59 Carden St.

And the church?

Posted by Magda
I talked to Father Dennis Noon, of Church of Our Lady, today regarding the Loretto Convent cash. He said he's happy the city got money to move the museum into the convent, but he's frustrated because the church has been denied federal cash. He said they've applied several times for help funding their renovation, which they figure will cost $10 to $13 million.

I'll try to follow up on this in the coming week.

Watch what you say

This is from the Hamilton Spectator:

Accusations have been flying at City Hall since someone shared a private e-mail exchange among councillors with The Spectator.

Council recently rejected asking the police to investigate leaks, but agreed yesterday to review the city's computer policy. Staff will report back on proposed changes in the coming months.

The city's computer server tracks e-mails, but doesn't catch messages sent directly between BlackBerrys. Technology can be added to monitor the transmissions, which some councillors believe are being sent to the press by their colleagues or staff.

Read the full story here.

The rumours were true

Posted by Magda
Reporting on rumours can be tempting, though it's a clear journalistic no-no. It's interesting to note, though, that I heard yesterday the city would get $1 million of the $3.3 million they asked for from the feds to move the Civic Museum into the convent -- and today it turned out to be true. If only there were a sure-fire way to sort the true rumours from the false.

The act

Posted by Magda
If you're reading about conflicts and potential conflicts for councillors in the Mercury today, you might want to check out the act that governs municipal conflict. That's online here.

Allegations of past conflict

Posted by Magda
In my research about councillor conflicts of interest, I found a long-ago story about allegations of conflict that actually went to court.

This is from the Mercury, Feb. 9, 2000.
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U of G professor on hook for about $10,000 in councillor's legal fees
A Guelph city councillor has been cleared of allegations that he acted in a conflict of interest.

Councillor Dan Schnurr was taken to court in 1999 by Hugh Whiteley, a University of Guelph engineering professor. Whiteley, who regularly makes presentations to city council, alleged Schnurr was in a conflict of interest when he voted on the application by the university for an Official Plan amendment to develop land for a "big box" project. Schnurr has been employed full-time by the university since 1985 as a computer and technical support worker and took the position that his financial interest in the university's application was insignificant.

In a ruling in June 1999, a judge in Guelph agreed with Schnurr, concluding the councillor's interest "was of such remoteness and insignificance in its nature that it could not reasonably be regarded as having been likely to influence the respondent in his vote on the subject matter."
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I'm working on a story about recent issues of alleged, perceived or declared conflict among councillors. Read all about it in tomorrow's Merc.

No more free parking for Via commuters

Posted by Magda
The new bus hub on Carden Street means no more free parking for people who take the Via train to work, writes transit blogger Steve Host. Anyone out there affected by this? I wonder if the city will offer free or cheap parking elsewhere.

Federal cash for transit hub?

Posted by Magda
Could the newly announced federal money for transit ($500 million announced as part of yesterday's federal budget) help build Guelph's new transit hub? That's what local transit bloggers suggest. Read more here.

From the Guelphs

Posted by Magda
I found a quirky piece of local history at the public library tonight. It's an article in the Mercury from 1977, with this headline: "The Guelphs wish Guelph happy birthday."

It's about a 150th birthday card sent to Guelph from Prince Guelph of Hanover and his wife, Princess Alexandra.

Here's a piece of the article: "Their photograph, with the message 'Happy Birthday to Guelph from the Guelphs,' will be officially presented to Mayor Norm Jary and city council. The royal couple, who live in the part of Europe where the name Guelph has been known for nearly 1,000 years, intended to visit the Royal City for this year's (anniversary) celebrations. Because of an illness in the family they were unable to come to Canada as planned..."

What do you think about the merger discussions with Horizon Utilities?

Posted by Laura

Merger discussions between Guelph Hydro and Horizon Utilities, which distributes electricity for Hamilton and St. Catharines, have been ongoing since August.

Last night, city council heard why merging the two companies could make sense in light of changes expected in the sector.

We're working on a story about the potential merger. Let us know what you think.

