St. John’s women of influence

In the absence of Mayor Danny Breen, Deputy Mayor Sheilagh O’Leary presided over Tuesday’s council meeting. It was a timely switch-up on the tails of her Municipal World Women of Influence in Local Government award (say that three-times fast). It also set the tone; the usual business was punctuated by some lovely moments celebrating the important contributions of women to the city of St. John’s, including the outgoing city clerk, Karen Chafe.

Counc. Opheila Ravencroft attended virtually due to a leg injury incurred while marching on an uneven stretch of road during Sunday’s Pride Parade. The irony that a city councillor “got taken out by a pothole” was not lost on her, she joked. She had a wonderful time nevertheless. In her 17 years in St. John’s, this year’s event was “easily the best Pride festival that I’ve attended.” 

Counc. Debbie Hanlon remains on sick leave; though she was absent, her presence was on everyone’s mind as Ravencroft reminded the group that she and Hanlon have birthdays this week, and she had a birthday card for the occasion–a tarot card to be exact. I’m not sure how often tarot cards make it into city council proceedings, but they’re no less symbolic than the Mayor’s ceremonial mace. The card in question was “The Star” card which suggests “overcoming incredible adversity, showing unbelievable strength with greater times on the horizon,” Ravencroft said. “If that’s not Counc. Hanlon, I don’t know what is. Debbie, happy early birthday.”

Counc. Maggie Burton was absent as well, possibly honeymooning after her nuptials this past weekend. I don’t know where she got married, but if she was at The Old Mill, she might have annoyed some of the residents of Brookfield Road.

Neighbours of influence

There was one resident in the gallery this week; she showed up with her child in tow. Given the time it would take to make it through the lengthy agenda, Counc. Ron Ellsworth requested to move the item she was there for to the top of the list, and council agreed. She never did end up speaking, but her presence communicated enough.

The item in question turned out to be one of two applications the city received from mobile vendors seeking to extend their hours of operations. The first one was regarding a food truck parked at The Old Mill at 271 Brookfield Rd.; the second one involved a food truck at The Laurier Lounge at 301 Hamilton Ave. in the Brookfield District. 

The two applications were strikingly similar: both food trucks are located in parking lots of old licensed establishments in residential areas, and literally sit directly opposite each other. On a map, you can draw a straight line between them; they’re only seven kilometeres apart.  

City staff recommended that council accept both of them, but in the end, the former was unanimously rejected, and the latter unanimously approved. The deciding factor seemed to be that one got complaints from area residents, and the other didn’t. 

Food truck wants to burn the midnight oil 

The Others Guys food truck is currently stationed in the parking lot of The Old Mill where it serves food until 5 p.m. from Tuesday to Saturday. Due to a rise in business, the food truck’s owner—with permission from the property owner—approached the City about extending its hours so it has the option of operating up to 12 a.m. seven days a week. 

It’s arguably an ambitious request, given that the City’s noise by-law comes into effect at 11 p.m. That said, many of the patrons would be coming from The Old Mill, which is open until midnight everyday anyway. It also has a large patio in the back, which is surrounded by open-air grounds.  

Council discussed the application at length, with everyone against the motion to approve it. The consensus among councillors was that as much as they all wanted to support local businesses, they didn’t want to do so at the expense of nearby residents. They felt that extending the hours would just extend the activity and the noise coming from the parking lot late into the night, which has apparently been an ongoing issue.

‘Increased activity at The Old Mill’

Counc. Jamie Korab mentioned that residents were already experiencing issues “with the increased activity at The OId Mill.” However, the City itself hadn’t received any feedback, aside from some rumblings “regarding the smell of cooked food.” 

This isn’t an actionable complaint though, because it doesn’t violate any by-laws. But it is objectionable, given these are presumably the very same residents subjected to the manure potpourri of Lester’s farm. 

On the face of it, individual councillors received the bulk of the complaints. As a result, there’s no way to know how many have been made, or how many residents are doing the complaining. Regardless, they were persuasive. 

“A resident reached out to me, and I imagine he reached out to everybody else, about the noise in the parking lot,” Counc. Tom Davis said. “I won’t be supporting this motion, because from what the resident indicated, which is totally logical, the people move out for parties and weddings, they move out into the parking lot after hours. I think this is going to be disruptive.” 

O’Leary noted that she too “received several emails in advance of this.” Korab alluded to the existence of other documentation as well. “Listening to the residents, seeing the videos, hearing the noise, you know a business’s success is causing havoc on their neighbours.”

“It’s abundantly clear in this case, as everyone else has noted, that the residents’ concerns are already quite severe,” Ravencroft concluded.

Just how “severe” the concerns were wasn’t abundantly clear, however. I’d be curious to know if the feedback was directly communicated to The Other Guys, or even The Old Mill, before the application was submitted. 

It’s hard to imagine these businesses are oblivious to irritated neighbours. At the same time, it’s also easy to imagine neighbours avoiding confrontation in favour of the mini-dramas of indirect communication.  

In the parking lot of an establishment history forgot 

While there was some mention of The Old Mill being around for many years, no one really emphasized just how long it’s been there: 70 years. When it opened in 1954, it was a country club for the St. John’s elite, offering fine dining and performances by live orchestras. As the decades wore on, it became more of a nightclub where local and touring bands played, and at one point, burlesque performers. 

There’s no question that The Old Mill is an isolated business in the middle of an area to which it doesn’t conform; it’s technically zoned Residential Rural Infill. But in its heyday Brookfield Road would have been considered the outskirts of town. Surrounded by farmland, The Old Mill probably didn’t need to think about sleeping neighbours. 

