Off the Rails 3

Don't Bring Me Down, Bruce!*

In advance of the landing of Bruce Power officials in this part of the woods next week (March 18, from 3 PM to 8 PM, at the Travelodge in Prince Albert), I am reproducing the comments I made at the public forum segment of the November 24, 2008 city council meeting. The additional notes in blue ink were generated by a close reading of the 24-page "Report on Bruce Power's Feasibility Study," a publication delivered to every household in the city in January 2009.** For an alternate view of the issues that should be presented in such a document, I attended presentations by (retired University of Regina professor) Jim Harding in Shellbrook (March 11) and Prince Albert (March 12). A more succinct assessment of the drawbacks of nuclear power can be found in an article about Dr. Gordon Edwards in the January 15, 2008, Calgary Herald ("Nuclear power called 'too risky'").

Please vote ONCE in the poll to the left. Voting is open until April 10, 2009.

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My comments tonight are about a topic that was in the news last week. I’m talking about the tour of the Bruce nuclear plant earlier this month by the Mayor and four other members of the community, and the intention of the Prince Albert Grand Council to meet with the same nuclear power company before the end of this year. The online comments [at the Prince Albert Daily Herald web site] about this news story - and there were many - quickly degenerated into poorly-grounded fiction, propelled by the inevitable personal right to have an uninformed opinion on any current news topic, even something so serious as a possible nuclear power plant in our community. The editor of the local daily paper subsequently lamented the lack of carefully presented fact and assessment by the individuals who were prompted to comment.

That said, there are four areas I want to touch on that explain my total, unreserved, and unequivocal opposition to the prospect of constructing a nuclear power plant in this area. In order, these are cost, safety, nuclear waste, and the toxicity of uranium.

First, let’s remember that, in Canada, the province of Ontario has the most experience with nuclear power plants: 20 reactors have operated there at some point since 1971. Only two other provinces have nuclear power.

Quebec had a lot of problems with Gentilly 1 during the eight years it operated; its Gentilly 2 plant has been in operation for 15 years. New Brunswick’s Point Lepreau operated from 1983 to March of this year, and is offline until late next year. The cost to construct all these reactors has never been close to the numbers initially provided to decision-makers - which explains why Bruce Power is telling people that a plant in Saskatchewan would cost $5 to $10 billion: remember that a $5 billion over-run on a $5 billion plant is a 100% increase, and hardly chump change. [Just ask the government of Finland. It headed to court over its new nuclear reactor, an Areva EPR, which has run up a $2 billion (US) cost over-run during the construction phase (which is two years behind schedule). On this side of the ocean, the average US nuclear plant construction cost over-run has been 207% - see Nuclear Power’s Role in Generating Electricity, a report by the United States' Congressional Budget Office, May 2008, page 17.]

Canadian nuclear power plants also don’t last as long as advertised, and, in Ontario, refitting costs have been higher than was forecast. Ontario Power Generation would love to tell Ontarians that the nuclear power building costs from the 70s and 80s have been paid off, but that’s still a future event. In addition, the “cheap electricity” that nuclear plants were supposed to provide turns out to be, in documents that New Brunswick Power prepared in 2006, at least 50% higher per kilowatt hour than for every other source. In other words, you, me, and our grandchildren would pay dearly for the nuclear luxury.

Second, a Canadian nuclear reactor is definitely safer than those that blew up at Chernobyl in 1986 and Three Mile Island in 1977. But I’d feel a lot better if studies in Japan and Ontario ten years ago had not found that napping on the job was a major problem at nuclear power reactors in those jurisdictions. Safety considerations should also include our limited experience with this technology: nuclear power reactors first came online in Canada in 1962 - giving us a 46-year history with a technology whose human health issues are a concern for tens of thousands of years. This would be less of a problem if people could reasonably guess the results, one thousand years down the road, of actions we take today.

Third, the nuclear waste contamination issue is a long way from any kind of satisfactory resolution. [Yucca Mountain, the site in the Nevada desert that had been planned (since 1987) as a depository for all the spent fuel rods from nuclear plants in the United States, will not be funded further for that purpose by the US government - see the March 6, 2009 story at http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-nuke-yucca_frimar06,0,2557502.story ] Aside from the need to have a safe storage site that is protected from both accidental and intentional human intervention for thousands of years, there is that recurring sticky problem of humans being incapable of considering life on this planet that far into the future. If you really believe the nuclear waste management issue is a non-starter, ask a senior citizen in this city if they foresaw, at the ripe age of twelve, an event like CNN’s (pseudo-)holographic live interview with reporters in Chicago on November 4, 2008.

Fourth, uranium’s chemical toxicity is something I only came across last month. While we usually think of the fuel for nuclear reactors in terms of its radioactive properties, a complicated scholarly article in the British Medical Journal explains that uranium has much more harmful effects on the body’s cells and organ functions than was previously realized. Interestingly, this longitudinal study (I think it covered exposure to uranium-laden air over a thirty-year period) does not address the issues of safe levels of exposure: it merely concludes that there was a large hole in medical knowledge about how uranium affects the human body.

To sum up, my view about the possibility of a nuclear plant in the Prince Albert area is simple: not while I’m still breathing.

Have a safe walk home.

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* Thanks to Electric Light Orchestra for this line, lifted from a song they released in 1979. Even though the actual lyric is "Don't bring me down....Groooss!" most people thought Jeff Lynne said "Bruce."

** Never mind the frighteningly-incomplete content of this document, the writing is so pitifully inept it reminds me of the sorry scribbles inflicted on paper by my grade 8 classmates (43 years ago). Maybe the authors thought the simple folk who inhabit these parts would simply fail to notice their incompetence at expressing themselves in writing . . . .

4th Regular Meeting of 2009 - March 9

IMPORTANT NOTE TO READERS:

During the past week the City of Prince Albert council meeting agenda web page [http://www.citypa.ca/NewsFacts/CouncilAgendas/CouncilAgendas2009/tabid/619/Default.aspx] has been altered. It now combines the pdf file of the meeting's background documents with the pdf file of the meeting agenda, into a larger file. This makes it difficult to find page numbers in 2009 meeting background documents that I refer to in my posts.

You can find material I refer to in these combined pdf files for the first four meetings of 2009 by reading the agenda (usually the first 10 to 12 pages of the combined AGENDA pdf file), noting the "second part" (background documents) page number for an item, then adding that page number to the number of pages in the "first part" (actual agenda), and entering the result in the Adobe Reader's "___ / ###" page box.

Example: the Advantage Credit Union telecommunications tower development permit application, listed on page 3 of the new pdf file for the March 9, 2009 meeting agenda, is supposed to be at page 157. Add 157 to 11 (the number of pages in the "first part" (agenda) of the new pdf file, then enter 168 in the page box of your Adobe Reader - as "168/236" - to take you to page 168 of the combined pdf file. I will refer to the combined pdf file page numbers in subsequent posts.


One other helpful tip: when you try to access documents on the city's web site, you may encounter lengthy download delays if you are online outside the hours of 8 AM to 5 PM, Monday to Friday. Refrain from attacking your computer if delays become an issue . . . .



Abstentions and The (Un)importance of Water - I'm Just Kidding

START: 7:03 PM

ABSENTEES: Councillor Gervais missed the beginning of the meeting. He arrived in the chamber at 7:10 [sporting a new hairstyle - one that is a cross, I dare say, between Frank Zappa (1960s) and Shemp Howard (1940s) . . . .]

