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council email update — 21 June 2009

Posted Mon, 06/22/2009 - 00:09
in

Happy solstice, everyone!

Here are the highlights of tomorrow's Council agenda.  (You can see the whole agenda package at http://www.banff.ca/Assets/PDFs/Town+Hall+PDF/Council+Agendas+PDF/2009+Agendas+PDF/council-agenda-090622.pdf  )

BOW VALLEY VOLUNTEER DRIVER PROJECT

The towns of Banff and Canmore and the MD of Bighorn are working together to create a volunteer drivers program, to help seniors and the disabled get into Calgary for important medical appointments, etc.  The briefing to council (page 21 of the package) includes information on how this will be organized.

FCSS "MEET ON THE STREET" INITIATIVE

FCSS is trying out a new way for them to connect with the community:  taking to Town kiosk/tents out and setting them up in neighbourhoods, offering beverages and cookies, and chatting with people that come by.  This program is going to be piloted on Grizzly Street this week, and will be carried out in full in the fall.  You can see the full briefing on page 26 of the package.

ENVIRONMENTAL REBATES

You're probably familiar with the town's popular toilet rebate program.  On page 31 of the council package, you can read about a proposed revamping of the program to include rebates for more energy and water-saving devices (rain barrels, programmable thermostats, etc) and to introduce a part of the rebate program that will be open to commercial applicants.  The report also points out other rebates available from the feds and the provice -- just by reading it, I found out about a $100 rebate for my new energy-efficient washing machine -- so you'll want to check it out!

BANFF HOUSING CORPORATION

Council will also be holding a BHC shareholders' meeting on June 22, and you can see the agenda package for it here:

http://www.banff.ca/Assets/PDFs/Town+Hall+PDF/Committee+Agendas+PDF/BHC+Agendas+2007/bhc-shareholders-agenda-090622.pdf

Council will be asked to vote on seven recommendations coming out of the discussions with the BHC homeowners on May 28.  These include confirming that the current sublease agreements are not changing, creating a "plain English" version of the main points of the sublease agreement, providing evidence that "equity creep" (a gradual increase in prices paid on the assumption that the community equity will be passed along) is taking place, providing information on administration fees and what costs they are used to offset, and recommendations for setting up a working group to deal with further discussions.

Council email update, June 8, 2009

Posted Sun, 06/07/2009 - 22:04
in

Hello everyone:

Here are a few notes on what's happening, and what's coming to council on Tuesday -- yes, that's right, council meeting is moved to Tuesday this week.

OPPORTUNITIES FOR INPUT

Just a reminder that two important opportunities for input are available right now.

The Banff Land Use Bylaw revision process:

You can check out the Phase 1 information on the website:  www.banff.ca/ourlanduse and provide your input by email, and/or you can visit the planners at their stand when they come to your neighbourhood, and let them know what your thoughts are.  Here's the schedule:

Monday, June 9th : Squirrel & Cougar (4pm – 6pm)

Wednesday, June 10th: Bison Courtyard (1pm – 3pm)

Thursday, June 11th: Beaver & Otter (4pm – 6pm)

Saturday, June 13th: Safeway (10am – 12am)

Monday, June 15th: Moose & Muskrat (4pm – 6pm)

Tuesday, June 23rd: Marmot Crescent (4pm – 6pm)

Thursday, June 25th: Glen Avenue (4pm – 6pm)

Saturday, June 27th: Bison Courtyard (10am – 12am)

Tuesday, June 30th: Middle Springs Cabin (4pm – 6pm)

  If you want to arrange a meeting with the planners for a neighbourhood or community group, just give them a call at 762-1120.

 

Parks Canada Mountain National Parks management planning:

 

Send them an email at parks.chats@pc.gc.ca to sign up for a username and password so that you can leave your comments on the planning website.

 

WHAT'S HAPPENING WITH COUNCIL AND BHC HOMEOWNERS?

 

Council had a facilitated meeting with BHC homeowners on May 28.  We reviewed the issues from everyone's point of view and generated some options for possible solutions.  We will have the meeting report soon, and will lay out next steps for the BHC process.

 

WHAT'S COMING TO COUNCIL ON TUESDAY?

 

Tuesday looks like a relatively short meeting.  You can see the whole agenda package by clicking on this link:

http://www.banff.ca/Assets/PDFs/Town+Hall+PDF/Council+Agendas+PDF/2009+Agendas+PDF/council-agenda-090609.pdf 

Here are the highlights:

 

Bike connections to the new Legacy Trail:

 

Council is being asked to divert $50,000 from the Beaver Street parking project to a new project to mark bike routes throughout the town with a pavement marking that will indicate to car drivers that this space is being shared with cyclists.  I'm inclined to suggest that we try it first on the route that will link the two parts of the bike trail that Parks is building, so that cyclists will know the safest route to travel when they come in on the trail from Canmore and wish to reach the trail to the Bow Valley Parkway.  You can see the whole report by clicking on the link above and scrolling down to page 97.

 

Library stats coming to council

 

At council's request, the library is now providing their stats to council along with the library board minutes.  Take a look at page 43 of the council package -- you'll be amazed at the numbers!

 

Changes to how we bill for waste collection:

 

To provide incentive for people and businesses to recycle and to minimize their waste, council is being asked to consider a waste utility.  Commercial properties would be billed based on the waste they produce, with cardboard and organics that are sorted out for recycling costing less that regular garbage headed for the landfill.  Unfortunately, because of communal bins, it's not possible to provide the same incentives for residential users, who will be charged a flat rate.

 

The report, which you can see starting on page 45 of the package, explains how this would work, and how the cost of waste and recycling would be switched from the general taxpayer to the producer of the waste.  I think this is a good approach -- take a look and see what you think!  If council agrees with this report, detailed design of the process would start and it would be implemented in 2010.