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Hamilton Farmers Market part of $1-mil City Hall Fraud Investigation – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

June 28, 2013
A letter from Hamilton Farmers’ Market manager Donna Lee Macdonald to merchants yesterday confirmed the City believes money was siphoned from vendors.
Macdonald asked merchants at the Market to cooperate with the ongoing police investigation if contacted by detectives.
Shane Coleman (no relation to reporter), of the Hamilton Farmers’ Market Stallholders Association, expressed disappointment at the news saying “We contacted the City in 2009 about financial indiscrepancies that started in 2005. To learn that this fraud started in 2005 as well, we’re very concerned.”
Coleman says prior to 2004, the Market never lost money and merchants have been asking questions ever since the Market started reporting a lost in 2005.
He wonders if the City had listened to their concerns, could the fraud be found years sooner.
Coleman says market staff collect cash payments from daily vendors who rent space in the Market and from merchants for utilities.
The Market has been the centre of political debate at City Hall for the past two years since it returned to its home location after renovations. City Council has started the process of exploring privatization to stem losses at the Market which has required a subsidy of approximately $240,000 per year since renovations.
Based on upon the City’s rent per square foot, yearly rent revenue for the Market should be $528,625.50.
A request for comment and for Market financial statements has been made to the City.
The City is not commenting on this letter or further commenting on the fraud, citing the ongoing police investigation.
Dear Vendor Community
Recently the City advised that a long-term employee was found to have committed theft from the City of Hamilton. That employee no longer works for the City, and the matter has been referred to the Hamilton Police Service for the theft of funds. The period of investigation may go back as far as 2005. If any Market vendor is contacted by the police to assist in their investigation, we encourage your cooperation. Market staff will also be fully cooperating with the investigation.
Donna Lee Macdonald
Manager
Hamilton Farmers’ Market

source: news-thepublicrecord

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/


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Integrity Commissioner Decides to Take No Action Over Mayor’s Comments to City Manager – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

November 13, 2013
Integrity Commissioner Earl Basse finally submitted his late report on the April 24, 2012 incident during which Mayor Bob Bratina made heated comments to City Manager Chris Murray.
After months of delay in completing his report, Basse finds Bratina’s actions did not violate Council’s Code of Conduct.
Basse recommends no formal action be taken and says the incident had no impact on the relationship between the Mayor, Council, and staff.
During a debate on wording to reaffirm and strengthen support for Council’s position in favour of the B-Line LRT project – following comments from Bratina a week earlier that Hamilton had to choose between LRT or all-day GO service to Stoney Creek -, Council became very heated.
Bratina disagreed with the professional opinion of Murray on if adding the wording “priority project” to Council’s affirmation of support for LRT would change the dynamic of project prioritization such that other projects may not be funded if there are insufficient provincial funds for LRT.
Bratina walked over to Chris Murray and stated
“I can’t believe you said that! I can’t believe you said that!”
Nearby Councillors are seen to immediately turnaround in surprise at the tone of the comment. Councillor Jason Farr aggressively rebukes the Mayor at the end of the meeting for the “awful nasty” tone towards the City Manager.
The video above shows Bratina walking – with purpose – to Chris Murray and the immediate reaction of those nearby to the comment. Especially telling is the reaction of General Manager Joe-Ann Priel (seat to Murray’s left) as Bratina is walking away. Priel is focused on Bratina, and appears – at the least – surprised by what had just occurred.
It is clear that the tone of Bratina’s comment was shocking to those surrounding the incident.
Basse found the Mayor stated “I can’t believe you said that! I can’t believe you said that!” to Murray.
He did not review the high-quality video of the meeting, instead relying upon the City’s lower quality footage stating “the Video Stream did not record the Mayor’s exchange”.
The Mayor’s tone was “angry but not threatening.”
Murray was surprised by the comments but “was neither intimidated nor threatened by the exchange nor did he feel his professional reputation was injured”.
The incident has “not affected the working relationship” between the Mayor and Murray.
Mayor Bratina apologized to Murray during the week after the incident.
Basse did not make any formal recommendations, he did make two statements of note that suggest changes for Council.
He found Councillors often engage in “side-bar conversation” with senior staff during meetings as “this serves a useful purpose in speeding up the meeting” adding, “Although I’m not in favour of such activity, as it tends to disrupt Council, the appropriateness of such activity is for Council to determine.”
Basse found that while Murray was not harmed in this incident, “members of staff often fell intimidated when making presentations before Council and Committee meetings.”
He says that is important for Committee chairs to take action to correct any “inappropriate behaviour” towards staff in the future.
Council will formally receive the report during tonight’s City Council meeting.

created: November 13, 2013


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What’s Happening at 1 St. James Place? – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

May 12, 2014
Demolition work is underway at  1 St. James Place, a property in the Durand Neighbourhood near St. Joseph’s Hospital – an area with a parking shortage.
The work being done is a limited demolition permit for the current car garage and the back porch – it is not for a parking lot and a parking lot is not a “as of right use”.
I looked up the permits today.
The property is zoned for single-family residential, is not part of the James Street South commercial district, and any attempt to create a parking lot will require a re-zoning application that will take months to process, will be not be considered a minor zoning change, and will have to be voted upon by the entire Planning Committee.
A parking lot at 3 St. James Place is about as likely as my walking on the moon in two years.
The Downtown surface parking lot ban only applies to properties in the area of Wellington-Queen-Hunter-Cannon. It does not cover St. James Place.
Any surfacing parking lot at 3 St. James Place will require a rezoning.
There is the issue of the demolished garage area potentially being used for parking, and that parking being “rented” to other persons.
Parking is allowed in residential zoning as an ancillary use – the parking is for the residence and not for commercial purposes.
However, many people “rent” parking spots on private property across the City. Think game day at Ivor Wynne for an extreme example of this.
Based upon neighbour complaints, the City will enforce parking regulations on residential property.
The trees cut down were on private property. There is no City bylaw preventing the removable of the trees, and they were not City trees.
Only in areas that are considered to be heritage districts is there a blanket ban on removing healthy trees.
Councillor Farr is meeting with neighbours tonight, he stated.
I’ll monitor for any applications to building for additions to the property.
Note: I incorrectly stated the street address as 3, it is in fact 1. I apologize for my error.


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City Addressing Downtown ‘Parking Crisis’, Leasing Surface Parking on Prime Development Land – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

July 7, 2014
EDITORS NOTE: This story was originally published on JoeyColeman.ca
City staff, concerned about the potential of higher parking rates in the downtown core, are asking Council to keep a large piece of prime downtown real estate as a municipal parking lot – with complete exception from property taxes for the owners of the property the City is leasing.
The parking lot at the southwest corner of Bay and King will continue to be leased by the City for five more years with the City bearing the full cost of maintaining the property.
The City will pay $235,000 in 2014 for the land, with an increase to $275,000 in the final year of 2019.
The City will exempt the land from property taxation, and give the property owners two free parking passes for the City’s underground lot at the Convention Centre.
Citing the Downtown Hamilton Parking Study from 2013, City staff warn that the recent revival in the Downtown core is resulting in a decrease in surfacing parking and this places “significant importance on retaining Car Park #80 within its parking portfolio”.
The staff report does not state how much revenue the parking lot generates for the City.
In the long-term, staff suggest there may be conditions for the building of a parkade.
Council votes Monday on the recommendation.


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As Centenary Church Looks Towards Demolition, We Need To Talk About the Future of Church Buildings – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

