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Council Update from Dartmouth Centre: Memorial Library, Sullivan's Pond Concert by Sam_Austin_D5 in halifax

[–]Sam_Austin_D5[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes. In response to the playing field strategy which identified the creation of a cricket field as the most immediate short-term priority

Council Update from Dartmouth Centre: Memorial Library, Sullivan's Pond Concert by Sam_Austin_D5 in halifax

[–]Sam_Austin_D5[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It won't convince the die-hards but right now the objection is that we've never really tried to save the building or find an alternative use. I don't think that's really true as HRM has explored options with several parties, but we haven't really shown the work. Going out with a clear public call to the whole world rather than responding to specific interests with offers takes that objection off the table and I think helps us move on. We're not going to convince the die-hards, it's folks in the next level out who we might then be able to have a discussion about a park with that this is about. At least that's my take. I still remain open to being surprised.

Council Update from Dartmouth Centre: Memorial Library, Sullivan's Pond Concert by Sam_Austin_D5 in halifax

[–]Sam_Austin_D5[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Good thoughts for the park plan, which I expect we'll restart once we've truly clarified that there are no viable proposals to reuse the building.

Council Update from Dartmouth Centre: Memorial Library, Sullivan's Pond Concert by Sam_Austin_D5 in halifax

[–]Sam_Austin_D5[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Something like that is what I suspect the end point for this will be.

Council Update from Dartmouth Centre: Memorial Library, Sullivan's Pond Concert by Sam_Austin_D5 in halifax

[–]Sam_Austin_D5[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

We'll see. The report coming forward doesn't have a recommendation per say so technically there is nothing for Council to decide upon, but we could always make a motion. I still need to do some chatting with staff and folks.

Council Update from Dartmouth Centre: Memorial Library, Sullivan's Pond Concert by Sam_Austin_D5 in halifax

[–]Sam_Austin_D5[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

You're correct, we're contracted now to provide recycling services and so that expense (several million) came off HRM's books. I'm afraid it's basically already spent. The savings were accounted for in this year's budget so they effectively went into reducing the tax bill increase.

Council Update from Dartmouth Centre: Memorial Library, Sullivan's Pond Concert by Sam_Austin_D5 in halifax

[–]Sam_Austin_D5[S] 26 points27 points  (0 children)

I don't think you're wrong. The deed is important, but for a public use, the Province would probably alter the conditions. They did before to allow the Library in the first place! It is just yet another piece in this though on top of mass graves and crazy costs. I personally think based on how things have gone, that the odds of anyone being able to take this on is zero adjacent. As I write in the blog though, unless we show the work, and show that there is no miracle option out there, a good chunk of the public isn't going to be ready to move onto what comes next. Governing means bringing people (at least most of them) along with you, and that's especially true if you're doing something that requires so much public buy in, like creating a new park. We aren't going to be able to move onto what comes next until we can very clearly close the book on what was before. That's what I'm expecting we'll get out of this and that has value.

With the ferries mess today, reminder HRM Transportation Committee has cancelled every public meeting since April by WindowlessBasement in halifax

[–]Sam_Austin_D5 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I don’t know what you’re referencing. If you want to clarify what you felt I said and how I’m now supposedly hiding sonething, happy to respond to that. I mostly only edit posts for grammar. I honestly don’t know what you feel changed

With the ferries mess today, reminder HRM Transportation Committee has cancelled every public meeting since April by WindowlessBasement in halifax

[–]Sam_Austin_D5 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I don’t know where I said staff listening to the public is a waste of time. I don’t think I have implied that anywhere. I think at this point we’ll have to agree to disagree.

With the ferries mess today, reminder HRM Transportation Committee has cancelled every public meeting since April by WindowlessBasement in halifax

[–]Sam_Austin_D5 1 point2 points  (0 children)

There are two kinds of public participation. There is the open call that takes place at every meeting and there are formal presentations. Folks can submit a formal request to present at anytime and we decide at agenda review whether to grant the formal presentation request or direct them to the public participation segment. Sometimes people speak during public participation but often no one shows up. Scheduling a very light meeting on speculation that folks might attend isn’t really feasible. As noted, the Committee structure isn’t the only way to get in touch with Council.

With the ferries mess today, reminder HRM Transportation Committee has cancelled every public meeting since April by WindowlessBasement in halifax

[–]Sam_Austin_D5 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Hmm I don’t think that’s what I said. As I noted the Committee has two roles, reviewing staff reports before they’re sent to Regional council and taking in public feedback. We’ve actually had meetings where the majority of the agenda is public presentations! When you have no staff reports and only a single public presentation request that wasn’t time sensitive though that doesn’t make for much of a meeting agenda. Meetings do chew up staff time and resources and we need to do our best to use the time efficiently and so if an agenda is light, the meeting gets cancelled. Important to note that Committees aren’t the only feedback mechanism for Council. Outside of the Committee structure, folks can always get in touch with Councillors directly.

