Governance versus Smaller Council

Today Regional Council discussed the thought of a smaller sized Council.  I have to say it was one of the best sessions of deliberation we have had in a while.  The Boundary Review Committee recommended Council be reduced to 20 on really no basis except for the "pressure" to do so. 

At the public meeting held in Halifax Hall this Spring, the residents in attendence from District 12 stated they didn't want a change in the number of Council but a change in the way we do business aka governance.

Governance is the activity of governing. It relates to decisions that define expectations, grant power, or verify performance. It consists either of a separate process or of a specific part of management or leadership processes. Sometimes people set up a government to administer these processes and systems.

In the case of a business or of a non-profit organisation, governance relates to consistent management, cohesive policies, processes and decision-rights for a given area of responsibility. For example, managing at a corporate level might involve evolving policies on privacy, on internal investment, and on the use of data.

In terms of distinguishing the term governance from government - "governance" is what a "government" does. It might be a geo-political government (nation-state), a corporate government (business entity), a socio-political government (tribe, family, etc.), or any number of different kinds of government. But governance is the kinetic exercise of management power and policy, while government is the instrument (usually, collective) that does it. The term government is also used more abstractly as a synonym for governance, as in the Canadian motto, "Peace, Order and Good Government".

That quote describes the action of governance.  What needs to be changed with respect to Halifax Regional Council?  First of all the Hayward Report, which was the blueprint for amalgamation, really wasn't that great.  It laid out a basic structure for which HRM would use to govern but failed in suggesting improvements to the newly formed municipality or "Frankenstein"as I call it.

The needed changes are to the governing structure.  We have urban, suburban, and rural areas each unique and deserve to have their local issues dealt with by the individuals elected to serve their area.  This is one of the recommendations passed this evening.

HRM already has many of the required legislative powers but never envoked them, HRM Charter will need to be ammended for some of the recommendations such as the ability to envoke local area rates for capital work such as sidewalks.

As I stated at Council, the problem isn't with the size of Council but with the lack of ability to administer or govern in an effective manner. Democracy is not to be swift.  It is supposed to encourage discussion and thought.

Enough for now...  bed is calling

Threats from communters... Nice....... My time to Rant

Since the eco- mobility proposal was announced at Council I have been receiving the rudest emails from guess who? The commuters that park for free on the residential streets of Downtown Halifax! Yes, they think that it is their God Given Right to park for over 40 hours a week for free on Publically OWNED streets.




Now let me explain to you the rationale for this proposal so you may understand why this is a good proposal for ALL residents of HRM. How many people complain that Transit is not to their liking in HRM? Many complain that it is unreliable, slow, doesn't have the correct routes to accommodate their needs, and not operating at the required hours.



So how to we fix this issue? Money is needed for more buses, operating costs, bus terminals and alike. Would you like to pay more taxes to have better service? Many residents have and say no. “We pay enough taxes.” “Why should I pay for something that doesn’t work?” “Fix it first and then I’ll use it.” HRM has not received fair treatment regarding transit from the Federal Government either. So how do we raise money? Who should pay to help fix this transportation nightmare?



Other cities impose parking fees on residential streets to generate money for Transit. Why are we so different? Why shouldn’t those that clog up the streets, cause traffic congestion and are not willing to carpool to help in lessening the carbon footprint of our municipality pay for parking? These funds would go towards fixing our Transit problems and help us build a strong transportation system that EVERYONE could use.



People think transit isn’t cool. That only those without cars, which are low income, use it. That is not the case. In fact, if you ever travel to cities outside of Nova Scotia you would see very prominent people using public transit because it is the fast way to get around. While in New York (on my own dime) visiting friends, I shared a subway car with the star of Muriel’s Wedding! See Public Transit is for EVERYBODY except for here.



Interesting enough, the residents of the downtown residential areas have been asking for this type of policy for 10 years. They have paid high taxes, been tolerant of all aspects of urban life to help reduce the carbon foot print and to keep our district thriving.



I listened to Q104 this am and heard Bobby Mac, BJ and Jessica bashing this idea because of the hours they work. Guess what.... your studio is not downtown! Guess what?? You have a huge parking lot in front of your studio... it doesn’t affect you.



One individual that sent me rude emails bashed the idea because of the hours his wife works... again, you decided to live where you live and no one has asked you to park where you park. That is and will be your decision. We all have to stop this “all about me” attitude and start working towards a solution.



Rant Done

Winter Parking Ban - A Call for Common Sense!

Just watched the CTV News and heard the Mayor in an interview mention exactly what I have been chanting for the last two years.... Common Sense!  I am elated to hear these words! Common Sense needs to be brought back into focus on this issue.  Yes, I realize that crews need to clear streets.  If the streets are not clear, I get the calls telling me so.  If we, the drivers, want to drive in the winter then we need to cooperate with the plow guys... that is understandable.

