Monday 11 November 2013

Today I Honour...

My Grandfather, Matthew Campbell Gibbon.

His family hails from York in England. I have traced them back to Castle Eden in Durham County  and, on his Mother's side, to Borthwick Castle.

Matthew was born at Stockton-Upon-Tee and emigrated as a young man to Edmonton.

Matt signed up February 11 of 1915, as a 19 year old. He went overseas as a member of the 49th (Edmonton). On his attestation form, he listed "Carpenter, Horse Breaker" as his career. It is not surprising then, that he was in the cavalry in Europe.

Matthew was gassed and sent home.

On March 6, 1916, he signed up again.


His battalion was at Passchendale, Vimy and most of the great battles of Word War I.

Matt eventually died of Lung Cancer, likely from his exposure to Mustard Gas.

He died the week before I was born.

I honour him today.




Sunday 20 October 2013

My Supporters/Donations to date

Supporters/Donations to date. $15,150.00.

We have a three way split: 34% from Friends and family, 36.3 % from Construction /Developers and 29.7% from organized Labour.

We are expecting (hoping for) a couple more checks and we will likely add some donations in kind which will be less than $500.00. If we were to bill for volunteer hours it would be in the Millions!!!
Still, all in, far less than the $20-$25,000 I would like to see as the new donation cap.

Please be aware that much of the donations from Developers were for tickets to fund raisers.




Tuesday 15 October 2013

Bike Lanes - If we are Going to be a Progressive City, Lets Plan for 20 Years from Now

I have been inundated with questions about Bike lanes. As you know I want them added as roads are being installed so that we don't have to come back later and add them. I also want them installed in the Callingwood and Lessard bridges over the Anthony Henday.

My opinion has raised some eyebrows.

Here is my response to a letter about cyclists.

"This might take a minute, so bear with me.

Bikes are an interesting story in Edmonton. They are such a dichotomy. When I am on my bike I am terrified of cars. When I am in my car I am terrified of Bikes. Unlike rock, paper, scissors, however, when I am walking I am terrified of both.

I really believe that if Edmontonians, are going to make this a cycling city and I think that bicycle lanes are the way to do it. IF THEY ARE USED PROPERLY, bike lanes keep bikes, cars and pedestrians separate, they take up much less space than a car lane or a sidewalk and IF USED PROPERLY make everyone’s life easier. You are frustrated, as are a lot of people because you see bikes acting outside the rules. I admit that I feel the same way when I see them scoot through traffic or shoot through stop signs etc but that is no different than cars that do exactly the same thing endangering us all or pedestrian that jaywalk. The vast majority of drivers, cyclists and pedestrians stay within the boundaries of the law.

If we are going to be a progressive city, we need to try to envision the world as we want it 20 years from now. I really believe that bike lanes are part of that future. Energy costs are going up, space is at a premium and people are more aware of the physical and mental advantages of cycling. I see it like the recycling center on the East Side of town: 25 years ago people thought it was ridiculous, now we brag about how we are the number one recycling city in the world.

I admit, I have several of the same experiences as you and I also want the traffic laws enforced (for cyclists own safety) but I wonder if people said the same thing about cars 100 years ago when they started roaming the streets of Edmonton.

The world is changing. Bikes are growing in popularity. My plan to add the lanes as roads are constructed minimizes costs and means the lanes can be properly placed outside of parking lanes. If ALL streets were (from Right to left) Sidewalk, Parking lane, Bike lane, Driving lane then we could all learn the proper etiquette and I really believe that your frustrations and mine would be minimized.

Finally, although you did not mention it, many people are saying that we should not have the expense of lanes for a sport that is only available during the summer. Then we would have no soccer fields, no Commonwealth stadium and the like. Our short summers make us all the more excited about our time in the sun.

In conclusion, I want you to know I understand how you feel and I empathize but it is my opinion that the lanes are part of our future and anything we can do to move our city forward is a good thing."


Photo credit: consortiumoffools.wordpress.com/tag/bike-lanes/

Monday 14 October 2013

My Plans to Eliminate Poverty




As you may have heard on my interview on 630 CHED last week, my goal for the city of Edmonton over the next four years is ending child poverty so I would like to concentrate on child poverty issues.

In 1943 Abraham Maslow theorized that human needs are hierarchical. I have always believed the same thing. As a result, I believe that we must work to provide for all of our children’s base needs first.  These needs include food (and water) and shelter (and heat and power). Second level needs include Personal security, employment, health and property. It is an interesting study in politics to note that cities provide for human’s base needs and Provincial governments provide higher level needs, making it harder for cities to directly control such challenging issues. In answer to your question I would like to concentrate on some immediate solutions. These solutions can help break the chain of poverty, which I feel is one of the root causes.

