Downtown Revitalization Update

Last November I wrote here about the Town’s multi-million dollar application to revitalize Pelham’s downtowns. I am writing now to provide you with an update.

As you will recall, last September the Federal and Provincial Governments announced the Building Canada Grant Program for communities under 100,000 people.

The Town of Pelham submitted an application to the program requesting a total of $7.1 million to revitalize downtown Fonthill and Fenwick. In December, the Building Canada program deemed our submission to be two separate projects and the Town had to choose one project over the other. The Town amended the application to fund the downtown area of Fonthill – the larger and more expensive of the projects (at more than $4.6 million).

In February, 2009, I was informed that the Town would receive $852,572 from each level of Government for a total of $1.7 million. Based on the amended application, this left a shortfall of nearly $1.3 million in funding from the two levels of Government.

Later, Town staff was informed that Building Canada deemed burying of the hydro lines, and the purchase of benches and planters as “ineligible expenditures” under the program. While the cost for the benches and planters are minimal, the cost to bury the hydro lines (including contingencies, engineering and Environmental Assessment costs) was budgeted at approximately $1.9 million (for all three levels of government)!

On March 17, the CAO and I met with representatives from the Ministry of Energy & Infrastructure, the Ministry of Transportation and the Ministry of Agriculture, Food & Rural Affairs in Toronto. We not only sought clarification on these exclusions, but we also implored them to agree to fund expenditures relating to the burying of the hydro lines.

While we were again informed that the burying of hydro lines was not an eligible expenditure, Ministry representatives indicated that very small pockets of funding may be available once the Town finalized the design. An eternal optimist, I continue to be hopeful in this regard.

In the meantime, Council recently awarded the contract for the engineering and infrastructure design of both Fonthill’s and Fenwick’s downtowns. We continued to include Fenwick’s downtown in the contract to get better pricing and so that we will be "shovel ready" for any further grants. This engineering design will not only advance the projects but will also provide an accurate cost to bury the hydro lines in both our downtowns.

I will continue to keep you informed on our progress.

Public Utility for Regional Water & Waste Water?

During some Regional meetings last week, I was reminded of the quote, “Water, water, everywhere, nor any drop to drink” from Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s “Rime of the Ancient Mariner.” There we were, after several deferrals and much debate, discussing the Regional water and waste water rates for 2009.

You see, since the fall the Region has been working on a new way to charge for water and waste water services.

The Regional side of your water and sewer rates pays for both the water and sewer treatment costs and any delivery costs to the 11 Towns, Townships, and Cities that have retail water services. In fact, last year 75 million cubic meters of water was treated at the Region’s six treatment plants. In addition, 91 million cubic meters of wastewater was treated at nine sewage treatment plants.

But, essentially, the Region is the wholesaler of water to the municipalities. Up to this year, the price was based on a three-year rolling average of a Town’s or City’s usage. However, under that system, the Region accumulated an $18 million deficit over the last five years for water charges! (That’s on a base of an annual water budget of approximately $41 million.)

How could that happen?

Well, in some respects, it’s really some good news. You see, water consumption has significantly decreased over the last number of years. We were told that the drop in consumption was due both to increased conservation by users (great work everyone!), and to wet summers in 2008 and 2006. As the numbers show, the trend is quite clearly for decreased water usage. (And, I argued that the Region clearly wasn’t budgeting properly for the decrease!)

So, the Region proposed instituting a 50% fixed water charge because the service has “between 60% and 90% fixed costs.”

Various municipalities – the retailers of the water to you and your neighbours – disagreed. They argued that such a high fixed-price component would jeopardize efforts to conserve water.

Finally, after many meetings over many months, a compromise was reached.

First, the fixed component was set at 25% for the next two years.

Second, staff will present options for linking the “wholesale” and “retail” components together. We suggested researching a common regional water rate structure, or even a separate, public utility model for regional water delivery! While this may take some time, I wanted you to know about the direction we are investigating at the Region.

Development Charges: Paying for Growth

Over the next few weeks you may be hearing a more about “Development Charges.” What’s that, you ask?