PUBLIC GALLERY: Brian Clavier, Rick Potratz, Don Wood, Jennifer Brockman, Sean Mahar, Evan Swalm, fire department official, and one other.

BACKGROUND DOCUMENTS: 220 pages


Pecuniary Interests Not Picayune?

For the twelfth consecutive meeting, the Mayor requested that members of council submit forms detailing what financial interests they have in the city that might affect their actions as municipal counillors. As usual, no explanation was given for this request.

[Note that this item is not included in council's procedure, specifically Bylaw #10 of 2005, as amended by Bylaw #23 of 2008 and Bylaw #32 of 2006. In addition, re-read my comments posted February 25, 2009, under "Submission of Pecuniary Interest Forms."]


Public Hearing on Temporary Use Development Permit - Summer Delite Ice Cream Stand in Cornerstone Parking Lot

- Brian Clavier questioned whether there is a tax loss to the city from this space in the parking lot being occupied by a business that operates for only six months of the year, and is closed the other six months. He also lamented the limited selection of hard ice cream at the store (in particular, the absence of pineapple coconut cream).

- Councillor Williams asked how the parking lot was taxed with this temporary business on it.

- Finance Director Joe Day replied that the parking lot is taxed with the building on it for the entire year.

- THE VOTE (to allow the permit): 9 - 0 in favour.



Public Hearing on Development Permit Application - to Allow an 80-foot Telecommunications Tower at 215-16th Street West (Advantage Credit Union)

- Brian Clavier [again] spoke against this proposal. He reminded council that he had opposed the zoning bylaw amendment that was passed at council's January 26, 2009 meeting to allow such towers, and was opposed to this particular tower for the same reasons he gave at the January meeting. Noting that the December 15, 2008 meeting documents contain a request to allow the credit union to construct a 140-foot tower at this location [see pages 165f.], he wondered why the tower had shrunk to 80 feet, with no explanation for the change, and said there is already a 50-foot tower on the southeast corner of the building. Other reasons for his opposition to the tower were the proponent's failure to provide evidence of compliance with Health Canada's Safety Code 6 guideline (as required by the comments on page 166 of the December 15, 2008 meeting documents), since the city was only provided with an engineer's structural safety report for a 140-foot tower and a Transport Canada "Aeronautical Obstructions Clearance" - NOT evidence that the tower would "comply with radio frequency immunity criteria," or that "nearby broadcasting stations" had been notified, or that "environmental considerations" had been reviewed. He repeated that the Advantage Credit Union property on 15th Street East would be a better location for such a tower, and that there was no indication that Advantage had attempted to piggyback on any existing telecommunications tower, such as that of Conexus Credit Union [or the Sask. Rivers School District towers at PACI or the Spruce Home school].

- THE VOTE (to allow the permit - without any discussion among members of council): 8 - 1 in favour, Councillor Williams opposed.


Pride Parade - Permission and Route Change

- Jennifer Brockman requested that the June 6, 2009 Pride Parade be permitted to travel up 1st Avenue East this year. [Last year the parade was sent up 1st Avenue West from River Street, then on 10th Street directly east to City Hall - probably to keep it away from parade opponents associated with the Prince Albert Family Church, located at 1st Avenue and 6th Street East: Rick Potratz, a minister at the church, spoke to city council in opposition to the 2007 Pride Week proclamation and parade. The revised route is longer, taking the participants up 1st Avenue East from River Street to 14th Street, then west to Central Avenue, and north to City Hall.] Jennifer noted that there had been no safety issues with another parade that had gone up 1st Avenue East.

- THE VOTE (to refer parade request to Public Works, proclamation to the Mayor's office, and use of Memorial Square to Community Services - with no discussion): 9 - 0 in favour.


7:21 PM [Jennifer Brockman and colleague leave.]



Rocking Tree Music Festival - Free Stage Request

- Sean Mahar spoke in support of his request to waive the charge to the festival for the use of the city's portable stage at the Par Place event slated for June 19-21. [Par Place is on highway 3 west - outside the city limits.]

- Councillor Dionne, after confirming the location of the event, asked if the weekend in question conflicted with the downtown street fair, which needs the portable stage for the day [next to the Gateway Mall (where he is employed as the General Manager) on 14th Street.]

- Councillor Ring noted that there were several projects asking for fee waivers on council's agenda. He asked whether the Community Services Advisory Committee could come back with a checklist for approving these $4000 to $5000 of "needs and asks already" (this evening).

- Councillor Atkinson added that there needs to be a budget for this type of item. He said the requesting organizations should provide financial statements, and information on the amount of money they have raised (for the event). In the past, the Financial Advisory Committee [although a committe with this name is not among the 65 that council is responsible for in 2008 and 2009] provided evaluations of these requests. Addressing the requests, he said, should be part of a marketing strategy that includes events like Multicultural Week and the Winter Festival.

- Councillor Ring said Community Services started applying a policy last year for projects with budgets larger than $100,000 [but he did not explain what that policy was].

- THE VOTE (to refer to Community Services): 9 - 0 in favour.



- Public gallery depleted by four more individuals.


History-Making Non-discrimination

- Councillor Swystun drew attention to the start of Elimination-of-Racial-Discrimination Week on March 17. He outlined the events during the week, which ends on March 21.

- Mayor Scarrow noted that this is a "significant day in the life of our community."

- Councillor Swystun said that Prince Albert will be the 27th Canadian municipality [actually, it will be the 30th - see the City's March 18, 2009 press release about the March 20 signng ceremony] to sign on to the UNESCO coalition against racism and discrimination.
- Councillor Gervais added that this was a "historical event."


World Water Day Worries - Why (Not)?

- Councillor Williams said that council should look seriously at the issues raised by the Council of Canadians about privatization of the water supply and water exports. He requested a report from public works about the two resolutions suggested by the Prince Albert chapter of the Council of Canadians, because there should be "more to it than [a motion to receive as] 'information and file.'" Councillor Matheson asked for a seconder for Councillor Williams' motion, prompting Mayor Scarrow to remark, "I'll run the meeting from here, Councillor Matheson . . . Just kidding."

- City Manager Cotterill offered his opinion that privatization of a municipal water supply was not necessarily a negative, and added that the issue of exporting water was "outside the purview of council."

- Councillors Zurakowski and Swystun agreed with the City Manager, the latter saying that there were "no issues in the information that affect us."

- Councillor Williams said he just wanted to allay people's fears about privatization of the water supply, give citizens the knowledge that we have high water quality standards, and remind them that these standards are applied - and "it is our water." He said the letter from the Council of Canadians gives food for thought.

- Councillor Atkinson [who has raised the issue of high lead levels in the water at homes in the older parts of the city on multiple occasions] suggested "maybe we should be eliminating bottled water." He went on to say that buying water that is not "of our own origin" [city-processed, I presume] should be discussed.

- Councillor Williams changed his motion - to receiving and filing the information from the Council of Canadians.

- THE VOTE (to receive and file): 9 - 0 in favour.



7:46 PM


Signs, Signs, Everywhere Signs - Blocking up the Scenery, etc.

- Councillor Atkinson, in response to a report on billboards and third party signs, asked for a map of permissible billboard locations. He is concerned about a non-taxable "billboard" on the side of a semi-trailer on the lot just west of the police station, affixed to a trailer that was supposed to be used for "temporary storage" [but has been located there for at least four years]. He wants administration to look into this, as it appears to be a violation of the bylaw.