These are items I intend to address immediately; items that the city of Edmonton has authority over and where I will be able to make the most immediate difference.


To address Physiological needs I will:

  • continue my work with the Edmonton food bank. Almost 50% of food bank users are children.  Food is the number one priority. Make it available and more importantly de-stigmatize food bank use by attending and assisting.
  • remove “base cost” of city of Edmonton utilities for Low Income households, so that they only pay for usage, not infrastructure. This one is enormously important and something we can do immediately (Also my fiscal responsibility/tax restructuring in other areas of the city will take the pressure off Utilities to produce such large profits).
  • continue the city’s low income housing, first home and infill programs to assist low income Edmontonians that want to become home owners.
  • Make Edmonton more Breastfeeding Friendly. The simplest act on earth to guarantee proper nutrition is to support nature’s perfect food.
To address Safety and access to schooling (replacing employment) needs I will:
  • Adjust cost of Transit Passes for Low Income homes.
  • Work with the Crisis network and/or add direct connect to 211 from the 311 system. Empower 211 to intercede in domestic violence (witnessing domestic violence is also experiencing abuse).
  • Provide quick access from 311 to the provincial health line for health and safety issues.
  • Work with police to create drug and gang free zones. Add drug and gang activity (and graffiti and vandalism) to the city’s crime tracking site to assist police.
  • Have the city pay entry fees for low income moms who want to join the “New Mom’s Network”. 
To reiterate, these are areas that the city has the ability to act and to make a direct difference in people’s lives. It can do so quickly and easily (I hope). Though there are many more I could address, I have always felt that a small number of attainable goals allow for solutions.

Finally, these are areas of provincial government responsibilities where, I feel, the province is abrogating its responsibilities and we need to find ways to help.

    • Edmonton’s school drop out rate and high school completion rate
      • Especially First Nations, Metis and Inuit
    • Adult literacy
      • City libraries can increase the number of programs for adult literacy
      • there are creative ways to assist with adult literacy i.e. Khan academy
      • Continue to provide ESL training at a reasonable rate
    • Mental Health
      • Find some way to force the province to increase spending on Mental Health. Much of adult homelessness is mental health related. Extreme poverty is highly correlated to mental health problems.
      • Residential school abuse continues to echo through our society and survivors AND THEIR DESCENDANTS need to be helped.
    • Minimum wage
      • Work to increase minimum wage to a living wage.
      • Work to assure equal pay for women. 
Photo credit: www.kemptvillesalvationarmy.org/foodbank

My Plans - as Promised, How I Will Keep the Arena on Budget

Firstly let me say I have learned a lot about running for politics. I cannot make outcome guarantees BUT I can guarantee that I will do everything within my power and within the scope of the office to make the arena stay on budget.


Now, how I intend to do so.

First let me say that I spent eighteen years of my life working in a Edmonton based Canada wide distribution company including several years as VP of Operations. I created internal accountability protocols; this experience and knowledge will help me reach my goal to keep the arena on budget.

Let me explain how cost overrides are caused in the first place. Here is a Venn diagram of a construction project's potential outcomes:
You want the project to arrive in the white area, on time, on budget and with the expected quality. My second choice would be the Green Area, a little delayed but expected cost and quality. Third choice is Purple, on budget and on time, last choice is blue, on budget. Any final outcome outside the blue circle is unacceptable.

Now let me outline the plan for staying blue, purple, white or green.

Keeping on Budget is about Risk Management. Since we risk cost overrides, we must work to mitigate that risk. In order to do so we need to:

1) receive regular reporting relative to expected due dates. This will allow us to assure that items are on time and on budget. As items begin to lag, we deal with the delays and their causes.

2) Learn the decision making model and hold the decision makers accountable. If one area is causing delays or cost overrides deal with it early.

3) Hold bidders to the terms of their contracts. We have agreed to costs they must live up to them.

4) Avoid distraction costs (no fighting causing delays). Agree on all items well in advance so that if disagreements occur, we deal with them before they cost overruns or delays.

5) Prepare cuts in advance. We need to move quickly and smoothly and we need to make cost cutting decisions on the fly. As an example, lets say we had silk curtains (I chose this example because we do not) and those curtains cost $22M then we know that we can sacrifice them for $2M curtains when the need for cuts arise and we can do so quickly so as to keep the project moving.

That is a small portion of what I intend to do to oversee the arena. This question requires a dissertation but I have done my best to give a concise answer.

I intend to bring a very different skill set to city hall. And I will do everything within my power and the scope of the office to live up to my promises.

