Hall Marks with Emma Reilly

Behind closed doors

There's lots of hubbub going around about council's decision to discuss elements of the Pan Am stadium deal behind closed doors last week. The Ontario ombudsman is looking into a complaint about whether council was following the rules when it decided to go in camera.  Interestingly enough, we learned today that it was the Hamilton Community News who filed the complaint to the ombud's office.

At last week's meeting, Councillor Brad Clark said that the only reason council was going in camera was because the details were written on letterhead from the Gowling's law firm. Clark, Bob Bratina and Margaret McCarthy all voted against going in camera that day - and all three of them ultimately voted against the west harbour location for the stadium.

The mayor contends that this opposition is political and some members of council are using the issue as a vehicle to voice their opposition to the games.

What do you think? Are the complaints about going into camera political, or justifiable? What do you think will come out of the ombudsman's investigation?

 

The councillor who cried wolf?

If the province was worried about being slapped with a lawsuit from the City of Hamilton, they can officially exhale. Councillor Sam Merulla said yesterday that his plan to sue the province was a tactic to draw attention to the high cost of provincial downloading. Read the full story here.

Several of Merulla's council colleagues were relieved to hear that the option to sue the province had been taken off the table yesterday. Judging from their comments, it seems a tad unlikely that Merulla's plan would have passed. But at the same time, as Merulla pointed out yesterday, bringing up the possibility of suing pushed the cost of downloading  to the front page.

What do you folks think about Merulla's backtrack on suing the province?

Pan Am D-Day

Today's the day, folks. After months of speculation, council will be voting on the location of the Pan Am stadium. I've been told that today's meeting will be long and full of fireworks.

I thought I would keep you updated throughout the day on the blog - so check back in periodically to see how things are going.

9:47 - Chris Murray, the city manager, is kicking things off with a general presentation about the games.
Brad Clark has already voiced some opposition about the closed-door portion of the meeting later today. He argued that there was very little confidential information to discuss, so council should address it in public. The city's legal staff shot that suggestion down.

9:56 - City finance guy Rob Rossini says it would cost $18 to $20 million to keep Ivor Wynne going over the next 10 years. Beyond 10 years, the city could spend as much as $93 million. A new stadium will cost $128 million, $55 million of which will be city money.

10:15 - Some councillors are already on the offensive. Sam Merulla just asked a very pointed question about whether the Pan Am stadium will be area rated (like Ivor Wynne).

10:42 - The consultant from Deloitte just finished going through the details of his report. Lots of councillors are waiting to speak - but first out the gate is (you guessed it) Merulla.  He's asking (none too politely) about how many days the stadium will be in use per year.

11:52 - Council members are still asking questions about the Deloitte report. We still have to get through public delegations, the debate, and the in-camera session.
Lloyd Ferguson just brought up the parking issue - he said his residents support the west harbour location, but "they wonder what we're smoking down here" that so few parking spots are on the table.

12:35 - Moving very, very slowly along. We're starting to hear public delegations right now. First up is Chamber of Commerce CEO John Dolbec, who is endorsing the West Harbour location. Other delegates included Andrew Iler from the National Cycling Centre, Tom Cooper from the Hamilton Roundtable for Poverty Reduction and Kathy Drewitt from the downtown BIA.

2:08 - The public delegations are finally finished. At this rate, this meeting won't be finished until 7 p.m. Everyone is taking a much-needed half-hour break.

2:45 - We're back. Apparently some councillors have to leave around 3:30 - so in the interest of time, they're voting on the location of the stadium right now.

3:28 - We're very, very close to the vote. Councillor Brian McHattie just announced he will oppose the West Harbour spot because he's concerned his colleagues will push for more parking spots. He says his support of West Harbour is contingent on alternative means of transportation taking a leading role.

3:34 - It's official - the stadium will be at the West Harbour. Council has gone into camera for a deeper look at some remediation issues.

Here's the count:
For:

Collins
Duvall
Ferguson
Jackson
Morelli
Pasuta
Pearson
Powers
Whitehead
Eisenberger

Against:
Bratina
Clark
McCarthy
McHattie
Merulla

Absent:
MItchell

6:10 - Council is still in camera and I'm about ready to pack it in for the night. Stay tuned to tomorrow's paper for John Kernaghan's summary of the vote, my look at what's next for the velodrome and Andrew Dreschel's column about yesterday's meeting. Thanks for checking in!

Does your computer have an expiration date?

When you buy a new computer, when do you replace it? After a year? Five years? As needed?

At the city, they're doing it every three years  - regardless of whether the computer is still in good working order. In the latest three-year cycle - from 2007 to 2009 - that cost $5.6 million.

This issue is similar to a few stories I wrote last week about the expense of cell phones/BlackBerries and office furniture (see my earlier post for links to those articles and discussion). On one hand, everybody knows that to do business in 2010, you need the right tools - and up-to-date computers are part of that.

On the other hand, the city replaces its entire fleet of computers like clockwork, regardless of what the machine has been used for. Everyone -- from an employee using a computer for emailing and word processing to someone opening large files or using complex programs -- gets a new computer on a regular basis.

Another thing to keep in mind is the city says many other municipalities are on the same type of replacement schedule. However, other public organizations in Hamilton, like McMaster University and Hamilton Health Sciences, are replacing their computers as needed.

What do you think about the city's policy to replace computers every three years?

Priming the mayoral pump?

An interesting email landed in my inbox this afternoon. It's a press release from McMaster University introducing the host of a women's basketball conference in March - none other than potential mayoral candidate Teresa Cascioli.