- THE VOTE (to receive the report, and have administration investigate the trailer billboard): 5 in favour, 3 abstentions, Councillor Matheson opposed.



A Priceless Contract

- the report from Corporate Services recommends renewing the existing centrex service with SaskTel.

- Councillor Atkinson asked about the value of this contract, since there were no dollar amounts in the report, and no comparison of the various options was provided. He said the "homework" was not done on this one. [A thinking person would agree].

- THE VOTE (to renew the centrex contract with SaskTel): 6 - 3 in favour, Councillors Gervais, Atkinson, and Williams opposed.



Ticket Tracer Software Lets Small Fry Off the Hook

- Mayor Scarrow said that outstanding parking convictions would only be followed up by the software where the tickets had been "approved" at the courthouse, and $100 or more was outstanding.

- Councillor Gervais asked if this affects an individual's ability to get a driver's license. Finance Director Day said "no," and that towing and placing liens on vehicles could be utilized by the city.

- Councillor Atkinson asked if tickets for less than $100 were being written off, and whether it was the city's intent to tow and impound vehicles, with additional charges added to an outstanding ticket. Finance Director Day clarified: if a person had two outstanding tickets totalling $100, going back to 1998, and he pled guilty in court, there will now be action against such a person. Towing and impounding still have to be evaluated. Parking tickets would be added to drivers' PIC (Driver's License Number).

- THE VOTE (to receive the report): 8 - 1 in favour, Councillor Williams opposed.


Limousine Service Needs Taxi License Bylaw Change

- in response to a letter from Don Wood, and a query from Councillor Matheson, Economic Development Director Corneil said it wold take at least a month to get the bylaw changed to allow Mr. Wood, a full-time health care worker, to run a limousine service in the city.

- Councillor Atkinson suggested a temporary business license be granted,which would allow Mr. Wood to "advertize legally."

- Councillor Williams suggested council could "expediate [sic] the process," since holding up Mr. Wood is "not a positive thing for us."

- Councillor Zurakowski was in favour of the temporary license suggestion, since he has learned that "democracy is sometimes the slowest form of government."

- Councillor Dionne wanted to "move an exemption to the bylaw." City Clerk Cliff Skauge deferred to Economic Development Director Corneil, who said that bylaws have to be adhered to [although council has not adhered to its procedural bylaw, in several respects, since 2006]. She added that a change to the bus bylaw was needed.

- Councillor Gervais said he was "all for this," having sat through the taxicab license issue in the past, like Councillor Atkinson. However, he reminded council that regulations and standards have to be in place because the public will be transported in Mr. Wood's limousine.

- Mayor Scarrow supports Mr. Wood's initiative, but said regulations do require adherence. He added that the bylaw will be changed in three weeks.

- Don Wood commented that it will take him three weeks to get his operating certificate from the province.

- THE VOTE (to refer to administration for appropriate reports): 7 - 0 in favour, Councillors Atkinson and Williams abstained.



8:10 PM



Sanitation Budgets Not Cleaned Up Yet

- City Manager Cotterill said the sanitation utility operating and capital budgets could be tabled to the next meeting.

- Councillor Atkinson agreed that might be prudent, since 2009 to 2013 capital item transfers were insufficient. He also referred to landfill fees paid by city residents and members of the North Central Saskatchewan Waste Management Corporation, and the fact that expected revenues from these fees were absent from the budget. These are important items, he said, that need fleshing out.

- Mayor Scarrow said he has had complaints from a number of Rural Municipalities (RMs), who do contribute to the operation of the waste management corporation. He needed clarification about which RMs were members of the corporation.

- THE VOTE (to table the report on these budgets): 4 - 0 in favour, 5 abstentions.



Contract for Grass Cutting

- Councillor Williams asked if this contract with the Saskatchewan Ministry of Highways and Infrastructure was a standard contract.

- City Manager Cotterill said "yes," and that he was investigating keeping these off council's agenda, as they could be handled by the City Manager.

- THE VOTE (to approve the contract): 6 - 0 in favour, 3 abstentions.



8:16 PM


Community Events Attended

- Councillor Dionne praised Telemiracle, and musician Donny Parenteau's participation in it. He met with the PA Mintos [hockey team] executive, who have paid off their debt to the city for building their dressing room at the Art Hauser arena - five months early. He forgot to mention that he [in his capacity as General Manager of the Gateway Mall] had contributed to this cause. Mayor Scarrow pointed out that fact to him.
- Councillor Gervais congratulated Brad and Lisa Lounsbury on the opening of the Westview Market [at 13th Street and 8th Avenue West, the former Dent's store and laundromat] and participants in the Winter Festival.
- Councillor Ring presented the City's photo memento from the Winter Festival, a picture of a dog team. Mayor Scarrow said it could be hung in the City Manager's office, since the "whip is the City Manager's style . . . I'm just kidding."


[While the local paper printed the names of the winners of the Winter Festival snow sculpture contest, it did not provide photos of their creations. I'm a big fan of snow and ice sculpting, so, to compensate for this oversight, I include here scans of my favourite two photographs of snow sculptures - taken at Ottawa's Winterlude competition in February 1998.]












- Mayor Scarrow attended the Katimavik open house, Winter Festival sponsorship evening, an event at The Nest (Canadian Mental Health Association facility), the funding announcement for Highway 11 twinning, the Kinsmen Mini-Miracle, a Chamber of Commerce luncheon, the Telemiracle breakfast, the Saskatchewan Penitentiary retirement party, a bishop's consecration ceremony, and an International Women's Day celebration. [Wow.]



8:25 PM



Inquiries - Portable Garages and Snow Removal

- Councillor Atkinson related how people at his church questioned him about the legality of portable garage enclosures. They told him city staff were saying these were illegal. He asked why the city does not allow them, as they are similar to tents that stay up all summer. Economic Development Director Corneil said they are allowed, but must meet the same property line setback requirements as a building. Atkinson asked why this is necessary (if there are no complaints), and "Are they a fire hazard?"Corneil said they are considered as an "accessory building."

- Councillor Ring asked about snow removal around schools [Atkinson had asked about this at the last council meeting], saying that the joint city/school boards committee needed to review this. Riverside, John Diefenbaker, Turgeon, and St. John's schools were mentioned. Atkinson noted that the agenda for the next meeting of the committee was already set, and that the query should go to public works. Scarrow interjected that this could be added to the meeting's agenda, and that "I'll be there tomorrow morning." He concluded by remarking that he loved Councillor Atkinson's "flair" at flipping the microphone button.



8:33 PM



Soccer Field Re-naming Postponed AGAIN

- Councillor Zurakowski, citing "research" that needs to be done, moved to postpone [for the third time . . . .] consideration of his motion to re-name the three soccer fields in Prime Ministers Park. Loud groans were emitted by the east side of the chamber. Councillor Gervais asked, "How patient is patient?"



Always the Last Word

- The Mayor thanked the usual crew (administration, Shaw Cable, the Herald), then added thanks to all those who made presentations to council to his list.


