Hello everyone:

Yes, I'm back!  Apologies to a couple of you who emailed with questions during my absence -- I did my best, but my email access was very intermittent.  For those of you familiar with my long-term relationship with the Camino de Santiago in Spain, I'm happy to report that I walked 513 kms this year, finishing up in Santiago de Compostela on Easter Sunday.  This makes a total of 1350 kms since I started in 2007.  The trip was challenging, rewarding, and all-round spectacular!

Because I was away for both council meetings in March, and was so generally unreachable, it is my intention to donate my March 19 and April 1 council paycheques back to the Town.  I'm thinking of donating them to the Community Greenhouse project, but you may feel that it would be more appropriate just to give them back to the town's general revenues -- I welcome your comments. 

MONDAY'S COUNCIL MEETING

You can see the entire package for Monday's meeting at this link:

http://www.banff.ca/Assets/PDFs/Town+Hall+PDF/Council+Agendas+PDF/2010+Agendas+PDF/council-agenda-100412.pdf

Here are  a few highlights ...

Community greenhouse sponsorship

Larry Bohn will be making a verbal presentation about sponsorship for the Community Greenhouse from the Bow Valley Credit Union.  I'm looking forward to hearing about this!

Blue community

On page 11 of the package, you can read a presentation to council urging us to declare Banff a Blue Community.  This essentially means that we recognize water as a human right, keep the means of water treatment and distribution in public hands, and we don't sell bottled water at our municipal buildings or events.  I certainly agree with these aims, and believe that we are pretty much on track already.

Water bylaw update

Starting on page 15 of the package, you can read about the recent review and update of the water bylaw, and see the bylaw itself, with the areas for changes marked in yellow.  In general, the changes clarify who's responsible and accountable for what aspects of the water system, provide for protection from cross-contamination, add information about water conservation, and increase penalties for non-compliance.  I have a few questions about how we can make wording clearer, and places where I'd like to see some right of appeal from an administrative decision.  Council has already discussed this bylaw at the last meeting, so I look forward to getting up to speed with the questions they have already asked.

When is a taxi not a taxi?

 Apparently, a bit of a grey area has been developing between taxis and "charter in-town sedans".  You can see the report on this starting on page 48 of the package.  Essentially, if a sedan is not actually pre-booked, but rather waits at a designated spot and can be hired on the spot by a customer, does it then become a taxi, or can it still be considered part of a limo/sedan service?  This is the question being asked of council, and it appears that we may need to make some additions to the taxi bylaw so that there's a bit more clarity.  Taxi bylaws and licences are always a hot topic of discussion in communities across the country.

Bylaw review

I feel that councillors should be familiar with the full range of bylaws that are active in their community, so I asked administration to give us a list of the current ones, and also a list of how many have been reviewed within the past three years.  I wanted to be sure that we are on track to review every bylaw at least once every 5 years, and it appears that we are at least close to that.  It does still concern me, however, that a councillor can serve a full 3-year term without encountering all of our bylaws at the council table, and I'm going to suggest that a list and information on how to access the full texts be included in the council orientation package for new councillors after the fall election.

AND SPEAKING OF THE FALL ELECTION ...

Just a reminder that the September nomination date will come up very fast.  If you're thinking that you might like to run, and would like any information or encouragement, please give me a shout.  Serving your community as a councillor is educational, engaging, occasionally satisfying, sometimes exhausting ... the list could go on and on.  But having a good pool of people to vote on is essential to the operation of a successful municipal democracy, so please, give it some thought, and also talk to others that you feel might be good candidates.

THE FINE PRINT

This post and all the others on this blog represent my point of view only, and do not purport to represent the position of the Town of Banff or Banff Town Council.

Hello everyone:

Hope you're enjoying these sunny days!