August 24, 2014
Update: Centenary say they are not opposed to being on the interest list. Only to a possible heritage designation in 2021. They’re delegation was received at City Hall (and I’ve checked with others) as being against the interest listing as well.
Another one of Hamilton’s downtown churches is in financial distress, and the 19th century landmark structure could be heading towards sale or even demolition.Centenary United Church – on the corner of Main and MacNab – wants to be removed from the City’s registry of buildings of heritage interest.
There’s only one reason to ask for removal from the registry – to make it easier to demolition a building.
There isn’t much being listed does to a building, and it’s different from designation. Being listed only delays the issuance of a demolition permit by 60 days (Ontario Heritage Act 27.3), and provides access to some limited City grants.
Without listing, a demolition permit would be granted as a right with no public notice. ‘Permit one day, gone the next’.
Centenary United Church is not a designated building, meaning the “minor alteration” loophole used to demolish James Street Baptist Church cannot be used.
Recently, a set of listed buildings were facing demolition, and public attention ultimately lead to the buildings being saved from the wrecking ball.
In December 2012, the community was surprised by a demolition request for the pre-Confederation building fronting onto Gore Park at 18-28 King Street East.
There was public outcry, and Council tried to save the building by offering the building owner – Wilson-Blanchard – incentives to preserve the building facades.
The demolition permit was issued in early 2013, as a formality, even as the developer negotiated with Councillors. Even when the developer brought the wrecking ball to the building in July 2013, Council didn’t revoke the demolition permit by designating the building.
There were repeated outcries from the City’s heritage advocates asking Council to revoke the demolition permit.
They were ignored until suddenly, Council voted to designate in December 2013.
If they had not been listed, the wrecking ball would’ve finished the job before anyone noticed.
This brings us back to Centenary United Church, which recently merged with St. Giles United Church to create a new entity called “One Main Street United Church”.
Obviously, any attempt to seek a demolition permit as a condition of sale will result in a similar public outcry by heritage advocates and the neighbourhood association.
Meaning to successfully get a demolition permit, One Main Street United Church must first get the building removed from the heritage interest registry.
On August 21, Helen Bradley, chair of the merged church council, spoke in front of the Hamilton Municipal Heritage Committee asking for the removal.
The presentation officially claimed the heritage interest listing could interfere with the church’s Charter Rights to free exercise of their religion.
Numerous times, Bradley spoke of a need to look at disposition of the building now that they’ve merged with St. Giles Church.
As she noted, the listing impacts the value of the building as an asset for sale.
“The property – if you need to sell the property – would be worth less if the new purchaser could not tear down the building?”, committee member Paul Wilson (yes, the writer) asked Bradley.
“Potentially, it would certainly narrow down our possibilities of building disposition”, responded Bradley.
The Municipal Heritage Committee received the church’s delegation and kept the building listed.
They voted to schedule a full designation review for the building in 2021.
The church building’s cornerstone was laid on May 28th, 1866 – its a prime candidate for designation.
“The Churches are not the villains here,” said Paul Wilson. “You have known property we all enjoy driving past – and meanwhile you have to pay the bills.”
This summarizes the dilemma facing churches across Canada, the United States, and Western Europe.
The buildings are pillars of the culture heritage and character of cities – especially downtown cores – but unaffordable for shrinking church congregations responsible for their maintenance and upkeep.
Large churches – especially those built during the 19th century – are expensive to heat, commonly difficult to retrofit for modern accessibility requirements, and many require costly capital repairs that will cost their shrinking congregations millions of dollars to perform.
They are purpose built for a limited role, the Sunday worship, that society no longer demands.
They are relics, but relics many – likely the vast majority – want to keep.
Churches are being converted to other uses. Some uses keep the community hub role of the building such as a frat house in upstate New York, coffee shops (while remaining a church on Sunday), conversion to a mosque, breweries, and even an indoor skateboard park.
More commonly, churches are converted into housing, mostly into condominiums, with a few even becoming private mansions. (Check out this extensive slideshow of a converted church in Annapolis)
One Main Street United is receiving assistance from the United Church of Canada to explore future options for their downtown church.
The United Church is familiar with selling former churches for adaptive reuse into housing. (Here’s a 2011 article from the church newspaper)
While adaptive reuse is common to other post-industrial urban centres, it’s still a rarity in Hamilton.
The land Centenary United owns at Main and MacNab is likely more attractive (and lucrative) to a developer for a new residential tower than it is as a candidate for adaptive reuse.
As noted earlier, there are two obstacles to demolition.
Council’s shown in the case of the Gore buildings they’ll designated a listed building facing the wrecking ball, and because it’s not designated, it can’t be demolished as a “minor alteration”.
What’s next?, this is the question that must be answered in part by society.
Do we increase the tax incentives for adaptive reuse of designated heritage buildings, do we leave it to the market to determine how this church eventually gets reused, or even buy the building as a City?
What’s clear: We need to start discussing what we plan to do with heritage churches that no longer have the congregations to support the buildings that, as Paul Wilson put it so well, “we all enjoy driving past”.
In absence of the conversation, we should be prepared to write new chapters of Vanished Hamilton.
Personally, I see it as a candidate for a great mixed-income partially affordable housing project.


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James Baptist Redevelopment – Full Formal Planning Zoning Amendment Application Package – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

October 22, 2014
The full formal planning application for the redevelopment of 98 James Street South, the former James Street Baptist Church, is presently in the public comments phase following the submission of the full application from Stanton Renaissance to the City of Hamilton.
The proposal is for a 30-storey mixed use tower with 3 storeys of commercial at the base, and 27 storeys of residential condominiums consisting of 259 units. The building will have 98 spaces of parking for the units using a parking stacker underground and proposes including 4 car share spaces.
Today, I received a copy of the documents submitted on CDROM and have uploaded them to my server for you to read. (I haven’t had a chance to read the documents as of yet, and will not likely be able to do so until after the election)
Members of the public have until November 6, 2014 to submit comment to the City of Hamilton for consideration during the non-public planning processes.
The application will require a full public hearing by City Council’s Planning Committee.
Here are the documents:

created: October 22, 2014


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Why Bother? My Analysis on Hamilton's 2014 Municipal Election – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

October 29, 2014
CORRECTED: I mistakenly stated Aidan Johnson had won 10 of 11 polls. Ira Rosen won poll 106 in Ward 1, making Johnson’s victory 9 of 11 polls. I apologize for my error
Why Bother? That’s the question I ask myself following Hamilton’s election with its low voter turnout.
Why Bother to push for City Hall transparency, Why Bother to push for more civic engagement? Why Bother when people don’t vote and very little changes?
It easy to feel disheartened at 34.02% voter turnout. It’s even easier to just give up, and walk away.
Why didn’t people vote? There’s no single reason, and we don’t know what reasons equate to what percentage of those who didn’t vote.
What we do know is this is not a desirable outcome, and its something we need to address.
More about this in another later post, I really haven’t absorbed my emotionally draining disappointment about this. I hoped my work would contribute a small part towards improving engagement.
On The Results
The poll-by-poll results reveal the City is fairly united in our choices, this is not a suburbs versus city divide in how people voted, nor are their neighbourhood divides in the wards.
All incumbents won with huge majorities and super-majorities.
Based upon the results, Hamiltonians who vote are extremely happy with the direction of the City.
The most interesting result of the election race? The Ward 15 Public School Trustee race which was decided by only 11 votes.
Mayoral
Eisenberger strongly carried the Mountain and Ancaster. Dundas and Downtown Hamilton were won by McHattie by very narrow margins, and Eisenberger’s support in Flamborough was barely behind Clark with Eisenberger winning the suburban parts of Flamborough.
Clark won Stoney Creek, Upper Stoney Creek, and Glanbrook – the ward he represented and the areas surrounding. Even here, Eisenberger’s margins were very good.
Eisenberger won the Lower City convincingly.
He was elected no by one area of Hamilton, but by the entire City. While it may not feel so – mostly because Eisenberger ran a very quiet campaign – we have our first Mayor who is supported across the divides we created among ourselves post-amalgamation.
The Wards
Ward One
Aidan Johnson won a convincing victory in Ward One. I was watching for the poll-by-poll results expecting to see very different margins in the many neighbourhoods. Instead, Johnson won 9 of the 11 polls in Ward One. Sandy Shaw, who placed second, won the poll at Ryerson Recreation Centre. Ira Rosen, who placed sixth, won Poll 106 in Westdale.
Johnson’s margins were close in most of the polls he won, with only Poll 104 – Dalewood being a decisive victory at an individual poll.
Nonetheless, on a Ward wide basis, Johnson won a good mandate for his platform.
Also of note, McMaster students continue to join the rest of society in not voting. Poll 103 – Binkley United Church on Main West, just west of McMaster – continues to have the lowest turnout in Hamilton with only 152 ballots cast. 14% of registered voters. Keeping in mind the overwhelming number of McMaster students are not registered voters, the turnout is even more poor than the statistics imply.
Want to increase voter turnout, McMaster is our low-hanging fruit.
Ward Three
The biggest surprise of the night was the overwhelming, incumbent-like, victory of Matthew Green. In a crowded field of 15 candidates, Green nearly won a majority of total votes.
Of the 12 regular polls, Green only “lost” in two of them. I put lost in quotations because Green’s “lost” is only in election day ballots by margins that reflect his campaign focusing on getting his supporters out to the advance polls.
Green put nearly 20% of his votes into the advance ballot boxes before voting day.
In Keith Poll 301 – Eva Rothwell Centre, Green lost by 21 votes to Ralph Agostino. Agostino moved to the Keith neighbourhood early in the campaign.
North of Barton at Poll 302 – United Steelworkers Centre, Green lost by 3 votes to Agostino.
With 533 votes in advance polls, I have no doubt that Green won every neighbourhood if those advance ballots were counted at their home polls.
Voter engagement is tied directly to socio-economic position. Traditionally in Ward 3, voter turnout is concentrated in the southern portion where incomes are higher, and lower north of King, even lower north of Barton.
The candidates focused their efforts on getting people to advance polls. Almost unheard of, 16% of votes were cast at the advance poll.
We don’t know which neighbourhoods the advance votes were front.
There’s an irony in that the effectiveness of campaign voter mobilization efforts make it difficult to quantify the effectiveness of neighbourhood engagement/mobilization campaigns.
The neighbourhoods in the Keith Hub – north of Barton to approximately Sherman – saw a very healthy increase in voter turnout and engagement. This points to the City’s neighbourhood development projects as one of our solutions to the challenge of voter turnout.
Ward Nine
Former City of Stoney Creek Councillor Doug Conley won a relatively tight race for the open Ward 9 seat held by Mayoral candidate Brad Clark.
This was easily the most interesting race for poll-by-poll results with Conley winning only 2 of the 7 polls, as well as the advance poll.
Conley’s poll wins came in the older areas of Upper Stoney Creek – Poll 901 at Billy Green Elementary, and Poll 902 at Valley Park Recreation Centre. In both cases, the margin of victory was narrow.
The newer development areas of Upper Stoney Creek and all of Lower Stoney Creek were won by other candidates.
How then did Conley win? By placing a strong second in the polls he didn’t win. That broad support carried him to victory where the other candidates peaked in the polls they won but didn’t carry as strong of support outside of those neighbourhoods.
Cam Galindo won Poll 903 – Mount Albion Elementary School.
Nancy Fiorentino took Poll 904 Gatestone Elementary School.
Marie Robbins carried all three Lower Stoney Creek Polls.
Where Robbins was strong below the escarpment, she placed fourth and fifth in polls above the escarpment.
Fiorentino, who placed second overall, was third in Lower Stoney Creek polls.
Both Galindo and Fiorentino found themselves in third place in the polls the other won.
Conley’s victory was close. If any of his challengers seek a rematch in a narrower field of candidates, they’ll have identified voters as a base for mounting a strong challenge.
Conley’s margin of victory can be directly attributed to voter recognition from his work in the 90s as a Stoney Creek City Councillor.
He has four years to fortify with the advantage of incumbency.
Ward Ten
The closest race for any incumbent came in Ward 10 where Stoney Creek Citizen of the Year Teresa DiFalco ran a strong campaign against incumbent Maria Pearson.
Pearson still won an overwhelming majority, and carried every poll in the Ward.
The final result: 4,090 for Pearson, 2,390 for DiFalco, and 568 for Luana Yachetti.
Ward Thirteen
Russ Powers retirement brought out candidates and voters in Dundas. This ward enjoyed the highest voter turnout in Hamilton with 43.79% of registered voters casting ballots.
The winner was former Town of Dundas Councillor, and current Executive Assistant to Powers, Arlene Vanderbeek with 3,468 votes. Second place sent to Toby Yull with 1,988 and third to Rick Court with 1,285.
Vanderbeek won every poll in the race, with Toby Yull taking second in all but one of the polls. Court took second – by seven votes – at Poll 1301 Sir William Osler Elementary School.
Ward Fifteen Public School Trustee
Eleven votes – that was the margin of victory for Penny Deathe over Nick Lauwers in the closest race of the entire election.
It’s an extremely impressive showing for Lauwers as Deathe enjoyed strong endorsements from incumbent Karen Turkstra, MPP Ted McMeekin, and Ward 15 Councillor Judi Partridge.
With that support, an outsider such as myself can be forgiven for expecting Deathe to land an overwhelming victory.
In terms of the poll split, Deathe carried the more densely populated areas of Ward 15, and Lauwers the more rural. Deathe won the advance poll, 4 of 7 regular polls, and 1 of 2 special (nursing home) polls.
Lauwers is requesting a recount due to the tight margin.
Ward Two Council
Jason Farr overwhelmingly – like all incumbents – won re-election to Council.
None of the polls were close in the Ward, with two very small pockets of voters who could be seen as slightly disenchanted with Farr. In the North End and in Stinson, Terry Wallis cracked the hundred mark in voters at the individual polls. Farr still won super-majorities in those polls.
And just to prove that being near City Hall doesn’t equal engagement, only 27% of registered voters at the City Hall polling station cast a ballot. There is a disclaimer to this figure, it is possible that many of the voters in this neighbourhood voted in advance polls as City Hall was the Ward 2 advance poll location.
Even with the advance poll, seeing City Hall out your bedroom window does not seem to impact if you’re engaged enough to vote.