END 8:34 PM

3rd Regular Meeting of 2009 - February 23

Mayoral Uncertainty, Spycams, and Wingy Water Woes

START: 7:06 PM

ABSENTEES - none

PUBLIC GALLERY: Brian Clavier, Pearl Morin, Rick Potratz, and Steve Lawrence. Ingrid Mateen, Jess Camalari, Claudia Camalari, and two others left after 28 minutes. Special recognition guests Mr. & Mrs. Winter Festival (Arnold & Merle Chester), the Winter Festival Queen (Lori Hannah-Fiddler) and Festival Princesses (Justine Antoine-Roy and Kate McKelvic) also left after 28 minutes.

BACKGROUND DOCUMENTS: 275 pages [a remarkably small pile, considering that the last council meeting was 28 days previous. The number of complex subjects up for discussion by council shrinks dramatically when the Mayor is out of town - as he was for a large part of February 2009. Apparently, when he's not here, nothing important should happen.]


Recognition - Times Six
[This is becoming a permanent feature of council meetings.]

Stephanie Sasakamoose, the Prince of Wales Scholarship winner, was not present. For the benefit of Shaw cable viewers, the Mayor interviewed Mr. and Mrs. Winter Festival, the Festival Queen, and the two Festival Princesses. First Princess Justine Antoine-Roy - who confidently referred to herself as "numero uno" - asked her interviewer, "Are you really the Mayor?" Mayor Scarrow's guilty reply was drowned out by loud laughter from throughout the chamber.


7:14 PM


Submission of Pecuniary Interest Forms

For the eleventh consecutive meeting, the Mayor requested members of council to submit forms detailing what financial interests they have in the city that might affect their actions as municipal counillors. Again, no explanation was given for this request.

[The public now has reason to believe that someone on council is buying and selling properties so often that they need to submit a new form at every council meeting - or that the tape of this remark is looped to repeat indefinitely. To clarify: the procedure defined in section 116 of The Cities Act refers to the submission of these forms just after councillors are elected or re-elected, or when there is a change in either their municipal property holdings or their corporate involvement with the city coffers.]


Bylaw 47 Public Hearing - to Allow a District Development Plan Amendment to Create Country Residential Lots, at Aspen Estates (25 lots north of highway 302, east of the city) and Boyer Estates (17 lots, west of highway 2, north of the city)


- Brian Clavier [as expected] spoke against the bylaw, on the basis of the city's and RM's failure to respect section 5.4.8.1.viii of the District Development Plan (which requires country residential proposals, such as Boyer Estates, to be located more than 500 meters from the commercial area on the east side of highway 2 at Red Wing); the documentation's failure to assess traffic impacts generated by the two developments; the increased danger, in particular, at the main Red Wing access road intersection with highway 2, from additional traffic at a location that already has too many accidents and close calls; and long-term unsustainability of residential developments on the edge of the city that have no energy- or resource-reduction components.

- Councillor Williams explained that the Red Wing development is intended to attract young families, who are needed if the elementary school at Red Wing is to survive.

- Councillor Atkinson questioned the approval of two more projects that will affect traffic to and from the city, and the impact the developments will have on the Rural Water Utility, which is supplied by the city's water network.

- THE VOTE (to refer to bylaw section of the meeting): 8 - 1 in favour, Councillor Atkinson opposed.


7:24 PM


Development Permit Application Public Hearing - to Approve a "Breakfast Restaurant" in the Proposed Confectionery at 1928 Central Avenue (formerly the Grand Central Cafe, Pat's Place, and the Hillside Grocery, going back to 1945)

- letters of opposition from the operator of the Earth Spa business (located next door to the proposed restaurant/confectionery, in the same building) and the tenant living above the proposed restaurtant/confectionery space were posted to the city's web site on February 23.

- Brian Clavier spoke in favour of granting the permit, on the basis of the location's history as a restaurant, although he was concerned about how "commuter" is defined in Prince Albert, since it might mean an excessive number of additional cars parked in the area in the morning, rather than walking, cycling, or bus commuters being patrons of the restaurant. He said that the four existing parking spaces were enough, rather than the nine called for by the city's bylaw.

- Jess Camalari, the permit applicant, spoke about his arrival in the city in July 2000, his four children (all of whom speak three languages), and his experience running the concession at the Buckland arena.

- Councillor Zurakowski responded to Mr. Camalari, saying that "your excitement is contagious." He also noted that parking will need to be monitored, just as it is for the restaurant at 6th Avenue West and 22nd Street [which is in his ward].

- THE VOTE: 9 - 0, to approve the development permit.


7:34 PM


Shaw Cable Present - Despite the Lack of Such a Requirement in Their Broadcast License

- a letter from Shaw Cable [page 4 of the background documents] explains why Shaw's presence at council meetings may be inconsistent, but not why the picture was unavailable to viewers of the January 26, 2009 meeting. It also refers to the possibility of a "broadband service" Request for Proposals that it hopes will be produced by the city in spring 2009.

- Councillor Zurakowski said he was "pleased to hear [that] Shaw is committed to being here."

[Note: Brian Clavier wrote to council in 2006, then subsequently spoke at a council meeting in early 2007, about live internet broadcasts and online archiving of city council meetings. A report (with incomplete research) was produced in mid-2007 that served to justify council's failure to act on Brian's suggestions. There is no explanation for the continued presence of Shaw-produced videos of the September 10, 2007; September 24, 2007; and December 3, 2007 council meetings at http://www.citypa.ca/TheCity/CityCouncil/CouncilVideos/tabid/424/Default.aspx , under the heading "Recent City Council Meetings."]


Year-end Safety Report - New to the Public Eye

- the Occupational Health and Safety Report for the city for the year ended December 31, 2008 is presented in the meeting documents, beginning at page 29. A summary of city employee accidents has not been made available online before this.

Councillor Atkinson pointed out that the numbers of accidents for prior years [which, surprisingly, are not in the report] would be valuable, in order to create a context for the current year numbers.

- City Manager Cotterill excused the absence of this important information, stating that the individual who prepared the report "is new to the position."


7:42 PM


Time-saving Sypcams Will NOT Cost $240,000


- the Transportation Project Manager's report on obtaining three video cameras (two for the Diefenbaker bridge, plus one for the Riverside Drive overpass) described the full cost for these cameras, their installation and maintenance, and two message boards to allow the information they gather to be relayed to the motoring public as approximately $240,000 [at page 90 of the background documents]. There is no mention of right-to-privacy issues in the report. [Council's discussion of this item also neglected to address privacy issues.]

- Mayor Scarrow apologized for missing the Executive Committee meeting where this item was discussed in detail. His thoughts on this topic were not provided to members of council at that time. He stated that the message boards, a $200,000 expense, were not required, and that the $15,000 for monitoring was also not needed. He claims the cameras would give 5 to 20 minutes of additional warning to the police service of dangerous situations. The Police Commission [of which he is the Chair] has alrady reviewed this item, and the cost totals about $45,000.

- Councillor Zurakowski expressed his opposition to the expenditure, asking whether safety would be increased. The Mayor replied, "Yes."

- Councillor Dionne [a member of the Police Commission] told council that the Riverside Drive overpass was again hit by a truck on Friday night [February 20, 2009] , but the truck in question was fund due to the degree of damage. Cell phone callers, he said, do not give emergency services operators enough detail about incidents that happen on the bridge. He supports buying the cameras.

- Councillor Williams asked where the money is coming from, and whether the province was contributing any funds (since the bridge and overpass are on provincial highways).

- City Manager Cotterill replied that the costs would be included in the 2009 budget, and the province might contribute.