The petition that I delivered to City Council last night approximately 366 (checked the site a few minutes ago at 376) demonstrates two things that must be considered. 1. people's frustration and 2. an amazing amount of common sense solutions!

So in a month's time we shall see the fruit of our bitching. A report to Council from the Traffic Authority. Let's hope that common sense is a priority !  Don't take this the wrong way.  The person is just doing his job, perhaps too well.  We need a balance for which we all can be happy to oblige!
Dawn

Two Wild Events in Downtown and Why the Brave Deserve Our Thanks

It was 5:30am on Tuesday January 12th when I awoke and started to prepare for the day.  Council session was starting at 10am and we had a massive agenda to complete.  The I here on the Q that a watermain had broke on Barrington Street and the area was flooded and many streets were closed.  Not a good start to an already busy day.  Emailed the correct managers to find out the status and what was being done to remedy the situation, and realized that the staff had everything under control and that my best effort to help was to stay out of the way. So I made a cup of tea and started to work on a few overnight emails when I heard of the fire on South Street. 

Contacted Cheif Mosher to find out the status of the fire and he called me with the status. Many of the 25 residents had either left for work or school so no threat of loss of life, but I needed to see it for myself and felt compelled to go down to the site to see if there was anything I could help with.  Guess it's that mother instinct that make a person think they can help in a situation like this.

When I arrived on the scene, a flackback had just occurred and the firefighters were just getting it under control.  The Cheif began to educate me on how this fire was being fought.  The building had a common roof. was 140 years old and had balloon construction.  This meant that if the fire was in the wall at a lower level that there was not fire stop to keep the flames from shooting right up to the roof .  This makes for a difficult fire to fight.

As you can see in this photo, the first set of apartments was the most seriously damaged.  The fire had made it to the roof and the fire fighters knew how to draw the fire out so they could extinguish it.

Each air tank has 40 minutes of air  and each of the tanks have alarms that sound and vibrate if the tank is low or if the fire fighter is stationary for a certain amount of time.  When I visited he West Street Fire station a few years ago, I tried on the gear and I can tell you that the tanks are not light!


There were 40 figher fighters on scene that day.  Plattoons from the peninsula, Dartmouth, Bedford and Rockingham.  Each Captain and 3 fighters along with the fire investigators, managers and the logistics.  The whole team would with percession.  every 35 minutes there was a shift change. 

Around Noon, the fire was extinguished and the fire fighters were checking for hotspots and helping the residents with pets.  I must say, was was absolutely impressed with the firefighters and their dedication to their career.  Their ability to work together as such a cohesive team was incredible.

Aiding eachother with tank changes, keeping track of where each fire fighter was within the buildings, and how they systematically would change teams to return to the fight.

One fire fighter found a ginger cat and brought it out in his arms.  He or she was so frightened, but the fire fighter held him in his arms and kept him or her out of harms way,  This event happened repetitively for many more times.  Big cheers could be heard as each cat was brought out and reunited with it's owner.

This again demonstrated the amazing work and compassion of these fire fighters.

Along with this heroric work, I saw even more of the compassionate side of the fire fighters as they briefed the residents, business owners and employees of the affected buildings. 

Tuesday was a difficult day for all of the people affected by the fire.  It was the firefighters and the Red Cross that kept things not only organized but extremely calm.  All the volunteers of the Red Cross registered the residents, provided comfort and kind words.   My thanks to these two groups is unmeasureable.

Furthermore, The Westin, Superstore, Nova Scotia Power, Five Fishermen, HRM Police and Works crew deserve a big thanks as well.  Each gave the residents and business owners and staff incredible support and aid during this trying time.

My thoughts go out to all of the people, businesses and staff that have been affected by this fire.  I have been looking for new /temporary accommodations and hope that I can aid them in other ways.  If you have donations of furniture or other items, please contact me and I will get the word out to those affected.

A Big Thanks and Hugs to all who were so brave and helpful.

Dawn

The Downtown Scoop: David Suzuki's Commercial and Sustainable Living... you know where this is going..

The Downtown Scoop: David Suzuki's Commercial and Sustainable Living... you know where this is going..

David Suzuki's Commercial and Sustainable Living... you know where this is going..

"It all starts with me" the tag line from David Suzuki's commercial for Conserve Nova Scotia basically says it all.  If we do not start with me (us) where does it start? 

Living within our means, using the resources we have, and making sure we replenish those resources should be everyones mantra.  Unfortunately, many humans and governments do not follow this sound advise.

Case in point: Urban Sprawl, and underutilization of existing infrastructure within our own municipality.  Halifax Regional Municipality has been sprawling for years and its affecting the municipality's ability to maintain the amenities we all ready have.  Like an elastic band, you can only streatch something so far before it breaks.  Each time a new residential development plan in an unserviced area is approved by Council it costs a huge amount of money for the basic infrastructure such as water, sewage, streets, police, fire, transit,  and schools.  As new areas pop up outside of the urban core, the need to maintain the existing infrastructure within the already established areas still exists. Like any water pipe, recreation centre, street or sidewalk that has been utilized for a period of years, it only has a certain lifecycle and repairs, ugrades or replacement is vitial to maintain a level of service.