created: October 29, 2014


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Hamilton Police Services Board for November 2014 – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

November 17, 2014
The Hamilton Police Services Board holds it’s monthly meeting for November 2014, starting at 4pm today.
Highlights on the agenda include: Online Crime Mapping, The Annual Social Navigator Project Report, Body-Worn Camera Study Report, and the location of the Concession Street crime prevention office.
Live video starts at 4pm

created: November 17, 2014


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Burlington Hires New Deputy Fire Chief from Hamilton Fire Department: Karen Roche – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

November 6, 2014
Burlington’s new Deputy Fire Chief will be Karen Roche, who is presently an Assistant Deputy Chief for the Hamilton Fire Department.
Roche is a familiar face to Hamilton media. In her role as Asst. Deputy Chief, she is often at large multiple alarm fires as part of the on-scene commander.
Having observed her command of major fire scenes, including large industrial fires, Burlington has hire a very competent commander to lead their service both from the back office and from the front lines of fire scenes.

created: November 6, 2014


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City and Waste-To-Energy Plant on Collision Course Over Zoning with Port Authority – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site
Become a Press Club member today and help TPR grow local journalism here in Hamilton
November 14, 2014
The second public meeting on the proposed Pier 15 Waste-to-Energy gasification plant was held at the Eva Rothwell Resource Centre in the Keith Neighbourhood Thursday evening.
Port Fuels & Material Services Inc, the company proposing the plant, was required to host the second public meeting.
The Hamilton Port Authority, which is landholder for the proposed site and a proponent of the plant, was not present.
The outcome of the meeting?
A lack of details numbers related to emissions, clarification that waste will be primarily delivered by transport truck, and many annoyed residents.
For the first time, a City Councillor confirmed the City’s expectation that the proposal will result in a court battle between the City and Port Authority the City’s “K” Industrial zoning and permitted uses.
The second open house was much like the first was a series of placards in a large room for the public to view and consultants from Conestoga-Rovers & Associates available to speak to.
The open house began at 6pm, with many residents arriving early and waiting in the hall, hoping to learn more about how the plant, to be located approximately two kilometres away, will impact their neighbourhood.
Residents were especially concerned about air quality impacts in a neighbourhood which is border to the east and north by Hamilton’s heavier industrial zone.
As the evening progressed, some residents became frustrated by the lack of detailed numbers on the planned emissions of the waste-to-energy plant.
Bob Clark, Chief Operating Officer of PFMSI, stated they were not able to provide the detailed emissions information submitted to the Ministry of Environment for the open house.
Bob Clark states the emissions information will be posted on the PFMSI website in the coming months.
PFMSI’s placards state their emissions studies show planned emissions will be below Ministry of Environment maximum limits.
Environment Hamilton Executive Director Lynda Lukasik says the information provided at the Open House didn’t answer the key questions about the proposal, including a list of questions EH submitted to PFMSI months ago which remain unanswered.
Councillor-elect Matthew Green (Ward 3) stated the open house was more about marketing than science.
“I see a bunch of registered trademarks,” said Green, referring to PFMSI placards about GasPlasma® and Plasmarok®. “I don’t see much science.”
Green said the airshed of Ward 3 neighbourhoods is already stressed from pollution and more emissions were not acceptable. Green worn the new button of the campaign against the proposed plant.
Green stated leading opposition to the plant proposal will be his “top priority” upon assuming office on December 1st.
Councillor Chad Collins shared in the assessment of the open house, saying he wasn’t seeing any of the details the community needed from PFMSI and feeling PFMSI was merely going through the motions rather than listening to the community.
“Maybe they believe it is easier through the courts instead of the municipal process,” said Collins about the decision of PFMSI and The Port Authority to not meet with the City about a rezoning application.
“The City has offered to meet with them, they haven’t returned our calls.”
Collins noted that Bob Clark, during a delegation to City Council in June, stated he would meet with City staff.
Clark said PFMSI is working with the community, having created a community liaison committee and is following all processes required of the proposal.
It appears inevitable the proposal will end up in court as the City and Port Authority battle again over the rules governing port lands, and what exactly constitutes a use related to port and shipping activities.
What we didn’t learn last night:
What’s next:

created: November 14, 2014


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Four More Years – Why I'm Going to Continue Covering City Hall and Why I Need Your Support To Do It Better – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

November 3, 2014
I’m committed to continuing to cover my hometown and creating a sustainable independent news outlet which grows to make Hamilton a more informed engaged City.
Journalism is Dead! Newspapers are Dying! Nobody Wants to Pay for News!
These are just some of the headlines that are taken as common beliefs in journalism today.
I don’t believe this and it is why for the past two years I went against the conventional wisdom of my profession with a simple belief:
People are willing to pay for news … they are willing to pay for high quality news that informs them and provides them access to the information they need to be informed and engaged citizens as part of a vibrant functioning democracy.
This is why I’m launching The Public Record. Hamilton needs high quality journalism more than ever, and together we can build something that provides the information we need.
I crowdfunded to buy the equipment we needed to do this, the equipment that livestreams nearly meeting at City Hall, Public School Board Meetings, Hamilton Police Services Boards, the camera gear that is there live when you need information in the middle of the night, and the only live camera that is there for community events such as the Casino Town Halls, Public School Trustee Debates, and numerous election debates.
Now, I have to achieve sustainability for myself to continue. I need to be able to draw a modest salary for my work. More importantly, I have to build a news outlet which can hire more Hamiltonians to cover our City.
I need new equipment to improve my workflow and to create better coverage.
I’m going to build a custom computer this November which will enable me to add graphics to my live video such as information boxes explaining agenda items, allow me to clip video item-by-item during meetings (enabling you to find exactly what you are looking for without searching hours of video), and build in picture-in-picture so you can see presentation slides in high quality while still seeing the speaker.
I’ll also be able to display tweets in real-time, enabling a better civic conversation, and getting more Hamiltonians engaged in our civic affairs.
I’m going to be able to use the video processing power to create – at minimum – a weekly 15 minute video summary of the week at City Hall. It’s my hope – especially because I’ll be better able to catalog video archives – to produce summary videos more often.
Building a computer capable of real-time video graphics will not be inexpensive.
Off-the-shelf studio computers cost $8,000 dollars. I expect to spend $5000 building the system. Importantly, I’ll build the system for future upgrades as I plan to eventually purchase a second camera and will be able to broadcast with both.
Software for broadcast graphics will add approximately $1000 to the cost of the system, and another $1000 dollars for monitors as I’ll need a set at my office and a set at City Hall. (I’ll be transporting the computer between my office and City Hall daily)
I need to replace my streaming box. This will cost $600.
I’ll be documenting the building of the system during the month of November as contributions to this crowdfunding campaign enable me to purchase the needed parts. I hope to raise the funds need to complete the build before December 1 when the new City Council is sworn in.
I’m excited to continue covering City Hall and my hometown. I’ve thought much about my career goals, especially in the past year. I’m enjoying covering my hometown and when you enjoy something, it doesn’t feel like work.
I wish to keep innovating. To this end, I’ll be working in November to do the following:
I want to start holding a monthly town hall type event at area pubs. I’ve heard clearly that people want to do more than just engage online, they want to have informed dialogue in person.
As I refocus my work and improve it, I plan to hold a monthly pub night on the fourth Thursday of each month.
As I grow the number of supporters of my work, I’ll hire someone to help organize panel discussions and other events to improve our civic life.
For the past few months, I’ve been working on my tablet (my laptop broke in June). Even with minimal equipment, I’ve been able to provide the high quality coverage.
With your support, I’ll be able to get the equipment to provide even better coverage.
Your support makes high quality coverage available to all Hamiltonians. There is no paywall, I don’t run advertisements.
Together, we just produce good high-quality journalism by Hamiltonians, for Hamiltonians, accountable to Hamiltonians, to advance Hamilton.

created: November 3, 2014


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Hamilton Police Launch Online Crime Mapping of Selected Crime Types – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

