8th Regular Meeting of 2009 - May 11

Trying to Shift Taxes from the Wealthy to the Poor, and Feeling Fine about La Colle Falls


ABSENTEES: Councillors Darcy Gervais and Fred Matheson.

BACKGROUND DOCUMENTS: 223 pages

PUBLIC GALLERY: Paul van Pul, Brian Clavier, Jayne Remenda, and 5 others.

START: 7:02 PM


Public Hearing: to convert the vacant building at 515-28th St East into 65 condominium units


- Brian Clavier spoke in favour of the conversion, but requested council approve it with less than the 112 required parking spaces. He said the added requirement for 47 more than the current 65 spaces devotes too much land to parking, and takes away green space. He suggested adding only 3 handicapped and 18 visitor spaces, for a total of 86 spaces. He also referred to the March 2 letter from the developer, which states that it is impossbile to add 47 stalls to the existing site (even though an April 21 drawing submitted by the developer shows 112 spaces on that site).

- Councillor Swystun said the full amount of extra parking was needed, because owners of these condominium properties will have 2 vehicles per household [apparently, life in Prince Albert requires everyone to have their own vehicle when they reach the age of 16 . . . .]

- Councillor Atkinson said the occupants have transit access at their front door, and, while the parking spaces may be filled, he [unrealistically] hopes the building's residents will use public transit.

- THE VOTE: 7 - 0, to approve the conversion with 112 parking spaces [creating a new-and-improved parking lot that is twice as large as the building's foot print]



Oil that Dust! (Who cares what it does to the groundwater.)

[A report from the Streets Manager shows that there are no streets to be oiled this year in Nordale, and only three in Hazeldell, due to those areas' receipt of asphalt millings from repaving done in 2006.
Thirty-three of the 40 roads to be oiled are in the East Flat and West Flat areas.
The Streets Manager wrote that more time is needed to study alternatives to the oil currently used, and he will provide council with a report on this in 2010.]

- Brian Clavier spoke to this issue, complaining that information about alternatives was collected in 2004, when he asked then-Councillor Lindberg about alternatives to using oil to suppress road dust. He said a report was presented to council, but it appears that it has been lost. He was not happy about the delay until 2010 to present alternatives to council, noting that Prince Albert dust is not that different from dust in Lethbridge, Brandon, or any number of cities in the US midwest, so their research and practices would be relevant [and readily available].

- Councillor Atkinson said these streets would ultimately be paved.

- City Manager Cotterill said there was $500,000 for paving projects this year. He indicated a new process for street oiling might be available this year, since he was going to Saskatoon shortly and would look into this. He also asserted that the use of some chemicals has "been banned by the provinces."

- [former City Engineer] Councillor Swystun insisted that previously-oiled streets cannot have some chemicals applied to them. If the oiling rates are high enough, he maintained, some people will opt for pavement.

- Councillor Ring said that a "21st century" paving program is needed [to satisfy our thoughtless insistence on an automobile-dependent culture?], and that "we don't allow unpaved developments now."

- Councillor Zurakowski asked about the time line for the street oiling program.

- Public Works Director Colin Innes said he would come back to council with this information after the oiling bylaw was passed.

- THE VOTE: 7 - 0, to refer the street oiling bylaw to the bylaws section of the meeting.


La Colle Falls Archeological Dig Promoted

[This infamous failed hydro project near the spot where the North Saskatchewan River joins the South Saskatchewan was a municipal financial millstone from 1906 until the city retired the debt in 1965. The useless-except-for-the-negative-historical-lesson expense is regularly trotted out as the reason why a huge chunk of the city's infrastrucuture is long overdue for replacement and/or upgrade. Of course, it would help if the overwhelming majority of residential, business, and industrial developments since 1965 did NOT focus exclusively on the city's fringes, thereby magnifying deficiencies in infrastructure maintenance and replacement.]

- Paul van Pul addressed council with respect to support for his proposed archeological dig at the site. He said it should be a national and provincial historic site.

- Councillor Swystun said that information about the project was sent to the Provincial Archives in the 1960s.

- Mayor Scarrow asked if Mr. van Pul could provide details about his needs for council's May 25 meeting.

