And now we have Stittsville Coun. Shad Qadri:

Maybe Qadri, the councillor for Scotiabank Place, was pushed into competition after Monette claimed he was the biggest Sens fan on council a couple weeks ago.

A corner office at the top of City Hall wants in on the action:

Ottawa’s Continued War on Wildlife

What is really behind the decision to turn the Wildlife
Strategy over to the Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee?

Community members just window dressing
in a wildlife strategy shadow-boxing exercise

May 13, 2013: For over two years community members of the Wildlife Strategy Working Group believed that they were following Council’s direction to develop a progressive and comprehensive wildlife strategy for Ottawa. As it turned out they were wrong – they were just window dressing.

“It appears that the Eastern Ontario Deer Advisory Committee (EODAC) who was not even a member of the Working Group had more pull,” said Donna DuBreuil, President, Ottawa-Carleton Wildlife Centre and spokesperson for the Ontario Wildlife Coalition. “EODAC, an advocacy group for hunting interests, submitted an “alternative strategy” described by a city staff person as your “basic trappers’ manifesto” and bingo, Mayor Jim Watson decides to hand off the City’s entire Wildlife Strategy to the Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee (ARAC). This is the same Committee whose Chair has made it abundantly clear that lethal management is a front and centre option. The Mayor did this despite the fact that Council’s direction was to hold a joint meeting of the Planning and Environment Committee (PEC) and ARAC.

“We obtained correspondence through Freedom of Information that shows the Wildlife Strategy was on track to be placed on the agendas of the Environment and Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committees. A briefing note was sent out by the City Manager’s office at 4:11 p.m. on December 2, 2011 that laid out a detailed schedule of when the Strategy would be reviewed by the Working Group and internal staff before going to these committees,” said Liz White, Director, Animal Alliance of Canada and spokesperson, Ontario Wildlife Coalition. “Then, less than an hour later the mayor’s Senior Policy Advisor put the brakes on the plan, saying ‘I would like to chat about the timings on Monday…..also would like to know who has been consulted so far. There were some very reasonable input during the deluge and some balanced offers to help develop the strategy’. It is telling that there have been no further meetings of the Working Group since then.”

“We believe the decision taken in the mayor’s office is connected to the EODAC proposal submitted through the Rural Affairs Office. This proposal which has never been made public, although the Coalition has obtained a copy through FOI, is completely contradictory to the intent of the Working Group’s Wildlife Strategy in that it categorizes all urban wildlife as ‘nuisances’ and fair game for lethal removal”, said Donna DuBreuil, President of the Ottawa-Carleton Wildlife Centre and a spokesperson for the Coalition.

In a letter responding to the Coalition last week, Mayor Watson defended his decision to hand over the Wildlife Strategy to ARAC, stating it has the mandate for wildlife, as approved by City Council in early 2011. See attached link (see 8.g)http://ottawa.ca/en/city-hall/your-city-government/standing-committees/agriculture-and-rural-affairs-committee.

“There is nothing in these terms of reference nor in the discussion or council minutes to support the Mayor’s claim that this authority would encompass general city-wide wildlife concerns” said DuBreuil. “It is, in fact, explicit that ARAC will ‘be responsible directly to Council for those items outside the urban boundary’. The Mayor should implement Council’s motion for a joint meeting and not try to justify what is simply a wrong-headed decision.”

“The Council motion reflected the fact that the vast majority of wildlife issues are urban/suburban concerns, as they are in all large cities. It would be entirely inappropriate that urban wildlife issues be determined by agricultural circumstances and the very different response used in agricultural areas. Imagine the huge and rightful uproar if urban and suburban councillors were to dictate a wildlife response for the agricultural community”, said Anita Utas, a Stittsville resident.

“Many Ottawa residents are concerned because the Wildlife Strategy has a major bias in its flawed reporting lines and little in the way of projects that go beyond window dressing. The creation of a Wildlife Biologist position reporting to ARAC and costing $100,000 a year will not solve urban wildlife concerns and is an unacceptable waste of tax dollars”, said Utas.

