Council for Geniuses - $200,000 lobbyist to land gov't jobs

It's time again for what we used to call our "Complete Idiot's Guide to City Council."

This twice-a-month feature drew a mixed response from readers.

Some loved the name and sassy illustrations. Others, including certain politicians and SooToday editorialists, thought it fell short of capturing the dignity of the institution and the sharp-as-a-tack individuals who serve there.

To better reflect the quality of debate at the Civic Centre, we've decided to rename this feature 'City Council for Geniuses.'

$200,000 lobbyist to land gov't jobs

Sault Ste. Marie has lost 1,000 government jobs over the last five years.

On Monday night, City Councillors will be told we need to spend $200,000 to lobby the federal and provincial governments to get some of those jobs back.

Bruce Strapp, president and chief executive officer of the Sault Ste. Marie Economic Development Corp. is asking Council to set aside that amount for a three-year campaign.

"It is very important to ensure senior governments do not continue to erode our public sector jobs, but look to strategic placements of new government expansions and jobs into Sault Ste. Marie to strengthen our economy," Strapp says.

Police crackdown wanted at Rossmore and Farwell

Council will be asked to request a police crackdown on speeding at the intersection of Rossmore Road and Farwell Terrace.

Ward councillors have been getting complaints about the intersection.

City transportation staff are recommending against a three-way stop, but they say added traffic enforcement might help.

Forest research consortium moves ahead

A consortium of forest-sector partners is seeking $100,000 in public money ($12,500 from the City) for a feasibility study.

The Science Works! partnership includes the Great Lakes Forestry Centre, the Ontario Forest Research Institute, Algoma University College and Sault College, and is interested in developing commercial, educational and research opportunities.

Other partners include the City of Sault Ste. Marie, the Sault Ste. Marie Economic Development Corp., the Sault Ste. Marie Innovation Centre, the Upper Lakes Environmental Research Network (ULERN) and a number of private-sector companies.

Mayor's wish for deputy rejected

Mayor John Rowswell's wish for a deputy mayor has been rejected by City Council's Organizational Structure Review Committee.

Rowswell wants a deputy because he says his fellow councillors lose co-ordination and move slower when he's away. Background.

"There was no recommendation to support the position of deputy mayor at this time," says committee chair Lou Turco.

However, Turco leaves the door open to discuss the issue at a future date.

The Mayor's request to Turco's committee mentioned his wish for a deputy, but fell short of actually recommending that.

Instead, Rowswell asked that all members of Council share in a rotation of the position of Acting Mayor.

Ward boundaries could be re-drawn

The committee is also recommending no change to the number of councillors, and it advises against moving away from the current ward system to a system of councillors-at-large.

However, Turco's committee does suggest looking into re-aligning ward boundaries to equalize numbers, and possibly establishing standing committees of Council.

The committee also suggests the process of filling Council vacancies be reviewed.

Provenzano wants Domtar to wait six months

Mike Barker, chair of the Sault Ste. Marie Economic Development Corp. will address Council about "opportunities" for the soon-to-be-closed Domtar sawmill.

With Baker at Monday's meeting will be two other members of the EDC's Domtar task force: Bob Giroux and Tom Hernden.

Documents filed at City Hall show that Sault MP Carmen Provenzano has asked Domtar to delay the planned January 31 closing for at least six months.

Provenzano has also asked for a meeting in Montreal with Domtar president Raymond Royer, and he's inviting interested members of City Council to join him there.

Youth sports groups seek cash

Micheal O'Neill will make a pitch for financial assistance on behalf of the Sault Youth Sports Association, which closed its downtown bingo facility in October.

Affected groups include Sault Major Hockey Association, Soo Minor Baseball, Sault Youth Soccer League and Sault Ste. Marie Aquatic Club.

City ready to take bite out of Sabrecats

Meanwhile, Scott McLellan, the City's director of budgets, is asking for increases in a wide range of user fees:

- Sabrecats football club would pay $200 a game for field rental

- Sault Minor Football would be charged $25 an evening

- The Speed Skating Club would pay $500 a competition for use of the Rhodes Centre and oval track

- A rental fee would be established for the proposed High School Soccer League

- The charge for non-profit groups to use the Bondar Pavilion would be increased to $75 for a part day and to $125 for the full day. The evening rental option would be eliminated

- The registration fee for the Smart Serve program would go up to $30

- The annual cost of monitoring fire alarms would rise to $180, or $15 a month

- Other hikes are proposed for admission to the Ermatinger/Clergue site, and for various licenses and tax certificates

How to get rich in real estate

The Huron-Superior Catholic District School Board is demanding its money back after learning the City of Sault Ste. Marie sold it a piece of property that it already owned.

Eight years ago, the City asked the school board whether it wanted to buy a lot at 445 Albert Street West.

The board agreed and paid the City $5,000, not realizing it had actually bought the site from the City 20 years earlier.

"In 1994, a review of the assessment roll showed that the property was still in the name of the City," explains City Solicitor Lorie Bottos.

"Unfortunately no subsearch was done by either the board or City to determine if the assessment roll was correct.

"The assessment office had not changed its records to show the 1974 sale to the board," Bottos says.

The fiasco was discovered only when the school board decided recently to offer the property for sale and a title search was done.

Bottos is asking City Council to give the school board its $5,000 back.

STEM, Totten Sims recommended

Two Sault firms, STEM Engineering Group Ltd. and Totten Sims Hubicki Associates are part of a team recommended to win a $3.6 million contract for consulting engineering services on the East End Water Pollution Control Plant upgrade.

Also involved in the recommended team are out-of-town companies Earthtech, Alston Associates Inc., R.V. Elliot Enterprises, and Aquatic Sciences Inc.

Mayor Rowswell's engineering firm, Rowswell and Associates Ltd., was invited to bid on the job, but declined.

Firefighters to provide Hazmat support

Sault Ste. Marie Fire Services have been approached by the Ministry of Public Safety and Security to provide regional support for responses to terror attacks involving chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear weapons.

The province has established technican-level hazardous materials (Hazmat) teams in Ottawa, Toronto and Windsor, and is now developing a second tier of local and regional support teams.