59 Carden St.

And then there was one

posted by Scott

It would seem local developer Armel Corp. is suddenly alone in its opposition to the proposed development on the former Lafarge lands along Silvercreek Parkway South.

Earlier this week, city council approved a proposed agreement with developer Silvercreek (Guelph) Developments Ltd. Last night, members of the Howitt Park Neighbourhood Group voted 61-3 to do the same.

An OMB hearing on the matter, which was scheduled to begin next week, has also apparently been delayed again.

I should have details of the agreement between the developer and its now-former opponents later this afternoon. Watch tomorrow's paper for more information.

UPDATE: Here is the city's press release, posted on its website this afternoon:

 

Doors open new city hall

posted by Nicole

New city hall will be one of 2009's Doors Open Guelph locations on April 25 (that is hopefully a month after the site is open for business).

The event is a collaboration of Guelph Arts Council and the city's Heritage Guelph and Tourism Services. I wonder if any of the organizers have been inside the construction site?

When I went on the media tour in October, ignoring the legal drama, I found it to really be a beautiful building. I'm sure there will be a lot of tax payers interested in a tour.

Save the parking metres . . . just in case

posted by Nicole

While Guelph has somewhat controversially decided to continue its free two-hour downtown parking initiative, maybe it is wise to keep those parking metres in place. Just in case.

It seems the competition for parking spaces in Cambridge has a consultant group recommending a return to pay street parking. The only problem is they ripped out the metres 25 years ago.

Municipalities just can't escape parking debates.

Read the Waterloo Region Record's story here

Not in their back yard

posted by Scott

There's a bit of a battle brewing over a proposed lodging house in one of the city's upper-scale neighbourhoods.

A public meeting is to be held tonight, at 7 p.m., at the Westminster Woods library branch on Farley Drive. City councillors and staff will address residents' concerns regarding the city's lodging house bylaw, in the wake of an application by a Waterloo schoolteacher to turn a nearly-$400,000 home on Hands Drive into a lodging house for university students.

I don't think I'll be able to make the meeting, but I'm talking to the players and we should have a story in tomorrow's paper.

There are 46 registered lodging houses in Guelph, the city says. Click on the blue tabs for the address and number of lodgers. Use the tool in the upper left to zoom in and out.
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Tax increase set late April at the latest

posted by Nicole

The city’s tax rate will be set April 27 at the latest, said treasurer Margaret Neubauer in a brief tax rate update during council last night.

This is new. Since the Dec. 15 budget it has been repeated that the tax increase would be set in February.

During the budget meeting a 3.74 per cent increased levy was passed, but it ignored the provincial and social services budget shortfalls.

The $900,000 social services and housing budget shortfall, “is still a moving target,” Neubauer said. This will be set in February.

Neubauer said she also hopes to meet with the province over the $1.45 million Ontario Municipal Partnership Fund for money which the province says

Guelph

no longer qualifies. She said the province is using 2007 numbers. She hopes the funding loss can be phased in.

Development charges controversy

posted by Nicole

A revised development charges bylaw is set to go before council tonight. When the DC increases came before council late last year many developers expressed outrage over the high increases.

The revised bylaw offers a few phase-in options.

There is a letter posted on Coun. Ian Findlay's Ward 2 blog that argues all the phase-in options will mean the city will lose money.

Here's the Mercury story from early December about the original bylaw draft: Fee hikes could cripple city: builders

UPDATE

City council approved the phasing in of industrial development charges, which includes a two year freeze and then three year equal increase. The final increase will be $62.33 per square metre, from $44.32 to $106.65

Despite the protests of other developers, residential and commercial properties will see a full increase on March 2, when the new bylaw comes into affect. 

Commercial will see an immediate $51.52 increase per square metre, from $80.29 to $131.81.

Residential developments will also see an immediate increase, but the amounts vary depending on unit type. For instance, a single or semi-detached residence will increase more than 100 per cent to $24,053 from $11,721.

Read more in Tuesday's Mercury

New city hall move-in date

posted by Nicole

City employees should finally move into new city hall in mid-March, according to a document going to council on Monday.

To date, 18 subcontractors have returned to work on the site, under post-Urbacon general contractor Alberici Constructors Ltd.

Two subcontractors would not return and five more are ready to come back after finalizing an agreement with the city.

The document also says there was about $2.4 million worth of work remaining when Alberici took over.

It also says the city's consultant team found $500,000 worth of deficiencies.

The Ward 5 blog posts a letter from CAO Hand Loewig with the "good news."

BY THE NUMBERS

To date 182 change orders have been approved (these are what Urbacon was complaining about) at a cost of almost $3 million.

The total project commitment is $52.3 million, with almost $40 million spent to date.

Back when the Urbacon contract was approved by council in 2006 (by the previous term of council) the entire project (new city hall and turning old city hall into the courthouse) was budgeted $42 in total.

UPDATE

Murray McCrae, manager of corporate property for the city presented this report at council tonight.

The presentation with new pictures inside the building was called "new city hall: the inside scoop." The name got a laugh.

An interesting point that came up was that the architect was sending lists of construction deficiencies to Urbacon each month and many weren't fixed. The new general contractor is now working to fix $500,000 in deficiencies.

I also asked the city lawyer several questions about the ongoing lawsuit and how much the city has paid out to subcontractors, including those who filed liens and statements of claim against the city.

The answers are that nothing can be disclosed because it could compromise ongoing legal matters. All the liens are being case-managed by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice together with the Urbacon litigation.

Gummer work starting up?

posted by Nicole

So I was walking downtown today and noticed three workers going up in a lift at the Gummer building.

I couldn't see what they were doing, but it made me wonder if work on the building was starting up?

In late November work basically ground to a halt as its owner Skyline Inc. looked for an anchor tenant.

Read the last story here

I've left a message for Jason Ashdown, chief operating officer of Skyline, asking for an update.

UPDATE

So it seems the work was to secure the site, so that the fences could be pushed back. I'm still working on further details and have left another message for Ashdown.

More downtown public washrooms

posted by Nicole

In an effort to combat late-night, public urination in the city's downtown, it seems the parking office on Macdonell Street may be turned into a public washroom.

This smelly problem has been a focus of the city's Downtown Task Force.

Councillor Ian Findlay speaks about it and links to an article written quoting him on his Ward 2 blog.

Get the H in?

posted by Scott

Okay, I know this blog is supposed to focus on municipal politics, but I'm also sure most of you are watching events in Washington as closely as we are here.

Here's what I'm watching for: Will the new president be sworn in using his full name? Obama has said this is his intention, but that has been met with some resistance from those who feel his middle name -- Hussein -- sounds a bit too terroristy.

Reports suggest during rehearsals over the past couple of days they have been using "Barack H. Obama."

The new prez strikes me as someone intensely proud of who he is and where he came from. Refusing to use his full name because it makes some people uncomfortable would be a shame.

UPDATE: He used his full name. Good for him.