What Odds at City Hall: 3 April 2023

Absent from today’s meeting were Cllrs Sandy Hickman and Ophelia Ravencroft.

There were two proclamations announced today by Mayor Danny Breen. The first was marking April as National Poetry Month.

“Whereas, we value poetry for its continual reinvigoration of language, its ability to teach old ideas new tricks, and its capacity to help us see the world anew and more fully understand the human experience,” said Mayor Breen.

“And whereas St. John’s is home to many poets and several publishers of poetry, and these individuals and businesses have local, national, and international significance and make both cultural and economic contributions to our city.”

He added this year also marks the 25th anniversary of National Poetry Month in Canada and this year with the theme of “joy.”

Writers NL president Ainsley Hawthorn was on hand to speak on what the group does, and also introduced poet Leslie Butt who gave a reading of her poems “Furthermore” and “Falling,” “If We Never Met,” “Empty Houses.” and “Spur of a moment,” among others.

Mayor Breen also pointed out that Cllr Maggie Burton now has a book of poetry out, and she added the poets lined up for this month are great and thanked Writers NL for putting this together.

The second proclamation was regarding World Autism Awareness Day in the City of St. John’s—which took place Sunday.

“Whereas World Autism Awareness Day was created by the United Nations General Assembly and is acknowledged annually on April 2,” said Mayor Breen.

“The Autism Society, Newfoundland & Labrador (ASNL) continuously works to center Autistic voices and support individuals and families not only on April 2 but every day.”

He was joined by Autism Society of NL CEO J. Paul Walsh, who spoke.

Council moved to enact the Adoption of Updated Codes – 2023 By-Law, which will have the effect of amending various by-laws so as to adopt the updated versions of the National Building Code, the National Fire Code, the National Plumbing Code and the Life Safety Code.

Council voted unanimously to allow parklets for outdoor eating areas associated with restaurants and lounges on city owned land within the Downtown and Churchill Square areas.

It starts the Friday of the May long weekend—so Victoria Day—until the last day in October for 2023, 2024 and 2025, with hours of operation from 7 am – 11 pm daily, said Cllr Debbie Hanlon.

From Hair Styling to Landscape Office

Landscape business AIRO Landscapes Inc. has gotten permission to open up an office at 195 Freshwater Road—a change from its previous use as a hair salon known as Personally Yours.

This will be purely office use only and there won’t be any storage of materials on-site. Its hours of business will be Monday to Friday, 7 am to 5 pm and on-site parking is provided.

Three letters were sent to the city, with one raising concerns about heavy equipment and noise pollution. However, this is for office use only so it’s not an issue.

Tenders

Ennis Paint Canada ULC secured a contract valued at $336,112.81 (HST included) for a standing offer agreement for the supply of Low-VOC solvent-based traffic paint and pre-formed thermoplastic road markings.

It was the sole bidder.

This next contract Council voted on was to supply and deliver water, sewer, and hydrant parts for the Water and Wastewater Division to be used on an as required basis.

The contract was divided between three companies and evaluated on a section-by-section basis: Emco Waterworks ($178,362.64), Wolseley Canada Waterworks ($427,250.93), and Crane Supply ($53,936) a year (HST not Included).

The work is for one year, with two possible one-year extensions.

Microsoft Canada Inc. has gotten work valued at $1,177,723.32 (plus HST) for a three-year software renewal for the use of Microsoft products.

This wasn’t an open call because Microsoft is the only supplier of Microsoft products.

Agreement Ratified

Council voted to ratify the terms of the collective agreement negotiated with the NAPE 7808 bargaining unit.

This is for the period between July 1, 2022 – June 30, 2026, said Cllr Ron Ellsworth.

He took a moment to thank both city staff and union executives for the work involved in this tough by necessary process.

It’s for four years, and comes with general pay increases over those four years that go up by 2.5 percent, 2.75 percent, 2.25 percent, and 3.5 percent.

There’s an increase from $1.56 to $3 per hour for all hours worked outside of the 7:00 am to 7:00 pm. On top of that, there’s an increase from $1 to $1.50 per hour for all hours worked between 7:00 am and 7:00 pm on Saturday and/or Sunday for those whose regular work week includes these days.

There’s also a $1000 signing bonus.

The Go Round

Cllr Burton reminded people that applications are still being taken for the Heritage Grants for homes or businesses. 

Following Mayor Breen, Deputy Mayor O’Leary also congratulated Cllr Burton for her new book of poetry.

She also mentioned she had a recent chat with non-profit Connections for Seniors and that they will be looking to give them a presentation on their work in the community soon.

And in Cllr Hickman’s absence, Deputy Mayor O’Leary announced that effective today the Loop is now closed for the season. She explained this is due to rising temperatures. So while it’s sad the Loop is closed, it’s not so sad that the temperatures are rising.

She also gave a shout out to the staff who kept the Loop going throughout the season.

Cllr Hanlon said she just got back from Fort Lauderdale for the SeaTrade cruise conference where she was at the city’s booth. She noted that while other places had massive booths, the one for our city got plenty of visits.

Cllr Jill Bruce remonded people that on April 10 the Gleneyre culvert replacement work starts, so there will be road closures. Sidewalks and trails in the area will remain open during this construction.  She said the work is planned to wrap by September.

Cllr Korab said he was on hand at the recent Applause Awards ceremony to hand out the male and female athlete of the year award as well as team of the year.

He noted Team Gushue is currently in Ottawa at the Men’s World Championship and are two for two. “They’re playing right now and I swear I’m not watching it.”

Finally, he also congratulated Team Perry and Team Young, the male team at the under 21 Canadian Junior Nationals, as well as the ladies team Team Mitchell, calling them “great ambassadors and representatives of the province. Well done at the nationals.”