Council Notes

January means resolution time for most people, and the same goes for the Ahuntsic-Cartierville borough council. On Jan. 14, Mayor Marie-Andrée Beaudoin addressed residents, reminding them of some of the rules. Copies of these rules were also handed out prior to the meeting. Beaudoin raised the issue of decorum and respect for people and institutions. “I understand that you might be passionate about the issues that touch your daily lives, but our meetings have to remain respectful towards everyone,” she said.

St. Sulpice councillor, Jocelyne-Ann Campbell, announced a $5 million investment into the renovation of neighbourhood low income housing units, most of which are 28 years old and in need of an update. The council particularly mentioned units for senior citizens. “A renovated building will encourage people to keep it nice and clean, and this has an impact on the quality of life in the neighbourhood,” Campbell said. The Meunier-Tolhurst, St. Sulpice, d’Auteuil, St. Firmin, des Hirondelles and André-Grasset units will benefit from most of the funding. The 11 other units in the neighbourhood will also receive minor renovations.

Many citizen questions were about snow removal. While most citizens seemed to acknowledge the amount of snow that has fallen this winter has been unusually high, some still thought that the snow removal process – particularly for sidewalks – has been too slow. One resident caught the council’s attention by bringing up the excessive speed he has seen snow removal trucks drive at, and the dangers this can pose. Another citizen complained about the tooting signals used before the snow clearing process. She suggested they stop this practice completely, because the orange ‘no parking’ signs are already enough to warn people and that the honking often comes too late, or way too soon. The mayor and councillors took note of all these comments.

Recycling continued to be a prevalent issue brought up by the citizens. François Boucher suggested the borough should move to two collections per week, while Christine Dolbec wanted to know why an apparent garbage truck was collecting on her street on recycling day. The new borough director, Réjean Durocher, said they recently started to sort recyclables at the centre in St. Michel and that a truck with divided compartments was no longer needed; everything is put in the same container. As for Boucher’s question, councillor Jean-François St. Onge said he would have to speak with the ‘éco-quartiers’ to see if proceeding with more frequent collections is necessary.

Jean-François Desgroseillers asked about the progress of the democratic reform consultations announced in December. St. Onge, who is responsible for the file, said the Office de consultation publique de Montréal (Montreal’s public consultation board) has accepted to work with the Borough on this. He explained that the first step will be to identify the current situation in the borough and then establish a consultation schedule and, finally, an action plan. The public consultations are anticipated for March, and resulting changes should be applied in Fall 2008.

When questioned about the possibility of having outdoor public markets in the borough, Jocelyne-Ann Campbell announced, with enthusiasm, that substantial funds will be set aside in the future to organize similar events like the outdoor market at École St. Simon last summer. She added the public interest in these projects is in line with the plan for neighbourhood life and also with guaranteeing residents fresh food. These projects will grow over the next years, Campbell said, with support from the conference of regional elected officials. She encouraged citizens interested in outdoor markets to contact their district’s representative.

As it is usually the case, money is being move from one project to another inside the three year immobilization plan. One million will be transferred from the road repairs program to road lighting works, and $500 000 will be removed from the “old parcs” project to sit in the “projet 2008-2009”, an enveloped dedicated to future projects that are yet to be determined.

A new form for graffiti removal was adopted by the council. Citizens who want to get graffiti cleaned out of their private propriety can get it done without charge by filling this new form granting borough workers access to their propriety. The form is available at the Bureau Accès Montréal, located at 555 Chabanel. The Bureau can also be reached by dialing 311.

(Translated by Elyse Amend)