Leslie’s council update, November 8, 2008
Hello everyone:
Just a few items to update you on ...
BUDGET MEETINGS
What's happened in budget meetings so far?
On November 3, staff presented to council the draft budget that they have prepared. This is the budget that you saw explained on the Town Pages in last week's Crag. It's the version of the budget that is our base as we begin discussions -- it doesn't include any of the new initiatives that council or staff have suggested, and it includes some suggested service cuts which council may or may not agree to.
On November 5, council heard presentations from the library, the day care, Bow Valley Victim Services, Banff Volunteer Centre and the Bow Valley Naturalists, and received letters from the Banff Lake Louise Tourism Bureau and the National Army Cadet Camp, all concerning contributions that they hope Council will make, or fees that they hope Council will waive.
You can see the whole package here:
It includes a very interesting letter from former mayor Dennis Shuler about the split between residential and commercial taxes in the town. Over the past three years, the split has been moved away from what was established at the time of incorporation, and council will be discussing this split as we talk about the 2009 budget.
Budget meetings continue into December. You can follow the progress of the budget on this page:
http://www.banff.ca/town-hall/banff-town-council/banff-budget-2009.htm
THE COUNCIL MEETING ON NOVEMBER 10:
Council has a fairly short agenda on Monday, but there are two very important reports being presented.
First, an Urban Forest Management Plan. The plan is intended to help staff manage our in-town trees on public lands, and includes:
- an inventory and health assessment of our public trees
- a review of past practices and our special conditions here in the park
- identification of unhealthy or hazardous trees
- recommendations for removals and for plantings
- recommendations for heritage trees
It's worth reading! Did you know that the town's largest public tree is a healthy white spruce at the north end of town? It's around 100 feet high and about 10.5 feet around at chest height. You can see the whole report here:
http://www.banff.ca/AssetFactory.aspx?did=1748
Just scroll down to page 14.
Unfortunately, the report tells us that our urban trees will need a lot of care and attention over the next ten years, and that will not be cheap. The results of this report will be part of the budget discussions over the next month.
Second, an update of the Downtown Parking Needs Assessment. You can see this report here:
http://www.banff.ca/AssetFactory.aspx?did=1748
by scrolling down to page 140.
I'm interested to see that the report identifies that our parking occupancy has not increased significantly over the 2005 study, in spite of the removal of 90 stalls by Banff Refreshing. It also states that we had 35 - 40 stalls available in the Cascade Plaza parkade and 7 stalls available in another parking lot at peak occupancy times on summer weekends, but then goes on to say that we have a current parking shortfall of 200 spaces. I intend to ask a lot of questions around the analysis of this report.
DOOR-KNOCKING CONTINUES
I'm working away on the Squirrel/Elk/Rabbit street areas, and having a really interesting time chatting with people at the doors. Everyone is happy with the new blue bins!