It's COLD out there!  Is anyone else hoping, as I am, that this weather is killing a few pine bark beetles?

SCHOOL BOARD FUTURES PLANNING EXERCISE

I went to the Futures Planning workshop at the Elementary School on Wednesday.  For any of you who haven't been part of this process yet, I really recommend that you join in on the next one, which will be in March sometime.  Sometimes it's hard to drag yourself out in the evening after a long day, but this process is so important, and it's always fun once you get there. The questions are interesting, the format is engaging, and the discussion is lively!   

Here's a quick rundown of the items coming to Council on Monday.  As always, any opinions I express about these items are mine alone, and do not claim to represent the official position of Council or the Town of Banff:

DOWNTOWN PARKING ALTERNATIVES:

As you know, by the tightest of margins, Council chose not to pursue a new parkade in the 200 block of Beaver Street.  At that time, staff said they would flesh out some alternatives and bring the ideas back to Council for consideration.  Here's what's being explored:

1. allow parking of cars (no RVs) on the river side of Bow Avenue
2. build a new surface lot between the Bow View Lodge and the hospital
3. make the Cascade Plaza parkade more easily accessible through better signage (last year it was only at 50% occupancy), and redirect all 12-hour parking there.
4. make the Bear Street parkade for 1-hour and 3-hour parking only
5. lease the high school parking lot in the summer
6. consider attempting to acquire the residence beside the existing parking lot in the 200 block of Beaver and adding that lot to the parking lot
7. promote car pooling
8. take another look at pay parking
9. consider building a parkade in another location -- eg the 200 block of Bear Street

You can read the full report with all of the comments from Administration by clicking on

http://www.banff.ca/AssetFactory.aspx?did=1332

and scrolling through to page 12.   There is a great chart that will show you how many stalls would be gained by using each idea.

The two ideas that I do not support are (2) the surface lot by the hospital (too many trees lost, too much impact on a scenic area) and (9)  a parkade in the 200 block of Bear (spending too much money, and creating a narrow, shaded canyon on what is becoming a very pleasant street).  Pursuing ideas 1, 3, 4, 5 and 6 above would give us a projected 160 stalls during the busy summer months (present shortfall is 125), and leave us time to improve our transit system, consider pay parking, and take similar steps to reduce parking demand.

SNOW CLEARING

You can see an excellent report about the Town's snow and ice clearing procedures, and new ideas that are being considered, by going to:

http://www.banff.ca/AssetFactory.aspx?did=1332

and scrolling down to page 19.

You'll see a map with the town's priorities for clearing, and you can read about the present procedures and some of the challenges.  In order to improve the level of service, Council is being asked to think about:

Good news - the Catholic Church is being proposed for heritage designation on Monday.

RE-USE-IT CENTRE

Many communities have places where people can take their lightly used household items that are no longer wanted by them but too good to throw out.  More good news! -- Community Services is looking at establishing a place like this here.  You can read about it at

http://www.banff.ca/AssetFactory.aspx?did=1332  page 45

This will be a better alternative than leaning that old sofa against the bearproof bin!

TWO PROCEDURE CHANGES

I'm proposing two procedure changes to Council on Monday:

1.  Re-establishing a Finance Committee:  You may be surprised to hear that Council doesn't have one!  I think it would be useful to have a joint council-staff committee to go over financial policies and procedures, and review variances from budget (among other things).  I know that staff works very hard on the town's financial management, but I believe that most Banffites expect councillors to be pretty involved in the Town's finances, and that you want us to be keeping a close eye on your behalf.

2.  Having a systematic approach to bylaw review, so that every bylaw comes back in front of council every 3 - 4 years.  It's all too easy for bylaws to sit on the books and not be reviewed until an issue comes up.  I think it would be useful for two bylaws to come to each meeting of council, so that councillors, staff, and the general public are regularly reminded of what is in the town's bylaws, and have a chance to flag things that are no longer needed or should be updated.

I know I'm not supposed to bombard you with emails, but maybe just this once ... there was so much interest in the various topics in my email update that I decided to do a followup on what happened ...

MID-BLOCK CROSSWALKS

Because I received several interesting and thoughtful comments on why it's hard to see/remember these crosswalks, and what we can do to improve them, I copied all the comments into one email which I sent off to the Town staff who are working on the Banff Avenue project.  I took your names off, because I wanted to respect your privacy.

