Subject: Congratulations to City of Guelph employees - winners of a United Way spirit award!

This week, the City of Guelph was honoured with a Spirit Award for our 2011 United Way campaign. The award goes to workplaces that demonstrate outstanding United Way support and spirit, bringing enthusiasm, creativity, and innovation to the campaign.

Congratulations to the City’s campaign team and to every employee who played a role in our 2011 campaign! This award belongs to you. Volunteers made the difference in our campaign – baking treats, carving pumpkins, flipping pancakes, planning pirate games, organizing garage sales... and the list goes on. City employees organized more than 35 fundraising events in just four weeks. Your enthusiasm and creativity not only raised money for the United Way, it brought teams together and helped us all have a lot of fun in our workplace.

Thanks to your efforts, we exceeded our $50,000 goal – helping the local United Way campaign raise an astounding $3.14 million, 10 per cent above its goal. Well done, and congratulations on being recognized by the United Way!

Mayor Farbridge and Councillors,

I would like to provide you an update on the route changes that were implemented on Monday this week. As you will recall, the length of Route 2 A/B was adjusted to provide a shorter run time and Route 15 was implemented which covers portions of the original Route 2 A/B and provides additional capacity in the area of College Avenue and Stone Road.

The changes have had the desired effect – the issue of buses running late on Route 2 A/B has been essentially eliminated and riders are making their transfer at Wal-Mart and St. George’s Square on a regular basis. Operators are indicating to us that the new Route 2 A/B is working and the level of frustration for both operators and passengers has been reduced significantly. Route 15 has been well received and riders on College Avenue west of the Hanlon are very happy with the enhanced service. We implemented this new route with an A.M. schedule that allows riders to connect with buses at the University Centre/St. George’s Square to get to the industrial areas of the City first thing in the morning.

We are currently in the process of completing revisions to Route 20 and Route 21 which serve the industrial areas of the City. We are planning to announce changes to Route 21 on Wednesday next week and implement the improvements on February 17. Revisions to Route 20 are more comprehensive in nature and we anticipate being able to announce the changes by February 21 and implement the changes by February 27.

Efforts are also currently being focused on addressing the capacity issue in the south end through the acquisition of additional conventional buses. An announcement on this matter will be made shortly.

We are making steady progress on the issues associated with the new system that have been highlighted to us by operators and riders. We continue to encourage feedback on performance and we are confident that our changes will provide a satisfactory solution.

Thank you for your continued support in this matter.

Michael Anders | General Manager, Community Connectivity and Transit
Transit Services | Operations & Transit
City of Guelph

T 519-822-1260 x 2795 | F 519-822-1322
E michael.anders@guelph.ca

Good morning Mayor Farbridge, Councillors and Executive Team,

The abnormal winter of 2011/12 continues, welcome to week 14 of 20, we are on the downward slope….and can see the light at the end of the tunnel folks!!!;

I would like to provide all with a follow-up to the General Manager of Public Works, Rod Keller’s email to you of late regarding this weather system and our activities to address it.

Our detailed weather forecast states (and radar confirms) that this system has basically concluded.  We expect another cm or so later today and perhaps another cm or so tomorrow as a result of lingering flurries.  The kicker will be the falling temperatures and the sustained winds (30 to 35km/hr) and wind gusts (45 to 50 km/hr)we are expecting in the wake of the system passing.  Temperatures are expected to fall to a low of minus 12 celcius tonight with wind chills in the range of minus 22 celcius.  Blowing and drifting will occur and will require our extended attention.

Staff have been out since the storm began and are diligently working to treat all areas.
Below is a brief synopsis of activity and anticipated completion times, (please keep in mind that winds will affect these anticipated end times).


ROADS;

We currently have all salter/plow units out on our main arterial roads, collector roads and bus routes.  This road network  work will be complete by mid afternoon.  The operation will shift to the residential roads (curves, stop signs) in order to ensure sufficient traction is present for maneuverability later this evening and overnight, (all hills within residential routes have already been addressed).  Again we did not achieve the threshold accumulation depth of 10cm to date to warrant a residential plow-out.

SIDEWALKS, CITY OWNED STEPS AND BUS STOPS, including DOWNTOWN

Sidewalk plowing activity commenced at 5;00am on the high pedestrian traffic arterial, collector and bus routes.  That task should be complete by 3:00pm.  Bus stops will be cleared simultaneously with the sidewalk operation.  
Staff have completed working on the downtown sidewalks and will return to clean up the residual on downtown parking lots.  That activity will be completed in the next 3 hours.

City wide clearing and sanding of all city owned steps began this morning at 5:00am and should also be completed by 3;00pm today.

FACILITIES;

Winter control activities to all city owned facility parking lots, access roads and entrance ways began overnight and will continue until 5;00pm when all should be completed.  

An update to this information will not be provided unless unforeseen circumstances develop.
Trusting you will find this update useful.

As always, your patience, co-operation and understanding is very much appreciated.
Best regards to all;

Sam Mattina | Manager
Operations & Transit |Public Works Department
Roads & Right of Ways

City of Guelph
T 519-822-1260 x 2017 | F 519-821-0839
E sam.mattina@guelph.ca

January 24th, 2012

What do you think of this Guelph? Important? Waste of time? 3 minutes is not enough time or too much?

Anti Idle By-law Proposal.pdf

Thank you,

Cam

January 18th, 2012

Good afternoon all,

The following is an update provided by Michael Anders on operational improvements Guelph Transit has or intends to make to address on-going implementation issues.  I have added the bold/italic for emphasis of key points.


•    Community Bus – A stop at the Elliott has been added to the North Route. This was implemented yesterday. Brochures were sent to the Elliott.
•    Route 55 – This was an express route historically serving the College/Stone corridors travelling to the UC. It will be put into service again starting tomorrow to address volume issues in that area and provide relief to the 1 A/B and 2 A/B. This should assist in buses running on schedule and transfers being made at the UC. University students should already be familiar with this route. It will run from 7:15 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. and 5:15 p.m. The service will be 15 minute frequency at all times. Info will be updated on our website and temporary stops will be put out tomorrow.
•    Route 2 A/B – We have had Guelph Transit’s Planning Committee driving (on street) a number of options to reduce running time while maintaining the current service level. We will have a recommended alternative by the end of this week. In order to have the time to communicate the revisions appropriately, the changes would be implemented  the last week of January. The option chosen will also address the issue of providing service to the front door of ARC Industries.
•    Route 5 – There is a extremely heavy volume of traffic during very specific time periods going north in the morning and coming south in afternoon. As a result, a number of buses on regular service are filling up and going “out of service” and doing drop offs only. The core issue is not with the route structure but with available capacity. To address the capacity issue I am sending out extras during certain periods of the day to the hot spots. This is helping but there are instances when students are not able to get on the first bus that goes by.
•    Route 20 – We will be looking at the route and bus stop structure when revisions to the 2 A/B are finished. This route will be updated no later than the 3rd week of February
•    Legion Stop – A new resource has been assigned by the Legion to deal with this issue on their behalf. We have spoken with them and outlined the simple infrastructure fix  that is needed for accessible off-loading on their property. We have agreed to meet in the spring to discuss how to move forward.
•    Out of Service Stops – We are doing an audit of all old routes to ensure that where a stop has been taken out of service, all bus stop signs, info posts, and shelters and benches (where installed) have been removed or will be marked for removal in the next week.

Michael has conveyed these improvements will wrap up the tweaking he believes can be done to improve the new service model.  There is concern that these efforts may not be enough to fully address the demand placed on the system by students in the Gordon Street South corridor.  I was reminded that Transit’s carrying capacity in this corridor was exceeded on a somewhat regular basis with the previous routes.  That this problem continues has only exacerbated our riders negative opinion of the new routes and service model.  We are providing more extra buses as indicated above, but this is being accomplished by reducing our spare ratio.  The consequence of this is it reduces our ability to maintain the fleet.  This is clearly not a long term solution.  I have asked staff to make queries on quickly acquiring an additional four buses, the quantity believed necessary to address the Gordon corridor.  We will pursue this course of action depending on the information received.  I will advise as more information becomes available.

Regards,  

Derek J. McCaughan
Executive Director
Operations & Transit Service Area
The Corporation of the City of Guelph
1 Carden Street
Guelph, ON
N1H 3A1

T: 519-822-1260 x 2018
F: 519-822-1751

I recieved this emai yesterday: January 17th, 2012:

Dear Councillors and Mayor:
Just to provide you a brief update on one of the action items from the Student Orientation Summit, through collaboration with Community Engagement staff, neighbourhood meetings will be set up to review citizen concerns and to provide information on the various initiatives that Police, City and University staff are using to address unwanted behaviour.
Initially, four meetings will be set up in areas of the City where past concerns have been received. I will forward the dates and locations of these meetings once they are confirmed.  If these meetings are successful, we will consider holding meetings in other areas of the City.
Please note that police, City and University staff are continuing to review other action items identified during the Summit and are preparing for St. Patrick’s day.
Yours truly,
Doug Godfrey | Manager
Operations & Transit |Bylaw Compliance and Security Department
City of Guelph
T 519-822-1260 x 2520 | F 519-822-1751
E doug.godfrey@guelph.ca

January 17th, 2012

Starting today, the Community Bus North Route has been updated to include a stop at the Elliott in front of the Ellington Building (168 Metcalfe). The Community Bus connects in St. George’s Square every hour and is fully integrated with the rest of the Guelph Transit conventional route system. The stop at the Elliott occurs at 0:47 after the hour from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday to Saturday (i.e. the first Community Bus trip leaves the Elliot at 8:47 and arrives in the Square at 8:57 and the last trip leaves the Elliott at 3:47 and arrives in the Square at 3:57)

We will arrange to have brochures delivered to the Elliott for distribution to the residents.

Further information on the Community Bus routes (north and south) is available at guelphtransit.ca.

Please contact me if you have any questions on this route change.

Thanks.
Michael Anders | General Manager, Community Connectivity and Transit
Transit Services | Operations & Transit
City of Guelph
T 519-822-1260 x 2795 | F 519-822-1322
E michael.anders@guelph.ca

Article from today's Guelph Mercury:

Roll out of waste carts will largely depend on where you live

cart map Map of Guelph showing plan for garbarge carts rollout

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DuOS97_hPoU&feature=youtube_gdata_player

This email is in refrence to my comment about "Unicorns and Rainbows".

Cam

January 18th, 2012:

Good morning,  you may recall our conversation regarding xmas tree collection at Committee meeting at the end of last year.  At the time we acknowledged sub-performance of the delivery of this service last year and committed to performing it better for the current year.  I have received the following email from Rod Keller advising that he and his staff have fulfilled this commitment.  

Regards,
Derek

From: Rodney Keller
Sent: January 17, 2012 2:11 PM
To: Derek McCaughan

Derek,

Having spoken to Sam Mattina, I can confirm that the Christmas Tree Collection Program is now complete, as designed.  In other words, every residential street has seen PW work crews go down them collecting trees starting on 9 Jan and completed on 13 Jan.  Over 4100 trees have been collected and chipped.  There have been minimal complaints (ie. 50-75% less than last 2 yrs) about trees not being picked up.   The mild weather has been in our favour as the work crews (collection and chipping) have been able to work full out on this task.

Of note, we are still getting spot reports of trees showing up on the boulevards, after the fact.  I conclude that this is a result of residents not following our advertised guidelines.  We are dealing with this issue on a case by case basis.

All in all, it is my staff opinion that the program worked very well this year, with timeliness being the critical factor.  This was a direct result of mild temperatures and good planning beforehand.  It is my opinion that this program still needs to be evaluated in the “off season” with a view to confirming the status quo or changing the service.

A more detailed internal report is forthcoming.

Rod

Rod Keller | General Manager
Operations & Transit |Public Works Department
City of Guelph
T 519-822-1260 x 2949 | F 519-821-0839
E rodney.keller@guelph.ca

Ward 4 has a great commercial node that's been waiting and waiting and waiting for the right anchor tenant to spur on the rest of the development for sometime.

I'm honoured to announce that Armel Corporation, who owns the land, has brought forward a complete application and request for re-zoning of the lands at the corner of Paisley & Elmira Rd so that COSTCO and other commercial opportunities can build there.

This is a very good thing for the West end of Guelph, and all of Guelph.

The article in the Guelph Mercury today speaks to the 7 year old decision of removing the old Mitchell Farm house. That was two council terms ago. What's done is done. We need to move on and embrace this development as it has many great opportunities for jobs, reduction of tax burden on home-owners and presents more shopping convienence to Guelph.

I hope council sees this the same way and moves this development opportunity forward.

It's all around GOOD!

Thanks,

Cam

Here's the Mercury article:

Costco eyes Mitchell farmhouse property for Guelph store

GUELPH — Costco is interested in setting up shop on the site of the former lands of the Mitchell farmhouse.

An application is before the city’s planning and building, engineering and environment department to set up the 143,000-square-foot membership warehouse store on a 13-hectare site on the northwest corner of Paisley Road West and Elmira Road North.

In 2005, city council approved the demolition permit for the 1912 farmhouse, which sat on top of the Paisley Road hill, despite public opposition. The granite fieldstone house sat on land operated by the Mitchell family since 1834.

Now, six years later, Armel Corp., which owns the land, has found an interested big-box store to locate on that property.

“Once this site is built, there won’t be a reminder that there once was a pioneering farming family in the community,” said city councillor Leanne Piper, who was chair of Heritage Guelph when the demolition permit was approved.

The 13-hectare site Armel is seeking to develop is bounded by Paisley Road to the south, Elmira Road to the east, the Canadian National Railway tracks to the north and the city boundary to the west. The plan would see the store located on the old Mitchell farm property but not directly over the site of the old farm house.

Piper said that although a link to the past is now lost, there is not much point lamenting over buildings we have lost. She added at least now there is a proposed development in place, which was what was sorely lacking in 2005.

There was verbal discussion of a shopping centre, but no rezoning application put forward, she said.

Al Hearne, the city’s senior development planner, said apart from Costco, further plans for the site have not been discussed with the city.

“Their focus right now is the one client (Costco),” he said, adding Costco representatives were present at preliminary meetings between Armel and the city, held in the fall.

The application requests rezoning approval from the existing urban reserve, service commercial and agricultural zone to the community shopping centre zone, which will allow for retail, office and service uses, including restaurants.

City Coun. Cam Guthrie, who represents Ward 4, said Costco is exactly the type of development Guelph needs. He said he’s received several favourable community responses from people happy they no longer need to drive to other cities.

Guthrie said the development will bring in more taxes, jobs and shopping convenience.

“This is really exciting for the west end of Guelph,” he said. “A store like Costco is what you would consider an anchor development. That type of development would spur on other development in that area.”

Guthrie added that he wants jobs to come to the city and money to be spent in Guelph.

Piper said standalone box stores, surrounded by mid-sized stores and parking, is not pedestrian-friendly, but the west end is in need of commercial opportunities. She hoped the east end will also see further commercial development.

City staff is still awaiting public comment from the neighbourhood, boards and agencies before the matter heads to city council. The notice of application was recently mailed out.

Dec 29th, 2011

As I promised during the election, I will not accept any pay increase to the salary of being on council. I refused the raise last term, that many councillours voted in for themselves, and this year I am refusing the agreed yearly rate increase. This is the form I've signed, and will continue to sign, declining increases.

The people of Guelph elected me to look for savings, if it starts with me - so be it.

2011 Salary Increase decline form.pdf

Thank you,

Cam

Draft_Operational_Review_.pdf

The Above link will take you to a draft report that has been sent out to all media outlets within Guelph by an employee that resigned late last night. Along with his letter of resignation, he forwarded this draft copy of an operational review.

First, as your councillor, I was not in reciept of this, nor did I know I was to be expecting this report. I'm gald that this type of review was being done. Judging by the content within the report, the residents of this city should be glad as well.

This is a bombshell and it needs to be public. I have been saying most of what is contained in this document for many years. Other's have also been saying these things for a long time.

There is change that is desperatley needed and I'm glad that I'm at the city during this time so I can help as best I can, to steer this organization back onto it's right course.

Enjoy the read.

Cam Guthrie

Please click on this link below and go to page 114 for the report coming before council on Dec 5th. Feel free to leave me comments regarding this issue as well.

Thank you,

Cam

http://guelph.ca/uploads/Council_and_Committees/Council/2006/council_agenda_120511.pdf

Annual State of the City explores themes of collaboration, innovation

GUELPH, ON, November 10, 2011 – In her annual State of the City address this morning, Mayor Karen Farbridge asserted that Guelph is a "charismatic city" because of its capacity for collaboration and innovation.
The mayor told two stories to illustrate this capacity. The first involves a local company called Enpar, which is developing new technologies to treat water and waste water. The projects, which the Ontario government has said "have the potential to transform water treatment around the world," will be tested at the City's Waste Water Treatment Plant and a City-owned well, leveraging the City's significant expertise in this area. A number of local organizations, including Innovation Guelph, the Chamber of Commerce, and the University of Guelph, have been involved as well.
As the mayor noted, the Enpar projects illustrate how Guelph is creating a more diversified and resilient economy through collaboration and innovation - key directions of the City's economic development strategy, Prosperity 2020.
The second story involves the re-development of the former WC Wood plant in the St. Patrick's Ward neighbourhood. The mayor noted the re-development of brownfield sites in established neighbourhoods are always challenging for municipalities, with concerns about whether the neighbourhood's character will be maintained. In this case, thanks to an engaged Residents' Association, owners who are committed to respecting the local culture, and the leadership of City staff, the planning process to date has been highly collaborative.  
The mayor said, "We must replicate this new approach to meet the goals of our growth strategy and the downtown secondary plan...As Guelph continues to grow, some worry that our community will lose its character. The Woods project is an example of people determined to make sure that doesn't happen."
In her conclusion, the mayor stated that "the days of municipal government acting alone to drive the city's future from inside the walls of City Hall are long over - if they ever existed. In today's complex, interlinked and fast-changing world, municipalities need to work collaboratively across the public, private and non-profit sectors to jointly produce public value. At City Hall we are redesigning our structures and processes to do just that."
Noting that this is a fundamental change to the way governments have traditionally done business, the mayor remarked that this is not an easy or comfortable process, but it is one worth undertaking in order to position Guelph for continued success.
As part of her remarks, Mayor Farbridge also referenced the City's Making a Difference Community and Financial Report, which contains more details of the City’s progress and financial position. Some of the highlights include:
•    A growth management strategy to accommodate 50,000 more people and 30,000 more jobs by 2031
•    $50 million in federal and provincial funding to repair core infrastructure and establish a commuter hub downtown
•    Land sales in the Hanlon Creek Business Park that are growing the industrial assessment base and jobs
•    A Memorandum of Understanding with the Province of Ontario for the development of the Guelph Innovation District. Conestoga College has proposed a new Guelph campus on these lands.
•    The first sustainable 10-year capital budget presented for Council’s consideration, and a proposed capital financial plan that reduces debt servicing over the next 10 years to accelerate contributions to reserves.

FOR MORE INFORMATION
Kate Sullivan
Communications Assistant
Office of the Mayor
T 519-822-1260  x 2558
E kate.sullivan@guelph.ca

Good afternoon,

This e-mail is to advise you of the status of the Family fountain and Blacksmith fountain, as well as to let you know about a possible story that may run in the Guelph Tribune.  Staff from Corporate Communications will send out a public information bulletin within the next day with an update on the two fountains.

Yesterday, we had an art conservator onsite to assess the damage to the Family fountain in St. George’s Square.  While he was here, he also visited the Blacksmith Fountain (on MacDonnell by the Co-operators) to begin work on replacing the missing hand.  While examining that fountain, he discovered a significant crack in the foot of the Blacksmith that has compromised the structural integrity of that piece, and we have determined that it is unsafe at the present time should anyone try to climb it.

As a result, staff will be hoarding off the Blacksmith Fountain in order to protect the fountain from further damage, and to prevent anyone from climbing on it.  Jessica Lovell from the Guelph Tribune was onsite while the conservator was examining the Blacksmith Fountain, so we expect that she may run a story in tomorrow’s paper.  

The conservator has advised us that repairs to both fountains should wait until the spring, after the last frost of the winter season.  The work on both fountains will be scheduled for April, including repair of the structural cracks and replacing of the Blacksmith’s missing hand.  It is expected that the work will take one to two weeks, and that repairs will be able to be done onsite.    Both fountains will remain hoarded until that time.

Colleen Clack | Interim Executive Director
Community & Social Services | City of Guelph

T 519-822-1260 ext 2588 | F 519-763-9240

Thought this might be of interest to you:

Hello Mayor Farbridge and Members of Guelph City Council;

There is general background information on the program including details on new home water efficiency standards, current participating home builders/demo homes, as well as the home certification and incentive process employed through the program.   

For more information on the Blue Built Home Program please visit www.bluebuilthome.ca.

Best Regards,
Wayne Galliher | Water Conservation Project Manager
Water Services Division | Planning, Engineering & Environmental Services
City of Guelph
T 519-822-1260 x 2106  | F  519-822-8837
E wayne.galliher@guelph.ca

City of Guelph raises more than $50,000 for United Way City employees use creativity to help support the community

GUELPH, ON, November 14, 2011 – On October 31, the City of Guelph wrapped up its annual United Way fundraising campaign, successfully exceeding its goal of $50,000 in donations.

In just four weeks, City employees organized over 35 fundraising events, each of which featured its own unique theme with the common goal of raising money to support the community. Employees also made contributions by using traditional methods of donating, including pledge forms and payroll deductions.

"Thank you to all City of Guelph employees who contributed to us exceeding our $50,000 goal," said this year's City of Guelph workplace campaign chair, Mayor Karen Farbridge. "What set this campaign apart were the many terrific employee-organized events which raised significant dollars in addition to demonstrating great spirit and creativity. From garage sales to pancake breakfasts, staff went above and beyond for United Way."

United Way of Guelph and Wellington is a volunteer-driven, charitable foundation focused on meeting the pressing social needs in Guelph and Wellington County.  Through its annual campaign, United Way raises funds for local social service and voluntary sector programs.

"I am thrilled with the generosity that City employees have shown during this campaign," said Marva Wisdom, 2011 United Way Guelph & Wellington campaign chair. "It is thanks to City staff and all United Way donors that we are able to fund over 80 vital social service programs."

For more information about the City's 2011 United Way campaign, view the 2011 City of Guelph United Way Campaign web page.

City reaches five-year agreement with Guelph Royals Agreement meets Council-approved criteria

GUELPH, ON, November17, 2011 – The City has reached a mutually acceptable agreement with the Guelph Royals after a series of meetings.

“We were brought together by a community partner who was very interested in seeing the Royals back in Guelph,” said Colleen Clack, Interim Executive Director, Community & Social Services. “The new agreement meets all the criteria set by City Council for a five-year lease of Hastings Stadium and the concession booth.”

"This agreement is a new beginning for Guelph fans, players and sponsors" said Jim Rooney, the Royals' managing partner. "We look forward to working with the community and to its commitment to support the Royals as they take to the field for the 2012 season and beyond."

A key requirement—registration as a not-for-profit organization—was one of the stumbling blocks when discussions between the City and the Guelph Royals concluded in the summer. The City presented a draft contract in early June after extended negotiations with the team. At the time however, the Guelph Royals couldn't reach agreement with the City on a number of clauses in the proposed agreement.

City Council established criteria for an agreement with the Guelph Royals in May for the use of Hastings Stadium and the concession booth. The new five-year agreement will see the team use Hastings Stadium, run the concession booth and sell advertising in the stadium. The Guelph Royals have also agreed with the City on the amount owing from the 2010 season and will pay the City all outstanding fees as part of the agreement.


FOR MORE INFORMATION
Colleen Clack
Interim Executive Director
Community & Social Services
Community & Social Services
T 519-822-1260 x 2588
E colleen.clack@guelph.ca

Hi folks,

One of the things, minor I know, that jumped out at me when I first started attending the council meetings, was the "track" of O'Canada that we had to sing along to at the beginning of our meetings. Not that there was anything terribly wrong with it, but I got to thinking - "Guelph has so much talent musically, why can't we have Guelphite's do this instead?" And so, at one of our Community & Social Services meetings I floated the idea to my council mates and our mayor. It recived some good feedback and since that time we've had a local singer Danielle Todd and the RCMP artists from the upcoming White Christmas production come on out to sing our anthem.

However, like everything at the city, there has to be some policy around the idea. Therefore, a form was created for potential artists to fill out. This form and the background to this initative is provided here: http://guelph.ca/uploads/Council_and_Committees/Information/infor_items_111711.pdf

The two performances we've had have been great. There's a sense of community that's happened everytime we hear someone, or a group sing our anthem. In my humble opinion, it's been fabulous.

If you know of anyone that might meet the criteria to join us down at our meetings, tell them to fill out the form, or they can contact me!

Take care,

Cam

Good Afternoon,
The City has co-sponsored a photovoice project with the Research Shop at the University of Guelph involving residents from Brant,
Grange Hill, Onward Willow, Parkwood Gardens, Two- Rivers and Waverley communities. Their photos and descriptions on the theme “living healthy,  well and strong in our neighbourhoods” will be on display at the Quebec Street Mall from Nov 28th to Dec 1 . The launch will be on Nov 28th at 1 with Mayor Farbridge as a speaker at the event .
Please join us for this event, or drop in to view the photos.

STAFF

Nov 7th, 2011

At a recent meeting both Gloria Kovach and myself asked these questions. The answer arrived today:

Hello Madame Mayor/ Members of Council, at the October CAFE’s meeting, I was asked to provide information regarding the number of Short Term Disability Claims that have been denied since January 2011.

Of 77 total Short Term Disability Claims since January 2011, 11 claims have been denied, resulting in those employees being required to reimburse the 1 month advance payment provided by the City.

8 of the claims were from Transit (ATU), 2 from CUPE 973 and 1 in the NUME group.

If you have any questions, please let me know.
STAFF

Proposed 2012 Operating Budget emphasizes affordability for taxpayers and the need for new ways of doing business Budget proposes three per cent increase.

GUELPH, ON, November 1, 2011 – City of Guelph staff have released the proposed 2012 municipal Operating Budget. The proposed budget will be presented to City Council Wednesday evening.

The proposed budget meets a three per cent guideline Council prescribed in July as part of the budget process. In meeting that guideline, staff have built a budget that focuses on affordability, and is respectful of Council's desire to deliver public services at a cost that is affordable for taxpayers.

"Council gave staff a mandate to build a budget that does not exceed a three per cent increase over 2011," says Guelph's Chief Administrative Officer, Ann Pappert. "Staff have spent months putting together a budget submission that endeavours to balance affordability with residents' expectations about quality service. To achieve that, we've had to explore new approaches to familiar questions and make some difficult decisions."

Pappert explains that part of doing business differently—a theme that surfaced in the City's 2012 Capital and Enterprise Budgets—means exploring shared funding arrangements, leveraging partnerships, and seeking opportunities to acquire additional support and funding from other sources where possible. As an example, this budget includes the sale of the City's street lights to Guelph Hydro, and an aggressive reduction in energy use in City-owned buildings.

Among the significant influences on the proposed budget is annualization costs associated with the many new facilities Guelph is about to bring on stream, including Market Square, a new civic museum, and the intermodal transit terminal, to name a few. Annualization accounts for a full one per cent of the proposed three per cent increase. Contractual obligations and external cost drivers for items such as fuel and electricity also bear a significant impact on the budget.

The proposed budget accounts for neither growth, nor new services. To meet the three per cent guideline, the City's Executive Team did not approve any new positions needed to address growth. Those positions have however been prioritized, should Council wish to consider and/or add them.

Council will consider the budget submission over the next few weeks before final deliberations on December 7, 2011. A meeting at which members of the public can address Council is scheduled to take place on November 23. Anyone who wishes to delegate at that meeting is invited to e-mail the City Clerk's Office at clerks@guelph.ca.

FOR MORE INFORMATION
Tara Sprigg
Corporate Manager, Corporate Communications Office of the CAO T 519-822-1260  x 2610 E tara.sprigg@guelph.ca

Official Statement from Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health & City of Guelph

October 20, 2011

 

A response protocol triggered by water quality test results has shown no contamination or safety concerns with Guelph’s water supply. 

This week, during routine monitoring of the quality and safety of Guelph’s water, the City of Guelph received test results indicating a potential contamination of the City’s water supply. As a precaution, the City of Guelph triggered a response protocol including site investigation, water flushing and increased disinfection. 

The City, Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health (WDGPH) and the Ontario Ministry of the Environment have been closely monitoring the situation and two subsequent water-quality tests have confirmed that there is no coliform or E. coli contamination in Guelph’s water supply. 

“There is no health concern to the public with Guelph’s water supply,” assures Dr. Nicola Mercer, Medical Officer of Health. “We work closely with the City of Guelph and the Ministry of the Environment to regularly monitor water quality according to the Ontario Safe Drinking Water Act. If there was any risk we would notify residents immediately.” 

“Each year, certified operators and accredited, licensed laboratories conduct more than 20,000 treated water microbiological and chemical quality tests,” says Janet Laird, Executive Director, Planning & Building, Engineering and Environment for the City of Guelph. “In all cases, the drinking water supplied to Guelph customers was confirmed safe and the water quality was better than all Ontario and Canadian health-related guidelines.”

 
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 
Dr. Nicola Mercer,

Medical Officer of Health

Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph

Public Health

 

T 519-846-2715

E info@wdgpublichealth.ca    

 

Janet Laird, Executive Director

Planning & Building, Engineering and Environment

City of Guelph

 

T 519-822-1260  x 2237

E janet.laird@guelph.ca

 

--

Stacey Hare, Senior Communications and Issues Management Coordinator

T 519-822-1260 x 2611
C 519-829-0999
E stacey.hare@guelph.ca

Oct 13th, 6pm

Good Afternoon

As of this afternoon the West End Centre is on track to open the pool, library and gym at their regular times this Monday morning.  All regular programs in those parts of the building should run as scheduled.

Ice availability however will be delayed until Tuesday at 4:00 pm.  Ice uses and programs will therefore be cancelled for Monday and for Tuesday (morning and afternoon only).  Notification of West End ice users is already underway

The repair work is proceeding according to schedule and power is expected to be restored to the entire building by Saturday at the latest.  Once main power is restored staff will focus on restarting the aquatics centre’s circulation and filtering systems and preparing the building for use.  The time between the power start-up and the Monday morning opening will allow for the new power panel to be tested and assessed prior to the public entering the facility.

The twin pad arena has been running for 48 hours on a special emergency generator that was brought to the site to help facilitate the installation of the new ice surfaces.  Once building power has been restored and is stable that generator will be shut down and the arenas moved back on to the building’s power systems.

