Hans, James and Apps

Farewell Hans

After a recent city council meeting that saw him being taken away to the hospital by ambulance after unexpectedly collapsing, the City of Guelph’s Chief Administrative Officer announced last week that he’s going to leave his position a little earlier than expected. “Mr. Loewig shared his plans at a closed meeting of City Council last night and offered to stay on as the City's Chief Administrator until the end of 2011, committing to help Council with its recruitment of a new CAO and ensure a smooth transition,” said a City press release last Tuesday. “He is stepping down from the City's top job for personal reasons.”

Loewig first took the position in 2007 when he was acting as interim CAO. He was later confirmed as the City’s permanent CAO, being hired on a four-year contract in 2008. Loweig’s nearly four decades of experience in the municipal sector includes serving as CAO of the City of Brantford from 1999 till 2004. The press release credited Loewig for helping to solidify Guelph’s economic strength during his tenure by helping to secure Federal and Provincial stimulus money and by pushing ahead with the development of the Hanlon Creek Business Park lands.

But February’s health issue was the second time in two years that Loewig took time off for personal reasons, so I guess the time was right to “focus on his own well-being and his family,” as Mark Amorosi, executive director of human resources and legal services said to the Guelph Mercury last week.

"This decision was a difficult one for me because I continue to be passionate about the important work we do on behalf of this community," said Loewig in the press release. "The years I've spent as Guelph's CAO have been rich with positive challenges and very rewarding. I have been very fortunate to have worked with so many committed and capable people in the organization."

The Mayor also offered words of praise for the outgoing CAO. "The legacy Mr. Loewig leaves is one of exemplary leadership, integrity, and a roll-up-your-sleeves work ethic that has served our community extremely well over the past four years,” said Karen Farbridge. “I'd like to thank Mr. Loewig for everything he's done for our community, and wish him the absolute best."

The City will begin the hiring process for the new CAO in the next couple of months.

James Gordon Wants to Be NDP

After years of being the singing voice for progressive issues in the City of Guelph, singer/songwriter James Gordon now wants to be its actual voice at Queens Park. According to the Guelph Mercury last week, Gordon is one of two high-profile candidates vying for the NDP nomination for this fall's Provincial Election, the other is Susan Wheeler, writer, educator and advocate for the disabled. According to NDP Federal candidate Bobbi Stewart, the local Provincial New Democrats are expecting to have their nomination meeting sometime for the end of April. Local PC's are also looking for a candidate and the Green Party says that they'll begin their search sometime this week. Current MPP and Liberal Party candidate Liz Sandals will be running again for a third term.

Playing Telephone

That annoying phone call you’re getting a dinner time? It just might be the City of Guelph. Starting this past week, phones are ringing in hundreds of Guelph households as the City surveys residents on their priorities and aspirations for their community over the next four years. So for those of you either too jaded or too lazy to write letters, make phone calls, go to public meetings, or even vote, this is your time to shine. (But you'll probably hang up before you even learn what the call is about.)

Environics Research Group will conduct the survey which will be a 10-minute survey conducted in English and three other languages among a representative sample of 600 residents aged 18 and older. The sample will yield an overall margin of error of +/- 4.0 percentage points, 19 times out of 20. Questions on age, gender, education, income, ethnicity, and ward will help ensure the demographics of the sample mirror Guelph's population as a whole, according to a city press release.

In other telephone-related news, Grand River County now has its own iPhone app that will enable people to take Grand River with them no matter where they go. The free app, available through Apple iTunes App Store, is Grand River Country’s new trip planning companion for the iPhone described as an easy-to-use, and featuring the best of attractions, dining, accommodation, festivals and recreation found throughout the Grand River watershed. “I am excited to pass this one-of-a-kind benefit on to our tourism partners,” says Sue Trerise, Senior Business Development Specialist-Tourism for Guelph Tourism Services. “We are working hard to keep up with the changing technologies available to the tourism sector.”

So yes kids, Guelph, there’s an app for that.

