Residents of Ward 3 and 5 are invited to attend a Ward meeting tonight, hosted by Councillors Hofland, Laidlaw, Piper and Burcher.  City Hall, Room 112 at 7:00 pm.

Tonights Topic:  Securing a Prosperous and Affordable Future

Bring your questions about capital projects and budgets.

Dean Wyman, Manager of Solid Waste Services for the City of Guelph, announced some fantastic news today!

When Council awarded the design-build contract to Maple Reinders to construct and operate the new Organic Waste Processing Facility, Council asked “with 20,000 tonnes of excess capacity will staff be able to source that much tonnage?”.

Today, Mr. Wyman wrote:

“I’m pleased to inform Council that City staff in partnership with AIM Environmental and the City of Hamilton have been awarded a contract to process up to 20,000 tonnes per year of source separated organics (SSO) from the Region of Waterloo.  The term of the contract starts in October of 2009 and ends October 2013.  Until Guelph’s new OWPF is operational the material will be processed at Hamilton’s Central Composting Facility (CCF).

This means that once the new Guelph OWPF is operating in 2011 that it will be operating at very close to full capacity.”
This is great news for Guelph, as the revenue will help offset the operational costs for the facility and will also allow the Region of Waterloo to process its organic waste close to home.  Congratulations to Solid Waste services for making this happen!
Leanne

Another first for Guelph — an integrated fire station, police station and land ambulance station — the first in Ontario!  The ground breaking ceremony for this new facility was attended by local, provincial and federal representatives this morning, October 2nd, at the site of the new station.  The facility is expected to be completed in the fall of 2010.  The residents of the southern part of Guelph have been waiting a long time for this new site to come to fruition.  The ceremony was attended today by Todd and Lynda Dennis, representing the Clairfields Neighbourhood Group.

Photo:  (l-r) Liz Sandals, MPP;  Dave Levac, Ministry of Community Saftey and Corrections; Mayor Karen Farbridge, Chief Shawn Armstrong, Ward 6 councillors Christine Billings and Karl Wettstein.

New City Hall Grand Opening!

Saturday, September 19, 2009

Come and help celebrate the Grand Opening — local live music, refreshments, tours — between 10:00 am and 4:00 pm. This only happens every 152 years so don’t miss it!

Free transit downtown between 10 am and 4 pm.

LP

A friend asked me last week why members of Council have been “silent” on the Hanlon Creek Business Park issue. I suppose I never thought that I was being silent — because Council unanimously endorsed the project. Our collective position is very clear.

The recent events (most notably the on-site protest, injunction, Minister’s approval and the decision to resume work next year) have been widely reported in the media. No one from the media has ever contacted me, or any other member of council that I am aware of, other than the Mayor. The Mayor has the support of Council on moving forward with the HCBP, as evidenced by the vote to approve the site plan.

We are not moving forward blindly. This is a well-planned project that has been through years of extensive consultation and a thorough public process, resulting in environmental conditions that will protect and enhance the land. I attended the public meeting of LIMITS, including a second meeting where I was the only councillor in attendance, and have become well-read on Jefferson Salamander breeding habitat, among other things. I have also walked the site and am familiar with its natural heritage, beauty and features. I am deeply committed to protecting our environment, water sources, public health, trees, air quality, etc.

My support of the HCBP is not in conflict with these values. I truly believe this project is different. I believe this project balances the environment, economy and social/cultural fabric of our community. I do not believe the Jefferson Salamander is compromised by this project, nor the old growth forest or wetlands that protect our water supply. Land uses will be limited to those that do not pose a risk to the site. Significant wetlands and old growth forest areas are not being paved over. This is not a typical “industrial park” that you may think of in other parts of the city. Great care has been taken, and will be taken, to ensure the development meets the goals of the Community Energy Plan. A significant portion of the site has been farmed for the past century. The finished development will have more trees than the current site.

I am hopeful the project will move ahead successfully when work resumes in 2010. When it comes to protecting the natural heritage of our city as a whole, there are still areas that need protection and require public participation and diligence. The city has developed a Natural Heritage Strategy that will unfold over the next year. I encourage members of the community (including HCBP protestors) to participate in the democratic public process related to the NHS.

John Galt portrait by Charles Grey

In October 2006, City Council enacted a bylaw creating John Galt Day, becoming the 7^th municipality in Ontario since 1969 (when the Civic Holiday was created) to give a name to the civic holiday.

The impetus to name the civic holiday after our founding father, John Galt, came from citizens Peter Anderson and Gil Stelter, longtime advocates for recognizing Galt’s contribution to the thriving City of Guelph.  Anderson was involved in the commissioning of the John Galt statue in front of old City Hall, and Stelter is a renowned scholar in Canadian urban history with an extensive knowledge of Galt’s legacy.

In the written history of Galt, he is called many things – writer, poet, entrepreneur, debtor,  adventurer,   land developer, etc.  But my favourite moniker for our Founding Father was offered by his close associate, Dr.”Tiger”  Dunlop, who called him “the woodland sovereign”.

Galt’s vision for Guelph was ambitious.  He planned a radial design, with terminating vistas that led to the Church of Our Lady, St. George’s Square and Market Square.  He carefully planned and executed a land settlement process that was not based solely on profit — he insisted on the inclusion of public works to attract settlement (roads, a school, a market) and gave shelter to the destitute La Guayra settlers when the British government had abandoned them.  He dreamt of a centre of agriculture, culture and economic prosperity.