Please be aware that this is our best estimate and that unanticipated problems with the repair work could still negatively influence these time frames.

If you have any questions on the situation at West End please call feel free to call at any time.

Sincerely,

Bob Burchett
General Manager, Parks and Recreation Programming & Facilities

October 13th, 2011

After reviewing  the decision of Justice Price in more detail, it is clear that although he did not grant us the relief we requested, he agreed with much of the City’s position. 

I'd also like to remind everyone about what I said regarding this situation back several months ago, as recorded by the Guelph Mercury. I hate to say "I told you so" but we asked for exactly what we were allowed to ask for, and this current Provincial Government dropped the ball, along with our current representative Liz Sandals. Instead of truly representing us and bringing our rightful concerns to the Province so that an assessor could have been appointed, it was quickly dismissed and forgotten. In my opinion, she turned a blind eye to our issues and instead often took plenty of time to critized your local elected officials for trying to ask for something that Judge Price clearley states in his decision what we had every right to ask for. As your representative, and as a resident, this is disturbing on many levels. If an assesor had been appointed many months ago, this would have been dealt with. Maybe we should mail our legal bill to the Province? Here's the article: http://www.guelphmercury.com/news/local/article/530533--mcguinty-draws-fire-from-guelph-council-members

Other Comments:

1.    The Board must follow the guidelines issued by the Ministry with regard to consultation and collaboration to prevent the disempowerment of municipal councils in relation to decisions affecting their constituents.  The quality of ministerial supervision determines the effectiveness of this safeguard.
2.    The Minister is required to appoint an assessor under the Act and it is the assessor who makes the decision whether an investigation is required.
3.    The Board must be transparent in providing the necessary information to the municipalities to enable them to assess the reasonableness of the expenses and, if necessary, to challenge the Board’s decision in the courts.
4.    The Board must consult and collaborate with the municipalities with regard to the decision to construct the new capital facilities.

Thank you,

Cam

City of Guelph hires new Chief Financial Officer

GUELPH, ON, October 3, 2011

The City of Guelph is pleased to announce that Dan Chapman has been hired to fill the position of Chief Financial Officer and will begin on October 24, 2011.
“The Chief Financial Officer is an essential role in the municipality. Dan’s experience and leadership will be a great asset to our city as we further develop and implement our financial strategy,” says Mayor Karen Farbridge.
A long-time resident of Guelph, Mr. Chapman is committed to innovation in the areas of internal service strategy, financial management, and policy formation. He also brings experience in community engagement and has experience working with the non-profit sector, most recently serving on the Board of The Elliot Community. Previous experience was gained with KPMG LLP, and as Director of Finance & Treasurer with Woolwich Township.
"We’re very pleased to welcome Dan to the City of Guelph," says Guelph's Chief Administrative Officer, Ann Pappert. "Dan is a skilled, strategic financial leader with extensive senior level municipal government experience and a record of accomplishments in public administration."

Mr. Chapman is a Chartered Accountant and earned his Masters of Public Administration from the University of Western Ontario.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Mark Amorosi
Director of Human Resources
T 519-822-1260 x 2281
E mark.amorosi@guelph.ca
Ann Pappert
Chief Administrative Officer
T 519-837-5602  
E administration@guelph.caT

Guelph welcomes Würth Canada to the Hanlon Creek Business Park

GUELPH, ON, October 5, 2011

Würth Canada Limited announced today its plan to relocate and expand its head office and distribution facility in Guelph.

Würth is purchasing a 5.14 hectare (12.7 acre) city-owned site in the Hanlon Creek Business Park to initially construct a new 11,047 sq. m. (118,915 sq. ft.) office and distribution building. The facility will employ more than 100 people on site and support more than 375 sales representatives across the country.  The occupancy date of the building is expected to be late 2014.   

“We’re thrilled Würth Canada has chosen to locate its new facility in Guelph based on the unique attributes of the Hanlon Creek Business Park,” says Guelph’s Chief Administrative Officer, Ann Pappert. “For Guelph, the attraction of businesses like Würth means more good local jobs, investment in our community, and business tax revenue to fund services for Guelph citizens.”

“Our plans for the future are based on annual double-digit growth and have led us to the development of a new state-of-the-art facility which we plan on opening in 2014,” says Ernie Sweeney, President, Würth Canada. “The Hanlon Creek Business Park was chosen due to its convenient location for distribution, future expansion capability and proximity to our existing distribution centre in Mississauga.”

The Guelph location will be the primary head office for Würth Canada, supporting all of its internal business functions as well as a state of the art warehouse serving customer orders from St. John’s, Newfoundland to Winnipeg, Manitoba. This building design will set a standard for future structures in the Hanlon Creek Business Park.

“We are excited to welcome such a high calibre company to Guelph’s corporate community. We look forward to assisting Würth Canada further and hope that this endeavour serves as an anchor for other international firms,” says Peter Cartwright, General Manager, Economic Development and Tourism Services.

About Würth Canada
The core business of Würth Canada is the worldwide sale of fixing and assembly materials, including screws, screw accessories, dowels and plugs, chemical products, furniture and construction fittings, tools, and stockkeeping and picking systems. Würth Canada has 450 employees with sales projections of $82 million in 2011. Würth Canada is part to the international Würth Group which boasts 410 companies in 84 countries, over 65,000 employees, and sales projections of 10 billion Euros this year.
 
About Hanlon Creek Business Park
The Hanlon Creek Business Park is a prime business location in Guelph’s south end. Phase 1 of this development is fully graded, serviced and ready for development. The Hanlon Creek Business Park is an important tool that will continue to support the strategic directions contained in the City’s Economic Development and Tourism Strategy – Prosperity 2020.
 
FOR MORE INFORMATION

Peter Cartwright
General Manager
Economic Development & Tourism Services
T (519) 837-5600 x 2820
E peter.cartwright@guelph.ca
 
Goran Abramovic
Marketing Manager
Würth Canada
T 905- 564-6225 x 2235
E GAbramovic@wurth.ca

I received this from City Staff and thought you'd like to see it in regards to the "bag to cart" issue that is being questioned.

Hi Cam,

Please see below, a direct quote from the Certificate of Approval issued by the Ministry of Environment that provides the City of Guelph with our approval to operate the new Organic Waste Processing Facility.  

Note:  Folks in the community are correct when they say that the MOE is not requiring the City to eliminate the use of bags for waste collection.  What the MOE is stating below is that while we can collect our waste however we like, we can only accept waste at our composting site that is collected through a waste collection program that does not allow the use of bags…..so in other words, while we can use bags for organics, if we choose to use bags then we cannot send our compostable waste to our own composter, but would have to ship it to an alternative site.

Some folks are implying in the media that we can collect our waste in bags, as long as we remove the bags prior to the composting process – that is incorrect – what the MOE has a concern with is the collection of organic waste in bags, NOT the processing of organic waste with the bags still on/in the process.  The rationale behind the MOE’s thinking (as I understand it) is that if the waste is stored in a sealed plastic bag for a week (or more if folks are away and miss a collection day) then the sealed bag will cause the waste to go anaerobic – it is anaerobic decomposition that causes odours – hence the mandate to not receive at the site waste that is collected through a collection program that permits the use of bags.

Section 34 (4) (d)

“ The Owner shall not accept at the composting site any Organic Waste that is collected through a waste collection program that allows the use of bags, except the waste that is generated in and collected by the City of Guelph and in accordance with ….. “Proposed Phase-out of Plastic Bag Usage in Organics Collection” ….”

GUELPH, ON, October 4, 2011

The City of Guelph launched its 2011 United Way fundraising campaign yesterday with a kickoff barbecue at City Hall. More than two hundred employees from locations throughout the city dropped in for lunch, raising about $1,200 for the cause.

The City’s fundraising goal is $50,000, which staff hope to raise through a combination of staff donations and pledges, and special events.

This year campaign efforts are chaired by Mayor Karen Farbridge, who is enthusiastic about the City’s renewed commitment to the United Way. "City of Guelph employees understand better than most that when we support an individual who needs help, it makes the entire community a better place. I believe in our employees’ desire to make a difference. Because of their commitment, I’m optimistic the City’s 2011 campaign to raise funds for the United Way will be a tremendous success."

The United Way of Guelph and Wellington is a volunteer-driven, charitable foundation focused on meeting the pressing social needs in Guelph and Wellington County. The United Way supports and engages the community through fundraising, fund distribution and social planning.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Bob Burchett
2011 City of Guelph United Way Campaign Manager General Manager, Parks and Recreation Programming & Facilities City of Guelph T 519-822-1260 x 2664 E bob.burchet@guelph.ca

October 6th, 2011

Good Morning Mayor Farbridge and members of Council,

Overnight Guelph Fire Department had a number of fire calls in the Ward 3  and Ward 4  area of the City.

There was a call to 135 Oxford Street where 2 fabric chairs were found on fire. There was a call to the Oxford / Dublin area where a P/U truck was found on fire. There was a call at 16 Willow Road where 3 separate vehicles were found on fire. There was a call to 61 Willow Road where two dumpsters were found on fire. All fires were extinguished by Emergency Services. Guelph Police Service attended to investigate with Emergency Services - Guelph Fire Department.

Thank you,

Emergency services

GUELPH, ON, October 6, 2011

New and improved transit routes and schedules that were slated to begin November 6 as part of Guelph’s Transit Growth Strategy will now start January 1. “Over the past couple of months, we’ve worked hard at planning and communicating the introduction of new routes and improved service anticipating a start on November 6,” says Michael Anders, General Manager of Guelph Transit and Community Connectivity. “We are ready to implement the changes, but because of collective bargaining agreement obligations, we have to move the implementation date to January 1, 2012.”

Guelph Transit will continue to keep riders and the community informed with respect to the new routes and services, and their start dates.

FOR MORE INFORMATION
Michael Anders
General Manager, Guelph Transit and Community Connectivity
Operations and Transit Services
T 519-822-1260 x 2795
E michael.anders@guelph.ca

Thursday, 22 Sept 2011
Attached please find the Notice of Commencement for the Class Environmental Assessment (EA) for reconnecting Silvercreek Parkway (south of Paisley) through a grade separation at the CNR Mainline. The notice will appear in today’s Tribune and will be circulated to adjacent residents and agencies.
The reconnection of Silvercreek Parkway is a requirement for the development of the Silvercreek (Lafarge) lands and providing a grade separation is a Transport Canada requirement. The project is cost-shared between the City and the developer as per an OMB Minutes of Settlement.
We have hired Delcan Corporation as consultants to first carry out the EA and then complete the design and construction of the improvements. There are several components to this project as indicated in the study Notice.
The EA process will include consultation with area residents and coordination with external review agencies as well as railway agencies.
We plan to have the first Public Information Centre (PIC) in November.
Please let me know if you have questions or need further information.
Thank you.
Rajan Philips, M.Sc., P.Eng | Manager
Transportation Planning & Development Engineering
T 519-822-1260 x 2369
E rajan.philips@guelph.ca

Judge rules Guelph must work with local health unit

Your Worship and Members of Council,

Solid Waste Resources will be launching a new Bike Reuse Program on Oct 18th at the Waste Resource Innovation Center in celebration of Waste Reduction Week in Canada.

Waste Reduction Week is intended to raise public consciousness about waste and its environmental and social ramifications. The theme this year, “Too Good To Waste” is about conveying an appreciation for the importance of working toward ecological sustainability by conserving resources and curbing wasteful practices. In support of the goal to reduce waste through provision of access to relevant opportunities and options, Solid Waste Resources will be launching a new program for residents that will divert bikes of all different shapes, sizes, and conditions from the landfill. Many bikes are brought to the Waste Resource Innovation Centre simply in need of a new home. This program ensures usable products don’t go to “waste”. Residents are encouraged to donate any unwanted, usable bikes to this worthwhile program. Bicycles are available to residents year round free of charge!

The Bike Reuse Program is located at the Waste Resource Innovation Center, next to the Household Hazardous Waste Depot at 110 Dunlop Drive, Gate 2 and will be open:
Tuesday – Friday:             9 a.m. – 5 p.m.  
Saturday:                             8:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.    
Closed Sundays, Mondays and Holidays.

Please feel free to email me if you have any questions or concerns about this program.


Heather Connell | Manager, Integrated Services
Solid Waste Resources | Planning, Engineering and Environmental Services
City of Guelph

T 519-822-1260 x 2082 | F 519-767-1660
E heather.connell@guelph.ca

Dear Mayor Farbridge and Councilors:
 
I am writing on behalf of the Mayfield Park Community Association to bring you up to date on the developments during the facilitated meetings, to keep you aware of our position in relation to the proposal and inform you of our serious efforts of community involvement in relation to the above referenced matter.
 
Representatives of the Mayfield Park Community Association attended three facilitated meetings at the request of the City.  At the first meeting we canvassed in detail all of the reasons that the proposed development was not acceptable to us. (As originally presented to Mayor and Council at the public meeting held in January of 2011)   
 
At the second meeting the developer provided an alternate "without prejudice proposal", which would have required almost all of the same amendments to the Official Plan and variations to the bylaws.  It did not change the fact that there is no reasonable buffer, inadequate setbacks, inadequate parking facilities for the number of residents, density of residents far in excess of accepted standards for high density zoning, a parking garage that will loom over the backyards of the properties on Evergreen. Issues like pedestrian safety and vehicular access were not addressed at all.   
 
We reiterated our opposition to the proposal and had some productive discussions with the City Planners.  The developers promised to re-attend with another without prejudice proposal.
 
On August 4, 2011 we attended the third facilitated meeting at City hall. As anticipated, the developer provided a second without prejudice proposal, which reduced the occupancy to 75% of the original proposal. Keeping in mind that the original proposal would house over 1600 residents this was not a substantial reduction in any meaningful way, as there would still be over 1200 residents in the complex.
 
The proposal provided for some limited increase in the set backs and decreased the height of the two buildings to 10 stores. They provided an alternate proposal that was for one building of 10 storeys and the other 12 with more of a gradual step down in storeys. Both proposals would still require an amendment to the Official Plan (General residential to High Density Residential) and additional variances in significant ways from the by-laws relating to even high-density residential zoning. There would also be over 1200 bedrooms.
 
In the circumstances we advised the developer that these new proposals are not acceptable to our community: we emphasized that our community is united in our opposition to a project of this scale and density. IN RESPONSE, the developer indicated that they could not reduce their proposal further.  I should mention that we had a meeting of our larger community who unanimously rejected a development of the scale, location and density proposed by the developer at the third facilitated meeting.
 
On a more positive note, during the course of the third meeting we had another opportunity to have discussions with the City Planners and the University representatives that we feel were informative and productive.
 
We also advised everyone at the meeting that we would be retaining an urban planning expert on behalf of our group and this was well received.
 
We have retained Beate Bowron and  Gary Davidson to act as experts on our behalf.  Our planners have had the opportunity to meet on two occasions with City Staff since the last facilitated meeting. Valerie Romenello and I attended the second meeting as well on behalf of MPCA. We understand that the City Planners are working on the types of zoning standards that might apply to purpose built student housing.   
 
It has always been our goal to work with the City so that a responsible approach is taken to intensification with respect to the growth of our city.  We want to see a vision for and a development on this site that is in keeping with acceptable planning standards and which provides for an adequate transition between the long established neighbourhood of single family residences in our neighborhood.
 
The Developers have not withdrawn their original proposal which requests changes to the Official plan and variances to the by-laws that far exceed the standards established for our City. We understand that the Developers have been meeting with the planners to urge them to finalize their recommendations.  
 
We have let the City planners know that we and our planning experts together with the City Planning staff are prepared to attend in Waterloo to see the other development built by Abode.  
 
I have attended there on a previous occasion to view the exterior of the building. We have been advised by the developer that it houses less than 500 students and I note that it is a 17 storey building. It is located in a high-density area with other high-rises in the immediate vicinity.  The upper level of the parking lot in that development is not at ground level.  It is a concrete structure, which appears to be at least 6 feet above ground level with a parking level underneath.
 
We are hoping to participate in a day long design exercise for the site in the context of the Intensification Corridor on Gordon Street with the City Planners and other interested parties in the very near future. We await confirmation of proposed dates from the City Planners.
 
If you have any questions or comments please do not hesitate to contact me as a representative of our group.
 
 
 
Regards,
 
 
Kate MacDonald
President, Mayfield Park Community Association

Court rules on Board of Health matter
Judge finds that issues should have been addressed by Provincially-appointed assessor
GUELPH, ON, October 12, 2011 – Justice Price of the Superior Court of Justice has found that the City of Guelph's issues with the Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Board of Health should have been addressed by an assessor appointed by Ontario's Minister of Health and Long-Term Care.
Justice Price noted that changes to provincial legislation in 1997 and 2001 removed the right of any of the three municipalities to withdraw from the Health Unit, stating in his decision, “I find that the City does not possess the power either to withdraw unilaterally from the Board or to veto the Board’s decisions, even when they have the effect of imposing significant financial obligations on the City.”
In his decision, Justice Price states that the Health Protection and Promotion Act, which governs public health in the province, provides an assessment process and requires the Minister to appoint an assessor. Mayor Farbridge requested the Minister to appoint an assessor on April 26, 2011, and the Minister responded on May 16, 2011, declining to appoint one. However, as Justice Price’s ruling notes, the Act provides that it is an assessor, and not the Minister, who must decide whether the complaint warrants investigation and, if it does, who must conduct an investigation and report to the Minister.
“The City’s position has not changed: we need a Provincially-appointed assessor to investigate the issues we have identified. In light of this court decision, we will repeat our request to the Government of Ontario,” said Mayor Karen Farbridge.
In his decision, Justice Price comments on the current governance structure for public health, saying, “The shift from decision-making by directly elected representatives on city councils to boards made up of their delegates, especially, as in the present case, where the delegates of two municipalities can out-number those of another, has the potential of diminishing the public’s engagement in self-government and undermining the quality of public decision-making.” He goes on to note that “the guidelines which the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care have issued for boards of health to follow wisely provide for consultation and collaboration as a means of preventing the disempowerment of municipal councils and local agencies in relation to the decisions affecting their constituents. The effectiveness of this safeguard depends on the quality of ministerial supervision and the remedy of judicial review.”
Justice Price stated that the Board must be transparent in providing the necessary information to the municipalities to enable them to assess the reasonableness of the expenses and, if necessary, to challenge the Board’s decision in the courts.
Mayor Farbridge noted, “While we did not get the decision we were hoping for, Justice Price clearly acknowledged the overarching governance issues in his decision. The City has always maintained that the governance model is flawed and needs to change. With the support of this decision, we will pursue assistance from the Ministry.”
- 30 -
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Ann Pappert
Chief Administrative Officer
City of Guelph
T 519-837-5602  
E ann.pappert@guelph.ca

Donna Jaques
General Manager of Legal Services/ City Solicitor
City of Guelph
T 519-822-1260 x 2288 |
E donna.jaques@guelph.ca

Message sent on behalf of Shawn Armstrong, General Manager of Emergency Services:

Construction on Delhi Street at Paul Avenue resulted in a gas line being broken by a high hoe at 11:27 a.m. Normally a small precautionary evacuation is done. Due to the fact that Union Gas could not locate the shut-off and the leak continued fire and police established a full evacuation of the affected area.  The initial evacuation zone of 500m was expanded to 800m due to wind conditions.  Initial evacuation was approximately 75 houses but with expansion took in more houses and some apartments – including two old age apartments.  This involved a 2.5 inch gas line which is emitting a significant amount of gas.
 
Guelph Police, Emergency Services - Guelph Fire and Guelph Wellington EMS responded.  Corporate Communications was engaged to assist with messaging.
 
Gas line was capped at 1:45pm.  City crews worked to return people safely back into their homes.   Health Unit was consulted  to address any community health concerns and precautionary information was distributed.
 
Approximately 260 were evacuated for less than 3 hours. Information pamphlets went out with a summary of the event and additional information for the residents in the area should concerns arise.  Fire Communications are monitoring the phones for any concerns from residents and continue to do so at this time.
 
Emergency Services was advised that no loss of services resulted to any residents, during or after the event.  
 
Thanks to all of the staff that worked to safely conclude this event.
 
Respectfully,
 
Shawn Armstrong,
General Manager,
Emergency Services,
City of Guelph.


Harry Dunning | Manager of Administration & Emerg. Preparedness
T 519-822 -1260 x 2127 |
E harry.dunning@guelph.ca

September 30th, 2011:

This email was sent to councillors after an interview with a local journalist who had questions regarding the noise issues as of late along with upcoming by-law review being presented to council this month. Here it is:

Please note that a journalist called asking for clarification regarding the noise statistics attended by Bylaw staff during homecoming weekend and inquired about the noise Bylaw in general.

•    She was advised of the process in which residents may voice noise concerns (i.e. contact Guelph Police Service and Police staff will determine appropriate staff to attend the call).  She was also provided the definition of noise and the various restrictions under the Bylaw.

•    She inquired as to the status of the Noise Bylaw review.  

I indicated that public consultation has occurred and the report is anticipated to be brought before Council in October.  She asked if yelling concerns and the set fines for noise violations would form part of the review.  I indicated that these items will be included in the report, she asked if she could get a copy of the report, I indicated that the present time the report has not been released to the public, but would be available to the public prior to the October OT Committee meeting.

•    She asked why there was  high number of calls in September 2011 compared to 2010 in which Bylaw staff simply advised the residences of the noise bylaw.  

I indicated that although some noise concerns such as yelling or loud voices is not a violation before 11pm, Bylaw staff will still attend to try and resolve the issue voluntarily, the stats provided indicate the number of times Bylaw staff did this in September.  She asked for the number of calls attended by Bylaw staff on Homecoming 2011 and 2010 before and after 11pm.  

According to our records, on Homecoming Saturday in 2010 Bylaw staff attended 10 calls before 11pm and 41 calls after 11pm, in 2011 staff attended 23 calls before 11pm and 28 calls after 11pm.  I did advise that these were just some of the noise calls received by the Guelph Police Service and that the Guelph Police may be able to assist with the total number of calls.  

•    She asked the number of residents visited by myself (or Bylaw staff) and the Manager of Off-Campus living and if there were any repeat violations after these visits occurred.

I advised approximately 25 residences were visited in the last week and half and that we spoke to the residences in length the consequences of continuing violations from both the City’s and the University’s perspective.  I advised to the best of my knowledge, as the calls are dispatched by Police, there were no repeat violations.

•    She was already aware that there will be a meeting for Bylaw, Police and University staff to debrief on the events and our actions during Homecoming.

Guelph Mercury Article:

Councillors urged to seek financial assurances from quarry

Article from Guelph Mercury:

Residents should foot bill for pilot project, some councillors feel

Good afternoon Councillor Guthrie.

Economic Development and Tourism Services has submitted a joint operating budget for 2012.

The Tourism portion of the 20102 budget is as follows:

Salaries & Benefits
•    Total Salaries & Benefits = $265,132.73

Marketing
•    Expenses: Conferences/Trade Shows/Merchandise/Events/Marketing = $177,300.00
•    Revenues: Grants/Partner Contributions/Advertising Revenue/Promotional Items = $88,000.00
•    Net Marketing Budget = $89,300

Total Tourism Budget = $354,432.73

As you are aware Tourism Services represents Guelph’s tourism sector on Regional Tourism Organization (RTO) 4 which is the Government of Ontario’s tourism marketing funding program. Tourism Services works with the local industry to ensure they are properly positioned within RTO 4 to receive marketing assistance from the Province.

As well, Tourism Services works with the local industry to identify and attract new events to the City for the purpose of increasing occupancy rates and overnight stays to the community.

For your information I have provided Tourism Services performance targets for 2012.

Tourism:                                                                2012 Target                2011 Projected                 2010 Actual
Marketing:              
Leveraged Annual Marketing Value                    $511,500.00                  $650,000.00                       $385,000.00
Contracted Partners                                                 112                                105                                    94
Web Activity                                                130,000 visits to homepage   106,000 visits to homepage    n/a
Product/Business Development:              
New events                                                                  5                                     4                                      6
               
Regional Tourism Metrics              
Hotel Occupancy                                                      60%                                 57%                                   51.5%
Visitor Spending in Guelph/Wellington                $165 million                    $160 million                    $155 million (2009)
Visitation to Guelph/ Wellington                           2.6 million                        2.4 million                       2.2 million (2009)

Check this out Guelph!

Featuring: HOTEL CALIFORNIA
                (the ORIGINAL EAGLES TRIBUTE BAND)
                 Along with Guelph’s Own CORDUROY ROAD

Saturday October 15th, 2011
E.L. Fox Auditorium (John F. Ross Hall)
21 Meyer Drive – Guelph
Doors open – 6:00 p.m.
Concert Starts – 7:00 p.m.
Purchasing a ticket for $20.00 will help to purchase a ticket for someone living in poverty.

Tickets are for General  Seating and are available at the following places:

The  River Run Centre
519-763-3000 or online @ riverrun.ca.

Folkway Music
163 Suffolk Street, West -- 519-763-5524
No credit card sales

Ground Floor Music
13 Quebec Street – Guelph – 519-827-1444

Tickets will also be available at the door.

Esteemed Mayor and City Councilors,

As a current board member of the Guelph Community Foundation and Chair of its Marketing and Communications Committee, I wanted to make sure you are aware of The GCF’s Random Act of Kindness Day coming up on November 4th.  

Launched in 2008 by the K-W Foundation, Guelph held its first RAK Day in 2010 by distributing 25,000 cards and 500 posters through City locations, local businesses, churches and schools. In addition to the University of Guelph, Conestoga College, The Co-operators, Guelph General Hospital, Meridian Credit Union, RLB Chartered Accountants, more than 60 local organisations participated. This year we have increased our organizing committee from 2 people to 12 and plan on distributing 100,000 cards. The cards simply promote the day. Then, on November 4th,individuals do something kind (hold open a door, bring cookies to the office, rake someone’s leaves, etc.) and pass along the card which invites the recipient of the good deed to pay it forward. It is one of those very rare events that includes absolutely everyone. It’s not about money or social standing. It empowers everyone to build a better community. Judging by last year’s response, it’s a great fit for Guelph.

I’d like to enlist your help by promoting the date in your on-line calendar, on your web-site or on your Twitter feed.
You may also visit our web-site at www.guelphcf.ca . Finally, we’d love it if you would ‘like’ us on Facebook! https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Guelph-Community-Foundation-Random-Act-of-Kindness-Day/114494535315980. If you are interested, we’ll keep you posted when cards and posters are available.

If you have any questions regarding the Guelph Community Foundation’s Random Act of Kindness Day, please contact me directly at (519)831-3131.

Regards,
Dominique O’Rourke

NEWS RELEASE:

FCM’s Green Municipal Fund supports the City of Guelph’s
Creation of a secondary plan for the Guelph Innovation District
    
June 23, 2011, Guelph, Ont. – Berry Vrbanovic, president of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) and councillor for the City of Kitchener, Ont., and the Honourable Joe Oliver, Minister of Natural Resources, today announced a Green Municipal FundTM grant of $142,252 to the City of Guelph. The grant will help fund the development of a secondary plan to guide the creation of the 453-hectare Guelph Innovation District.
“FCM’s Green Municipal Fund offers a range of resources and services that specifically address the sustainable community development needs of municipal governments,” said Vrbanovic. “The financing and knowledge provided by the Fund supports the development of communities that are more environmentally, socially and economically sustainable.”
“The Government of Canada is assisting municipalities across the country in achieving their goal of a cleaner and healthier environment for Canadians through the Green Municipal Fund,” said Minister Oliver. “Today’s announcement is another example of how our government — in partnership with FCM — is helping build a greener future for our citizens.”
The Guelph Innovation District secondary plan is an effort to be carbon-neutral by connecting an employment cluster focussed on green economy and innovation sector jobs with an urban village. The plan will be a prototype for new standards and protocols that will enable the City to meet its sustainability goals and objectives.
“This funding will help us create a plan for the Guelph Innovation District that will place us at the forefront of the green economy and offer a complete community with places to live, work, and play,” said Guelph’s Mayor, Karen Farbridge. “This is about a new way of approaching development – a way that is integrated, innovative, and sustainable.”
The secondary plan will address environmental, social, cultural and economic sustainability issues including the protection of natural and cultural heritage resources; the creation of affordable and sustainable live-work opportunities; the use of low-impact development and infrastructure design; the implementation of energy planning strategies, and the application of pedestrian and transit-oriented transportation approaches.
Drawing on a number of strategic documents, land use concept reports, background studies, best practices analyses and public consultations, the plan will propose a vision statement, goals, objectives, low-impact design guidelines, and a development concept for the Guelph Innovation District lands. The secondary plan will also implement sustainability targets identified in existing strategic documents, including the provincial growth plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe and will apply higher standards, where appropriate. It will be integrated with the City’s Official Plan and linked to a number of existing strategic municipal documents including the Community Energy Initiative, Prosperity 2020 and the City of Guelph Growth Management Strategy.
The Government of Canada endowed the FCM with $550 million to establish the Green Municipal Fund. The Fund supports partnerships and leveraging of both public and private sector funding to reach higher standards of air, water and soil quality, and climate protection.

FCM has been the national voice of municipal governments since 1901. It fosters the development of sustainable communities to improve quality of life by promoting strong, effective, and accountable municipal government.

Guelph officially opens Trans Canada Trail
Trail name recognizes City’s longest-serving Director of Community Services

GUELPH, ON, September 29, 2011 – Guelph’s portion of the Trans Canada Trail was officially opened and named the Gus Stahlmann Trail this morning at an event held in John Galt Park.  Mayor Karen Farbridge, members of City Council, Dan Andrews - Executive Director of Trans Canada Trail Ontario, and Mr. Stahlmann were in attendance.

To mark the official opening, the Trans Canada Trail presented the City of Guelph with a grant of $62,500, the second installment of their $125,000 grant to the City.

The trail, which runs from Eramosa Road to the City limits north along the Guelph Junction Railway corridor, has been named in honour of the City of Guelph’s longest-serving Director of Community Services, who retired in 2007 after 34 years of service.  Mr. Stahlmann was a leader in the formation of Guelph’s trail system, including the Royal Recreational Trail and Trails Master Plan, as well as numerous parks and open spaces. He was a key figure in the renovation of Hastings Stadium and the creation of the Evergreen Seniors Centre and the River Run Centre.

"This trail opening marks the completion of a significant amount of work—and a major addition to Guelph’s excellent trails system," said Mayor Farbridge. “We appreciate the support of the Trans Canada Trail, which helped make this project possible.”

A member of the public suggested naming the trail after Mr. Stahlmann.  The name was recommended by the City’s Naming Committee and adopted by City Council at its September 26 meeting.

New panels bearing Gus Stahlmann's name will be installed on Guelph's Trans Canada Trail Pavilion and a separate pedestal sign will be erected at the beginning of the trail at Eramosa Road.