- Councillor Swystun was supportive, but noted the city's 2009 budget was set, and that the city could look at funding the project in 2010.

- Councillor Dionne asked for a further report, in two weeks, complete with costs. [The report was presented four weeks later, on June 10, but costs were not provided in it - see pages 15-25 of the document at http://www.citypa.ca/Portals/0/PDF2/Council_Agenda/2009/2009%2006%2010%20-%20Order%20of%20Business/Agenda%20-%20Pages%201%20-%20209.pdf]



If You Can't Attend a 7 AM Meeting on 24-hours' Notice, Obviously, We Didn't Want You There!

- Continuing the three-year-old tradition of holding important meetings with little notice [actually, a small ad did appear in the Saturday, April 25 edition of the Prince Albert Daily Herald], at hours loved by chirpy little birds, roosters, and golfers, the city issued a Media Release on April 27 about a land development forum at 7 AM on April 28 in City Council chambers. [I kid you not: read it on page 11 of http://www.citypa.ca/Portals/0/PDF2/Council_Agenda/2009/2009%2005%2011%20-%20Order%20of%20Business/Agenda%20-%20Pages%201%20-%20175.pdf ]


Clean Air - Sort of . . . for One Day . . . .

[The city supports Clean Air Day - June 3, this year - by providing free transit service for one day, and contributing four monthly bus passes and a Good Food Box as prizes for draws during "Environment Week." Total cost to the city for this anemic dalliance is $900.

NOTE: this gesture is historically grounded, and has nothing to do with a municipal Green Plan, or any city program, policy, directive, or bylaw that might "clean" the local air on a wider, more permanent basis.]

- Councillor Dionne [who commutes to his workplaces (in PA and Saskatoon) in a truck] challenged his colleagues to leave their vehicles at home, and bus, bike, or walk to work.

- Councillor Williams [who commutes to work all over Alberta and Saskatchewan in a truck] said he couldn't take up the challenge because it's a long way to Estevan [566 kilometers], to which Dionne responded "STC [the provincial bus company] goes there."


National Council of Women Conference Funding

- a request to approve $4200 in funding for the June 4-7, 2009 National Council of Women Conference was approved. The conference organizers expect 300-350 people to attend, and an economic spinoff to the city of $75,000 to $100,000 [see page 49. By way of comparison, when the golf course asked for $45,823 for its 100th anniversary events and to support the Canadian Men's Mid-Amateur Championship, the 3000 visitors to the city were generously forecast to inject $3.7 million into the local economy - about 3.7 times as much as women's conference attendees - see page 15 of the 58-page golfing submision to council's "public budget consultation" on March 26, 2009].


Mill Rate Factors and Tax Tools - Stick it to the Poor?

[A report on base tax, minimum tax, and the impacts of these on property owners in the city was presented to council by the Director of Financial Services. Council has looked at this issue in depth twice before in the past five years: the former councillor for ward 5, Frank Harris, was a vocal advocate of using such tax tools. The report recommended NOT implementing a base tax or minimum tax.]

- Councillor Zurakowski asked about the cost of providing basic city services to a home [there are about 9300 single-family residences in the city].

- Financial Services Director Joe Day said about $615 per property for police, and $280 for fire protection [though neither amount accounts for providing these services to city-owned facilities, provincial and federal government properties, or businesses in the city, never mind the costs to the city rung up providing these services at automobile accidents]. Day said the lowest property tax paid in the city was $105; 760 properties paid less than $500 in 2009 property tax; and 40 city properties paid less than $200.

- Councillor Ring voiced the view that this report was "as clear as (he'd) seen this issue presented." He supported rejecting these taxes - for this year.

- Councillor Atkinson [echoing the comments he has made on this topic in previous years] said the biggest changes from basic and minimum taxes would be on the smallest properties, and the taxes on expensive properties would go down. People living in "modest homes," he said, are usually living on fixed incomes. He "will continue to vote against taxing them more."

- Councillor Dionne said the new fire hall should be in the West Flat, given the number of calls from that area. [Showing a lack of comprehension of the fire and police services provided to businesses and government-owned properties], he maintained tax should be based on services supplied to a property. Although he doesn't want to "tax the poor any more," he wants "to be fair."