November 18, 2014
The Hamilton Police Service is providing crime data mapping for the public using BAIR Analytics online mapping service RAIDS.
HPS’ implementation of crime mapping is response to public requests following Halton Police’s online crime mapping launch in early 2013.
City Councillor Jason Farr moved a motion at City Council asking the Hamilton Police Services Board to implement crime mapping.
The hope is that online crime mapping will increase public tips and awareness of crime.
The Hamilton Police Service is providing RAIDS with Break-and-Enter, Robbery, Homicide, Theft from Vehicle, Theft of Vehicle crime data for the past 60 days.
Other crime types, including assaults, mental health, sexual assault, mischief under $5000, mischief over $5000, arson, vandalism, graffiti are not included to protect privacy of victims.
RAIDS takes this data and maps it on their service.
Users can view crime at the neighbourhood level, view the data as a list of crimes in their neighbourhood, and view heat maps of crime types to determine where crime is more prevalent, or by time of day to see when it is more prevalent.
Crime location icons are randomly offset within the block level to protect privacy. An incident at 123 Main Street will be mapped as 1XX Main Street and the icon within the 100-200 Main Street block.
One of the better features of the crime mapping is a Crime Stoppers reporting link on each incident to encourage more residents to report crime to police, with the ability to remain anonymous in doing so.
There is also a link to receive a free home security audit from the Hamilton Police Service Auxiliary.
While the service is “free” to the Hamilton Police Service, (taxpayers foot the bill for  collection and distribution of the data exclusively to RAIDS) the service isn’t freely available for residents.
Residents may get crime alerts in exchange for agreeing to the potential use of their email and data from the site (neighbourhoods of alert interest) for third-party marketing.
An example being a local home security alarm company purchasing from RAID access to emailing residents seeking alerts on home theft in affluent neighbourhoods.
From the terms of use, italics emphasis added for focus upon relevant passages:
F. HOW WE USE YOUR INFORMATION. BAIR may use your personal information to:
(i) Fulfill subscription requests, orders for software and services made online and to provide other information you request.
(ii) Make the Site easier for you to use.
(iii) Help us customize content most relevant to your interests.
(iv) Notify you about important news concerning BAIR.
(v) Notify you of new products and services, product updates, technical support issues, events and special offers we think you may be interested in.
We do analyze some of our Web services such as registrations, demos, downloads, and e-mail responses at the individual level in order to improve the quality of those offerings and to better tailor our marketing to our customers’ needs.
G. HOW WE SHARE YOUR INFORMATION. We may share the personal data you provide with other BAIR entities and/or business partners for purposes related to those described above. We will not sell, rent or lease to others your personally identifiable information. BAIR reserves the right to disclose any and all pertinent information to law enforcement or other governmental officials as we, in our sole discretion, believe necessary or appropriate.
The Hamilton Police Service is reviewing their contract with RAIDS to determine if the local contract overrides these passages of the terms of use.
HPS were to review for privacy concerns after a March 2013 delegation by myself (Joey Coleman) to the Hamilton Police Services Board in regards to the selling of user data by police supported crime mapping sites.
Here’s video of the 2013 delegation and the letter submitted to both City Council and the Police Services Board in regards to privacy protection.
Police will be adding a feature for residents and businesses to register security cameras with HPS to enable investigators to contact camera owners during criminal investigations.
Police will not have access to the cameras, and police state that will only contact owners for specific investigative purposes.
In terms of open data, at this time, Hamilton Police are exploring future opportunities to release data.
The March 2013 Hamilton Police Services Board motion was specific to crime mapping and has been achieved.

created: November 18, 2014


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Hamilton Soldier Participates in Remembrance Day in Poland – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

November 12, 2014
As Hamiltonians marked Remembrance Day across the region yesterday, Hamiltonians deployed with Canadian Armed Forces marked the solumn occasion across the world.
One soldier marked the 11th hour with the President of Poland.
Second Lieutenant Jacek Wojcik of the Royal Hamilton Light Infantry participated in the ceremony at the monument of Marshal Jozef Pilsudski in Kolobrzeg, Poland.
Among the dignitaries at the ceremony, which also marked the 96th anniversary of Poland’s independence, was Polish President Janusz Gromek.
2Lt Wojcik is deployed to Poland as part of Operation Reassurance, the CAF response to the security concerns of Eastern European members of NATO following Russia’s invasion of eastern Ukraine and Russian maneuvers close to these NATO countries.
When not in uniform, Wojcik is a Ph.D., P.Eng., Senior Principal Research Engineer at McMaster University’s Department of Engineering Physics.
A local newspaper included photos of 2Lt Wojcik in a gallery with their Remembrance Day story: http://www.miastokolobrzeg.pl/wiadomosci/9139-obchody-11-listopada-foto-video.html
2Lt Wojcik can been seen in picture 22 of 43 in the gallery standing at attention to the left. 2Lt Wojcik is also in photo 43 of 43, third from the right.
2Lt Wojcik is a “Language and Cultural Advisor” attached to the 3rd Battalion of the Royal Canadian Regiment. His job is to provide exact interpretive services between the Polish and Canadian units. 2Lt Wojcik is originally from Poland

created: November 12, 2014


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Hamilton Veteran's Committee for November 4, 2014 – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

November 3, 2014
Hamilton’s Veterans’ Committee will discuss free parking for veterans, added the Afghanistan campaign to existing momuments, the final preparation for the 2014 Remembrance Day ceremonies, and a motion for the “endorsement of a permanent recognition of Cpl. Cirillo’s service to his country.”
The meeting begins at 10am Tuesday, and TPR will broadcast it live.


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James Baptist Developer Required To Remedy Damage To Heritage Window – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

November 25, 2014
City of Hamilton Planning Director Steve Robichaud says the developer of the James Baptist site will have to remedy damage to the heritage window damaged in this week’s wind storm.
The preservation of the window was one of the requirements of the heritage permit which allowed for the demolition of most of the church.
“A Conservation Plan, including specs on the storage and protection of the retained and salvaged heritage elements, was completed as per Condition (a)(iv) of the Heritage Permit PH2013-058,” states Robichaud.
“Yesterday evening’s wind storm caused damage to the salvaged south transept window that was being stored on site. This will require an appropriate remedy to be developed and approved by the Director of Planning, prior to implementation (as per Condition (a)(iv)(2)).”
Well this effin sucks. #HamOnt #windstorm James & Jackson pic.twitter.com/RPJ9MBYqJw
— Bridget MacIntosh (@bridgetannmac) November 24, 2014
Robichaud states the developer’s architect, Drew Hauser, was on site last night.
The full condition of the permit states:
Condition (a)
(iv) A plan for the storage and protection of retained and salvaged heritage elements, including the on- or off-site storage location(s), environmental conditions and security, a schedule of regular inspections and monitoring, and any other protection measures as appropriate. In addition:
If the storage location is to be changed, the new location and address shall be submitted to the satisfaction and approval of staff, prior to the removal of the heritage elements to a new storage facility.
Any unsatisfactory environmental conditions or failures in the security measures shall be reported to Planning staff as soon as they are discovered and appropriate remedies shall be developed and approved by Planning staff prior to implementation, except in emergency situations.
City staff shall be allowed reasonable access to inspect the heritage elements in storage, at any time.
The developers plans for the window were/are to incorporate it as part of the interior design of the public spaces.

created: November 25, 2014


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Lobbying Queen's Park: Ticats, US Steel, and the City of Hamilton – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

November 23, 2014
With the municipal election now nearly a month behind us, it’s time to take a look at what’s happening at Queen’s Park in terms of Hamilton’s entities lobbying the provincial government.
The Hamilton Tiger-Cats and U.S. Steel have updated their lobbyists registrations, and the City of Hamilton has a new lobbying firm representing the City as Council pushes for a new Mid-Pen Highway.
Other Hamilton organizations could be lobbying the provincial government, the provincial lobbyist registry isn’t designed to be easily queried.
Eric Cunningham, former three-term MPP and Spectator columnist, continues to represent the Hamilton Tiger-Cats Football Club at Queen’s Park. The Ticats are actively lobbying the provincial on two items: The location of the Council-approved QEW highway promotion video-board sign, and “communications and awareness of the cost impact of delays of the Pan Am Stadium”.
US Steel’s lobbyist registry was updated to reflect the companies’ filing for creditor protection. U.S. Steel Canada is now represented by
Gordon Forstner of Drysdale Forstner Hamilton Public Affairs Ltd.
Here’s the complete lobbyist registry statement on the nature of lobbying:
Information sharing regarding restructuring matters for the purpose of identifying common objectives through the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) process and potential impact mitigation options and opportunities on issues such as future manufacturing activity, employment, employment benefits, etc.
Hamilton has a new lobbyist at Queen’s Park. Western Golden Horseshoe Municipalities Network, the new lobby front of the municipalities of Hamilton, Halton, Niagara, Peel, and Waterloo have hired three lobbyists from Hill + Knowlton Strategies to push the provincial government to build the Mid-Peninsula Highway.
Council approved joining the partnership in January. There was no cost figure attached.

created: November 23, 2014


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Mount St. Joseph Building To Be Demolished, City Issues Demo Permit During Council Recess – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

November 12, 2014
Today, November 12, 2014, the City of Hamilton informed the Municipal Heritage Committee that a demolition permit was applied for by Vrancor’s King West Crossings Inc. to demolish the heritage interest building at 354 King Street West, commonly known as the Mount St. Joseph / McMaster Children’s Hospital building.
The permit was applied for on October 7, 2014 by Darko Vranich’s King West Crossings Inc.
The demolition permit has been issued by the Building Department and demolition may occur at any date.
The building is only listed as being of interest, and was not added to the Heritage Interest Registry as lays on the west side of Queen Street, officially outside of the Downtown Core boundary.
For some reason, as of yet unknown, this information was not provided to the Hamilton Municipal Heritage Committee during their October 16, 2014 meeting.
Ward 1 Councillor Brian McHattie says he was only recently informed of the permit. Due to the election period, Councillors were not receiving routine updates from City staff.
“I only found about the demo permit recently as it was applied for during the election,” wrote McHattie in reply to TPR.
“Frustrating as there were no actions that could be taken given the lack of Council meetings.”
“[Councillor-elect] Aidan [Johnson] and I are meeting with Mr. Vranich next week to learn more as I am not aware of a development application yet at the City.”
As of November 12, there are no development applications filed with the City of Hamilton for post-demolition development.