Under something called the Development Charges Act, the Province allows Municipalities to collect fees to help offset the “costs of growth.”

You see, new growth – residential, commercial, or industrial– applies additional pressures on municipal infrastructure. For example, new residential development areas often require additional water and waste water services. Or, if hundreds of new homes are built, new residents place pressures on roads and other Town services – everything from recreational services, to library usage, to fire protection. This “pressure” means additional costs to add trunk water lines, widen collector roads, or renovate or build new facilities.

Many years ago, an existing property tax-payer would have paid for additional municipal infrastructure and services that were required for new developments. Many felt that that lacked fairness, and that “new growth should pay for new growth.” On the other side of the argument, many felt that new growth should pay no more than its fair share.

Thus, a balance is sought where new growth should not create a financial burden on existing residents of the community while the existing residents should not enjoy a financial benefit at the expense of new residents.

The Town of Pelham has been setting and collecting development charges on development and re-development for some time. Development Charges were also previously known as Impost Fees or Capital Levies and have been in place at the majority of Ontario municipalities for several years. The current Development Charges by-law was adopted by Council on August 16, 2004 after an in-depth Development Charges Study conducted by an independent consultant. The by-law lasts for five years and is set to expire this August.

Some steps have already been taken to update the Town’s Development Charges by-law.

First, pursuant to the Development Charges Act, an independent consultant has prepared a Background Study – which was made publicly available on March 6.

Second, staff met with representatives of the development industry on March 9 regarding the Background Study and the proposed new by-law.

Third, a Public Meeting has been called for Monday, March 23 at 7:00 PM in the Council Chambers of Pelham Town Hall to present and obtain public input on the Town’s proposed by-law and underlying background study.

If you are interested, please join us that evening. For more information please contact the Town Clerk at 905-892-2706 or at clerks@pelham.ca.

Keeping An Open Mind

Perhaps you heard that the Honourable Gilbert Parent, Member of Parliament for 22 years and former Speaker of the House, passed away last week. You may recall that he represented Pelham in the “Niagara Centre” Riding from 1997 to 2000.

Mr. Parent began his career in education and when defeated in 1984 by the Mulroney sweep, he returned to teaching. In 1986 he taught me religion at Notre Dame, and I fondly remember many of his lessons.

One of his lessons stood out for me this week. I recall Mr. Parent analyzing the quote “The problem with an open mind is it lets in too much garbage.” He explored the quote by asking “If you truly have an open mind, how do you know an idea or concept is garbage before you scrutinize it?” Instead, he taught about the virtues of keeping an open mind. Only then should one weigh all the options.

And, so I try to keep an open mind on all matters – including recreational facilities.

That’s why I reported to Council last week about a recent meeting between representatives of Welland, Niagara College, and Pelham.

You see, Welland’s studies indicate that they need either a three-pad arena or a four-pad if they stop using the Welland Arena. While they preferred to locate it on property they own at Woodlawn and River Road, their second preference was Niagara College.

Why potentially the Niagara College Campus? Since the College already hosts several community facilities— Niagara Centre YMCA, Children’s Safety Village, NRP Training Facility, Ball Hockey International – there is a potential for a similar free-property arrangement.

So, if Welland needs three-plus ice surfaces and if Pelham needs more ice, a Niagara College location could have other potential advantages: usage by students during off-peak hours, sharing of existing parking, appeal for fundraising and funding from other levels of government, and efficient use of public resources and funds.

It also would have potential challenges: complex negotiations and agreements, the potential “loss of identity”, and a potential resident backlash.

While such a potential partnership is clearly not the only option, I wanted to ensure that our minds were still open to the concept. And, while Welland is moving quickly, Pelham’s own Recreational Facilities Committee still has to formally analyze this and other options.

Rest assured that I will continue to keep my mind open and analyze all options for your benefit and that of your Pelham neighbours and friends.

Pelham's Good News Budget

You would not have heard much fanfare about it had you been at our Town Council meeting last week. And, yet, it was very important for you and for all property tax payers in Pelham.

You see, Council officially approved our 2009 Operating Budget.