FAMILY DAY HOMES 

As you know, the question of how much the Town should do to try to set standards for day homes was a hot topic.  However, with the help of some additional information from the staff, we've ended up with a bylaw that I believe strikes a good balance.  Here's how it works -- if you apply for a Family Day Home (that is, you're affiliated with the provincially approved Day Home Agency in Canmore, and you have to follow their standards) then all development permit fees are waived by the town, and your business licence will be covered by the Agency.  As well, parents using an approved Family Day Home get their fees subsidized by the province.  On the other hand, if you apply for a Private Babysitting Service, which is not subject to the Agency, then all the fees apply and there is no subsidy.

I think this is a good approach, because it will encourage interested operators to become Day Homes, with all the standards in place, and that helps to cover the concerns about doing the best job we can for the children. 

I have to say, though, that I have really been reminded throughout this process that parents really have to know and be involved with their child care provider.  In the end, the parents are the ones most responsible for the maintenance of standards. 

COMMUNITY STANDARDS BYLAW

In the end, sections 63 and 64 remained as they were -- I guess my points about the light hand of responsible democracy and treating people based on their actual behaviour (vs. what you think they're going to do ) were not convincing enough.  It's fortunate that we have such great police and bylaw folks here so that we can trust them to apply this section with discretion.

ELECTION PROCEDURE CHANGES

Council passed a motion that we will consider more than one advance polling day, and that one of those days will be at least a week ahead of the election.  Because town staff strongly recommended staying with Town Hall as a location, we agreed that -- rather than requiring a move -- all pictures and text items that relate to a candidate or an election issue will be removed or covered during voting times.

And that's "what happened next"!  Remember to let me know if you have a place near you (such as Lost Camper Avenue) where people have trouble with wayfinding.

Hello everyone:

I hope you're getting a chance to enjoy the great skiing, and that you're also managing to stay warm!

Here's a quick rundown on what's been happening at council, and what's coming to the council table tomorrow.  As always, these items are presented from my point of view, and this message does not pretend to be an official communication of Council or of the Town of Banff.

MID-BLOCK CROSSWALKS ON BANFF AVENUE

If you're like me, you may be having a little trouble remembering to notice these new crosswalks.  The Town staff has put up some different signage to try to make them more visible.  Let me know what you think -- is the new signage working for you?

SNOW REMOVAL

I've heard from a few people about the length of time that it took to clear the roads and sidewalks after the big December storm.  As I'm sure you know, that combination of a heavy snowfall, followed by a bit of rain, followed by very low temperatures, makes for a worst-case scenario for the folks that have to clear the snow.  Apparently, this was added to by the fact that a couple of pieces of key equipment, including the grader, had minor breakdowns and needed repairs.  Having said all that, the town staff is no happier than you are about the length of time the clearing took, and they're reviewing all their priorities and snow-clearing procedures to try to do the best job possible within the money available.  I'll keep you updated on this.

FAMILY DAY HOMES

As you know, there's a bylaw in front of council, coming for 3rd reading tomorrow, to make family day homes and private babysitting services able to be licensed as home occupations in the town of Banff.  If you're not a parent of pre-schoolers, you may not know that the Banff Child Care Centre has a waiting list of 100 -- so it is urgent to try to encourage more private spaces in town.  Given the importance, a few people have wondered why I'm asking so many questions about the bylaw.  "Just get it passed!" is the message from some.  I certainly do understand the urgency, but I also think we need to make sure we do it right.  There are so many interests involved:

• The children -- are we doing everything we are required to do in order to ensure their comfort and safety?
• The parents -- are we having a comprehensive and transparent discussion of the bylaw, so that people will clearly understand what "licensed by the Town of Banff" means -- and what it doesn't mean?
• The operators -- how can we be as clear as possible in the bylaw about what factors will be looked at in granting a home occupation permit, so that people will feel confident in applying?
• The neighbours -- how can we best ensure that they have a chance to have input?

 For all these reasons, I'm asking lots of questions about this bylaw.  I feel that it's not unreasonable to spend a couple of extra weeks examining something so important.