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Multiple Alarm Fire on Lawrence Rd Sends One to Hospital – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

November 29, 2014
Hamilton Fire spokesperson Claudio Mostacci says an apartment fire at 710 Lawrence Rd in Hamilton’s Rosedale neighbourhood sent one person to hospital, and killed one of her two cats in the apartment.
Mostacci says the fire was caused by a candle flame which ignited while the resident was using household cleaning products.
The woman was rescued by fire fighters after returning to her apartment to attempt finding her pet cats.
Mostacci says the woman was rescued by fire fighters from her balcony and transported to hospital by paramedics with smoke inhalation.
Here’s the full HFD press release sent Saturday night:
HAMILTON, ON – November 29, 2014 – The Hamilton Fire Department responded to a report of a structure fire at a 5 storey apartment building located at 710 Lawrence Road, Hamilton at approximately 6:20 pm this evening.
Upon arrival, firefighters confirmed a working fire in a unit on the 4th floor of the building with heavy smoke showing from a balcony on the east side of the building. During their search and rescue operations, firefighters located and removed the lone occupant from the apartment. The patient was immediately placed in the care of Paramedics and transported directly to Hamilton General Hospital. The occupant of the apartment had re-entered the unit to locate pet cats which were eventually located by firefighters and removed outside to the care of Animal Control Services. The Hamilton Fire Department would like to stress the importance of never re-entering a burning building for any reason.
The fire was quickly extinguished and crews immediately started ventilation procedures in order to clear the building of smoke. All residents of the building have returned to their apartment units.
Firefighters contained the fire to the one apartment unit and damage is estimated at approximately $50,000. The cause for the fire has been determined to be using a cleaning product near a lit candle.
For more information on fire safety, contact our Fire Prevention Division at 905 546-2424 ext. 1380, weekdays between 8:30am and 4:30pm or visit our web-site at www.hamilton.ca/fire.

created: November 29, 2014


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Next Four Years: Ridesharing, Uber, and Taxi Licensing – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

November 18, 2014
An interesting challenge for the incoming Council is one facing cities across North America – how to respond to ridesharing services such as Uber and Lyft.
Uber serves as an online taxi broker connecting potential riders with private drivers.
It exists outside of current municipal regulations. Anyone with a vehicle can sign up to be a driver, and after a quick background check, Uber provides them an iPhone for receiving ride requests.
Passengers use the Uber app to request a drive, much as one currently calls a cab.
Uber has been operating in Toronto since 2012, and have rapidly expanded their operations in the region in the past year.
On Facebook, Uber is advertising for drivers in Hamilton.
They have not announced a date for launching in Hamilton. Traditionally, Uber launches without notice.
Today, November 18 2014, the City of Toronto announced its filed for a court injection to shut down Uber’s operations in Toronto arguing that Uber is operating an “unlicensed, unregulated” taxi operations.
Toronto states it regulates the taxi industry for public safety and consumer protection reasons.
Uber is presenting involved in a legal battle with the City of Ottawa as well.
Uber has defied municipal bylaws in most City’s its launched, and is in similar court battles across North America. The Wikipedia page related to Uber catalogues many of these battles.
Uber is currently engulfed in a major public relations fiasco after Senior Vice-President Emil Michael of the company suggested they would dig-up dirt on journalists critical of the company.
He specifically focused on Sarah Lacy, PandoDaily’s editor, who is critical of the company’s culture of “sexism and misogyny”.
Despite Uber’s legal and public relations problems, it is a Silicon Valley darling valued at over $18-billion with some estimates of $30-billion.
Uber’s investors are a who who of Silicon Valley, including Google Ventures.
I submitted the following questions to Director of Licensing Ken Leendertse:
With Toronto taking legal action against Uber, I have a couple of Hamilton questions as Uber is planning to launch in Hamilton shortly:
What is the City of Hamilton’s position on services such as Lyft and Uber – are they allowed in the City of Hamilton?
The City of Hamilton encourages innovation and welcomes new business across many industries. We are aware of newer services like Uber and Lyft that leverage technology to transform a traditional business model. That said, any business operating in Hamilton is expected to follow municipal by-laws.
We share the opinion of other municipalities that these are businesses primarily operating as a taxicab service. As such, they are subject to the same provincial and municipal regulations (e.g. Business Licencing By-law 07-170 – Taxicab Schedule 25 [stats on page 215 of pdf] and the Highway Traffic Act) to ensure consumer protection of residents and visitors, and to ensure the health and safety of passengers and drivers.
To date, Lyft and Uber have not contacted the City of Hamilton to inquire on local business licensing requirements nor have they submitted an application for a licence. We are open to explaining municipal by-laws and requirements; however, without the proper licensing they would be in violation of city by-laws and would not be allowed to operate.
Is Hamilton looking at intervenor status in the Toronto case?
Not at this time, but we will be monitoring the case.
Are you aware of any Uber drop offs in Hamilton which be in violation of municipal regulations or bylaws?
The City clarified they only regulate pickups
No, we have not been made aware of any pick-ups in Hamilton utilizing the Uber service. But we will be watching very closely what transpires over the coming weeks.
How will the City of Hamilton response if these services launch in Hamilton as Uber states they intent to? (bold emphasis from the City)
Firstly, we would strongly encourage Uber to contact the City of Hamilton to discuss our business licensing requirements, particularly for taxicabs prior to setting up business. There are separate requirements for owners, brokers, drivers and vehicles – again, the emphasis is on public safety, privacy and consumer protection. Some of these requirements include:
The City will gladly walk Uber through all the necessary steps in order to comply and operate as a legal taxicab service.
Without this facilitation and Uber being properly licensed, the City of Hamilton is prepared to take legal action in the interest of public safety. Convictions and fines under these laws may affect the ability of the drivers or owners to maintain or obtain municipal licences or renew Highway Traffic Act required permits.
Does the City take a position as it relates to Uber drivers who have signed up to be drivers in Hamilton?
We would caution anyone considering signing up to be aware that this is currently an unlicensed business in Hamilton.  Drivers must have a City of Hamilton taxicab license that requires a police record check and safety training (among other requirements as mentioned above). They also must drive for an owner and broker who are licensed by Hamilton. Driving without a taxicab licence is an offence under the Highway Traffic Act and the City of Hamilton Business Licensing By-law.
More importantly, the critical message in all of this is public safety: travelling in a taxicab that is properly licensed by the City of Hamilton means there is a trained driver, insurance coverage and a vehicle inspected for mechanical fitness.
One of the advantages of taxi licensing is public safety. The City of Hamilton inspects all taxis to ensure they meet minimum mechanical standards.
It also ensures the taxi operators have commercial insurance with liability protection of $2,000,000 for passengers.
Background checks are conducted by police on all drivers.
Drivers are tested on local knowledge, customer service, and must submit driver abstracts to ensure they are operating safely.
The Licensing Tribunal regularly revokes the ability of drivers to operate taxis for violations, one of the most common reason being demerit points.
For the drivers, the City ensures they have cameras and the emergency lights in their vehicles to protect against crime.
Uber is a disruptive innovation in taxi dispatch and ridesharing. It serves as the taxi broker, without the overhead of traditional brokers.
It does not limit the number of drivers by taxi plate licensing, and its commissions can be less for a driver than the traditional cuts given to broker and plate holder.
It implements so-called “surge pricing” during events such as snowstorms, rain floods, or other times when demand for taxis is increased.
For example, a ride home from Hess Village at closing time will be much higher than the ride to Hess Village in the afternoon.
The biggest disruption is the lack of taxi plates control.
In Hamilton, there are only allowed to be a set number of taxi plates, calculated as 1 license per 1,170 population in Hamilton. (I could not find the current number of plates issued)
Council must vote to issue new licenses based upon population increases, and faces strong political pressure from existing plate holders against issuing new licenses.
In 2013, the City issued 13 new plates on the condition the plate holders would operate fully accessible taxi vehicles and prioritize those with disabilities in their service.
This came after over five years of debate and intense lobbying on both sides of the issue.
Every new plate both increases competition and could potentially decrease the value of the plate. Officially plates are owned by the City of Hamilton and can be revoked, in practice, plates are worth tens of thousands of dollars, up to $200,000 according to some in the industry.
The sale of taxi plates is not regulated and it is a private market.
In effect, the City – by creating new licenses – is printing money to whomever is given ownership of the plate. There is a waiting list for future new plates. The new plate owner only pays a nominal fee to the City for the new license.
If Uber and similar services take root, the plates become as valuable as Bre-X stock: worthless with investors holding plates out significant amounts of money.
Many taxi plates are held, not by drivers, but by investors who then “rent” the right to drive taxis by leasing their plates to drivers.
By the time the plate holder, taxi owner, and broker are paid; a driver who doesn’t have any ownership is lucky to make minimum wage.
The Toronto case will proceed with an eventual court decision to be made.
Uber has very deep pockets from venture capital, and the ability to fund a legal fight all the way to the Supreme Court.
Uber’s strategy in the United States has been to pay fines as a ‘cost of doing business’, build a large customer base, and leverage this customer base of support to force political change to regulations.
Hamilton’s going to be in the passenger seat as Uber and the City of Toronto battle in court.
Ultimately, if Uber does continue to expand without concern for local bylaws, there’s little the City of Hamilton can do but issue fines that Uber will pay.