Designed with input from residents, the Gus Stahlmann Trail is a paved, multi-use trail that links several parks and open spaces located in north Guelph to the downtown core.  It is a fully accessible, safe and separate off-road trail that runs through a number of parks and adjacent to the Guelph Junction Railway.

Pollination Guelph is working with City staff to establish areas of native pollinator plantings along the trail and the Guelph Junction Railway corridor, in their continuing role as habitat protectors and education leaders.  

The Gus Stahlmann Trail excludes the section of the Trans Canada Trail that runs through John Galt Park.  In 1998, City Council approved the naming of this section the Alf Hales Trail in recognition of the former Director of the Grand River Conservation Authority who served in this role for several years.  A park plaque and Trans Canada Trail Pavilion signage commemorate this dedicated portion of the trail.

In addition to the Gus Stahlmann Trail, newly named City properties include Grand Central Station (intermodal transit terminal), and two new neighbourhood parks, Cedarvale Avenue Park (formerly Cityview Heights Subdivision Park), and Northview Park (formerly Northview Subdivision Park).  The naming of Kortright Park has been deferred to 2012.
The Trans Canada Trail/Sentier Transcanadien is a national non-profit organization that supports the development and use of a national network that links millions of Canadians from coast to coast to coast. Canadians and international visitors use the Trail to hike, cycle, ski, horseback ride, canoe and snowmobile. Partnering with the Government of Canada, Parks Canada, and sponsors and donors, the Trans Canada Trail contributes to the work of more than 400 communities and thousands of volunteers across the country through grants and promotion of their efforts to build and sustain the world’s longest and grandest recreational trail.
For more information about the City's trails, please visit guelph.ca > living > parks & trails.

September 27th, 2011

Tonight council started the process of looking through the 2012 proposed Capital Budget. I made a motion tonight which passed Unanimously. All I asked staff to do was to report back to council as to whether staff would be looking for innovative ways to fund future capital projects (without using debt to fund them) or if it's better use of resources to look at outside people to do it for us. It was just asking for further info on the subject. That's it. Nothing more. In fact, I specifically said "I don't like what I'm about to ask because I don't want to hire more people." However, asking for further info is the responsible thing for a councillor to do. It allows the decision makers to see all sides of issues to make informed decisions.

So we'll see what staff brings back to us to look at in December after we approve the operating budget for 2012.

Thanks again everyone and have a great night,

Cam

Good afternoon to all,

Below you will find a response from city staff providing context for what we are experiencing this year compared to last year.  The statistics provided only speak to those calls received by staff.  At present we have no system in place to capture calls received by Council.  

Staff will be tabling a report at the O&T Committee meeting in October which will highlight staff’s review of the current Noise Bylaw.  Of note, the activity of ‘yelling’ is addressed in the report and a recommendation to amend the bylaw to include yelling as an offense is contained therein.  

Stats from last year compared to this year.  

While staff have not changed their enforcement practices and there is not a significant change in the number of calls for service received, there has been a significant decrease in the number of charges issued in 2011 and a significant increase in the number of noisy situations encountered by staff in which no action could be taken as the noise was not in violation of the Bylaw. Staff have indicated that the type of noise being generated has changed from last year, in 2010 most of the concerns related to loud music which is enforceable 24 hours a day, this year the concerns are related to yelling and other noise which is permitted until 11pm.  

Noise Calls attended by Bylaw staff                   
September 1 to 27, 2010    September 1 to 27, 2011    
Number of calls    387    405              
Action taken            
Charges issued       94    43    
Warning issued       95    37    
Advised of Bylaw*    26    145    
Quiet on arrival       172    180               
            
*staff noted noise being generated but not in violation of the Bylaw, residents voluntarily asked to reduce noise

September 27th, 2011

I thought I'd take a moment to let everyone know what exactly happened last night for the renaming option of York Rd. Park to Jessica Durigon Memorial Park.

For some background first though: There is a committee at the city called the "naming committee" and it's comprised of mostly residents (i believe?)appointed to weigh/consider certain naming options for city owned assets. They recieved many options for several assets with a deadline back in March of this year.

They then made recomendations to the council committee called "PBEE" or Planning, Buidling, Engineering and Environment. I sit on this committee along with Councillor Bell, Burcher, Piper and Mayor Farbridge. This came to us to discuss last week.

When this particular renaming option came forward, it was brought to us with a recomendation to not be approved. I argued at the committee level that it should be renamed. The vote was taken and it was a 3-2 vote to affirm the recomendation to not approve the name change. Bell & myself voted to have it changed.

Now fast forward to this Monday's full meeting of council. This issue is brought forward again and there were many people in the audience there in support of the renaming along with a delegate to speak on behalf of Jessica. I urged my fellow councillors to vote in favour of the name change but I could tell right away that it was going to be a close vote, and in fact I had gone into the meeting already having talked to many councillors, thinking that we would have had enough votes to get it done. However some that I thought might have been in favour were now leaning to re-confirm the original vote of not renaming. It's not a good feeling to sit there seeing something you passionately beleive in start to unravel in front of you.

At this point, a referal motion was brought forward to send the idea back to staff with the comittment to rename a portion of the park. This motion passed with no issues at all.

So what are my personal thoughts?

Although it was not what I wanted, upon reflection I think this might even be a better decision. If the renaming of the park passed last night, then all that would have happened would be a new sign and possibly a plaque communicating the reason for the park name in honour of Jessica Durigon. But by sending this issue back to staff to look at naming a portion of the park it allows for opportunities and more options on the table. I have been in contact with Jessica's Footprint and the Durigon family since last night and they are on the same page and excited for the opportunities. I have thought out loud about these opportunities. How about a sandbox in the shape of a footprint? A walking trail with stamped footprints in it? You get my point. What could have been just a name change now has the opportinuty to become more.

This will end up being a very good thing for everyone.

Hope this gives you some context to what transpired.

Have a good night everyone!

Cam

PRESS RELEASE
GUELPH, September 26, 2011
Guelph Soccer Advances Commitment to Development with New Coerver Coaching Partnership!
Guelph Soccer is excited to announce a partnership with Coerver Coaching that will underpin the clubs
commitment to coach and player development. Coerver Coaching is a global soccer skills teaching
method for coaches wishing to advance their technical knowledge of the game, and for players to focus
on individual skills development and small group play. Coerver methodology is used for player
development and endorsed at such famous clubs as Arsenal , Bayern Munich, Manchester United and
Newcastle United.
Ruben Flores, Club Technical Director is excited at becoming a “Coerver Club”. “Our objective as a club is
to develop our coaches and players. Coerver is the best and most widely recognized method, and not
only will our players benefit from the programs, but our coaches will now have a solid technical base to
work with their players”. Step one of the process being that all Guelph Soccer Rep coaches will be
required to obtain a Coerver Coaching Youth Diploma. Guelph Rep teams will be one of the first to
benefit from this program, Guelph’s new rep team try-out and winter training program will based using
Coerver methodology for all age groups
Coerver are equally excited at adding Guelph Soccer to their “Coerver Club” program. “Coerver Coaching
are delighted to be associated with a club who share a long term vision and commitment to both player
and coaching development”, says Brett Mosen, Coerver Ontario. “Coerver are very selective with whom
they partner, but when Technical Director Ruben Flores, and Executive Director Alan Gould approached
me regarding a partnership with Guelph Soccer, it was refreshing to hear a youth club with such a clear
focus on development.
Plans are already in place to incorporate the Coerver methodology into the entire curriculum, as well as
offering a Coerver Fit pre-season program in the spring, and Coerver specific summer camps.
For additional information on Guelph Soccer please visit www.guelphsoccer.ca and for more information
on Coerver Coaching visit www.coerver.com.
Alan Gould
Executive Director
Tel: 519 824 2199 ext 11
Email: alan.gould@guelphsoccer.ca

GUELPH’S NEW ORGANIC WASTE PROCESSING FACILITY OFFICIALLY OPENS
Composting will increase waste diversion rate by 10 per cent
 
Guelph, Ontario, September 27, 2011 – Guelph's organic waste is once again being turned into clean, useful compost with the opening of the city's new Organic Waste Processing Facility.
The Organic Waste Processing Facility uses aerobic, in-vessel composting technology, which uses less energy and generates fewer greenhouse gas emissions than transporting organic waste long distances for processing or landfilling.
“The Organic Waste Processing Facility is a great example of what the federal Gas Tax Fund offers to communities,” said the Honourable Denis Lebel, Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities. “This project has created jobs that support the local economy, and more importantly, it leaves a green legacy that benefits residents by providing a local, long-term solution to managing the City’s organic waste.”
"This is a very proud moment for our community," said Mayor Karen Farbridge. "This new facility provides a local, long-term solution to managing Guelph's organic waste. Today, we are re-establishing Guelph's leadership position as a community that responsibly manages its own waste."
The facility accepted its first truckload of organic waste this morning at an official opening event. Organic waste that Guelph residents and businesses leave at curbside will now be composted at the facility, which is part of the City's Waste Resource Innovation Centre on Dunlop Drive. This is expected to increase Guelph's waste diversion rate by 10 per cent, enabling the City to achieve its overall diversion target of 55 per cent by 2012.
Guelph's former composting plant closed in 2006, and since then organic waste has been shipped to an energy-from-waste facility in New York State.
The facility is designed to process 30,000 tonnes of organic material per year. Guelph generates approximately 10,000 tonnes per year. To take advantage of its excess capacity, which was included to ensure efficiencies of scale and allow for future population growth, the facility will accept organic waste from other municipalities, which will reduce operating and capital costs.
Environmental controls incorporated into the design include air curtains on the bay doors in the tipping floor area, a closed top design with a 47.5 metre-tall biofilter stack, and the use of naturally occurring microbes that degrade odour-causing compounds in the exhaust air, releasing clean air back into the environment.
An education room currently being completed at the facility will, once open, provide an interactive educational experience about organic waste processing for school groups and the public.
The total budget for the Organic Waste Processing Facility was $32,825,000. Gas Tax funds provided by the Government of Canada contributed $4,688,000 to the project.

“The federal Gas Tax Fund acknowledges that all orders of government must work together to address the pressing need for infrastructure investment in our municipalities,” said Gary McNamara, President of the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO). “Stable and predictable, the Gas Tax Fund is supporting long-term investment in local priority projects right across Ontario.”

The federal Gas Tax Fund provides municipalities with a stable and predictable source of funding for environmentally sustainable municipal infrastructure. Funding is also available for planning projects that contribute to the sustainability of communities and regions.

The Government of Canada extended the Gas Tax Fund to 2014 resulting in $746 million in funding annually for municipal infrastructure in Ontario.  Between 2010 and 2014, the City of Guelph will receive over $28 million from the Government of Canada’s Gas Tax Fund.

Guelph to officially open Trans Canada Trail

GUELPH, ON, September 27, 2011 - Mayor Farbridge and members of Council will join Dan Andrews, Trans Canada Trail Ontario, and representatives of the Trans Canada Trail Foundation to officially open the Trans Canada Trail in John Galt Park on Thursday, September 29 from 10 – 11 a.m.

The name of the trail (excluding the named section that runs through John Galt Park) will also be unveiled.

WHO       Mayor Farbridge and members of Guelph City Council
               Dan Andrews - Trans Canada Trail Ontario
               Consultants, contractors and City staff                          

WHAT      Official opening of Trans Canada Trail

WHEN       Thursday, September 29
                 10 - 11 a.m.

WHERE     John Galt Park
                 15-147 Woolwich Street
                 Intersection: Macdonell Street and Woolwich Street
                  (next to the Trans Canada Trail Pavilion)

Hi Doug:

I hope you’re doing well and you’ll be able to enjoy the loooooooooong weekend ahead of us. I’ve received your request below and thank you for the opportunity to respond. If you have any further questions after my statements, please fell free to call my cell at 226-820-5080.
Thanks,
Cam

When an early Thursday morning email informed city council that the proposed 2012 capital budget binder was waiting upon our desks, I rushed down immediately to city hall to pick it up. I read it back to back, (twice actually), and am very pleased with this new direction of moving away from our dependency upon debt. Something I, and many residents throughout this city, have been looking forward to for a long time.

The proposed 2012 capital budget is exactly what the doctor ordered for the city of Guelph. It acknowledges the seriousness of getting our financial house in order which is something that I specifically campaigned on and heard door to door throughout the election. Now we can focus on necessities for our city and concentrate on replenishing our dwindling reserves.

This renewed focus on debt reduction will require there to be sacrifices. Families across Guelph make sacrifices to make ends meet, so it’s about time they see the city doing the same. These sacrifices include postponing the new main branch library, the south-end rec centre, some downtown improvements and parking within the downtown core. As the budget clearly states, the city is not suggesting that we abandon these projects, but that we approach financing them differently by seeking other sources of funding. This could be accomplished through potential partnerships, other levels of government or the private sector and not always taking the taxpayers hard earned dollars.

City staff needs to be applauded for an excellent job with this proposal and I would encourage the public to take a few moments and read it through.

Thank you,

Cam Guthrie

I recived this email from City Staff:

Good Day,

Through the  Elderly Person Centre Act (EPC), fiscal year Grants are available to Municipal and Stand alone Seniors Centres in the Province of Ontario that meet the grant criteria. The City of Guelph has two EPC designated community centres:  The Evergreen Seniors Community Centre and The West End Community Centre.  The City has been notified that in fiscal year 2011-12 (April 2011 to March 31st, 2012), allocation for the annual maintenance and operating grant has been increased to 42,700.00 per Centre (from 30,000.00 in previous fiscal year).  In addition, a “special grant” is available to each EPC Centre on an annual basis based on application and the City of Guelph has also been advised that their application for this one-time grant totals 27,000.00 for fiscal year 2011-12.

The increased allocation under the EPC act  for the annual operating and maintenance grant is the most recent (and only) provincial financial assistance for Seniors Centres.  The second type of financial assistance titled “special grant” is a relatively new allocation (based on application).  Both the West End Community Centre and the Evergreen Seniors Community Centre apply for this special grant and each centre is eligible for up to $15,000 per fiscal year with any one item not to exceed a threshold of $3000.00.  Items such as enhanced audio and video equipment at the Evergreen Seniors Community Centre are made possible through this grant.  

This funding enhances the services and facilities for our community and reduces reliance on municipal tax base.

Thank you,

Cam

September 11, 2011

Karen Farbridge, Mayor, City of Guelph,
1 Carden Street,
Guelph, Ontario.

Madam Mayor,

    I can only imagine that you are saying to yourself “oh no here he is again”, well you are right I am back. There are a number of issues I wish to bring to your attention this fine day, that said, I will try and be as brief as possible. I know you realize that is almost impossible.
    The first issue is the result of items brought forth in the Tribune, dated September 6th and 8th, 2011. I am sure you can guess what I am talking about. It appears as though the light has finally gone on at City Hall, as we have finally recognized that we are painting ourselves into a corner, debt wise. I went back to previous correspondence that I have had with you, and Council, on this very issue. I refer to my letters to you dated July 13, and July 25, 2007 as well as the one dated June 3, 2008, copies of which I will attach to my email. These dealt with various issues, but also the major one was our ability to plan our spending in line with what we could afford. I will not belabour the point other than to say that Councillors Guthrie and Furfaro get it, and I suggest, Councillor Kovach is on the same page. I know that I will offend some members of Council when I say that prioritizing within budget restraints appears to be something that some of them do not have the vaguest idea of what this means. If you think that you can continually dump the expense on the backs of the taxpayers then you are not in the real world. I must admit that when I read that Councillor Furfaro talked about the major projects that are currently underway potentially having cost overruns I laughed to myself. The reason I laugh about this is that this is exactly what I said to you in my correspondence dated July 25, 2007. I suggest to you that the Carden Street project is a perfect example of what I mean and I am almost willing to bet that the Organic Processing Facility and the Transit Terminal will be will all fall into the category of overrun costs. Our ability to plan projects so that they are completed on time and within budgets lacks credibility. Perhaps I misinterpreted what Councillor Wettstein says when he suggests that projects will  be excluded from any debt financing for the next 10 years. I think what is actually being said is that projects will be shelved unless we can reasonably afford them, based on reasonable tax increases, or growth of the City. I will conclude this part of my letter by saying would I like to see the projects go forward, the simple answer is yes, but not unless there is a properly thought out plan of financing them without having a negative impact on our overall financial position.
    The next issue I will raise is the wish to revitalize the downtown core. I have said before this is a commendable desire; however, under the current circumstances this is an impossibility. Let me start out by saying the two hour free parking on downtown streets is a joke. I am willing to wager that some cars are parked in the same spots all day, perhaps I am wrong; however, that is my perception. I had occasion to go downtown a week ago Friday, September 2, 2011 and I drove around for one half hour before finally getting a spot. You are probably saying you cheapskate why did you not go into one of the parking lots and pay whatever the cost was, well I did not and that is that. The spot I found was on MacDonnell Street and I have to tell you this is something almost beyond belief. If it were not for the cheap fast food places and the dingy bars there probably would be nothing there. When I went to the establishment that I was going to I was appalled, to say the least, at the level of humanity I saw on the streets. I am not a prude, or someone who sees themselves as above others, but I will say that I would not like to be walking down in this area alone at night. This brings me to the point of why would any self respecting businessman wish to locate in the downtown area when you see what your potential clientele would be. I certainly do not have the answers but until we are   able to minimize the number of sleazy bars and restaurants in the downtown core then there is not a hope in the world of turning downtown into what you would like to see.
    The last issue I raise, you thought this would never come, is the downtown street litter on a Sunday morning. My wife and I attend church every Sunday morning and to see the trash that litters the downtown core is absolutely disgusting. I know you have crews that clean up the mess early in the morning; nonetheless, it is the type of thing that one might expect to see in the slums of some cities of our southern neighbours. Certainly the last two weekends have been the worst in a long while, coincidently this ties in to the return of the students of the University. I am sure you have the police patrolling the area and it would seem realistic to me that they should at least be issuing tickets for littering, perhaps they do, but I am not aware of this if it is the case. The bottom line is that how can you expect to revitalize the downtown core when it looks like a cesspool a good deal of the time?
    I guess I have gone on long enough, to which you will say I agree. The truth is that I send you these writings from time to time, not to be a naysayer, rather to let you know that I care about our City.

Respectfully, as always,

F.

I recieved this email and it's nice to get these type of emails every now and then! Here it is:

Thank god you have found a place on Council, from what I have read recently in the local paper you wish to bring a sense of realism to the table. Stay with it,

Frank

I recieved this email from City STAFF:

Dear Mayor Farbridge and members of Guelph City Council,
This is further to an inquiry regarding the mandatory services of Wellington Dufferin Guelph Public Health. The duties and mandatory programs are detailed in the following sections of the Health Protection and Promotion Act. For a complete copy of the Act please click on the following link:  
http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/html/statutes/english/elaws_statutes_90h07_e.htm#BK5

PART II
HEALTH PROGRAMS AND SERVICES
Duty of board of health
4.  Every board of health,
(a) shall superintend, provide or ensure the provision of the health programs and services required by this Act and the regulations to the persons who reside in the health unit served by the board; and
(b) shall perform such other functions as are required by or under this or any other Act. R.S.O. 1990, c. H.7, s. 4.
Mandatory health programs and services
5.  Every board of health shall superintend, provide or ensure the provision of health programs and services in the following areas:
1. Community sanitation, to ensure the maintenance of sanitary conditions and the prevention or elimination of health hazards.
1.1 The provision of safe drinking water by small drinking water systems.
2. Control of infectious diseases and reportable diseases, including provision of immunization services to children and adults.
3. Health promotion, health protection and disease and injury prevention, including the prevention and control of cardiovascular disease, cancer, AIDS and other diseases.
4. Family health, including,
i. counselling services,
ii. family planning services,
iii. health services to infants, pregnant women in high risk health categories and the elderly,
iv. preschool and school health services, including dental services,
v. screening programs to reduce the morbidity and mortality of disease,
vi. tobacco use prevention programs, and
vii. nutrition services.
4.1 Collection and analysis of epidemiological data.
4.2 Such additional health programs and services as are prescribed by the regulations.
5. Home care services that are insured services under the Health Insurance Act, including services to the acutely ill and the chronically ill. R.S.O. 1990, c. H.7, s. 5; 1997, c. 30, Sched. D, s. 2; 2007, c. 10, Sched. D, s. 1 (3).
Note: On a day to be named by proclamation of the Lieutenant Governor, paragraph 5 is repealed by the Statutes of Ontario, 1994, chapter 26, section 71. See: 1994, c. 26, ss. 71, 76.
School pupils
6.  (1)  Every board of health shall provide such of the health programs and services as are prescribed by the regulations for the purposes of this section to the pupils attending schools within the health unit served by the board of health. R.S.O. 1990, c. H.7, s. 6 (1).
Extent of programs and services
8.  A board of health is not required by this Part to provide or ensure the provision of a mandatory health program or service referred to in this Part except to the extent and under the conditions prescribed by the regulations and the guidelines. R.S.O. 1990, c. H.7, s. 8.
Optional health programs and services
9.  A board of health may provide any other health program or service in any area in the health unit served by the board of health if,
(a) the board of health is of the opinion that the health program or service is necessary or desirable, having regard to the needs of persons in the area; and
(b) the councils of the municipalities in the area approve of the provision of the health program or service. R.S.O. 1990, c. H.7, s. 9.

I recieved this email from STAFF today:

The demolition of the buildings on upper Wyndham and creation of a parking lot are starting soon. The demolition was scheduled to commence in mid October with parking lot completion in the spring of 2012.

Thanks,

Cam

Laura Baily Memorial Trail officially dedicated

East end trail named in honour of late Councillor

GUELPH, ON, September 9, 2011 – Laura Baily Memorial Trail was officially opened this evening with the dedication of a plaque honouring the late Councillor, who served on Guelph City Council from 2003 to 2007.

The 1.5 kilometre trail runs from Grange Road Park to Buckthorn Crescent, near where Councillor Baily lived, and the memorial plaque is located at Grange Road Park, where the trail can be accessed.

The plaque notes Councillor Baily's passionate commitment to responsible government, social services and energy conservation. It also notes that she was a driving force in the movement to close and remediate the Eastview Landfill, and that effort led her to run for Council to represent Ward 1.

Mayor Karen Farbridge and members of City Council joined Laura Baily's family, friends, and supporters at the dedication. The Mayor remarked on Laura's commitment to her Ward constituents and to the broader community, including her service on the Boards of St. Joseph's Hospital, the Guelph Police Service, MacDonald Stewart Art Centre, Guelph Junction Railway, and the Eastview Public Liaison Committee.

"Those of us who were fortunate enough to know Laura will always remember her devotion to this community," said Mayor Farbridge. "This trail, and the plaque that marks it, will ensure that many more people have the chance to know and honour Laura's contributions. It will stand as a tribute to the difference Laura made in Guelph, for all those who enjoy this trail for generations to come."

The Mayor thanked Laura's husband, John Valean Baily, and family for working with the City on the trail memorial. Council decided in 2007 to name the trail in Councillor Baily’s honour.

Supporters want park named for Jessica’s Footprint

We’re very pleased to present the City of Guelph’s 2010 We’re Making a Difference; A financial and community report. For the first time, the report combines the City’s progress towards the community’s Strategic Plan with its annual financial statements.

You can see the news release and the report by copying and pasting http://www.guelph.ca/newsroom_display.cfm?itemID=80121 into your Web browser.

Thank you,

Cam

GUELPH, ON, August 17, 2011 –

Mayor Farbridge and Executive Director of Operations and Transit Services, Derek McCaughan unveiled Guelph Transit’s new logo on a hybrid vehicle at St. George’s Square today.

“This is an exciting time for Guelph Transit, with new and improved routes, better service levels, and a new transit terminal all on the horizon. The new logo reflects this new chapter for our local transit system, a chapter that will see Guelph Transit attract more riders while using resources more efficiently.” said Mayor Karen Farbridge.

Guelph Transit’s new identity reflects the values of a dynamic transit system. The tagline “On Your Way” is designed to convey the concept of moving forward. This is further reinforced with a stylized road with two continuous curves. The choice of the two curved lines represents a road that is travelled and captures the importance of the partnership between transit and the community working together.

“You will start to see the new logo on our entire transit fleet in the coming weeks,” promised Derek McCaughan.

“The logo was designed to align with our vision of transit being the most viable option to get you on your way around Guelph,” said Michael Anders, General Manager, Community Connectivity and Transit. “We asked residents, riders and our transit operators to select the new logo from three alternatives and this iteration struck a chord with the majority of respondents.” More than 500 surveys for the new logo were completed at the Public Works Week open house, Stone Road Mall, Guelph Farmer’s Market and St. George’s Square.

The hybrid vehicle on which the new logo appears does not consume any fuel when stopped at a traffic light, as it switches to electric mode. It meets the strict Super Ultra Low Emission Vehicle (SULEV II) and Advanced Technology - Partial Zero Emissions Vehicle (AT-PZEV) standards. The City’s other hybrid vehicle is used by by-law officers and a third ‘green’ vehicle – powered by methane gas from the City’s Wastewater treatment plant - is used by Wastewater.

The City was the first municipality in Ontario to be recognized for sustainable transit fleet management and was one of only two cities in Ontario to receive an E3 Fleet Silver rating for sustainable fleet management.

FOR MORE INFORMATION
Michael Anders
General Manager Community Connectivity and Transit
Operations and Transit
T 519-822-1260  x 2795
E michael.anders@guelph.ca

City of Guelph establishes municipal holding company
Incorporation of Guelph Municipal Holdings Inc. complete

GUELPH, ON, August 19, 2011 – The City of Guelph has successfully incorporated its new municipal holding company, Guelph Municipal Holdings Inc. (GMHI). Remaining administrative matters will be brought forward to the September 6, 2011 meeting of Guelph City Council and, once approved, a first meeting of the GMHI Board of Directors will be scheduled.
Mayor Karen Farbridge has provided notice of resignation from the Boards of Guelph Hydro, Guelph Hydro Electric Systems Inc., and Ecotricity Guelph Inc. in order to assume new responsibilities as the Chair of the GMHI Board of Directors.
About the municipal holding company
On April 26, 2011 Council approved an implementation strategy for a new municipal holding company.
The holding company is a new governance model for the management of current and future City-owned assets such as Guelph Hydro Inc. that will support increased accountability, responsiveness, strategic alignment, and improved communications. The holding company will keep subsidiaries directly linked through shared policy and strategic direction, while embracing skills-based boards and allowing for the right degree of independence so that operating companies continue to be flexible and self-reliant. It will be self-financing from regular dividend payments.
The City of Guelph’s Chief Administrative Officer will serve as the Chief Executive Officer of the holding company, and the Mayor will serve as the Chair of the Board of Directors.

FOR MORE INFORMATION
Brenda Boisvert
Corporate Manager, Strategic Planning and Corporate Initiatives
City of Guelph
T 519-822-1260  x 2255
E Brenda.boisvert@guelph.ca

Jobless rate lowest in Canada

Guelph Mercury: Sept 15th, 2011

Guelph has the lowest unemployment rate of any city in the country, according to the latest data from Statistics Canada.

Numbers released by StatsCan this month indicate the seasonally adjusted three-month moving average unemployment rate for the city was 4.7 per cent in August.

This compares to the Canadian average of 7.3 per cent. The city’s unemployment rate in July was calculated to be 5.9 per cent.

The StatsCan numbers suggest 3,900 people are looking for work in Guelph and that its labour force is 82,500 workers. The numbers were the best reported since June 2008, prior to the recent recession.

Between August 2009 and August 2010, unemployment in Guelph averaged 6,900 people.

“New businesses moving to Guelph and many manufacturers hiring over the past six months have made a big difference in the local employment numbers,” according to the Guelph Chamber of Commerce, in a blog post published about the results Thursday.

“Guelph manufacturers are going further afield to find welders and experienced (technical workers for industrial workplaces called) CNC operators. Construction and health care have also been active locally and across Ontario.”

Darren Pearson, an employee with Second Chance Employment Services, said many jobs are available in the city, but they are not always in the same field someone is looking for.

“There’s a paycheque out there, it just depends on what kind of work you’re willing to do,” he said.

Pearson said the city’s massive growth in the retail industry has brought new jobs. Big-box stores being built in the north end are creating new entry-level positions.

Job developer Sue Gordon has been with Second Chance for 12 years and says this year has offered more job opportunities than last.

On Wednesday, Second Chance hosted a job fair for a new Michael’s arts and crafts store set to open at the end of October in the north end of the city. The store was looking to hire between 50 and 60 part-time staff to fill customer service positions.

Gordon said the event had an excellent turnout with more than 25 people attending and some walking out with new jobs.

One successful applicant was Guelph resident, Rosalind Scantlebury. She said she has been looking for the right job for more than a year and was hired as a sales associate for the new Michael’s store

She said it was difficult to search because most jobs available aren’t advertised.

“You have to keep looking and you have to persevere,” said the recent grad of the office administration program at Conestoga College.

She said the job was a great fit, and because of her past job experience, she may be able to launch into something else later.

The StatsCan numbers touting Guelph’s robust employment story were released on Sept. 9. The cities StatsCan tracks are those communities with a population of at least 100,000.

Nationally, the stats told a different story.

For the second month in a row, the economy created virtually no additional employment, actually losing 5,500 jobs in August.

Derek Burleton of TD Bank said with the global economy slowing, Canada could see its unemployment rate rise to 7.5 per cent or higher by the end of the year.

Nationally, economists had expected a 21,500-job gain in August coming off a mostly flat July, but part of the calculation was based on the belief there would be a spike in education-related employment in preparation for September’s start of classes. That did not materialize and should be seen in next month’s data.

But next month may also bring the first real indicator of how much August’s financial market meltdown and subsequent loss of consumer and investor confidence has spooked employers.

