City of Ottawa

[Uhuniau]

Originally Posted by DarthVader_1961

I think he refers to cash in lieu of taxes if I am recalling correctly

Payments in lieu, yes. But I'm not sure that Ottawa is in any way particularly singled out by this, other than by the obviously larger share of federal government properties here.

Every municipality, big and small, bitches about PILT, and always has.

[Truenorth00]

Originally Posted by YOWetal

Yes it would also finally fulfill a Con dream to spread out PS employment across the country.

I think the Cons will cut very deep and afte a few years as they need to regrow to do what they want the new jobs will be fully remote. There is blissful ignorance to this in Ottawa.

We filled jobs we couldn't for years, during COVID, because the Ottawa residence requirement was ignored during COVID. The more specialized the role, the harder it is to fill in Ottawa.

WFH was useless for normal admin work. But for highly specialized professionals, it was amazing.

[J.OT13]

Deachman: Demise of the Belltown Dome — Is this what awaits Ottawa's other urban rinks?

Bruce Deachman, Ottawa Citizen
Published Sep 18, 2024

What's happening to the Belltown Dome arena should serve as a cautionary tale for other community arenas inside Ottawa's greenbelt.

I stepped onto the ice at the Belltown Dome arena for the first time years ago and marvelled, in ways both good and bad, at the novelty of the facility.

The remarkable structure was the first thing to catch my eye, before I even entered the Britannia-area arena. It looked like a cross between a very large set of monkey bars and a very small tribute to Buckminster Fuller’s famed geodesic dome at Expo ’67 in Montreal.

Inside the uninsulated building, I found a small single ice surface. Only 80 per cent as long as a regulation NHL rink and about 70 per cent as wide, it was too small for five-on-five hockey. But it served admirably for an hour of four-on-four shinny, and the reduced ice time that the smaller rink imposed on each player perhaps spared one of us oldsters in adult rec a heart attack. That was the bright side, we told ourselves.

Fast-forward to 2024, and it’s the rink that’s on its last legs. The building is more than 45 years old and leaks. The refrigeration system needs replacing, and there are mechanical, plumbing and electrical issues. According to a presentation by the city last week, it would cost at least $3.2 million to continue operating it as an indoor rink.

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The city has decided not to invest that money, instead, unplugging the patient from its faulty refrigeration and operating the arena this season as a natural-ice facility — essentially an outdoor rink with a roof. The rink will still be resurfaced by city staff, who will also supervise public skating and ice sports. Summer operations, which include ball hockey, will continue.

But as any fan of outdoor, non-refrigerated skating knows — just look at the Rideau Canal in recent years — its future is grim. Dependent on Mother Nature as climate change nips the capital, its season will be unreliable, likely greatly reduced, and interrupted by inevitable thaws.

Somewhere down the road, according to the city, the Dome will be replaced with a year-round community space that could include a gym, as well as activity and meeting rooms. Public consultations, it says, will determine the community’s priorities and needs.

I suspect that public consultations might show that what the community needs is an indoor hockey/skating arena.

The West End Hockey League, for example, organizes recreational, non-contact hockey for about 800 youths aged four through 17. The teams play at four arenas: Tom Brown, Dulude, McNabb and Barbara Ann Scott, but according to league president Ben Lee, there’s no extra prime-time ice available at those rinks, so teams that want to prepare for tournaments or playoffs, or simply do some drills, extra practices or fun on-ice exercises, use the Belltown Dome.

“I calculated that overall, we’ll be losing over 500 hours of prime-time ice availability without Belltown. That’s a major issue for us. If you want to play in the downtown core, there’s nowhere else to go, and the city has no current plans to build any arenas in the downtown core,” he says.

“So losing another rink with primetime hours has a major impact on the parents and families, pushing them to go to the suburbs.”

Another issue is the Dome’s location in an area of the city where many residents of lower socioeconomic status live. Do we really want to lessen their recreational opportunities?

According to the city’s Parks and Recreation Facilities Master Plan, passed by council in 2021, there should be one indoor ice surface for every 20,000 residents. It only makes sense to distribute them throughout the city and provide recreation facilities where people live. You know: 15-minute neighbourhoods and reduced reliance on cars — that sort of thing. Taking away an indoor rink that a community can walk to is just bad planning.