Washroom Case, Union Cash, and Election Update

Answers Soon in Washroom Death

Last week, the city released an unofficial update on the investigation into an accident on city property in 2009. Last spring, Isabel Warren, a Rockwood high school student, died when a wall collapsed in a washroom at Southend Community Park. The Mercury had an update last Monday, and long story short, the province is currently wrapping up their investigation and it should be ready to release its findings in a month. The city has completed its own, independent investigation but they can't release details until after the province releases their findings.

“The field work is completely over. Now we’re reviewing the information and determining whether to take any action,” Ministry spokesperson Bruce Skeaff said.

“The investigation is still underway with the province, and until that has been finalized we can’t pre-empt the province. They still have the responsibility for the investigation,” said City of Guelph Chief Administrative Officer Hans Loewig. “We can’t release anything until the province has fulfilled their responsibilities and they direct us on it.”

More news as it happens.

Union Says They Could Have Saved Cash

The president of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1189 says that he and his union showed the city several ways to save more than $1.3 million, and thus would have avoided so-called “Karen Days” this summer. After passing a budget that had to allow for five unpaid days off for city staff, and being unable to reach an agreement to spread those days out, the city mandated five days this summer where city services would be closed including no bus service every Sunday in August.

But according to Local 1189 president Gary Daters, his union had the key to keeping buses running on Sunday. Among the transit union’s cost-saving proposals was the elimination of a proposed base-to-bus radio system, the elimination of a proposed call centre, downgrading the Smart Card Study, the elimination of the purchase of a supervisor’s mobility van, a restructured schedule and training of staff, and the delay of purchasing of Nova Buses. The total savings would have come out to $1,352,000. “The city said it couldn’t do anything because those were fixed costs in the capital budget, but my feeling was they pretty much had their minds made up (on unpaid days off),” said Daters in an article in the Mercury.

But according to Mark Aromosi, the city’s director of human resources, the suggestions weren’t helpful because they pertained to the capital budget, which is separate from the operating budget, which is where the savings would have had to come from. “You simply can’t transfer those savings. There’s no ability to transfer them,” Amorosi said.

Election 2010 Update

Several new names were added to fall ballot last week, including a number of familiar names. Ward 6 Councillor Karl Wettstein will be pursuing re-election this fall, and if he wins, the 2010-2014 term will be Wettstein's third on city council. He was elected in 2000, and then lost in 2003 before being elected again in 2006.

The second new name on the ballot is Allan Boynton who is running for Ward 1 councillor. This is Boynton's first election in Guelph it seems, so I don't have too much about him. And try googling "Allan Boynton" and you get a myriad of different Allan Boyntons in the area, so I'm not sure what to say about him.

Then, in the mayor’s race, there’s David Birtwistle, and if he sounds familiar it's with good cause. Birtwistle was a councillor for Ward 4 serving two terms in 2000 and 2003 winning 26 and 28 per cent of the vote, respectively. He was defeated in the 2006 election after losing his seat to Mike Salisbury and garnering a mere 16 per cent at the polls. But it appears his ambitions have broadened since 2006, and what could now make the race for mayor even more interesting is if Cam Guthrie enters, as he also ran against Birtwistle in Ward 4 in 2006.

If you're a potential candidate for city council, we (and by 'we' I mean 'I') would love to hear from you. E-mail adamadonaldson@gmail.com to break news of your candidacy.

Budget Details Released and Reaction Will be Mixed

Last Wednesday, officials from the City of Guelph including Mayor Karen Farbridge, Chief Administrative Officer Hans Loewig and Treasurer Margaret Neubauer, outlined to the media budget proposals that were being brought to council this past Monday. The good news first: the City did not send our banking information to the lawyer holding $100 million in trust for the Nubian prince that needs access to foreign banking institutions in order to get his inheritance. The band news is that the 2010 is looking at quite a substantial shortfall of available funds, and its going to take some serious cuts to make up the difference.

Planning for this year’s budget actually started in May with city managers looking towards the fact this was probably going to be a year for cuts rather than spending. Mayor Farbridge said that in a time when families and employers are having to make some tough decisions in regard to their own finances, then the municipality should do its part. She added that although their have been signs of some recovery from the current economic downturn, it will still take about two to three years for Guelph to feel the effects of any recovery. So with a mind on lean times ahead, city staff is presenting a number of options for city council to consider for the 2010 budget.