Guelph Sports Hall of Fame announces 2011 inductees

The Guelph Sports Hall of Fame Board of Directors is pleased to announce the names of the 2011 inductees.
Builder category-Richard (Dick) Carroll
Leo resided on Metcalfe Street in Guelph his entire life. He coached two Stanley cup winners, the 1914 Toronto Blue Shirts and the 1918 Toronto Arenas. His coaching skills led the Toronto Canoe Club to the Memorial Club in 1920 and the Pittsburgh Yellow Jackets to two U.S. Amateur Championships in 1924 and 1925. Leo was instrumental in coaching boxing, football and baseball that led the Guelph Maple Leafs baseball team to the 1928 league championship.
Athlete-Barb Clemes
A member of the first Canadian women’s team to climb North America’s highest peak, Mount McKinley/Denali in 1982, Barb was a member of Canada’s National Sport Climbing team, competing in the world circuit from 1989–1992. She was the first Canadian woman to climb the most difficult grade and represented Canada in 1998 at the Colorado X games ice climbing event. As a member of the Ontario Junior Gymnastics team she won the balance beam event in the nationals in 1972. Barb is currently a provincial level gymnastics judge and a coach in Alberta and one of the first of only 12 female members of the Association of Mountain Guides. She was the 2005 medalist in mountain biking at the World Masters competition in the over 40 category.
Veteran Athlete-Dominic (Manny) Sorbara
Manny has fought in an estimated 250 bouts and was one of the top amateur welter weights in the province, winning the Charles Hemstead trophy in Toronto in 1944 and the Toronto Star trophy in 1945. His winning streaks of 16 and 13 in a row often made headlines.
Official-Bill McCreary
An NHL referee from November 1984 to April 2011, Bill officiated 1,737 regular season games and holds records for refereeing 297 Stanley Cup playoff games, and 44 Stanley Cup final games including 15 Stanley Cup games. He officiated at the Canada Cup, All Star, Spengler Cup, Winter Classic and Gold Medal Olympic games, and at the last game played at Maple Leaf Gardens and Wayne Gretzky’s last game.
Team-2009 Buns Master Rollers – Team Canada (Special Olympics – Floor Hockey)
The team won the 2006 Regional championships in London, and was the 2007 Provincial Champion in Toronto and 2008 National champion in Quebec City. The team also won the silver at the 2009 World Games in Boise, Idaho.
The induction ceremony will take place at the Kiwanis Sports Celebrity dinner on October 26. For ticket information call 519-823-4402.
The Guelph Sports Hall of Fame is a non-profit organization that recognizes and honours the achievements of Guelph individuals and teams who have attained prominence and distinction in any field of sport, and who have made a major contribution to the development and advancement of sports in Guelph. Funding is generously provided through the Guelph Kiwanis Club’s annual Sports Celebrity dinner. The Guelph Sports Hall of Fame was established by the City of Guelph and the Kiwanis Club of Guelph in 1992.

September 23rd, 2011

Good morning, a representative from Infrastructure Canada met with staff today regarding two projects, the Transit Terminal and Wyndham Street Rail bridge. The representative has visited numerous sites throughout the Province and Guelph was on their list. The representative was impressed with the amount of work being undertaken and the progress to date. She took a number of pictures and following the visit thanked staff for their time and explanations of the projects. In the event there are any questions, please contact my office! Thank you.

Richard Henry | General Manager/City Engineer
Engineering Services | Planning, Engineering and Environmental Services
City of Guelph
T 519-822-1260 x 2248 | F 519-837-5604
E richard.henry@guelph.ca

Guelph appoints new Chief Administrative Officer
Ann Pappert assumes new duties September 7

GUELPH, ON, September 6, 2011 – Guelph City Council has appointed Ann Pappert as the new Chief Administrative Officer of the City of Guelph.  Ann will assume her new responsibilities on September 7, 2011.

“This is an important leadership role within the municipality. We were delighted to have attracted broad interest from top candidates from across the country,” says Mayor Karen Farbridge.  “Ann Pappert was selected for her municipal sector experience, her vision for delivering public value in the provision of municipal services and for her proven leadership in citizen-based processes. We look forward to Ann leading our organization.”

Ms. Pappert has more than 20 years of experience in municipal government and the broader public sector, primarily within community and social services portfolios at the executive level. She is currently the City of Guelph's Executive Director of Community and Social Services. Prior to this, she served in increasingly senior roles in the municipalities of Kingston and Kitchener. Ann is known for promoting collaboration and innovation across municipal government with emphasis on sound fiscal and organizational management practices and citizen-focused municipal services. She believes in fostering innovation in local government to achieve Council’s directions for the current and future needs of residents and businesses. Continually pressing for high quality results, she is a confident self-starter and is known as an open, decisive and principled professional.

“Guelph is a great city – one that I have been very proud to serve these past several years," says Ann. “I am very pleased to be offered the opportunity to lead the full staff team of the Corporation as its CAO and to work together with Council, business and the community to advance Guelph’s vision of being the city that makes a difference.”

Over the next several weeks, Ann will be working with Guelph's retiring CAO, Hans Loewig, to ensure a smooth transition of responsibilities.

Mayor Farbridge and four Councillors participated in the search process with support from Organization Consulting Limited.

Fall cleaning of City watermains to begin September 19
Guelph Water Services to clean 78 kilometres of watermain pipe during overnight hours to minimize customer inconvenience
GUELPH, ON, September 19, 2011 – Guelph Water Services will begin the fall phase of its Watermain Cleaning Program tonight. Watermain cleaning in the affected areas will be completed between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m. to minimize impact on customers. This maintenance work has a targeted completion date of Friday, October 14.

Watermain cleaning ensures that customers receive the freshest water possible by removing accumulated material from the watermain and minimizing the occurrence of discoloured water.

Customers in the affected neighbourhoods will receive hand-delivered notices before watermain cleaning begins on their street. During the cleaning process, customers in the affected area are advised to limit water use. Watermain cleaning can create instances of discoloured water, both inside and outside of the daily, designated areas. While ingesting small quantities of discoloured water is unlikely to create a health risk, it is recommended that customers wait until water clarity returns to normal before consuming water.

Two cleaning methods are used during the Watermain Cleaning Program. To swab a watermain, a soft, pellet-shaped material is inserted into the watermain and pushed along by water pressure. The swab scours the watermain as it travels through the watermain. To flush a watermain, high-velocity water flowing from hydrants is used to remove loose sediment.

For more information about the Watermain Cleaning Program or discoloured water, contact Water Services at 519-837-5627 or visit guelph.ca/water.

FOR MORE INFORMATION
Peter Busatto, General Manager
Water Services, Planning & Building, Engineering and Environment
T 519-822-1260 x 2165
E peter.busatto@guelph.ca

Gerry Best, Supervisor of Water Distribution
Water Services, Planning & Building, Engineering and Environment
T 519-837-5627 x 2168
E gerry.best@guelph.ca

Interesting email I recieved from the police is here:

Greetings,

Please find attached the statistics for Project Safe Semester Week 1 and Week 2 for various indicators that we are tracking.  Overall, I believe we are on ‘target’ for managing the volume of calls for service as well as from a crowd management perspective.

Noise complaints in Week 2 dropped across the city from 96 to 41 – hopefully a trend that continues as we see more use of liquor license establishments as the choice of entertainment.  I continue to meet with several community members who are upset to explain the project plan and extensive collaboration.  

With Homecoming this weekend, we are enhancing our staffing and deployment model to ensure increased police visibility including in the afternoon period both before and after the annual football game.

There is an increase from 2010 to 2011 on both weekends; however a percentage of the increase will be directly attributed to enhanced policing where our activities are driving up the statistics.   

Total Calls for Service during this time period 2011:                           719
Total Calls for Service during this time period 2010:                           674

Please read through the emails back and forth between myself and city staff reagrding the delay in the opening of the new civic museum (Read from the bottom up):

Reply from City Staff:

Cam,

At this point, my understanding from the Project Manager in the Engineering department is that there are no additional costs to be incurred as the delays were  beyond the City’s control.  If that changes, or I learn of different information, then we’d come back to Council with a full report.
City Staff

From: Cam Guthrie
Sent: September 22, 2011 9:58 PM
To: City Staff
Subject: Re: Update - new Civic Museum

Thanks again! I hate to ask but, is this going to cost us more?
Cam
 
From: City Staff
Sent: Wednesday, September 21, 2011 05:12 PM
To: Cam Guthrie
Subject: RE: Update - new Civic Museum
 
Good afternoon Cam,
Our hope had been to open the Museum in the late fall, which meant that we were aiming for sometime in December.  Due to a number of routine construction challenges that were unforeseen and out of the control of the City, we are concerned that we will not be able to commit to the December opening.  Once we factor Christmas holidays into our planning, we feel that it is prudent to publically give the date of the beginning of the New Year, as we feel that this is the most likely outcome.

City Staff


From: Cam Guthrie
Sent: September 20, 2011 2:36 PM
To: City Staff
Subject: Re: Update - new Civic Museum

So now instead of late fall, its the new year? Why the delay?
Thanks!
Cam
 
From: City Staff
Sent: Tuesday, September 20, 2011 02:26 PM
To: Cam Guthrie
Subject: RE: Update - new Civic Museum
 
Originally it was planned to be completed by spring of 2011, but we had reported to Council in March of this year that we had experienced a four month delay due to foundation and structural challenges.  At that time (March 2011), we were hoping for substantial completion by the end of August of this year, with opening by late fall of 2011. 

City Staff

From: Cam Guthrie
Sent: September 19, 2011 10:58 PM
To: City Staff
Subject: Re: Update - new Civic Museum

Is this what the original timeline?
Cam
 
From: City Staff
Sent: Monday, September 19, 2011 11:00 AM
To: Councillors & Mayor; Executive Team
Cc: Katherine McCracken
Subject: Update - new Civic Museum
 
Good morning,
This e-mail is to provide you with a short update on the schedule for relocation of the Guelph Civic Museum.
As you know, the Civic Museum has been closed at 6 Dublin Street since July of this year as staff get ready for the move and pack the approximately 30,000 artefacts and archival items in the collection.
The construction at the new facility will continue through the fall, and commissioning meetings for the new space have begun with City staff.  Occupancy is scheduled for mid to late November, and the actual physical move of the staff and the collection will take place around the end of November.
We hope to open to the public by the beginning of the New Year, and are tentatively planning for the Grand Opening to take place in February.  We will publically announce full details regarding the opening of the facility once we are closer to the date of occupancy and move in.
City Staff

I recieved this notice from City Staff on September 22nd:

Attached please find the Notice of Commencement for the Class Environmental Assessment (EA) for reconnecting Silvercreek Parkway (south of Paisley) through a grade separation at the CNR Mainline. The notice will appear in today’s Tribune and will be circulated to adjacent residents and agencies.
The reconnection of Silvercreek Parkway is a requirement for the development of the Silvercreek (Lafarge) lands and providing a grade separation is a Transport Canada requirement. The project is cost-shared between the City and the developer as per an OMB Minutes of Settlement.
We have hired Delcan Corporation as consultants to first carry out the EA and then complete the design and construction of the improvements. There are several components to this project as indicated in the study Notice.
The EA process will include consultation with area residents and coordination with external review agencies as well as railway agencies.
We plan to have the first Public Information Centre (PIC) in November.
Please let me know if you have questions or need further information.
Thank you.
Rajan Philips, M.Sc., P.Eng | Manager
Transportation Planning & Development Engineering
T 519-822-1260 x 2369
E rajan.philips@guelph.ca

I recieved this notice of this upcoming event on Saturday October 15th, 2011 between 12-4pm at WEll.ca on York Road. Please consider going and supporting this wonderful initative.

Cam

Hello Again,
 
The fleecy T's have been hard at work planning our upcoming "Family fun day" in support of the "Blanket a Child with Love program".  We hope that you have had a chance to learn about our blanket drive and what our upcoming goals are!
 
Come and join us on October 15th and help us make a difference one blanket at a time. 
 
Keep in mind that we aren’t finished yet, we are actually just getting started…. It's not too late to support this cause and we would love to hear from you if you are able to support us in any of the following areas: volunteers, sponsors, and entertainment.  All of our advertising tools will be updated as support comes in to let everyone know what activities are being offered and who is helping support them.
 
Any questions, requests or materials can be provided by contacting us at 519-826-9016 or by visiting us on Facebook (be sure to like our page so you can be informed of updates) or by email at fleecy_tees@hotmail.com
 
Speaking from experience, sometimes a blanket can be the thread that holds each day together when your heart is laying there in the bed and your arms can’t provide your child the comfort they need and deserve.
 
With more thanks than one heart can endure
The Fleecy T’s

As many of you are probaly aware, there has been a request for anme change to York Road Park. The proposed new name would be Jessica Durigon Memorial Park. I am in full support of this. Unfortunately the request failed at the committee level 3-2. However, the matter will come before all of council this Monday September 26th, 2011 and my hope is that this can be passed.

At the committee level I asked CITY STAFF if there was anything of significance at York Road Park outlining the hisory of the park etc... I have recieved an email response from City Staff and here it is:

"Good Afternoon:  In answer to the question about whether there is any plaque or notification in the above-mentioned park which describes  the significance of the name and or the history of the park  I can confirm that nothing exists in the park."

City Staff

I would encourage you to contact your councillor to express your views on this.

Thank you,

Cam

Guelph residents open their yards to 300 new trees
 
Guelph, ON, September 24, 2011 - Mayor Karen Farbridge joined representatives from TD Friends of the Environment Foundation, Tree Canada, Pollination Guelph and The Arboretum to officially launch the TD Green Streets Canopy Coverage Assessment and Adopt-a-Tree Program in Guelph. The official ceremonies were held at the City of Guelph Operations and Transit Services building located at 45 Municipal Street from 11 a.m. to noon.

The City of Guelph was one of 23 municipalities to receive a 2011 TD Green Streets grant. The $15,000 grant was matched by the City, the monies used to fund a tree canopy coverage assessment of Guelph’s urban forest and to launch the Adopt-a-Tree Program, an initiative that encourages residents to adopt, plant and care for a new tree on their private property in an effort to grow our urban forest.

“We were thrilled to receive this grant from the TD Friends of the Environment Foundation and Tree Canada, and we appreciate the support of our partners, Pollination Guelph and The Arboretum, to make the program a success,” said Mayor Farbridge. “Trees help make our community cleaner, healthier, and more beautiful. With the enthusiastic participation of neighbourhood residents, the Adopt-a-Tree program will help us grow our urban forest.”

“I’m extremely proud that Guelph was awarded the $15,000 TD Green Streets grant to fund the City’s Adopt-A-Tree program. The City of Guelph’s application was selected by TD as a winner based on the city’s innovative approach to encourage community members to plant a tree in their own yard to enhance Guelph’s urban forest,” said John Pollice, District Vice President, TD.

The City contracted Urban Forest Innovations Inc. to complete the Canopy Coverage Assessment. The goal of the assessment is two-fold—to develop tree canopy mapping to provide an estimate of total current canopy cover in the city, and to identify those neighbourhoods in need of building their tree canopy cover through the Adopt-a-Tree Program. The Canopy Coverage Assessment will be completed this fall.

The Adopt-a-Tree Program is officially underway—300 new trees have packed their trunks and are moving to good homes in Guelph.

A preliminary canopy coverage assessment identified three neighbourhoods with low, medium or high canopy coverage to participate in the Adopt-a-Tree Program. Earlier this month, a door knocker was delivered to 500 residents in each of the identified neighbourhoods. A free tree was offered to the first 100 residents in each neighbourhood to register for the program. Each selected resident will pick up their new tree at their local event where experts will be on hand to assist with tree choice and provide maintenance tips.

Today’s official launch was followed by the first Adopt-a-Tree Program neighbourhood event, as selected residents picked up their free trees during noon to 4 p.m. Two additional Adopt-a-Tree Program events will be held on October 1 and 8.

“The Adopt-a-Tree program demonstrates the kind of innovative urban practices we’re looking for: educating and involving the public in the preservation of their urban forests,” said Michael Rosen, President of Tree Canada. “These trees will provide benefits for the community for years to come.”

The Adopt-a-Tree Program events are being held in partnership with the University of Guelph’s Arboretum and Pollination Guelph. The program will educate the community about the protection, maintenance and enhancement of the urban forest. The City of Guelph strives to have the largest tree canopy among comparable communities.

Hello Ward 4!

It's been a while! I took a break from updating the site over the last month to be with my family for vacations. I still have all emails, issues and solutions from my break that need to be posted or addressed. So check back often for updates!

Thanks,

Cam Guthrie

Currently I'm two and half hours away from Guelph on a much needed family vacation. This time away has given me pause to reflect on a lot of things. One of them is the ongoing Carden Street fiasco. The camping site where we're staying provides wi-fi so I still have access to councillor emails, Twitter, ongoing emails from merchants and Guelph's local media.

This week away has been a blessing and I thought it appropriate to share a true story with all parties involved that really impacted me.

It's about a boy named Johnny. One day he went to a training event led by Barbara, a motivational speaker. She was talking to 3,000 front line workers for a supermarket chain--truck drivers, cashiers and stockers.

She was speaking on how people can make a difference. She described how every interaction with another person is a chance to create a memory, to bless some one's life. She talked about how important it is to look for those moments. 

About a month later, she received a call from 19 year old baggger named Johnny. Johnny proudly informed her that he had down syndrome, and then he told her his story.

" I liked what you talked about. But I didn't think I could do anything special for our customers. After all, I'm just a bagger." Then he had an idea: he decided that every night when he came home from work, he would find a "thought for the day" for his next shift. It would be something positive, some reminder of how good it was to be alive, or how much people matter, or how many gifts we are surrounded by. If he couldn't find one, he would make one up.

Every night his dad would help him enter the saying six times on a page on the computer; then Johnny would print 50 pages. He would take a pair of scissors and carefully cut 300 copies and sign every one.

Johnny put the stack of pages next to him while he worked. Each time he finished bagging some one's groceries, he would put his saying on top of the last bag. Then he would stop what he was doing, look the person straight in the eye, and say, "I've put something special in your bag. I hope it helps you have a good day. Thanks for coming here."

A month later, the store manager called Barbara. "Barbara, you won't believe what's happening here. I was making my rounds, and when I got up to the cashiers, the line at Johnny's checkout was three times longer than anyone else's. It went all the way down the frozen food aisle."

"I got on the loudspeaker to get more checkout lines open, but I couldn't get any of the customers to move." They said, "That's okay. We'll wait. We want to be in Johnny's line." One woman came up to me and grabbed my hand, saying, "I used to shop in your store once a week. Now I come in every time I go by--I want to get Johnny's thought for the day." 

Johnny is doing more than filling bags with groceries; he is filling lives with hope.

My hope for the Carden Street merchants, the City, the construction workers and even me is this: May we all realize the potential we have to impact some one's life in a positive way. Let's speak words of encouragement. When we think something good, God help us to say it. 

Criticism, sarcasm, retaliation and further negativity hasn't worked too well in my opinion. I wonder if a little encouragement and hope might work a bit better?

Thank you,

Cam Guthrie

Ward 4 Councillor - Guelph

I have been dealing with this park since elected and am pleased to tell the residents of Ward 4 that it is moving ahead. For those of you that made your voices heard during the surveys I also thank you.

Here is an article from today's Guelph Mercury about this development:

Guelph park development approved, despite ballooning budget.

GUELPH — Members of a city committee have approved redevelopment of a west-end park, even though it is now estimated to cost more than twice the original approved amount.

Coun. Bob Bell was the only member of the operations and transit committee to vote against the master plan for Castlebury Park, after none of his colleagues would second a proposed amendment aimed at reducing the cost of the work.

Bell argued the city could save $70,000 by leaving a parking lot within the park unpaved, but was unable to sway other committee members.

City staff had initially estimated redevelopment of the park would cost about $300,000.

But a report from parks planner Jyoti Pathak said the new master plan “addresses a number of neighbourhood and connectivity issues not fully understood or appreciated” when the initial budget was submitted for approval.

Castlebury Park was established in 1999.

Murray Cameron, the city’s general manager of parks maintenance and development, said the original plan was to develop the park in conjunction with the Upper Grand District School Board, which owns adjacent property fronting onto Stephanie Drive.

However the board has said it has no immediate plans to move ahead with a school proposed for that property, so the city intends to move forward on its own. This has meant a tweaking of the park design, including losing a softball diamond which would have straddled the line between city- and school board-owned property.

“This will be 100 per cent city funded,” Cameron said, suggesting the additional funds could come from the parks reserve.

Bell expressed concern about this, noting if the money is removed from the reserve to do Castlebury there will be less available for redevelopment of other parks.

“There is sufficient funding (in the reserve) to do this without affecting other parks,” responded Derek McCaughan, executive director of operations and transit.

“I disagree,” Bell said. “It’s either something here or something over there. There’s only so much money in the pot.”

Two temporary soccer pitches created in the park in 2000 will be upgraded with irrigation and drainage systems. Additional improvements would include a new playground, trails and permanent seating including picnic tables.

If approved by council the work would begin next spring, making the soccer fields unavailable for use for most of the season.

Coun. Jim Furfaro expressed some doubt about the project, noting the city sent out 500 surveys seeking feedback about the park redevelopment and only received 17 responses.

“I have to question where the motivation and the desire is to see this park built,” Furfaro said. “I don’t understand why (the survey) wasn’t taken more seriously by the neighbourhood.”

But Mayor Karen Farbridge said development of the park is long-overdue.

“My sense of the neighbourhood is they’ve just given up,” the mayor said. “I’m glad to see this moving forward after such a long time.”

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

New timing for inter-modal transit terminal
Guelph Transit will begin servicing new routes from St. George’s Square in November
 
GUELPH, ON, July 13, 2011 – New and improved transit routes will be launched this November as part of Guelph’s Transit Growth Strategy. Transit operations at the new inter-modal transit terminal will be deferred until spring 2012.

“We planned to move operations to the new inter-modal transit terminal in November, but we’re faced with construction conflicts on the Carden Street site, so we’ll continue using St. George’s Square as our primary transfer station until May 2012,” says Michael Anders, General Manager of Guelph Transit and Community Connectivity.

The City is confident that new bus platforms along Carden Street will be completed by the end of October in order to meet the deadline for using Federal and Provincial Infrastructure Stimulus funds. However, the City is re-evaluating the design of the terminal’s canopy shelters in an effort to reduce the cost of the project.

“We will still be able to take advantage of about $5.3 million in funding from the Federal and Provincial governments, and only one-third of the project costs are coming from the City’s budget,” says City Engineer, Richard Henry. “The canopies may be installed later than expected, along with security cameras and a public announcement system.”

“We’re not certain that everything will be up and running by November. So, in the interest of offering the best possible service to riders, we decided to wait until spring to move into the new inter-modal transit terminal,” adds Anders. “The up side is that people get a chance to get comfortable with the new routes and schedules in St. George’s Square, and it could make our move to the new terminal a little less stressful.”

GO Transit’s plans to build a passenger drop-off platform south of the station on Farquhar Street are further complicating the construction schedule. As GO Transit completes its kiss-n-ride, pedestrian tunnel, elevator and stairway, buses will be unable to use the completed roadway and transit platform.

“It’s been a challenge to co-ordinate a number of inter-related construction projects in collaboration with CN, Rail America, VIA Rail and GO Transit. We’re all working together to make sure the puzzle pieces fit together,” adds Henry. “Together, we continue to make careful plans and decisions in order to create a truly innovative transit hub that will benefit the community as Guelph grows over the coming years.”

With the roadway, transit platforms, passenger drop-off and pedestrian tunnel complete, renovations inside the existing VIA station will continue until next fall. GO bus and Greyhound service will continue operating at the temporary station at the corner of Wyndham Street and Fountain Street until those renovations are complete.

About the inter-modal transit terminal
Guelph’s new inter-modal transit terminal will be located on Carden Street between Wyndham Street and Macdonell Street. The terminal is designed to improve connections between Guelph’s local bus service and regional public transit systems including Greyhound, GO Transit and VIA Rail. The City began construction on the $8 million facility in June 2010. The project is scheduled to be complete by October 31, 2011 in order to take advantage of $5.3 million in Provincial and Federal Infrastructure Stimulus Funds.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Michael Anders
General Manager, Guelph Transit and Community Connectivity
Operations and Transit Services
T 519-822-1260 x 2795
E michael.anders@guelph.ca

July 13th, 2011

I recieved this email today and I thought you'd like to see it:

Guelph Transit held four public information nights in June to keep our riders and residents informed of the new proposed routes and service model as part of the implementation of the Transit Growth Strategy (TGS) recommendations. The new routes will take effect in November 2011. The sessions were very well attended and staff received a variety of feedback at all the sessions.

Based on input and comments received from participants, staff completed a final review of the proposed routes. The reassessment of one route in particular, Route 13, highlighted a number of facilities with high potential for transit use that were not optimally served by the routing as proposed in the original TGS recommendations. The Planning Committee which has representatives from both management and operators assessed a number of alternatives to maximize service levels in the area of the City bounded by Victoria Road, Grange Road, Eastview Road and Starwood Drive. Based on the field assessments, a number of changes to Route 13 are being recommended.

The initial Route 13 had vehicles travelling:
•    east on Cassino
•    south on Hadati
•    east on Leacock
•    north on Auden
•    east on Eastview
•    south on Starwood
•    west on Chesterton
•    north on Auden
•    west on Leacock back towards downtown

Route 13 will now travel:
•    east on Cassino
•    north on Hadati
•    north on Victoria
•    east on Eastview
•    south on Starwood
•    west on Watt
•    south on Auden
•    west on Leacock back towards downtown

A map of the updated Route 13 is available at guelphtransit.ca.

Guelph Transit staff appreciates all the interest and support shown by numerous groups in the community in moving forward with the implementation of the Transit Growth Strategy. Residents in the area who provided feedback on this matter have been copied under separate cover.

Michael Anders | General Manager, Community Connectivity and Transit
Transit Services | Operations & Transit
City of Guelph

July 13th, 2011

Thought this was a good article to share with you:

TOPIC: Selling Guelph Abroad

http://www.guelphmercury.com/news/local/article/562197--city-hall-selling-guelph-abroad

http://www.guelphmercury.com/videozone/552878--40-under-40

Check this out!

Please be advised that effective approximately 6 pm last Friday June 24, the Water Advisory on Westra Drive was lifted.

Water Services staff have fully completed the actions to restore the water system to ‘normal’ on this street.

Since that time, all of the 18 affected homes on Westra Drive continue to have a safe and reliable municipal water supply.  We believe our communications during this incident were effective as we received limited inquiries and complaints from affected customers.

Please contact Peter if you require additional information.
 
Peter L. Busatto | General Manager, Guelph Water Services
T 519-837 -5627 x 2165 |
E peter.busatto@sympatico.ca

I was sent the following email late last night about a Facebook group that has started in Guelph to promote a facility, or to bring back the old one for skateboarding. Here's the email:

Hello Honorable Mayor and Councilors,

I wish to extend an invitation to you to follow the social media group “Voice of Skateboarding – Guelph” on Facebook. After 7 days of local marketing and word of mouth, the group has now exceeded 100 members, presumably both skaters (skateboarders), and supporters.

The purpose of this site is 2 fold: educate young skaters that it takes participation in the democratic process to generate awareness and change, and to open up some discussion within its participants regarding what has and has not been accomplished regarding the subject of a skate park in our beautiful city.
Over the past week, I’ve learned that people who were involved in the process up to 20+ years ago still have a great love for the sport and strong opinions. They are happy to see that the fire is still there in the hearts of the younger generation of skaters, and compelled to point out the mistakes that were made in the past as a movement and as individuals in hopes they are not made again. The modern generation of skaters are happy to voice their perspectives and show how committed they are to the sport.  

Hopefully by now, some of you will have begun to receive emails, phone messages, or had discussions with some of these people who want so badly to have a free to access, community skatepark at their disposal that is worthy of this beautiful city, and the modern image and values it reveres.  I hope that, with enough communication from the end users over the near future, the truth will be realized, and support by council will result in the initiation of skatepark construction planning becoming a priority.

Direct link to Facebook Group ‘Voice of Skateboarding – Guelph’
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_189410121110188&ap=1

Heads Up Folks!

From Willow to Imperial starting June 29th they are taking at least 3 weeks to resurface the street with new asphalt.

If you have any further questions, please contact the project manager, Mr. Grant Ferguson at Ext. 2251 or by cell at 519-220-8232.

Thanks,

Cam

At our last Planning & Building, Engineering and Environment Committee I tabled a motion that passed unanimously stating the following:

Whereas the executive Team has been directed to advise council, based on Council's ranking of the initial 75 services, regarding which services are recommended for a service review and which are recommended for an operational review;

AND WHEREAS the residential waste collection service was ranked by Council fairly low on "total score rank" with a fairly high standard deviation;

AND WHEREAS through the services review process Council will consider what our relationship to the provison of services should be, including any potential impacts on both capital and operational costs;

THERFORE BE IT RESPOLVED that staff be directed to identify residential waste collection for a service review and report back through the Service Review process on the best timing and cost to conduct this service review;

AND THAT the service review be restricted to whether or not the curbside residential waste collection service be provided internally be city staff.

Emergency Medical Services, Fire and Police now operating at the new facility in Guelph, Ontario.

GUELPH, ON, June 20, 2011 – The Clair Road Emergency Services Centre (CRESC) officially opened today.  Dave Levac, Member of Provincial Parliament for Brant and Parliamentary Assistant for Community Safety and Correctional Services and Warden Chris White, County of Wellington joined Mayor Karen Farbridge, City Councillors and City staff at the opening ceremony this morning.
“This is the first facility in Ontario to house EMS, Fire and Police under one roof.  It is a model of how collaborative approaches and innovative partnerships can improve service to the people of our community, while ensuring maximum value for tax dollars,” said Mayor Karen Farbridge.
The new 36,000 square foot facility, located at 160 Clair Road West, houses a collision reporting centre and a community room.
The CRESC employs 18 Guelph Wellington Emergency Medical Services staff, 20 Guelph firefighters operating 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and 45 Guelph Police Services staff.
The station was designed by Thomas Brown Architects and built to achieve Canada’s Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver certification. Compared to a typical building of this size, the CRESC will use about 50 per cent less energy and 30 per cent water. Construction on the CRESC started in June 2009 and the project was completed earlier this year.
Following this morning’s official opening ceremony, residents and visitors were invited to tour the station, experience the interactive displays of emergency services equipment and attend a car seat clinic provided by The Co-operators.
For more information about the new Clair Road Emergency Services Centre visit guelph.ca > living > emergency services.

FOR MORE INFORMATION
Shawn Armstrong
General Manager,  Emergency Services/Fire Chief
Emergency Services
T 519-822-1260 x 2125
E shawn.armstrong@guelph.ca

New food tourism brand, “taste•real Guelph Wellington” will be launched at this year’s Local Food Fest

GUELPH, ON, June 20, 2011 – Guelph and Wellington County’s new food tourism brand “taste·real Guelph Wellington” will be launched to the public during the 6th annual Local Food Fest on Sunday, June 26 at Ignatius Jesuit Centre. The Local Food Fest is a great family-friendly event which showcases local food and beverage producers, entertainment and culinary experts.
 
The taste·real brand will be used by local producers to signify to residents and visitors of the authenticity of their products. Customers can be assured that taste·real vendors grow and serve local products and are passionate about creating authentic, memorable farm, food and drink experiences.
 