Tuesday 8 October 2013

Our Town by Jim Gibbon - Ward 5 Candidate Edmonton Election 2013




Our Town
By Jim Gibbon
Since a very young age music has been a very important part of my life, from playing Tuba in the school band to playing in local rock bands in my university days. Now, as I've become older I realize the importance of music education in my life and I strive to teach my children to do the same.

For this election I thought it would be fun to write a song about my favorite city... Edmonton of course!

I included allusions to what built Edmonton; Coal, Gold, Oil. If I made one with pictures from today Edmonton would be a much different place. Much more diverse ethnically socially, and economically. I love today diverse Edmonton but this nod is to how we got here. 

BTW all the photos, with the exception of one photo taken in Jasper, are photographed in Edmonton and are from the Gibbon family collection - however, there are many individuals we don't know. If you recognize someone in the video please let me know we would love to hear who it is. Most of the black and white photos were taken in the 1920s when Edmonton was a bustling exciting growing city.

Friday 4 October 2013

An Alternate Solution to the ECC and Woodward Crescent Bridge Access

Upadate:  Edmonton Country Club/Woodward Crescent Roads

I apologise, upon further investigation I found out the ground along this new route would be too unstable for a road.

We will continue to promote a modest pedestrian crossing bridge to be built from the south side of the North Saskatchewan river.

If you have any comments or solutions, I would love to hear them.

Jim Gibbon




Tuesday 24 September 2013

Lets Stop the Controversal Road Access to Terwillegar Foot Bridge Through Wolf Willow and/or Edmonton Country Club NOW!

The Controversy over access to River Valley Oleskiw

First let me say that I was involved in a recent fight with the City of Edmonton Bureaucracy. As a Director of Edmonton's Heritage Festival, we fought to block a new beach/Lake in Hawrelak Park as viewed below.
 
This lake would have shut down 14 of Heritage Festival's tents. No one in City Hall wanted it, Heritage Festival didn't want it, Edmonton Federation if Community Leagues didn't want it. Yet it got so far that we all had to go down to city hall to fight it.
 
We won. It was stopped.
 
Now we have to face the "Parking Lot". Not the Terwillegar bridge, the bridge is a done deal. Let's talk about access to the walking trails and an upcoming parking lot.
 
Here is an overhead of the area from Google earth.
 
 
Here is artwork of where the bridge is going, 90 degrees clockwise from above.

Now here is the problem. Construction of the bridge. For very good reasons, people on the west side, in Country Club Estates and on Woodward Crescent are concerned that construction of the bridge will require access from one of two unsuitable routes. These routes include passage through Country Club Estates and  Woodward Crescent. The City of Edmonton is trying to convince the owners of the Country Club golf course to allow trucks through to build the North Side of the Bridge. Woodward Crescent is worried that their route may be chosen.

Here is a look at the two possible routes, as seen from above. Country Club in Orange, Woodward in Blue, Possible parking lot in Red and Bridge in Purple.


I don't want either of these routes used. I want all construction to take place from the South Side in Terwillegar where Road Access already exists. Why? Because if either of these routes are used it will become very easy for city bureaucrats to attempt to continue to use the routes after the bridge is constructed.

I walked both those roads. NEITHER can be used. Neither is wide enough. Both have very steep sections, dangerous in winter, and neither of the roads leading into those future sites are ready for the traffic required.

It simply will not work from either side and all access should be blocked now so that they cannot be used in the future.

But I have another reason I want them stopped. I like the bridge. I like bridges that connect our ribbon of green from Fort Saskatchewan to Devon but we need to keep all other roads and development out of those sections of the river valley. I worry that if we start developing the river of green we end up with this in Terwillegar Park.
Another lake nobody wants. So we have a parking lot nobody wants, roads nobody wants, lakes nobody wants and they all cost money. Then another, then another then another. We need to draw the line today. Keep the areas available for footpaths, bike paths, dog parks and no roads and no fake lakes.
 
I already fought one lake. I accept the bridge but the rest has to stop. We need to keep our ribbon of green green.
 
 
 
 

Sunday 15 September 2013

Its Time We Track All Crimes In Edmonton - Including Graffiti and Vandalism


I am often asked how I would reduce crime in certain neighbourhoods. In particular crimes like graffiti and vandalism that seem to be ignored in the grand scheme of Edmonton crime busting.

I have a first step.
First, if you have never been here http://crimemapping.edmontonpolice.ca/ you should have a look. It is a powerful site.
When you go there, a sample page looks like this.
In this neighbourhood there have been three theft from vehicles, two break and enter and one assault. 

