To begin with the city is trying to mitigate a loss of $8.1 million in revenues as much as possible. What this means is that even without any new spending, and using the numbers from the 2009 budget, there's already a 5.2 per cent increase in the 2010 budget that needs to be covered. Contractual obligations, collective agreements and compensation account for another 4 per cent increase. So when it's all said and done, the City of Guelph basically needs to find another $14.4 million for 2010. So where is much of that money going to come from? Cuts mostly, hope city officials, and their proposed cuts are divided into two categories: Department Reduction Proposals" and "Other Considerations." With the options presented in the "Department Reduction Proposals" the city can save 4.48 per cent or $7.4 million. If all the items under "Other Considerations" are enacted then a further $2.5 million can be shaved off the deficit, bringing the increase down to a more manageable 3 per cent.

If those sound like serious numbers, they are, and the impact will be felt by just about everyone in the city. Biggest of all considerations is the delay of capital projects previously discussed. Basically, anything that hasn’t had started being built is on the back-burner until 2011 at least. As for projects in various phase of completion, their openings will be pushed back by months in order to save money. For example, the east end branch of the library will not open until June 2010. Also, City staff might be asked to take up to 5 unpaid days off and 29 full-time positions could be eliminated, hopefully through attrition such as retirements and resignations. Transit may be hit worst of all with the proposed elimination of stat holidays schedules, a reduced service summer schedule and a 7 per cent fare increase. There could also be a general increase on fees for rentals of city facilities.

Things get worse under the “Other Considerations” category. If councillors decide to accept these further measures to tighten up the deficit then it could mean the closing of the Centennial and Lyon's pools, the closing Centennial rink, eliminating John Galt Day activities, ending two hour free parking downtown, no longer having any special waste collection (like for Christmas trees), shuttering the household hazardous waste facility and adjusting the Industrial and Perimeter transit routes (Note: this does not mean cancelling them). Contingencies if these options should be adopted are being worked out, but it was stressed repeatedly in the briefing that these are merely options and don’t necessarily represent the shape of things to come.

Don’t like what you just read, well you can let your voice be heard by council starting with the meeting on Tuesday December 8 at 6 pm in the council chamber. For more information, check out the meeting schedule on the City’s website here: http://www.guelph.ca/newsroom_display.cfm?itemID=78256 or pay a visit to my blog at http://guelphpolitico.blogspot.com/

Money Problems, Pissoirs Pulled and Climate Change

No Money, Mo’ Problems

It appears that despite rumours to the contrary, the economy hasn’t quite reached recovery status quite yet as it seems the recession is taking a sledgehammer to coffers city wide. A summary report prepared by the City’s chief administrative officer Hans Loewig was released a few weeks ago showing that the city’s revenues were entering into serious deficit territory, though not quite the $8.1 million as initially reported. The forecast deficit will probably be closer to $4 million, but don’t think for a minute that that’s got people sweating any less about the financial forecast. There’s talk of their being less money to go around in the form of cuts to grants and other expenditures, and the governance committee last week nixed the idea of spending $5,000 on a consultant to analyze the citizens’ committee findings for the scheduled market review of council remuneration.

Additionally, last week at the annual meeting of the Guelph Chamber of Commerce, local chamber president Andrew Anderson had this to say about this year in business for Guelph: “Obviously, the last year has been less than stellar for most.” Anderson made these comments to the Mercury after the Chamber’s meeting at the Delta Hotel on Gordon. Keynote speaker, and Ontario Chamber of Commerce president and chief executive, Len Crispino told the audience that there’s room for optimism because our pre-recession domestic economy was strong and he endorsed the integration of Federal and provincial sales tax scheduled to be phased in July 1st as a good move to help businesses’ bottom line.

Of course, this discussion of recovery/not-recovery situation comes mere weeks after the Guelph Community Foundation’s second annual Vital Signs report card that gave the city Cs and Ds for the growing gap between the poor. Amongst the statistics presented: the richest 10 per cent of families earns more than six times the amount of the poorest 10 per cent; the Guelph and Wellington Ontario Works caseload increased by more than 30 per cent between April 2008 and April 2009; and the unemployment rate in Guelph since June 2008 has increased by 84.8 per cent. So is the economy recovering? I guess that depends on where you stand.

