Conveyance of a Portion of the S. Walter Stewart

Library Lands to The City of Toronto in connection

with a request to Erect a Memorial Monument

for the Hellenes

The East York Community Council recommends that:

(1)the following report (October27, 1998) from the City Solicitor, EastYork Office, be adopted;

(2)the Commissioner of Economic Development, Culture and Tourism be requested to continue discussions with the Toronto Public Library Board with respect to shared parking being made available at the S. Walter Stewart Libary parking lot on a permanent basis; and

(3)the following joint communication (November 12, 1998) from Mr. Efstathios Mihalidis, President, Brotherhood Pontion Toronto Panagia Soumela, Toronto, and Mr.Efstathios Xanthopoulos, Founder of the Monument, Toronto, be received:

Purpose:

To authorize the acceptance of a conveyance of a portion of the Walter Stewart Library lands from the Toronto Public Library Board to the City of Toronto in order to accommodate the construction of a monument by the Pontian Brotherhood of Toronto as a memorial for the occasion of the expulsion of the Pontians from Pontus.

Funding Sources:

The Pontians have agreed to reimburse the City for the costs associated with undertaking this conveyance, and as well, they have agreed to make a lump sum contribution for the ongoing maintenance of the monument.

Recommendations:

It is recommended that:

(1)City Council authorize the acceptance of a conveyance from the TorontoPublic Library Board of the lands shown as Parts 2 through 7, inclusive, on the draft reference plan attached hereto as Appendix "1", on the terms and conditions set out in this report;

(2)The appropriate City officials be authorized to take such actions and execute such documents as may be necessary to give effect to recommendation number 1; and

(3)The City Solicitors, East York Office, be authorized to complete the conveyance from the Toronto Public Library Board to the City of Toronto on behalf of the City of Toronto.

Background:

In 1997, the Pontian Brotherhood of Toronto approached the former East York about the possibility of erecting a monument on the lands located adjacent to the Walter Stewart Library. They applied for a building permit to erect a monument in this location in order to mark the occasion of the expulsion of the Pontians from Pontus. The Building Division refused to issue the permit because the land was owned by the East York Public Library and they had not consented to the erection of the monument. Council considered an information report on this issue on October 6, 1997 which is attached as Appendix "2".

As a result of the inability of the Pontians to erect their monument, Councillor Prue commenced discussions with the Toronto Public Library Board about the possibility of the Toronto Public Library Board transferring the westerly parkland portion of their lands to the City of Toronto who could then in turn grant the proper authority to the Pontians for the erection of the monument. The Toronto Public Library Board authorized the conveyance to the City of Toronto on June 22, 1998 by resolution No. 98-111 (see letter attached as Appendix "3").

Council authority is required to accept the conveyance from the Toronto Public Library Board.

The transaction as proposed by the Toronto Public Library Board would be the conveyance of the lands described in the attached reference plan as Parts 2 through 7, inclusive, at no cost to the CityofToronto. The transfer of land would occur for nominal consideration and any costs associated with the transfer would be reimbursed by the Pontians, including any survey costs and costs incurred to complete the transaction. As well, the Pontians have agreed to contribute to the ongoing maintenance of the monument. The monument would be commissioned and completed off site by the Pontian Brotherhood. The Pontian Brotherhood will erect the monument on a concrete base with footings, on site. The Pontians would contribute $1,000.00 per annum towards upkeep and maintenance of the monument (defined as anything contained within the base), until such time as sufficient moneys are in reserve.

However, the Toronto Public Library Board has indicated that it would only be prepared to undertake the transaction if the City agreed to the following conditions:

(1)The Toronto Public Library Board wishes to ensure that any services upon which the Library building is dependent, are reserved by way of easements across the portion being conveyed. Specifically, the Library would like to see easements conveyed to them for the following:

a.the walkways located across the parcel;

b.the underground gas main lines;

c.any electrical installations that may be present;

d.any catchbasins upon which the Library lands are dependent. These easements are shown as Parts 2 and 5 on the attached draft reference plan.

(2)The Toronto Public Library Board have asked that the City of Toronto consider allowing the public use of the parking lot located immediately to the north of the land to be conveyed.

(3)As part of the conveyance of the land, the Toronto Public Library Board has asked that the existing statue located at the south end of the property be transferred as part of the conveyance of the land and that care for the monument would transfer to the City of Toronto.

(4)Once the lands have been transferred, maintenance, snow removal, etc. would accrue to the City of Toronto.

The proposal has been circulated to staff at the East York Office and staff have no objection to the transfer occurring on these terms, except for the shared parking of the East York parking lot. Staff at the East York Office have reviewed the request and have advised that all of the parking is required for staff parking at the East York Office and therefore they do not recommend that any parking be shared with the Library. There would be some ongoing maintenance obligations on the part of the City of Toronto with respect to the maintenance items discussed above, however it is expected that these are minimal.

Conclusions:

Staff have no objection to City Council accepting the proposed transfer of lands from the TorontoPublic Library Board, being the park portion of the Walter Stewart Library Lands located in the former Borough of East York. The appropriate staff and officials should be authorized to complete the transaction in accordance with the report set out herein.

Contact Name:

Quinto M. Annibale

Loopstra, Nixon & McLeish

City Solicitors - East York Office

Tel. 416-746-4710

Fax 416-746-8319

qannibale@loonix.com

The East York Community Council also submits the following joint communication (November12,1998) from Mr. Efstathios Mihalidis, President, Brotherhood Pontion Toronto Panagia Soumela, Toronto, and Mr.Efstathios Xanthopoulos, Founder of the Monument, Toronto:

"Please be advised effective November 8, 1998, the Brotherhood Pontion Toronto "PanagiaSoumela" unanimously voted to proceed with the Monument.

The representative for the Brotherhood Pontion Toronto "Panagia Soumela" is Mr.EfstathiosXanthopoulos, voted by the committee members to oversee the completion of the monument.

We look forward to working with you, and your continued support. If you should have any questions, please do not hesitate to call at (416)466-6356 or fax at (416)466-1010."

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Mr. Steve Xanthopoulos, Scarborough, appeared before the East York Community Council in connection with the foregoing.

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