No Quiet on the Western Front

Smell that? That repugnant aroma is the relations between city and citizen going sour in the summer heat. Not that the relationship between Joe Q. Public and the government he hates so very much has ever been a cozy one, but it certainly seems that tempers are flaring with more alarming frequency during these first few days of Summer 2010.

First there seemed to be an incident a couple of Saturdays ago on transit where afternoon shoppers at Stone Road Mall had to face the fact that maybe they weren’t going to get downtown in a timely manner as a supervisor arrived to pull the driver before departure. The supervisor told those gathered on the bus that they’ll have to wait for the next trip as that bus was going out of service, but the riders revolted and the bus took them downtown as planned. However, anyone wanting a transfer to the Number 23 or 24 was left, well, wanting, because both buses were delayed. Another transit supervisor came over to those waiting in front of the Bank of Montreal on Quebec St. and said that while the 24 will be arriving late, the 23 wouldn't be arriving at all.

So what was going on with the bus system on this particular sunny June Saturday? Certainly there’s been a cold war between management and drivers since the “summer schedule” got underway, which leaves transit users caught in the middle as usual. Between management’s clinical detachment and the drivers’ work-to-rule literalism, an average, everyday normal bus rider is left no quarter. Complain to a driver, go tell it to city hall; complain to city hall and they’ll “look into it.”

Things seemed to exacerbate with the arrival of the first of five so-called “Karen Days” last Monday. City facilities were closed, library books sat unborrowed, and garbage was not picked up and hauled to the dump. All this, apparently, was a genuine surprise to several people. Now I don’t typically expect the average citizen to be as informed as someone that writes about local politics for a living, but the outrage from the ill-informed surprised me. I offer this bit from a Guelph Mercury article last Tuesday about one man’s reaction to the lack of garbage pick-up:

“Well, that’s just great,” said Jim Stevenson, owner of a three-unit apartment building on Alma Street which had about a dozen blue and green bags sitting at the curb. “Whoever’s in council now, I’m not voting for them again, put it that way.”

Stevenson went on to say that he had “no idea” that this effort to stymie the need to increase taxes further was coming, and that the city “owed him” $20 for a trip to the dump. The article went on to tell other stories of people blocked from their city facility-related activities including a student looking to study at the library and a mother looking to take her child for a swim in a pool before an educational jaunt to the civic museum. Quote the mom: “I had no idea it was closed.”

The revelation on the Mayor’s blog that the five days of city closures were factored into the property tax hike for 2010 (hence no refund) drew Samuel L. Jackson-like furious anger from those reading about in on the Mercury’s City Hall blog. “I wonder how many spin doctors it took to come up with that!” exclaimed Cathy. “Oh come on, Karen. You either run a city or you don't. You don't partially run a city,” said D.C. What’s interesting is that in a political sphere run by partisan rancour at the other two levels of government, it’s nice that we can all agree to hate the government together on a local level.

The anger isn’t what strikes me, although the way things are going on a transit I doubt anyone’s going to want to ride anymore come the return of the 20-minute schedule in the fall. What strikes me is the anger combined with ignorance. Now the informed angry I give a pass, but the people I referenced from the Mercury article don’t have a leg to stand on in my opinion. Truly, it seems that that the only way some people can get informed is if a city employee comes to their house and explains things to them face-to-face. Forget newspapers, advertising, word-of-mouth, press releases and posted notices on city facilities. Of course, then they’d be complaining about the waste of taxpayer’s money. Again.

http://guelphpolitico.blogspot.com/

I’ve Got Issues (For you to think about this Fall)

So it’s officially summer and you’re just about ready to put politics out of your head for a couple of months. Who can blame you? Well, before you check out, or heck, even if you have no intention checking out, I thought it’d be corking if we ran down some of the issues that might make the grade in this fall’s municipal election. (Or at least the top five issues that are important according to my own meandering experience.)