AN OPPORTUNITY FOR INPUT

Parks Canada's special events advisory group (SEPAC) is meeting in the basement theatre of the Banff Information Centre on February 25 from 10 - 11:30 a.m.  The three events under consideration are the Macleod and Dixon Ride for Kids, the Tour for Kids, and the Banff-Jasper Relay.  The meeting is open to the public.  If you would like to attend, Parks asks that you RSVP by Wednesday to banff.events@pc.gc.ca .   If you can't attend, but want to submit comments in advance, you can send them to the same email before 8 a.m. on Wednesday.

SHAMELESS PROMOTION

Looking for a Girls' Nite Out opportunity?  The Soroptimists are doing their annual fundraising evening on March 2 at the BPL.  These people do great work in our community -- if you'd like to support them by attending their event, contact Diane Gibson at dmgibson@telus.net

MONDAY'S COUNCIL MEETING

You can see the whole meeting package at this link:

http://www.banff.ca/town-hall/banff-town-council/council-meetings/dates-agendas/council-meeting-2010-02-22.htm

It's a light meeting.  Highlights include:

Finance committee reconsideration

Councillor Stavros Karlos is asking Council to reconsider the motion I made in early 2008 to set up a council finance committee.  You can see the entire report on page 14 of the package.  I am hoping that council will agree to this, whether as a small committee of council and staff, or as a committee including all of council.  I think it would give us an opportunity to concentrate on a regular, year-round basis, on financial issues and processes.  There is a lot of good work being done by administration, but there are always improvements that can be made, and a committee structure would give us a place to ask those questions and suggest those ideas.

Appointment of the Assessment Review Board and setting the Bylaw for this year

This is a regular annual process to allow for the appeal of property assessments.  You can see the background information and the bylaw itself, starting on page 23 of the package.

UPCOMING ABSENCE

I am leaving on vacation on Tuesday and -- if all goes well -- may be away for a few weeks.  I apologize for missing the next couple of council update emails, but will get back on track in mid-April.

THE FINE PRINT

As always, this post represents only my personal point of view, and does not purport to represent the point of view of the Town of Banff or its Council.

Hello everyone:

What a beautiful, sunny day!  When you come back from skiing, remember to stop by the library -- they're celebrating their 60th anniversary this weekend, and there are snacks, fun activities and prizes.

A REMINDER ABOUT ACTION REQUESTS

I was chatting with someone the other day who wanted the Town to fix something, and I discovered he didn't know about the Action Request feature on the Town's website.  So, although I've mentioned it before, I thought I'd take a moment to remind you about this great feature.  On any page of the Town's website (www.banff.ca), you will see the words Action Request in black lettering on a white strip at the very top of the page.  If your neighbourhood garbage can is full, your neighbour isn't clearing his/her sidewalk, or you want to find out who to talk to about your assessment, or you have any other request for service or information, just click on that link and fill out the form.  You don't have to worry about which town department to send it to -- the person who receives your Action Request will make sure that it goes to the right person.  And you'll get feedback about what action has been taken.

MONDAY COUNCIL MEETING

As usual, council will meet at 2 pm on Monday, and you're all welcome to come to any part of the meeting that may be of interest to you.  You can see the entire package at this link:

http://www.banff.ca/Assets/PDFs/Town+Hall+PDF/Council+Agendas+PDF/2010+Agendas+PDF/council-agenda-100208.pdf

It's a brief agenda.  The two highlights are:

Operating and Capital Budget

Council is being asked to give final approval to the 2010 budgets.  You can see the whole report starting on page 16 of the package.

On the operating budget, staff has been working to bring the proposed tax increase down.  Largely because of the staffing freeze that council proposed and passed during the budget process, they feel comfortable with lowering the overall budget and suggesting a tax increase of 2.55% rather than 3.1%.  I think this is a good effort at responding to the community's input.

The capital budget is being brought back just as it was when council last saw it.  It includes starting the wayfinding project in 2010 -- I have asked and been assured that we will start with the most essential directional signs, to help our visitors find our parking, washrooms and other services.

FCSS Strategic Plan

Starting on page 32 of the package, you can read about the activities of Family and Community Support Services.  I'm always amazed by the wide range of programs and services offered by this small budget area for seniors, young adults, young families, and so on.  It's a short, very readable report, and I encourage you to take a look at it to see what's being offered in Town.