Taste·real partners include  6 regional farmers’ markets, local restaurants and food retailers, farm gate stalls, hotels and attractions.   Some area restaurants have individually featured local fare for years; the taste real brand offers all partners new visibility through brand association backed by a comprehensive marketing and promotion plan.
 
“It’s about more than the health benefits of eating locally, it’s about the economic impact that choosing Guelph and Wellington County products has on our family farms and local business,” says Sue Trerise, Senior Business Development Specialist – Tourism Sector, Guelph Economic Development and Tourism Services. “Marketing our regional food tourism assets to residents and visitors creates new interest in our destination. The launch of the taste·real brand will put Guelph Wellington on Ontario’s list of “must-see culinary destinations”
 
Developing programs and projects in sectors that Guelph has a competitive advantage in is part of the Economic Development strategic directions document Prosperity 2020.
 
About taste·real Guelph Wellington :
Taste·real is an organization born from the collaboration of the City of Guelph Tourism Services, Guelph Wellington Local Food, County of Wellington and its member municipalities. The organization is committed to putting local food first, working to market and develop local food products and experiences for residents and visitors. In addition, taste·real supports local food access and promoting the health and wellness of local food to the community. The branding process has taken two years and has involved over 44 local stakeholders’ input and consultation and has been supported by Ontario Market Investment Funding through Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Foood and Rural Affairs.
 
FOR MORE INFORMATION

Sue Trerise
Senior Business Development Specialist-Tourism Sector
Economic Development and Tourism Services
T (519) 822-1260 ex 2534
E sue.trerise@guelph.ca

Good Evening:

Responses to media questions are below.

•    Will the City be renting time at the Ward Indoor Skateboard park this summer?  
o    The short answer is no.  Currently we have no money identified in the 2011 budget to fund that program.

•    Can you also give me a rough timeline for when the Skateboard park will be relocated?  I’m looking for a rough deadline for possible sites to be shared with council, and when it is hoped that work to move the Skateboard park could be completed
o    Our timeline for a report back to Council with recommendations on a location, design and budget is this fall.  The actual placement of any equipment would depend on a wide range of factors and I can’t give you a date before the process is complete.

•    What is the annual cost to the city to store the ramps?
o    None.  The ramps are being kept on a City site and there is no on-going cost to keep them there.

•    What is the estimated cost of the relocation and when will that be in the city’s budget?
o    There is no easy answer for that since we don’t know where it is going.  If we re-install the existing equipment the majority of the costs will be in preparing the site, developing parking and other amenities which may, or may not, be present.  The surface itself would have to be specially reinforced concrete to take the great weight of the skateboard ramps and obstacles.  A standard parking lot, for example, would not suffice.  It cost about $30,000 in transport costs to simply move the park components into storage.  Putting them back on any site will probably cost a great deal more – probably over $300,000 – but it will depend to a large extent on what has to be spent getting the site ready.  Part of the committee’s work is to come up with those kinds of estimates.

•    It seems like it has more or less be set aside for the time being, while other things take priority. I’m just trying to gauge how important the project is and why little seems to be happening with it a year on.
o    This project is a priority but with some senior Recreation staff leaving the City last year, and the resulting realignment of Park related functions, we haven’t made as much progress as we would like.   With the advisory committee having its second meeting within the last 30 days I think we are on track to do better.

If you require any more information on this matter please feel free to contact me at any time.

Sincerely,

Bob Burchett
General Manager, Parks and Recreation Programming & Facilities
City of Guelph
City Hall, 1 Carden Street
Guelph, ON. Canada N1H 3A1

Telephone: (519) 822-1260 ext 2664

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

GUELPH, ON, June 22, 2011 – Guelph’s Greyhound station is being razed in order to build a new inter-modal transit terminal and, while construction continues on the Carden Street site, Greyhound and GO Transit service will operate from a temporary location in the Fountain Street parking lot at the corner of Wyndham Street and Fountain Street.

"Three trailers are scheduled to arrive today," says City of Guelph Project Manager Andrew Janes. “Crews will connect water and wastewater services for two public washrooms, Guelph Hydro, Bell Canada and Rogers Communications will connect all the necessary utilities and, once that work is finished, the temporary station will be up and running."

Greyhound and GO Transit plan to start picking up and dropping off passengers at the temporary station on Tuesday, July 5. The station will continue to serve Greyhound and GO Transit patrons until the new inter-modal transit terminal is completed in November.

Pedestrian routes are also affected by construction in the area. Greyhound and GO Transit patrons can use Wilson Street, Gordon Street or Woolwich/Wellington Street to walk between the temporary station and parking areas downtown.

Also, Guelph Transit has added temporary stops to a number of routes to help riders access the temporary Greyhound/GO bus station.

About the inter-modal transit terminal
Guelph’s new inter-modal transit terminal will be located on Carden Street between Wyndham Street and Macdonell Street. The terminal is designed to improve connections between Guelph’s local bus service and regional public transit systems including Greyhound, GO Transit and VIA Rail. The City began construction on the $8 million facility in June 2010. The project is scheduled to be complete by October 31, 2011 in order to take advantage of $5.3 million in Provincial and Federal Infrastructure Stimulus Funds. Renovations inside the Guelph’s VIA Rail station will continue through 2012.

Further information and project updates are available at guelph.ca/construction 

FOR MORE INFORMATION
Andrew Janes, P.Eng. , Project Manager
Engineering Services, Planning & Building Engineering and Environment
T 519-822-1260 x 2338
E andrew.janes@guelph.ca

Hello,

Early this afternoon a watermain break occurred near the intersection of Westra Drive and Tovell Drive in the City’s west end and may have resulted in dirty water entering the watermain servicing all of the 18 homes on Westra Drive. 
 
Residents on Westra Drive were notified of the break and the planned repair mid-afternoon and the water supply to their homes was isolated promptly.  We can confirm that no other residents, including those on nearby Tovell Drive, are at risk as a result of this occurrence.  Water Services distribution staff have put into action our standard, precautionary response to an incident of this nature by performing the following actions:
1)    We are visiting each resident and providing them with the attached initial ‘Don’t Drink The Water’ advisory to ensure that dirty water is not drawn into their water service or home plumbing and consumed;
 
2)    The City, thorough our contractor, is providing residents with bottled water for consumption until their tap water has been confirmed safe through confirmatory water quality testing to be performed over the next two days and concluded by Friday (provided there are no unforeseen delays or issues);
3)    The City’s contractor is continuing the repairs of the broken watermain on Westra Drive and should be finished later this evening.  At that time, Water Services will initiate flushing of all the residential water services to remove any potential dirty water from the watermain and residential services and home plumbing;
4)    After the flushing is complete, affected residents will be able to use their tap water for non-consumptive uses until we can confirm through sampling that water quality is normal.  In the interim they will continue to use City supplied bottled water for consumptive use;
5)    We will provide them with a 24/7 dedicated phone number to contact our on-call distribution staff for additional customer support as needed – 519-831-0337;
6)    We will schedule rush lab analysis with our contract laboratory and perform sampling over the course of the week to endeavour to have test results by Friday at the latest;
7)    Once the test results confirm that tap water quality is normal, we will lift the “Don’t Drink the Water Advisory’ and again visit the residents to convey this information.

As per our regulatory obligations, the information above has been communicated earlier today to staff from the Ministry of the Environment as well as Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health.  Both agencies are supporting our standard response to this issue.

Water Services staff will continue to work to resolve this issue over the weekend with the goal of providing minimal inconvenience to our customers.

Please contact me directly (519-827-4751) if you require additional information.

Please direct any enquiries you receive on this matter to email (mailto:peter.busatto@guelph.ca) or to our 24/7 cell phone: 519-831-0337.

The City of Guelph has taken steps to ensure that residents have received time-sensitive information about City services and programs well in advance of the current postal service disruption.

Residents are invited to contact the City at 519-822-1260 for further information about which services and programs may be affected during the Canada Post service interruption as some notices sent by mail may continued to be delayed.

Property Tax Payments
Property tax payments are due by 4:30 p.m. on June 30. In advance of this deadline, residents can pay property tax bills by phone, online or in person by at most financial institutions or at ServiceGuelph, City Hall, 1 Carden Street. Payments can also be made after hours using the drop box at City Hall.

Parking Tickets
Parking ticket payments can be made by phone by calling 1-877-678-8465, online at guelph.ca/services online or in person at ServiceGuelph, City Hall, 1 Carden Street. Payments can also be made after hours using the drop box at City Hall.

Trial requests must be made in person at City Hall or in writing using the after hours drop box. Call 519-822-1260 x 2888 for more information.

Water Efficiency Programs
City of Guelph water efficiency rebates will be applied to the Guelph Hydro Bill as scheduled. Guelph Hydro Bills delivered by Canada Post may be delayed. Contact Guelph Hydro to learn how your bill may be affected by the Canada Post service interruption at 519-822-3010.

For more information about how residents may be affected by the postal service disruption visit the Canada Post Customer Information Hub at http://canadapost.ca.

That is all.

Cam

May 11th, 2011

Myself and others are excited to see that you have been working hard to be available to Guelph residents and remain open and honest with everyone.  It's a refreshing change that hopefully will catch on with more members of council.  I have been in contact with my ward 3 rep encouraging her to offer the residents a similar web site to yours, but the response seemed,  well...disinterested.  I also suggested the possibility of the occasional ward 3 open public meetings, but apparently that was attempted last term with little to no participation by the residents.  Maybe some sort of blog or website would have helped inform us, because had I known, I would have definately attended!
 
Anyway, thanks again for your time.  I'm sorry to Ward 4 for needing to "steal" their rep for some answers!
J.D

May 11th, 2011

I’d like to provide you with a quick update on how the construction of the new Organics Waste Processing Facility is progressing.  It is still anticipated that the facility will be fully operational in December 2011.

As of the end of April 2011 $22,205,705.82 has been spent on this project.  This is 69% of the total project budget.

To the end of April, 81% of the actual construction has been completed.

Major Construction Activities that occurred during April were:
•    Installation of biofilter exhaust stack
•    Pre-engineered building trim and roof flashing installation is ongoing
•    Steel stud framing, insulation and drywall installation for lower and upper floor rooms in
administration building is ongoing
•    Pre-engineered building kinspan siding installation mostly completed
•    Sprinkler system installed in blower room and installation in tipping area is ongoing
•    Slab on grade poured for acid system containment tank area
•    Christiaens installing ducting in blower room is ongoing
•    Biorem panel installation in electrical room is ongoing
•    Rebar and pipe placement in tunnels is ongoing
•    Pre-cast concrete slabs placed and slab on grade for biofilter plenum poured
•    Installed Union Gas gas line tied in from main line on-site to OWPF
•    Demolition of old electrical room in maturation hall

May 11, 2011

Phil Andrews, Editor
The Guelph Mercury
8-14 Macdonell Street
Guelph, ON, N1H 6P7

Dear Phil,

RE:    “Severance packages could cost city more than $1 million” May 10, 2011

Today’s article regarding the City of Guelph’s employee exit packages implies that the City has been less than forthcoming about the impact of last year’s corporate re-organization and other management changes. The article seems to suggest that the City deliberately mislead the public about the financial impact of eight management changes in 2010.

Last December the Mercury accurately reported that a re-organization of the City’s management structure would result in five managers leaving the organization at a cost of $216,000 in 2010. Another three managers exited last year bringing the total impact in 2010 to $351,000.

Today’s article refers to these numbers as “two earlier estimates” and compares the financial impact in 2010 to the potential impact over the next two to three years. Using this comparison is inaccurate and, quite frankly, misleading.

The City’s third Human Resources Annual Report was mentioned in the article and does state how the total potential impact of eight management changes in 2010 could amount to $1,058,156 over three years should these exit packages run their full course.

The report is one more way we show our commitment to public accountability and transparency. Guelph is one of the only, perhaps the only, municipality in the province to publicly report on its employee departures in this way.

Unfortunately, today’s article failed to mention how the City’s Human Resources Annual Report also measures the organization’s performance, compares it to benchmark data and evaluates the effectiveness of its Human Resource programs.

I encourage Guelph Mercury readers who are truly interested in the City’s Human Resources practices to learn more on the City’s website at guelph.ca/careers.

Sincerely,




Mark Amorosi
Executive Director

Corporate & Human Resources
Location: 1 Carden Street

T 519-519-822-1260 x 2281
E mark.amorosi@guelph.ca

C Mayor and City Council, Scott Tracey, Reporter Guelph Mercury

Guelph rewrites mission statement

GUELPH — City councillors and senior staff did some soul-searching Monday night and decided they need to focus more on helping the local economy and engaging the community.

At an exhaustive workshop — during which officials crafted a new mission statement and reaffirmed the city’s values and vision — a list of 23 strategic goals was developed. They were then asked to identify which goals from the list needed more attention.

Helping to build a thriving local economy was identified as the top issue, followed by a need to engage the community and be a more accessible organization.

“If you get this,” consultant Chris Bart said as he posted the 23 goals on a screen, “it will uncomplicate your life as a council and executive team because it will tell you what to argue over.”

Bart, founder of Directors College at McMaster University’s DeGroote School of Business, compared the goals to “spinning plates,” and said at any given time a handful might be wobbling and require special attention.

The workshop was council’s first as it works toward creating a new strategic plan.

Much of the time Monday evening was spent hammering out a new mission statement.

Bart said a mission statement “is a social contract with staff,” and should outline what the municipality will do for a range of stakeholders including staff, residents and the business community.

Each of the 17 councillors and staff in attendance wrote their own mission statement, then worked in groups of three and then six to refine them. Ultimately, three versions of a mission statement were whittled down to one.

The final mission statement speaks of building a city that “celebrates a thriving social, cultural and environmentally sustainable community” while ensuring an accountable and accessible organization.

It also speaks of providing quality services, supporting the role of business and being recognized as a top employer “by treating employees with the same level of respect and commitment which they are expected to deliver to the community.”

To read the full new mission statement visit the Mercury’s city hall blog at http://guelphmercury.blogs.com/59_carden_st/

Please be informed that the 2011 transverse pavement marking program commenced on Sunday, May 8, 2011. This program involves the painting of markings at signalized intersections, school crosswalks, all-way stops, and railway crossings. The painting of parking stalls, turn arrows, and bicycle symbols is also part of this program.

The longitudinal pavement marking program is scheduled to commence on Sunday, May 15, 2011. This program involves the painting of centreline, lane lines and bike lanes.

Thank you,

Cam

Open House kicks off National Public Works Week.

GUELPH, ON, May 10, 2011 – The City of Guelph will kick off National Public Works Week by hosting an Open House on May 14 at 50 Municipal Street. Residents are invited to drop in, speak with Operations and Transit staff, and view the City’s equipment and displays.
“We celebrate National Public Works Week by raising community awareness of the many services and activities we provide,” said Derek McCaughan, Executive Director, Operations and Transit. “It also recognizes the hard work and dedication of public works professionals in our community.”
The City will also introduce local high school students enrolled in the Specialist High Skills Major Program and foreign-trained engineering professionals to the world of municipal public works careers in a variety of hands-on job shadowing sessions and networking events. The week will start off with a networking event that focuses on career education and talent connections with engineers that are internationally educated and looking to learn more about opportunities within the municipal sector. For local students, several fleet workshops take place throughout the week and a local road (Forest St. at Mary St.) will be temporarily closed for a hands-on demonstration on May 18. Engineering hopefuls will be participating in activities related to construction project planning and a tour of the City’s storm water ponds on May 17 and 19.
National Public Works Week provides residents and students with the opportunity to learn how the City maintains Guelph’s infrastructure and services. Among those services are downtown parking facilities and by-law compliance; maintenance of the City’s fleet and equipment; maintenance of sanitary sewers and roadways; maintenance of forestry and parklands; provision of transit and mobility services; the Guelph Farmers’ Market; animal control services; and traffic signals and investigations.
For the Open House on May 14, a free transit shuttle will be available from Wilson Street (across from the Wilson Street parking lot) to Municipal Street and back from 9 a.m.–1 p.m. Residents can also visit the Career Education booth at the Open House to learn first-hand about the services and career opportunities available at the City of Guelph.

FOR MORE INFORMATION related to the Open House
Coralee Barfoot
Executive Assistant
Operations and Transit
T 519-822-1260 x 2033
E coralee.barfoot@guelph.ca

FOR MORE INFORMATION related to Career Education Events and Networking Event
Joanne Oliver
Workforce Planning and Development Specialist
Human Resources and Legal Services
T 519 822-1260 x 2446
E careers@guelph.ca

As you are aware Carden Street is now closed between Wilson Street and Wyndham Street. This is to complete the installation of the paver brick, sidewalk and landscaping. This project is expected to be completed and the road opened by July of this year. In addition, construction activity will be beginning on the Inter-model transit terminal on Carden Street west of Wyndham Street shortly.

These projects will impact on the parking available to customers visiting our downtown during this period of time. We are therefore taking steps to manage the parking available by undertaking a number of steps including working with staff of City Hall and the POA to ensure that they utilize their designated parking areas and not utilize the Wilson Parking Lot and adjacent on-street areas;  converting the section of Wyndham Street between Carden Street and MacDonell Street to a typical parking lot design, as we did last year, i.e. change the layout from parallel parking stalls to 90 degree parking; this will occur on Tuesday April 26th; and looking for additional parking supply that would enable us to relocate a number staff from their designated parking areas to create more parking supply for the public to use within the downtown area. In addition, I have advised staff involved with the administration of these  projects to advocate/direct the construction trades to find alternate parking arrangements outside the critical downtown parking areas to maximize the available parking supply for the public.

Enforcement will be more visible to the general public of abuse of the permissive 2 hour parking throughout the downtown area through the construction periods, which will hopefully lead to self enforced turnover of the parking supply.

Thank you,

STAFF

Water Services recognized for Water Conservation and Efficiency Strategy

GUELPH, ON, May 5, 2011—In recognition of the City of Guelph Water Conservation and Efficiency Strategy—its aim to reduce daily water use by 8.7 million litres per day by 2019—the Ontario Water Works Association (OWWA) honoured the Guelph Water Services Division with the 2011 Award of Excellence in Water Efficiency – Public Sector Award at its annual conference and trade show earlier this week in the Town of the Blue Mountains.  

The annual award recognizes a successful water efficiency (conservation) program in each of the following categories: Public Sector and Utility, Private Sector, and Public Education and Awareness.

"As one of Canada's largest communities reliant on a finite groundwater supply for our drinking water source, water conservation plays a very important role in ensuring the ongoing sustainability of our precious water resources,” says Wayne Galliher, the City’s Water Conservation Project Manager.  “In recognition of the many benefits of water conservation, the City strives to be a municipal leader in water efficiency and is greatly honoured to receive this award of excellence from the OWWA.”  

The City of Guelph is proud of its water conservation history. The City received the 2003 Award of Excellence in Water Efficiency – Public Sector Award from the OWWA in recognition of its Outside Water Use Program.  This seasonal conservation program aims to maintain sustainable levels of consumption during drought-like conditions when water demand is at its peak.  
 
For additional information regarding water conservation in Guelph, visit guelph.ca/waterconservation.

On Thursday May 5th, 2011 I was asked to speak for a confrence held at the Delta Hotel. The event was for the Ontario Electrical League.

Here are my notes I'd like to share with you:

Ontario Electrical League – Annual Conference, May 5, 2011

On behalf of the City of Guelph, I’m delighted to welcome you to our city for your Electrical Industry Conference. We’re very pleased to be hosting you. I was interested to learn that the focus of your day today is renewable and green energy. This is certainly an area of focus for Guelph. In 2007, Guelph City Council unanimously endorsed a 25-year Community Energy Plan that puts Guelph on the cutting edge in North America. The goals of the Plan are for Guelph to use less energy in 25 years than we do today - even with population growth of 65,000 people. This means cutting our energy use by 50 per cent per capita, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 60 per cent per capita.
We are now in the implementation phase of the Plan, and so have changed the name to Community Energy Initiative. Guelph’s Community Energy Initiative is attracting national and international attention. Most recently, the website MSN.com named Guelph the “most liveable” city in Canada outside of the big three of Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver. Our Community Energy Initiative was cited as one of the reasons. It was also cited by Canadian Solar – one of the largest solar power companies in the world – as key to their decision to locate in Guelph, bringing 500 jobs here. Another solar company, Sustainable Energy Solutions, has also chosen to locate in Guelph, bringing another 100 solar manufacturing jobs. The renewable energy industry is one of the fastest-growing sectors in the economy. So we’re thrilled that Guelph is becoming known as “the place to be” for renewable energy. I mentioned that we’re in the implementation phase of the Community Energy Initiative. One of the key steps was the establishment of the Mayor’s Task Force on Community Energy. The Task Force includes representation from provincial organizations such as the Ministry of Energy and the Ontario Power Authority; national organizations such as the Canadian District Energy Association; and local stakeholders including Guelph Hydro and major companies such as Canadian Solar and Linamar.  A number of specific initiatives are underway. For example, the City is currently working with Guelph Hydro to install up to 1 megawatt of solar panels on City-owned facilities. We have several renewable energy projects that are already up and running. One example is Ecotricity, which is located at the site of a closed local landfill. Ecotricity uses methane created from the waste to generate electricity and sells it back to the grid. Another example is Guelph’s Wastewater Treatment Plant, which generates electricity using the gases created by the treatment process. The electricity is used to run the Plant. Green and renewable energy is an exciting part of the electricity sector, and I think it’s safe to say it will become even more important in the years to come. Guelph is proud to be on the leading edge in this area. And I’m very pleased that all of you have taken the time to come to Guelph to share information on this topic. So once again, a warm welcome to Guelph.

Have a great day!

May 6th, 2011

I have just been in contact with Guelph Hydro and Canada Post. I talked with both people that are in charge of operations here in Guelph. They are well aware of the constant graffiti problem on their property. I have made a suggestion to them that I would create an online submission form for reporting graffiti that could be sent to them directly so that they can take action in cleaning graffiti up.

They both agreed.

So, I’ll be working on adding that form to www.ward4news.ca soon.

Stay tuned…

Cam

27-Apr-11 GUELPH, ON – Two-thirds of Guelph residents say they get good value for their municipal tax dollars, and satisfaction with City services is high, with a majority saying they are satisfied with all services in a list of 11.
These are among the findings of a citizen survey conducted for the City of Guelph by Environics Research Group.
More than 80 per cent of residents surveyed expressed satisfaction with parks and trails, police, garbage collection, fire protection, and library services. Satisfaction with sports fields, ambulance services, snow plowing, and arts and heritage services ranged from 70 to 79 per cent. 64 per cent of respondents said they were satisfied with road maintenance, and 57 per cent said they were satisfied with public transit, though one-quarter of respondents said they were unable to express an opinion about this service.
The survey also found:
•         When asked which is the most important issue facing Guelph today, high tax rates/ tax increases (12 per cent) and urban development/ expansion (11 per cent) topped the list. When the City last conducted a survey of this size in 2008, taxation was also identified as the top issue.
•         Five in ten residents (51 per cent) indicated that fees and taxes should be lowered even if it means a small reduction in services, compared to about four in ten (37 per cent) who hold the view that inadequate services need to be improved even if it means a small tax increase.
•         Road maintenance and public transit were identified as priorities for further investments, a similar finding to the 2008 survey.
•         83 per cent of residents who have contacted the City of Guelph over the past year said they were satisfied with the service they received. Almost half (48 per cent) said they were “very satisfied.” In 2008, 68 per cent of respondents expressed satisfaction, 13% were neutral and 19% dissatisfied.
•         In a series of questions about environmental issues, large majorities (70 per cent or more) expressed positive perceptions of the City’s efforts. 79 per cent said the City does a good job protecting the environment.
•         Opinion was divided on whether the City should only have low and mid rise buildings of one to six stories (45 per cent) or allow taller buildings of seven to 18 stories (50 per cent).
The survey results will inform the City’s 2011-2014 Strategic Plan revision and service review efforts, as well as the annual budget process and ongoing operational improvements.
Environics conducted the survey by telephone among 600 City of Guelph residents 18 years of age and older between March 16 and April 4, 2011. The data was weighted by the City's six wards to ensure that the results are representative of the population. The margin of error is +/- 4 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

Household Hazardous Waste Depot extends hours for customer convenience
The City's seasonal Paint + Reuse Program is ready to open

GUELPH, ON, April 18, 2011 – The City of Guelph Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) Depot springs into extended hours of operation on Tuesday, April 19, providing added convenience to residents.  The HHW Depot located at 110 Dunlop Drive, Gate 2, will now be open:

Tuesday – Friday:      9 a.m. – 5 p.m.  
Saturday:        8:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.   

The increase in 2011 HHW Depot hours reflects the strengthened economy. The HHW Depot was open during reduced hours last year as a result of a City budget shortfall due to the economic recession.  

The City’s seasonal Paint + Reuse Program—an earth-smart initiative that helps ensure useable products don’t go to waste—will be open to the public between April 19 and October 15 at the HHW Depot. This program makes used paint and other household products available to residents, free-of-charge.

The City reminds Guelph residents to continue to act responsibly when it comes to the disposal of hazardous items.  

According to Kim Hodgson, Chief Fire Prevention Officer, Fire & Emergency Services, gasoline, “must be in CSA (Canadian Standards Association) or ULC (Underwriters Laboratories of Canada)/ORD-C30 approved safety containers, and should be secured in the trunk of a vehicle with the cap securely fastened.  Flammable liquids should not be stored in the trunk for excessive periods of time.”

“When residents drop off gasoline in an approved container at the Household Hazardous Waste Depot, they will be offered a replacement container,” adds Heather Connell, Manager, Integrated Services, Solid Waste Resources.

Bring your hazardous waste to the HHW Depot year-round or visit www.dowhatyoucan.ca for a list of available retailers where you can drop off certain household waste material, at no cost.  For more information regarding the Paint + Reuse Program, please visit guelph.ca/wetdry.

City of Guelph Press Release:

April 14, 2011 - Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has confirmed that the City of Guelph has maintained its 'AA' credit rating again this year.
The rating reflects Standard & Poor's Ratings Services' view that the City has a solid economic base, manageable debt, and good operating performance.
"Council's strong debt and reserve management policies are having their intended effect, producing a continued excellent credit rating for our municipality," says Mayor Karen Farbridge.
The City’s Chief Financial Officer Margaret Neubauer adds, "This rating is good news for Guelph as the economy continues to recover,"
Standard and Poor's believes the expenditures are manageable and the City's debt will remain under control even with last year's increase in capital expenditures. . Standard & Poor's noted the benefit to Guelph of $45 million in federal and provincial stimulus funding to assist with the maintenance and repair of the city's infrastructure.  The City of Guelph is committed to a disciplined and integrated long-term approach to capital planning and continues to adhere to a long-term financial plan guided by debt and reserve management policies.
This 'AA' rating means the City can secure lower interest rates when issuing debt to finance large capital expenditures from recently constructed facilities, resulting in significant savings to the municipality.
Standard & Poor’s also expects Guelph to benefit from the increasingly diverse economies in Kitchener, Waterloo and Cambridge as the region evolves from a traditional concentration in manufacturing to a technology and service-based economy, and that the arrival of GO train service in 2011 will further integrate the City's economy into the surrounding area.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Guelph Remastered wraps up while construction continues
2011 will be a more typical construction season
 
GUELPH, ON, April 12, 2011 – After its massive infrastructure renewal program, Guelph is preparing for a more typical road construction season this year and wrapping up Guelph Remastered.

"The Guelph Remastered campaign did what typical road construction signs couldn’t do," says Tara Sprigg, Manager, Corporate Communications. "Guelph Remastered connected people to important information and helped residents understand that more than 20 construction projects were part of one huge infrastructure renewal program."

The City tracked the campaign and its effects on stakeholders throughout the year and found that Guelph Remastered met its intended objectives. The campaign reached the majority of residents and increased awareness of the City’s plans for construction in 2010. Over the course of the campaign, residents came to understand that Guelph was completing about five years worth of work in just 12 months to meet the Federal and Provincial funding deadline.

Findings also show the Guelph Remastered campaign had positive effects on people’s perceptions of construction upgrades in general, and on loyalty to shops and services. More than 90 per cent of those polled consider it important for the City to undertake construction projects, and awareness that shops and services would be open for business during construction increased from 73 per cent to 81 per cent during the campaign.

As part of the campaign, the City developed new online tools including a construction e-bulletin and an interactive traffic map. These improved online tools proved particularly successful, and will remain on guelph.ca to help people navigate construction detours again this year.

"We still have some paving, line marking and landscaping to do on some of the projects we worked on last year, and we’re glad to have the funding deadline extended to October 31 so we can finish work on the inter-modal transit terminal and Wyndham Street Rail bridge," says City Engineer, Richard Henry. "We’ll also be working on this year’s regular infrastructure renewal program. You’ll see crews on the streets again this year, but we’re not planning as much work on major routes."

Guelph’s plans for construction in 2011 and ongoing construction updates will be posted on the City’s website at guelph.ca/construction.

In 2009, the City began work on more than 20 infrastructure upgrades on roads, sewers, water systems, bike lanes and buildings. The projects must be completed by October 31 2011 to take advantage $48 million in Federal and Provincial Infrastructure Stimulus Funds. Guelph's Infrastructure Stimulus projects are listed on the City's website at guelph.ca > living > planning, building, engineering > road construction.

Hello my friends! And sorry for the mass email!

Not too often does an opportunity like this come along. However this situation is URGENT. We don't have much time!

I'm talking about this:
http://www.guelphmercury.com/news/local/article/514832--historic-pistol-
up-for-auction

We need to raise funds to acquire this piece of history. Don't let this gun go into collector's hands when we can have it on public display in our brand new museum!

Due to it being a public auction and because of how rare and sought after this gun will be it is expected to sell for at least $6000.

So far I have raised $800.

Will you help with a donation of $100, $250, $500, $1000 or more? In return you'll be provided with a tax receipt once the piece is donated to the Guelph museum. Contact me at cam.guthrie@guelph.ca or 226-820-5080 for further information!

We only have a few more days to get prepared before it goes to auction.
Don't let this gun slip out of Guelph's hands! Let's bring it home!

Thank you so much!

Cam Guthrie
Ward 4 - City Councillor, Guelph.
www.ward4news.ca
226-820-5080
Cam.guthrie@guelph.ca

Hello Cam,
I thought I'd forward some information on Culture Camp Guelph, which will be taking place on May 25 from 2-5pm at the River Run Centre. Perhaps you could post the information on your blog?  The event is being organised by myself, the Guelph Arts Council, the City of Guelph, Guelph-Wellington Business Enterprise Centre and Cultural Careers Centre of Ontario.


CultureCamp Guelph is a free confrence that will allow attendees to:

•         Share their ideas
•         Inspire their peers
•         Broaden their reach
•         Prepare for Culture Days

All members of Guelph's creative community are encouraged to attend. Register online at http://culturecampguelph.eventbrite.com

Thanks in advance for spreading the word! 