At the same time, as a legendary hotspot for drinking and dining, music and dancing—not to mention the movies, with the old Brookfield Drive-In behind it—no one looking for a quiet place to live would have built a house right next to it.   

All of this said, if the proponent wanted to resubmit their application, the council admitted they’d consider extending the hours to a more modest hour — either 7, 8, or even 9 p.m. 

Lateness is a matter of place, not time

Meanwhile, over on Hamilton Avenue in the Brookfield District, Winky’s Wedges & Fries managed to get its hours of operation extended to 10 p.m. in the parking lot of The Laurier Lounge. 

Counc. Carl Ridgeley wondered, “Are we going to run into the same issues here as we are on Brookfield Road by extending mobile units, where it’s a residential area?”

Ravencroft assured him that they wouldn’t. First of all, 10 p.m. is a much more reasonable request than 12 a.m. It also ends before the 11 p.m. noise bylaw comes into effect. She added that there’s a number of businesses in the immediate vicinity as well, unlike the situation on Brookfield Road, and those businesses — like Marie’s Mini-Mart and The Urban Market — keep similar hours. 

Ravencroft also noted that neither the City nor council had received any feedback about this application. 

The Old Mill is a popular venue for weddings and special events which no doubt comes with noise, especially in summer. But the Laurier Lounge was the target of an armed robbery last year. In 2017 it was damaged by a tractor during another dramatic break-in. It’s also located in a far more densely populated residential area. 

Yet, the residents of the Brookfield District are, by all appearances, much more accepting of this property’s non-conformance, than those living on Brookfield Road.

The New Laurier Club, where the old Liberals used to party

Incidentally, long before it was the Laurier Lounge, the building at 301 Hamilton Avenue was called The New Laurier Club. That name is still listed on the sign over the door. In 1959, this was the social and political headquarters of the burgeoning Liberal party in St. John’s, after the venue had outgrown its old location on Lemarchant Road.

The club, established in 1949, was purposefully named after Sir Wilfrid Laurier, that “great old man of liberalism,” rather than some great Newfoundlander, according to Premier Joey Smallwood, in order to score brownie points with the Canadians. 

This was also where, on the afternoon of its grand opening on December 16, 1959, Smallwood welcomed the Liberal Ladies’s Association and offered them space in the building, too. 

“Only for the women of Newfoundland, we wouldn’t have Confederation,” he said. “We wouldn’t have won the last eight elections.” While there were only four elections between 1949 and 1959, in this case, it’s the thought that counts.

‘An incredible, incredible service to the city of St. John’s’

Speaking of women who make things possible, City of St. John’s Clerk Karen Chafe is retiring after 35 years of service. Council devoted the last 20 minutes of the go round to her, offering their gratitude, congratulations, and well wishes. 

“It’s a very bittersweet occasion,” O’Leary said, holding back tears, “as we say our final farewell to our city clerk, Karen Chafe.” O’Leary described Chafe as “the central brain,” noting that the city clerk’s office intersects with residents, as well as all the city’s departments, staff, and council members. “Anybody who has an issue is coming to this lady here,” she said, gesturing to Chafe, sitting in chambers, at the table to her right. “As a human being, she’s just phenomenal,” the deputy mayor continued. “But as a professional, she has done an incredible, incredible service to the city of St. John’s.”

Hired on May 29, 1989, Chafe has had quite a repertoire of roles at the city: from recording secretary and senior legislative assistant to supervisor of office services, elections coordinator—twice—and then ultimately to the city clerk’s office, “where we’ve all been driving her cracked, and loved her all at the same time,” O’Leary added. 

“Karen, we’ve been together for 22 years,” Counc. Hickman said, to a chorus of laughter. “It’s been fantastic seeing you working up from all the roles that you had and it was obvious that you were going to be city clerk — you were ready for that job years before you took it over, and it’s been very fulfilling for me and all of us, all previous councilors too, working with you, keeping us on task and reminding us of where we need to go sometimes. So thank you for that.”

For many, Chafe offered a welcoming presence when they started working with the City or on council. “There’s nothing more uplifting or heartwarming to see somebody with a smile when you’re trying to get something done,” Counc. Ron Ellsworth added. “She’s always smiling, but she’s no clown,” Chief Municipal Planner Ken O’Brien added. “She knows her stuff.”

Though Chafe was always accommodating, Korab said, “you also didn’t have a problem putting me in my place when I needed to be, so I respect that.” (In case Chafe is interested, Korab has volunteered for the dunk tank at the annual Justin Blundon Car Wash fundraiser in the Goulds this weekend).  

Ravencroft, for her part, got especially candid. “I’ve had some mental health struggles while I was on this job,” she said. “I think if it wasn’t for Karen as a stabilizing influence and an incredible professional who somehow always knew how to talk me off the ledge, I don’t know if I’d be still around the table. So I really appreciate everything you’ve done for me as a councillor and for everyone here.”

While everyone was getting earnest and sentimental, there was no shortage of jokes and camaraderie. “We’ve already warned the new city clerk,” Ellsworth chucked, “and she has her hands full with a tangly crowd around this table.“ 

Theresa Walsh has been appointed to the role. Though she doesn’t officially begin until the end of the month, she was at the meeting, no doubt getting a sense of what she’s in for.   

“I’m going to miss everybody,” Chafe responded graciously. “If I get bored in retirement,” she said, “I might tune in and watch one of these council meetings.”