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.

Hello everyone, and three cheers for the summer weather!  There are a few general news items today, plus the highlights of what's coming to council on Monday.

OPPORTUNITIES FOR INPUT

Borrowing Bylaw:  Council has been asked to borrow up to $2 million in order to build an additional group of dressing rooms and similar program space while the new recreation centre facilities are being built.  This additional space would be largely for the use of the Banff Hockey Academy, but would also be used by visiting NHL teams, the summer hockey school, etc.  The hope is that additional ice rentals by these teams would pay back the cost of borrowing over 20 years.  This bylaw has been advertized for comment, but no comments had been received as of yesterday.  I voted against first reading of this bylaw -- while I very much appreciate the contributions of the BHA to our high school and our community, I think that the payback plan (which depends on a substantial growth in size of the BHA program) could easily lead to the Banff taxpayer being on the hook for this debt.  You may agree, or you may want to support the borrowing bylaw -- whatever your point of view, you can provide input to council by sending an email to municipal.clerk@banff.ca and stating that you want it presented to the council meeting on Monday.

Land Use Bylaw:  The town planners will have some ideas about residential density ready for your input by mid-June.  If you belong to a group or a neighbourhood that would like to have a special presentation/feedback meeting, they would be happy to oblige.  Check in with senior planner Darren Enns to arrange this:  darren.enns@banff.ca

SHAMELESS PROMOTION

The BCHS grad class is having a flea market tomorrow, Saturday May 23, in the high school gym from 9 am to 4 pm.  Bike auction at 1 pm.  This is an important fundraiser for the grad class, so please consider doing a little bargain-hunting!

HIGHLIGHTS OF MONDAY'S COUNCIL AGENDA

You can see the whole council package at

http://www.banff.ca/Assets/PDFs/Town+Hall+PDF/Council+Agendas+PDF/2009+Agendas+PDF/council-agenda-090525.pdf

Two borrowing bylaws

Council will be deciding on the proposed borrowing described above, and also on another borrowing bylaw for $300,000 for mechanical systems for the new fleet shop.  This second borrow is an odd one -- it is at 0% interest and allows us to access a further $300,000 in grants.  It's all part of the Green Municipal Fund.  You can see the report by clicking on the link to the council package (above) and scrolling down to page 19.

Request for street vending

Council is being asked to allow a hot-dog vendor to operate in the downtown this summer.  This is presently not allowed under the Town's policies, although Parks Canada has allowed street vendors to operate in their Banff Avenue parkette for the past couple of summers.  You can see the proponent's letter in the council package (page 11).

Sidewalk cafe pilot program

Planning staff is recommending that the town allow some sidewalk seating on a pilot basis in the coming summer (page 41 of the package).  I love the idea of outdoor seating, but our new sidewalks already seem so full of people that I'm concerned about creating pedestrian congestion.  What do you think?

REPAIR OF WATERLINE, BANFF AVENUE

You will have heard about the water main break at Banff and Wolf a few weeks ago -- this happened because the Banff Refreshing contractors did not close off an unused portion of old water line properly.  They are responsible for all costs related to the repair.  Unfortunately, the repair work will cause some disruption.

The waterline repair and water shutdown to adjacent properties will take place on Tuesday, May 26 from 10 pm to 5 am.  Because the crosswalk will need to be replaced, there will be an extended traffic shutdown of both northbound lanes of Banff Avenue while the new pavement cures, from May 25 to June 8.  Traffic will be rerouted, with one lane running in each direction.

Hello everyone, and happy Mothers' Day to all you moms and grandmoms out there.

Here are a few highlights from what's coming to council tomorrow.  You can see the entire council package at:

http://www.banff.ca/Assets/PDFs/Town+Hall+PDF/Council+Agendas+PDF/2009+Agendas+PDF/council-agenda-090511.pdf

On-street parking on the west side of Bow Avenue 

Council will be asked to make the west side of Bow Avenue part of the town's parking supply on a permanent basis -- you can see the report starting on page 39 of the council package.  There are pros and cons to this, the pro being that it encourages some people to use the riverside trail and takes pressure off the downtown parking, the cons being that it creates a car-oriented atmosphere on Bow Avenue, something the town once hoped to avoid.  I've heard from two people who are opposed to this parking proposal and one who is adamantly in favour.  I'm still undecided, because I am anxious to prevent additional pressure for another parkade, but I like the idea of Bow Avenue being a more peaceful setting.  I'm going to listen to the discussion tomorrow and then decide.

Recreation Centre update

As I explained in my last update, we've been in a bit of a tough spot because of unexpected changes in the province's MSI funding.  However, we now have an indication that the funding will be 75% of what was expected.  With this in mind, the staff has gone back through the capital budget (see below) and moved things around in order to make it possible to do the recreation centre work without having to pay back the debt from our Banff tax base. 

If you go to the rec centre report on page 65 of the council package, you can see the drawings of the site and the building, plus renderings of how it will look in place.

