Councillor Karin D. Howard

Quartier Mooney’s Bay Ward

111 promenade Sussex Drive, Ottawa, ON, K1N 5A1

Tel: (613) 244-5365

Fax: (613) 244-5373

E-Mail: howardk@city.ottawa.on.ca

REPORT TO HUNT CLUB COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION

Date: November 2, 1998

The following will be a summary of City of Ottawa issues and achievements. Once again it has been a very busy year therefore I will only report on the more important topics.

1998 Budget

In our 1998 Budget year, City Council received cuts to provincial grants, Federal payments-in-lieu of taxes, municipal reforms, and labour issues of $17,757,000. We consulted the public, learned that a tax increase was not acceptable, and staff proposed expenditure reduction options in accordance with public responses for Council’s consideration. The budget cuts involved massive staff layoffs and corporate reorganization. Our policies of corporate sponsorship and "alternative service delivery"were adopted and vigorously pursued. We did not solve our problems by borrowing money or taking from reserve accounts. City Treasurer, Mona Monkman informed Council that was are the only municipality in the province to meet our budget pressures in the first year, but resorting to permanent expenditure reductions.

1999 Budget

Council has proposed a draft 1999 Budget in which we maintain the status quo from our 1998 budget with no tax increases, no new debt, and no staff lay-offs, providing Council does not commence any new construction projects or take on new expenditures. Public consultation, which we expect to be less extensive than last year, is to be done in November. Council will hearing public delegations on Monday November 30 and on Tuesday December 1, 1998. Council will debate and vote on the Budget on Thursday December 3 and on Friday December 4, 1998. We will have a $13.6 million surplus this year in our Operating Budget which is at Council’s discretion to allocate. There are Councillors who would like to spend this money, while others have asked that it go toward a tax reduction.

Tax Arrears

We have hired two new staff and trained them sufficiently to work with tax collection and overdue accounts to reduce our tax arrears from $50,490,000 in 1996, to $35,555,000 in 1997, and we expect to continue to reduce tax arrears in 1998.

Riverside Park Neighbourhood Plan

The Riverside Park Neighborhood Plan went to Planning and Economic Development Committee on September 29, 1998. Several motions with significant amendments to the Report were put before the Committee. One motion, which reversed the staff suggestion to raisin the "Environmental Waterway" land south of Revelstoke to développable "Leisure Linkage", passed Committee. Council thus passed the Plan protecting these lands under existing zoning. Several modifications were made to the Plan which suited the RPCRA, including the motions which were drafted with the assistance of Director David Biggs at the Committee hearing, the wording of which is reproduced below.

Hunt Club Neighborhood Plan

A Public Meeting will be held on November 24, 1998 at the Hunt Club Community Centre 8:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. where those who are interested may attend to provide any comments you may have on the draft recommendations concenring:

- Land Use Plan

- Southern Corridor and other potential development areas

- Boundaries of the Greenway System in the Neighbourhood

- Proposed Official Plan Amendment and zonging changes.

City Staff and members of the Planning Advisory Committee will be available to discuss any comments you may have on the draft Neighbourhood Plan. Any comments received will be considered in preparing the final Neighbourhood Plan for recommendation to Planning and Economic Development Committee and City Council. Anyone wishing further information may call Bob Spicer at 244-5300 (ext. 1-3858) or Dave Powers at 244-5300 (Ext. 1-3989).

NOSS Study

The finalized Natural and Open Spaces Study (NOSS) will be brought to the November 24, 1998 Planning & Economic Development Committee. This report will be available on the City’s web site by November 20th at: http:\\city.ottawa.on.ca\ottawa\city\web\a\al\al-comlist.html. The

Study will subsequently be received by City Council on December 2, 1998. Upon completion of any necessary revisions, copies will be available at all public libraries and community centres City-wide. The report is expensive to reproduce and although I have argued the point it is not possible to make many copies available in hard copy. Kindly call my office if you would like to borrow one.

Brookfield/Flannery Drive Intersection

Now that the Hunt Club ramps are open and four-way stop signs have been positioned, traffic in the Brookfield/Flannery Drive vicinity should be improved. There are still some unresolved issues relating to this intersection. The City’s responsibility is not this corner, the stop signs or the ramps which are all Regional jurisdiction, but traffic calming as required on City streets. Nevertheless, the following three motions, drafted by City staff and Director David Biggs, passed Council:

- THAT Staff report to the Community Services and Operations Committee with recomendation related to modifications for Flannery at Brookfield by the last meeting of 1998 (December 9).

- THAT Staff immediately request Regional Staff to prepare necessary reports seeking approval for modifications under Regional jurisdiction.

- THAT, subject to City and Regional approval, City Staff negotiate with Canada Post an agreement consistent with the Minutes of Settlement for the design and construction of the modifications.

I have been contacted by a few area residents expressing their dissatisfaction with the intersection and then there are those who accept it as it is. Others do not want any further traffic calming or interference with vehicular movement. My office has received some of this feedback since the

distribution of the newest Riverside Newsletter. It is good for me to have this input and I welcome your calls.

Mooney’s Bay Redevelopment

The process of deciding what constitutuents would like to do with the $225,000 available for expenditures in the Mooney’s Bay area is underway. The priorities are now being ranked in order of importance. This year in the Capital Budget the City proposes to spend over $1 million dollars in renovating the Terry Fox track. In the next two weeks staff will be proposing ways for HCCO and RPCRA and members of the community at large to get involved in working and advising staff in the Mooney’s Bay area. We are proud to have received the recent donation of a play stracture from the joint dealerships of Turpin and 417 Saturn Saab Isuzu which was part of a corporate sponsorship program initiated by Council this year.

Local Governance

November 12, 1998 is the self-imposed deadline for the Region and City to submit to the province our ideas for a local solution to the problems of governance in our area. All Councils asked the Province to impose a Commissioner to resolve the issue once and for all should we not be able to agree upon an outcome. Kanata has held a referendum on the issue.

My ward was surveyed on the issue and results indicated that constituents would like fewer layers of government, and likely one entity (City) called Ottawa. I did not support the imposition of a Commissioner, nor did I support unconditional reform to one big City. One condition I proposed, which got no support on Council was that the total cost of the amalgamated government would be less than the sum of the costs of the amalgamated governments. That was one of the original purposes for amalgamation.

Lebanese Festival and H.O.P.E. Voleyball Tournament

This year’s events, which took place in July, were quite successful. There were apparently 30,000 people in attendance at the H.O.P.E. volleyball tournament about which my office received a total of 2 complaints. The Lebanese Festival was also a success. Noise was not a major irritant, according to calls received by my office.

McCarthy Road Sidewalks

The latest information my office has received from staff on the progress of the new sidewalks, is that the work is now pretty much completed. The sidewalks are in and they look wonderful. Any questions you may have pertaining to this matter may be directed to John Bradley at 244-5300 (ext. 3385).

Intended Resignation

As most of you are aware, in July of this year I announced my intended resignation for early 1999. Council will likely vote to have a bi-election once they are in receipt of my official resignation. My best estimate is that the bi-election will take place in mid-March of 1999. I expect that Patricia Bell of my office will remain to manage constituent affairs and to provide a smooth transition for the next councillor. I would like to thefore take this opportunity to thank you all for your support and co-operation in fulfilling my duties as councillor over the last four years. In particular I would like to commend the selfless volunteers of this community who have played an instrumental role in things like the Victoria Day Celebrations, Nursery Schools, Churches, and community centres which make this community a great place to live.