THE FINE PRINT

As always, this post represents only my personal point of view, and does not purport to reflect the opinion of the Town of Banff or of Town Council.

Hello everyone!

20TH  ANNUAL JON WHYTE SPELLING BEE -- SHAMELESS PROMOTION

Tuesday night at 7 pm, I'll be helping host this spelling and trivia extravaganza.  Last I heard, there was still room for two six-person teams.  If you're keen to join in, call Bob Pearson at the Whyte Museum to enter.  It's free, it's fun, and it's fiendishly challenging!

WHAT REALLY HAPPENED IN THE REC CENTRE DISCUSSION?

I wouldn't blame you if you found the newspaper account a little baffling.  Basically, we explored two ideas for potentially cutting the cost of the Recreation Centre project.

Stavros Karlos focused in on the $2 million addition -- the extra office and upgraded locker space that was added to the project by Council at the request of the Banff Hockey Academy (see my May 22 2009 blog entry at www.lataylor.com/blog ).  Work is too far along to cancel this addition, but Stav made a motion to ask administration how much money could be saved for now if we just built the outer shell of the addition, and waited until later to finish the interior.  The motion to ask for this information was defeated.  I voted for it, because I thought it would be a good idea to at least find out whether we could save some money this way.

I made a motion to find out how much money we could save by LEED-shadowing, rather than going for LEED certification (see my Jan 10 2010 blog entry).  Council supported this motion, and the information came back to the next meeting.  We found out that we could save $144,ooo by not getting the certification, but we needed to pursue certification in order to apply for a program that could bring us around $200,000 in grant money.  But here's the good news -- just because we were considering backing away from LEED, some of our contractors offered to discount the fees they were charging us for the LEED certification work.  Just by asking the question, we ended up saving around $70,000 on the certification.  This is great support from the people involved in the project.  We'll get our LEED and it won't cost as much as I feared -- and I hope we'll get that grant money, too.

WHERE ARE WE AT WITH THE BUDGET DISCUSSIONS?

Council has discussed both the draft operating budget and the draft capital budget. 

At present, the operating budget calls for approximately a 3.1% tax increase.  The budget is back with administration as they look at final figures for Alberta CPI and similar indicators.  Council will see the operating budget for further consideration in February.

The capital budget has been severely affected by the decrease in commitments from the provincial government, and several projects have been delayed to future years as a result.  The budget is back with administration and will come back to council in February.

WHAT'S COMING TO COUNCIL TOMORROW?

You can see the main council agenda package at this link:

http://www.banff.ca/Assets/PDFs/Town+Hall+PDF/Council+Agendas+PDF/2010+Agendas+PDF/council-agenda-100125.pdf

 Highlights include:

Valleyview recycling bin

The Valleyview condo association is will be expressing their concerns about the Town's approach to recycling bin installation in their community.  You can read their letter starting on page 11 of the package.

Third reading of Land Use Bylaw Phase 1

Work is underway on Phase 2, and you will have lots more opportunities for input.  The whole bylaw remains open for changes until we do the final round of reviews and send it off for the approval of the Minister -- sometime in 2011.

Adding the sidewalk cafe policy to the Streets Bylaw

Council discussed the results of the pilot program at the last meeting, and now planning is bringing the bylaw to Council.  You can see the report and information starting on page 33 of the agenda package.

Affordable Housing Grant

 The town is eligible for up to $231,000 from the provincial government to support affordable housing initiatives.  The proposed plan assigns this money to help with the future Cave Avenue housing development.  You can see the report starting on page 104 of the package (link above).

Other items

Money for blue historic plaques, more work on the Bow Valley Transportation Authority, and an application for Green Municipal Fund money for the rec centre project.

THE FINE PRINT

As always, the opinions expressed in this post are mine alone, and do not purport to be those of the Town of Banff or Banff Town Council.  I welcome your comments!

Hello everyone, and a belated Happy New Year to those of you that I haven`t already seen on the trails or in Nesters! 