From the start, our budget working group gave direction to ensure minimal impact on you and other property tax-payers without decreasing the current level and quality of services.

In essence, we said find efficiencies, find ways to work smarter, and stay focused on service to the community. I am pleased to let you know that the budget does just that.

In addition, Town staff continues to look at all work processes and to seek opportunities to reduce costs through the use of new technology, procedural improvements, and/or alternative sources of revenue.

Overall, these initiatives allowed the Treasurer to suggest a minimal general tax levy increase of $282,025 (on a $10 million budget) or 2.62% BEFORE adjusting for real assessment growth. Real assessment growth in 2008 – from new businesses, new homes, or improvements to existing properties – was $164,383. (This growth has nothing to do with MPAC’s changes in market value assessment of existing properties.)

Once growth is removed, the net effect on the tax levy will be $117,642 or an increase of 1.48% on the Town of Pelham portion of your 2009 property tax bill.

What does that mean for your pocket book, you ask?

Well, the average residential property value for 2009 is expected to be $248,583. If your home and property were assessed at that value, you would be paying only an additional $23 or a total of $1,218 on the Pelham portion of your property bill. This year’s average increase is less than half of last year’s $54 average increase.

You can see that Council and staff have taken global economic situation very seriously.

In fact, I am pleased to tell you about a conversation our Treasurer recently had with the Treasures of the other 11 Cities, Towns, and Townships across the Region. While most have not yet completed their budgets, given the discussions other Council’s, it looks like our increase will be the lowest in the entire Region. That’s good news for you, isn’t it?

If you would like additional information about the 2009 budget, please download the budget presentation from the Town’s website at www.pelham.ca or watch it on Cogeco on Wednesday, March 18.

Facilities Update

Many people have asked me recently about how things are progressing with some of our facilities in Town.

As you’ll recall, during the summer Council established three facilities committees – Fire Station #2 Replacement Committee, Maple Acre Library Branch Replacement Committee, and Recreational Facilities Committee. Working to plan and develop various facilities, each committee includes Town Councillors, myself (as a non-voting member) and appropriate staff.

The Fire Station #2 Replacement Committee, chaired by Councillor Debbie Urbanowicz, started meeting in September. The committee determined that the Town needs a new Fire Station because the current vehicle bays do not have enough room for future vehicle requirements. In addition, parts of the building are structurally inadequate; for instance, the south-east corner is severely cracked and deteriorating. There are also significant safety concerns with the firefighters backing fire trucks into the station after each call.

Next, the committee determined that required improvements cannot occur on the current site. An additional fire bay attached to the current building would eliminate vehicle parking for the volunteer fire fighters. And, if the current building was demolished and totally replaced, there’s not enough land to construct a new firehall with enough parking.

Thus, the committee developed a “site criteria matrix” with weighted scoring to evaluate other public lands – Centennial Park, downtown Fenwick lands. The matrix showed that those lands didn’t even meet 50% of their ideal site requirements.

So, in December and again in January, the committee invited public landowners to submit options for new sites which were to be evaluated with the same site criteria matrix. Finally, the committee has undertaken a functional analysis to determine the fire service’s specific requirements for individual rooms and building configuration.

The Maple Acre Library Branch Replacement Committee, chaired by Councillor Dave Emmons, started meeting in October. The committee determined that, even as it stands now, the current facility is deficient – not accessible, structurally unsound. Working to determine short- and long-term requirements, the committee is considering circulation statistics, population projections, and the interplay between branch usage patterns. The committee is still evaluating the “Top 10” needs and objectives of the library branch and site. It too has undertaken a functional analysis to determine specific requirements for rooms and building configuration.

The Recreational Facilities Committee, chaired by Councillor John Durley, began meeting in November. Its mandate is very broad and includes the future of all Town recreational facilities – arena, outdoor pool, sports fields, and parks. The committee assembled all recommendations from the many previous recreational studies. It has begun determining challenges and establishing priorities.

The Secret of Fenwick Flossie

To my delight, one of my responsibilities as Mayor has been to assist with Pelham’s Annual Groundhog Day event and help greet Fenwick Flossie.

