What Odds at City Hall 30 January 2023

After a few months away on maternity leave, Cllr Maggie Burton was back in Council Chambers; last week she announced over Twitter that she was going to slowly ease her way back. She joined virtually today.

Also absent were Cllrs Ron Ellsworth and Debbie Hanlon, who we were told last week is recovering from surgery.

To start the council meeting off, there were two proclamations – we haven’t had one of those in a while.

February 1 will be International Winter Walk & Wheel to School Day; “In recognition of iWALK-iWHEEL 2023, the City of St. John’s is encouraging all students in St. John’s to participate by walking or wheeling to school on February 1,” said Mayor Danny Breen.

“The City of St. John’s is supporting this initiative by encouraging schools to host school walks and providing brochures containing safe walking tips to distribute to students, and resource packages for teachers to encourage walking and wheeling to school. Furthermore, City of St. John’s After School Programs are participating by providing participants with the opportunity to walk and wheel after school.”

The second proclamation was that the first week of February will be Eating Disorders Awareness Week.

“February 1–7, 2023, is dedicated across Newfoundland and Labrador and the entire country as a special time when many educational and awareness activities take place to help raise the level of understanding of eating disorder prevention, treatment, and recovery,” he said.

The theme for this  year is “Transforming the Narrative from Asks to Action.”

City Hall will also fly the eating disorders awareness flag during that week, said Mayor Breen.

Heritage Designation Partially Peeled Back

While last week Cllr Ellsworth said he’d make a motion to remove the heritage building designation on the long rear extension of the Presentation Convent – 180 Military Road. 

In his absence, Cllr Burton brought this forward.

Cllr Ophelia Ravencroft also brought up that she’d be abstaining from this vote, as she did previously because of her mother’s is senior financial officer for the Presentation Sisters and has a fiduciary interest in this.

And as Cllr Carl Ridgley said last week, he also made a motion to remove 375 Waterford Bridge Road from the list of parcels of land identified and approved by Council at the March 8, 2021 meeting as a potential site of affordable housing development.

Cllr Ravencroft spoke out against this move.

“At the end of the day I can’t support this motion. As housing lead I think there’s a number of things that have to be considered here and honestly the key one is supply,” she said.

This plot was identified six months before she joined Council and she thinks that given the lack  of housing and rapidly rising rent in the market, “I think it’s important for us to contemplate and develop every parcel of land that is available to us.”

She stressed she doesn’t think this plot should be removed from the list and it’s vitally important they move ahead with as many developments that are available to them and beyond that.

Cllr Ridgeley closed the debate, calling Bowring Park “the gem of the City” and to cut down surrounding trees for development would be shameful. So while he appreciated Cllr Ravencroft’s concerns, he thinks the integrity of the park is of the utmost importance. He added they can find more suitable land for affordable housing.

It passed six to two, with deputy mayor Sheilagh O’Leary and Cllr Ravencroft voting against.

Council then unanimously voted to set two parking spaces for the proposed emergency shelter at 10 St. Clare Avenue.

“An application was submitted to convert a portion of the building at 10 St. Clare Avenue into a 40 bed emergency shelter. As per Envision Development Regulations, the parking requirement is not specified for an Institutional Use and the requirement shall be determined by Council,” said Cllr Jamie Korab.

“The shelter is located within the existing Anglican Church, which has onsite parking. The 539m2 of floor area that was previously occupied by the church is now being reassigned for the emergency shelter use. There are two staff who will require two parking stalls, versus the 36 parking spaces previously required based on Church parking calculations.”

Council signed off on two new members to serve on the Inclusion Advisory Committee. 

Kim White will be the Universal Design Representative and Lisa Zigler will be the Women’s Representative.

Council approved the recommendation to extend the terms of Sharron Callahan and Gordon Kirby on the Seniors Advisory Committee for another two years. They also approved the organizational appointments of Al Skehan and David Budden.

Council approved the lease of City land at the rear of 14 George Street, fronting on Duckworth Street.

The manager of 14 George Street approached the City to enter into a lease for the storage of garbage bins, which they have placed on City land for a number of years, said Cllr Ravencroft.

The yearly lease price has been established at $56.50 per year, plus HST and a one time administrative fee of $300 plus HST. 

Leasing Land

Following up on that lease, Council also approved the lease of City land at the rear of 306 Water Street, fronting on George Street.

“The purchaser of 306 Water Street has approached the City to enter into a lease for the existing entrance way at the back of 306 Water Street, which has been in use for several years by the previous owners. The lease of this land was originally contemplated in 1989 – before I was an idea – but it was never finalized,” said Cllr Ravencroft.

The yearly lease price has been established at $537.83 per year, plus HST and a one time administrative fee of $300 plus HST. 

Flowers for Gower

This next lease – which Council signed off on – is for City land adjacent to 38 Gower Street for the installation of a planter box.

“The owner of 38 Gower Street installed a planter box without approval. The owner came to the City to request a Letter of Tolerance. It is the City’s policy that we do not issue Letters of Tolerance for new construction, with the exception of allowing property owners to meet national building code, safety concerns or ramps or lifts for accessibility requirements,” said Cllr Ravencroft.