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May 8 2013 Court Decision on 287 Cumberland

The blue line is the boundary for the OLG’s gaming zone SW1, which includes most of Waterloo Region. The slots are at the racetrack in Elora (the yellow dot).

Last night, the regional council voted 10-5 against having a casino. However, the rural Woolwich Twp. in the region has already endorsed a casino. Then you have the cities of Waterloo and Cambridge and another township against a casino. Kitchener council will vote Monday.

This leaves the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. and the province with a fun question: Does a regional decision trump a lower municipality’s decision on hosting a casino?

The joys of tiered local governments.

Makes you wonder, if Ottawa wasn’t amalgamated today, which municipalities do you think would support hosting a casino?

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Follow City Hall reporter Jon Willing on Twitter at @JonathanWilling and at ottawasun.com.

This is the most generic and recent photo of a Zumba class I could find in our archives.

Parks and rec GM Dan Chenier says the city awards 100-150 contracts annually for instruction services and the practice dates back before amalgamation. Usually what happens is, when a niche activity suddenly becomes popular, and there’s a demand from residents for programming, the city looks for experts to take on the instruction. Chenier used Zumba as an interesting example. Instruction was contracted first and then brought in-house when it became The Thing To Do.

There are other activities, like golf, which require the expertise of a contracted golf pro. Same goes for martial arts. Other times there might be a technology class where a contracted company can also provide the equipment.

Chenier didn’t have the exact figures at hand, but he estimated the cost of each contract might be in the range of $100,000 (maybe running several camps) to less than $1,000 (for one class, one instructor).

Some areas not contracted include lifeguards and skating instructors because those services are needed throughout the year, he said.

Contracting instructors doesn’t necessarily save the city money, Chenier said, but it’s an “efficient way” to deliver programs residents want.

Chenier said instruction is contracted when an activity isn’t part of the city’s “core business.”

I suppose you can debate where Zumba fits into the core business.

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Follow City Hall reporter Jon Willing on Twitter at @JonathanWilling and at ottawasun.com.

Guilderson reports that the screen was in this constant state; that is, his card didn’t cause the scribbly screen. It’s not clear if the Presto machine was reading people’s cards as they tapped, he says.

OC Transpo and Metrolinx must sort out these problems before the big card blowout later this month…

PRESTO cards will be available online at prestocard.ca on May 18 & in person starting May 27: ow.ly/kBDy0

— OC Transpo (@OC_Transpo) May 1, 2013

For Immediate RELEASE, April 30, 2013

Local Marketing Firm Approaches City to Manage Ottawa Stadium

Former Fat Cats GM Leads Bid to Re-Open Coventry Road Ball Park to the

Community, Little League Baseball and Recreational Men’s Ball Leagues

Ottawa, April 30, 2013 – Marketing Breakthroughs (MB), one of Ottawa’s top marketing firms, has an idea that’s sure to put smiles on the faces of hundreds of amateur baseball players and dozens of community groups in Ottawa.

“We were thinking . . . why not unlock the doors at Ottawa Stadium this summer and offer access to the public, and let them use the Stadium for family-oriented community events, and baseball games for men’s leagues and Little League?” said CEO Steve Klein. And then we asked ourselves “What if an experienced facility manager like MB supplied these services to the City on a turnkey basis??”

Klein has the perfect resource to make this happen: and that’s Duncan MacDonald, former co-founder and General Manager of the Ottawa Fat Cats, who joined MB in March 2012.

“I’ve talked with and emailed dozens of people in my baseball network and they just love the concept,” says MacDonald, “so Steve and I put together an unsolicited letter of interest/proposal and delivered it to Ward 2 Councillor Rainer Bloess two weeks ago.

MacDonald has since followed up with Bloess’ office and Mayor Jim Watson’s office, hoping to get a timely reply to his letter. “This is a pure win-win for the City as the Stadium gets used this summer. Rather than just sitting vacant waiting for a new tenant . . . the city gets some much needed rental revenue. We’ve studied the numbers and if we get started right away, we think we can operate a summer of community programming at pretty much a break even during 2013.”