1) Transit

With the bright, shiny transit hub ready for groundbreaking and the Guelph’s Transit Growth Strategy revealed earlier this year, why does transit in this city still suck? And if you’ve been taking the bus lately, you will have noticed that it sucks just a little more. The so-called summer schedule has been pock-marked by longer waits, late buses and only the vaguest hope that you might make it downtown on time to get your transfer. Plus, people that use city buses are left holding their bag on Sundays this August, when Sunday is put on hiatus. Oh, and if you’re having trouble with the new normal, don’t look for support from city management.

In this day and age, in a city this size, it’s irresponsible and short-sighted for Guelph to be cutting back on transit as a stop-loss measure for budget deficits. And the fact that they talk about the future of transit while cutting it in the present makes city council and staff seem hypocritical. When the TTC strikes for a day the Provincial government comes in on a Saturday to order them back to work. In Guelph, a day without transit is cost effective.

2) City Finances

It was the worst of times and it was the even more worst of times at budget meetings last fall as councillors’ deliberations veered more towards what not to cut as opposed to what can we cut. As previously discussed, transit was a big victim of the proverbial machete, but even if you don’t take the bus, you would have surely enjoyed the first of five so-called “Karen Days” this past Monday. While the complete closure of the city for five days this summer has numerous people’s fingerprints on it, there’s still something odd about a city that threatens facility closures, yet still has cash money for indulgences like pissoirs and downtown beautification.

3) Development

It’s an ongoing issue, and one that will keep going in every election from here till eternity. Still, I think there are a lot of questions people have regarding the city’s growth strategy, as well as issues regarding specific corners of the city in their own wards. Generally speaking, I would love to hear about the city’s brownfields and any plans on making these spaces viable rather than mowing down more green space.

4) Downtown

There’s no question that there are still a lot of issues to be worked out in the core. For one thing, there’s a whole block that stands near empty with nothing but a vague promise that it may one day be developed into a swanky new anchor for culture in our downtown. But how about finishing works-in-progress like The Gummer Building, which has stood in a state of half-finishedness for over a year now? Plus the semi-artificial clash between day-downtown and night-downtown needs to be rectified. There’s something wonderful about how the same space can mean two different things depending on the time of day, but still there are concessions to be made on both sides. And for the record, I’m still against having people pee in the street in a big plastic can, not matter how French you make it sound.

5) Arts & Culture

Since the last election, Guelph has lost one movie theatre, several small art spaces and more or less hung a condemned sign on the largest music venue in the city not called The River Run Centre of Sleeman Centre. Combined with the postering flap a few weeks ago and what I see is a trend city hall double speak: we love our artistically vibrant city, so long as you have a Trillium grant. Saying that you love the arts isn’t enough, it means accepting that indie artists are going to put up posters because they have no other means to advertise and that they need spaces they can afford in order to do their work in. Lip service only counts if your name’s Ashley Simpson.

For more on Election 2010 go to http://guelphpolitico.blogspot.com/

The Good News

Here at Guelph Beat, we like to take a few knocks at the City from time to time. (Of course, by “we” I say mean “I” since as far as Guelph Beat’s concerned there’s only me, myself, to blame.) So for a change of pace this week, I decided to take a time out and give the city a pat on the back.

City wins Silver for going Green

With oil still gushing out of the Gulf of Mexico like a tapped keg at a frat party (at least at press time), it does us all good to know that the City’s fleet of vehicles are not a huge part of the problem, environmentally speaking. The City of Guelph is one of only two municipalities in Ontario to receive an E3 silver rating for sustainable fleet management, said a city press release. The Royal City is also the only municipality in Ontario to receive a silver rating for its transit fleet. “Guelph can take pride in being the first municipality in Ontario to achieve a silver rating for our transit fleet,” said Mayor Karen Farbridge. “The E3 Fleet rating is proof of Guelph's commitment to reducing our environmental impact, including greenhouse gas emissions.”