We all know about Wiarton Willy. As the website dedicated to him states: “On February 2nd, just after 8:00 AM, Canada's groundhog soothsayer, the great Wiarton Willie, emerges from hibernation in his burrow long enough to announce to the world, his weather report. Discovered in 1956, he has consistently delivered accurate predictions on the remaining course of winter.”

So famous has Wiarton Willie become that in 1995 the Town erected a beautiful white limestone statue called “Willie Emerging.” The statue has become a ‘must see’ for tourists travelling in the Bruce Peninsula any time of year.

And the Annual Wiarton Willie Festival occurred this past weekend. Voted the Most Popular Event in Ontario in 2000, the festival features a parade, a Monte Carlo night, a dart tournament, a special hockey game, a pizza eating contest, and the Groundhog Ball.

What about the other spring prognosticator? I haven’t forgotten about Punxsutawney Phil. His Pennsylvania website states that Phil “is the only true weather forecasting groundhog. The others are just impostors.”

Since the late 1800’s, Phil has made his prediction at 7:25 AM. Have you send the Hollywood movie starring Bill Murray, entitled Groundhog Day, which focuses on the event?

But, what about Fenwick Flossie? Are not her predictions at 10:30 AM equally as valid? Where is her world-wide fame, her website, her TV crews?

You see, each year Junior Kindergarten to Grade 3 students from E.W. Farr, St. Ann schools participate in Groundhog Day at Centennial Park. While waiting for Flossie to rouse, the Fenwick Lions award colouring contest prizes. Then, the students cheer loudly and enthusiastically to wake-up Flossie from her long winter nap; she was last seen in the Santa Claus parade in early December. After Flossie makes her weather prediction, the Fenwick Lions treat the children and their teachers to cookies and hot chocolate.

As a former member of the Fenwick Lions, I know that the event is not about fame, predictions, the tourist trade or economic spin-offs.

In the end, it’s all about good fun for kids in the community. That’s the real secret of Fenwick Flossie.

I hope you will agree that it is special events like this one, organized by caring, community-minded volunteers, that makes our Town the best in Niagara!

Stay Tuned on Tax Rates and Property Assessments

You may recall that in October, just prior to the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC) sending out its Market Value Assessment notices, I wrote about how Market Value Assessment is only one half of the property tax equation.

I wrote then that the amount you pay to the Town of Pelham, to the Region, and to the Province for Education is based on the Market Value Assessment of your property multiplied by the tax rates.

Your Property Taxes = Your Assessment X Tax Rate

Your Assessment:
Your assessment is solely set by MPAC. The Town and the Region cannot change any element of this assessment process. It is mandated by the Province, who has established a separate corporation – MPAC – to administer it. If you think your assessment is incorrect, please contact MPAC directly and ask for a Request for Reconsideration; you have until March 31, 2009 to request this.

Tax Rate:
Your tax rate is set by the Town, the Region, and the Province (for the Education portion).

2008 Rate % of Total
Pelham: 0.005085950 = 33.3% of total
Region: 0.007547470 = 49.4%
Education: 0.002640000 = 17.3%
Total: 0.015273420

Municipalities set the tax rate based on the total assessment for each of the tax classes – residential, multi-residential, commercial, industrial, farm/managed forest, pipelines.

Just because your Assessment increased by 32% over four years, it does not follow that your property taxes will increase by 32%. In the same way, it does not mean – as one Pelham resident thought when her assessed value increased by $25,000 each year for four years – that you must pay the Town the annual increase in assessment listed on the notice you received.

What happened last time?
As you may recall, this is not the first time that all classes of properties have been re-valuated. Your property taxes for 2006, 2007, and 2008 were calculated on the value of your property on January 1, 2005. Your 2004 and 2005 taxes were based on the value set by MPAC for your property on June 30, 2003; your 2003 was based on the value on June 30, 2001.

The last time this re-valuation occurred, Pelham residential assessments increased an average of 16.98%.

What happened to the Pelham residential tax rate? It actually decreased by 9.7% from 0.005131980 to 0.004632850.


If your assessment increase was average, that change in effect meant the previous Council increased Pelham taxes by 5.6% in 2006.