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Second Public Meeting on Waste to Electricity GasPlasma Plant at Eva Rothwell – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

November 13, 2014
The second public meeting into the proposed Pier 15 waste to electricity GasPlasma plant is being held tonight at the Eva Rothwell Centre – Wentworth Street North – from 6pm to 9pm.
TPR will be at the meeting, and we hope to bring you some live video as well on our Livestream.com page here: https://new.livestream.com/accounts/763580/events/3586081/
The public is expected to turn out in large numbers seeking answers on the project, processes, waste types, and potential emissions from the proposed plant.
TPR will have full coverage of the meeting on our website after it is completed.

created: November 13, 2014


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Welcome to The Public Record – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

November 3, 2014
Welcome readers to a new site for Hamilton news called The Public Record here at www.thepublicrecord.ca.
The mission of The Public Record is simple: to provide informed coverage of Hamilton’s communities and civic affairs to enable all residents to fulfill the responsibilities of citizenship by ensuring a more transparent, good civic government that is accountable to all residents of Hamilton.
We’ll focus on providing coverage that other outlets aren’t or can’t. As traditional newsrooms continue to shrink as corporate media focuses upon profit and consolidation, watchdog journalism is decreasing.
The Public Record works to reverse this.
The Public Record is based upon a simple idea: readers will fund and support high quality content that enables them to be informed engaged citizens.
We’re funded by readers to fill the local media gap, without the pressures of corporate media to chase clicks for advertisers by focusing on sensationalism or what bleeds leads.
Because of your support, we’re able to dedicate significant time and effort into deeply reporting and analyzing information.
We advocate for openness, all our work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License.
We publish the source documents used in our reporting for readers who wish to become further informed and to ensure our work can be reviewed.
We invite readers to check and challenge our work.
You can build on our work and research.
If you need original HD versions of our videos, or any of our work in an alternate format, contact editor@thepublicrecord.ca
All requests are provided free of charge under the CC-BY-SA license.
We are funded by a diverse set of Hamiltonians. We’re grateful for all support, supporters do not have any control over the editorial product or operation of TPR.
We do not engage in “content marketing” and do not provide coverage in exchange for payment of any kind. All our content is produced solely for newsworthiness and public interest – we’ll never take any money in exchange for covering a story.
The Public Record builds on the foundation of the work of Hamilton journalist Joey Coleman who is Canada’s first crowdfunded civic journalist.
Coleman began his crowdfunded coverage in September 2012, having covered Hamilton since 2010, seeing a need for an outlet committed to news for Hamiltonians by Hamiltonians free of the commercial pressures of traditional newsroom.
The Public Record will ensure this work expands and continues well into the future.
I hope you find the new site, and new brand for my public service journalism useful.


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What To Do About Voter Turnout: A TPR Discussion Event – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

November 19, 2014
What can be done about Hamilton’s historically low voter turnout? Can anything be done?
This was the question we asked at the first ever TPR Discussion Event on November 19 at the George Hamilton Pub.
Watch the full replay as three Hamilton experts, Elizabeth McGuire, Marvin Ryder, and Alex Sevigny, discuss the issue and recommend some steps we can take as a community.
Elizabeth McGuire, brings her experience addressing poverty in Hamilton, one of the root causes of low voter turnout in our City. She is involved with the Campaign for Adequate Welfare and HOPE  She organized a voter turnout project in the provincial election, including canvassing some CityHousing Hamilton buildings to increase turnout. She’ll bring us the perspective of how we can improve voter turnout by grassroots initiatives.
Marvin Ryder, Assistant Professor, Marketing in the DeGroote School of Business at McMaster, brings experience running Hamilton’s municipal government and ‘institutional memory’ of Hamilton’s political landscape. He was Chair of the Transition Board for the new City of Hamilton, charged with organizing Hamilton’s first amalgamation election in 2000. The Transition Board tried many methods of voter engagement, including organizing an official debate. Ryder can help us understand what government
Alex Sevigny, Associate Professor, Department of Communication Studies & Multimedia at McMaster, brings to the panel experience in provincial and federal campaigns, and his expert knowledge of communications. What can we do better in communicating to improve voter turnout?

created: November 19, 2014


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#AfterCouncil for December 17, 2014 with Crawford, Green, and Whitehead – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

December 17, 2014
ThePublicRecord.ca’s first #AfterCouncil discussion brought three strong minded and opinionated Hamiltonians together to discuss the social assistance software fiasco, the downtown bus lane, and transit in general.
We also asked them what their thoughts were and review of the first Council meeting of this term.
Listen below:

created: December 17, 2014


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Barton Street West Property Looking Over West Harbour Zoned for Townhomes since 1990s: Hamilton's Chief Planner – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

December 15, 2014
New sales office in Strathcona on Barton. Interested in the details around this #HamOnt cc @jason77leach @hamiltonscc pic.twitter.com/tH51cJ5vif
— Greg Tedesco (@greg_tedesco) December 15, 2014
Hamilton’s Chief Planner Steve Robichaud says the lands at 290 Barton Street West were zoned for residential town homes during the 1990s and the sales trailer that appeared on site during the weekend is permitted.
The lands were sold in 1997 by CN Railway to a brownfield developer and rezoned from industrial to residential as a condition of sale.
In 2002, Council approved a townhouse development on the site. (Here’s the 2002 staff report)
The site is zoned for townhouses or maisonettes of up to 11 metres (approximately 3 stories) height. Up to 17 townhouse dwelling units were permitted in the 2002 approval.
Robichaud says the developer is now moving forward with the zoning approved on the site which is east of Magill, west of Queen, with great views over the West Harbour.
The following is the paragraph related to the site in the Barton-Tiffany Urban Design Study approved by Council in September.
290 Barton Street West north of Magill Street
These residential lands are located opposite and adjacent to existing two-storey single family dwellings. Accordingly, it is recommended that the building heights be reduced from five storeys to three storeys.
This height will create a better transition to the existing neighbourhood. This input was received by the Strathcona Community Council through various consultations with the Public and Focus Group.
Under the Setting Sail Secondary Plan, the policies allows for a maximum building height of five stories. The subject lands have a dual zoning due to previous Zoning approvals by the landowner. The west portion of the subject land is zoned “RT-20/ S-1478” (Townhouse-Maisonette) District, Modified, which permits townhouse dwellings and maisonette dwellings of up to 11 m, or approximately three storeys.
The east portion of the subject land is zoned “L-MR-1” (Planned Development) District, which permits primarily existing uses. Under the district zone provisions, the lands will be required to be rezoned to permit future residential development, and would be limited to townhouses, maisonettes, and multiple dwellings under the following districts: “DE”, “DE-2”, “DE-3”, “E-2”, “RT-10“, “RT-20”, and the “RT-30”.
The maximum permitted height within the Zoning Districts range from three storeys
to eight storeys.

created: December 15, 2014


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Bus Lane at $245K, Human Error Resulted in Budget Line Confusion – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

December 11, 2014
On Monday, Clr. Chad Collins stated at Public Works Committee that staff told him the cost of the Downtown Dedicated Bus Lane was “nearly a half-a-million” when the original budget was $300,000.
I followed up with Public Works General Manager Gerry Davis and staff.
This would represent a concerning amount over-budget.
Collins said today there was a human error that give him the budget line for the Cannon Bike Track. The Downtown Bus Lane and Cannon Bike Track have nearly identical budget line numbers.
Davis says the amount spent on implementing the bus lane is approximately $245,000.

created: December 11, 2014


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CityHousing Seeking 5.6% Budget Increase in 2015 due to Bed Bugs and Energy Costs – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

December 9, 2014
Hamilton’s public housing agency, CityHousing Hamilton, is asking Council for a $3,825,538 budget increase for 2015 citing increased cost due to bed bugs and natural gas costs increases.
CityHousing owns 7,100 housing units across Hamilton with 14,139 people living in CH units.
Natural gas costs for CH are up 39% and 15 FTE positions costing $1,108,000 have been created to address bed bugs.
There were over 4000 bed bug complaints this year, and CHH is creating an internal pest control unit to address the challenge of removing beg beg infestations.
CHH’s total 2015 budget forecast is $71,357,222 with 49% of the budget coming from government subsidies.
The budget request will be considered by Council as part of the 2015 Budget Process – likely in February.
Councillors present for the CHH Board meeting were Collins, Duvall, Farr, Green, and Jackson.
Media present were Joey Coleman.

created: December 9, 2014


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City's Disability Committee Concerned about Quality of Sidewalks and Transit Issues – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

December 14, 2014
The City’s Advisory Committee for Persons with Disabilities (ACPD) held their December meeting with two primary topics of discussion: sidewalk quality and accessibility, and ongoing attempts to correct issues with the Hamilton Street Railway.
Committee members want the City to expand its installation of urban braille on sidewalks.
Urban braille are the textured marking on sidewalks that enable those with blindness or visual impairment to use a walking stick to feel the tactile patterns to safely navigate the sidewalks.
Hamilton’s installation of urban braille is limited to the Business Improvement Areas and six downtowns across the region.
To some members of the Committee, this is not good enough. They formally requested an update from the City in regards to expanding urban braille as a standard for all new sidewalks.
A 2010 City staff report states urban braille sidewalks are 2.45 times more expensive than standard sidewalks.
Some members of the Committee suggest that the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act requires urban braille as a standard for all new sidewalks.
The Ministry of Transportation’s website showcases Hamilton as a best practice implementation of urban braille.
ACPD dealt with the ongoing problems with Hamilton’s public transit agencies: DARTS and the HSR.
Both are chronically mismanaged, unreliable, and even worse for those with disabilities compared to able-body residents.
Whereas ACPD usually passes strong motions calling on the City to do better – the City is required to provide good service after a Human Rights case won by the ACPD -, they voted to invite new Transit Director David Dixon to a future meeting to discuss transit issues with them.
ACPD is looking to show good faith with the new Transit Director and appeared hopeful the new Director will work with them to improve DARTS and HSR service for persons with disabilities.
If Dixon chooses to work with ACPD, it will make a significant change in the City’s relationship with those with disabilities.
ACPD next meets in January.

created: December 14, 2014


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Committee of Adjustment Wrap-up for December 4, 2014 – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