So what is E3? Well, it stands for Environment, Energy and Excellence. It’s a rating system that public and private sector fleets can seek based on staff training, idle reduction practices, vehicle purchasing practices, fleet operations and maintenance, trip and route planning, fuel efficiency and greenhouse gas performance. Guelph began the fleet review process under the E3 system starting back in 2008. “We are pleased to be the second municipality in Ontario to be awarded with a silver rating. Earning the E3 rating has been a two year process and involved several departments of our organization,” said Bill Barr, the City’s Manager of Fleet and Equipment.

Burcher doing fourth term on FCM

Ward 5 City Councillor (and recent “Better Know a Ward” profilee) Lise Burcher was re-elected for a fourth term to the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) Board of Directors last month at the group’s annual general meeting in Toronto. For those that don’t know, the membership constitutes 1,775 community members representing over 90 per cent of the Canadian population. The FCM Board is composed of sixteen elected municipal officials in Ontario and a total of seventy one directors across Canada. “It is an honour to be supported by my colleagues throughout Ontario in my bid for re-election to the Board,” said Burcher in a press release. “I look forward to contributing further to the valuable work of this outstanding organization.” Burcher will also continue her role as a Green Municipal Fund Council (GMF) member. This committee administers $550 million in funds to support municipalities to undertake projects and plans that demonstrate innovations in sustainability.

Book Sale need somewhere to sell from

Let’s end this week’s Guelph Beat with some community service. It seems that The Friends of the Guelph Public Library are in a bit of a jam: they can’t find a space to hold their annual giant fall book sale. The Guelph Mercury did a story on the issue last week, and although the book sale was able to secure a sorting and storage space, they were (at press time) still in need of a sale space.

In the past, sales were held at empty shops in Old Quebec Street and the vacant storefront of former Wyndham Arts location. Virginia Gillham, chair of the FGPL, is hoping to secure a space somewhere in the core for the sale, and to give you an idea of the size of space needed, last year’s sale had over 40,000 books donated. The proceeds from this year’s sale will be combined with the cash collected over the last four years of the sale and will be donated to pay for books and amenities to serve children and young adults in the new and improved central branch of the public library. If you’ve got a lead on an appropriate space you can get in touch with the FGPL at friendsguelphlibrary@gmail.com.

Poster Peril and Water For All

Sign of the Times?

That sound you heard last Wednesday was the book being thrown at three Guelph businesses for actions that they had nothing to do with. In another example from the “Sometimes I Don’t Think Government Knows What It’s Doing” file, comes the court case last week of the City of Guelph versus anybody that tries to promote their small-scale indie arts/awareness/charity event.

You see, the City of Guelph has a by-law regarding postering in that you’re only allowed to poster in three designated places downtown. Since everybody postering in the same three places is neither efficient nor effective, sometimes promoters like to put their posters up in numerous places so they can get the maximum eyeballs possible. But the City of Guelph seems to want to designate this as criminal, and as such brought the owner/operators of Ed Video Media Arts Centre, The Bookshelf and The Palace nightclub to court for the better part of the day last Wednesday.

In the interest of full disclosure, I’d like to add here that I have a personal stake in this story given that I was one of the organizers of the event that was held at The Bookshelf Cinema. We took our lumps and reimbursed The Bookshelf their fine of $85 plus assorted processing fees, but Ed Video, an artist run organization that lives off fundraising and grant dollars had to eat the $250 fine. This despite the fact that contracts for use of their gallery space have a clause noting that the event runner will obey all city postering by-laws.

Perhaps most egregious though was the story behind the origin of The Palace’s fine. Basically, The Palace is out $100 because a young woman put up 11 posters for a charity fashion show for kids with cancer that she was putting on at the night club. And not only were there a mere 11 posters for a cause as benign as “kids with cancer” but from what one source tells me, the by-law officer was standing there watching and laughing as she was putting up the posters. He was quite content to not let her know that she was in the wrong.

Regardless the reasons and what-fors, the City’s grand total for the day’s court proceedings was less then $500. I realize that the city’s got cash flow issues, but didn’t I read a couple of weeks ago that Guelph-Wellington has 10,395 cases of defaulted fines from moving violations that comes out to a grand total of approximately $5.3 million? If something here seems hinky to you, you’re not alone. Why these groups? Why now? How can a city that portends to support the arts dump on the independents that give the city’s culture its diversity? All good questions, no good answers.