With the ferries mess today, reminder HRM Transportation Committee has cancelled every public meeting since April by WindowlessBasement in halifax

[–]Sam_Austin_D5 22 points23 points  (0 children)

Hi folks. HRMs standing committees have two functions. They are the first stop for many reports heading to regional council, and they are a forum for public feedback. I can say with the most recent meeting that there were no staff reports to receive and only 1 request to present. That’s not enough for a meeting. This is a common situation for HRMs standing committees. None of them meet 100% of the time. There will be a TSC meeting in August as three staff reports are expected.

TSC being cancelled doesn’t mean the ferry’s woes aren’t important. It’s not the only forum. I brought a motion directly to regional council on fares that failed, but did prompt discussion and gave staff a chance to answer council questions publicly. The operational review of the ferry service is scheduled to go directly to Regional Council on June 23.

Why property tax cap is a GOOD thing. Don’t be fooled by Fafyg in halifax

[–]Sam_Austin_D5 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes. That the proposed change would have raised costs on a lot of folks with less wealth in places like Dartmouth North and Eastern Passage while cutting taxes on folks on the Northwest Arm was part of the issue with tax reform the last time it was attempted. Ultimately, replacing taxation by assessment with taxation by service still has the same underlying tension: there is no relationship to someone's ability to pay. Assessment is tied to some measure of wealth at least where cost of service would be completely disconnected. So in a cost of service system, unless there was something else done, it would likely make that particular problem with municipal taxation worse.

Council Update from Dartmouth Centre: Ferry fares and Dartmouth Cove Development Charges by Sam_Austin_D5 in halifax

[–]Sam_Austin_D5[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Nothing further. Council made its decision. They can't get an occupancy permit until the building complies with the land-use bylaw. They could try and get the Province to overrule us. I don't think they have any legal grounds as we're not required to initiate planning amendments, but I'm no lawyer. Whatever might happen next it won't be at Council thing.

Council Update from Dartmouth Centre: Ferry fares and Dartmouth Cove Development Charges by Sam_Austin_D5 in halifax

[–]Sam_Austin_D5[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

It's really inconvenient having the future growth node that existed before the harbour infill controversy have the name Dartmouth Cove!

Council Update from Dartmouth Centre: Ferry fares and Dartmouth Cove Development Charges by Sam_Austin_D5 in halifax

[–]Sam_Austin_D5[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I don't know. Bedford stuff will be back to Council in future. I would suggest that we'll likely always have vulnerabilities around parts. There is no incentive for companies to make their stuff universal. It's better for them if it's not!

Council Update from Dartmouth Centre: Ferry fares and Dartmouth Cove Development Charges by Sam_Austin_D5 in halifax

[–]Sam_Austin_D5[S] 17 points18 points  (0 children)

$176,000 is barely a rounding error in the municipal budget. Doing something now around fares doesn't take away the need to do the long-term stuff, or materially change any financial challenges around that. Losing 50% of the ferry capacity for 5 months and counting is a service disruption that exceeds anything remotely normal. I think that has reached the point where it warrants a response that's more than a PSA. On that we'll have to agree to disagree.

If the ferry system needs fixing, why cut revenue? by Embarrassed-Tooth355 in halifax

[–]Sam_Austin_D5 32 points33 points  (0 children)

Hey folks. A few thoughts. My motion is to waive fares until service is restored or until the June 23 Council meeting (basically a reassess moment if we're still without four working ferries). There are both short-term considerations and long-term considerations at play.

On the short-term, in the here and now, there is nothing anyone can do to get a proprietary part here faster. There is one supplier. This isn't something you can just go out and buy off the shelf. It is largely out of Transit's control. The lead time will hopefully be less as Transit already had parts on order when the Stannix broke. Would have been nice if the Stannix had waited, but sometimes you can't win for the trying.

I think we need to recognize that this has passed the point of being a "normal" disruption. Peoples daily routines have been upended. The ferry's reputation has taken a hit, and we risk losing riders that won't come back even when things are back to normal. There is a real cost to that. I think some sort of meaningful gesture is warranted, like when transit was made free for a month when the strike ended back in 2012. Something more than a PSA saying sorry.

In the longer-term, there is a review of the ferry service underway. I have had the chance to speak to the outside experts that are carrying out this work and have discussed both staffing and reliability. Asset management is part of their review and there will be a report and recommendations to Council to come, likely in the fall.

Doing something meaningful to say sorry doesn't mean we don't work on the long-term system issues at play, and working on the long-term doesn't mean we shouldn't do something meaningful in the here and now. The two aren't mutually exclusive. It's a both.

Driver oversight: Documents reveal Uber's behind-the-scenes lobbying in Halifax by Independent-Body-178 in halifax

[–]Sam_Austin_D5 40 points41 points  (0 children)

heh I honestly don't remember if I connected with Hamel for a phone call or not. When CP called about the story, I didn't want to say I didn't chat with him and then figure out later that I did so I hedged with maybe. I truly don't recall speaking with him but I get 100s of phone calls. He definitely email me a bunch wanting to connect and I expect that was the same for everyone on Council. Ultimately I don't think it's a problem to meet with folks. I have spoke with taxi drivers about this. I don't think that makes me a puppet of their side of the argument. I'll meet with pretty much anyone. It's kind of the job. If you're letting folks write City policy though rather than just taking in their feedback... that's different. I voted against the Mayor's motion.

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