December 4, 2014
The Committee of Adjustment met today, hearing 11 applications in total.  (Full Agenda)
Four of them are of note:
– 311 & 321 Frances Avenue in Stoney Creek which is a mid-rise residential building proposal
– 4 Derek Drive which is home to the Jackson family of Jackson Orchards fame. Jackson Orchards was the last farm within the boundaries of the Old City of Hamilton.
– 856 Beach Blvd which sought to build a basement on the Beach Strip
– 11 Brock Street, which is footsteps from Pier 8, a proposed reuse of commercial lands to residential and is tied up in City Hall red tape.
The developer, New Horizon, of 311 & 321 Frances Avenue, close to Lake Ontario near Green Road, required a variance in height for the top of the proposed buildings elevator shaft.
The development, which includes a 129-unit condo tower, was approved by Council in 2010.
The building variances for 15 metres (five-storeys) was approved by Committee of Adjustment this summer.
Committee of Adjustment approved the variance for the elevator shaft to extend above the 15-metres.
There was one objector at the meeting, a resident of the nearby 301 Frances Avenue condo building. The objection was related to lost line-of-sight to Lake Ontario.
The Jackson family sought a severance to their 10 acre property on the south side of King Street East, just east of Nash Road. They are splitting the property into a 7-acre and 3-acre property, to retain their family home on the 3-acre site and sell the other portion which borders King Street East.
The Jackson Orchard, on the northeast corner of Nash and King, was the last farmed property within the boundaries of the Old City of Hamilton. The orchard grounds are now a nursing home building a series of dense town homes.
They operated a farm market on the property they are severing.
The Jackson home will retain its “AA” (Agricultural) zoning which allows for the residence, and they will sell the 7-acre portion which will require rezoning before any changes can occur on the site.
The real estate agent representing the Jackson family estimates the 7-acre property can fit 120 residential units when it is developed.
The property includes a seasonal stream, woodlots, and under the stream a major municipal sewage pipe.
The agent says the environmentally sensitive stream and woodlots will either be transferred to the City or Conservation Authority by the developer, or become part of the “common elements” of the new development to ensure their protection.
As the land will need rezoning before development, there will be a full public process including a Planning Committee hearing, in the future.
CoA approved the severance
The debate about basements and potential flooding on the Beach Strip returned to Committee of Adjustment as the owner of 856 Beach Blvd – a development group – sought permission to build a basement above the 76 metre above mean sea level line. (Basically, above the water table as defined in an old bylaw)
Hamilton’s Bylaws states no home on the Beach Strip may have a basement due to the high risk of flooding in the event of a storm surge from Lake Ontario.
Many times in Hamilton’s past, the Lake has flooded the Beach Strip.
Committee of Adjustment is not entirely consistent in its upholding of the bylaw, having approved a handful of basement in the past four years.
The Committee is divided over the bylaw prohibition – with some approvals of basements when the CoA felt flooding was a lower risk or the elevation higher.
Ultimately, CoA denied this request on a 4-2 vote.
CoA members expressed – without a formal vote – a desire for Council to review the bylaw prohibition on basements in the Beach Strip neighbourhood.
The Beach Strip has become a popular development site, and has seen a significant amount of dense infill development in the past decade.
Once a neighbourhood of blue collar and middle class with lower property values, the Beach Strip is one of the most valued neighbourhoods in Hamilton now.
The question: will Council review the Beach Strip zoning bylaw rules, or continue to leave CoA to make ad-hoc decisions?
A North End development, a stone’s throw from Pier 8, came before Committee of Adjustment for a laundry list of minor variances to allow for an adaptive reuse.
The owner of 11 Brock Street, Bill Curran, wants to repurpose the site from its current commercial storage use to a three unit/home residential property.
Under the Official Plan, the property is approved for residential zoning as the desired zoning, but was a legal non-confirming commercial use.
Built in 1920 as a tool and die shop, the building was most recently storage for Complete Rent-alls. Curran, of Thier + Curran Architects fame, purchased the property from Complete Rent-alls.
The property is located on a street with road-widening right of ways. Curran wishes to have front porches, and some fencing at the front as an aesthetic feature.
This was the main stumbling block with the development getting caught up in bureaucracy.
Councillor Jason Farr came to Committee of Adjustment in support of the proposal and variances. Farr stated the proposal enjoys neighbourhood support.
The variances were fully approved.

created: December 4, 2014


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Council Rejects Public Delegation on Term Limits: Sets Tone for New Term – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

December 21, 2014
City Council set a precedent this week, voting down a public delegation request for non legal reasons. They’ve never denied a resident the right to address Council before.
They are either giving the middle finger to public engagement or deciding to focus on business solely within their jurisdiction, only time will tell.
What was the request? To suggest they consider term limits.
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Delegations to Council have be a de facto right of citizens since amalgamation, and even before.  No matter the topic, you could speak to Council and ask for something.
We don’t have to go back far to see Council hearing delegations on matters outside of their jurisdiction. U.S. Steel is an example, the cancellation of door-to-door Canada Post service is another.
Council heard numerous delegations on both during the fall Council session, and passed motions in both cases calling on the Federal government to change their policies to respond to concerns of Hamiltonians.
Is this a practice now ended?
It happened at Monday’s Audit, Finance, and Administration committee meeting.
The debate started with Councillor Brenda Johnson asking if the delegation request was better heard by the Governance Sub-Committee, or baring that, should be heard by all Councillors at General Issues Committee.
It would’ve been surprising for Council to downgrade the delegation to a sub-committee, especially one like Governance that has a reputation as a place where good ideas go to be stalled for a couple of years.
GIC would make sense.
It seemed like Councillors would send it to GIC when Councillor Ferguson had his opportunity at the microphone.
Ferguson asked if Council had an jurisdiction over term limits. The answer was it would require the Province to change the Municipal Act.
The former Chair of Council’s notorious “Accountability and Transparency” Committee – which was neither accountable nor transparent, rarely met, never published its agendas or minutes, and stalled the lobbyist registry for years – said Council had no business considering a matter which the province would decide.
With that Ferguson moved to deny the request. Councillor Pasuta seconded.
New Councillor Aidan Johnson looked a bit caught off guard, but he voted with the rest of committee to deny the delegation.
Unanimously voting down the delegation were: Collins, Ferguson, A. Johnson, B. Johnson, Pasuta, Pearson, and Vanderbeek.
We’re Councillors looking to set a new focus for the coming Council term?
Are they looking to cut down the amount of time they waste on matters outside their control? Or is this a case that they didn’t like what the delegate had to say?
Only time will tell. We have to give Council the presumption of good intentions this early in the term.
We’ll see how they vote in the future, and find out.

created: December 21, 2014


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Councillors Committee Assignments: A List of Interesting Changes and What They Could Mean – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