Pissoirs Pulled

Looking to pee downtown? Well, you’re stuck again with the indoor variety as the outdoor pissers, sorry: pissoirs, have been pulled with the conclusion of the two month-long pilot project. As you’ll recall, the controversial project was brought to city council by the Downtown Night Life Task Force which includes representatives from downtown businesses, the Downtown Guelph Business Association, Guelph Police Service, the University of Guelph and the City of Guelph. The pissoirs (I hate that word) were part of a three pronged assault on public urination downtown, which also included heightened awareness and greater enforcement of by-laws against peeing where you feel like as if you’re a common dog. City staff monitored the level of use, the number of by-law infringements and number of calls for maintenance during the pilot. Reports will be made to City Council on the assessment of the pilot project in the coming weeks, so look for that information when it comes across my desk.

Fight Climate Change this Weekend

Guelph will be holding its own celebrations in recognition of the International Day of Climate Action this Saturday at St. George’s Church. From Noon to 4 pm there will be several activities in order to promote “fun and reflection on how we will create a sustainable future.” Amongst the all ages activities will be arts and crafts, face painting, music and other entertainment (like story telling), an art show featuring local talent and information from local organizations dedicated to sustainability and environmental protection. When the sun goes down, come back to St. George’s for a public presentation by David Noble, a Guelph-based entrepreneur, author, and climate change advocate recently recognized by the Guelph Mercury as one of the city’s 40 Under 40. There will also be a musical performance by James Gordon. For more information, check out the Guelph Climate Festival on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=266982195102

News From City Hall

City goes DIY with stalled Hall

Urbacon may have put a lien on the City of Guelph saying that they haven’t been paid $12.1 million for work they done on the new City Hall, but that hasn’t stopped administrative offices and staffers from facing a matter of homelessness. Many city offices that were scheduled to move out of their current tenements this month have had to find temporary shelter or otherwise negotiate for a stay-of-moving-out like in the case of offices at 2 Wyndham St., the lease for which was set to expire at the end of the year.

The City is moving forward with finishing the new HQ after insurance company Aviva denied the City’s claim that they were responsible for completing the project following the firing of Urbacon in September. It was a move Guelph's chief administrative officer Hans Loewig called "certainly not unexpected." Regardless the city’s submitted a claim to Aviva for the extension of office leases, the hiring of a new project manager and other related expenses. Right now, city staff is looking at a move in date of mid-to-late January. "There probably won't be anything visibly happening on the site for a bit. But we are looking forward to getting on with the project as soon as we can," says Loewing.

DGBA says keep those letters coming

The Downtown Guelph Business Association has announced that they’ve extended their deadline for letters in support for the two-hour free parking downtown. Executive director Jacquelyn Garrard told the Guelph Tribune that the deadline for the letters, which was formally October 17, has been extended indefinitely "due to the sheer volume of letters" coming in. The DGBA is currently deciding the fate of the pilot-project, which has been in place for the last year. A report from city staff was expected last Thursday. "We've had a wonderful response from the membership," said Garrard adding that 30 letters have come in so far, and more are coming in everyday. "They feel this is something we cannot lose in the downtown. […] Some of the (letter writers) are saying 'please, please keep it.'"

Budget Presentations Continue

All this week there have been budget meetings at City Hall as city departments present their financial plans for the next fiscal year. Today the Governance and Economic Development committee will be meeting to discuss Police, Library, Museum, Tourism, Social Services and Health Unit funding at 5:15 pm. And tomorrow, the Community Development and Environmental Services Committee will gather to look at Construction Projects, as well as Recycling and Solid Waste. Finance, Administration and Corporate Services and Emergency Services, Community Services and Operations met yesterday. Citizens and community groups are invited to participate, but delegations have to contact the City Clerk’s office in advanced if they wish to speak. Call Joyce Sweeney, the Council Committee Co-ordinator at 519-837-5603 ext. 2440.