Capital budget update

Starting on page 84 of the council package, you can see the report on how the capital program will change to accommodate the lower funding from the province.  I think that the staff have come up with a very solid approach to this problem.  Here are the changes:

• Because water conservation measures have slowed the rate of increase in water demand, we're not building an additional water well - we're acquiring a complete set of backup parts for the existing wells instead.
• Spray Avenue reconstruction has been delayed by two years.
• St Julien's new sidewalk and storm sewers will still be built on schedule, and the road will be resurfaced, but the deep work (water and sewer lines) has been pushed back by 10 years.  When the water and sewer are redone in the future, the sidewalk and storm drainage will not be affected.
• The condition of the system that carries sewage under the river toward the waste water treatment plant has been thoroughly checked, and work on it can be delayed for 10 years.
• The order in which we replace existing large equipment such as the grader and the Zamboni has been changed to replace the highest-repair-cost items earlier.

Hello everyone:

What an interesting week it has been for weather, to be sure.  I hope you're all enjoying the opportunity to ski, run, bike and/or birdwatch, often on the same day!

LAND USE BYLAW REVIEW BEGINS

The land use bylaw is important in any town, but it's particularly important here, where we have fixed boundaries, strong opinions about design, questions about density, and so on.  The review of our land use bylaw will be going on for the next 18 months or so, but it kicks off on Thursday, April 30, with an open house at council chambers from 4 - 6 pm.  You can learn about the process here:

http://www.banff.ca/business/planning-development/land-use-review.htm

... and you can learn more by coming to the meeting and chatting with the team involved.  The town's planning staff want to make this process very interactive and take the feedback opportunities out to the neighbourhoods.  I'll try to keep you updated on what's happening, because I know that many of you will have opinions and suggestions to offer. 

WHAT'S HAPPENING WITH THE BANFF HOUSING CORPORATION?

Council and BHC homeowners are looking at the "workbooks" prepared by the facilitators at Certus, and using the questions provided to prepare some thoughts on issues, interests and values to be protected.   Once everyone has done their homework, council will be meeting with homeowners to discuss the issues that pertain most directly to them.  Plans are still in the works for a more general community meeting on some of the more general recommendations from the BHC, probably in early June.

TAX ASSESSMENTS

A few of you have written to me with concerns about your tax assessments, questions such as "House prices are dropping -- why is my assessment higher than last year?"  Because this seems to be causing some general concern, I thought I'd provide a little background. 

The first thing to remember is that the assessment is as of July 15, 2008, so it pretty much catches the peak in house prices.  There will be a similar lag if prices go back up in the future - it will take a year or so for your assessment to catch up with them. 

The second thing to remember is that higher assessments do not equal higher taxes.  The town sets a mill rate that establishes how much tax will be charged per unit of assessment.  This year's budget is set up so that the average will be 0% overall property tax increase.  Remember though, that is an average.  If your property rose in value more than the average home (which went up by around 14.5%) then your property taxes will increase slightly.  If your assessment increased by less than that average, then your overall property taxes will decrease slightly.  If you're right on the average, you'll be at zero.

SECOND ICE SURFACE

I have also heard from several people recently who are expressing concerns about whether the rec centre renovation will include a second ice surface.  (For all of you who are not rec centre users, I'll explain as background that the present centre includes a full-sized arena, curling sheets, and something called the "mini-ice", a half-sized surface suitable for skating). 

Council was planning to go ahead with Rec Centre phase one (renovation of the present arena, demolition of the curling/mini-ice section of the building, and rebuilding of four curling sheets and lobby/changeroom spaces) and, if the environmental assessment is approved, phase two (the building of a new hockey-sized rink).  We had the funding plans in place and everything was looking good.

However, the province recently announced that they were cutting the level of Municipal Sustainability Initiative (MSI) funding, something that they had formerly referred to as a ten-year commitment.

This leaves us in a quintuple bind:

1.  we're told by structural engineering studies that the curling/mini-ice part of the building will reach the end of its habitable lifespan in the near future, so the status quo is not an option.

2.  we have to start construction this summer, or we lose $6 million in federal/provincial funding that we already have, so entering a lengthy re-planning process would be a very expensive option.

3.  the MSI funding that we were counting on to pay the bill for the rec centre renovation has been diminished, but we cannot get a clear answer yet on how much it may be (or not be) in the next years.

4.  people are nervous about the economic climate, and don't want to see their taxes go up for a big borrow.

5.  rec centre users are unhappy at the thought of just building phase one, and therefore going from 1 1/2 ice surfaces to just one.

Options for solving this issue will be coming to council on May 11.

WHAT'S HAPPENING WITH HOSPITAL OBSTETRICS?

Things are looking up on the hospital recruitment front, but there is still no set date for the reopening of the obstetrics program.  Lots of locals continue to be active in showing their support for the hospital and its obstetrics program - you can find out about their latest activities on Facebook by searching "Bow Valley Residents Supporting Banff's Labour and Delivery Program".

WHAT'S COMING TO COUNCIL ON MONDAY?