Guelph Hydro chair Paul Truex addressed council last night. Here are some highlights from the presentation handout:

• One major way in which utilities can respond to the need to find economies of scale is to promote mergers and acquisitions that stimulate better business practices, drive costs down and enhance value for shareholders and customers.
• In the past few years, more than 300 utilities in Ontario have been reduced to fewer than 90 because of merger and acquisition activity -- particularly the latter.
• We do not believe a sale would achieve one key criteria -- that of providing fulfilling career opportunities for employees. In fact, we believe the opposite would occur.  There are other compelling reasons why a sale makes less sense than a merger.
• The second part of the 'why merge' story is that electric utilities will soon face a new regulatory model . . . Very simply put: Under the Incentive Regulation model, or as we prefer to call it, a productivity-based model, distribution rates that can be charged will be set at a level below inflation and will not be directly tied into the cost of doing business, as they are now. This will result in the need for aggressive cost reductions just to maintain traditional earning levels.
• At Guelph Hydro, our vision of the future entails the restructuring of electric utilities to the point where they are only a handful of large regional players. These regional players will not only deliver the kind of business model I have outlined. They will also exert a significant impact on the formation of energy policy over time -- an opportunity currently denied to utilities the size of Guelph Hydro.
• While Guelph ultimately felt that Horizon would be the best partner for our first merger, we would never rule out future discussions with our neighbours.

Budget night voting record

Posted by Laura

Here's how councillors voted on some key budget issues:

Better transit

Moving to a 20-minute transit service that runs from the start of service to about 6:45 p.m., effective July 2008:

• IN FAVOUR: Councillors Beard, Burcher, Farrelly, Findlay, Hofland, Laidlaw, Piper, Salisbury, Wettstein and Mayor Farbridge (10)
• AGAINST: Councillors Kovach, Bell, Billings (3)

Youth Shelter

Funding a youth shelter for three months in 2008 at a cost of $72,000:

• IN FAVOUR: Councillors Beard, Burcher, Farrelly, Hofland, Laidlaw, Bell, Billings, Findlay, Kovach, Piper, Salisbury, Wettstein and Mayor Farbridge  (13)
• AGAINST: No one.

Land ambulance

Increasing ambulance staffing at the Drayton station to seven days a week/eight hours a day (the equivalent of one full-time position):

• IN FAVOUR: Councillors Beard, Burcher, Farrelly, Hofland, Laidlaw, Bell, Billings, Findlay, Kovach, Wettstein and Mayor Farbridge  (11)
• AGAINST: Councillors Piper, Salisbury (2)

Implementing a pilot program for a paramedic response unit serving Rockwood, Erin and Hillsburgh:

• IN FAVOUR: Councillors Beard, Burcher, Farrelly, Hofland, Laidlaw and Mayor Farbridge (6)
• AGAINST: Councillors Bell, Billings, Findlay, Kovach, Piper, Salisbury and Wettstein (7)

Increasing ambulance staffing for the Guelph/Puslinch area by 168 hours (the equivalent of eight full-time positions):

• IN FAVOUR: Councillors Bell, Billings, Burcher, Laidlaw, Piper, Wettstein and Mayor Farbridge (7)
• AGAINST: Councillors Beard, Farrelly, Findlay, Hofland, Kovach and Salisbury (6)

Impact on property taxes

Removing $660,000 from the budget to lower the tax rate from 4.98 to 4.5 per cent. Staff were directed to find the money from reserves or debt funding:

• IN FAVOUR: Councillors Beard, Burcher, Findlay, Hofland, Salisbury, Wettstein and Mayor Farbridge (7)
• AGAINST: Councillors Bell, Billings, Farrelly, Kovach, Laidlaw and Piper (6)

Overall budget

• IN FAVOUR: Councillors Bell, Beard, Burcher, Hofland, Farrelly, Findlay, Laidlaw, Piper, Salisbury, Wettstein and Mayor Farbridge (11)
• AGAINST: Councillors Billings, Kovach (2)