For if you own a piece of history…

Heritage Guelph is having an open house on November 7 in City Hall, followed by a meeting of the Community Development and Environmental Services Committee where the expansion of Guelph’s Municipal Register of Cultural Heritage Properties will be considered. Guelph is planning to add 1,900 non-designated properties to the Municipal Register of Cultural Heritage Properties. If your property is included in the proposed expansion, you would have received a letter from Heritage Guelph. Individuals, groups and delegations are welcome to participate in the committee meeting and must contact the City Clerk’s Office to register. Call 519-837-5603 or e-mail clerks@guelph.ca.

Bye-bye Bottle

It was announced that the City of Guelph intends to join the increasing chorus of municipalities by eliminating bottled water and water coolers from offices, meetings and facilities and replacing it with greater access to pure Guelph tap water. “The City wants to lead by example by making municipal water easily accessible in its facilities,” says Janet Laird, Director of Environmental Services. “The City of Guelph does an excellent job managing our drinking water system and we are confident that our municipal drinking water is of the highest quality.”

Back to Basics

For the last 12 weeks or so, the Guelph Beat has been preoccupied with the by-election and the immediately following federal election. But as of this past Tuesday, all that is over and we can get back to business as usual. (For an election wrap visit my blog at http://guelphbyelectionbeat.blogspot.com, and that’s going to be the last mention of it. Honest to blog… D’oh!)

So now it’s back to… whatever it is we did in this space before the extended edition election began. So I decided to revisit some of the press releases from the City that I only had opportunity to glance over in the midst of all the Federal action in our town. It’s actually been a fairly busy time in municipal politics, with a decision coming down on a couple of really big issues.

First, there was the September 19 announcement that the City was terminating its contract with Urbacon Buildings Group, the construction crew that was building the new city hall. With another deadline on the horizon, as well as yet another announcement of delay, the city’s solicitor suggested the move to terminate the contract on grounds of the numerous breaches committed and instead approach a bonding company to oversee completion. “I believe this will allow us to complete the project sooner and be more cost-effective,” said Guelph Chief Administrative Officer Hans Loewig. “The City is now in a better position to direct the completion of the project and firm up the move-in date.”

In meantime some city offices are in limbo because they expected to have been moved into their new digs by now. Some are currently living out of boxes, others are in need of temporary quarters. On Urbacon’s end, they’ve had a lien put on city hall, demanding that they be paid the some $12 million they say that they’re still owed for construction costs and subcontractors from July on. As for the building itself, Loewing told the Guelph Mercury on October 7 that if construction resumes by the middle of the month than it should be finished by the end of the year.

The other big issue was the proposed merger between Guelph Hydro and Horizon Utilities. The matter’s been debated for months as the pros offered by the city and Hydro met the cons of concerned Guelph residents who worried that this was back door privatization. The argument came to a close on September 28 when in a special council session, the motion to approve the merger was defeated by a vote of 8 to 5.

The issue was complex. Horizon’s current shareholders are the Cities of Hamilton and St. Catherines, Guelph would have been the third partner in the utility. The deal was endorsed by the hydro board and the Chamber of Commerce, but many community groups and private citizens were concerned about rate increases, loss of regulatory authority and possibility that Guelph customers could be paying for repairs and service in the other two municipalities. Despite assurances from hydro, the city and the Ontario Energy Board, many remained unconvinced. In fact, Councillor Kathleen Farrelly said that her negative vote was in response to “overwhelming public opinion.”

In happier news, it was announced that Ward 5 Councillor Lise Burcher would be joining the Green Municipal Funds Council - the group responsible for administering Canada's Green Municipal Fund - by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities' (FCM) Board of Directors. The GMF, according to the press release, “provides loans and grants, builds capacity, and shares knowledge to support municipal governments and their partners in developing communities that are more environmentally, socially and economically sustainable.”

"In my role on the Council, I plan to serve Guelph and the rest of the province by showcasing Guelph’s innovative projects to the rest of Canada, and exploring other ground-breaking opportunities for all Canadian municipalities," said Burcher about her new duties.