Mark Taylor

Yes to recreation space, No to a levy…

Today, the City of Ottawa’s Finance and Economic Development Committee supported my plan to improve recreation facilities in Crystal Beach without a levy on Crystal Beach homeowners.

In 2009, the former city council voted to buy the abandoned school property for $2 million and recoup the money through a property tax levy on Crystal Beach homeowners. Each homeowner would have to have paid between $3,350 and $3,740 extra on their property taxes over the course of a decade.

 The vast majority of Crystal Beach residents do not want to pay a levy to keep the abandoned St. Thomas school property and I agree with them. Instead, we will use a portion of the St. Thomas property to expand Maki Park. The remaining St. Thomas property will be sold for residential housing development that we will ensure fits well with the existing neighbourhood.

I have committed to working with city staff to include expanding recreation facilities in Crystal Beach in the City of Ottawa’s Parks and Recreation Master Plan. We can build a recreation facility in Crystal Beach without a levy on homeowners.

Over the past years I do have to offer the local Community Association credit for establishing that there is a local desire for a gym or like facility in the area. This was a desire that I came to understand first hand in 2010 and one that I have been reminded of as I canvassed doors in the neighborhood since then. There has never been a desire however to pay a levy for such a facility, and I understand that. Our residents in Crystal Beach pay their fair share of taxes and if there is a service increase required in the area, it should be paid for from general city taxes.

As we move ahead as a community in Crystal Beach, I look forward with anticipation to continuing to enhance local amenities. In this past year we have together achieved:

• The complete repaving of Corkstown road
• Installation of a public outdoor drinking fountain at Maki House
• Installation of air conditioning, in partnership with the community association, in Maki House
• The approval of the next phase of the transit plan that includes a rapid transit bus/LRT station positioned at Moodie drive to connect the neighbourhood to rapid transit

(Source: BayWardLive.ca)

Bay Ward Week April 9th to 13th, or, the Long Short Week

On Tuesday as our team began our work day, we decided that we were in for a ‘Long Short Week’.

Sometimes many of the things we are working on come together all at one time, and this past week was one of those times.

If you are following some of the issues we’ve been handling then consider these the highlights. If you want any more information on any of these topics then please send us an e-mail or post a comment.

From Tuesday to Friday working on behalf of our residents we:

• Successfully passed the zoning arrangements for the former Carlingwood YMCA property through Planning Committee. The next step will be detailed design drawings as we head towards what is called ‘site plan’ (what the property will really look like). This is where a lot of the Carlingwood community feedback will get implemented. Once design drawings are done we will be meeting with folks from the neighbourhood again to ensure everyone’s input is accounted for.

• Successfully passed the zoning for Bayshore Shopping Centre’s temporary parking lot as the mall is under construction. For the coming 2 years the mall will be using an empty grass field beside the mall on Woodridge Crescent as a staging area for construction crew parking. Undergoing a major renovation, Bayshore will be updated with many new shops and stores. This will bring new services, retail opportunities and local jobs in our community. After construction the field will be returned to a passive grassy space.

• Planning Committee also passed my motion unanimously to set aside the demolition control by-law’s to allow a local builder to remove a run down eyesore building from a piece of property in Queensway Terrace North. A new residence will be built within a year but in the interim this removes a local eyesore that has been a source of difficulty for neighbours.

• On Wednesday, City Council passed our legislation that completes the turning of the Winthrop Court green space behind Fire Station 22 into a formal park. Over the coming year this space will be turned from an overgrown small field into an active park for residents of Winthrop Court & Regina / Regina Lane. 

• Also at City Council on Wednesday from a City wide perspective, with my other colleagues I was successful in seeing the amendments to our Taxi By-Law’s passed by Community & Protective Services Committee passed by City Council with some helpful amending improvements. These changes will extend the reach of Accessible Taxi cabs used by people with mobility challenges, many of whom are Seniors as well as provide a host of other improvements to service. Well debated also was a provision to restore fairness and equity to the plate issuance system used by the City. In the end, Council supported my view that we should have one rule that applies to all Taxi drivers.

Those were the highlights of the past week - there were many other items and issues that crossed our desks and are in the works. Check back again next week to see what’s happening.

