KANATA NORTH NEWS Marianne Wilkinson Councillor, Kanata North City successful in taking steps to ensure all are

vaccinated
Ottawa has now vaccinated more members of the public than any other city, and most high-risk persons have now been able to get the vaccine. The greatest concern in moving forward to ensure those who want to be vaccinated receive it (that includes school children, as well as myself) is a shortage of vaccine. Clinics will continue based on vaccine availability. Check the city website for information before going to a clinic. Media will also have information available. Line-ups are now decreasing, and depending on the time it takes to give the vaccinations (it varies babies and young children usually take longer), more spaces may open up during the day, and that info will be on both the city website and on Twitter.

Lansdowne
By the time this paper hits the street, council will be fully engaged in the debate on the future of Lansdowne Park. Although the public has hotly debated the proposal, a random poll found 49 per cent were not aware of the proposal, and of those with an opinion, slightly more were opposed than in support. Generally, all said, something needs to be done to improve the park however. I have looked into the proposal in great detail, have met with the city manager three times as well as had other short discussions had a lengthy meeting with Roger Greenberg from Minto, one of the proponents, attended three of the public open houses and read more than a thousand emails. I still have concerns about the proposal, particularly as it impacts city costs and tax requirements. Basically, the city puts in about $130 million for the stadium, part of the parking structure, and half of the initial landscaping, and provides land for commercial development at no charge for 30 years. The development group puts in a minimum of $30 million, which includes the franchise fees for both the football team and purchasing the 67s franchise (about $17 million). The rest is part of the cost of developing the commercial component (most of which will be mortgages, which will be paid off through rent from the tenants). The city will pay for the part they need to borrow to fund (estimated at $110 million) from property taxes. These taxes are supposed to come from what is needed to be spent annually to maintain the park plus 75 per cent of the property taxes paid by the new development. Using property taxes for a sole use is a bad way to handle municipal finances. Taxes are needed to pay for all services police, fire, ambulance, social services, park and recreation facilities, transit, roads, snow removal etc. There is a limit to how much new development occurs in Ottawa each year to cover the increased costs of these services. And the city

will also have ongoing costs of police to direct traffic outside the grounds, transit costs and the like. This wouldnt be so bad if the formula to pay out funds generated from the park were distributed fairly. The present structure is a fund to pay for ongoing maintenance of the facility (held by the city as a reserve for such work and cant be used for other purposes), then the developer gets an eight per cent return on his investment of $30 million or more, then the developer gets paid back his investment and only then will any payment be made to the city and only on the value of the land provided at no cost. I will be putting forward a motion to change this to a true partnership return on investment. I have not yet made a final decision on how to vote on this proposal. As originally presented, I cannot support it. Depending on what changes are made to the financial model, to design and to reducing the commercial development, I may be able to support the next phase of needed studies. Regardless, if this proposal is rejected, the City needs to develop and implement a plan to improve this valuable property.

Budget issues
City committees have been going through the first draft of the budget for that committee. One issue raised has been the funding of the citys recycling programs both green and black boxes and the new organics program. The committee has recommended these be funded by a special levy rather than remaining on the tax bill and that five special bylaw officers be hired to enforce recycling. I do not favour this approach. Recycling benefits everyone, including those not yet on the program, by reducing waste going to landfills so that we will not need to fund a new landfill in the future which would be hundreds of millions of dollars paid by everyone. Thus, recycling should stay as a general cost on the tax bill. Also, with the new green bin program everyone needs to become used to the program before an enforcement program is started - so hiring more bylaw for this reason doesnt make sense at this time.

Coming events
Nov. 23 7 p.m., Ward Council with Presentation of final Terry Fox Design Dec. 7 Dinner to mark 40th anniversary of my first election, Brookstreet Hotel

Serving the residents and businesses in Kanata North

To receive the Kanata North Newsletter, to deal with a concern or make a suggestion contact me at 613-580-2474, email Marianne.Wilkinson@ottawa.ca or through www.mariannewilkinson.com.