- Councillor Atkinson noted that there were an average of 6.3 accidents per year on the bridge and at the overpass, over a ten-year period, and that the delays at the two spots represented "less than point zero-one percent" of that time. He maintained that the cameras should be added to the police service capital budget.

- Mayor Scarrow countered that the cost should be in the public works budget, and that the police would monitor the cameras at no cost.

- Councillor Zurakowski asked if additional staff would be needed to monitor the cameras. The Mayor said, "No."

- THE VOTE (to include the three cameras in the 2009 budget): 7 - 2 in favour, Councillors Atkinson and Williams opposed.


7:51 PM


Indoor Hockey Season - "You play, you (might) pay"

- Mayor Scarrow noted, after again apologizing for missing the Executive Committee meeting where this item was discussed in detail, that the individual cost for extending the season at each of the three arenas in the city was not included in the report from the Recreation Manager.

- Councillor Zurakowski explained these numbers would be in the next report from Community Services.

- Councillor Williams reminded council that other arena users, such as the lacrosse players, would be affected if the hockey season is extended.

- Councillor Ring said the cost recovery rate should be set at 70% or higher.

- Councillor Dionne said that the RM of Buckland should be contacted, to see if they are extending their arena's hockey season. [It was not clear why the rural rink's hockey season was relevant.]

- Councillor Zurakowski remarked that the language of full cost recovery "is a slippery slope" that limits recreational facility access for youth.

- Mayor Scarrow [taking the discussion to uncharted lows] affirmed that sports are the "best anti-gang program."

- Councillor Williams clarified: the arenas' hockey programs are elite programs - not part of an anti-gang program for at-risk youth. What's more, if "you're gonna play, you pay" should be the operative principle.

- Councillor Zurakowski believes "at-risk" youth are increasingly middle class youth who cannot afford to participate in organized hockey.

- Councillor Atkinson brought the discussion back to extending the hockey season at the arenas, saying that there is less money available for at-risk youth if money is spent on extending the arenas' hockey season.

- THE VOTE (to have an in-depth report prepared): 9 - 0 in favour.


7:59 PM


Water Utility Budgets Drip Red Ink

- Councillor Atkinson reminded council that the water and sewer operating fund was supposed to be self-supporting, that it had a positive balance of $2 million in 2007, and that it now shows a $4.6 million deficit. The fund is "funded on the backs of residential users," not business or rural customers. There are minimum-usage rates that subsidize larger users, and no conservation elements. The more one uses, the less one pays. He said council should not wait to make changes to the fund's budget, municipalities across the country have already dealt with this problem, and if nothing is done, the $4.6 million deficit will get worse.

- Mayor Scarrow said the rate increases were passed by this council, council ignored a required $700,000 expenditure in March 2006 [seven months before this council was elected], and this council met with the treatment plant employees, who would "no longer come in at all hours." He claimed residential charges were below the provincial median, business charges were at the median, and there will be a profit inthe fund. This is an enormous ($19 million) issue, and the penalty of not doing things is "the price we're paying now."

- Councillor Swystun said the recommendations call for a review.

- Councillor Atkinson explained that when he wasn't in favour of the current pricing methodology, he voted against the rate strucure because he wanted everyone to pay more (not just residential customers). The report from administration is very late, the deficit has doubled, expenses have been limited to the bare essentials, and we should not have to wait another year for a detailed report.

- City Manager Cotterill said an "extremely complicated review" was being requested. He stated the federal and provincial governments have to step forward, and the city is applying within the next 60 to 90 days to the BCF [Building Communities Fund] - the city of "Yorkton got $12 million last week," and we will be applying for about that amount.

- Councillor Swystun [a former City Engineer] said that water system improvements are a "moving target." Saskatchewan Environment [SE] , for example, wanted $7 million in immediate system improvements two years ago. However, the interjection of "sanity" into the negotiations between the city and SE produced the current cost estimates.

- Councillor Atkinson said the waste water treatment plant in the east end was built solely with city funding [including the issue of debentures] ten years ago, while the problems in North Battleford a few years later resulted in the province coming to the rescue with "bags of money."

- Councillor Williams said he spoke out about the lack of conservation measures when the rates were changed two years ago; we're still washing cars and watering lawns with potable water, and we should educate citizens about this in order to change that way of thinking. In addition, he said that fire hydrant water is also potable, simple measures can save money, and a vast review of what we can do is needed.

- Councillor Zurakowski agreed, indicating that the city should look at some of these conservation measures - dealing with "the possible" now and "the perfect" later. He called for the question [an immediate vote on the motion].

- THE VOTE (to approve the budgets for the water utility and give the City Manager until December 31, 2009 to provide a report on the rates): 6 - 2 in favour, Councillors Atkinson and Williams opposed. Councillor Ring [the chair for today's Committee-of-the-Whole meeting segment] did not vote. When asked about this by the Mayor, he replied that he would have voted in favour of the motion.


New Emergency Radio System - Project Employee to Cost $60,000

- Councillor Dionne objected to hiring someone for a short period of time for $60,000. He suggested seconding an employee from the fire or police departments.

- City Manager Cotterill said the fire and police chiefs told him that the relevant expertise could not be found among their employees, and we have to "put pressure on the province for a system we can use." On the other hand, he also said that the province will be testing a system in Prince Albert next month.

- Mayor Scarrow said that the selection of a radio system by the province to replace Fleetnet was almost complete. To add more confusion to the issue, the Mayor also said that the city can't hire someone for $60,000 with the relevant expertise.

- THE VOTE (to refer the report to 2009 budget deliberations): 5 - 1 in favour, Councillor Dionne opposed. Vote was too quick to see who was in favour of the motion (other than the Mayor's supporting vote).


It's ONLY 3.7 million dollars . . . .

- Councillor Swystun moved that the city prioritize the expenditures that will be covered by MEEP [the Municipal Economic Enhacement Program] in 2009 - see the Public Forum section below, and refer to pages 247, 248, 249, and 259 of the meeting documents.


Saskatchewan Lotteries Funds Clock and Cabinet (but no couch)

- council voted to approve the 2009 Community Grant Program recommendations to Saskatchewan Lotteries. The recommended project grants include $3500 towards a new time clock at the East End Community Club, as described on page 270 of the meeting documents, and a $2000 grant to the Prince Albert Skating Club for the full cost of a display cabinet at the Dave Steuart arena, as described on page 271.

- the grant guidelines at http://www.bbcsask.ca/pdfs/toolkit/Districts-Annual-Funding-GuidelinesDec07.pdf have not changed for the 2009 grant year. The fourth and fifth pages of the document explain that capital expenditures (construction, renovation, or upgrading of facilities are specified) are ineligible for grants. The primary eligibility requirement is to"encourage participation in sport, recreation and cultural programs and in particular, to encourage participation by economically disadvantaged people, new Canadians, older adults, persons with a disability, single parent families, or youth at risk."

- The 2009 Prince Albert Community Grant Guidelines are on pages 205 and 206 of the document http://www.citypa.ca/Portals/0/PDF2/Council_Agenda/2008/2008%2012%2015%20-%20Order%20of%20Business/Agenda%20-%20Pages%201%20-%20423.pdf The City of Saskatoon elaborates on ineligible 2009 expenditures on the fourth and fifth pages of http://www.city.saskatoon.sk.ca/org/leisure/facilities/pdfs/CGApplication.pdf


AND the Mayor and Councillors Attended/Will Attend/Congratulate . . . .

