Council update, October 25, 2008

Monday will be full of housekeeping requirements, as it includes the anual organizational meeting of council and the annual general meeting of the Banff Housing Corporation.

Here are the highlights of what's coming to Council (you can see the whole package at this link  http://www.banff.ca/AssetFactory.aspx?did=1725 ):

AMBULANCE SERVICES

The province has proposed to take over ambulance services and run them provincially.  On Monday, a representative of Banff Emergency Medical Services will come to council to talk about the implications of this transition.  So far, we know relatively little about how this would work, so I'm anxious to ask questions about the following:

• I learned at the AUMA convention that this transition could mean that we would go from 30 dispatch centres in the province down to 9.   Naturally, I'm concerned that this may mean that people will be reaching a dispatcher who does not have a clear idea of our local geography.
• I want to know about the funding for this new service model.  Would this be something that the province would fund from income tax?  or would it be more like the school tax model, where the province takes property taxes from local taxpayers, puts them into a province-wide pool, then redistributes the dollars as they see fit?
• As well, I want to know about how much control we would have over quality of service.  As you know, we have a very high standard of service here, and that's essential because of the demands of our location and the activities that take place here.

2009 COUNCIL PRIORITIES

These will come to council for approval on Monday.  At present, the draft includes:

• housing
• land use bylaw review
• economic prosperity and sustainability (with input from various sources, build a long-term plan for the municipal government's role in this)
• recreation centre (decide what is feasible and lay out an action plan)
• environmental initiatives
• citizen engagement
• transit (in-town and regional)
• parkade (re-examination of a parkade in a downtown location)
• lands adjacent to the Town of Banff (look for ways to hjelp implement the LATB plan)
• paid parking (re-examine)
• alternative revenue

AFFORDABLE HOUSING GRANT FROM PROVINCE

The Town can access $238,000 from the provincial program called Municipal Sustainability Housing and Capital Enhancement.  In my last update, I reported that the YW was asking the Town to apply for this money on their behalf.  At the time that I wrote that, I didn't realize that doing so would make it impossible to apply on behalf of the Banff Housing Corporation.  When the Y request came to Council, Council referred it to the Banff Housing Corp to find out whether they also had plans for this grant.  Not surprisingly, they did!

The proposal coming to council on Monday is that the bulk of the grant be directed to the BHC's next housing project, with $21,000 directed to the YW to assist with the debt from their affordable housing initiative.  This $21,000 is the portion of the grant that the province requires to be dedicated to accommodation for people earning less than the low-income threshold.  The Y's housing fits this requirement.

ANNUAL ORGANIZATIONAL MEETING:

This is the meeting at which council appoints representatives to committees, and sets the council meeting schedule for the coming year.  I will be asking Council to consider an idea that I heard during door-knocking:  that we hold one meeting per quarter in the evening, to make it more convenient for people who work regular daytime jobs to attend.  I don't know whether there would actually be any interest in attending, but this would be one way to find out.

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF THE BANFF HOUSING CORPORATION

Council members act as the shareholders of the Banff Housing Corporation.  At this meeting, Council will appoint public members to the BHC board, and review the 2007 audited statements.