Sure, few hockey players are going to lug their equipment on foot, but for those just learning or looking to to skate, like maybe immigrant kids in that neighbourhood, a handy arena can make all the difference.

But when Belltown Dome eventually gives up the ghost, it will leave Bay Ward’s more than 40,000 residents without an ice pad of their own.

According to ward Coun. Theresa Kavanagh, there’s been some discussion about possibly building a double-pad recreation centre on Queensview Drive, where OC Transpo’s Pinecrest garage currently sits, but that would be years away. Meanwhile, the city says it has no money, and replacing Belltown Dome doesn’t seem to be high on its to-do list.

“I’m frustrated,” says Kavanagh. “I don’t think we’ve done a very good job of saving up for the future with our asset management.”

Clearly not, especially considering that the Belltown Dome is being allowed to die without the city having a plan in place to replace it. Worse, it may, as former councillor and current Belltown Neighbours’ Association president Alex Cullen (who, incidentally is Kavanagh’s husband) believes, serve as the proverbial canary in a coal mine, portending similar fates for other arenas inside the Greenbelt.

Many of those arenas, after all, are even older than the Belltown Dome and will need to be replaced or undergo considerable renovations to bring them up to code and improve accessibility. Are there plans to do any of this, given the city’s dire financial situation?

If the city doesn’t make this kind of recreational renewal a priority, many urban residents will find themselves out in the cold, but with nowhere to skate.

https://ottawasun.com/news/local-news/de...waits-ottawas-other-urban-rinks?tbref=hp

[rocketphish]

Ottawa council adopts 2.9 per cent increase for all but transit budget
Rural and suburban councillors carried the day Wednesday with a 17-8 vote to endorse the directive for city departments and arm's-length organizations.

Blair Crawford, Ottawa Citizen
Published Sep 18, 2024 • Last updated 3 hours ago • 3 minute read

It was a familiar argument with a familiar result.

Just as they did last year, a bloc of councillors from Ottawa’s urban wards railed against Mayor Mark Sutcliffe’s direction to limit the city’s property tax increase at 2.9 per cent — at least for non-transit expenses

And, just as happened last year, rural and suburban councillors carried the day with a 17-8 vote at Wednesday’s city council meeting.

Sutcliffe announced the 2.9 per cent target in a briefing for reporters last week and the target was adopted on Monday by the city’s finance and corporate services committee. It directs city departments and arm’s-length organizations such as the police services board, library board and Ottawa Public Health to deliver budgets with increases of no more than 2.9 per cent.

The exception is OC Transpo, which is grappling with a $25-million operating deficit this year and a jaw-dropping $120-million long-term structural deficit.

Several councillors argued Wednesday that the 2.9 per cent target, which would be below the rate of inflation in recent years, was unrealistic and would degrade the city’s core services. Somerset Ward Coun. Ariel Troster said a decade of Ottawa’s stingy tax increases, 12 per cent below the increases in Toronto, had cost the city $1.5 billion.

“I absolutely agree with the mayor that we’re being shortchanged by other levels of government, but also we really haven’t done our part,” said Troster, who added her residents complained of overflowing trash bins, potholes and crumbling sidewalks.

“I’m really concerned that these services are being chronically underfunded,” she said.

“At the end of the day, a few extra dollars per month — the equivalent of paying for a coffee and a sandwich on a property tax bill — is a lot lower than what residents would have to pay if they have to go to private operators for recreational services or if they have to Uber or buy a car or take an e-scooter instead of taking the bus,” she said.

“Those of us who’ve been around this table a long time know how creaky things are feeling,” Kitchissippi Coun. Jeff Leiper said.

Problems big (the response to the opioid crisis) and small (inadequate street cleaning) are all being affected by the miserly budgets, Leiper said.

“We feel the strain. Staff are being pushed to the limits, and I’m not certain that a 2.9-per-cent increase is going to help us to address those. The city become less manageable every day that we refuse to contemplate the tax increases that we need in order to provide services.”

College Ward Coun. Laine Johnson said the 2.9 per cent target was “a promise to fail our residents further.”

“We are falling behind,” she said.

The 2.9 per cent target is just that: a target. The final tax increase won’t be decided until the budget process is complete in December.