- Councillor Matheson advertised the Kinsmen "Mini-Miracle" at the Rawlinson Centre on March 2 - musician Donny Parenteau will play there - and ate at Amy's Restaurant during a Francophone Culture Awareness Week event.
- Councillor Swystun said a UNESCO representative from Ottawa and the Saskatchewan Lieutenant-Governor will be in Prince Albert for the March 20 sign-on to the Cities-Against-Racism-and-Discrimination group.
- Councillor Dionne praised the Heart Health Olympics, and encouraged all of us to attend the next edition of "R U Tuff Enuff." He said 3100 people attended the most recent one, and that the "ladies" bout was the best.
- Councillor Ring filled in for the Mayor at many events - the city's long-service-awards dinner, the Winter Festival juried art show, a Prince Albert Grand Council inter-agency conference, a River Bank Development Corporation award ceremony, and a non-embarassing dog sled ride at the Canadian Sled Dog Challenge.
- Mayor Scarrow met Saskatchewan Indian Institute of Technologies construction students; attended the Art Hauser posthumous Citizen-of-the-Year tribute, the Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association convention, and the Shore Gold open house. He congratulated the City Manager for creating a new honour for civic employees (an award of appreciation for volunteer work performed), then asked the Director of Financial Services how many employees the city has, speculating that there were about 500. There was no reply.


8:37 PM


Inquiries - Snow Removal and Problems Resulting from the 28th St. West Construction

- Councillor Atkinson asked whether the recent snow removal near Arthur Pechey school would be repeated at other schools in the city. The Acting Director said he would look into this.

- Councillor Zurakowski asked about snow removal and weight limits on the 24th Street temporary route to the hospital during the continued closure of 28th Street, in response to stuck vehicles and excessive road wear. Scott Golding said there was a 5000-kilogram limit on 24th Street, and that it now had "priority one" status for snow removal.


8:46 PM


Motion to Re-name Soccer Fields

- Councillor Zurakowski's motion to re-name three soccer fields [see the posting for the January 26, 2009 council meeting] was postponed.


Public Forum - Mis-spent Survey Money, An Errant Calculator, and Nuclear Power is a No-No

- Brian Clavier complained about the $10,000 the city was spending on a badly-composed, age- and education-biased survey about Bruce Power's proposal for a nuclear power plant. He also gave a scathing comparison of the details for spending the $3.7 million in provincal MEEP money on pages 247-249 of the meeting documents with the spending summary found on page 259.

- Steve Lawrence [the Green Party candidate for the Prince Albert constituency in the October 2008 federal election] spoke against locating a nuclear power plant in the Prince Albert area, citing larger-than-predicted construction and operating costs; kilowatt-hour generation costs that are three-and-a-half times those for windpower, and double the cost of solar-generated electricity; increasingly cheaper solar- and wind-generated electricity; the need to have taxpayers assume 100% of the risks of a nuclear power plant; the fixed cost of wind-generated power (for 20 years); Germany's current plan to shut down all 16 of its nuclear power reactors; the potential for biomass-generated electricity; and a report by Moody's Investor Service that gives 25 to 30 cents per kilowatt hour as the cost of nuclear-generated power, versus the 9.38 cents we now pay. He also said that city residents should make their wishes on the question of nuclear power clear to the provincial government.

Always the Final Word

- The Mayor thanked administration and Councillor Dionne for their work. He admonished the Deputy-Mayor of the day, noting that "the Chair votes as well, Councillor Ring."

MEETING ADJOURNED AT 8:58 PM.
[The meeting's length was not due to a long agenda, but to lengthy discussions on three reports and councillors' attendance at a month's worth of noteworthy events.]

Off the Rails 2

NOTE: The only regular City Council meeting in Prince Albert in February 2009 will be held on February 23. The reason for the four-week interval between meetings is that council's movers and shakers were attending the Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association (SUMA) convention in Saskatoon on February 2, and February 16 is a civic holiday (Family Day). To compensate for the lack of public decision-making activity by our local governors, I present this post - on a topic that has never been taken seriously by this city's elected officials.



"The Environment" is Neither Disposable nor Replaceable (and Protecting it is Neither Expensive nor "Dangerous" to the Economy)

On February 5 the new federal Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development (Scott Vaughan) released his first report to Parliament. The first story line from it that the national news media picked up was the lack of accountability for $1.5 billion the federal government had given to the provinces (ostensibly to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases and other airborne pollutants). In the environmental media, the focus was on the report's blunt reference to Canada "not [being] on an environmentally sustainable path." What the Commissioner didn't say was that everything each of us does has an effect on the environment - nearly all of it negative. He also didn't say that individual and governmental failure to change what we do, so that we generate smaller negative effects on the environment, is more important than Canadians realize.

The City of Prince Albert is a prime example of a local government that has failed to take responsibility for minimizing the detrimental impacts on the environment produced by activities that occur within its boundaries. Recognizing that the first step in righting that wrong is the creation of a "Green Plan" that is uniquely suited to the city, I wrote out the requirements for and an outline of such a plan, then presented this to City Council at its regular public meetings. My presentations were given over a four-month period, from November 26, 2007 to March 24, 2008. None of the details of these presentations were reported - by either the print or broadcast media. Fully cognizant of their lack of newsworthiness, I am nonetheless reproducing the presentations here.

Fifteen months have elapsed since I began trying in earnest to educate Council on this (very basic) issue. Since much has happened during that time, including City Council giving congratulatory messages and nods of approval to Green Living Action Day and Project Porchlight last fall (but also, on my part, large doses of introspection), I have added comments on the original text. These appear in green ink.


Basic Requirements for a Green Plan
(presented at the City Council meeting on November 26, 2007)

1. [In the short term] It must consist of mostly low-cost, or no-cost measures.
Since future revenue seems to be already allocated to asphalt, soccer, and infrastructure, a green plan must cost next-to-nothing. Small portions of existing staff’s time are needed for writing, review, and enforcement of the program. Anything more costly can be delayed [for one year, now that two budget years have passed since this was written] - as long as you remember that costs increase exponentially as each year passes. Fortunately, most “green plan” tools are low cost.

2. It must be comprehensive.
Garbage reduction, recycling improvements, decreased water and sewer use, and reductions in electricity and hydrocarbon consumption must all be part of the program at the start. The time for token gestures and empty rhetoric ended at least ten years ago. Favouritism and exemptions have no place in our green plan [for example, prohibitions on new drive-thru lanes and a tax on existing such services should apply to every fast-food outlet, bank, and credit union: we don't want to duplicate Kalispell, Montana, which, with half the population of Prince Albert, has a downtown "bank" consisting of six drive-through lanes and a "building" with a footprint that is 15 feet by 10 feet], and the costs of not acting on all fronts simultaneously are going up way too fast.

3. It must be simple.
The plan has to be simple, because there are still people in Prince Albert who think global warming does not exist, and others who do not link climate change to the 80,000 yearly kilometers their household drives. [In the middle of 36 days of temperatures stuck between -22 and -38 in December 2008 and January 2009, one of the local paragons of hydrocarbon consumption asked me, "So what happened to global warming?" With a hard glare and venom in my voice, I replied that "Prince Albert doesn't constitute the globe." My neighbours on both sides also fail to link their actions to climate change: they insist on warming up their vehicles in the driveway, for at least ten minutes before they drive off, whenever the temperature falls below zero.] Technical complexity can be added later - even if the two senior levels of government fail to get serious about environmental planning. [The October 2008 federal election might have had an impact, but as long as the Michael-Ignatieff-led Liberals support the minority Conservative government, there's no hope for significant change at that level. At the provincial level, the Saskatchewan Party, like the Alberta Conservatives, still believes that carbon sequestration and "clean coal" are meaningful pursuits.]