COMMUNITY STANDARDS BYLAW

The bylaw folks have been working very hard on this, and the combining of noise, nuisances, graffiti and similar items under one bylaw is a great idea.  We've made a few changes and there are some more recommended for tomorrow's meeting.  I've heard from several of you who are anxious to see the best noise protection possible (aren't we all!)

One contentious item is these 2 clauses:

No person shall conduct himself or behave in a manner that gives an Officer reasonable grounds to believe that such conduct or behaviour will disturb the peace of the neighbourhood or disturb other persons in the Town or unreasonably interfere with other persons' enjoyment of the Town, and any such person shall cease such conduct or behaviour as requested by an Officer.

That's because -- much as I want to have peaceful nights -- I also believe we should be doing enforcement based on what people are actually doing, not what we think they might do in future.  I'm also uncomfortable with reaching conclusions about people based on the size of the group they're hanging around with.

However, the bylaw folks and the RCMP feel otherwise, and have put lots of thought into their point of view as well  -- you can read their comments here:

http://www.banff.ca/AssetFactory.aspx?did=1323

(just scroll through to page 17 to see the report).

We'll see which way it goes tomorrow!

ELECTION PROCEDURES

I've asked Council to consider three changes to election procedures tomorrow -- #2 is the most important one, from my point of view:

1.  that we clarify that, if necessary, there can be more than one advance polling day

2.  that we direct that at least one advance poll be held no less than a week before the election.  This is because I heard from a lot of you that the 4-day spread in 2007 was just not enough, since October is a time when a lot of people take vacations.

3.  that we run our voting station somewhere other than Town Hall.  This is because I observed during the election that there were pictures and text posted on the way into the voting station, and in the voting station itself, that related to particular candidates and to particular points of view on election issues.  This is not anyone's fault -- it's just something that is likely to happen in a Town Hall location.  So I'm suggesting we avoid that. 

The staff report to council can be seen here:

http://www.banff.ca/AssetFactory.aspx?did=1323

(just scroll through to page 11 to see the report).

As you'll see, staff agrees with point #1, disagrees with point #3, and recommends that we hold an advance poll on a weekend day. 

WAYFINDING

I had a look at an early draft of the wayfinding plan this past week -- this is the project that will install new directional signs throughout the town in 2009.  Although there are lots of things that need tweaking, I'm pretty excited about the overall look of the signage, and the fact that there will be more directional signs meant for pedestrians and trail users.  If you have any places near you where people (drivers or walkers) often get lost, please tell me about them, and I'll check to ensure that they are included in the draft plan.

Until next time, best wishes to you all -- Leslie

Hello everyone, and best wishes for a great year in 2008! 

Here are some quick notes on recent and upcoming happenings at Council.  As always, any opinions expressed here are mine alone, and do not represent the position of Council  or the Town of Banff.

ACTION REQUESTS

There's a super new addition on the Town's website (www.banff.ca).  Along the very top of the screen, in the black and white part above the Town of Banff title, you'll see a string of text that looks like this:

Home | Contacts | Action Request | Feedback | Subscribe | FAQ | Privacy | Weather | Site Map 

If you click on Action Request, you go right to a simple form that lets you ask the town for what you need done.  Maybe you've noticed a sidewalk that needs clearing, a road sign that's been damaged, an intersection that needs some sanding, or an organics bin that's overflowing.  Just fill out this action request and send it in -- the  person who receives it will make sure that it gets to the right department, and they'll report back to you.  I tried out the system myself over the holidays, and it worked just great!

THE BUDGET

By now, you probably know that we ended up with a 5.27% overall property tax increase.  As well, the town is "occupying the taxing room" left by a decrease in provincial education taxes. 

In my opinion, there is good news and bad news here. 

The good news is that all the money from the education tax part goes to increasing the town's contribution to capital reserves.  Putting the right amount of money into capital reserves helps to ensure that we can replace infrastructure as needed, and that we won't find ourselves borrowing huge amounts in the future to do so.  It's the responsible thing to do.

The bad news is that I think we could have done better on the operating budget, to at least get the increase at or below the rate of inflation, rather than slightly above.  I proposed some areas to trim or change, but -- although some were adopted -- I wasn't convincing enough to get the majority of council onside for all of them.  I apologize for not being able to make this happen, and I hope to be more effective next year, once I have longer experience with the budget and more familiarity with each of the areas.