I want Graffiti and Vandalism added so that it can be tracked


(These are fake examples).
I want these added so that people are more likely to report them, the police are more likely to investigate them and we are more likely to find who is committing these crimes. 

It is a simple idea for a simple post, but information fights crime. Lets start tracking the more common but often ignored crimes that cost taxpayers, citizens and businesses a fortune.

Friday 6 September 2013

A new Dog Park for our Four Legged Family Members

As you are aware, I would like to create an off-leash park West of the Henday as an amenity for all the new housing going up.

My four legged family is in full agreement.

 
So I have een handing out dog cookies and spreading the news. Now I have some more information.


 
Here is a map of the area near Big Island. The area I highlighted in yellow is zoned AG. By changing it to A or AP (simple) we can make it a dog park in advance of building all the houses. Build it and they will come, four legged and two legged.

This will alleviate any pressures on Terwillegar and Buena vista as the city expands. We can diminish sprawl with proper advance planning.

Tuesday 3 September 2013

Solutions to fight Urban Sprawl in Edmonton


I get asked, daily, about Urban sprawl. I understand people’s concerns; it certainly appears that Edmonton has “Sprawled” haphazardly. People in Ward Five are particularly worried because we have so much available Land in the South West of the Zone.

I will address some of the City of Edmonton’s current responses to minimize future sprawl. I am in support of ALL of these attempts to direct growth into existing neighbourhoods and I plan to simplify City Zoning and Ordinances to allow for faster approval of new high density housing (as long as it meets all of the appropriate requirements) and as long as the housing does not infringe on Edmonton’s Green Spaces.
Firstly let’s talk about some facts. Edmonton’s current population according to the capital region board is 827,512. In 2018 it is estimated that it will be 900,833. In 2028 it will be 1,019,420. This is Edmonton alone NOT including the remainder of the Capital Region. http://capitalregionboard.ab.ca/-/reports/appendix1_population_e.pdf
This means that, realistically, within 5 years we have to make space for 80,000 new people. Keep that number in mind.
The city of Edmonton is currently engaged in a number of creative processes to increase infill in usable land in existing neighbourhoods. Here are a few.
The City has created a program that recycles old school spaces (used or never used) and turns them into “First place” homes, seniors centers and others, as yet not decided. Please see the following: http://www.edmonton.ca/city_government/urban_planning_and_design/surplus-school-building-sites.aspx

Grey circles represent new senior’s centres; Red circles “First Place” centres and green are undecided. (I have downloaded and rejigged these images). I would like to insert an aside here that the city seems a little gung ho about rezoning green spaces and frankly we need green spaces so I will look into whether we are being too aggressive with this program). For now, however, let’s say that these 36 sites, combined manage to house, say, 10,000 people.
Now let’s look at some other new developments. In the next image, the top Orange shape is the Airport Lands (and I quote from the website) “The associated residential population was established to be in the order of 24,286 people.” http://www.edmonton.ca/blatchfordedmonton/documents/Airport-Land-Market-Impact-Assessment.pdf#xml=http://search1.edmonton.ca/texis/ThunderstoneSearchService/pdfhi.txt?query=airport+lands&pr=www.edmonton.ca&prox=page&rorder=750&rprox=250&rdfreq=0&rwfreq=0&rlead=750&rdepth=0&sufs=0&order=r&cq=&id=5224eaea7

For simplicity, let’s say it is finished by 2018.

The bottom Orange square is Century Park, known as a “Transit Oriented Development” because there is LRT nearby, which will house between 5,000 and 10,000 people. The Orange circle is the new high-rise downtown, the Pearl, which will supply housing for (my estimate based on the website) 350 people. Add a few similar new ventures.
That means that within five years these developments and a few others will achieve, roughly, numbers in the range of  40,000 to 50,000 people (Please feel free to correct me if my numbers are off). So we have approximately 30,000 people that we do not know what to do with.
So my simple question is: where shall we put all of these people if not for houses? Well, we need more high density housing but sometimes that can take years or even decades to get off the ground. We need to simplify and speed up city processes that will allow for more high density housing, especially where close to existing and planned LRT lines. This must be council’s priority.  I am committed, fully and completely committed, to doing everything reasonable to help draw people into the center of the city. The new Arena will help. The Galleria will help. Expanded LRT service will help. Making more housing available will also keep the cost lower which will help dramatically. And more people make life in the center more entertaining, creating more of a draw.
Eventually the draw to the core, itself, will be “The Core”. We are close, another couple years and we won’t need incentives. It will just draw people in.

Now, for part two, minimizing sprawl in new Urban areas.