4. It must have real, measurable targets and goals.
Aside from setting realistic targets and goals, the capacity to record progress toward them must be in place.

5. It must use tools that are being used elsewhere, and not try to innovate.
There are lots of smart people in the world, and I think we can simply accept their work as worthy of duplication. Avoiding innovation will reduce public confusion, eliminate unrealistic options, and shorten decision-making timeframes.

6. The plan must have a champion - someone whose job is to implement it.
This person must be free from political influence. Neither David Suzuki nor Hamilton Greenwood [a department head at SIAST Woodland Campus] is available.

7. There must be an award system of some kind in the plan.
These keep the program in the public eye, and are very important for the current mayor [who, since November 2006, has accorded special recognition to a score of sports teams and meritorous individuals at city council meetings].


Part I - "Internal" Measures in a Municipal Green Plan
(presented at the City Council meeting on January 28, 2008)

Except for Councillor Dionne, who had to leave the last time I spoke, council will recall that there are three parts in a Municipal Green Plan. Tonight I will explain 16 internal measures that should be included in part one of the Plan. Their adoption must be the first step, because this will show leadership by city council and city administration. After all, if you don’t show an interest in environmental initiatives, it is unlikely the rest of the population will.

1. Hire a sustainable development coordinator.
This is necessary because someone who works for the city must conduct research and monitor the Green Plan’s implementation - full-time. That person will also be responsible for engaging the public in the Green Plan’s implementation.

2. Collect information on the electricity, natural gas, propane, gasoline, and diesel consumed by all of the city’s buildings and vehicles, then set targets (in percentages) for reducing this consumption.
[I know this is a tall order for an organization like the City of Prince Albert. If you want to know how difficult it is to get actual consumption information, start by examining the police operating budget found on pages 90-99 of the January 12, 2009 council meeting documents. It seems most police vehicles run on air and an unwavering sense of justice, not gasoline or diesel: the only references to vehicle fuel and oil costs are on line 331, where we see $1701 for "CFSEU Vehicle Fuel & Oil" in 2007, dramatically reduced to just $86 in 2008, and line 342, where the "Emergency Response Team" is noted as using $0 - yes, ZERO - for "Vehicle Fuel & Oil" in 2006, 2007, and 2008. This is either a brilliant achievement (worthy of at least a Pultizer Prize or an Oscar), one which the city must try to replicate in its other departments, or an indication that fuel costs are astronomically high, so are hidden somewhere else in the chart of accounts.] Targets should be in percentages of kilowatt hours, cubic meters, and liters - not in dollars or tonnes of greenhouse gases, because the process should be simple, and independent of price increases or emission formulas. Targeting 30% reductions by 2011 is a good start. For fuel used by city vehicles, I can give you a multi-function spreadsheet that I designed for my gas usage. [This spreadsheet can be easily modified to accommodate a fleet of several hundred vehicles].

3. Eliminate free parking for all city employees and elected officials.
Land is valuable, and if we insist on allowing public land to be occupied by private vehicles, less than 25% of the time, there should be a charge of $100 per month to use it exclusively as storage space. This is a fair price, compared to the $500 per month commonly charged for a parking space in Squamish, BC, and the $125/month average charge in downtown Saskatoon last year [2007].

4. Encourage city employees to take the bus to work, by giving them a monthly bus pass.
In order to get a pass for the subsequent month, they would have to use the pass to get to work on at least 15 days in the current month.

5. Encourage employees to carpool, by setting up a car pool program for each city facility with more than 5 employees.

6. Encourage city employees to walk or bike to work, by giving a dollar-a-day payment to them for any day they walk or bike to work.

7. Encourage city employees to bike to work, by installing covered, secure bike parking racks that do not damage bicycles, located within 10 meters of the main entrance to city-funded buildings. [This means installing racks at the Rawlinson Centre, the Art Hauser Centre, and the Dave Steuart Arena; replacing the ancient rack at the library; and covering the rack just outside the north door of City Hall.]

8. Adopt a policy that every building constructed or renovated with city funds must meet the energy efficiency standards at the silver level of the LEED building rating system.
LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and and Environmental Design. The City of Prince Albert is so far behind in this area that basic LEED certification is no longer acceptable. Although this is the level Saskatoon now requires - and Regina, and Calgary, and the 800-resident Town of East Gwillimbury, Ontario, for its 800 residents - we can do better.

9. Build sidewalks.
The money can come from allocating 1% of the road repair, resurfacing, and construction budget.

10. Allocate another 1% of the road repair, resurfacing, and construction budget to on-street bicycle lanes.
[A few years ago, the City removed the only on-street lane it had - on 15th Street East, from 6th Avenue to 10th Avenue. The entire length of this thoroughfare is a likely candidate for the first crosstown, on-street bike lane.]

11. Change the city’s streetlights to lower wattage, low-pressure sodium, flat-lens fixtures.
Wattages can be reduced since the flat-lens fixture focuses light down, rather than sending it up and sideways. [There also has to be a better way of ensuring that streetlights do not burn 24 hours-a-day: filling in SaskPower's web site form, as well as calls to their 1-800 number, both necessitate several weeks to address these problems.]

12. Change the toilets in city buildings to dual-flush units.
Users save water by selecting a small flush for liquids, and a larger flush for solids. [The provincial government now gives Saskatchewan homeowners a subsidy to make the switch, so there may be funds available to the city for this purpose.]


13. Replace sink tap sets in city buildings with sensor-operated units.
[If you want to know how much water is wasted by a broken faucet, ask the General Manager of the Gateway Mall about the sinks in the men's washroom off the mall's food court: in the past ten years, I've been in that washroom at least 200 times, and on only two occasions have I found the taps not pouring rivers of water straight down the drains.]

14. Adopt and enforce a policy to restrict idling by city vehicles to a maximum of 30 seconds after starting up and while stopped.
[Police vehicles are the worst offenders in this category. Apparently the police versions of the Ford Crown Victoria and Dodge Charger driven by the local constabulary have batteries so puny they can't power the notebook computers in the vehicles. Solution: install solar panels on the roofs of the vehicles - but these would have to be larger than the ones just installed above the solar-powered light fixtures on stop signs at 22nd Street and 1st Avenue West.]

15. Change water and sewer rates to encourage conservation.
The current rate structure rewards high volume users with a lower cost per unit than low volume users pay. On a personal note, I’ve managed to reduce my water consumption by 50% over the last seven years [2000 to 2007]- with zero impact on my water bill.

16. Hold a public environmental planning workshop - to come up with ideas that supplement those I just spoke about. I’ve only given you a small sample of the many brilliant ideas that can put us firmly on the path to a Prince Albert that is "green" year-round [and I do tire quickly at hearing the sound of my own voice].


Part II - "Greening" Bylaws
(presented at the City Council meeting on February 25, 2008)

Here are nine to consider.