What about this Council? We are still working our way through our 2009 budget process. Stay tuned for the net effects!

More Snow, Please

Most people I have spoken to lately are starting to begrudge our winter. It’s either too cold, or too snowy. Or the temperature fluctuates too quickly – from -15 up to +10 degrees Celsius in a matter of days. Oh, and don’t forget about the freezing rain and high winds.

Do you even remember the number of times you have shoveled snow this winter?

Because of the record number of storms and amount of fluffy white stuff that has fallen this winter, keeping the roads clear has been a challenge. I have heard many complaints especially from folks living in the cul-de-sacs and near “bulbs” along some roads. (At the same time, however, I have heard very many compliments for the timely and superior service – especially when compared to other municipalities!)

Despite all this negativity, however, have you asked any kids about the winter?

As our kids woke us up on Saturday morning, I looked out the window and said with distain, “It’s snowing, again.” Both our kids yelled “Great! Can we go outside?!”

They love the snow. They love building snow forts and making snowmen. They love tobogganing and jumping in the drifts.

Snow is still a novelty for them.

I was reminded of this at a special hockey game this weekend. You see, for a third year in-a-row, a Pelham Alabama team has played in the International AE Silver Stick finals. This year, the event organizers pre-booked a game between our Pelham Panthers and the Alabama Pelham Panthers. It was held Saturday at the Pelham Arena and I had the honour of dropping the ceremonial first puck.

But, after the game, what did the Alabama Panthers really want to do? Go tobogganing! Why? Because they don’t get snow in Alabama and it’s a treat for them. I offer kudos to our coaches and parents who arranged the tobogganing excursion to Marlene Stewart-Streit Park, including the hot chocolate and goodies.

Similarly, our family couldn’t resist the beautiful sunshine this past Sunday. And so, despite the cold, we cleared a family pond and skated for most of the afternoon. It was such a great experience that our six-year-old daughter is planning a skating party next weekend. And, you know she is hoping for both more snow and better ice.

It’s good to sometimes be reminded of the novel things in life – even if it is snow and ice.

How Can We Improve the Local Economy?

From what I am reading in the media and hearing directly from people, many folks suggest that their most important challenge for 2009 will be the economy.

You may be or know of someone who has been laid-off or directly affected by the credit crisis. For others, the economy and negative talk around it appears more like a blackening thundercloud.

If so, what can we do to help improve the economy? What can the Town and the Region do?

Buy Local:
Especially during difficult times, it is important to support local businesses. Small business owners and employees are not only our neighbours and friends, but they also support the community’s sports teams, public events, local media, and new initiatives. Local businesses are the backbone of any community.

That’s why I am proud that the Town recently established a free Business Directly for all Pelham’s businesses. Developed in collaboration with the Chamber of Commerce and the Pelham Business Association, the Directory is available on the Town’s website at www.pelham.ca. It is easy to use since you can search it either by business name or by category.

Improve Existing Businesses:
Instead of only focusing on attracting new ventures to Niagara, what about working to improve existing businesses? The Chamber of Commerce and I recently established a Pelham Corporate Visitation program. Through site visits and meetings, we will be working with local businesses to help determine what the Chamber and/or the Town can do to assist them – give additional information, make connections, advocate on their behalf with other orders of governments, etc.

Invest in Infrastructure:
A recent national study uncovered that $1 billion dollars invested in upgrading infrastructure public would produce more jobs and a better economic stimulus that a $2-billion tax reduction.

That’s why I have been pushing so hard at the Region to speed-up capital spending – roads and bridges, water mains and sewer lines. In fact, I am part of a small Regional committee working to accelerate the spending of the $120 million 2009 capital budget and of all outstanding projects that were taxed in previous years (like Hwy #20).

Similarly, the Town continues to focus on the Building Canada grant – to secure Federal and Provincial funds for revitalization of our downtowns. Would you believe that the $7.1 million of joint spending could generate 100 local jobs?

Working Together:
Pelham has a rich history of neighbours helping neighbours. If the economy worsens, let’s band together again for the benefit of all.