While I will try to minimize sprawl there will always be an argument for new housing. Many new immigrants, young families and others want houses. These people deserve the same rights to homes that our parents and grandparents had. Let’s not forget, while many decry new growth, our ancestors came here for the dream of better lives; a home for children in a safe, clean, free democratic country. Not all of our new immigrants can afford apartments downtown. New developments are usually more affordable and more spacious for large families.
I could never deny a newcomer the right to their own home. But as a councillor, I will do my best to assure that those homes are being built in well designed neighborhoods with green spaces, properly designed schools, reasonable amenities, bike paths and access to mass transit ready when they arrive. As I mentioned before, my ancestors came here for a better life. I honour their memory by trying to make that same, better life available to the people that choose to join us and share our wonderful city and province.

As your councillor I will do everything I can to make Edmonton a greener, more urban, sustainable city by finding every means available to draw people to a higher density core. At the same time, I accept that our growth requires a certain number of new houses and that the people who choose those houses deserve equal access to amenities.

Saturday 31 August 2013

EDACC A Project Edmonton Can Be Proud Of!


The Edmonton Downtown Academic and Cultural Center is slowly moving forward.
 
Nicknamed the "Galleria" information is slowly leaking out.
 
I am pleased to see that the city has approved moving ahead with this project. As a life long supporter of the Arts in Edmonton and as a graduate of the University of Alberta's School of Business, I am excited to see that the School may become part of a project that will transform downtown every bit as much as the arena will.
 
It is billed as a P4. A Philanthropic, not for Profit Public, Private Partnership.
 
Edmonton in 10 years will be unrecognizable.
 
Here is a starter picture of what it will affect:
 
Here is a list of spaces (proposed) taken from the http://www.edacc.ca/ website.
 
PROJECT COMPONENTS
The proposed location of The Galleria Project is north of 104 Avenue across from City
Hall. The 1.25M+ sq. ft. project is composed of:
A. A covered but not enclosed Galleria ringed with retail, restaurant and other
commercial space that ties together project elements and provides a downtown
gathering place for cultural and civic events.
B. 650,000 sq. ft. for a University of Alberta downtown campus that includes the School of Music, Department of Art and Design and a third school.
C. 300,000+ sq. ft. of performing arts theatre/rehearsal space. Includes:
i. a 1600 seat concert hall (for Opera, Ballet, Shumka, touring companies and others needing a large facility. Includes two rehearsal spaces, and incubation and administrative space).
ii. a 650 seat theatre/concert hall (split between the U of A and arts groups)
iii. a 200 seat ‘black box’ theatre (for arts groups)
iv. a 200 seat recital hall (dedicated to the U of A)
D. 300,000+ sq. ft. for a commercial office tower.
E. Stimulation of other development:
 An estimated 1.9M sq. ft. of additional downtown development by Qualico on Station Lands.
 In-fill and activation of 99th Street as part of the Civic Precinct Plan.
 Additional residential and commercial development.
 A repurposed Chancery Hall.
 
 
This will bring more of the University of Alberta downtown, mixing Arts, Commerce and Education.
Maybe we should nickname it ACE... 




 

Buses to Millwoods from Lewis Estates

Short term solutions for the Lewis Estates to Mill Woods Line.

As you are all aware the SE (Millwoods) LRT line has been delayed while we wait for more money. Why don't we get the line going while we wait to find the money. Let's get 10 of the most energy efficient busses we can, and get the line running; build usage, move people, and reduce cars on the road in the short term.

Here is a picture of the planned line:



Here is the interactive map:
http://www.edmonton.ca/transportation/ets/lrt_projects/se-w-lrt-interactive-map.aspx

Perhaps this is already being done. I hope so and if so, give credit where credit is due.

If not lets think about it. Start small and grow. But Start.

Friday 30 August 2013

Bike Lanes: Good News/Congratulations

I would estimate that at least 50% of Edmonton drivers are unaware of the safety rules and expectations on bike lanes. Bike lanes are new (ish) and people are confused. So, just like in the outside world, the easiest solution to resolving disputes between two reasonable groups is education.

I am very happy to note that the city of Edmonton, that clearly feels the same way, is producing a series of remarkable videos that train people in the "rules of the road" involving bike paths.

Here is the first one.
Bike lanes at Intersections:


Here is one on Bike Boxes. They can be confusing so share the videos:

Here is a second video explaining Bike Boxes. The boxes are a great idea but new to so many people that we need to share this remarkable video with the world.


I can only say Bravo! Edmonton, and the city department in charge of this great idea.