A W. We Can Get Behind

If you've been turned on to the joys of simple old tap water, and convinced that bottle water is a long con perpetuated by multinationals selling a resource you already pay for back to you, then you might interested in this. Now, thanks to the Blue W program, finding local restaurants, City facilities and businesses willing to fill reusable containers with municipal tap water free of charge is easy.

"Refill your reusable bottle—anywhere. It's really that basic." said Evan Pilkington, the Director of Blue W in a press release. "Guelph is a city full of people who appreciate tap water. Helping provide residents and visitors greater access to safe, clean municipal tap water is what Blue W is all about.”

The Blue W program is a not-for-profit initiative that lists locations in numerous Canadian cities, via computer connection or Smartphone application, where people can get free tap water in refillable containers. All you have to do is log on to bluew.org or look for the Blue W at one of your favourite Guelph establishments; there are about 30 around town.

And if you need another reason to get off the bottle, there’s always an article published in the Globe and Mail a couple of weeks ago. I believe it was called “Bottled water has high level of bacteria, researchers find.” Happy drinking.

Meds, Temple, & Trains

Get the Meds Out

If your reading this on Thursday (and why wouldn’t you? The new Echo comes out on Thursday and you’ve been dying to read it naturally), then you have two more days to get to your local pharmacy to safely dispose of your old medication thanks to Safe Communities on the Grand and the City of Guelph. “This medication clean-out event is intended to provide safe, convenient ways for people to get rid of old medications,” said a City press release. “It’s also intended to reduce environmental pollutants that result from society’s use of medications, trace amounts of which can end up in the world’s water supply.”

According the press release, residents can empty their old or unused pills from their containers and place them in a plastic bag, then empty the bag into disposal containers at one of the following pharmacies: Guelph Medical Pharmacy, Royal City Pharmacy IDA, Westmount Pharmacy, Prime Care Pharmacy, Campus Drugmart, Surrey Prescriptions, and the Shoppers Drugmart at Stone Road Mall. But remember to leave the packaging and all liquid medications at home, they are not accepted.

The City also wants to remind people that that they can safely dispose of prescription and over-the-counter medications free of charge at the City’s Household Hazardous Waste Depot, year round. The Depot is located at 110 Dunlop Drive and is open 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Tuesday and Thursday, 1 to 4 p.m. on Wednesday and Friday, and 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Saturday.

Staff says Temple’s a go

Just before press time came news that city staff had delivered their report on the zoning bylaw amendment that would allow a Sikh temple to be built on Claire Rd. (Readers might remember the hubbub made about the issue earlier this year). According to staff, the re-zoning is A-OK with a couple of amendments including the planting buffer trees along the west side of the property and ensuring parking lot lights are turned off overnight. Of the more contentious issues, like the size of the temple itself, looks to stay the same. The recommendation will be brought before council on June 7^th.

Do the Locomotion

Save the date - June 15th - if you want to see a big old steam-powered locomotive be hoisted by crane on to a flatbed truck and transported a few hundred metres away to its new resting place. "This week we’ll start building the new concrete pad and tracks," said Andrew Janes, Project Manager in a City press release last Thursday. "We’ll build a temporary bridge over the tracks, and move the train itself in June."

The relocation of locomotive 6167 is the first step in turning the stretch of Carden between the train station and the bus terminal into the new intermodal transit terminal. The next step, later this summer, will be the “removal” of the Greyhound station to make room for a new bus platform that will accommodate both Guelph Transit and regional bus services. The VIA rail station will then be renovated to house the administrative offices of VIA, Guelph and GO Transit. Construction on the $8 million facility is expected to be finished by March 2011.