December 1, 2014
This article, part of a two part series, focuses upon noteworthy membership changes to committees.
The new City Council decided upon their committee assignments during a series of behind-the-scenes discussions during the past month.
They were able to find agreement behind the scenes on appointments to all but one Board. Council was divided on who their Police Services Board representative would be.
Councillors haven’t decided upon assignments for the City Committees – including most citizen advisory committees – which City staff are seeking to eliminate.
Here’s a list of the committees with noteworthy changes: Greater Bay Area Committee, Web Redevelopment, Municipal Heritage, Business Improvement Area (BIA) Advisory, Governance Review (Accountability and Transparency), Hamilton Port Authority – City of Hamilton Liaison Committee, and Selection Committee.
Ancaster (Ward 12) Councillor Lloyd Ferguson and Waterdown/Flamborough (Ward 15) Councillor Judi Partridge will join Mayor Fred Eisenberger on the joint Hamilton-Burlington “Greater Bay Area Committee” for the new term.
This is an interesting change because only Partridge’s ward borders Burlington and previously, the Wards 1 and 5 Councillors sat on the Committee.
The GBAC was primarily responsible for negotiations on the municipal contribution to the Randle Reef project, and is currently organizing a joint response to Federal plans to download the Burlington Canal Lift Bridge to the municipalities. The Port Authority and Province have both indicated they are not interested in taking responsibility for the bridge.
East Hamilton (Ward 5) Councillor Chad Collins stated in February, when Ottawa sent Council a letter offering the bridge, that federal officials told him the annual operating costs for the bridge is approximately $2-million.
GBAC is also the lead committee for discussions of the LaSalle Park ownership issue. LaSalle Park is owned by the City of Hamilton and leased to the City of Burlington for $1-per-year. Burlington wants ownership. It’s been an ongoing issue since the 1960s. While the status quo appears to be working, Aldershot Councillor Rick Craven is pushing for a permanent settlement to the question.
Only one of four Councillors overseeing the City’s internet presence is an active user of the Internet to connect and communicate with Hamiltonians.
Yes, the people responsible for dragging the City out of the 80s into the internet age aren’t the poster children for online engagement.
The Web Redevelopment and Service Channel Sub-Committee’s four members are new Stoney Creek (Ward 9) Councillor Doug Conley, Stoney Creek (Ward 10) Councillor Maria Pearson, new Dundas (Ward 13) Councillor Arlene VanderBeek, and Partridge compromising the committee membership.
Only Partridge (@judipartridge) is experienced in using the Internet as a primary tool of communication.
VanderBeek started using Twitter and Facebook during her election campaign. Thus far, her use has been limited. That she has continued using the tools a few times since October is a hopeful sign.
At present, the City’s new website is in preview (http://preview.hamilton.ca/), there is only one staff member dedicated to Internet communications (8-4 M-F), and the City’s limited web staff are working towards an eventual launch of the new website.
The first meeting of the committee will include an update of the new timeline for implementation of the new website.
Among the other responsibilities of the Committee is figuring out the City’s service channels for citizens. At present, the City does not often citizens many options of communicating with the City. The City is trying to improve its call centre, and to eventually look at online reporting for service requests.
Ferguson isn’t returning to the Heritage Committee this term. He’ll be replaced by Partridge, in what can only be described as a hopeful development for heritage advocates in the City.
Ferguson was the least enthusiastic voice for heritage conservation on the Committee, often the centre of tensions on the Committee due to his counter viewpoint to most heritage advocates.
Pearson is returning to the Committee and new Ward 1 Councillor Aidan Johnson is taking the seat vacated by Brian McHattie’s decision to run for Mayor.
New Central Lower City (Ward 3) Councillor Matthew Green is taking the Councillor seat on the BIA Committee, replacing West Mountain (Ward 8) Councillor Terry Whitehead.
This is the earliest meeting committee at City Hall, gathering at 8am on the second Tuesday of each month.
Green is a small business owner within the Ottawa Street BIA, running his fitness studio there. (Green is hiring a manager for his business and does not plan to be involved in the day-to-day operation.)
The BIA advisory committee has a major role in the Pan Am Games.
The major hot button issue for the BIAs is City grant policies that extend incentives previously only available in BIAs to other small business districts. Properties within BIA zones pay an levy on their property taxes, whereas businesses outside of BIAs do not.
It was an unwritten understanding that BIAs would use their levies for improvements, often match with incentives from the City. With the move to expand incentives, this could cause tensions in BIA areas between merchants who support and those who do not support BIA membership.
Council’s infamous “Accountability and Transparency” Sub-Committee was officially disbanded earlier this year, after achieving its goal of implementing a lobbyist registry. roll eyes
The responsibilities of the of so-called “Accountability and Transparency” committee (which did not release its minutes or agendas online, couldn’t meet for months on end, and took seven years to deliver an inadequate lobbyist registry) have been inherited by Governance review.
On Governance Review will be “Accountability and Transparency”‘s chair Ferguson, Green, Pearson, Partridge, and VanderBeek.
Partridge expressed great frustration at the end of his rookie term about the lack of progress on matters of accountability and transparency. Will see run for Chair?
Ferguson could seek the chair, considering the public attention about matters of transparency and accountability, does he wish to be back in the limelight on these issues?
Pearson is reserved. She could run for chair, but the likelihood doesn’t seem high.
Either of the rookie Councillors could run for chair, but considering this position relies heavily about an experienced chair and the rookie Councillors time consuming roles on Planning Committee, this is unlikely to be successful.
Who chairs this committee will determine its effectiveness, as the committee only meets at the pleasure of the Chair.
This committee will be called upon to close the many loopholes of the Lobbyist Registry and oversee the new joint Lobbyist and Integrity Commissioner.
Considering how ineffective Earl Basse has been, and his inability to complete investigations in a timely manner, expect Councillors to make effective leadership of this committee a priority.
This committee, of which I can’t recall when they’ve ever met, will be interesting this term as the City and Port Authority are on a collision course over the proposed waste-to-energy plant at Pier 15.
Mayor Eisenberger, Green, and A. Johnson are the three council members on this committee which has no power beyond talking with the Port Authority.
Green’s made stopping the waste-to-energy plant this first priority as Ward 3 Councillor. Will he be able to get a meeting of this liaison committee with the Port Authority?
If so, this could become a committee to watch. If not, it remains as irrelevant as ever.
Eisenberger is a past Chair of the Port Authority Board of Directors. The Mayor must represent the views of Council on the liaison committee. At present, Council’s position is to seek more information on the proposed waste-to-energy plant.
One of the most secretive and powerful committees is the Selection Committee. They decide who Council’s citizen appointee to the Police Services Board will be, who gets to be on citizen committees, tribunals, and boards.
There are six Councillors on Selection Committee: Collins, Central Mountain Councillors Scott Duvall, Green, B. Johnson, Merulla, and Whitehead.
Green is a rookie Councillor and secured a seat on selection committee. This indicates he’s building good relationships behind the scenes with other Councillors. It’s also noteworthy that other than Duvall, all the Councillors on selection are active online communicators.
Could we see more engaged citizens gaining appointments this term? Or will Selection choose those who keep a lower profile?

created: December 1, 2014


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Day One Interview with Mayor Fred Eisenberger – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

December 1, 2014
On his first day in his second opportunity as Hamilton’s Mayor, Joey Coleman asked Mayor Eisenberger a few questions.
Mayor Eisenberger answered what he’s done thus far during his first day, what he’s looking to achieve in the next four years, low voter turnout, what is different about starting a second opportunity compared to the first, what three words do you want people to use at the end of the term, and he smack talks Calgary Mayor Nenshi in a friendly football rival.


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Hamilton Audit, Finance, and Administration Committee for December 15, 2014 – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

December 14, 2014
Financial updates, hiring a part-time joint Lobbyist and Integrity Commissioner, and $300,000 less in gas tax funding are among the items for the first AF&A meeting of the new Council term.
Live video Monday at 9:30am.
Index: Lost Provincial Transit Funding, Lobbyist Registrar, HSR Pension Shortfall, Freedom of Information Quarterly Report, Emergency and Non-Competitive Procurement – Quarterly Report, Tax Appeals, Closed Session, Housekeeping Items (Attendance Report), Media Coverage, Consented Items
(Agenda Page on City website)
Hamilton taxpayers will need to find $300,000 to replace provincial gas tax funding the City of Hamilton is losing due to the worst-in-Ontario performance of the Hamilton Street Railway.
Provincial gas tax funding is allocated 70% based on transit ridership, and Hamilton’s losing funding to other municipalities with ridership growth.
Hamilton’s public transit agency is the only urban transit agency to not grow ridership in the past few years.
In 2013/14, Hamilton received $10,630,639. For 2014/15, Hamilton will receive $10,313,004 from the province.
As other transit agencies grow, and the HSR remains stagnate, the City of Hamilton will continue to see significant drops in funding.
Staff want three members of Council to be on the committee choosing Hamilton’s new joint Lobbyist Registrar / Integrity Commissioner who it is hoped will be interviewed in February or March 2015.
Staff estimate the part-time Commissioner will be paid approximately $96,000 consisting of a $25,000 annual retainer and 313 hours of work billed at $150/hr.
There is no cap upon the number of hours the Registrar can bill. If the Registrar is paid more than $100,000, it will not appear on the Sunshine List as they are a contractor.
The Lobbyist Registry does not take effect until March 31, 2015.
As a sidenote, Hamilton’s current Voluntary Registry – which has been in place for a decade – has its first ever traditional lobbyist. Ken Hall, Senior Advisor, Public Affairs, Enbridge Pipelines Inc. registered this fall.
The City’s pension plan for HSR retirees is, like many pension plans, in deficit and the City will need to increase its contributions to the pension plan in the coming years. For the next three years, the City needs to find an additional $5.5-million to fund special payments.
Staff are recommending Council spend an additional $1-million per year for the plan, and use $2.5-million from the pension reserve fund to cover the remaining shortfall in special payments.
This means an additional $1-million pressure upon the 2015 budget.
The Quarterly FOI report shows nine FOI requests as fully disclosed or completed.
Five FOI requests were told by the FOI office that the records were either available from the City website or the department holding the record. (My own experience is that this is often untrue and used to frustrate attempts to gain access to public information.)
Fifteen requests received partial disclosure.
Hamilton’s Freedom of Information processes are consistently ranked as among the worst of any Canadian municipality. In the most recent Newspapers Canada FOI audit, Hamilton’s performance was so bad, the City didn’t even earn an F.
The oldest outstanding FOI request filed by a media outlet was filed in May 2011. A December 2010 FOI request from a resident is the oldest outstanding request overall.
City staff are required to report to Council when purchases are made outside of procurement policies.
In Q3, there was 9 emergency purchases totaling $1,107,210, 1 “short supply” purchase of $50,000 related to forestry work backup from the December 2013 ice storm, and 73 “single source” purchases totalling $3,625,334.
$199,950 was spent – as an emergency purchase – for repairs at the Woodward Ave. Wastewater Treatment Plant when a control gate failed and allowed for partially treated sewage to be released into the Red Hill Creek. TPR has requested further information about this release.
$150,000 was spent by the City to clad the exterior of Pinky Lewis Recreation Centre where the building used to connect to the now demolished Sanford School. The City considers the spent to be “single source” as the HWDSB is the landlord and they coordinate the purchase of the work.
$150,000 was given to Traffic Logix Corp for “additional testing of traffic calming equipment required specifically for bike lanes”. It was a single source contract. TPR is asking for clarification was to what this contract involved.
Council is required to approve tax appeals each quarters. Most are the result of changes to homes such as removing pools or other features, fire, change in status (church purchase), or demolitions.
There are a couple of note.
Wilson Blanchard is getting a $11,321.85 tax break for their demolition of 20 Jackson Street West in 2013. The refund is reflective of the drop in property value for the portion of the tax year after the November 2013 demolition.
The property taxes on the site went from $77,667 a year to $7,000 as an empty lot.
Noteworthy as a stand-alone figure, less noteworthy in context, is a $28,408.29 refund in 2014 to Union Gas following the demolition of all buildings at Union Gas’s former Hamilton headquarters at 360 Strathearne Ave. Union Gas moved its operations to a new building in Stoney Creek this year, and the new building is paying property taxes at that site.
The committee will elect a Chair and Vice-Chair as this is their first meeting.
Membership: Collins, Ferguson, A Johnson, B Johnson, Pasuta, Pearson, and VanderBeek
Here are links to stories by other journalists at the meeting:
The following items are on the consent agenda or expected to be passed with consent:


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Hamilton City Council for December 17, 2014 – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

December 17, 2014
Council meets for their first business meeting of the new term.
Mayor Eisenberger will proudly wear his new custom Calgary Stampeders jersey after losing the Grey Cup bet to Mayor Nenshi.
On the agenda: Committee business from the past two weeks, the Gore Buildings at 18-28 King Street East, Illegal Dumping, Coach Canada bus service to Niagara and Kitchener.
And an added motion related to Social Assistance software problems.
Live Video starts at 5pm.


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Hamilton City Council Inaugural Meeting [Replay] – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

December 3, 2014
Hamilton City Council has four brand new faces, 11 returning incumbents, and Mayor Fred Eisenberger’s second swearing in as Mayor of Hamilton.
Watch live at 5pm as they are sworn in and give their inaugural addresses.

created: December 3, 2014