In 2009, Guelph was ranked the Most Caring community in Canada, the Safest Community in Canada, and the 4th Smartest City in Canada.  We are home to Canada’s finest agricultural and veterinary university, an agri-food and biotechnology centre of excellence and home to world class musicians, writers, poets and musical festivals.

So yes, I think Galt’s vision has become reality.  That’s worth celebrating!   Happy John Galt Day!

Residents of the Moore Avenue/Hales Crescent area are invited to a neighbourhood chat on Thursday, May 14th at 7:00 pm in the Friendship Room at Harcourt United Church (Dean Avenue).

Ward 5 Councillors Lise Burcher and Leanne Piper, along with University of Guelph Off-Campus Living Manager, Kathryn Hofer, will be in attendance.

Topics for discussion:  current conditions in the area, challenges and opportunities for improvement.

For more information, contact Lise at 519-362-2207 or Leanne at 519-824-9000.

Guelph’s New City Hall is likely to be one of the most popular buildings during this year’s Doors Open Guelph event on Saturday, April 25.

The building’s impressive design and the restored Winter Fair Wall are the most striking exterior features, and the event gives the public one of its first opportunities to see the inside of the building.

Visitors will also learn about the building’s green features. City Hall is built to meet the LEED Silver Standard (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) set out by the Canadian Green Building Council. Its use of local and eco-friendly building materials, efficient lighting, its green roof and the heating and cooling systems are designed to reduce the City’s use of water and energy and lower its environmental footprint.

Each year Doors Open Guelph celebrates Guelph’s heritage and local culture by offering free public tours through buildings all over the city. The annual event is organized in partnership by the Guelph Arts Council, Heritage Guelph and City of Guelph Tourism Services. Visit guelpharts.ca/doorsopenguelph for tour maps, site listings and more information.

I am opening a new blog heading about Lodging Houses.  There has been a lot of discussion on this topic lately in Ward 5.  Let’s open the dialogue….

But first, here is some background on why, how and where we have Lodging Houses:

http://guelph.ca/living.cfm?smocid=1886

To start the discussion, here is a post added to the W5 blog this morning (followed by my response).

From Walter:

Lodging House Issue Ward 5

Quick question…..why will Ward 5 Councillors not take a position on the Ward 5 Lodging House issue currently facing the City of Guelph – as per the meeting at City Hall March 11th, 2009?

It would seem Ward 5 Councillors either need to support the residents of Ward 5 or disapprove of their actions.

My response:

Hi Walter – that’s a fair question. I hope the answer below helps to set the record straight.

Your question is really two questions:

1) Do I support the neighbourhood in their opposition of the case-specific 29 Hands Drive application?
2) Do I support the neighbourhood in amending the by-laws of the city to protect and preserve quality of life in residential neighbourhoods?

The first question is one I cannot, will not and should not answer. It’s not that I don’t want to — I just can’t and won’t — sorry about that. It is a case-specific dispute related to two applicants and the legal interpretation of the Lodging House certification process. A councillor should never take a public position on a matter of potential litigation between two property owners. It would be inappropriate and unwise. It compromises the city and city staff. I have no authority (and neither does Council) to negate a staff decision on a matter within their delegated jurisdiction.

The second question I am quite comfortable to answer. I absolutely support the neighbourhood in recommending changes to any and all city by-laws that will further enhance the protection of quality of life in our residential neighbourhoods. I have stated this publicly on several occasions.

I am currently working directly with the Rickson Ridge neighbourhood group and city staff to recommend improvement in the enforcement of noise, parking and property standards by-laws. This small working group has come up with some very constructive ideas to make some positive changes.

I also believe that (as a result of the current Hands Drive situation) we have identified several potential deficiencies in the implementation of our Lodging House certification process and the wording of our Shared Rental Housing policies. These need to be addressed. I support the neighbourhood in this action and will follow through with my commitment at the March 11th meeting to bring this matter to Council through the appropriate political and administrative process. This does not mean that I support throwing out the by-law. Well-run, well-maintained, well-spaced, legal, certified, lodging houses have a place in our city.

I do understand the sentiments in your neighbourhood. My initiation into municipal politics was as a neighbourhood activist dealing with a rezoning application for a high density off-campus student residence. I have four lodging houses within two blocks of my house, where my husband and I are raising a family. I know what a good lodging house and a bad lodging house look like and what impact they can have on a neighbourhood — good and bad.

On a related note, I have serious concerns about the proliferation of “four-up-two-down” houses that can legally exist on a whole street,without any separation distance. We, as a Council, need to look at this concurrently with potential amendments to the Lodging House certification process.

I hope this answers your question(s). I am happy to continue the dialogue with you and your neighbourhood and look forward to some positive solutions.

Leanne

Four redevelopment concepts for the Baker Street Library are available for review as part of the agenda package for Monday’s Council meeting. Link here: http://guelph.ca/uploads/Council_and_Committees/council_agenda_021709.pdf.

Go to page 36 to see Baker Street drawings.

Please tell me what you think — I really need some feedback on this.

Thanks