A little pricey to have a planter box, but the yearly lease price has been established at $75.83, plus HST ($2.50 a square foot for 30.33 square feet) and a one time administrative fee of $300 plus HST.

Council approved the quit claim for land claimed by the City in front of 1168 Portugal Cove Road, located in Portugal Cove-St. Philips.

“The owner of 1168 Portugal Cove Road approached the City requesting to purchase the parcel of City claimed land between their property and Portugal Cove Road. We have investigated title to this property and are unable to locate any title documentation. However, the City appears to be claiming this property as it is adjacent to the Windsor Lake Watershed. In light of the lack of clear title, the City is unable to sell this land, but we are able to ‘quit claim’ any interest we may have in this property,” said Cllr Jill Bruce.

“The Legal Department has inquired with both the Town of Portugal Cove-St. Philips and the Province to determine if they have any claim over this land, both have advised that they do not. The request has been circulated amongst the appropriate City departments, with no objections to the quit claim noted. Staff determined that this parcel of land is not located within the watershed.”

The cost of the quit claim deed is $250 plus HST and the owners of 1168 Portugal Cove-St. Philips needs to provide a survey satisfactory to the City.

Council also approved the sale of City land adjacent to 1 Duckworth Street – the Battery Cafe.

“The owner of 1 Duckworth Street has approached the City requesting to purchase the parcel of land adjacent to their property, upon which they have had a lease with the City since 2016… This request was circulated amongst the required City departments with no objections noted,” said Cllr Ravencroft.

The purchase price has been established at $10 per square foot plus HST and administrative fees. This takes into account that the property is zoned Commercial Downtown Mixed. The purchaser has completed a survey of the area which is 484.38 square feet, resulting in a purchase price of $4,843.80 plus HST. The property owner will also be required to consolidate this land with his existing property.”

Historic Mallard Cottage is getting some work done.

Council voted unanimously to sign off on renovations to reinstate the east façade 8 Barrows Road, a designated Heritage Building, following demolition of the building at 10 Barrows Road.

“The City has received an application to demolish a building at 10 Barrows Road. The subject property is not located within a Heritage Area and is not designated by Council as a Heritage Building. The semi-detached house is attached to Mallard Cottage, a designated Heritage Building, along one façade,” said Cllr Ian Froude.

“The demolition application is brought to Council because removal of the building will create the need to renovate the east façade of Mallard Cottage. Should the applicant proceed with demolition, they will be responsible to reinstate the east façade of Mallard Cottage to match the original façade of the designated building, including clapboard, trims, and any other applicable design elements.”

The Go Round

Deputy mayor O’Leary reminded us that yesterday was the 6th anniversary of the Quebec City mosque shooting and City Hall lights were green in remembrance.

There was also a request for a presentation to Committee of the Whole for Dr Bill Montevecchi to give a presentation on extreme night lighting and she put it forward to Council and staff to consider it in future.

And she also teased the upcoming City of St. John’s Chill Fest, happening from February 11-14. 

Up next, Cllr Bruce said Clean St. John’s annual For the Love of St. John’s art exhibit will be taking place in person at City Hall on February 16. They are also looking for grade three and four students to make posters.

Cllr Burton also took a moment to say “hi” and that she looked forward to participating in Council as much as she could, adding she’d be doing it virtually for now while she spends time with her new baby.

Cllr Ravencroft said she had two issues she wanted to talk about: labour and harm reduction.

First up, the Metrobus will experience certain diversion of stops on Arctic Avenue for an unknown period of time in the near future. The stop will be moved away from the University main stop. This also affects a number of routes in the area so she said if you ride the bus she recommended people check those changes to see if you’ll be impacted.

She said this is due to the strike going on at Memorial University to get a fair deal and is well aware of struggles in academia, as she was on that path before choosing the “stable and greener pastures of elected office.” She sent her support to the strikers on the picket line and hoped it will be resolved soon.

On the second, more somber note, she said two weeks ago she was made aware of reports of a supply of fentanyl contaminated drugs circulated in the City. She said this is a cyclical thing and for the last few years there has been contaminated fentanyl worldwide and it has popped up in the province. She has promoted the use of Naloxone in the past at Council and said she’d do it again. She said it’s a lifesaving resource.

However, she says there needs to be more provincial buy-in regarding this issue. From her discussions with residents of Ward Two she’s heard the strong support for creation of an overdose prevention centre or safe injection site. She said it’s time we have this evidence-based centre in St. John’s.

Cllr Ravencroft has drafted a letter to Health Minister Tom Obsorne and CEO Eastern Health requesting they immediately create the first safe injection site in the City and put it in Ward Two. She added she will be sending the letter soon.

“Minister Osborne and Eastern Health; the ball is in your court. Let’s make this happen as soon as we can, for all of us.”

Then, just as Mayor Breen was about to call Council to an end, a voice called out from the rafters and that wasn’t a Councillor, wanting to know if “anyone at the City is going to address the ableist eviction of Shirley Cox.”

However, Council wrapped and the video stopped before anyone responded.
If you haven’t heard, Cox is an 82-year-old-woman who uses a wheelchair and was being evicted by the City from the apartment and the CBC reported the City hasn’t given her a clear answer as to why.