Voting for the the mayor’s budget direction were councillors Cathy Curry, Steve Desroches, Tim Tierney, David Brown, Wilson Lo, Clarke Kelly, Catherine Kitts, George Darouze, Matt Luloff, Glen Gower, Alan Hubley, David Hill, Laura Dudas — all from wards outside the Greenbelt — and councillors Riley Brockington, Marty Carr, Stéphanie Plante and Sutcliffe, all from wards inside the Greenbelt.

Opposed were councillors Laine Johnson, Jeff Leiper, Rawlson King, Sean Devine, Theresa Kavanagh, Shawn Menard, Ariel Troster and Jessica Bradley, all representing wards inside the Greenbelt.

The same rural-urban split has bedevilled previous Ottawa councils and Sutcliffe was asked after the meeting if he was concerned about the divide.

“I thought today was a great example of democracy,” he answered.

“Everybody got a chance to speak, everybody got a chance to ask their questions and everybody had a chance to vote and we had an outcome. It was respectful, it was professional, it was polite,” he said.

“I don’t think it’s a bad thing that we’re having long conversations and debates about how the City of Ottawa should spend taxpayers’ money. Budgets are tough. We need to be ready to have those kinds of tough conversations. We’re not going to get through this budget process without people feeling some pain and anxiety.”

Departments and boards will have their individual budget discussions in November and December, with city council expected to debate and adopt the final budget on Dec. 11.

https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-new...pts-2-9-per-cent-budget-increase-transit

[phil235]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

Deachman: Demise of the Belltown Dome — Is this what awaits Ottawa's other urban rinks?

Bruce Deachman, Ottawa Citizen
Published Sep 18, 2024

What's happening to the Belltown Dome arena should serve as a cautionary tale for other community arenas inside Ottawa's greenbelt.

[/url]

I fear that this council is just going to let the urban rinks die a natural death by failing to put the money in to maintain them. Easier to avoid direct responsibility that way. Sad outcome.

[YOWetal]

Originally Posted by phil235

I fear that this council is just going to let the urban rinks die a natural death by failing to put the money in to maintain them. Easier to avoid direct responsibility that way. Sad outcome.

I think you are right but can we normalize not calling everything inside the Greenbelt "Urban". This is a weird Ottawa trend. This is very much a suburban rink.

[DTcrawler]

Originally Posted by rocketphish

Ottawa council adopts 2.9 per cent increase for all but transit budget
Rural and suburban councillors carried the day Wednesday with a 17-8 vote to endorse the directive for city departments and arm's-length organizations.

Blair Crawford, Ottawa Citizen
Published Sep 18, 2024 • Last updated 3 hours ago • 3 minute read

Same old, same old. Even calling 2.9% a tax "hike" is a bit disingenuous when accounting for inflation. But of course, the average ill-informed suburban voter won't care. They'll call this a win while continuing to moan about degrading services and infrastructure. I do hope the province and feds come through with some money just so it'll eliminate that potential excuse for Sutcliffe when sh*t really hits the fan.

[phil235]

Originally Posted by YOWetal

I think you are right but can we normalize not calling everything inside the Greenbelt "Urban". This is a weird Ottawa trend. This is very much a suburban rink.

Very true. It's the other rinks mentioned in the article that really fit the definition of urban - Tom Brown, McNabb, Sandy Hill.

Belltown is similar in that it serves a disadvantaged clientele more than your typical multiplex.

[rocketphish]

Is Sutcliffe's 2.9% tax hike right for Ottawa?
This should be a vigorous budget debate based on financial reality in Ottawa, not on fulfilling election promises.

Mohammed Adam, Ottawa Citizen
Published Sep 19, 2024 • Last updated 3 hours ago • 3 minute read

Ahead of budget 2025 deliberations, Mayor Mark Sutcliffe has warned about property tax increases, massive transit fare hikes and service cuts the likes of which the city hasn’t seen in decades.

In its budget directions, released Monday and approved Wednesday, we learned that property tax increases could be 2.9 per cent, transit levy hikes between 2.9 and 37 per cent, and fare increases between 2.5 and 75 per cent. Worst case: a single ride on OC Transpo could cost $6.65, up from $3.80. A monthly pass could go from $128 to $225. All this is because of a lack of federal and provincial funding that has left OC Transpo with a $120-million deficit.