And Bravo!to the creators at Jeff Allen Productions. This LOCAL team and their creativity deserve our accolades.
Here is a link: http://jeffallenvideo.com/about/

Thursday 29 August 2013

Traffic cutting in Ormsby and Lymburn

I was recently approached by a gentleman who was worried about speeding on Ormsby road, as people cut through the neighbourhood. I did not immediately contact him, but instead decided to investigate.

I contacted the City and discovered that they had, in fact, done a study and decided that there were no problems.
So, tonight, while campaigning Door to Door I visited Ormsby Road in Ormsby and 188 Street in Lymburn. I saw a few cars speeding by; I also saw a lot of children; and I heard a lot of complaints. Well, if the City feels there are no problems but the locals and my own eyes tell me otherwise, we need a solution.
I have an idea to get things rolling. But first a few graphics explaining the problem.
Here is the neighbourhood with the areas that feed the roads in light yellow.
 
Here is the route they take (red):
 
 
So here is my short term solution. We install four of these pole mounted speed cameras:
People living on Hemmingway road will be familiar with these types of units near Sister Annata Brockman school. 
We mount them in these four places
 
This does one of three things:
1. It shows drivers that might have not realized how fast they were going, how fast, in fact, they were going.

2. It shows drivers that refuse to believe that they might be a danger, how fast they are going.

3. It allows concerned residents to watch, and track how fast cars are going. A cell phone camera picture of a speeder does MUCH more to impress a bureaucrat than a phone call.

There you go. Not a permanent, long term solution but a simple, citizen driven, inexpensive start. If the situation improves we all win. If speeding is in fact as bad as some people say and we get proof, we can begin to resolve the issue.

People ask me why I am running


 
When the time came to renew the lease on Amber’s Brewing, we were unable to come to an agreement with the landlord, so we were forced to move.
We found a number of buildings but none of them had exactly the zoning required. Councillor Ben Henderson was of enormous assistance, trying to help us cut through the red tape. We finally decided upon one building, which, frankly appeared to have the correct zoning. It turns out that it did not – in fact there are no zones in the city that even mention “Microbreweries”. So we met with a number of city officials who proudly announced that, although it would normally take 24 months to rezone, they could rezone the building in 18 months. We had 18 days.
We were unable to move within city limits.
You can’t blame city staff. They have to follow the rules. You can’t blame council, Ben Henderson tried. So what is the problem? One hundred years of “tweeks” to zoning rules. We need to simplify those and all of the cities other rules. Here is a section of the cities zoning map so you can see how convoluted it is.



I want to simplify this map, and all our other laws. Life should be simple and it is council’s job to simplify, not make life more difficult.

If we make the city simpler, we save time and we save money. More jobs, more local content, more money in the pockets of our citizens, lower taxes, better roads. It is actually rather simple. 

Monday 26 August 2013

Scapegoats, Policemen and Firemen

Scapegoats, Policemen and Firemen

Something strange happens when cities, towns, provinces and countries run out of money. They look for scapegoats.

I’ll get to that in a moment. First we have to tie together some seemingly disparate items.
Item one. We survived the 2008 debt crisis but we are on shaky ground. We are $2.7 billion in debt with carrying costs of over $200 Million per year. We have a new arena and a new museum to pay for, all with interest rates on the rise. Our carrying costs might rise dramatically in the next few years.
So, do we blame the American investment companies that caused this world wide near collapse? Partially, but we were, in fact, insulated by much more conservative Canadian banks – thank goodness.
Item Two. Edmonton police recently announced that they spend a large portion of their time in hospitals waiting with in-patients 

http://www.edmontonjournal.com/health/Edmonton+police+officers+spend+hundreds+hours+hospital+emergency+rooms+chief/8817606/story.html). Edmonton Ambulance attendants (EMT) also spend an enormous amount of time in hospitals with in-patients waiting for admittance.
Do we blame the Provincial government for cuts? Maybe. It would certainly help free up city resources if we were not hospital attendants as well as police and EMT.

Item Three: The Globe and Mail recently printed and article that I worry may become a common refrain. Please see:  http://www.theglobeandmail.com/commentary/a-nation-of-100000-firefighters/article13647608/
According to this article, fire fighters are overpaid and under worked. I don’t know if that is true but I don’t like the feel of the article. It feels like scapegoating for municipalities that have lost control of their budgets.

So let’s tie these three together: Provinces and Municipalities are under economic pressure; Police and EMT, paid for by Edmonton, are doing work that should be paid for by the Province.  What I mean by this is that extremely long hospital emergency room wait times in Edmonton are tying up our front line EMT and Police officers to "babysit" while they wait with incoming emergencies.  The cost of this waiting is downloaded to Edmonton; we don’t see any simple answers because it took years to get into this financial mess and we want either i) quick solutions or ii) scapegoats. Since there are no simple answers we get scapegoats.