You can see the whole council package (all 280 pages of it!) here:

 http://www.banff.ca/Assets/PDFs/Town+Hall+PDF/Council+Agendas+PDF/2009+Agendas+PDF/council-agenda-090427.pdf

Here are the highlights:

Update on EMS transition

The ambulance service at our hospital is now going to be managed/funded by the province rather than locally (this has been done throughout the province, it wasn't a matter of local choice).  The EMS director will be coming to council to brief us on how the changeover is going.

Audited financial statements from 2008 and budget revision for 2009

We're getting some pretty distressing news with our 2008 audited financial statements.  Although Council was assured by the town's managers in the September forecast that we would hit the year-end pretty much on budget, the actual result is not what was forecast.  We finished 2008 $429,000 in the red.

The town has a reserve fund to cover deficits, but it is not big enough to cover this one.  Therefore, council will be asked tomorrow to approve some budget revisions for 2009 to make up the difference while still budgeting to break even at year-end without increasing taxes, and budgeting to rebuild the stabilization reserve fund over the next three years.

To say that I am disappointed with this situation would be putting it mildly.  If forecasts that were brought to council had been more accurate, then we might have been able to tighten belts in the second half of 2008 to end the year on target. 

The town's managers have proposed various measures to track financials more effectively in 2009, and I will be asking questions about these at council tomorrow.  You can see the whole report by clicking on the link to the Council package (above) and scrolling down to page 25.

2009 Tax rate bylaw

Council will be deciding the tax rates, within the overall boundary of a 0% overall property tax increase.  I will be asking council to take the commercial/residential tax split to 4:1, which was the level promised during the incorporation referendum.  This shouldn't be too difficult, as the present proposal is for 3.935:1.  You can see the complete report on this tax rate process in the council package by scrolling down to page 113.

Indexperience summer survey results

The town and the park partnered with Banff Lake Louise Tourism to do a visitor experience survey over the past year, and final results from the summer survey are now available.  The results show that people generally think our town is pretty great, but the biggest municipal-related issues for visitors are public washrooms, wayfinding and parking.

Interestingly, the consultants who do the report compare how many people "totally agree" with a positive statement to how many people disagree (which is the sum of those who totally disagree and those who somewhat disagree).  In other words, if you "somewhat agree" with a positive statement about the town or park, your results are not highlighted.  It's worth keeping this in mind when you look at the numbers.

Those of you who believe that the beauty and environmental values of our national park are our most important tourism assets will be delighted to see how the visitors agree with you!

You can see summaries of the results in the council package, starting on page 128. 

Hello everyone!  I hope you all had a super Easter weekend, and survived the shock of seeing a snowstorm when you opened your curtains this morning. 

EVENING COUNCIL MEETING

In response to comments from some people over the past year about the difficulty of getting to council meetings, council decided to schedule three evening meetings this year.  This is an attempt to see if evening meetings would be easier for people who would like to attend.

As you probably already know from the Crag, the first of these evening council meetings is tomorrow, April 14, starting at 7 pm.  If you're thinking of running in the next election, or if you want to know how council does business, or if you have a question related to the day's agenda that you'd like to ask in person, I hope you'll attend!

MID-TERM REPORT

I've written a brief mid-term report card, comparing what has been happening with what I promised to support during the election.  You can find the mid-term report on my council blog at www.lataylor.com/blog and the original campaign page at www.lataylor.com/campaign.htm   I welcome your comments!

WHAT'S HAPPENING WITH THE BANFF HOUSING CORPORATION?

Dave Gould of Certus Strategies is the facilitator working with council, the BHC, the BHC homeowners, and the community at large.  Dave met with the homeowners on March 25 to get their input into the process, and will be meeting with council members and staff on April 14 to set up the next steps.

WHAT'S COMING TO COUNCIL ON APRIL 14?

It's a pretty short council agenda, so if you decide to come to the meeting, you won't need to worry about being there all night!

The key items for decision relate to parking. 

Council is being asked to confirm that they want to go ahead with surface parking on the Beaver Street lot bought for that purpose.  I'm very pleased to see that staff is proposing to try out a permeable pavement for the lot -- this will help keep surrounding trees and underlying soil more healthy.

Staff is cautioning council that developing this lot as surface parking could include some costs that would not be recoverable if the town then decided to build a parkade on this and its neighbouring lots.  As you know, I don't support this parkade (although I realize that some of you hold the opposite point of view), but some council members wish to revisit this idea.  In any event, the approximately $9 million that such a building would cost is not in the 13-year capital budget at present, so this discussion may be a short one.

There is also a suggestion for an ongoing parking occupancy monitoring program, to give the town reliable information on which to base parking management decisions.  I think this could be a useful program, as it would also help us track the success of car-free initiatives such as public transit, way-finding, etc.

As well, the council is being asked to consider whether to continue the parking on the west side of Bow Avenue that was allowed during the downtown reconstruction work, or whether to discontinue parking on that side of the avenue.  I know several of you felt quite strongly in the past that this side of Bow should not be used for parking -- I welcome your comments on this issue.