Toronto budget public input

Residents, business people have their say on 2011 budget
Opinions vary widely on priorities
Kris Scheuer
(Written for Town Crier Jan. 21)

Margaret Watson advocates to sub-budget committee to not increase user fees for recreation. Photo by Kris Scheuer/Town Crier.

Councillors got an earful from residents, businesses and community groups who came out to speak on the city’s budget at North York Civic Centre.
New councillor Doug Ford, brother to Mayor Rob Ford, chaired the meeting at times with occasionally humourous results.
He mistakenly introduced Margaret Watson from the Canadian Pensioners’ Concern as a deputant about prisoners’ issues. He made a joke of it by saying he needed glasses and playfully referred to former budget chief Councillor Shelley Carroll as “the warden”.
For her part, Watson gave a feisty presentation about preserving services.
“Many seniors are tenants who receive pressure from landlords. We are disappointed you have cut $100,000 from the tenant defence fund,” she said at the Jan. 19 public meeting. “We hope council doesn’t want to put more tenants at risk of homelessness.”

Councillor John Filion sued

Former exec director of North York Symphony sues board for wages
Filion states he wasn’t board member, seeks city help for legal fees
Kris Scheuer
(Updated and revised article for the Town Crier.)

Councillor John Filion is among 18 alleged North York Symphony board members named in a lawsuit for backpay by a former employee Linda Rogers.

Willowdale Councillor John Filion has settled a lawsuit involving a former North York Symphony employee who claimed $50,000 in unpaid wages for her final years of employment.
City council decided to foot the bill for Filion’s legal expenses.
Trouble is Filion says he was never a member of the board and doesn’t understand why he was named in the suit to begin with.
The claim for the symphony’s former director, Linda Rogers, was filed with the Ontario Superior Court last summer. Since then, a judge has ordered Filion and another individual served with papers to pay Rogers damages.
Rogers lawyer James McDonald of Sack Goldblatt Mitchell confirmed in an early February interview that he and Filion’s lawyer have reached a settlement.
Filion says the original inclusion of naming him in lawsuit is puzzling.
“I never attended any board meeting,” Filion said Jan. 18. “I don’t believe I was ever on the board. I especially was not on the board by anyone’s account in the period when the employee (Linda Rogers) alleges they weren’t paid in 2008 and 2009.”“The whole issue has nothing to do with me,” he said.
In a summary judgement the court ordered Filion and Krajny to pay Rogers a total of $34,336.37 plus $1,150 in costs plus two percent interest starting Nov. 22, 2010, according to court documents.

North York development push

Residents, Councillor Pasternak not a fan of townhouse plan
Kris Scheuer
(Written for Town Crier Jan.4)

Residents Maria Korenberg, Maureen Simpson, Harold Raven, Daisy Stone, Les Resnick are among hundreds against the current townhouse proposal. Photo by Francis Crescia/Town Crier.

A plan to add almost 200 townhouses to a quiet enclave in North York is drawing the ire of nearby residents, who say they want the land to remain as green space.
The Toronto District School Board sold vacant land at 55 Antibes Drive to developer Menkes, which has proposed 197 condo townhouses.
If approved, the development will feature 16 units facing Antibes and 181 townhouses accessed from a new public road.
The grassy site is northwest of Finch and Bathurst and residents have been using the property as a playing field especially as it is directly east of Antibes Park. Resident Harold Raven has helped organize neighbours to fight the project.
“The community as a whole objects to the redevelopment of the site,” the Antibes resident says. “It is green space.”
With the oval-shaped neighbourhood lined with narrow roads, condos, highrise apartments and townhouses, Raven said the area is high density already.
“Traffic is horrific now, If you get 197 town homes with 300 cars it will turn the traffic problem into a nightmare,” he said.

Mayor Ford’s unveils 2011 budget

No “major” service cuts announced
However, some councillors not keen on those that did occur
Kris Scheuer
(Written for Town Crier Jan. 10)

Mayor Rob Ford promises no major service cuts, zero tax increase in proposed 2011 city budget. Photo by Kris Scheuer/Town Crier.

Mayor Rob Ford had announced the introduction of the 2011 Respect For Taxpayers budget by repeating his promises of zero property tax increases and no major service cuts.
“This budget follows one of the largest consultation processes in Canadian politics. It was called the Toronto municipal election,” said Ford, referring to the 10 month election campaign. “(Voters) told us very clearly they want us to stop the waste and reduce city expenses.”
Monday, Jan. 10 was the first day of an expedited process that will see the 2011 budget approved by the end of February rather than early April.
Reduce expenses
Ford had asked all departments to reduce their budgets by five percent but a preliminary look shows this request had mixed results. Municipal Licensing and Services requested an additional 12 percent while Employment and Social Services cut its budget by 26 percent.

Kippendavie development heads to OMB

Council’s made no decision, developer will try reach deal
But has appealed condo plan to Ontario Municipal Board just in case
Kris Scheuer
(Written for Town Crier Nov. 11.)

Residents protest outside Kippendavie pre-sales office for condos that have yet to be approved for development. Photo courtesy of Joanne Dicaire.

