Send the proposed budget back to administration and don’t rely entirely on reserves.
Those were just some of the messages on night one of 2021 Budget Deputations.
First up Charla Robinson. The President of the Thunder Bay Chamber of Commerce stresses austerity when it comes to drawing on savings to pay for things.
“We know there’s a significant COVID deficit. If other funding doesn’t become available and you just took that straight from reserves, that would have a pretty significant impact on the reserve balance,” says Robinson. “There are many surprises that could come, you know a weather event or unfortunately another health crisis, so just ensuring that you’re finding every way to maintain as much reserve as possible. This way you have that emergency fund for yourselves in the future and then that doesn’t put you in a difficult situation.”
Next up was Henry Wojack who had two concerns, including not accepting the proposed 2021 Operating and Capital Budget.
“To show the 2020 city council approved costs. This will show a continuum of budget costs from year to year,” Wojack notes. “I ask that council remove the $1.3 million increase in capital out of revenue, which would result in a municipal tax levy increase of $2.7 million or 1.35%, instead of the $4 million or 2% figure.”
Poverty Free Thunder Bay also spoke Thursday, with their main push being towards reduced transit fees.
Then the friends of Chippewa Park spoke up, with Secretary and Project Manager Iain Angus recommending against acting on a few suggestions from city staff.
The suggestions entail no rides at Chippewa and Centenntial for a savings of $46,000 and no campgrounds at Chippewa and Trowbridge Falls to shed $11,700.
“Depending on future government restrictions, the summer of 2021 will be a real opportunity to expose the RV park at Chippewa and Trowbridge to regional tourists who haven’t used those facilities before,” adds Angus. “The revenue is nowhere near what it should be and with the right kind of marketing, and we’re prepared to partner with the city to do that, we think things could be better. It’s also important to note that there’s money in your budget for the cleaning requirements for the RV park and tourist camp.”
City officials received a written letter from Doctor Ione Puchalski which read:
On June 4th of 2020 I sent a letter to Thunder Bay City Council re: Infrastructure & Road Maintenance
wherein I addressed five long time, safety related concerns for residents in my neighbourhood. Having never received a response, I sent another but shorter letter on September 20th, with a copy of the July 4th letter, after a few shovels of earth/sand that would be & was washed away the first heavy rainfall, had been put down as if a solution to the road problems I had highlighted.
On November 12th I was pleased to receive a very detailed letter from Rick Harms, Project Engineer, not only addressing the concerns I had identified, but also providing additional information to help me understand the history & processes that have impacted this location.
While Mr. Harms pointed out, there had been significant widening of Valley Street 2011/2014 from the expressway to where it bends left and becomes Pioneer Street, this part of the roads was never the problem. The issues pertain to the non-sensical 2 blocks of Valley that is separated once the main road turns west, as well as several of the nearby streets i.e. Toivo, Skyline etc.
Mr. Harms explained that because this location was under the Township of McIntyre prior to amalgamation with Thunder Bay in 1970, road standards for the township still apply here. As such, there are no plans to change/improve an intersection that is barely 20 feet wide, with badly broken edges on both sides that make the functional safe area, much smaller.
So, 50 years after amalgamation, outdated regulations still apply here and even though property taxes here are double for a similar lot size in Westfort or Green Acres, this area is not entitled to the same quality of paved roads. Instead, here at the end of the city, our roads still only need to accommodate as if a rural cross-section is more suitable for a horse & buggy.
First the road width where Toivo & Valley intersect measures 20-22 feet depending how one measures because the edges on both sides, before & after the ditch, are badly broken & unsafe. Considering that most mid-size autos are about 6 feet wide, there is only room for one car at a time to pass through this intersection & anyone walking or biking also wait to pass through.
Second, the widest part of this section of Valley is just prior to where it intersects with Skyline (roughly 30 feet) but again depending on how measured, because the pavement edges/margins on both sides are very irregular, uneven & broken. There is barely enough quality pavement for two cars to pass one another, which forces young & old citizens of this residential area, to travel more centrally on the road until a car comes along when pedestrians, children biking or skate boarding, parents pushing baby carriages, people walking their dogs move onto lawns, often tripping on the broken pavement edges, until the cars have gone & they can resume their activity.
Last summer I spoke with many residents about the third world quality of our roads & all agreed it needed to be addressed ASAP, but none wanted curbs or sidewalks which would increase taxes.
Thirdly, Valley Street from Toivo to Skyline, is SO rough and uneven, that travelling between 15 and 18 kilometres causes my vehicle to bottom out. Going slow in residential areas is essential, but this seems a
bit excessive. When school buses go by, I can see tiny heads bobbing around enough to give them whiplash.
Fourth, During summer months Jumbo Gardens is typically very busy with youth soccer and other
family activities but, there is a huge parking problem here. Since parking is not allowed on Pioneer Street, cars are left on Jameson, Toivo & Valley. Although Jameson does have a curb and sidewalk, where the other streets noted don’t, none of them are wide enough to accommodate parking on both sides, which is what happens. Not only does through traffic have to weave in & out of parked cars, but more importantly so do pedestrians and young people on bikes, which I trust you will appreciate is dangerous.
Rick Harms in his letter to me, advised that the City had looked into parking issues related to Jumbo Gardens and it was felt that such short-term parking and inconvenience was acceptable.
May I suggest then that signage is installed instructing that only unilateral parking is allowed and which side that is to be. It won’t hurt anyone to walk a little farther down Toivo, Valley or Jameson to park, so residents trying to enjoy their neighbourhood can be out & about.
Unilateral parking would also be helpful during winter, when snow banks take up some roadway.
Lastly is the sewer manhole in the middle of the Skyline intersection at Valley, sits at the highest point of the pavement. Obviously not consistent with proper engineering, or conducive to efficient drainage. People in this area have learned to negotiate this annual serious ice hazard when going for their mail, by walking along the edges of the snow banks at the side of the road.
There have been serious injuries from falls, in this large & annual area of ice. Mr. Harms provided a number to call to address such ice concerns, but that would be daily calls. Perhaps improvements to the pavement, would raise the road more to the level of the sewer?
For the past 10 years, I have lived at my current address on Valley directly across from Skyline, and I haven’t seen any improvements to the roads at this, the edge of the city of Thunder Bay.
When significant & much needed repairs were done last summer on Dawson & Red River Roads,
I had hoped that efforts would expand to these few adjacent street but no. Perhaps in not-too-distant future this area could be upgraded to Thunder Bay City standards?
Budget Key Dates
Four Council budget review meetings
January 19th, 21st, 27th and February 2nd
February 4th – Public Post-Budget Consultation
February 8th – Budget ratified by City Council
For the February 4th Meeting
- Deputation requests must be received by the Office of the City Clerk no later than 4:30 p.m. Friday January 29th. Walk-in deputations will not be permitted
- Four options for providing a deputation: by videoconference, by telephone, through the City Hall lobby kiosk, or by sending a letter to Council
- Deputation requests can be made by emailing OfficeoftheCityClerk@thunderbay.ca or by completing the online Speak Before Council