Scapegoating doesn't solve economic problems it creates anger and frustration and draws attention away from the real problems. Let’s try to avoid such feelings here in Edmonton by foreseeing what is coming and avoiding it the simplest of ways; lets balance the books and pay down our debt and work hand in hand with the province to get our police and EMT out on the roads. It is not as fast as blaming others people for our own mistakes, but it is how grown-ups solve problems. Solve the real issues without being distracted from them by knee jerk reactions.


What we need to do is elect people that know what they are doing; experienced people that can balance the budget.

Wednesday 14 August 2013

Setting up Cycling to avoid the conflict on bridges- Ward 5 Specific.

 

As you likely are aware, the city of Edmonton has decided to build a series of bike lanes to try to decrease potentially dangerous interactions between cars and bicycles. Yet somehow the lanes have caused some tensions.

One of the reasons that Bike lanes have caused some tensions is because they are changing existing lane structure. Since people are creatures of habit, I understand how these changes make them uncomfortable. So, to avoid that in Ward 5, I would like to set up as many bike lanes as possible, as early as possible so that we have the lanes in the far west as early as we have the roads.
I want to avoid leaving for work with a parking spot and arriving home without.



Since a large portion of 5 is West of Henday, if we want cyclists we have to deal with the main bridges.
So this is the city’s map for Bicycle paths:



A closer look at Ward five will show that the few planned bike path plans are reserved for major roads:


The problem here involves bridges at Callingwood Road and at Lessard Road connecting Kymburn, Ormsby and Jamieson with Glastonbury and the Hamptons on the West side.

So let’s get these lanes in NOW. And prepare everyone for the growth West of Henday. I think we need the bridges to look like this:

Before we do anything else.



Monday 12 August 2013

Why Not Solar/Geothermal/Cold Fusion


This is the original for this week, which was overridden based on a door to door conversation... 
Vote Gibbon Ward 5


Why Not Solar/Geothermal/Cold Fusion etc.

 
Those of you that know me know how much I love Our Heritage Festival. This year was an unprecedented success:
“Our estimated numbers for Saturday are 108,000. Sunday we estimate 134,000 attended. We had our best Monday ever — up 13 per cent from last year — with an estimated 142,000.” Jack Little, executive director of the Edmonton Heritage Festival Association, said in a news release."
and 
"The Edmonton Food Bank, which collects donations at the entrance, greatly benefited from the festival. Visitors dropped off about 53,000 kilograms of packaged food at bins scattered throughout the festival site. “It’s filling in the holes in our stocks right now and it’s greatly appreciated,” said Tamison Bencz-Knight, the manager of strategic relationships and partnerships for the Food Bank."
http://www.edmontonjournal.com/life/Heritage+Festival+says+smashed+attendance+records/8759511/story.html
As you know I am a director of the festival and I am very proud of spear-heading the development and implementation of our Map/App that will slowly decrease the maps printed each year decreasing costs and paper usage. I was adamant that the apps be resident because the wireless coverage in the valley is poor at best and they were virtually flawlessly under those constraints. A few small additions and I hope we can get rid of a substantial portion of our maps next year. 
 
Our biggest problem this year? Our own growth. More fridges, more heaters, more cooking units all add to the electricity requirements. We were very strict and all of the pavilions were awesome at helping us to monitor unneeded use, but it is reaching critical mass. We cannot grow anymore based on old fashioned power use.
 
So here are my thoughts. We need to build new energy infrastructure into the festival. Solar? Geothermal from the North Saskatchewan? Burn all the Canadian Goose Droppings (an unlimited source at Hawrelack Park believe me) for energy?
 
You have my ear and I have a very open mind....
 
Don't Say WHY? Say WHYNOT!!!

Freezing taxes for Seniors

Connie has worked hard her whole life, here in Edmonton. She is 65 soon and was looking forward to her retirement but is now worried that she will have to move because she cannot afford her city taxes. So I thought I would look into it.
 
By the way, I firmly believe that Civic taxes should be frozen when taxpayers reach 65. In order to do that we need our fiscal house in order...  Anyway, back to the information.
 
I have compiled a chart of local tax rates, known as the "Mill Rates". These rates are the multiplier used to decide how much tax you pay. In this region Fort Sask pays the lowest, Thorsby the highest.
 