THE PARKADE

As you know from my previous emails, I was very concerned about the implications of the proposed parkade on Beaver Street, and so I am pleased with the result of the vote.  The Town is not going ahead with final design of the parkade, and instead will be exploring all the other alternatives for dealing with parking demand.  The debate was detailed and passionate, and everyone on both sides of this issue was trying to do what they felt was best for Banff.

COMING TO COUNCIL ON MONDAY

The Community Standards bylaw is coming for debate and decision on Monday.  I've discussed this briefly in a previous email -- you can see the draft bylaw itself here:

http://www.banff.ca/AssetFactory.aspx?did=1250

There will also be a public hearing on Monday at 2 pm for a proposed bylaw to allow for Family Day Homes in town.  You can make a verbal presentation at that public hearing, if you have any issues or concerns with the bylaw.  You can read the draft bylaw here:

http://www.banff.ca/AssetFactory.aspx?did=1271

Also on Monday, Council will be looking at increasing the offsite levies (the fees charged by the municipality to developers – both for new development and redevelopment – to help with offsite (town) costs for upgrading or expanding the sewer treatment system, the water supply system, and storm sewer drainage facilities).  These fees have not been increased since 1993, and we are looking at an increase in line with inflation.  You can see a report on this by going to the agenda package at the link below, and flipping through to page 51:

http://www.banff.ca/AssetFactory.aspx?did=1301

Hello everyone:

Thank you so much for your emails on various issues -- they really give me good advice and ideas!  As always, a quick reminder that this email is a reflection of my own point of view, and is not an official communication from the Town of Banff or its Council.  If you'd like to unsubscribe from this list, please send me an email and let me know.

 Here are a few  important things that are going on right now:

BUDGET

During several lengthy meetings since I last wrote, we've been through the entire operating budget and asked all our questions.  Tomorrow, different councillors will propose items to change or delete in the budget, and we'll decide on each of those by vote.  Then, we'll look at the new initiatives that were proposed by the administration, and vote on each of those as well. 

If you want to get a sense of the Town's financial situation, I recommend that you go to this web page:

http://www.banff.ca/town-hall/banff-town-council/2008_town_of_banff_budget_discussions.htm

and scroll down til you see a link for Administrative Overview.  This brief and very clear summary will show you where the Town's taxes have gone relative to inflation, how our taxes compare to other communities, how the town has occupied the taxing room left by a decrease in provincial education taxes, and also -- very compellingly -- what happens when we don't keep contributing to the capital reserves, the Town's "savings account" for replacement of major infrastructure as it wears out.

As you know, I'm very concerned about capital reserves and about minimizing tax-supported debt.  In terms of this budget, that means that I'm not opposed to a modest tax increase (in line with inflation), as long as the vast majority of it goes towards capital reserves.  I'm also very conscious of the fact that every one of our tax dollars comes from someone who probably had other ways they'd rather spend that money, so I'm trying hard to find ways to minimize our operational costs.  I can tell you that it's a scary learning curve, trying to become familiar with all aspects of a $24 million budget in a little over 6 weeks -- I've been scribbling notes on budget documents late into the night.

PARKADE DISCUSSION AT LAST

Also tomorrow, Council will be deciding whether to go on to detailed design of the proposed parkade in the 200 block of Beaver.  As you know, I will be stating that we should explore every other alternative (wayfinding improvements, for example) first.  We all have a vision of a future Banff with frequent and convenient in-town and regional transit -- let's work on that instead of building a parking structure.

To see the parkade report, go to this link

http://www.banff.ca/AssetFactory.aspx?did=1243

and flip through to page 24.

COMMUNITY STANDARDS BYLAW

Also at Council tomorrow, we'll be looking at the proposed Community Standards Bylaw.  This relates to everything that might cause a nuisance or a hazard, everything from rusty old cars on the lawn to noisy parties to piles of building materials to badly located firepits.  You can take a look at it by going to this link:

http://www.banff.ca/AssetFactory.aspx?did=1243

and flipping though to page 33.  Although it is presented for three readings, I'm going to suggest to Council that we give the community a chance to mull it over before giving it third reading.  I certainly get cranky at neighbourhood nuisances, but I personally think that a few clauses in this bylaw are a bit too heavy-handed, and I'll be proposing some changes.  The majority of it looks really good  -- see what you think, and let me know.

All the best til next time -- Leslie