VOLUME 3 - No. 5 June 2014 TOWN OF MOUNT ROYAL INFO TOWNIES HONOURED See pages 10 and 11 Roses to mark World Book and Copyright Day A delegation of elected officials from African cities Townies rediscover the Town on bikes - 2014 paid us a visit in May Family Bicycle Tour CONTENTS MAYOR’S MESSAGE 2014 TRAM GALLERY 03 THE ISSUES OF THE DAY 13 SCULPTURES DONATED TO THE LIBRARY VOLUNTEER CENTRE TOWN NEWS 14 SUMMER SCHEDULE 04 THE DEBT IN BRIEF OUTDOOR STORAGE TOWN OF MOUNT ROYAL INFO Vol.3 No.5 PUBLIC CONSULTATION CODE RED PRODUCTION Public Affairs and Clerk’s Office THE SIX ELECTORAL DISTRICTS COORDINATION Alain Côté WRITING Charles Cyr, Mélissa Archambault CONTRIBUTORS Diane Ardouin, Nadine Bourgeois, Ava Couch, Denis Chouinard, Chantal Galarneau, Bonnie Hill, Frédéric Legault, Louise Léonard, USEFUL INFO Corinne Lepont, André Maratta, Jacques McDonald, 16 PREVENTION - PUBLIC SECURITY Matthew McRae, Dominique Pagé, Maria Perrotta, Érick Pinon, Nathalie Rhéaume, Isabel Tardif, NEW COLLECTION HANDBOOK Alexandre Verdy, Daniel Verner and FOOD WASTE COLLECTION Mayor Philippe Roy. 08 ENVIRONMENT PILOT PROJECT REVISION AND TRANSLATION Louise Beaudoin, WATER AND ENERGY-SAVING KITS Craig Schweickert, Textualis OUTDOOR WATERING PHOTOS Canadian Food Inspection Agency, URBAN BEEHIVE Mélissa Archambault, Bénédicte Brocard, Nathalie Guimond GRAPHIC DESIGN Edit Graphics TELEPHONE DIRECTORY ILLUSTRATION P. 7: Mélissa Archambault 18 PRINTER Impression Expo Legal deposit Bibliothèque Nationale du Québec, ISSN 1481-7772 TOWN OF MOUNT ROYAL INFO is distributed free of charge to all Mount Royal homes and businesses TOWNIES HONOURED Visit our website at by Canada Post. Printed with environment-friendly 10 ink on FSC-certified eco-responsible paper. ARTHUR S. LIBMAN TROPHY www.town.mount-royal.qc.ca THREE CITIZENS OF THE YEAR GOLD FOR CATHERINE WARD You can also find us on Facebook SPORTS TRIBUTE BOOK and follow Mayor Philippe Roy on Twitter (@PhilippeRoy_VMR) ! EMERALD ASH BORER 12 ACTION PLAN FOR TMR SPECIAL BRANCH PICK-UP TMR INFO _ 02 COVER PAGE: THANKING OUR VOLUNTEERS The annual Volunteer BBQ is the opportunity for Town Council to pay tribute to all Townies who so generously devote time and energy to the community. Mayor’s message THE ISSUES OF THE DAY With the summer and warm weather arriving in Mount Royal Speaking of renovations, a completely different project – the and vacation season just around the corner, I thought it would renovation of Town Hall’s Royalmount Hall – is now in its final be appropriate to review the main issues on which your elected phase. When the work is complete, residents and municipal officials are currently focused. associations will finally have access to a comfortable, modern multipurpose room that will let us expand the range of activities The first is a Town-wide consultation on urban planning and and events held in Mount Royal. heritage scheduled for this fall. On the program: a general survey, large and small-scale meetings, expert presentations, a special committee Lastly, in early summer we will launch a pilot project to collect food and focus groups. Every effort will be made to hear what Townies waste from 500 households. As part of this project, which should have to say on the crucial issue of urban planning as applicable to eventually be expanded to cover the entire Town, the participating private property. This will also be an opportunity to reflect on the residents put their food waste in paper bags, which they place in path taken by the Town to date as well as on the next steps to take. their green garden trimmings bin for pick-up and composting. Are we still inspired by Frederick G. Todd’s vision? Do the tools By setting up this program, Mount Royal is reaffirming its deep and by-laws that the Town has put in place over the years continue respect for the environment and its determination to minimize the to reflect residents’ desires? We will discuss all these questions amount of waste it sends to landfill sites. together and take time to examine them from every angle. Another key issue for the Town is the new sports centre project. While we are still in study mode and while no decision regarding And on that note, I wish you all a wonderful summer the construction or funding of the more imposing aspects of the of 2014. May it be filled with sun, fun and many relaxing project has been made, an initial phase – minor but significant moments. – will nonetheless see the light of day by the spring of 2015. Town Council has given the go-ahead to the complete renovation of the municipal pool chalet. Two other future phases under consideration involve