My Open Letter Response To The Ottawa Citizen

Agree to disagree. That is how I feel about the Citizen’s editorial column lamenting the proposed changes to the Taxi By Laws in our City as ‘Bad Policy’.

While I will take issue in a moment with the misplaced focus of the editorial (on the issue of transferability of 108  ‘accessible’ taxi plates out of a field of over 1,400) let me first speak to the public benefits of the changes vaguely glossed over in the Citizen’s coverage:

A change in the maximum allowable age of a cab from 7 to 8 years. Why is this good for residents? Because cars are better built today and the delayed cost of vehicle replacement removes pressure from drivers to seek an increase in the fare rates from the city. Lower costs means fewer fare increases.

Conducting cab inspections once per year if the vehicle is less than 5 years old… customer benefit? Our By Law officers are on the streets doing their jobs instead of policing 1,400 taxi inspections in a mechanics shop twice per year.

Ensuring there will be no charge for handling customers’ mobility devices, making the numbers on the cab and the inside information a clearer font and easier to read. Why? Because we are all getting older.

Providing accessible taxi service (cabs that can carry customers in a powered wheelchair etc.) to our rural areas of the city. Why? Because we don’t now and by 2031 there will be 400% growth in seniors living in these areas, many of who will statistically have mobility challenges and need to come into Ottawa for medical appointments etc.

Looking at allowing taxis with a driver in the car to stand in front of fire hydrants while waiting for a call. Why? Ever get frustrated when waiting for a cab in the market or anywhere else that we don’t have more taxi stands? Ever get annoyed they circle around downtown clogging traffic and generating emissions because they can’t park anywhere?

Examining ways to reduce the prevalence of Bandit Taxis by preventing businesses from advertising such a service. Why? Because Bandit cabs are scary, uncontrolled and unsafe. I wouldn’t want either of my daughters in them – or anyone’s children.  

I could go on about the administrative highlights that will only make the City’s job easier while working with the taxi industry but let me close instead by reducing the discussion on plate transferability to a few simple points:

1. Allowing the 108 non-transferable plates to be transferred is a matter of basic fairness. The reasoning for restricting them from being transferred years ago was to supposedly make the plate owner more invested in providing service. Today, we see no difference in service levels between holders of transferrable or non-transferable plates. So we have a rule that applies to a small group of owners for no reason.

2. The issue of restricting plates from being transferred is closed. Virtually everywhere in the world where there is a competent taxi industry, plates are transferable. This is an element of the business aspect of the industry.

3. Customers are not affected at all whether plates are transferable or not. It does not affect rates, fares, quality of service or consumer safety. The drivers all still need to be licensed and trained whether they own their plate or just work for someone else who does. The nice folks who own the various taxicab companies in this city own some plates themselves and they can still ensure quality service from their employee drivers without having to drive each cab personally.

While the notion of this 7% of plate holders potentially being able to sell their plates and recover some of their tens of thousands of dollars invested in their vehicle, its conversion and maintenance may seem objectionable to the editorial writers we need to remember that while we heavily regulate the taxi business the drivers, at the end of the day they are small business owners on wheels. If you owned a small business and worked hard for many years – would you be prepared to just lock up the doors and walk away when you were done? Or would you expect to be able to sell your business and retire with your family.

Finally – a word on the notion of the ‘value’ of the taxicab plates: The amount for which plates are transferred between drivers are arrived at through negotiation between themselves and often agreed to in writing as a legal agreement. This is a legitimate business arrangement between two licensed, trained taxi drivers. The only impact on the city is revenue when they visit a client center to register their change and pay the city its $3,800.00 transfer fee.

I am in favor of all the government we need to have – and no more. The City’s job is to regulate the taxi industry, ensure quality service is provided and provide for customer safety.

When you call a taxi – you want it to arrive on time, be clean and staffed by a courteous driver who gets you to your destination safely and charges a fare rate.  That’s the desire of the public and so that’s the goal of the City in its regulation. No more, no less. That is good policy in my opinion.

Our Tidal Wave Is Not Coming From The Ocean…

Unlike many communities that need to watch their river banks and spillways, Ottawa is blessed that we do not have to worry so much about being flooded by water.

That does not mean we will not be flooded by something else though.

Not the risk, but the very real reality of our flood danger comes from our very selves.