Council hears concerns about proposed Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph health facility

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

GUELPH, ON, April 15, 2011 – At a special meeting of City Council Wednesday night, Councillors and the public heard a variety of concerns brought forward by City staff regarding the Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Board of Health’s plans to build and own new facilities in Guelph and Orangeville.

City Treasurer Margaret Neubauer presented Council with financial context to show the current and potential future costs of Public Health facilities for City of Guelph taxpayers.

Currently, the Health Unit’s facilities in Guelph, Fergus, Mount Forest, and Dufferin County are leased, and the Provincial government pays approximately 75% of the lease costs. The Province has stated it will not contribute to the new facilities’ capital costs. The Board of Health’s position is that the City of Guelph and the Counties of Wellington and Dufferin will be responsible for 100% of the capital costs.

Under the current lease arrangements, with a 75% Provincial subsidy, the City of Guelph’s share of facility costs for Guelph and Orangeville is $68,000 annually. Under the Board of Health’s plan to build and own new facilities, Guelph’s share would increase to $988,000 annually, and the project would add $10.8 million to the City’s outstanding debt. City of Guelph taxpayers would pay 40% more for public health services each year due to this capital project alone. While the municipality would be liable for the debt, the Board of Health would have ownership of the building.

"The City does not debate that a new Public Health location is needed, and we fully support the delivery of Public Health programs and services," said Mark Amorosi, Executive Director of Human Resources and Legal Services. "However, the City has a number of outstanding concerns and questions about how the Board is proposing to construct and finance this project. We believe there are other options that are less costly to local taxpayers, and would allow the Province to fund a portion of the costs."

Council heard that one option would be for the municipality to build and own the new facility and lease it back to the Board of Health, which would significantly reduce the City’s annual costs. This option would still increase the City’s debt, but it would allow the City to retain title to the asset. Another option would be to enter into a commercial lease for an existing facility, which would reduce annual costs while having no impact on the City’s debt. Under each of these scenarios, the Province would potentially contribute up to 75% of the lease costs.

Concerns about governance were also raised by City staff, including the apparent lack of consultation with partners, collaborators and citizens on the location, accessibility and centralization of services proposed in the Board of Health’s Space Needs Assessment.

Staff questioned the sequencing of approvals for the Space Needs Assessment prior to the Board’s approval of its Strategic Plan—a Plan that includes a section on new facilities. "A best practice in developing any new facility is to ensure the needs of the public and partners are well understood," says Guelph’s Executive Director of Community & Social Services, Ann Pappert. "This ensures facilities are aligned with long-term plans and meet client needs. That there is no reference in the document to the public or partners being involved is troubling. Further, why the Space Needs Assessment was completed and approved before the Board of Health’s Strategic Plan is among the City’s questions."

The Ontario Public Health Standards call for collaboration among boards of health, their community partners, academic institutions and government in the interpretation and prioritization of needs. The City remains concerned this step has been overlooked.

In March, the City was granted a temporary injunction to stop the Board of Health from incurring further costs on the project, pending an argument for a more permanent injunction. The City is seeking clarity on funding and the Board’s authority to incur debt in the City’s name without its consent.

Staff will report back to Council at its meeting on April 26 with recommendations about how to address the issues brought forth at Wednesday’s meeting.

Hi Cam:

We live on Marksam Road and in your Ward 4.  We watched the council meeting on Monday and were very impressed with your presentation.  You show regard and appreciation for others when you thanked city staff for their patience in explaining the heritage project.  You also show intelligence by challenging the people concerned to not use all of the budget.  This shows your regard to the taxpayers here.  

We just wanted to let you know that this does not go unnoticed and that we appreciate you being our councillor as we feel protected and well represented.

Thank you,
M&P

The Downtown Guelph Business Association (DGBA) is pleased to announce the appointment of Marty Williams to the position of Executive Director, effective April 26, 2011.

Marty is passionate about Downtown Guelph and will bring his considerable talents, experiences, and insights to this very crucial role. He comes to the position from York University, where he served as the Director of the Office of Student Conflict Mediation and Senior Policy Analyst and where he was also responsible for Aboriginal Student Services. Previously, he has worked in volunteer organizational development, event planning and promotion, housing, and food services.

In addition to residing in Guelph with his wife and son, Marty has been involved as a volunteer and as a director with the Hillside Festival.   
 
Marty graduated from the University of Guelph where he served as the Editor-in-Chief of the Ontarion, President of the Central Student Association, Vice President of the Guelph Campus Co-operative, and Member of the University’s Board of Governors. He received the Paul Gilmore Award for student leadership and the University of Guelph Community Service Award.

Please join us in welcoming Marty to the Downtown Board of Guelph.

Good Afternoon

This email is just to inform everyone that the 2011 Clean and Green Event will be held on April 30th.

Cleaning and collection will take place from 8:30 am to 11:30 am; to be followed by a volunteer appreciation barbeque at Riverside Park (large red picnic shelter) from 11:30 am to 1:00 pm.

Registration for event participants will open on April 7th and close on April 21st.
Registration can be done online at <<guelph.ca/cleanandgreen>> or by calling 519-837-5628 x2047 and of course in person at Operations.

Please let me know if you would like to attend the appreciation barbeque, in support of our event participants.

If you have any questions or would like to volunteer, please contact me.
Katherine Gray | Coordinator
Service Performance & Development
Operations & Transit Department
City of Guelph

T 519-822-1260 x 2006 | F 519-821-0839 | C 519-222-6991
E katherine.gray@guelph.ca

Special meeting of Council about new public health facility

GUELPH, ON, April 7, 2011 – The City of Guelph will hold a special meeting of City Council on April 13 to bring forward information regarding the new public health facility that was announced by the Board of Health on February 2, 2011.
Senior City staff will provide Council with information about the proposed facility, including legal and governance issues; the proposed agreement between the Board of Health and the University of Guelph to lease and build; financial implications should the Board of Health proceed with its proposed location; and concerns about community engagement and integrated community health service delivery.
This meeting is an information-sharing meeting. City Council will receive information but will not be making decisions. Community members may contact the City Clerk's Office at 519-822-1260 x  2269 for more information about the meeting.

WHAT    Special meeting of Guelph City Council
    
WHO    Guelph City Council
Senior City staff
Registered public delegations
    
WHERE    Council Chambers, City Hall
1 Carden St, Guelph.
    
WHEN    Wednesday, April 13, 2011
6-8 p.m.

Please be advised that, beginning on Monday, April 11 and will end on the targeted completion date of Friday, May 6, Water Services will be completing the Spring Watermain Cleaning program.

This component entails cleaning approximately 30 kilometres of watermain and will be performed on weekdays by Water Services licensed operators between the hours of 8 p.m. and 6 a.m.

Areas to be cleaned are outlined in the attached map.

 Storm Water Management Plan - Public Notice.pdf

Other info:

·  Local newspaper advertising starting this week and continuing to program end

· Local radio advertising starting next week and continuing to program end

· Bulk mail notices delivered the week prior to cleaning to all affected customers

· Delivery of door hanger notices to all customers on the day before they experience an interruption in water service

· Press release distributed this week announcing program start and where customers can get more information

· Signage (4 signs) located at key entry points to the areas affected

· Posting of relevant information on City web site, including detailed mapping, press release, and Frequently Asked Questions; and

· 24/7 customer telephone support (regular hours, 519-837-5627, after hours,  1-866-630-9242).

We anticipate a number of customer inquiries related to the program and are committed to limiting customer inconvenience while ensuring program success.  We all want clean watermains.

Please contact Water Services if you require additional program information and please direct customer inquiries our way.  Thanks for your support.

Update: March 25th, 2011

I've recieved a response from City STAFF about my idea. Here it is:

Cam,
I am one of the City’s top Tweeters, and I was one of the people who help sort out that pothole last week.
I work on the Corporate Communications Team and along with our Web Services team we head up the City’s Social Media efforts. There are also folks at Transit, Traffic the River Run Centre and Tourism actively using facebook and Twitter to promote programs, respond to customer service issues and announce service changes or traffic interruptions.

You’re idea is a one of many we are investigating and evaluating as we develop a social media strategy for the entire organization.
We’re working to identify which departments could make the best use of these tools, what resources (staff time, skills and training) they would require to monitor and respond to comments and posts, developing social media guidelines and related policies etc.
The Social Media Strategy is part of the Corporate Communication Plan. You can view the plan on the Infonet, or I can send you a copy if you like. For now, we’ve got 4 facebook accounts and 5 twitter accounts and you can see how the City is already using social media here:

http://www.guelph.ca/cityhall.cfm?subCatID=2220&smocid=2793

Long story short, it won’t happen tomorrow, but we are looking at a number of ways the City could use social media tools, and reporting road repairs and potholes is on the list. If you have any other questions you can reach me at the number or e-mail below.
--
Stacey Hare l Senior Communications Issues Management Coordinator
Corporate Communications l Information Services
City of Guelph
T 519-822-1260 x 2611
E stacey.hare@guelph.ca

Sent: March 25, 2011 11:12 AM
 
Hello all!
Not too sure who to send this idea to so I’m hitting you all up!
Last week I had a sink-hole in the middle of Imperial Rd. and Paisley Rd. which when my vehicle hit it, I thought I was going to die. But I digress…I went over the hole and decided to pull my car over and tweet about it to @cityofguelph. Another resident I also saw on twitter tweeted about it as well. In fact, this is the 2nd “issue” that I believe has been completed by the operations department through the use of Twitter. Very cool.
My idea is to setup other twitter accounts for the residents of Guelph to use as yet another form of direct communication. I personally feel this could be a great tool to use. Some call me a “tool” as well but I digress…

So how about instead of a catch-all twitter name such as @cityofguelph, we setup one for the “operations dept.”?

That way if it’s an issue such as a sink hole or other operations issues, people can communicate through twitter direct to the operations dept. There may be issues with what hours this form of communication could be used and such but I think it has merit.
Your thoughts?

Thanks,

Cam

Guelph Wellington Local Immigration Partnership Community Forum and Showcase

GUELPH, ON, March 21, 2011 – The Guelph Wellington Local Immigration Partnership (LIP) is hosting a Community Forum and Showcase to promote the Guelph Wellington Settlement Strategy.
The Forum will highlight the existing capacity of programs, specifically in the areas of employment, English language training, community services and programs, and community integration and inclusion.

WHAT    Guelph Wellington Local Immigration Partnership Community Forum and Showcase   
WHO    Mayor Karen Farbridge, City of Guelph = Keynote Speaker: Dr. Alastair Summerlee President and Vice-Chancellor, Unv. Guelph      Newcomers to Guelph Business/education/health representatives from the immigrant serving sector Service provider organizations   
WHERE    Delta Hotel and Conference Centre, 50 Stone Road West, Guelph   
WHEN    March 28  9 a.m.–1 p.m.

The Guelph Wellington Local Immigration Partnership is funded through Citizenship and Immigration Canada.

FOR MORE INFORMATION
Barbara Powell
General Manager, Community Engagement
Community and Social Services
T 519-822-1260  x 2675
E barbara.powell@guelph.ca

GUELPH, ON, March 23, 2011 - The City has partnered with Artscape to bring its Creative Spacemaking workshop to Guelph’s arts and culture sector at the River Run Centre on April 5.
The workshop will explore strategies to connect and leverage the creative and cultural resources of the community. It will bring together top practitioners and highlight innovative partnerships that have successfully secured sustainable and affordable spaces for creative communities.
Confirmed speakers for the workshop include:
•        Jeremy Freiburger, Founder and Executive Director, Imperial Cotton Centre for the Arts,
•        Roscoe Handford, Wychwood Community Animator and Green Barn Market Manager
•        Joe Lobko, Partner, du Toit Architects Limited
•        Tim Jones, President & CEO, Artscape
•        Pru Robey, Director, Knowledge Exchange, Artscape
•        Celia Smith, Executive Vice President, Artscape
The workshop will offer leading advice and hands-on tools for individuals and organizations or partnerships engaged in economic development, downtown redevelopment, tourism, cultural facility projects and culture-led initiatives. The participants will have an opportunity to meet the experts during interactive sessions on topics such as: vision development, feasibility analysis, project planning, finance and fundraising, community engagement and governance models.
"This is a great opportunity for artists, cultural organizations, and business people to come together," says Colleen Clack, the City's General Manger of Arts, Culture and Entertainment. "Attending this workshop will provide participants with the practical tools needed to make cultural space development happen in Guelph."
Over the last five years, Artscape has facilitated workshops in Oshawa, Windsor, Vancouver, Calgary, Halifax, Kingston, Hamilton and Toronto, and connected more than 800 participants from more than 100 different communities.
About Artscape
Artscape has developed a reputation as Canada's leading practitioner in multi-tenant space development for the arts and culture sector. Artscape projects are designed to build and leverage a local community's cultural assets and creative resources while serving as catalysts for neighbourhood growth and transformation. Artscape has earned a reputation as an international leader in the fields of culture-led regeneration and city-building through the arts.

FOR MORE INFORMATION
Astero Kalogeropoulos
Arts & Culture Program Officer
Community and Social Services
T 519-822-1260  x 2629
E astero.kalogeropoulous@guelph.ca

The tunnel under the CN Rail bridge on Wyndham Street will be CLOSED March 30 until late fall.
Crews are busy replacing the 100 year old bridge. Meanwhile people are welcome to use Wilson Street to travel in and out of downtown. When the project is complete, the Wyndham Street pedestrian tunnel will re-open.
 
In May, a permanent fence will be installed to prevent people from trespassing across the railway tracks and the Neeve Street pedestrian tunnel will be permanently closed.

Thanks,

Cam

GUELPH, ON, March 24, 2011 – A community fundraising campaign for the new Guelph Civic Museum has raised $772,000, surpassing its original goal of $500,000. The total was announced by Capital Campaign Committee Chair John Valeriote this morning at the final meeting of the committee.
Mayor Karen Farbridge attended to personally thank committee members for their work. "The tremendous success of this fundraising campaign is a testament to the dedication and hard work of the members of this committee. It also speaks volumes about how much this community values the Guelph Civic Museum project," Mayor Farbridge said. "We are grateful for the generosity of the people of Guelph."
The late Hugh Guthrie served as Honorary Chair of the Campaign. On September 21, 2010 a generous $200,000 donation from the Estate of Hugh Guthrie, Q.C. was announced.
"The Capital Campaign Committee was determined to meet the original $500,000 fundraising goal in addition to Hugh's donation," said John Valeriote. "I am thrilled that, at the conclusion of the campaign, we surpassed our fundraising goal by a total of $272,000."
The new Civic Museum will feature a Family Tree acknowledging donors at giving levels of $1000 to $10,000. During the fundraising campaign, families were able to purchase a "leaf" on the tree, with their family name and the year they came to Guelph.
In recognition of Hugh Guthrie's commitment to local heritage and the museum project, the archives in the new museum will be named in his memory.
Members of the Capital Campaign Committee are Elizabeth Bonkink, Martin Bosch, Ian Brown, Susan Brown, Ken Hammill, Gil Stelter, Murray Taylor, Morris Twist, and Museum Director Katherine McCracken.
In addition to the $772,000 in community support, the $12.7 million Civic Museum project is supported by $1.5 million in funding from the Government of Canada and $5 million from the Province of Ontario.
At approximately 30,000 square feet, the new Civic Museum will be three times the size of the current facility and will have appropriate storage for artefact and archival collections. It will feature a larger children's gallery, a research room, and meeting space. The museum will be housed in a historic 1850s landmark, the Loretto Convent, which is being renovated and restored. Construction is expected to wrap up in August 2011, and once collections are moved from the current museum and exhibits are installed, the new Civic Museum is expected to open to the public in late fall.

Guelph residents quizzed on highrises, taxes during survey

City kicks off World Water Day with I love Guelph tap water video contest
Youth invited to tell the world through YouTube why Guelph tap water is tops

GUELPH, ON, March 22, 2011 – The City of Guelph invites local youth, aged 14 to 25 years, to participate in a video contest entitled, I love Guelph tap water.  Participants’ 60-second video submissions are to use creativity to promote drinking municipal tap water with pride.
“We are fortunate to have some of the best drinking water in the world, here in Guelph,” said Wayne Galliher, the City’s Water Conservation Project Manager. “World Water Day provides the perfect opportunity to spread the word that Guelph water is ours to conserve, protect and enjoy; and what better way to do it than through the creativity, excitement and enthusiasm of Guelph’s youth.”
The contest opens today, World Water Day.  Video submissions uploaded to YouTube—accompanied by the required entry information—will be accepted today until May 15.  Effective May 16, the public is encouraged to visit guelph.ca/tapwater to view the eligible videos posted to YouTube and to vote for their favourite submission—the video with the most YouTube votes will win the Viewers’ Choice Award. Public voting closes on May 30.  
The videos will also be judged by a panel of local youth, community and City representatives after the contest has closed. The top three I love Guelph tap water videos will be awarded first, second and third prizes.  Contest winners will be announced on June 15, the winning videos posted to guelph.ca/tapwater.  An awards reception—featuring a screening of the winners’ videos—will be held later in June.
Entrants under the age of 18 must have parental permission to enter the contest. For full contest details including rules and regulations, please visit guelph.ca/tapwater or facebook.com/cityofguelph.

City should move from p.m. budget sessions

Saving the Bookmobile becomes Guelph campaign

Guelph heritage work gets OK, but funding denied

On Saturday, I went to the Farmer's Market with my family. As I was walking around, I found several posters put on chairs, tables, poles and bulletin boards that said "S.O.S" SAVE OUR SERVICES! IT went on to say that "We Must KEEP our Bookmobile services!"  And then it went on to tell people to contact the Mayor and Councillors. Our address, phone and email addresses were then all provided. But what caught my attention was the full colour GPL, Guelph Public Library logo on the front and back of the poster.

So I went online to the Guelph Public Library site and low and behold, the homepage has the exact same poster right on the home-page which can then be clicked on which brings you to this survey:

I found this to be odd. Staff, based on the direction from Council has asked the Library to do a services review on the bookmobile, yet at the same time the Library can lobby the residents of Guelph asking them to "save" something?

Cam

This was sent to me from city STAFF. Thought you'd like to see it.

Thanks,

Cam

RESPONSE:

Thanks for passing the note on councillor.

The design was completed by Kleinfeldt Consultants Limited out of Mississauga. The bulk of the work was related to beefing up of the purlins which pick up the load from the roof deck and transmit it to the trusses. Each purlin was straightened out and sandwiched between two C200x28, 8 inch, steel channels. The whole assembly is bolted together at 2 feet on centre with the ends supported on the trusses.

There were a number of trusses in need of repair and a couple of steel columns added at the north end of the building to pick up the purlins that were supported by the masonry wall. Adding the steel columns was a better solution than reworking the masonry pockets which support the ends of the purlins in this location.A representative from the engineering firm was on site roughly once a week to review the work as it was being done and a final inspection was completed by them and our building inspector prior to the building being re-opened to the public. The engineer has provided us with a letter certifying that the building is now safe to occupy.

STAFF

ORIGINAL QUESTION:

Hi,
Maybe you want to refer me to city engineers or whatever, but I really would like to know what the logic is behind what they did with the market roof.  From what I can see, they have added more weight, but I cannot see where they have created any more strength.  The only thing I can see is that they added steel to wooden beams.  I hope I am missing something.  Keep up the good work.

This morning I've heard of the death of 2 fire fighters in Listowel. Killed were 30-year-old Raymond Walter of Listowel, and 56-year-old Kenneth Rea of Atwood.

MY prayers go to the family, freinds and the whole community touched by this tragedy.

Cam

Hi Councillor Guthrie,

Please find attached Castlebury Park Survey for your information.

Here is the link to online survey:

http://www.guelph.ca/living.cfm?itemid=79622&smocid=2142

Thanks.
Jyoti Pathak OALA CSLA | Parks Planner
Operations and Transit | Parks Planning and Development
City of Guelph
T 519-822-1260 x 2431 | F 519-822-4632
E jyoti.pathak@guelph.ca

City News Release:

GUELPH, ON, Tuesday, March 1, 2011 

The City of Guelph's Chief Administrative Officer (CAO), Hans Loewig, has notified City Council that he will not complete the full term of his employment contract.
Mr. Loewig shared his plans at a closed meeting of City Council last night and offered to stay on as the City's Chief Administrator until the end of 2011, committing to help Council with its recruitment of a new CAO and ensure a smooth transition. He is stepping down from the City's top job for personal reasons.
"This decision was a difficult one for me because I continue to be passionate about the important work we do on behalf of this community," says Mr. Loewig. "The years I've spent as Guelph's CAO have been rich with positive challenges and very rewarding. I have been very fortunate to have worked with so many committed and capable people in the organization. I feel we have accomplished a tremendous amount, built partnerships that will serve Guelph well for years to come, and laid important groundwork to continue to ensure Guelph remains an outstanding place to live as it grows."
Mayor Karen Farbridge says the loss of Guelph's chief administrator is a great one. "The legacy Mr. Loewig leaves is one of exemplary leadership, integrity, and a roll-up-your-sleeves work ethic that has served our community extremely well over the past four years. I'd like to thank Mr. Loewig for everything he's done for our community, and wish him the absolute best."
Mr. Loewig first accepted the position as Guelph's Interim CAO in June 2007. That contract was extended, then replaced with a permanent, four-year contract. Mr. Loewig joined the City of Guelph with 37 years' experience in the municipal sector including having served as the CAO for the City of Brantford from 1999 to 2004. Under his leadership the City of Guelph secured $48 million in federal and provincial funds to renew Guelph's aging infrastructure; made significant headway on the Hanlon Creek Business Park—employment lands expected to create 10,000 jobs and strengthen Guelph’s economy; implemented a People Practices Strategy to help the City become a top employer; and launched an economic development strategy to help Guelph compete and prosper in the next decade.
Mr. Loewig is leaving one year in advance of the term of his contract.

City News Release:

GUELPH, ON, March 1, 2011 – The City is working with Guelph Hydro and its subsidiary Ecotricity to put solar photovoltaic panels on a number of City-owned buildings. During last night’s City Council meeting, the City approved an agreement that defines the terms of Guelph Hydro’s mandate to develop energy projects on City properties.

"Ecotricity already operates the two Megawatt generator at the former Eastview landfill site," says Rob Kerr, the City’s General Manager of Community Energy "Now they’ll have access to our rooftops to generate more clean, renewable energy right here in Guelph."

Together with Guelph Hydro, the City has identified about 50,000 square feet of rooftop space where Ecotricity could install enough solar photovoltaic panels to generate up to 500 kilowatts of electricity. Once the panels are up and operating, Ecotricity would sell the power to the Ontario power grid over the next 20 years under the Ontario Power Authority’s MicroFIT program.

"This licence agreement is just the beginning," adds Kerr. "Together with Guelph Hydro the City of Guelph will continue to seek out more opportunities for energy projects on City-owned properties in order to support the goals of Guelph’s Community Energy Initiative."

About the Community Energy Initiative
Guelph’s Community Energy Initiative is a collective commitment among community members including the City of Guelph, Guelph Hydro, Union Gas, Guelph Chamber of Commerce and the University of Guelph to use less energy in 25 years than we do today; use less energy per capita than comparable Canadian cities; and produce fewer greenhouse gas emissions per capita than the current global average.

FOR MORE INFORMATION
Rob Kerr
General Manager, Community Energy
T 519-822-1260 x 2079
E rob.kerr@guelph.ca 
guelph.ca/energy

Guelph MS community seeking liberation treatment continues to grow
GUELPH — When Guelphite Joe Longo travels to Rhode Island in late April, he’ll be the third Wellington County Multiple Sclerosis Society board member to receive experimental and controversial ‘liberation’ treatment. The national society is advising more research is needed, but MS sufferers increasingly say they can’t wait for those studies now launching in Canada and the U.S. They’re too encouraged by early signs from people with MS who have had treatment in clinics around the world, though not in Canada, where it isn’t available to date.
“We’ve seen definitive proof. The quality of life is just an incredible, incredible bonus for us,” Longo said Monday. He’s raising $14,000 for treatment and associated costs at a Providence, R. I. clinic, on April 28, through family, friends and a local bank trust fund a supporter is setting up to allow the public to contribute. Developed by Italian vascular surgeon Paulo Zamboni, the treatment seeks to free blockages in main veins in the neck. Zamboni asserts these blockages cause a debilitating iron buildup in the brain that leads to lesions often associated with MS. The illness often causes paralysis and muscle tremors, through symptoms and severity varies. Local MS Society board chair Julie Goodwin underwent the surgery in November in Albany, New York, as has a third board member. Joanne Duffy Adamson went to Warsaw, Poland, in October, for her surgery. “I certainly have some small improvements,” Goodwin said. Her legs no longer shake. “I feel stronger. People say my colour is better. I’m not as pale as I was.” But suffering a progressive form of MS, she wanted more: she still gets around largely by wheelchair, as before. “I was hoping to get some of my mobility back.” She also remains more fatigued than she’d like. She’s hopeful these conditions will improve in the months ahead. Overall, Goodwin said she feels better, thanks to the treatment. “I don’t regret it for a minute.” She’s got her fingers crossed for Longo. “I wish Joe all the best.” Raised in Guelph, Longo, 43, is a chef by profession who ran a catering business. He was diagnosed with MS in 2004 and is today receiving Ontario disability support for an illness that leaves him too exhausted to pursue a career. Longo describes his MS as a “relapsing/remitting” form not as advanced as Goodwin’s. “I’m kind of an enigma. It’s an up and down rollercoaster thing.” That means there are times when he’s feeling relatively well, times when he’s less so.
It’s the fatigue that’s “the biggest battle for me.” It’s frustrating for him because he was an avid walker until he came down with the affliction.
“I want to take the ‘liberation’ therapy because I know so much about it,” Longo said, referring particularly to testimonials from others. “The feedback I’ve been getting is incredibly, incredibly encouraging.” Proponents, he said, point to a lifting of the typical “MS fog,” a sense of confusion and disorientation. They feel warmer and their eyesight has “cleared.” He expects to have two or three veins, depending on final testing, freed of obstructions. He was referring to two jugular veins and one closer to the chest area. The surgery may also require insertion of tubelike stents to keep those veins open. Longo conceded the treatment is not a cure. But it is a step forward, he added. It’s an option for the almost 78,000 people with MS in Canada to consider. MS societies in Canada and the U.S. jointly announced last summer $2.4 million in research to determine whether neck vein blockages, the basis of ‘liberation’ treatment, cause or contribute to multiple sclerosis.
vkirsch@guelphmercury.com

More Contact Info: Joe's phone number is 226-203-7779.  His friend Jackie Ross is spearheading the fundraising bank account and more.
Jackie's number is 519-823-2198.

City to tap reserve fund in search for its next civic chief

City to tap reserve fund in search for its next civic chief

Here is the form that I signed and delivered to the HR Department at City Hall indicating that I will refuse the salary Increase. I promised the residents of Ward 4 and the City of Guelph that I would refuse it. I will always put the tax-payers first.

I'ts been an honour serving you for the past few months Ward 4!

Thank you,

Cam Guthrie

Thought you'd like to know about this! Looks like fun!

Hi Cam,

We will be hosting a minor bantam hockey team from Sweden (Mora IK) in a few weeks. They will be touring the area and playing three exhibition games against teams from Guelph, Mississauga and Kitchener. The exhibition series will start in Guelph Monday April 4th @ 7 PM at the Sleeman Centre against the Junior Storm Minor Bantam AAA. Andy Van Hellemond will perform the ceremonial puck-drop before the game followed by and on-ice gift exchange by the players and the playing of the Swedish and Canadian national anthems.
Admission is free so if you could help to get the word out it would be appreciated.

City Staff Update:

I would like to provide you with a quick update on how the construction of the new Organics Waste Processing Facility is progressing.  It is still anticipated that the facility will be fully operational in December 2011.

As of the end of February 2011 $16,514,235.11 has been spent on this project.  This is 50.3% of the total project budget.

To the end of February, 60% of the actual construction has been completed.

Major Construction Activities that occurred during February were:
•    Removal of the south panels of the old maturation hall and commencement of tie-in of pre-engineered segments;
•    Completion of installation of pre-engineered building roof deck;
•    Continuing to install corrugated metal siding in administration area;
•    Backfilled Blower room with granular B and compacted;
•    Biofilter media installation for Biofilter Cell #2 and #3 completed;
•    Beam and hollow core slab installation completed for biofilter.

City Press Release:

Rate increases come into effect on April 1.

GUELPH, ON, March 16, 2011 – The rate for special event parking will increase to $5 on April 1. As part of the 2011 City budget, Council approved rate increases for special event parking and monthly parking permits.
 “We have 1,200 free parking spaces in addition to the 1,090 paid parking spaces throughout the downtown,” said Allister McIlveen, Manager, Traffic and Parking Services. “Anyone attending events at the River Run Centre or Sleeman Centre has the option of parking in either the paid or free parking spaces available.”
The special event parking fee is collected only at the East and West parkades and the Baker Street lot. The special event parking fee of $2 was first approved by City Council in 2009. Rate changes will help balance growing parking expenditures including maintenance of parking infrastructure to ensure public safety, longevity of parking lots and parking operations.
Guelph’s special event and monthly permit parking rates are similar to or lower than the median for parking fees when compared to other municipalities.

STAFF

City News Release:

GUELPH, ON, March 17, 2011– The City of Guelph invites residents to suggest names for five local properties by the submission deadline of 4:30 p.m. on Friday, March 25, 2011.  This Municipal Property and Building Commemorative Naming Policy initiative provides residents with an opportunity to participate in civic decision-making.  
Citizens have the opportunity to suggest names for three new neighbourhood parks (Cityview Heights Subdivision Park, Northview Subdivision Park, Kortright East Subdivision Park), a portion of the Trans Canada Trail (Eramosa Road to Woodlawn Road) and the Inter-modal Transit Terminal.  
The Naming Committee—which includes representation from Heritage Guelph, the Cultural Advisory Group, Development Planning, Community and Social Services, and two Council-appointed citizens—will evaluate submissions received through this open nomination process.  
The Naming Committee will give first consideration to those names honouring the civic, geographic or historic significance of each site’s neighbourhood/community.  Second consideration will be given to those names honouring an outstanding group or individual whose contribution meets at least one of the following criteria: demonstrated excellence, courage or exceptional service to the citizens of Guelph, Ontario, Canada or internationally; worked to foster equality and reduce discrimination; risked or gave his/her life to save or protect others.  In the event a current or former City employee is named, the individual will be required to have made an exceptional contribution to the city of Guelph outside of his/her capacity and regular duties.
Residents’ submissions should include background and/or biographical (individual or organization) information demonstrating that the proposed name is of significance to the community, and contain documentation, including verification of agreement with the naming proposal by the individual or organization being named.

