS AND TEMPLATE: (external link)

The Town allocated a grant of $9500.00 to the Doors Open Markham Committee in 2009.  A similar amount would be required for 2010.  The allocation of Celebrate Markham grant funds for 2010 is still under consideration at this time.

 

HUMAN RESOURCES CONSIDERATIONS

Not applicable

 

ALIGNMENT WITH STRATEGIC PRIORITIES:

Interpretation and celebration of Markham’s cultural heritage resources through Doors Open aligns with Growth Management and the Town’s Parks, Recreation, Culture and Library Master Plan initiatives.

 

BUSINESS UNITS CONSULTED AND AFFECTED:

Clerks Department was consulted regarding the creation of formal Town committees.  Finance was consulted on the status of grant funding for 2010.  The Director of Culture was also consulted and has reviewed the report and terms of reference..

 

RECOMMENDED BY:  

 

____________________________                            ______________________________

Valerie Shuttleworth, M.C.I.P., R.P.P.                           Jim Baird, M.C.I.P., R.P.P.

Senior Development Manager                                        Commissioner of Development Services.

 

 

 

ATTACHMENTS:

Appendix A                Proposed Terms of Reference

Appendix B                The Business of Doors Open Ontario

 

File path: Q:\Development\Heritage\SUBJECT\DOORS OPEN MARKHAM\2010\DSC nov 2009 town committee request.DOC