Duncan knows Ottawa Stadium and how to make it work: he made baseball a financial success with the Fat Cats in 2010 and 2011. Widely credited for resurrecting semi pro baseball in Ottawa after the departure of the Ottawa Lynx and the bankruptcy of the Rapidz, he has more than 20 years of experience as a player, pro scout, coach, general manager and is a former Technical Director at Baseball Canada.

Klein and MacDonald say they are also interested in helping Mayor Watson secure a pro baseball team for the City. They hope to meet with Watson in the next few days to offer their services. “Their needs to be a fresh approach and new marketing strategy for attracting a pro team,” says Klein. “The City has such a beautiful facility and world class ball field . . . it would be a shame to see the park further deteriorate from lack of use. The weeds have already started growing in the infield.

For more on Marketing Breakthroughs, visit www.marketingbreakthroughs.com.

Dear Council colleague,

The City of Ottawa has initiated a public process aimed at considering Western LRT routes that would allow the City to eventually extend the Confederation Line west of Tunney’s Pasture.

As part of this process, the City has been working with the National Capital Commission and made a presentation to the NCC board yesterday. The NCC has issued a press release outlining their current position on the City’s environmental assessment work to date.

The purpose of this memo is to provide additional context to the position taken by the NCC in their press release while updating members of Council on the City Manager’s most recent discussion with the NCC.

The City of Ottawa’s Transportation Committee will consider six (6) corridor options at its June 5th meeting with a view to retaining one or more corridors for inclusion in the City’s long-range Transportation Master Plan for future refinement.

Although City staff has identified a preferred route for Western LRT, final recommendations will take into account further input received from residents and organizations.

The preferred route, the Richmond Underground, responds directly to the concerns expressed by residents by protecting the Byron Linear Park and not making use of any part of the Sir John A. Macdonald Parkway. This route, as well as the other options, will be refined and improved as part of the City’s public consultation process.

A community open house is being held this evening (Thursday, April 25) as part of the City’s ongoing process to engage residents on this issue.

The Richmond Underground proposal requires the use of a small strip of green space equivalent to less than one half of one per cent of the total land area of the parkway lands.

The parkway lands currently serve as a major public transit corridor, with the Sir John A. Macdonald Parkway carrying upwards of 440,000 bus trips annually. As the City’s population and transportation needs increase, the number of buses will only increase. It is important to find a favourable LRT route to address these future transportation challenges.

The proposed Richmond Underground would dramatically reduce the environmental impact on the parkway lands by permanently removing bus rapid transit from the parkway. Under the City’s long-standing agreement with the NCC, the City can continue to operate OC Transpo buses on the parkway until 2031. Using light rail instead of buses would lead to a significant reduction in noise, visual intrusion and emissions along this green corridor.

With the addition of stations between Dominion and Lincoln Fields, light rail would improve, not impede, access to the waterfront for residents and visitors alike. Significant access points and walking paths would be maintained.

Further, City Manager Kent Kirkpatrick informed me this morning that he has had direct discussions with the NCC to clarify their position on the potential use of the former CPR rail line. As a result of this exchange, Kent has informed me that the City will continue to work with NCC staff on all proposed corridors, including the potential use of the CPR corridor for Western LRT. The City will be providing additional information and concepts on how any negative impacts such a corridor might have on the current parkway experience could be mitigated.

Further, the NCC has acknowledged the City’s position that Carling is not a feasible corridor for rapid transit.

In closing, the City will continue to discuss with residents, the NCC and other interested stakeholders on how to best serve the growing transportation needs of the city.

The purpose of these consultations is to receive more feedback from anyone who would like to contribute thoughts on solutions that are responsible, cost-effective and reduce the long-term environmental impact of the Western transit corridor.

I also want to take this opportunity to thank Councillor Egli, Chair of the Transportation Committee, and the area councillors most impacted by these proposals, Councillors Katherine Hobbs and Mark Taylor, for their ongoing work on this issue.

Jim Watson, Mayor

City of Ottawa