Submissions can be e-mailed to rory.templeton@guelph.ca, brought to City Hall’s ServiceGuelph counter, or sent by mail.  All submissions must be addressed as follows:

Rory Barr Templeton, Planning & Building, Engineering and Environment
City of Guelph
1 Carden Street, 3rd Floor
Guelph ON  N1H 3A1

Well Cam,

I have to admit that at the beginning of this budget process I was rather anxious as to what our so called Guelph Leaders were proposing. You have done your best so far and it is greatly appreciated. There are no words of wisdom at this point, that may give you any light at the end of the tunnel other than to say "stick with your gut feel". You are proving to be one who can be trusted and appreciated in this office and will continue to have, mine and all those I can influence, support. There might be a need at the end of this process for some house cleaning and that will become your next challenge. One step at a time. Your efforts are truly appreciated.

J.G

Cam,

We have and are still watching the budget deliberations this morning. We are very impressed with the way you are conducting this operation. Thank you for standing up for what you believe in even though it is obvious you and two or three others are behind the 8 ball in this Council. We live in Ward two, one of the two in our Ward will vote with the Mayor no matter what and it is a breath of fresh air to listen to you.We look forward to this evening.
J&R F.

Dear Cam,

Kkeep up the good work.  We need people like you who care about taxpayers dollars ,every Department is trying to justify their existence and spending.

M.

Thsi is the City News Release re: 2011 Budget:

Guelph City Council approves 2011 budget Tax-supported operating budget to increase 3.14 per cent over 2010
 
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

GUELPH, ON, March 3, 2011 – Guelph City Council approved the 2011 tax-supported operating budget at $167,037,121, a 3.14 per cent increase over 2010. The capital budget was approved at $4,145,000. The impact on an average household in Guelph assessed at $281,700 will be roughly $67 this year.

For the last few years and in 2010 in particular, the City responded to economic pressures by passing budgets that focused primarily on affordability. To keep tax increases low, or affordable, the City reduced services, postponed some important investments and reduced its savings.

This year the City will reinstate may of the services that were cut in 2010 and begin to ensure Guelph’s budget is realistic and more sustainable given the level of service residents expect.

City Council heard over 20 public delegations during this year’s budget process, many of whom objected to the City's plan to increase transit fares while offering 30-minute service frequency in June, July and August and no service on statutory holidays in 2011.

City Council voted to restore 20-minute summer service frequency, and increase cash fares in September to partially offset the $120,000 cost of delivering holiday transit service on Canada Day, John Galt Day, Christmas Day, Boxing Day and Labour Day. "Less than 10 per cent of our riders use cash,” says Michael Anders, General Manager, Guelph Transit. “In September, an adult cash fare would increase 25 cents to three dollars.”

The budget was also adjusted to reflect the fact that Guelph’s new inter-modal transit terminal will open in November.

“The cost of opening and operating several new community facilities is having a big impact on this year’s budget,” says City Treasurer, Margaret Neubauer. “The City will move ahead with plans to open the new Civic Museum, the east end library branch, Guelph’s Provincial Offences Court, the inter-modal transit terminal, Market Square, the Organic Waste Processing Facility, new parks and trails and the South End Emergency Services Station in 2011.”

FOR MORE INFORMATION
Margaret Neubauer
City Treasurer, Chief Financial Officer
T 519-822-1260 x 5606
E margaret.neubauer@guelph.ca

Thanks for your efforts on the budget Cam. At least 3 more budgets overseen by this group, litigation involving the county and the builders of the new city hall that i guarantee you we will come out of on the losing side. A garbage system being built thats going to come in so far over budget that it will take your breath away (literally if you live near it) and be obselete the day it's finished; maybe its time to seriously consider relocating to another community. If on the other hand there was a way to get at least 50% of the population to vote in the next municipal election i'm confident there would be a much different group sitting around the horseshoe at city hall. One with the best interests of the majority of Guelphites as it's number 1 priority.If i could help with that next election let me know.
Thanks for listening
G.

The media will always edit. And that's okay. But I thought I'd post here my complete response so you can see exactly what I said to the Guelph Tribune media response re: 2011 Budget Process. Here it is:

Thanks for asking me Guelph Tribune!

I wasn’t surprised that the budget process was referred to committee. As this was my first budget, I had nothing to compare it to, but the comments coming from those that had been on council previous were consistent with my frustrations.

On the first night we were making progress. However, upon return for the second night, I felt like the process was being rushed. When $2million dollars was raided from our reserves to artificially make the tax rate look lower, it was as if the wind was taken out of our sails to look for further opportunities to cut spending. I was very disappointed, and in turn this is what compelled me to vote against the budget.

 I would like to see the following changes if possible:

1.    A clear process of how the budget night(s) will go.
2.    A methodical way of moving through the budget and knowing this in advance so we’re all on the same page.
3.    Having each councillor tell the mayor in advance of how many motions he or she would like to present for consideration. This doesn’t mean they would have to disclose what they are specifically, but just the number of motions.
4.    The layout of the budget itself could be better.
I’m thrilled that council has decided to do a complete review of all the services the city provides. This review should also help the 2012 budget process. It’s a great way for us to answer the question of “What does the city need to be in the business of”? I believe we owe it to the taxpayers by taking a long hard look at what they’re actually paying for.
Cam Guthrie

Sent: Monday, March 07, 2011 11:16 AM
 
Hi. I’m collecting views from council members about the budget process, for a story I plan to write tomorrow (Tuesday March 8) for our March 10 edition. Some dissatisfaction with the process used for the 2011 budget was expressed last week, and council referred the issue to the corporate administration, finance and emergency services committee for study.
What I’m wondering is:
• how would you describe this year’s budget process?
• how could the process be improved?
Please email me your response, if you want to be part of this story. Thanks very much.
Regards,
Guelph Tribune

I recieved the following email from a Ward 4 resident today:

Dear City Staff: It was a pleasure to meet you this morning whilst applying for and receiving my War Veteran Transit Pass. I would be remiss if I didn't let you know how impressed I was with the two ladies at reception who were,to say the least,most helpful ,cheery, capable and very professional in assisting me in this matter; truly excellent representatives of Guelph Transit. Please pass my regards to the two ladies involved.
Regards,
D.B

Here's the City Press Release!

City of Guelph enhances War Veteran Transit Pass program
Program extended to individuals who have served with the Canadian forces and allies.

GUELPH, ON, March 1, 2011 – Guelph Transit is extending the War Veteran Transit Pass program to any resident of Guelph who has actively served with the Canadian forces or its allies. “We recognize that many residents have varying levels of military service,” said Michael Anders, Guelph Transit’s General Manager. “Extending the eligibility criteria makes the transit pass program consistent with other City programs for war veterans.”  The free transit pass program was originally restricted to World War II and Korean War veterans and was valid for the lifetime of the holder. The revisions to the program will mean that qualified residents who have served in the Canadian Forces will be able to obtain a free annual transit pass. The City also offers veterans free parking permits, valid at City-owned off-street parking facilities and on-street parking meters. Vehicle parking permits are issued on an annual basis.  
Qualified residents will be able to obtain either a free transit pass or a parking permit. Free transit passes and parking permits cannot be used at the same time. Existing Guelph Transit lifetime pass holders are permitted to keep their passes without the need to reapply.
The City offers this program as a gesture of respect and acknowledgement of the personal sacrifice and commitment made by these veterans to the community and to Canada.

City of Guelph

Sent: March 8, 2011 2:27 PM

Thank you for doing your best during the 2011 budget deliberations in the face of the Farbridge juggernaut.  Thank you for recognizing that council could have done better for the citizens, and that using $700K from the rate stabilization reserve merely avoids the tough decisions.  The reality is that in creating more than 75 new positions, council has also created a significant ongoing financial commitment, and that $700K is only a one-year answer, but then you are the five people who actually seem to realize that.

I truly appreciate your efforts, particularly because it must be extremely frustrating to argue against a philosophy that already has the votes locked up. Councillor Kovach in particular, I have to give you full points for your persistence in fighting this fight over the many years.  I seriously wish you would run for mayor.  I would vote for you, and I know many others who would as well.  

By my count, if we were to elect just two more councillors who share your ideals, we could really turn this around.  We need more candidates like the five of you in ALL wards, candidates who are credible alternatives to the Farbridge allies.  I wish to have the opportunity to vote against the likes of those who feel my request for a reasonable property tax rate is invalid because Google Street View suggests I live in a nice house (o.k. she's not in my ward, and I've done a little well-reasoned interpreting as to why she's using "an internet tool" to look at my house, but it's clear she is not alone on council in what would seem to be socialist views).
Sincerely,
M.H

I received the following email. Here it is:

Mr. Guthrie,

I was aware that you tried to stop the parking and the raise, and are refusing the raise. And for this I applaud you. I appears to me you are the only councillor who gets it. I wish you were in my ward so I could vote for you (I live in ward 2). You listen to the people of the city and act in their best interest not your own.
Thank you for your hard work for us.

D.

I'm going to use this blog posting to put every single email that I've recieved about Councillor Laidlaw and her Googling. At the end of this post, I will post the reponse letter from Maggie. Here they are:

EMAIL #1.

Councillor Laidlaw:
It is absolutely outrageous for a member of City Council to categorize people according to how nice are houses they live in or how many cars were parked in the driveway, when Google went by videotaping. To dismiss the opinions of those, whose houses look to you "pretty nice" is flagrant violation of your mandate. The only honorable action after uttering such a statement would be a resignation from City Council. Unfortunately it is not very likely to happen in your case. Then it remains to be seen, if there will be a person in Ward 3, who will vote for you in the next election. The language you used to call your fellow councillor (off the record) only confirms, that you do not belong in the institution representing our city.
Last word about the 2011 budget: if Toronto and London can keep the tax increase at 0%, why cannot Guelph? Is it because too many councillors share the opinion of Councillor Laidlaw, that they can spent as they want, because the citizens of Guelph will have to pay, if they want to - or not?
S.S

Email #2.

Hello Cam,
It looks as though the votes my wife and I cast in the last municipal election paid off.  We were very impressed with your efforts to gain some reasonable reductions in the city budget.  It is interesting to see that the mayor and some other councillors seem to feel that the world just snaps back to normal after such a severe economic downturn, or that one member of council can actually gauge a resident’s well being by using Google Earth.  In fact, many people suffered badly during the recession, and it will take several years for them to regain what they lost. I am not a large or small ‘c’ conservative, but I do believe in fiscal responsibility.  It is nice to see that both councillors in our ward feel the same way. As frustrating as it no doubt will be, I trust that you and Gloria will stick to your positions. I have two key concerns, and many more of a less important nature, going forward. I would like to see our municipal government focused on items that are important to the people of the city, such as infrastructure, and less on things like twinning with a community in Italy (the benefits of which I haven’t seen), or meaningless competitions with other communities, to name just a couple. The other apprehension I have concerns the selection of the next CAO.  I fear there will be a push for an internal candidate, particularly the one who now controls everything from engineering to waste disposal.  It is probably the only time I would advocate going to an outside firm that specializes in the selection of people for a role of this nature. There is no question that I will disagree with some of your decisions during this term, but rest assured I am not going to chastise you every time that happens. You were the only candidate to come to my door, and you had the temerity to ask if I would put a sign on my lawn supporting you, which I did. It was just the second time I have done that in my 45 years in Guelph. If you stay on your current track, I’ll go out and campaign for you in the next election.
G.H

Email #3.

In respect to Maggie Laidlaw's attitude and behaviour, if there was some way of excusing her from her position, it should seriously be considered.  To refer to another councillor in a derogatory term really shows a person's level of respect, not only there, but in all areas.  To even publicly admit that she "does not pay much attention to emails from residents who live in pretty nice houses" after "googling" where they live, is pretty unbelievable.  To think that seniors want to defer their taxes until they leave their homes has the picture all wrong and again reveals a disrespect from them.  This is only means that they are passing the burden down to their children...keep it in the family.  This is a backward picture of what we are suppose to do, which is bless our children and not curse them with a financial burden.
It is very discouraging to think that we have another four years of this.  There should be shame, not pride in the burden that has been passed to us.
Respectfully,
M.C

Email #4.

Hello Cam,
I was shocked and dismayed to read in yesterday’s Tribune that Maggie Laidlaw has been caught on camera calling a fellow Councilor an A**HOLE. If this is true she MUST be forced to resign. It is a public disgrace for both the Mayor and the citizens of Guelph to have someone on council who embarrasses herself and our city. It was also disturbing to see that in a year when the tax payer is being asked to absorb ANOTHER Guelph City Tax Hike that councilors voted to increase their wages and the wages of our spend first budget second Mayor.
Disgusting!!
B.H

Email #5.

 I wish to have the opportunity to vote against the likes of those who feel my request for a reasonable property tax rate is invalid because Google Street View suggests I live in a nice house (o.k. she's not in my ward, and I've done a little well-reasoned interpreting as to why she's using "an internet tool" to look at my house, but it's clear she is not alone on council in what would seem to be socialist views).
Sincerely,
M.H

Email #5.

Dear Ms Laidlaw
I am a proud resident of Guelph and known by my councillors of Ward 4. I support this city and all that it is whenever I speak out of town. Within Town, I like many others complain and "whine" about various things in this city. That is not to say that I do not respect city hall. On the contrary, once provided with complete information I support council decisions. Lately, I have found interaction with our Mayor, through her blog, to be very beneficial in understanding directions this city is taking. I did not support Karen in the last election, but I do respect her and the chair. I have never been embarrassed by our council except for two times before. In both those situations, those people are no longer involved in the city. Your recent comment regarding whining tax payers and based on the google picture of their home have no right to complain, is beyond comprehension and or words. As Mr Scott Tracey has stated publicly, there is just too many things wrong with this to comment. I will comment though, as to my overall thought. What you have indicated to me is that the more self worth I have, the more I should be taxed. It says to me that there is no accountability at city hall to the very people who gave you this job, of looking after our city and it's common needs. It says you are un-reproachable and above all. Mayor Karen Farbridge has and I believe, trying to stand on accountability and communication, among other things. You have gone against all that is being attempted to change for the better. I do not know how you can continue as a Councillor after making such a comment. I am of mixed emotions in total embarrassment, sympathy to you and empathy to those commenting publicly. With the attitude you have shown, you do not represent me on any level. Retiring from public office would be an option for you.
J.G

MAGGIE LAIDLAW RESPONSE:

I have had two emails and two phone calls about this issue.  Therefore I am responding as I did to the other person who emailed me (see below).  I would appreciate it if you would publish this as a response letter-to-the-editor, Chris.  I am sick and tired of pussy-footing around people who are, selfishly, only interested in themselves. They have no concept of the common good, or of lending a helping hand to those much less fortunate that they are, and anyone who does think of others, besides themselves, are labelled as "commies" or "socialists", or other derogatory adjectives. You should have heard the phone message that was left for me, by some despicable coward who used a public telephone so that he couldn't be traced. He used the "socialist" term as a slur (personally, I regard it as a compliment!), the f-word, the c-word (and I don't mean Conservative!) and every other derogatory term he could think of.  He probably lives in a mansion!

In any case, here is my response to one person:
======================================================
I have often wondered, over the years, whether the people who complain most bitterly about, for example, the city's investment in public transit, community facilities, libraries, taxes, etc. are the ones who could most afford to pay taxes and, in a very small way, "share the wealth".  From my experience, these people are the "I'm all right, Jack" people who do not care one bit for those in our community who are less fortunate than we are, and who are financially disadvantaged, perhaps because of mental or physical illness - and that includes the "working poor", which is the type of family I grew up in.  Over the years, I have grown somewhat cynical about the human race's ability to show empathy.  In the last couple of weeks, of the many emails I received about the budget and other things, I randomly picked out the three that appeared to be most vehemently opposed to a tax hike of any sort, and who were, in fact, pushing for a zero tax increase.  I googled their homes just to get an inkling of whether my theory might be correct.  That is all that this amounted to, and if the press chose to run with it, so be it.  I have developed a thick skin over the years and no longer care what is written about me.  I live by the adage first uttered by a former U of G graduate and renowned economist, John Kenneth Galbraith"  "Comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable".  I feel that sometimes the "comfortable" need a good shaking up to remind them how the other half lives, and that was what I was hoping to do with that comment.  My family is quite comfortably off,and I pay taxes just like everyone else in Guelph, but I am very willing to support a tax increase if it means that we can get more affordable housing, better public transit, etc.  I am not boasting, just stating a fact.
Maggie Laidlaw, Ph.D., R.T.
maggie.laidlaw@guelph.ca

Updated: March 15th, 2011

I have emailed P. back with the following:

Hi P.,
I’m sorry I haven’t responded until now. My grandfather passed away on Thursday night and I’m just getting back to my emails now. I wanted to thank you for your email. It means a lot to me for you to take the time to write that letter to the editor. I don’t know if they published your letter but I have on my website at www.ward4news.ca.
Thanks again P.!
Cam Guthrie

March 11th, 2011

I have recieved the following email from P. Here it is:

FYI - a letter I submitted today to the Mercury.
Imagine This:
What if Councillor Guthrie revealed at a City Council meeting that he had recently been using Google Street View to check out the homes of people advocating for subsidized transit funding to get an idea of their economic standing based on what their house looked like.
The hue and cry would be so loud that sales of hearing protection in Guelph would spike dramatically. Substitute Tim Hudak or Stephen Harper for Councillor Guthrie in the scenario above and think on it some more.
Instead, except for the excellent work of Mercury reporter Scott Tracey, if one strains their hearing really hard they might be able to hear the first sounds of crickets chirping this spring.
P.S

Last Thursday night, my grandfather Gordon Guthrie passed away with myself and my family beside him. It was very peacful and I know that he is with his saviour Jesus Christ in heaven. I was and still am blessed to have known him. He was an amazing man and had a huge impact on Guelph.

Due to the visitations and funeral etc...I've been away from my emails. So, I will get caught up over the next 3-5 days.

Thanks everyone!

Cam

Call for nominations: 15th annual Mayor's Awards - Media Release

GUELPH, ON, March 7, 2011 – Mayor Karen Farbridge is now accepting nominations of Guelph residents for the 2011 Mayor's Awards.
The annual award recognizes citizens who are making a difference through service to the community. Past winners have made contributions in many different facets of community life, including the arts and culture sector, the environment, health and mental health, labour, multiculturalism, and sports and recreation, among others.
Nominators are asked to write a letter outlining their nominee’s achievement and how he or she is making a difference in Guelph. Nomination letters can be e-mailed to mayor@guelph.ca or mailed to Mayor Karen Farbridge, 1 Carden Street, Guelph, Ontario N1H 3A1. Letters must include contact information for both the nominator and the nominee. Nominations must be received no later than April 15, 2011.
“Recognizing outstanding citizens is one of the great privileges of being mayor. I am always amazed at the many different ways Guelphites make a difference, and I look forward to reading this year’s nomination letters,” said Mayor Farbridge.
Mayor’s Award winners will be recognized at the annual Guelph Awards of Excellence gala, hosted by the Guelph Chamber of Commerce. This year’s awards dinner will be held on June 23.
For more information, visit guelph.ca/mayorsawards.

March 8th, 2011 - City Media Release

Court action to prevent Board of Health from imposing debt on City unilaterally

Plans would cost Guelph taxpayers $10 million; City believes there are alternatives.

GUELPH, ON, March 8, 2011 – The City of Guelph has started a court action requesting an injunction to stop the Board of Health from incurring costs related to the acquisition or construction of capital facilities or from entering into agreements to this end until the legal authority for the Board to do so is determined. The court action follows the City of Guelph's resolution to not support the Board of Health in its plans to proceed unilaterally with the construction or acquisition of a new headquarters.
The City of Guelph continues to believe the Board of Health does not have the authority to incur debt in the City's name without its consent. The cost to Guelph taxpayers, should the Board of Health proceed as planned, is $10 million. The impact on the City of Guelph's ability to fund other projects could be significant.
"Guelph City Council has agreed it will urge the Counties of Dufferin and Wellington to not support the Board of Health in proceeding with direct ownership of property," says Guelph's mayor Karen Farbridge. "We will be requesting the counties participate, along with the City, in meetings with the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care to discuss alternatives that would not jeopardize Provincial participation in funding accommodation costs or add to the City's debt."
The City has been clear about its opposition to funding $10 million in capital costs for the construction of a new building in Guelph without participation from the Province in funding a portion. The City has been working with the Board to assess other proposals since 2007.
Capital funds for new facilities were not part of Guelph's 2011 budget approved last week. The Board of Health withdrew from its scheduled opportunity to present its budget on February 15, thereby eliminating Guelph City Council's ability to ask questions and comment on the Board's capital plans.
While the City of Guelph acknowledges a new location is needed, it hopes an injunction will afford the chance to determine its legal obligations to fund these types of projects.  The City is committed to exploring alternatives, and remains hopeful an alternative can be found.

STAFF

Here they are:

2011_Budget_Adjustments_Summary_March_7,_2011.pdf

Updated: March 8th, 2011

Thanks a lot M! I really do appreciate your encouragement to me. In this position as councilor, I can tell you, that taking the time to email me means a lot!
If I can ever help your with anything, please contact me!
Take care,
Cam

Sent: March 8, 2011 8:02 PM

Hi Cam:
I very much apprecite your efforts in having the 2011 budget hit 3.1%.  I understand you voted against this increase and for that I applaud you.  I would very much like to see Guelph, for once, achieve a 0% increase.  Again thank you for making our "no more tax increases" voice heard.  I really think our Mayor and some of the other Council Members need to get a handle on how to properly spend our tax dollars.
M

I just wanted everyone to know that I'll try to post the "Questions & Answers" from council regarding the 2011 budget later on today. You can access it currently online at www.guelph.ca or at councillor Ian Findlay's blog. I wanted to share with you though that we were told that whenever we had budget related questions, we were to send them into one specific STAFF person so that all questions could be compiled and sent out as one complete docuement with all councillor questions. During the last few weeks, while preparing for the budget, I of course recieved questions from Ward 4 residents about issues not related to the budget and I sent them into STAFF to respond. What's happened is that these non-budget related questions have somehow been forwarded by STAFF onto the individual compiling the budget question and answers and that person has now included them for the final document. I bring this up because if you read some of my questions, you might be asking yourself, "Why is Cam asking about metal dog tags for the 2011 budget?" And it doesn't stop there. I've sent in about 6 or 7 other questions completely unrelated to the budget that have been included. No one has brought this to my attention, but as I was reading the 50 page document, I came across these and thought it best to let you know up front that I'm not micro-managing things so much that I want to know about metal dog tags. Thanks!
Cam

Recieved this email from STAFF today:

We have been hit with another surprise winter snow fall, that is…we didn’t expect this much snow to fall last night.
This snowfall appears on the radar that it will end by later this morning.   We have realized about 10cm of accumulation since the start of snow fall last night. Due to the amount of snow already on the ground a city wide plow out has been initiated. This operation will also help with the possibility of flooding due to forecasted milder temperatures along with rain fall.
Cleanup of the snow has begun and will continue through the night.

The following is a summary of our activities and planned activities;

ROADS;

Roads crews are working on the main arterials (Salt Routes) and collector roads, (Secondary Salt Routes).  A city wide plow-out of residential streets will begin today at 10:00am and should be complete by early tomorrow morning.  Road crews will transition into the residential roads once the mains and arterials are complete to apply traction materials behind the contractor plows.  

SIDEWALKS, CITY OWNED STEPS AND BUS STOPS, including DOWNTOWN

Sidewalk crews were mobilize this morning at 7:00am on the high pedestrian traffic arterial, collector and bus routes.  Residential sidewalk plowing will follow and operations will continue through the night until completed.  
The downtown sidewalks will continue to be plowed and sanded throughout the day today.  
 

City wide storm cleanup will continue Monday with clearing and sanding of all pedestrian cross walks and PXO's once sidewalk plowing activity is complete.
 

FACILITIES;

All city owned facility parking lots, access roads and entrance ways were worked on through the night and are in good shape for the day. Final cleanup service to these areas will be provided tomorrow morning beginning at 5:00am when parking lots are vacant to allow ease of mobility.

Updates will be provided to you as conditions warrant or if current information changes.

As always, your patience, co-operation and understanding is very much appreciated.

Regards,

STAFF

Feb 25th, 2010

Thought this was interesting and so I'd thought I'd share it with you:

Here is a count of properties with only residential assessment (i.e. RT assessment only)
Ward 1             8741
Ward 2             6526
Ward 3             5644
Ward 4             8362
Ward 5             6843
Ward 6             8850
Ward 7             8281
Ward 8             5483
Ward 9             6611
Ward 10           6876
 Total              72,217

Feb 25th, 2011
Guelph residents to be surveyed in early March - Survey marks first step in update to City's Strategic Plan

Starting in early March, phones will ring in hundreds of Guelph households as the City of Guelph surveys residents on their priorities and aspirations for their community over the next four years.
The survey results will be used to update the City's Strategic Plan, The City that Makes a Difference, a document that guides the City's goals, objectives, and priorities. They will also provide Council and staff with statistically-valid information about the community's views.
Environics Research Group, one of Canada's leading public research firms, will conduct the survey. President and CEO of Environics Barry Watson provided Council with an overview of the survey's process and content at a meeting February 23rd. He explained to Council, “A scientific survey is the only way to get an accurate, representative picture of what the public thinks.”
Other steps in the updating of the strategic plan will include workshops with Council and the City's executive team to revise the mission statement, set priorities, review services and agree upon strategic initiatives for this term of Council. Workshops will be led by Chris Bart, Principal, Lead Professor and Founder of The Director's College and Professor of Strategy and Governance at McMaster University's DeGroote School of Business.  
“A key focus of this process will be revising and refining the City of Guelph’s mission statement to more clearly define the City’s core business,” said Bart. At the February 23rd meeting, Council and the City’s Executive Team agreed to conduct a complete review of services and programs in the context of the City’s core business.
In June, the City will seek the community's input on the draft revised strategic plan through a series of public meetings.
About the Survey
The 10-minute survey will be conducted in English and three other languages among a representative sample of 600 residents aged 18 and older. The sample will yield an overall margin of error of +/- 4.0 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.  Questions on age, gender, education, income, ethnicity, and ward will help ensure the demographics of the sample mirror Guelph's population as a whole.
The City of Guelph last conducted a public opinion survey of this size in 2008. That survey led to new customer service standards, a corporate communications plan, and reviews of sidewalk snow clearing and building services, among other initiatives.

City of Guelph

Updated: Feb 25th, 2011

I have responded to L.H with the following email:

Hi L.!
Thank you so much for taking the time to email me about the situation with the train. In fact, both my wife and I sang on the train for 3 of the Santa rides just last year! Unfortunately, I have a conflict of interest regarding the train and I can't comment any further. However, you can discuss these issues with any other councilor and especially Gloria Kovach okay!
Take care and have a good weekend!
Cam Guthrie!

Sent: February 25, 2011 2:08 PM

Hello,
I have recently heard the Guelph Junction Express will no longer be running and that the city is selling the train.

  I am deeply disheartened as this was a wonderful part of Guelph. It offered amazing local trips at great rates. The children's Christmas train has become part of many,many family traditions. Their Santa Claus was the best I ever saw. I was looking forward to taking my children on this for many years to come! The dinner trains were amazing and I have seen alot of seniors really enjoy the trip. A lot cannot travel but this gives them something to look forward to every year. These train excursions sell out and fast. It something this city definitly uses and wants. There are not many things to do in Guelph for the family that is really entertaining and affordable for the entire family.And let's face it it is something different and fun. Alot of kids love going on trains and this makes it available to them locally. I have seen what it would cost to keep this going and let's face it it is a drop in the bucket compared to what the new city hall and it's problems cost this community. I am asking you to save the Santa, Easter , Dinner trains  for the residents of this city.
Thank you for your time
Sincerely,
L.H

Feb 25th, 2011

I just recieved this media release today:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Explore Grand River Country from your iPhone Grand River Country launches iPhone App for travelers to discover the best this region has to offer while traveling
 
Now there’s an easy way to discover Grand River Country right at your fingertips. And best of all, it’s free.

The outdoor adventures, scenery, accommodation and dining destinations of Guelph have never been more accessible to visitors planning their next trip. Launching today, and available for free from the Apple iTunes App Store is Grand River Country’s best new trip planning companion for the iPhone, an easy-to-use App featuring the best of attractions, dining, accommodation, festivals and recreation found throughout the Grand River watershed.

Travelers are increasingly relying on mobile devices to access destination information, and the App offers Grand River community partners in Guelph, Elora & Fergus, Wellington North, St. Jacobs & Woolwich, Brantford and County of Brant, Six Nations of the Grand River Territory, and Haldimand County a new way of reaching and engaging visitors.

“I am excited to pass this one-of-a-kind benefit on to our tourism partners,” says Sue Trerise, Senior Business Development Specialist-Tourism for Guelph Tourism Services. “We are working hard to keep up with the changing technologies available to the tourism sector.”

Visitors planning to visit Guelph can browse over 40 Guelph business listings with the iPhone App or search by activity and location, build a trip itinerary, save listings to a favorites list, send out a tweet to friends on Twitter, ‘like’ a location or activity on Facebook, and even book a reservation at a local inn or restaurant directly from within the App.

“It is one more way that Guelph is reaching out to the Ontario market. It will allow us to connect with a demographic that has been a challenge to access in the past.” says Trerise. “It’s thrilling to be leading the industry and interacting with our visitors through a new medium. It extends the reach we currently offer with the Guelph Tourism website.”

Travelers can download Grand River Country’s App from Apple’s iTunes store for free.

About Grand River Country
The Grand River is located just an hour west of Toronto. Grand River Country is a group of municipalities (DMO’s - Destination Marketing Organizations), including the Grand River Conservation Authority, promoting tourism in the Grand River Country region. We focus on the area’s heritage, arts and fantastic outdoor recreation opportunities, many of which led to the Grand’s designation as a Canadian Heritage River. grandrivercountry.com

A few weeks ago during the Waste water - Water budget I questioned the Conservation department costs. And rightly so. Some in the community don't like it, but might I remind them that asking for reviews of services IS MY JOB. It's what I was elected on and I'm following through on my commitment to the people of ward 4 and Guelph. With that being said, someone wrote the following article today that highlights exactly why I was asking these questions.

Here's the article:

http://www.guelphmercury.com/opinion/columns/article/492384--turn-off-the-tap-on-water-conservation-rebates

Feb 23rd, 2011

City’s strategic plan to focus on affordability

GUELPH — What a difference four years make.

In 2007, when city councillors drew up Guelph’s existing strategic plan, the economy was booming, jobs were abundant and consumer confidence was soaring.