renovating the existing Recreation Centre (phase 2) and constructing a building that would house a new indoor pool and other Philippe Roy sports facilities (phase 3). Council will make sure it has the support of [email protected] the Town’s residents before embarking on this third phase. TMR INFO _ 03 Mount Royal Town Council (left to right): Daniel Robert, Erin Kennedy, Joseph Daoura, Mayor Philippe Roy, John Miller, Minh-Diem Le Thi and Louis Dumont YOUR MOUNT ROYAL TOWN COUNCIL WORKING TOGETHER TO BETTER SERVE YOU Philippe Roy Mayor Tel.: 514 734-2914 (office) Fax: 514 734-3072 (office) [email protected] Joseph Daoura REGULAR MEETINGS OF Councillor, District No. 1 Tel.: 514 734-2914 (office) THE MOUNT ROYAL TOWN Fax: 514 734-3072 (office) [email protected] COUNCIL: Minh-Diem Le Thi Councillor, District No. 2 Tel.: 514 734-2914 (office) Fax: 514 734-3072 (office) 2014 CALENDAR [email protected] Erin Kennedy Councillor, District No. 3 Tel.: 514 345-9336 (home) The Town of Mount Royal Council Meeting is Fax: 514 345-9336 (home) usually held on the last Monday of each month. [email protected] The meetings take place at 19:00, at Town Hall, John Miller 90 Roosevelt Avenue. Councillor, District No. 4 Tel.: 514 738-7155 (home) Fax: 514 734-3072 (office) [email protected] Louis Dumont Councillor, District No. 5 July 14 October 27 Tel.: 514 735-3617 (home) August 18 November 24 Fax: 514 734-3072 (office) [email protected] September 15 December 15 Daniel Robert Councillor, District No. 6 Tel.: 514 734-2914 (office) Fax: 514 734-3072 (office) [email protected] TMR INFO _ 04 MOUNT ROYAL’S DEBT AT A GLANCE Mount Royal’s total net long-term debt is relatively stable, having gone from $25 million to $27 million over the last six years. Do these amounts strike you as large? They shouldn’t. To appreciate what they mean, they need to be put into context. Above all, you should bear in mind that our debt load is low in relation to our standardized property values, which have experienced a significant rise during the market boom of the last decade. Looked at this way, the Town’s debt is constantly decreasing relative to the Town’s actual value, which, for its part, has increased steadily and substantially. By comparing the Town’s total debt with its standardized property values, we can see that our debt ratio has dropped from 0.60% in 2008 to 0.42% as at May 15, 2014. This is one of the lowest debt ratios among the 16 municipalities that make up the Urban Agglomeration of Montreal. HOUSES AND PRIVATE PROPERTY IN MOUNT ROYAL: LET’S TALK! As a resident of our fair city, you will be invited this fall to express yourself publicly about the residential urban planning and heritage protection issues that matter to you most during a major public consultation devoted to these two subjects. The multi-step process will give you the opportunity to discuss the quality of life in our garden city and how it should evolve, specifically as regards houses and private property. Subjects known for eliciting a wide range of views will be addressed, in particular ones relating to oversized houses and progressivism versus conservatism in local architecture. All opinions will be welcome and all Townies will have the chance to take part. The consultation activities will be spread over several months and Town Council will provide you with several ways to make your voice heard. You will also be able to express your point of view on more than one occasion, to refine it over the months and to present all its nuances. At the end of the process, a report will be submitted to Town Council based on citizens’ contribution to the debate. The report will be used as the starting point for a review and consolidation of the by-laws governing home construction, demolition and renovation and the development of private property in Mount Royal. So, stay on the lookout and be sure to join the discussion. Further details about our public consultation will be disseminated when the program is unveiled early in the fall. TMR INFO _ 05 THE SIX ELECTORAL DISTRICTS: FAIRLY REPRESENTING YOUR REALITIES Mount Royal voters who headed to the polls last November found that exercising their right to vote was simpler than ever. In the districts where the councillors were not elected by acclamation, voters received only two ballots: one to vote for mayor and one to vote for the councillor who would represent their district. In the future, even when every seat on Town Council is contested, it will no longer be necessary to vote on seven ballots. Besides simplifying the voting process, this will reduce the costs involved in organizing and holding elections.