There’s a new Transit Schedule

In case you haven’t noticed already, Guelph Transit is currently on a summer reduced-frequency schedule (and just in time for Environment Week). Buses are now running routes every half hour Monday through Sunday effective as of last Sunday. From the City of Guelph website: “Routes operating out of St. George’s Square arrive in the Square at 15 minutes to the hour and 15 minutes after the hour, Monday to Saturday from 5:45 a.m. to 12:15 a.m., and Sunday from 9:15 a.m. to 6:15 p.m.” The website also reminds everyone that there will be no buses brought to you at all on Sundays during the month of August. The regular schedule will become active again on September 5. For more details and new schedules and times go to the Guelph Transit website at guelphtransit.ca.

Ward 5: The “Sandwich” Effect

Nearing the completion of its cross-city tour, this week’s penultimate edition of “Better Know a Ward” brings us to Ward 5. The uniqueness of this particular area, according to its representatives Councillors Leanne Piper and Lise Burcher, is that Ward 5 is sandwiched between two different cultures: downtown and the south end. As well, there’s a “vibrancy that comes from having a high student population,” says Piper, as Ward 5 is home to the University of Guelph and numerous students, staff and faculty that have settled nearby. As well, the HQ of The Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) and the largest commercial zone in the city in and around Stone Road Mall dwell within Ward 5.

At the same time, Ward 5 hosts a very active community. Not only socially-conscious U of G students, but also several well established neighbourhood groups like the Hanlon Creek Neighbourhood Group and the Old University Neighbourhood Residents' Association. In fact, the OUNRA is where many city councillors, including former Ward 5 rep Cathy Downer and Burcher, got their political start. “They’re a really good training ground for citizen engagement,” says Burcher. “The good thing is that it was very much about community mobilization, and very much focused on engagement and bringing people to the table.”

As for the issues, Piper and Burcher face the usual things associated with a heavy student populated area, but not so much the usual development issues being discussed throughout the rest of the city. One on the duo’s radar though is the ongoing concern from the Guelph Limestone Inc (formally Dolime) property just adjacent to the Ward along Arkell Rd, east of Victoria St. S. “It has become an issue, not just in terms of noise, but blasting, migration, and water quality,” says Piper. “The city has taken a very strong position that the pit needs to be decommissioned to protect our surface water.”

“What we want to do is encourage Carson-Reid (the owner’s of the quarry) to get to the end use plan and stop the blasting and stop the excavation,” adds Burcher. “The really serious risk from a water quality perspective is that recently there was a geological survey conducted and the City of Guelph was told that they could see the top half of the aquifer, had actually been removed in one portion.”

City requests for operations to cease seem to have been ignored and the concern is that there might be contamination of the aquifer from surface water. The result is that the water would have to be treated at the cost of millions of dollars. Sadly, this is provincial jurisdiction and the city can’t seem to get the traction it needs from the Ministry of the Environment. But there are hopes that there’ll be a break on that soon with help from community pressure and groups like Wellington Water Watchers.

Another issue that generated some heat in Ward 5 early this year was the removal of older, dying trees in Royal City Park. “It had to be done in my opinion, however unfortunate that is,” said Piper. “It’s a very significant move on the city’s part to go from just managing trees on an ad hoc basis to doing a very comprehensive urban forestry master plan for the whole city,” adds Burcher. Although the removal of trees is sad, they say, it’s necessary in order to keep the city’s urban forests healthy. As well, they add, it’s part of the city’s new commitment to the health of these trees, which is now being only limited by budget restraints.

Having said that and considering re-election plans, both councillors affirm that they are interested in pursuing political life after this fall’s election. “Many of the initiatives that you begin in 2006, you can't see through in four years,” said Piper in response to being asked about re-election. “Two terms of council, I think, are a minimum in order to feel satisfied that you've made a difference and you've seen through your vision into action. So yes, I'm running again.”

“Absolutely, I plan on running again,” responded Burcher. “And having been there another term I have to say that several of the large initiatives we've talked about started two terms ago. But I think the exciting thing now is that there have been so many initiatives in the last two terms, I would venture that it's a 10, 12 year outcome for a lot of those larger things to even get to the starting stage.”