Here are a couple paragraphs from the release:

McMaster University Athletics is excited to welcome one of Hamilton’s most dynamic personalities, Teresa Cascioli, as the Honorary Chair for the 2010 Canadian Interuniversity Sport (“CIS”) Women’s Basketball Championship.

 A native of Hamilton and graduate of McMaster University, Ms. Cascioli is best known for her forceful leadership as the CEO of Hamilton’s Lakeport Brewing. Her efforts changed the beer market in Ontario and positioned Lakeport as the largest discount brewery in Canada. Cascioli left Lakeport in 2007 after the sale of Lakeport to Labatt Breweries of Canada.

 Since then she has established the Teresa Cascioli Charitable Foundation, well respected for its many local philanthropic works, including the endowment of an academic Chair in support of Entrepreneurship Leadership at McMaster’s DeGroote School of Business. As energetic as she is business-savvy, Ms. Cascioli remains active in a variety of organizations, including serving on the Board of Directors for Canada’s Walk of Fame.

“McMaster is thrilled to have as the event’s Honorary Chair one of Canada’s most successful entrepreneurs and a fantastic role model for young women everywhere.” said Jeff Giles, McMaster’s Director of Athletics and Recreation.

“Hosting the eight best CIS women’s basketball teams at McMaster is a tremendous opportunity to showcase both the City of Hamilton and McMaster University to a national audience,” exclaimed Cascioli. “I am excited to be involved and look forward to a tremendous event”.

I haven't heard a peep from Cascioli since I wrote about whether she's throwing her hat into the mayoral ring. Maybe the timing of her participation in this event is simply coincidental and it has nothing to do with politics. Cascioli is a big fan of McMaster and this could be the latest in a string of supportive gestures towards her alma mater.

But...on the other hand...I have to admit that the first thing that popped into my head was that this seems like a politically savvy move. It could be the cynical journalist in me, but it's hard not to notice the fact that appearances like these are the bread and butter of the campaign trail. Either way,Cascioli said she wouldn't be making any decisions public until next month.

What do you think?

Monday morning visitor

What do our federal politicians do when parliament is prorogued?

Attend Hamilton council meetings, of course.

Lisa Raitt, the MP for Halton and Minister of Labour, was sitting about 15 feet away from me at Committee of the Whole this morning. She wasn't here on any formal business - instead, she came to listen to a presentation by the Hamilton Port Authority.  Raitt, the former president and chief executive officer of the Toronto Port Authority, told me she came to support her "old friends."

Many of you will remember MP Raitt from a couple scandals last summer involving the loss of secret documents and a misplaced tape-recorded conversation, in which Raitt referred to cancer as "sexy." 

On her way out of the meeting this morning, Raitt told me she's going to spend the rest of the day in Hamilton. Her plans include a tour of the Port, lunch, and time to "hang around." I guess now that her boss has shuttered parliament, she doesn't have any pesky government business to worry about.

Money, money, money

Your money -- almost $2 million worth each year -- is paying for city BlackBerries, cell phones, and office furniture. At yesterday's audit and administration committee meeting, a report outlined the city's $1.1 million bill for mobile devices and $800,000 a year contract for office furniture. Read the full story here.

Obviously, furniture and BlackBerries/cell phones are necessary for city employees to do their jobs. I've called council members and senior city staff members many, many times after hours on their BlackBerries for last-minute information. However, the audit presented yesterday outlined how city staffers are using up free minutes to make personal calls. Currently, there's no  policy in place that forbids city staff from making personal local calls. There's also no policing policy in place that ensures they're paying the city back for long-distance personal calls.

Also, I just wanted to note that Councillor Russ Powers, the chair of the audit and admin committee, chatted with Bill Kelly this morning on his radio show and incorrectly stated that the $800,000 figure for furniture was over three years. As we reported in this morning's paper, that figure is per year. You can see for yourself on the city report here under recommendation "a."

So, what do you think, folks? Should the city have more guidelines about personal calls and BlackBerries?  Is almost a million dollars per year too much to spend on office furniture?

Bike lanes vs. parking

There's an interesting debate going on at Public Works this morning about bike lanes on Dundurn Street. Four community residents have taken time out of their Monday morning to express their concern about the dedicated bike lanes coming to their neighbourhood in the spring. Many of the homes in the area don't have driveways and many residents rely solely on street parking.

One of the most powerful comments this morning came from James Clarkson, who recently opened the State Farm Insurance on the corner of Herkimer and Dundurn. He told council that he wouldn't have chosen that location if he knew these bike lanes were coming. That certainly got the attention of the more business-friendly council members.

Councillor Brian McHattie, who represents Dundurn Street, conceded that the public consultation process on this issue wasn't as developed as it could have been. However, he said he's been working with city staff to try and ease the impact of the bike lanes. Instead of painting the lanes in September when the road was repaved, McHattie managed to hold off the process until this spring to allow the public more time to adjust. He also said though the plans originally cut 25 parking spaces, the street is now only losing about 10 parking spots.

This is a debate that will undoubtedly pop up more and more as the city tries to shift its residents' transportation habits away from cars to bikes and public transit. It's the same type of discussion that surrounds the plans to run rapid transit down King Street. I think most of us can agree that trying to get Hamiltonians out of their cars a noble goal - however, many have questioned whether city residents are really prepared to give up their dependence on the almighty automobile.

What do you think? Should we be worried that  the city' s attempts to go green could be driving businesses away and angering neighbourhood residents? Or does the environment trump convenience?