It is all very dramatic, and it sounds a tad apocalyptic. Sutcliffe wants you to blame federal and provincial governments. He takes this shot at his critics: “The people advocating for big tax increases are basically saying it’s okay for the transit projects in the GTA to get 100 per cent funding from other levels of government while we pay over half in Ottawa.”

No, Mr. Mayor, no one is saying that. Ottawa residents know and resent the fact that when it comes to transit, the city has been shafted for years. It is disingenuous to suggest otherwise. Besides, nobody wants higher taxes. Trust me, I’d rather pay 0.1 per cent than 2.9 per cent. But if you want to build a livable city, you need appropriate services to match the ambition, such as transit that is reliable and affordable, recreational services that meet everyday pocketbooks, and roads that are not littered with potholes.

What many people want is not higher taxes, but a balanced budget with reasonable property tax increases that allow us to maintain city-building services. Indeed, knowing from the very beginning that a budget crunch was coming, the city could have spread tax increases a bit higher over the last two years to put us in a better position to deal with what lies ahead.

While Sutcliffe is right to feel aggrieved about transit funding, it is worth noting that when he had a chance to negotiate a deal with Ontario, transit did not seem to be his top priority.

The 10-year, $543-million deal for Ottawa that Premier Doug Ford announced in March, was more about roads than transit. The deal, which Sutcliffe hailed as a “big win for Ottawa,” included the uploading of Hwy. 174, which then-Ontario premier Mike Harris dumped on Ottawa in 1997. The funding included money for housing, repairs and upgrading of major connecting and rural roads, as well as a new interchange at Hwy. 416 and Barnsdale Road.

The only nod to transit was $80 million for the Kanata North Transitway, contingent on matching funds from the federal government.

Here is a city that’s facing a big transit deficit, and yet when he had the premier’s ear, Sutcliffe, as best we can tell, negotiated money largely for roads, not his biggest need. Sutcliffe made his deal, and it is now too late to complain. One can only hope for some funding from provincial and federal governments.

Of course, no matter what, we are not going to see taxes rise steeply, or a 75 per cent transit fare increase. That’s a bluff. Still, the question is whether Sutcliffe’s 2.9 per cent is right for the times. This should be a vigorous budget debate based on financial reality, not on fulfilling election promises.

And this time, Ottawa residents should accept Sutcliffe’s invitation to make their voices heard on what they really want.

Then we will see what councillors are made of as they craft the budget.

Mohammed Adam is an Ottawa journalist and commentator. Reach him at [email protected]

https://ottawacitizen.com/opinion/adam-is-sutcliffes-2-9-tax-hike-right-for-ottawa

[YOWetal]

Originally Posted by phil235

Very true. It's the other rinks mentioned in the article that really fit the definition of urban - Tom Brown, McNabb, Sandy Hill.

Belltown is similar in that it serves a disadvantaged clientele more than your typical multiplex.

I said it in another thread but Tom Brown needs to be high density housing. Incoroporate an Arena if that is the most needed use of the space but it's obsense to have a swath of scrub grass and an Arena at the nexus of our only rapid transit lines. Sanday Hill could also house a ton of people in place of its huge surgace parkign lot. McNabb is trickier and the real disadvantaged community centre but also on a prime piece of real estate. Sell just the empty field next to Tom Brown and you can refurbish them all including undground parking and social housing on top at Sandy Hill.

[phil235]

Originally Posted by YOWetal

I said it in another thread but Tom Brown needs to be high density housing. Incoroporate an Arena if that is the most needed use of the space but it's obsense to have a swath of scrub grass and an Arena at the nexus of our only rapid transit lines. Sanday Hill could also house a ton of people in place of its huge surgace parkign lot. McNabb is trickier and the real disadvantaged community centre but also on a prime piece of real estate. Sell just the empty field next to Tom Brown and you can refurbish them all including undground parking and social housing on top at Sandy Hill.

It’s fine to say that we need higher density housing, but we also need to provide services for people in those areas. You can’t replace all city properties with housing, as urban neighbourhoods are already underserved in terms of recreation facilities.

Tom Brown is close to transit, but if you close it you still need to replace it. I’m not sure an arena in a housing complex is very likely, so where you going to build a new arena in that neighborhood? That’s kind of the point of the article. You can’t keep adding people to urban area while taking away facilities.

