City drying out from rainfall
Notes from this week’s St. Catharines city council meeting …
The City of St. Catharines’ Citizen’s First customer service desk received more than 206 calls on flooding issues in a 48-hour period during the height of last week’s rainstorm.
Mayor Walter Sendzik said there was a tremendous amount of flooding across the city in people’s basements and at waterways.
“The recent rainstorm has created a lot of havoc for residents and businesses in our community,” he said at Monday night’s city council meeting.
In Port Dalhousie, he said, city staff and volunteers placed more than 1,500 sandbags around the yacht club, inner lighthouse and carousel.
Sendzik thanked volunteers for coming out, adding he doesn’t know when the water levels will go down.
City sports fields remained closed Tuesday because the ground was still saturated but were expected to re-open today.
Port Dalhousie Coun. Bruce Williamson asked for city staff to prepare a report on the costs incurred as a result of the high lake water levels and heavy rains. He said the city should track both private and public damage for full results of the impact in case there is emergency funding available.
Coincidentally, it’s Emergency Preparedness Week from May 7-13.
Residents are encouraged to put together a kit of supplies to last their family for three days in the event of flooding, ice storms, power outages or snowstorms.
“I think the last weekend is an indication of how we need to be prepared, not just as a community but in our own residences as well,” Sendzik said.
Canadian pride minus HST
Canadian flags shouldn’t be taxed during Canada’s 150th anniversary year, St. Catharines city council says.
Councillors backed a motion by the Township of Adjala-Tosorontio, in south-central Ontario, asking the federal and provincial governments to waive the taxes on Canadian flag purchases for the year 2017.
“I thought this was a great initiative out of this township and I thought we should lend our support calling on the federal government for this,” said St. George’s Coun. Mike Britton, who brought the correspondence from the township forward.
The council in Simcoe county sent a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne with the request. St. Catharines councillors took it a step further.
“I’d like to make the amendment that all Canadian flags be made in Canada as well,” said Port Dalhousie Coun. Bruce Williamson, who was met with applause by fellow councillors.
Making downtown pedestrian friendly
A tender for downtown streetscaping was awarded to Rankin Construction Monday in the amount of $1.87 million.
The company had the lowest of three bids for making improvements to St. Paul Street from James to Carlisle streets and to Carlisle Street from St. Paul to McGuire streets.
The plans include new sidewalks, curbs, road structure, some on-street parking, road drainage, street lighting and landscaping.
On-street parking on the north side of St. Paul Street from James to Carlisle streets will be eliminated to allow for extra-wide sidewalks and outdoor patios.
“In this term of council, this is probably one of the most significant projects that we’ve done,” said St. Patrick’s Coun. Mark Elliott. “This is making downtown more walkable and people friendly.”
Council also awarded the construction administration and inspection services to Upper Canada Consultants in the amount of $145,999 and approved using $532,000 from the 2017 capital budget towards the project.
PowerPoint a point of contention
Should councillors be allowed to conduct their own slide show presentations during council meetings?
City staff will look into the matter after Mayor Walter Sendzik and St. George’s Coun. Mike Britton didn’t see eye-to-eye on the issue Monday.
It came up during a discussion about the location of a school zone flashing light on Scott Street in Britton’s ward.
Britton brought a slide show with a map to make the case the flasher should be moved from its present location for safety and resident concerns, contrary to a city staff recommendation.
But Sendzik took issue with the presentation after it was done.
“We’re setting a very dangerous precedent having councillors bring up their own PowerPoint,” Sendzik said, adding other councillors have been told they can’t use PowerPoints.
Sendzik said if councillors bring in slides, than others could bring in their own slides to argue against each other.
“What does that look like for us?” he asked. “Kind of disappointed, because this is not how we should be conducting business, by bringing in our own slide decks and trying to convince council of a decision.”
But Britton said there is nothing in the procedural bylaws that says councillors cannot submit a PowerPoint.
Britton said if other councillors were denied in the past, it wasn’t because of the rules.
St. Catharines city clerk Bonnie Nistico-Dunk agreed with Britton that the procedural bylaw as it’s written does not say councillors can’t bring in slides.
She also agreed with Sendzik that the practice has not been done in the past.
Sendzik said the city will address the issue and close the procedural loophole.
“It has been past practice we don’t do that and I will continue to rule that we don’t do that moving forward,” Sendzik said.
As for the Scott Street flashing light, another staff report was ordered on the financial and safety implications of moving it to Britton’s preferred location.
Region on track for GO station meeting
Niagara Region is going public with its St. Catharines GO station plans next month.
St. Catharines councillors got an update Monday on the progress of the GO transit secondary plan, hub and station, along with public consultation plans.
The GO train is scheduled to arrive in Grimsby by 2021 and be expanded to St. Catharines and Niagara Falls by 2023.
A regional study last year selected the existing VIA station in west St. Catharines off St. Paul Street West as the preferred location for the city’s GO depot.
“Transit in the right location can be a catalyst for cities for growth and redevelopment,” Region planner Denise Landry told city council Monday.
She said Kitchener, for example, leveraged its future Light Rail Transit and has been pro actively planning for the growth for 20 years.
“St. Catharines has a very similar opportunity with the GO station as a mechanism for urban renewal in and around the study area and within the downtown,” she said.
Regional officials are currently working on phases 3, 4 and 5 of a six-step study.
They’re drafting secondary plans for the station and discussing them with the city.
Landry said they’re also assessing the transportation infrastructure and identifying infrastructure improvements in and around the station area.
They’ve also started discussions with Metrolinx on the planning of the station area and concept designs.
The Region will bring its vision to the public for feedback on June 19 at Ridley College. Times are still to be announced.
Residents living in the area surrounding the St. Catharines train station will receive notices of the meeting.
Louth Street infill on the rise
The construction of a new fourstorey apartment building infill at 141 Louth St. got the unanimous go-ahead from council Monday night.
St. Andrew’s Coun. Joe Kushner, who led the charge against bad city infills that led to recent zoning policy changes, said the project is an example of an excellent infill.
“It’s improving the neighbourhood, its filling a need and it’s exactly the type of infilling we need,” Kushner said.
He said it’s on a major road and complementary to another large apartment building built a block away.
The building will be on the west side of Louth Street, north of Rykert Street, and will have 30 units with interior parking on the first floor.
City councillors approved changing the zoning of the vacant land from low density residential and local community commercial to medium density residential to allow for the apartments.