Tonight I attended one of the 3 meetings regarding the Peninsula Recreation Centre public meetings.  George Dixon Centre, Needham Centre and St. Andrew's Centre are all under review.  The centres are in need of upgrades, redesigning of programmable space and wheel chair accessability .  All were build decades ago when accessibility was not a standard practice.  Furthermore, Halifax is becoming the home to many different ethnic communities who have certain needs which must be accommodated as well.  The message was clear from the residents, just upgrade what we have.    Losing such assets to a community would be devastating as they are the heart of a community.  HRM By Design also supports complete neighbourhoods and these type of facilities are key components.

Back to my rant.  If we are going to make our municipality a liveable and viable place to live we need to follow a sustainable way of living and stop building our communities which make us reliant on cars.  Walkable neighbourhoods are vital to the health of our residents and municipality.  Reliable mass transit is a must as well but  I'll get into that later as I believe our transit routes are not serving the residents or commuters as well as it could.  Ok, I must rant about this for a few lines...  We have too many buses serving the same areas and are not looking at any change to this by the looks of things.  550+ workers (NSPI), 300+ students (NSCAD), residents of the area (1200+) and those who will be wanting to frequent the future Farmers Market and Pier 21, Cunard Centre, and the Train Station/ Bus Station at the Westin, the students of Dal and SMU, staff of the hospitals and the patients were relying on the Downtown Shuttle to make their lives easier, but the shuttle was not included in the latest 5 yr transit strategy.  Out of Frustration I have started a petition.  Please sign it!

To wrap this up, HRM needs to plan better for the future.  We as citizens need to demand that our government doesn't just think it's sustainable but actually that they lead us by example by retrofitting community centres, re-evaluate our transit strategy and demanding more eco-friendly means for our future.

You need to be aware of what the Municipality is or isn't doing and contact your Municipal Representatives via phone, email, snail mail etc as it does start with you.

Transit, the climate and why do I care so much about FRED on Steriods

Since finding out the Downtown Shuttle is not included in the recommendations coming forward to Council on Tuesday I've been really upset. Furious. Beyond reproach!

So what is the big deal its 6 buses: 3 going on a proposed north route and 3 on a south route. So what has me to the point of frustration that I actually washed down the walls in my bathroom and then most of the windows in my house? It starts with disappointment and ends in climate changing measure that all of us should be concerned about; this is everyone’s planet folks! 

My beef started with the way in which I found out the Downtown Shuttle was cut. Council was given the IBI report a week in advance so we could read through the 347-page document and be ready with questions for the Committee of the Whole to October 27th. I admit I didn’t crack open the book till Monday and when I did it left me puzzled. Where was the Shuttle? I flipped to the index, no shuttle… checked out the appendices, no Shuttle. 

Thought maybe I missed an email from a staff person explaining the removal of the project I cheerlead for 3 years. Nope, no explanation sent. Called the Mayor, he didn’t call me back. Called the CAO and his assistant told me to contact Transit. I was sent an email basically confirming my fear. Cut, with no real reason. Such an email would tick off anyone, but here is the kicker. Within the Regional Plan and HRM by Design there are several paragraphs devoted to an explanation of the need for such a service.

According to HRM by Design : "Creation of a frequent, high-capacity shuttle transit service within the downtown, and with connections to nearby destinations such as hospitals and universities, has several benefits."

"Firstly, it can expand the reach of express transit services and ferries which stop at a single location downtown. It can improve connectivity within the downtown for visitors, shoppers, and employees alike. Using hybrid diesel-electric buses, the service can also reduce the impacts of buses on the downtown by reducing noise and emissions and allowing some routes to transfer passengers and turn around before entering the downtown.” 

So with the adoption of HRM by Design by the Province last week, why the heck was this keystone of the plan left out? Please someone tell me! 

Residents, workers and businesses were looking forward to this service. It would cut down the use of cars in the area, helping us save our planet. Such a service would help get people hooked on transit. They would then increase their ridership and we could build a true network of mobility.

This weekend I had to read a Proclamation for the Climate Change Rally.  I was in such a funk about this Shuttle issue, I felt like I should have apoligized to all participants  of the rally because HRM will not be going forward with the Shuttle.  By the way the Shuttles were to be of hybrid diesel-electric technology to minimize noise and emissions. 2 had been given to HRM by Concerve NS.  (I wonder where there are going to be used now?)

Alas, Tuesday is approaching. Hopefully I will get the answers to my questions. More importantly, I hope Council reinstates some form of this project. Mobility within the downtown areas of the peninsula would make it an attractive place for residents, businesses and visitors. Isn’t that what we need to achieve? A more vibrant downtown so we may grow?



What do you think?



Ps if you feel so inclined, please sign the petition that I will be presenting on Tuesday Oct 27th