- Councillor Zurakowski also asserted he had no interest in taxing the poor any more, but was prepared to "have a conversation on this."

- THE VOTE: 5 in favour, 1 opposed (Councillor Zurakowski), 1 abstention - to receive and file the report.


8:10 PM


$pending the $poils from Gambling

[In April 2009 the Northern Lights (Casino) Community Development Corporation announced a $250,000 annual contribution to the city's finances, to be given to the city for each of five years; $50,000 is to be allocated to the Thanksgiving weekend pow wow at the Art Hauser Centre and the golf tournament at Cooke municipal golf course.]

- City Manager Cotterill wanted to set aside this year's money, and combine it with the 2010 contribution before allocating it.

- Councillor Dionne, reviewing the list of proposed uses for the 2009 money, said lots were maintenance items. He supports the replacement of garbage receptacles downtown.

- Councillor Swystun wanted explanations for some of the items, such as "rejuvenation" of the Dent's ball park area. Cotterill replied that Dent's was not used as a ball park, and could be a residential area [restricted to single family homes, if what's happening to the Prince Charles school grounds is indicative].

- Councillor Atkinson said the money could be used for the community clubs (which was part of the original intention), such as pouring floors for the outdoor rinks, which would provide a base for skateboarding and make ice-making easier.

- Mayor Scarrow intoned that this was a "thought piece," not a "list piece."


Old Guys Need Benefits Too

[This item was added to the agenda at the last minute, so the public had no information about it at the time of the meeting. The report from the Committee of the Whole, meeting in camera earlier in the day, recommended extending benefits to city employees beyond the current age of 70, to age 75. Except for a handful of casual employees, who are unlikelyt to benefit from the policy change because they simply don't work enough hours, 70-year-old Mayor Scarrow is the only person currently affected by this policy. Citing a conflict of interest, he left the room before the item was addressed.]

- Councillor Dionne moved to change the termination age for benefits from the city from 70 to 75. He said this would conform to the provincial Human Rights Act [he meant sections 15 and 16 of the Saskatchewan Human Rights Code - http://www.qp.gov.sk.ca/documents/English/Statutes/Statutes/S24-1.pdf ]

8:21 PM

The Mayor Attended/Was Fed and Feted at . . . .

- Mayor Scarrow forgot his list [again, thankfully], but nevertheless had 42 events in the last month worth mentioning - 27 in the previous two weeks alone. He noted that, while it was hard to keep "a positive upper chin" a few weeks ago, when litter was everywhere, this changed thanks to Jayne Remenda and the other people involved in the annual cleanup of the downtown. He also attended the PAGC urban employers recognition luncheon, where the City and 50 other businesses were recognized.


Inquiries - Pavement, Patience, and Updates

- Councillor Atkinson asked about fixing the cracks in the pavement of the 400 block on 7th Street East.
- Councillor Ring thanked staff for the new stop sign on 15th Avenue East.
- Mayor Scarrow asked drivers to try and stay away from 24th Street West, from 6th to 8th avenue: the closure of 28th Street has increased hospital-bound traffic on 24th [and the residents' patience has worn thin]. The closed street is expected to be open by late autumn.
-Councillor Zurakowski asked for a Rotary Trail update for the West Hill area [no building this year] and announced a West Hill flood protection plan update meeting.


How Does This Work Again ??

- The approval of Bylaw No. 13 of 2009, a bylaw to establish mill rate factors, was delayed momentarily: Councillor Zurakowski voted against 1st and 2nd reading, then against giving leave to read the bylaw a third time. [See above: he was opposed to making the poor pay more tax, but clearly willing to have a conversation about how much more they shouldn't pay . . . .] He changed his vote on the leave-granting motion when he realized that the lack of unanimous approval of that motion would delay 3rd reading of the bylaw until the next council meeting.

- Mayor Scarrow was similarly confused by the 1st-reading-2nd-reading-granting-leave-3rd-reading sequence for passing bylaws: he lost track of council's whereabouts in the process on the new version of bylaw #7.


And Thanks for All That (Unpublished) Work

- Mayor Scarrow thanked administration for contributing "upwards of 700 pages" to council members' binders for the meeting [although the public is only able to access 223 of those].

END 8:39 PM