[Williamoforange]

Originally Posted by phil235

It’s fine to say that we need higher density housing, but we also need to provide services for people in those areas. You can’t replace all city properties with housing, as urban neighbourhoods are already underserved in terms of recreation facilities.

Tom Brown is close to transit, but if you close it you still need to replace it. I’m not sure an arena in a housing complex is very likely, so where you going to build a new arena in that neighborhood? That’s kind of the point of the article. You can’t keep adding people to urban area while taking away facilities.

Are they not building a double ice pad at the new Plante recreation facility? for the sole purpose of replacing Tom brown arena & selling it off to devs for housing? is that not the point of the massive new facility at the location to provide new recreation for the new residents & the existing....

[phil235]

Originally Posted by Williamoforange

Are they not building a double ice pad at the new Plante recreation facility? for the sole purpose of replacing Tom brown arena & selling it off to devs for housing? is that not the point of the massive new facility at the location to provide new recreation for the new residents & the existing....

Don’t think so. Where did you see that? I’ve never seen any plans to replace any of the urban rinks.

[Uhuniau]

Originally Posted by phil235

It’s fine to say that we need higher density housing, but we also need to provide services for people in those areas. You can’t replace all city properties with housing, as urban neighbourhoods are already underserved in terms of recreation facilities.

Tom Brown is close to transit, but if you close it you still need to replace it. I’m not sure an arena in a housing complex is very likely, so where you going to build a new arena in that neighborhood? That’s kind of the point of the article. You can’t keep adding people to urban area while taking away facilities.

This is all true, but also, when it comes time to replace Tom Brown, there is plenty of space on that property to also add other uses, including housing, as long as we can overcome the inevitable nattering about losing precious brown-grassed "green" space.

Edited to add: Also, looking at the Google map, that's one hell of a desire-line path that The People have cut across that pointless "green" space.

[phil235]

Originally Posted by Uhuniau

This is all true, but also, when it comes time to replace Tom Brown, there is plenty of space on that property to also add other uses, including housing, as long as we can overcome the inevitable nattering about losing precious brown-grassed "green" space.

For sure, there is room to add uses. If nothing else, the parking could be underground and development above.

My issue is that City does a massive parks and recreation planning exercise, determines the core should have 5 rinks, and then does absolutely nothing to maintain the rinks that it has. I am pretty confident that we will start seeing reports that the current rinks are obsolete and need to be closed or sold off for funds, without a hint of a plan to replace them. One more situation where urban residents can just drive out to Nepean to access services.

[J.OT13]

Hoping the Sens can work with the City to replace Tom Brown and add housing on top. Alternatively, if the Sens build a practice rink at LeBreton (though that 10 acres doesn't offer a whole lot of space for that), then that could work as a replacement as well.

[phil235]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

Hoping the Sens can work with the City to replace Tom Brown and add housing on top. Alternatively, if the Sens build a practice rink at LeBreton (though that 10 acres doesn't offer a whole lot of space for that), then that could work as a replacement as well.

I've gotta think that they will be looking to have an attached practice rink, whether it is underground or in the podium of a residential building. That would only be one pad though, and one where the Sens are the principle tenant. Not an ideal replacement for a community rink.

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by phil235

I've gotta think that they will be looking to have an attached practice rink, whether it is underground or in the podium of a residential building. That would only be one pad though, and one where the Sens are the principle tenant. Not an ideal replacement for a community rink.

Not idea, but better than losing the rink all together, which is probably otherwise likely within 10 years.

I do get the impression they might offer some community hours at the actual NHL arena as well, which could compensate.

[phil235]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

Not idea, but better than losing the rink all together, which is probably otherwise likely within 10 years.

I do get the impression they might offer some community hours at the actual NHL arena as well, which could compensate.

Better than nothing, sure. I’m sure they will offer limited community hours in the NHL rink, but those are going to be too pricey to be a real substitute.

[YOWetal]

What about pop-up rinks? With climate change and cheap mainteance the outdoor rinks have shorter and worse seasons but cover them and add coolant and you can get a lot more use for a lot less money than a fixed rink. +15 daytime temprature isn't a big deal if you chill the ice. Some of the outdoor rinks even have skating lessons and no reason you can't let people book especially the late night time for rec hockey.