In any event, Burcher considers it important that every citizen be part of the process at all levels, and not just at the voting booth on Election Day. “I believe it’s critical that we engage citizens very intentionally and very effectively, early and often as it goes, to contribute to and be the creators of these plans moving forward. And I think effective citizen engagement really draws that community value. It’s not about doing it for people, but doing it with them.”

For “Better Know a Ward” segments past and present go to http://guelphpolitico.blogspot.com

Local Bomb, No Jefferson, and Pot Pulled

What is this? Beirut?

Guelph proved that there’s room for humour in the middle of a bomb scare last week, when the downtown found itself in the middle of an actual bomb scare. Now, I say “scare” even though things at the scene were rarely tense as police officers cheerfully answered residents’ questions about the situation while the explosives device unit (EDU) did their thing with the help of a special robot loaned from Waterloo Region.

Details about who did what and why were still sketchy at press time (like up-to-date info, try my blog at guelphpolitico.blogspot.com), but a suspicious package was found at the post office in St. George’s Square about noon, and police responded by closing down a large portion of upper Wyndham, and diverting buses to the River Run Centre alternate-stop. By 4 pm, the EDU had exploded the package safely, and it was back to business as usual in the Square.

But who’s responsible? I don’t know, but I call upon all nations to do everything they can to stop these terrorist killers. Thank you. Now watch this drive.

Jeff’s Not Here, Man

Well, it seems that the first best reason not to build the Hanlon Creek Business Park has been disproved, according to a City press release last week. According to the salamander monitoring program, no trace of the reptile has been found on the HCBP lands so it’s time to drill, baby, dr… I mean, let the construction begin on the Business Park without any further interruption.

Not necessarily. On May 7th, a group opposing the HCBP marched on City Hall and a local developer and articulated their continued opposition to the planned development, and already their tone had moved to an overall environmental cause. “This is our drinking water at stake … clean air … the Earth,” spokesperson Marcie Goldstein said in an interview with the Guelph Mercury.

Still, the city says all precautions are putting put into place to protect the local wildlife. “The City will be moving forward with the development of the HCBP subdivision as approved by the Ontario Municipal Board in November 2006,” said the press release last Monday. “The 2010 salamander monitoring program has provided additional information on the location and movement of other amphibians within the HCBP subdivision. This additional information will be used to consider design refinements and to undertake measures for wildlife protection during construction activities.”

Cannabis Calamity

On May 6th members of the Guelph Police Drug, Intelligence Unit, Co-ordinated Enforcement Team and Uniform Division executed Controlled Drugs and Substances Act search warrants at the Medical Cannabis Club of Guelph at 62 Baker Street as well as 5 residences, which resulted in the arrest of four people for trafficking, possessing a controlled substance for the purpose of trafficking and production of a controlled substance. Apparently, the bust of these tax-paying, pot-selling citizens have been under police investigation for some time, after all, they were selling medicinal marijuana to the sick to ease their suffering.

What’s more mysterious is the Police Service’s restraint. The Medical Cannabis Club has been in operation since 2006, and are duly recognized members of the Guelph Chamber of Commerce, Ontario Chamber of Commerce, and the Downtown Guelph Business Association. (I have the links on Politico, look it up if you don’t believe me.) “Our investigation has revealed that The Medical Cannabis Club of Guelph has illegally sold marihuana and hashish” said Sgt Doug Pflug-Guelph Police Media spokesperson. “Health Canada sets clear guidelines and regulations for the use of medically sanctioned marihuana use and these individuals operated outside those guidelines and regulations.”

While he’s technically right, it begs the question about why it took so long to lower the boom on the Medicinal Cannabis Club. As well, it ignores the fact that one of the defendants did have a license to grow marijuana for medicinal purposes, and that nearly half of the Club’s membership had the proper permits to procure it. And most importantly, this does nothing to rectify the still sorted grey water that’s our government’s pot policy. For the latest info, and scenes from last Saturday’s protest in St. George’s Square go to guelphpolitico.blogspot.com