Municipality
    Residential tax rate for 2012    
Fort Saskatchewan    
0.004470
16
Sherwood Park
0.004520
15
Stony Plain
0.004790
14
Edmonton
0.005010
13
Gibbons
0.005090
12
Devon
0.005360
11
Spruce Grove
0.005640
10
Beaumont
0.005950
9
Morinville
0.006600
8
Leduc
0.006620
7
Redwater
0.007200
6
St. Albert
0.007630
5
Bon Accord
0.008540
4
Calmar
0.009030
3
Lamont
0.009310
2
Thorsby
0.011670
1
 
This is reformatted from Information taken from: 
 
Did you notice that areas surrounding Edmonton, that have the largest industrial tax bases have the lowest civic tax rates? 
It is time for Edmonton to get a proper share of those revenues. This would take the pressure off the city and allow us to maintain, if not lower taxes.
 
As a point of Interest Calgary's 2012 Mill Rate was 0.0034565 a full 32% lower. 
 
 
 
Here is David Staples views on the issues.  You can see the original here: http://www.edmontonjournal.com/news/Staples+Time+industrial+Edmonton+region/8755371/story.html
 
EDMONTON - The rural ripoff of industrial taxes has got to end.
This tax grab is damaging to the vast majority of the Alberta’s villages, towns and cities. It also threatens the prosperity and competitiveness of the Edmonton region.
The issue has become so hot that two councillors running for mayor in Edmonton, Don Iveson and Karen Leibovici, are positioning themselves as champions for urban Alberta on working out a fairer deal.
In a recent blog post about the need to annex the land around the International airport, Leibovici focuses on Edmonton’s raw deal when it comes to paying for the region’s costs, while lacking a proper industrial tax base. “We all know that someone always pays, and in the case of our region, it is more often the taxpayers of Edmonton who foot the bill.”
Iveson is even more blunt. “It’s my top priority, if elected mayor, to get a fair share for urban areas and build a stronger city and a stronger region.”
How does the rural ripoff play out?
Towns and cities like Devon, Morinville, St. Albert, Fort Saskatchewan, Leduc, Stony Plain, Beaumont, Spruce Grove and Edmonton are full of men and women who work in the oilpatch. They build, maintain and operate pipelines and refineries, or work for oilpatch related businesses. Yet when it comes to sharing the wealth created in the Edmonton region from industrial taxes on oilfield equipment, machinery and pipelines, the towns and cities get a pittance compared to what the rural counties rake in.
Across the province, industrial taxes pulled in $1.5 billion in 2011 alone, but $1.4 billion of that went to a lucky handful of rural counties, representing just 13 per cent of Alberta’s population.
A new study by Don Good, a Peace River businessman and town councillor from 1998 to 2010 who has become an expert on the rural ripoff, shows that $137 million in industrial taxes was collected in 2011 in the Edmonton region. Four rural counties got to keep 70 per cent, while Edmonton and all the surrounding towns (save for Sherwood Park, which has a sweet deal because it’s part of a county) got 30 per cent.
Stated another way, county populations in the Edmonton region that represent 13.5 per cent of the total population got $96 million in industrial taxes in 2011, while towns and cities that represent 86.5 per cent of the population got $41 million.
“It’s really important data to inform our case to the province,” Iveson says of Good’s study.
But Iveson says that’s only half the issue here, the other half being that city and town taxpayers and developers pay for all arterial roads, while in rural counties the province pays for all secondary highways. “And all of us pay for them through our provincial taxes. So it’s not just that the counties are collecting more revenue, they also have lower costs because they’re piggybacking on provincial infrastructure.”
The Progressive Conservatives have had 40 years to deal with this inequity, but the problem has only got worse. Municipal Affairs minister Doug Griffiths is now telling the various players in the Edmonton region to work out a solution, but Good says only the province can solve the issue, as it makes the rules.
 
It’s crucial to note that there’s no shifty dealing or bad faith on the part of the counties here. This ripoff is the fault of the province, not the counties. They’re just playing by the province’s archaic and nonsensical rules.
But, for now, the counties have little incentive to deal fairly with the towns and cities, Good says. “Do you think the rural municipalities are going to wake up one morning and go, ‘Oh, yeah, you’re right! Yeah sure. That’s really unjust. We’ll give you 50 per cent of our industrial assessment. Tomorrow, man! Absolutely!
“I don’t know why, maybe I’m just a cynic, but I don’t think that’s going to happen. The province has not given people equitable bargaining power and therefore the rurals get what they want.”
Instead, the province has to step up and change boundaries, amalgamating cities and towns with rural counties, Good says.
This suggestion makes sense, but it’s worth noting that neither Iveson, Leibovici nor Coun. Kerry Diotte, the three councillors fighting to be mayor, are pushing for the province to impose such a solution, at least not right now. In my next column, I’ll detail their arguments about how best to proceed to create a region that works for Edmonton and the towns, and not just for the counties.