Tomorrow is a very busy day for council members ...

CAPITAL BUDGET FOR 2010

Tomorrow morning at 9 a.m., we start work on the capital budget for 2010.  This is an open, public meeting -- you are welcome to attend.  You can see the agenda package for this meeting at this link:

 http://www.banff.ca/Assets/PDFs/Town+Hall+PDF/Budget+PDF/2010_2019_Capital_Budget_Jan_11.pdf

You probably know this, but for those who might be new, I`ll just mention that operating budget (the budget we worked on in November and December) covers the day-to-day workings of the organization (items such as salary, heating the buildings, running the transit system, etc).  Capital budget is about the projects that create or renew long-term assets for the town (items such as the rec centre project, major road or utility projects, etc.)

We have a huge challenge in the capital budget this year.  That`s because our budget was built with the understanding that the province would be supplying around $4.7 million to the town`s capital budget each and every year until 2016, through the Municipal Sustainability Initiative.  This was not just a careless assumption -- it was based on many assurances from the province that this money was a commitment.  However, with the econonmic downturn, this commitment has, unfortunately, been one of the areas where the provice has made changes.  At present, the word is that we can expect $2.6 million per year until 2019, leaving us with a $14.7 million shortfall in the first seven years.

I voted for borrowing for the main part of the rec centre project with the understanding that we would be paying back the debt each year using the provincial MSI money.  Now the money has been reduced, but we are far enough into the project that cancellation is not an option, and the debt, of course, will remain.  This is the very situation I wanted to avoid -- the situation where the ability of future councils to do necessary work was limited by the borrowing of past councils.   It is painful to know that I helped to create this situation through my vote.

Administration has worked very hard to present a capital budget that still works within these constraints, but they are cautioning us about how they have had to stretch the expected lifespan of various assets to do it.  As the council process continues, we will be looking for any additional ways to cover our debts, while still doing the work necessary to keep the town`s assets in good shape.  I will be asking whether there are any cuts still available on the rec centre project -- whether we could, for example, re-visit council`s decision to add an extra area of changerooms and offices, or whether we could cut the expenses connected with the LEED certification process.  While it`s important to do the work to make buildings environmentally responsible, I`m not convinced that it`s necessary to pay out tens of thousands to have paper certification exercise completed, and think that we may need to re-visit the council policy that says we must do this.  I`d like to hear your thoughts on this -- if we do the work, do we still need to pay for the certification.

COUNCIL HIGHLIGHTS

You can see the entire agenda package for Monday`s meeting by clicking on this link:

http://www.banff.ca/Assets/PDFs/Town+Hall+PDF/Council+Agendas+PDF/2009+Agendas+PDF/council-agenda-100111.pdf

You are welcome to attend this public meeting, which starts at 2 pm.  Here are a few highlights:

Snow and Ice Management Update

Starting on page 18 of the package, you`ll find an interesting report on the various alternatives that the Town has tested for de-icing.  Using a mix of traction granules and CaMgAcetate in key areas helps protect water quality, diminish corrosive effects on metal and concrete, and is better for plants.

Sidewalk seating and cafe policy

The pilot project last summer was a success, and council is being asked to approve the policy going forward, with a few minor changes.  You can see the report starting on page 30 of the agenda package.

Community greenhouse project

I`m often asked how this is going -- the answer is that lots has been happening.  A concept for the design has been chosen, some of the money has been raised (and more grant applications are out there), and a site on the Rec grounds is proposed.  You can read the whole report (and see the pictures!) starting on page 61 of the council package.

BHC WORKING GROUP

I will round off my day tomorrow with a third meeting -- the housing working group, starting at 7 pm.  This is an open public meeting, and you`re welcome to attend!  This committee is attempting to build consensus recommendations, and the discussion is always lively.  Key items on the agenda will include working on recommendations about whether the BHC should increase their holdings of apartment style units, whether they should invest money in tracking rental rates and rental construction, and whether they should offset some operating costs by creating a portfolio of rental properties themselves.