Leslie’s update email, October 13, 2008

Hello everyone:

I hope you're having an enjoyable Thanksgiving weekend!  I sure am - I meant to get this update out to you yesterday, but was overcome by a surfeit of turkey ...

THE FINE PRINT

These emails represent just my point of view; they do not represent the point of view of Town Council or of the Town of Banff.  I hope you will comment on or question anything I say that is unclear or that you disagree with.  I hope you’ll also check in with other members of council for their points of view.

You can get off this list at any time by just sending an email to lataylor@telusplanet.net and telling me that you’d like to unsubscribe.

Please feel free to forward this email to anyone you wish to.  If they’d like to sign up for the list, they can just send me an email and I’ll add them on.

WHAT'S COMING TO COUNCIL TOMORROW?  A FEW HIGHLIGHTS ...

The long-awaited summary report on Banff Live 

I know from my door-knocking that Banff Live is a top-of-mind issue for a lot of you.  To read the full report, just go to:

http://www.banff.ca/AssetFactory.aspx?did=1714

and scroll to page 11 (or jump to bookmark 5.1)

Here are a few highlights from the report:

• copies of most of the print news coverage and letters to the editor, lists of broadcast and online coverage, copies of emails and letters received by the town, bullet-point feedback from the sponsors, bullet-point feedback from business owners, and the results of a survey conducted by the Small Business Association
• a history of how the event was developed and promoted
• staff's estimate of the dollar value of the media coverage:  $164, 984
• lists the things the town would do differently for "a future event"
• lists what the town did well in implementing the event
• originally the event was expected to cost Banff taxpayers $67,500 (cash investment only), it eventually cost Banff taxpayers $121,700.
• above and beyond the money, 516 staff hours and 1045 volunteer hours were invested in organizing and implementing the event.  Beer garden volunteers received an honorarium - between $50 and $150.

I will be asking quite a few questions, including:

• clarifying whether we received national radio and TV coverage
• asking whether the print coverage we achieved for Banff Refreshing could have been generated without doing the event -- it appears that the stories concentrate on the great new look of Banff, not on the concert
• asking whether we have any "lessons learned" around mandate -- in other words, if an event is primarily aimed at the visitors, in future will it be presented by the Town or by Banff-Lake Louise Tourism?

Abbeyfield House purchase

More housekeeping work will be done tomorrow to help the Bow Valley Regional Housing purchase the Abbeyfield House building and add it to their seniors' housing portfolio.  Specifically, Council will be looking at passing two bylaws which let us borrow $150,000 for five years and then lend it to the Housing authority.  This is being done because municipalities get a more favourable interest rate.  All the municipalities served by the Bow Valley Regional Housing are being asked to make this contribution to the effort.

Wolf and Lynx Intersection Realignment

A brief report updates council on the status of this project.  It's expected to go ahead in the spring of 2009.  You can see the full report by clicking on http://www.banff.ca/AssetFactory.aspx?did=1714  and scrolling down to page 125 (or jumping to bookmark 8.2)

BUDGET MEETINGS START SOON

Council will be reviewing, amending, and approving the 2009 operating and capital budgets at a series of meetings, presently scheduled from November 3 through to December 3.  Any member of the public is welcome to sit in on any of these meetings to observe the discussion.  I'll keep you informed about how to find draft budget documents, and the dates of the meetings as they approach.