Beach residents are trying to halt a condo project until the city has a plan in place to fix residential water and sewage basement flooding.
Longo Development plans to tear down six existing homes and build a 65-unit, four-storey condo on Kippendavie Avenue.
The Beach has been prone to storm water and sewage basement flooding and some residents are concerned development intensification on their street will only exacerbate the problem.
The Kew Beach Neighbourhood Association organized a protest Nov. 6 and 7 when the developer started pre-sales of the yet to be approved condo project.
“We need more studies,” said Joanne Dicaire, chair of the group’s sewage and flooding committee.

Fixing illegal parking in North Toronto

Many illegal front yard parking pads in old York
Councillor Moscoe tackles issue head on with pilot project
Kris Scheuer
(Written Aug. 20 for Town Crier.)

A North Toronto councillor are cracking down on homeowners with illegal front yard parking pads, even if it means losing votes in the upcoming municipal election.
Within just a few blocks of each other in ward 15, there are at least least 100 illegal front yard parking pads mixed in with 95 legal spots in Ward 15.
Local councillor Howard Moscoe has been hearing complaints for years about illegal parking pads.
“A lot of people in my ward resent the fact they have to pay for a legal pad and are paying an annual fee around $100,” Moscoe said. “And their neighbours, who have illegal pads, don’t pay.

New Flemingdon affordable seniors housing

All levels of government help fund much needed apartments
Kris Scheuer
(Written for Town Crier Aug 6.)

Groundbreaking at 5 Deauville Place. Photo by Kris Scheuer/Town Crier.

Flemingdon Park will be home to 62 new affordable homes for low-income seniors and people with disabilities by next summer.
It’s no accident the developer chose this area for affordable rental apartments for seniors, said Tim Neeb, president of Mahogany Management and Deauville Place, the project development company.
“There’s a higher percentage of seniors in the community than any other in Toronto,” Neeb told the Town Crier July 29 during the groundbreaking ceremony for the project, which is set to open July 1, 2011.
He’s referring to Statistics Canada Census 2006 for the Don Mills census area that incorporates Flemingdon. Seniors over the age of 65 make up about a quarter of the population in Don Mills, compared to the city average, which is just under 14 percent.
Seniors over 75 account for almost 14 percent of the area population compared to just 6.5 percent in the whole of North York, according to 2001 Stats Can census data and 2005 population estimates.

City eyes site for new Don Mills ice arena

Canada Post’s selling its Donway site
Local rep wants city to consider land for ice rink replacement
Kris Scheuer
(Written July 30 for Town Crier.)

Councillor Denzil Minnan-Wong wants the city to consider The Donway site as a possible location for new city ice rink.

A soon-to-be vacant post office in Don Mills could be an opportunity to acquire land for a new city ice arena in Don Mills, says Councillor Denzil Minnan-Wong.
The site, at 169 The Donway West, is for sale. It’s located near the Don Mills Civitan Arena, an aging facility the city is trying to replace by 2020, when developer Cadillac Fairview takes over that site as part of its residential redevelopment.
The city’s in search of an affordable and suitable spot for a new ice arena in Don Mills and Minnan-Wong said the post office site is worth exploring.
“I heard it was on the market,” Minnan-Wong said July 29. “There were lots of rumours.”

Why Tory isn’t a mayoral candidate

John Tory to help Toronto in other ways
But he will not be a candidate in city election
Kris Scheuer
(Written for Town Crier Aug 6.)

John Tory will contribute to city outside publicly-elected office.

While he says important issues aren’t being addressed by mayoral candidates, John Tory feels he can do more to help those causes from outside city hall.
“If you think these issues aren’t being addressed, as I do, then should I enter the race?” Tory said in an interview with the Town Crier after announcing that he won’t reconsider his decision not to run for mayor.
“I decided I regret those issues aren’t being addressed in debates, but I can continue to raise these issues and have some of the candidates on my  talk show,” said Tory, who host a radio show on NewsTalk 1010.
Top of his list of issues that should be on the election agenda for mayoral candidates are ways to improve the quality of life in the city’s high-needs, low-income priority neighbourhoods.
“There are hundreds of thousands of people in those neighbourhoods, who aren’t getting the hand up to get those jobs,” he said. “They can’t support their own family in a more effective manner. And we are missing their talents and abilities in growing our economy.”

Kiwanas, city and Casa Loma contract

Kiwanis Club of Casa Loma misses city’s July 31 deadline
City demanded a written agreement to fix outstanding disputes
Government could revoke operating agreement with Kiwanis
By Kris Scheuer
(Written Aug 4 for Town Crier.)

What's next? Kiwanis Club of Casa Loma fails to meet city's ultimatum ti make changes. Future of contract up in the air. Town Crier file photo.

The city is weighing its options now that Kiwanis Club of Casa Loma has failed to respond in writing to a series of demands for major changes to the way the group runs the historic building by the July 31 deadline.
“Council required a written response to specific actions in writing,” said city spokesperson Patricia Trott on the afternoon of Aug. 4. “That written response to the city’s direction never happened.
“The city is still reviewing its options.”