This year, councillors and staff face a different picture, said Brenda Boisvert, the city’s manager of strategic planning and corporate initiatives, at a strategic planning meeting at city hall on Wednesday evening.

“I think the major difference is that there’s been a recession,” she said, adding the revised plan will have to strike a balance between meeting demands for service and limiting costs.

In her opening remarks, Mayor Karen Farbridge said ideally, the priorities set forth in the strategic plan should inform the budget process. For the 2011 budget, however, “the reality is, that’s not going to be the case,” since the budget will already be in place by the time the strategic plan is in place.

Boisvert broke the ice on the revision process Wednesday by quizzing councillors and staff on demographic and statistical changes in the city since the 2006 census.

While voter turnout and the number of building permits issued in Guelph are in decline, the city’s population, unemployment and transit ridership are on the rise, she said.

Next, Boisvert introduced Barry Watson, president and chief executive officer of Toronto-based pollster Environics Research Group, the company that will conduct a telephone survey of Guelph residents on a range of subjects as part of the strategic planning process.

“It’s absolutely the case that a scientific survey is the only way to get a representative picture of what the public thinks,” Watson told the mayor, 12 councillors and handful of senior city staffers, adding despite new challenges, the accuracy of telephone surveys remains “as good as it’s always been.”

Councillors were shown a draft of a survey framework with focus areas such as service quality, quality of life and communication.

Asked if any focus areas were missing, several councillors weighed in. Ward 3 Coun. Maggie Laidlaw suggested it was “sinful” there was virtually no mention of the environment in the draft framework, while Ward 5 Coun. Leanne Piper said a “pulse check” on the public’s definition of “high-density” development is in order.

“We have a lot of angst in the community about highrise development,” Piper said.

Much of the meeting was devoted to a discussion led by Chris Bart, a professor of strategy and governance from McMaster University, who will facilitate the whole planning process.

Bart said the municipality’s current mission statement is “pretty deficient,” telling councillors: “it’s to your credit you’ve decided to take another look at it.”

When Bart outlined two exercises aimed at identifying services that could be reduced or cut from next year’s budget, several councillors, including Ward 4 reps Gloria Kovach and Cam Guthrie, responded enthusiastically.

The strategic plan is to be completed over a five-month period at a total cost of $58,000.

Feb 23rd, 2011

I received this email today. COME OUT TO THIS!!

KidsAbility of Guelph Wellington is holding its 5th annual 1km Fun Run/Walk, and we would like to invite you to our event, to support our efforts to help kids with disabilities reach their potential. Our event takes place at the:
West End Community Centre, 21 Imperial Road South Guelph (Rink #2), on
Sunday June 5th, 2011 from 10:00 am to 12:00 noon.

Here's a PDF of the event:

Final_Run_Brochure_11.pdf

Feb 23rd, 2011

Just recieved this email from a Ward 6 resident:

Cam - looking at your site - it's quite good - I've now bookmarked it so I can read your accountability report - great work !

J.L

Feb 21st, 2011

I just recieved the following email from a Guelph resident. Here it is:

Cam,
Me again. Having spoken to a lot more people then I usually do about local politics I have yet to find a supporter of our policies. They find over the top spending on what amounts to be vanity projects bewildering and completly out of touch with what it takes to live in Guelph in 2011. Cam your message of fisical responsibility resonates with a huge segment of the local population. I just want to say we're with you and to go after this what ever I want mind set as aggresively as possible.
G.

Here's a notice from the city regarding Storm Water Management.

Click on the link: Storm Water Management Plan - Public Notice.pdf

Thanks,

Cam

This is the media release that was sent to me on Feb 8th, 2011 for the upcoming survey Guelph Hydro will be doing to see about the potential impact of electric cars to our community. As soon as this email hit my computer on the 8th, I immediatley emailed back Guelph Hydro asking them what the cost of this survey was going to be. They called me back and told me that it's a survey of 200 people at a cost of $15,000. I have to be honest, I think it's a waste of money.

Ayways, here's the media release for you to read:

Guelph_Hydro_Electric_Vehicle_Survey 2011.pdf

Thanks,

Cam

The link below will take you to the just released Development Priorities 2011 Report.

Development Plan 2011.pdf

Enjoy the read!

Thanks,

Cam

Feb 20th, 2011

I recieved the following email from T.S a Ward 4 resident. Here it is:

Cam.
Just a quick line to show my support to your bravery in suggesting that the current budget deliberations are in fact not an exercise in futility and that spending needs to be kept in check. Any property tax increase over 3% for base running of the City is purely reckless in my opinion. Guelph goes need to grow.... however responsibly and in a manner to which we can afford. If we cannot afford the rink at City Hall, the new Museum, underpasses, overpasses bridge reconstruction and parking lots for GO, we just need to admit it. I for one do not appreciate the fact that my children will be funding debt for irresponsible actions made today with taxpayer's money.
Our property taxes are high enough. I also wish the Mayor would stop comparing Guelph to other communities for spending habits. If they are not in tune with reality, why are we choosing to emulate them? 
Keep at it Cam.. you are deserving of making your point..
Regards,
T.S

Feb 20th, 2011

I recieved this email and thought I'd share it with you: Here it is:

Dear Editor:
I too am appalled at the suggestion of 5.67% Budget increase, recommended by City Staff.
It is great to read Cam Guthrie's comments in the Tribune of 3 Feb.
It seems to me that Council is more interested in hiring a person to look over items, which is their job to do. I thought they were voted in to oversee the City's spending, policies and in general be interested in its people.
Not just the few that are in higher bracket incomes.
As a senior I feel this city is becoming so exclusive, that the ordinary person cannot keep going.
We too would like a standard of living, that we have worked for and payed taxes for, so lets pull together and see outside the glass bowl
Good work Cam ! I am glad I live in Ward 4. Gloria Kovach and Cam Guthrie work for us.
Respectfully,

P.

Feb 17th, 2011

With the good emails, you sometimes get the....not so good. Here it is:

Councillor doesn’t understand water conservation program:

Feb 20th, 2011

I recived this email today. Here it is:

I was reading the Tribune on Tuesday,and came across a letter to the editor.
I must say you are truly a 'concerned' representative of the Ward,not to mention one that understands who and how the City's bills are being paid. I would be most 'happy' to support you in any 'public' office position. I will also pass on to my neighbours the type os councillor you are.

R.

It's always nice to get these types of emails:

"Cam,
I have been watching to how the new council is operating and I have been very impressed with your willingness to question what is put in front of you.  Your efforts are appreciated - keep up the good work."

P.

The Guelph Mercury last week decided to write an article about the upcoming potential tax increase of 5.67 percent and decided to call all of the "rookie councillors" for their feedback except one. Me. They didn't contact me for comment at all. I don't care about not getting contacted, but what has transpired since the article has been interesting. I've had 4 phone calls to my home and several emails from angry Guelphites coming to the conclusion that because I was not included in the article, that I must have then been in support of the tax increase. This is the furthest from the truth.

And so here I am at 11:00pm on Saturday night writing this post to let you know that this is exactly how I feel about the proposed increase. Click here:

http://guelphtribune.ca/news/article/228928

Thank you,

Cam

Feb 18th, 2011

This email was sent me today. Wow, this guy did a lot of work! Here it is:

Further to my emails of Febrary 10 and 11 below, I have now completed a study of Ontario Hockey League (OHL) parking rates.  My findings are most enlightening and I hope these will help inform Council's decisions.

According to the Mercury's February 8 article on this issue, City parking staff are recommending the proposed increase because many cities charge much more for special event parking than Guelph does.  Findings of my informal research do not support that claim, especially with respect to OHL Storm games.

The OHL consists of 20 teams, with 17 in Ontario and 3 in the USA.  I questioned team administrators and, where necessary, contacted municipal parking staff, arena management companies and parking administration contractors associated with various facilities.

Of the twenty cities, 75 percent (15) do not charge municipal parking fees directly associated with OHL games.  (There may be paid municipal parking within walking distance of game facilities, but rates remain unchanged from regular, non-game days.  These include:
•    Barrie Colts
•    Belleville Bulls
•    Brampton Battalion
•    London Knights*
•    Mississauga St. Michael's Majors
•    Niagara Ice Dogs
•    Oshawa Generals
•    Erie Otters (limited but free)
•    Kitchener Rangers
•    Owen Sound Attack
•    Plymouth Whalers*
•    Saginaw Spirit*
•    Sarnia Sting
•    Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds
•    Windsor Spitfires*

* Notes

London Knights:  Normal, daily municipal parking rates remain constant without any reference to activity levels in the arena, such as OHL games, special events (or no events whatsoever).  Coin operated pay and display - $2.00 per hour or $6.00 maximum municipal fee from 5:00 pm to midnight, seven days per week, even when the Labatt Centre is dark and empty.  

Plymouth Whalers (Michigan):  Compuware Sports Arena is privately owned and charges US $5.00 for OHL games (i.e., private parking).  It charges higher private parking for "special events" depending on the attraction.  Hockey is not deemed a "special event".

Saginaw Spirit (Michigan):  The Dow Event Center (county owned) has contracted SMG (a major facilities management corporation) to control and operate this arena.  SMG'S private parking fees are US $5.00, but Spirit season ticket holders receive a 40% discount by purchasing a season parking pass for US $129 - resulting in approximately US $3.40 per game.  SMG does not consider OHL games to be "special events".  For concerts and other shows, their private parking rates increase to US $10.

Windsor Spitfires:  Free for first 1,000 vehicles.

Only twenty-five percent of OHL municipalities (including Guelph) charge parking fees directly targeting OHL games:
•    Ottawa '67s:  Parking for all commercial events at the city's Landsdowne Park (OHL games, soccer, football, concerts or trade shows) costs $5.00.  But due to frequent individual and concurrent event programming, this rate applies "almost every day of the year" and is reportedly tantamount to a regular daily municipal parking fee for using those lots.  In fact, the same fee applies to those who park at Landsdowne only to skate for free on the Rideau Canal nearby.

However, Ottawa '67s season ticket holders alone are allowed to purchase prepaid discounted parking passes in volume.  They buy 10 parking ticket coupons for $40 (a 20% discount).  Season ticket holders therefore park for $4.00 per game.  According to the city's Landsdowne Park Event Manager, it's "a win-win arrangement".  The '67s team, as a major tenant, is selling more seasons tickets with this incentive - while the city is reportedly collecting additional parking revenue through more regular and frequent hockey attendance.
•    Kingston Frontenacs:  Coin operated pay and display lots.  For OHL games at the K-Rock Centre, fans pay $5.00 immediately across the street, or $3.00 only one block from the rink - (about the same distance from the west end of our West Parkade to seats on the east side of the Sleeman arena).  Kingston does not consider Frontenacs games to be special events.  Parking for K-Rock concerts in the same lots costs more - $8.00 at the arena and $5.00 at the other nearby location.

•    Peterborough Petes:  $3.00 for OHL games and the same for special events.

•    Sudbury Wolves: Municipal parking across the street is $2.00 for OHL games - same for special events.  (There is also very limited preferred parking immediately next to the arena at $3.00, but since all revenue from those sales goes to the Wolves team, this constitutes private parking.)

•    Guelph Storm: $2.00 municipal fee, same for concerts, shows.

At greatly increased expense, our City chose to build the Guelph Sports and Entertainment Centre (Sleeman Centre) in its present location to promote redevelopment of our downtown core.  Unfortunately, that decision proved even more costly than anticipated and we are still servicing substantial related debts as the sole owner.  "Build it and they will come" was the underlying strategy.  The proposed increase in event parking, including Guelph Storm parking clearly runs contrary to our overall objectives for downtown redevelopment.

Hopefully, like the large majority of other OHL municipalities, Guelph will stop charging special event  parking fees targeting OHL games.  On a weekly and bi-weekly basis, these regularly scheduled games in "Hockeyville" put bums in seats, shoppers in stores and diners in restaurants.
C.S

Updated: Feb 19th, 2011

I have responded with the following email to B&N. Here it is:

Thank you B&N for your email. Unfortunatley, tough decisions need to be made for this budget and I need to look at all options. However, I have not heard back from the library yet as to the impact the bookmobile has on our city. Only when I have more info will I decide which way to go on this issue. You expressing your concerns will have equal weight though. Thanks again for your email!
Cam Guthrie

Feb 19th, 2011

I recieved the following email from a B&N concerned about the future of the bookmobile. Here it is:

Dear Mr Guthrie
We are  alarmed by the reports that there is a possibility that the bookmobile may be discontinued as a budget cutting measure. This is a very important  asset for seniors in our community who have limited mobility either because health limitations or finances. Reading is a pass time that is both educational and stimulating for those who are struggling with aging. The ability to walk a short distance  at no expense and get reading material for one or two weeks is something we treasure. Please do your best to retain this service for the citizens of Guelph.
Sincerely,

B&N

Feb 15th, 2011

I recieved this email from a Ward 2 resident:

Hi Cam,

I was impressed with your philosophy , freeze, reduce, evaluate and eliminate as appeared in a recent Guelph Tribune newspaper.

As a resident of Ward 2 , I have been on many occasions in contact with Councilors, Mayors and city staff, in fact since Joe Young's tenure as Mayor, mainly for the purpose as you're quoted ,  ' questioning tax hike ', budgets and various cost reduction projects, policies and future trends, ie Utilities. As a concerned and dedicated citizen of Guelph for over 40 years, for most part it has been somewhat frustrating exercise getting satisfaction.

My focus is always cost improvements or safety concerns usually based on data I have collected or my engineering background..

Furthermore, I also notice today, that the City of Waterloo increased their
2011 residential tax rate by 1.9%. Not too shabby ! However I haven't compared their average over 5 years like I did with Windsor at 5-3% over the same peiod. In closing , I hope your tax hike efforts will be rewarding  as I'm sure as a new member of council it will likely be a challenge for you to get concensus with some of your colleagues.

All  the best

Sincerely
B.A

I have a new website that I hope can be a useful tool for me to use (and maybe others?). Please check out my new website at www.abetterguelph.ca

THANKS!

Cam

I have recieved an email from a resident here in Ward 4 on Whitelaw Rd that is elderly and has a heart condition. She is finding it very difficult to shovel out the end of her driveway after the road plow goes by.

If you can help out this person, please let me know okay!

Thanks,

Cam

Another email about the Tribune Article:

Hi Cam,
You are right on with your comments in the Trib.
Keep up the good work.
M.M

Just recieved this email from a Ward 4 resident. Here it is:

For a new counselor you have been in the paper quite a few times.  I agree with you on the tax increase, wasted spending, increasing staff and pay increases to name a few.  Water is going up again too.  The only way I can conserve is to turn my water off.  Guelph is becoming very expensive to live.
You get'em Cam!!!!
D.

Click here to read my comments about the proposed 5.67% tax increase.

http://guelphtribune.ca/news/article/228928

Thank you,

Cam

Good afternoon everyone;

Welcome to week 9 of 20!....were almost half way there!!

As promised below is an update of our activity, progress and anticipated completion of the work related to fighting this storm.

The winter storm warning has ended.  We anticipate the snow fall will end by 4:00pm this afternoon.  Cleanup of the snow will continue through the night.
Snow accumulation amounts received from this storm vary by location due to the strong winds experienced early in the storm and the resultant blowing and drifting that has occurred.  A good approximation puts the accumulation in the vicinity of 20cm.  We anticipate the winds to die down this evening and for the sun to shine once again tomorrow.  Temperatures however will remain on the cold side.

The following is a summary of our current situation;

ROADS;

Roads crews are still working on the main arterials (Salt Routes) and collector roads, (Secondary Salt Routes).  A city wide plow-out of residential streets will begin this afternoon at 5:00pm.  Road crews will transition into the residential roads once the mains and arterials are complete to apply traction materials behind the contractor plows.  

SIDEWALKS, CITY OWNED STEPS AND BUS STOPS, including DOWNTOWN

Sidewalk crews are currently out on the high pedestrian arterial, collector and bus routes.  This task will be complete by 6;00pm.  Residential sidewalk plowing will begin at that time.  The residential sidewalk plowing activity will continue non-stop around the clock until completed sometime tomorrow morning.  
The downtown sidewalks have been plowed and sanded throughout the day today and are reported in good condition.  

City wide storm cleanup will continue tomorrow with clearing and sanding of all pedestrian cross walks and PXO's once sidewalk plowing activity is complete.
 
Bus stops will be cleared simultaneously with the sidewalk operation.  All city owned steps have been shovelled and treated with materials and will be cleared again as required if additional accumulation or wind blown snow is realized.

FACILITIES;

All city owned facility parking lots, access roads and entrance ways are being worked on and progressing.  Completion is expected by 7:00pm tonight.  Final cleanup service to these areas will be provided tomorrow morning beginning at 3:00am when parking lots are vacant to allow ease of mobility.

Updates will be provided to you as conditions warrant or if current information changes.

As always, your patience, co-operation and understanding is very much appreciated.
All the best;
Regards,

STAFF

Just a quick update with the bad weather today.

We have full conventional service out on the road this morning. We have just been informed that the U of G will be closed today – we will monitor the loads on the University specials and make a decision based on usage on whether to pull those runs around 9 this morning. We are running the University specials this morning as there may be a few non-students who need to make a transfer at the UC.

Mobility service is cancelled today – about 40% of today’s rides cancelled last night – it is extremely difficult to get riders on and off vehicles in these conditions. We will still make trips for hospital appointments and medical emergencies.

We have let the radio station know about service today and will be updating the website when admin staff get in. We will continue to communicate any changes to service as the day progresses.

STAFF

Just recieved this email from STAFF: Here it is:

Good morning everyone;

Just a quick update on the storm so far;
We have received anywhere from 8 to 15 cm of snow depending on where you are.  There is a lull in the storm at this moment (as you can see from the break in the blue over Guelph in the map below) but we expect another 10 to 15 cm of accumulation before the storm moves on this afternoon…(the big blue blob over Michigan).

We will be initiating a residential street plowout following this storm and the start of that work will be announced later today when we have a better handle on the storms movement.
Thank you for your patience.

Dear Cam,

I was very impressed with your reasoning last night. Occasionally, I am able to watch the meeting on tv. You were right about alot last night and I appreciate your concern about the money some departments spend. You expressed my sentiments very well. Both you and Gloria Kovach are really there for the people of Guelph.

Thank you,

M.

Just thought I'd update you on this park coming our way here in Ward 4. Near my end of Ward 4. Here's the email from STAFF.

There is a small park block (about 0.2 Ha) planned for the intersection of Curzon Crescent and Westra Drive in the next phase of the Chillico Glen subdivision -The contents of the park will be determined by a Council-approved master plan, but it is expected to contain a neighbourhood-size set of play equipment and small turf area. The timing of the park development is not yet known.

STAFF

One of my campaign promises was to look into what I feel is a growing problem with vandalism and graffiti in Guelph. But specifically in our Ward.

I heard over the radio on CFRB 1010 that a councillor in Toronto had come up with some suggestions on these exact issues and so I decided to call that councillor up.

I had to leave a voicemail message but his assistant has emailed me back and we intend to keep eachother in the loop on this issue.

I look forward to seeing what role I can play in curbing this issue.

Thank you,

Cam

The city has a “Be Nice Treat The Ice Program”, where residents are encouraged to use the free sand/salt mixture available in sand boxes throughout the city to help treat icy patches in sidewalks fronting their properties as well as fronting their neighbours properties.

In Ward 4 I pass one at the corner of Elmira and Willow everyday. You can't fill up the back of your truck. Only handheld buckets okay!

It's there so you might as well use it.

Thanks,

Cam

I recieved this email today and thought you should see it. Here it is:

Good afternoon everyone.  In the world of winter control, there are two givens each year.  The short thaw that takes place during  the first week of January and the major snow event that happens within 7 days of Superbowl Sunday!  

Well as I’m sure you’ve heard by now, a major weather system is moving into our area sometime late tonight. As with every major storm, snow accumulation will occur faster than we are able to clear it.  Once the storm wanes, you’ll see the roads quickly cleared.  For the new Councillors, during a snow storm our focus is on the major arterials and bus routes.  We focus on these to keep transportation moving within the City.  The side streets will become difficult to traverse, but once on the major streets, residents should be able to get to where they are heading albeit at a slow rate.  

Clearing the residential roadways will commence once the storm has stopped.  I understand the major system  is being followed almost immediately by a minor system which will deposit additional snow.  We’ll have to watch this to determine if we should wait until it passes to commence residential clearing.  Although we do try to avoid back to back clearing of residential roadways, whether we wait or proceed is a discretionary call which attempts to balance our desire to minimize winter control cost against the residents’ degree of difficulty traversing their streets.  

STAFF will communicate with everyone as things develop so you are aware of how staff are responding to the community need.

Hopefully you’ll be in a position/location to enjoy what sounds like this winter’s first major event.

Regards,

STAFF

Ive been to many meetings over the last week and will just get busier now for the next month or so. Yes, it's budget time.

I've already recieved 2 phone calls at home regarding the water/waste-water budget and a couple of emails. People aren't too happy. I don't blame them. The increase hits my household too.

I asked council to make sure the proposed budget is available at all library outlets and that was agreed upon.

It's also available on-line.

It's a proposed 5.67% increase but I'm up for the challenge. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me okay!

I'll update this with more news as it becomes available. I hope January was good to each of you!

Take care,

Cam

January 20th, 2011 - 12:45pm

The other day, just after the first big winter storm, I noticed the island between Paisley Rd. and Ryde Rd. had been plowed by the sidewalk plower. The problem is, there's no sidewalk there. So although it was nice, it continually eats up the grass and kills the trees lined along that island. M.S, a resident in Ward 4 also mentioned this to me and infact many along that stretch mentioned it to me as I was campaigning door to door. It was a reminder for me to let staff know about this situation. Either we maintain the integrity of the island and allow the trees to grow. Or, we re-plant the trees back into the island a bit further and install a sidewalk along there so it joins up nicely with either end of the island on Paisley Rd. These are just my thoughts.

Thank you,

Cam

I have posted this (See Below) in my "Accountability Section" of my website as well, but becasue it effects WARD 4, i thought you should know about what I've done regarding this issue.

Thanks!

Cam

Updated: January 19th, 9:58am

WOW! Staff really are awesome in our city! I just recieved the following two emails from city staff. Here they are:

January 19th, 2011 - 9:50am

Living in the ward you represent I beleive does have it's advantages. For the last 2 days I have driven on my way to work over the Imperial Rd North rail tracks and I never knew my 1995 Toyota Previa could "catch-air"?

All joking aside, I've asked staff to come and look at this issue and to post signs of "bump ahead" or "bump here" by this area so you don't get caught with the bump like I have. It's probably due to frost and the stress on the road.

Thanks,

Cam

STAFF RESPONSE: TWO OF THEM!

Cam,

We will have it looked at and have signage placed as soon as we can.

Bump ahead and bump signs for both directions.

If you can just give us a little bit of time to get the signs up that would be appreciated.

STAFF

Good morning Councillor Guthrie;

That particular set of tracks gave us issue last winter and appears to be doing so again. I believe the road is heaving there more than normal there due to frost penetration, relative to the track elevation. The levels return to normal in spring. A bump sign, possible complimented by a reduction in speed will calm the issue for the winter and is my recommendation.

I will have staff install two well positioned bump signs....one in each direction as well as bump ahead signs along with a speed reduction to 20km/hr over the tracks.

Thank you.

STAFF

Please be advised Horticulture staff of the Operations & Transit Department will be scheduling pruning and invasive weed species removal activity in Whitelaw Gardens Park. 

This notice is intended to provide (14) business days advanced notification of the planned work and is consistent with staff’s commitment to Council. Please note, this notice is not intended to confirm a start date for the activity, as demands of the operation can alter our work schedule. 

Trimming activity will include limb removals to address issues such as poor sight lines, overhead clearances, safety issues, improving a tree’s structure and aesthetics, as well as the removal of invasive woody species, as warranted. 

Should a tree require removal, a replacement tree will be scheduled as part of our annual spring tree planting program wherever possible. 

Sincerely,

STAFF

The following info was sent to me about communications in Guelph coming from City Hall. Thought you might be interested in this. Here it is:

TOPIC: City rolls out public communications plan
DATE: January 11, 2011
MEDIA: Guelph Mercury
PAGE: City rolls out public communications plan

Good day folks! Please drive safely today okay!

Due to the snow fall, I thought I'd update you on the snow removal. I recieved this email today from City Staff. Here it is:

Winter control update;

We are currently experiencing the effects of an “Alberta Clipper”.  These storms are quick moving and usually leave behind from 6 to 10 cm of snow accumulation.  This particular system is expected to complete its visit with us by approx noon today.  Flurries off and on will likely follow without additional accumulation.  This snow accumulation in addition to the 6 cm we already have on our residential streets has surpassed the threshold requiring a full plow out to take place.  That residential road plowout operation will begin early this afternoon  

The current status of our activities is as follows;  

ROADS;

Roads crews are working on the main arterials and collector roads.  A contractor assisted plowout of the residential roads will begin at 1:00pm today.  The residential plowout is expected to take anywhere from  8 to 12 hours to complete.  Roads crews will follow behind the residential plowing operation to apply traction materials to all areas requiring treatment.  This operation will continue around the clock.  The Snow Angels Program has been triggered by this plowout action.  Volunteers will be providing driveway windrow removal for qualified residents as the residential road plowing work progresses.  

SIDEWALKS AND CITY OWNED STEPS

Sidewalk crews will begin plowing the high pedestrian traffic arterial, collector and bus routes at noon today.  Residential sidewalk plowing will follow.  The sidewalk plowing operation will continue around the clock until completed.  Clearing and sanding of all pedestrian cross walks and PXO's will follow beginning tomorrow morning.  
Bus stops will be cleared simultaneously with the sidewalk clearing operation.  All city owned steps are currently being cleared and treated with materials and will be cleared again as required when/if additional accumulation is realized.
Anticipated completion time of the entire operation will be late Sunday.   

FACILITIES;

All city owned facility parking lots, access roads and entrance ways are being worked on as facilities operate today.  Cleanup is ongoing.  Crews will re-attend early tomorrow for final cleanup morning before facilities open for the day.
Additional service will be provided as conditions warrant.

We do not expect any further accumulation following the end of this storm, however, updates will be provided if current information changes.

As always, your patience and co-operation is very much appreciated.

STAFF

I then found this email. So here's another one:

Most of you are familiar with my “winter control updates” but for the new Councillors, here is the scoop……I usually provide an activity update to Council and Senior Management in order for you to be informed and up to date on our activities.  This will facilitate your ability to better answer questions you receive from your constituents. 

I am attaching a link to the Minimum Maintenance Standards and a copy of our Schedule A (sidewalk winter control) which we use as a guide to perform our winter, (and summer) maintenance services.  
In looking at the standards, I’m sure some of you may have questions.  If so, I would be happy to answer any questions or provide clarity as needed.  You may contact me at any time.

http://www.canlii.org/en/on/laws/regu/o-reg-239-02/latest/o-reg-239-02.html
STAFF

Follow the link: Please click: HERE

Message from Lloyd Longfield, President and CAO

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!  

Congratulations to the Guelph business community for excellent results in 2010.
 
Guelph Chamber Year End Summary: Jobs and Business Growth in Guelph

In Guelph, our business community increased employment by 3,600 jobs this year - putting unemployment at 7.7% compared to the provincial average of 8.8% (Industry Canada November 2010 Ontario Economic Overview) While manufacturing is having a slow employment recovery in Ontario, here in Guelph many manufacturers are telling  the Chamber they are in a hiring mode. We need to attract more people to Guelph to meet the demand of our manufacturers and the manufacturers who are locating here in 2011. Guelph's labour market is about 72,000 jobs, with 5,600 people registered as unemployed.

Update: December 23rd, 4:25pm

City Staff called me and gave me the low down. Here it is:

- Three ponds in total. Natural, Settlement and Storm Water Management ponds.

- Natural one is upto 12 feet deep and other two are 6-8 feet deep.

- Originally when built, idea was posed to allow skating.

- After further review, it was determined that it was unsafe.

- Sign will be replaced or amended soon to state the obvious.

- Don't skate on it.

Thanks folks,

Cam

December 23rd, 2010 - 10:30am

I recieved a call from the Guelph Mercury this morning about a resident that brought to their attention signs erected on City property where the West End Centre is located on Imperial Rd. From what I understand, the resident was inquiring to see if the "ponds" in front of the centre could be, or should be, used for the public to skate on.

Personally, it never crossed my mind.

My intial response was that I didn't even know the signs existed, and that I'm sure it wasn't open to the pubic due to safety concerns. The reporter also indicated that the signs said that monitoring of the pond for potential skating would start in the year 2001. WHAT? 2001? I had to see this.

So see it I did. During my lunch today I drove over to the centre to check these signs out for my self. Well sure enough there they were, and it indeed states 2001. So what's happened since then?

I've left a message with the person overseeing this centre so i'll find out more info and post it here when it comes my way.

In the meantime, don't skate on it. Here's some pictures I took today for you:

Well I know this blog is suppose to be more specific to Ward 4, but helping the Salvation Army Church with their hampers was something I wanted to share with everyone. In fact, I'm sure there are those that live right in our Ward that may be in need of these hampers that we put together tonight. There's a few days left before Christmas and I encourage you to throw that toonie (or more) into the buckets that you see being manned by the Salvation Army representatives. They are providing over 1200 hampers to people this year. Tonight, myself along with Mayor Farbridge and many other councillors, teamed up with other volunteers from the community to put the hampers together. They had it down to a fine art. Here are some pictures I took from the evening.

Thanks,

Cam

Ward 4 - (Me) Cam Guthrie                Ward 1 - Jim Furfaro               Ward 6 - Todd Dennis           Ward 5 - Leanne Piper (She's fast!)

Loblaws (Zehrs) asked me, along with ward mate Gloria Kovach, Mayor Farbridge, Frank Valeriote and others from our community to meet and promote the Guelph Food Bank. Need is great all year long but Loblaws has their own campaign going to help. So when you're shopping at the Ward 4 - Imperial & Paisley Zehrs, pick up an extra $5 or $10 can to go to families in need!

Thanks,

Cam

I have just been informed from city staff that there will now be "No stopping" signs erected infront of Mitchell Woods School and on Bonar.

I must admit, my knee-jerk reaction was that this would hinder me dropping off my kids to school every day. But, the issue of safety comes first and the main problem was the sightlines around the crosswalk in front of the school, especially trying to pull out from Bonar onto Willow. It was so difficult to see due to the cars lining Willow on both sides as people are dropping off their kids.

I'm just making you aware of this becasue as we all know, the by-law officers will probably teach people a lesson if not obeying these new signs.

Take care,

Cam