1. Eliminate drive-through lanes at all businesses in the city.
These asphalt atrocities encourage pointless fuel consumption, discourage people from walking, take up valuable real estate, and, in the final analysis, provide a “convenience” for a few people that is literally toxic to all of us. One way to phase in the elimination of these lanes is to require an annual $10,000 drive-through-lane license (the amount is a conservative estimate of the health and environmental costs to society resulting from the lane’s use). If you can’t see yourselves passing this bylaw, how about collecting $1 from every patron of a drive-through? Municipalities all over Canada (such as Toronto, Hamilton, and Jasper) have finally realized how much damage is done by drive-through lanes. We should join them.

2. Give builders an incentive to build “green” houses and commercial buildings.
This could be done with a 25% reduction on the building permit fee, or the “off-site levies”, for construction that meets LEED criteria (remember, that means Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design). Over their lifetimes, these buildings save the city money - in reduced water and sewer treatment costs, for example. Rather than immediately requiring home builders to exceed the R2000 standards by 20%, the bylaw could adopt the LEED for Homes criteria, which were established by the Canada Green Building Council just last month [January 2008]. These building standards should also be applied to renovation jobs.

3. Require subdivision developers to integrate their units’ transportation needs with the city’s transit system, sidewalks, and bike lanes.
This should be part of the development agreement they sign with the city.

4. Create parking spaces near the doors of city facilities that are reserved for registered car pool and hybrid vehicles.
Incidentally, this is already done across the street, at the Saskatchewan Forest Centre.

5. Adopt an anti-idling bylaw.
Drivers in PA are notorious engine idlers - another wasteful “convenience for a few” that causes major harm to all of us - and remote car starter addicts. There is no benefit from engine idling that can’t be provided by wearing clothes that are appropriate for the weather. Of course, the bylaw would need a phase-in period, and signs on the highways entering the city. [The toothless version passed in Edmonton in late 2008 should not be used as a model - look at Banff's.]

6. Impose an annual license fee for lawn sprinkler systems.
These are famous for watering during rainstorms and sweltering summer afternoons - a major waste of a resource that costs the city plenty to provide. The levy would be similar to the alarm system fee now paid to the city through the home security companies.

7. The flip side of the sprinkler system license fee would be a bylaw that reduces the property taxes of any commercial or residential property that removes a lawn and replaces it with xeriscaping (that’s a term for the use of landscaping elements that require very little, or no water beyond snowmelt and rainfall). [My personal xeriscaping project starts in May 2009.]

8. In the next contract with the city’s bus service provider, ask the company to pay half the cost of building bus stop pull-offs on streets that are also provincial highways.
[These streets are 6th Avenue East (from Marquis Road to 15th Street), the entire length of 15th Street, and the entire length of 2nd Avenue West.] This gets the bus out of traffic, allows traffic to flow more efficiently, and provides a safer ride for transit users.

9. Revise the building code to encourage energy-efficiency measures. This suggestion is different from supporting LEED-standard homes and commercial structures. Here I mean making it legal to build straw bale homes, use rain and gray-water in toilets, generate one’s own electricity; and, generally, supporting innovative, low-energy house construction techniques, then reducing a property’s tax bill based on a points system. If you think about this, it makes sense because these measures lower the city’s cost of providing services over the entire life of a building.

The bylaw changes I’m proposing are needed now. Let’s just do it.


Part III - Public Outreach
(presented at the City Council meeting on March 24, 2008)

Public outreach does mean getting the public involved in the municipal green plan. Here are seven ways that can be done.

1. Educate the public, using water bill inserts
This simple idea creates an opportunity for emphasizing the proper use of the blue bins; but it also provides an opportunity for educating the public on methods of reducing water consumption, recycling facilities at the landfill, and the city’s efforts to conserve resources at each of its buildings.

2. Educate the public, near the entrance of every city building
When members of the public enter city-run buildings, they should be immediately made aware of energy conservation, waste and water reduction, and recycling facilities located in those buildings.

3. Implement a city-wide faucet aerator and low flow showerhead replacement program.
By now you should have heard about the Town of Battleford’s plan to replace all the toilets in the city with low volume units, and Saskatoon’s token replacement of 3000 showerheads in that city. We need to start with aerators on all the water faucets in our city, then move on to all the showerheads.

4. Develop, then implement a green program for school-aged youth
Post-secondary schools will need a program that both their administrators and their student representatives can adopt. These need to go beyond one-off campaigns. High schools and elementary schools will need separate programs, but they may be easier to work with through programs developed in consultation with the school boards, as opposed to the individual schools we see at the post-secondary level. Remember that for every dollar spent in green education for adults, we should spend at least $5 on green education for children - because they will (hopefully) be around for a long time. Remember that these programs also readily lend themselves to public recognition awards, one of the mayor’s passions.

5. Involve businesses in creating a green city
This type of initiative can be tailored to separate businesses with more than 50 employees from smaller businesses, and both of those categories should be distinct from government employers. The first step would be a survey of existing corporate, federal government, and provincial government employers’ green policies and practices, followed by support for expanding the “green” activities for each type of business - with initiatives similar to those promoted among homeowners and the three levels of educational institutions. Specific measures should come out of the consultations.

6. Involve the citizens in a major green project
The City of Saskatoon is supporting a downtown residential initiative called River Green. We should have had a major affordable green housing project where the empty shell of Prince Charles school sat. What made this idea a perfect fit for the site were its size, the location, the need for a major jumpstart to non-condominium home construction in the city, and the golden opportunity to apply for funding from Prince Charles’ Green Trust. Surely the future ruler of the British Empire would have looked fondly on a green project built around a school named after him. [Without even considering the potential for such a project, the city let the property be sold to a developer - who is building a half-dozen single-family houses there.]

7. Add the city’s new “green” image to the travelling public’s experience of our city.
Here I mean involving the thousands of hockey players, softball and baseball players, convention delegates, visiting golfers, and the family members who accompany these individuals to Prince Albert in our “green” programs. The intention is to give them more than a trophy, or bric-a-brac as a memento of their stay in the city: we should give them a perceptible share in the task of ensuring that our city is environmentally sustainable, and something they will use when they return home.

That’s it for my green "prescription." As I said at the beginning of this series of presentations, the information I’ve provided you with over the past four months is merely the foundation of a municipal green plan. And while I’m not hopeful that any member of city council will actually take it to heart, this whole process will have been worthwhile if it inspired even one person to make changes in their lives to advance the cause of making Prince Albert environmentally sustainable. Have a safe walk home.


*********************************************************************
One of my hobbies is collecting cartoons. Although I started my collection 30 years ago, "environmental" cartoons only got added to the mix in the last decade. I would have liked to have included a favourite example in this post, but respect for copyright issues intervened. Instead, I'll describe the image, and e-mail it to anyone who wants a copy.

The cartoon in question was originally published in the Ottawa Citizen, and subsequently re-printed on page 4 of the July 12, 2006 Prince Albert Daily Herald. It shows an obese middle-aged male, identified on his shirt as "NORTH AMERICAN SOCIETY," and clearly in the grip of inebriation, urinating on a wall identified as "THE ENVIRONMENT." Unfortunately, the character relieving himself could have been identified as "PRINCE ALBERT." If we could change anything about this city that would be treasured a thousand years from now, it should be this image.

As a not-too-subtle reminder of some of the effects of ignoring the need to reduce our impact on the planet, and in sympathy with the residents of the Australian State of Victoria, I include this photo of the Crutwell fire (view north from Highway 302, West of the penitentiary, June 29, 2002).