Ottawa, all of Canada in fact, is going to be flooded with Senior Citizens & Older Adults in the next 20 years, and they are not coming here from somewhere else - they are inside the walls already - and we are them.

By 2031, for the first time in Ottawa’s history, there will be more people over the age of 65 than there will be kids under the age of 15. What will this mean for our local and larger governments and community services as they try to provide health care, recreation opportunities, well built infrastructure & transit systems etc etc? Well for Ottawa - we are going to find out.

Late last year Mayor Watson kicked off our city’s Older Adult Plan task force with his ‘Seniors Summit’. I have the honour and privilege of leading our group forward with my City staff co-chair Colleen Hendrick and the support of the team in social services led by Clara Freire and ultimately our General Manager Aaron Burry. 

This past week we hosted our first group meeting following the summit and set our path ahead. With representatives from every single city department, attendance by many outside agencies who support older adults, and the inclusion of seniors who had attended the summit and who wanted to continue to work further, we laid out our framework to begin evaluating and creating an implementation framework for the recommendations uncovered from the research to date & the Summit.

Later this year, our group will present to Ottawa City Council - for the 1st time in our history, a comprehensive plan touching every area of city service, that addresses the reality of our aging demographic. Grounded in fiscal reality, our plan will propose spending some money - but more importantly it will propose changing how we conduct a lot of our planning and business, so the city we build, is the city we can live in.

Seeing as how many of those around the table who are not yet seniors will be one day - is this all self serving, or is it just good city building. I would argue, why can’t it be both?

March Councillor Column

This is the extended online version of my Councillor’s Column, which is printed in the EMC Ottawa West on the first Thursday of every month. Please note that this month’s column will run on March 8, the second Thursday of the month.

Dear Neighbours,

I want to provide you with an update on several upcoming improvements in our community.

RON KOLBUS INVESTMENT APPROVED

My motion to invest $1 million in improving Ron Kolbus Centre in Britannia Park was approved by the Community and Protective Services Committee on February 15th. Bay Ward needs more robust recreation and program space and the Ron Kolbus Centre is a great base that we can expand on. Improving the Ron Kolbus Centre is a multi-year project but $1 million is a good starting point. I will be hosting community input sessions soon so please join one.

FOSTER FARM HOMEWORK CLUB 

The homework club room in Foster Farm Family House was refurbished thanks to a very generous donation from Sonya Kinkade Design. As part of Kindness Week, Sonya got friends, builders and suppliers to help renovate the club room in the Foster Farm Community. I want to thank Sonya for giving her time and money to this very worthwhile cause.

SMOKE-FREE OTTAWA

We will all breathe a little easier in our parks, on our beaches, on outdoor patios and in other public spaces this summer. On February 22nd, Ottawa City Council approved new regulations banning smoking on all municipal property and outdoor bar and restaurant patios.

I voted for these new regulations at both the Community and Protective Services Committee and at Council because I believe in protecting children and adults from second hand smoke and its associated health hazards, while at the same time increasing the cessation efforts we undertake. There is a high level of public support for expanding Ottawa’s smoke-free regulations.

An awareness and warning phase will begin April 2^nd, 2012 and enforcement will begin July 2^nd, 2012.

CITY OF OTTAWA MARCH BREAK CAMPS

From crafts to sports to computers, the City of Ottawa has lots of affordable activities for your family during March Break. Children 3 to 5 years old attending Kinder Kids camp at the Nepean Sportsplex do crafts, play indoor and outdoor games, listen to music, stories and more. Specialty camps open to older children include rock climbing, magic camp and computer game design.

A full listing of camps and registration is available on www.Ottawa.ca.

ST. THOMAS SCHOOL OPEN HOUSE

The City of Ottawa hosted an open house on February 21^st about the future of the former St. Thomas School property in Crystal Beach. Attendees heard presentations from both City staff and the Crystal Beach – Lakeview Community Association on some ideas for how to best use the property.

City staff are now reviewing feedback collected at the open house. I continue to oppose levying local taxpayers to pay for refurbishing the school for community use. Instead, I have proposed that the City adds a portion of the school property to Maki Park and sells the rest of the property. My plan does not include a levy and does not have any additional cost to taxpayers.

Sincerely,

Mark Taylor
Ottawa City Councillor, Bay Ward