Latest news with #CommitteeoftheWhole
Global News
4 days ago
- Business
- Global News
Victoria city councillors want to preserve downtown movie theatres
Three Victoria councillors are trying to save the handful of movie theatres that remain in the downtown area for fear of losing key cultural spaces and experiences. Councillors Matt Dell, Dave Thompson and Krista Loughton will bring forward a motion at the Committee of the Whole meeting on June 5 'Downtown cinemas play a vital role in supporting local culture, walkability, and economic vitality,' the motion reads. 'Unlike suburban mall movie theatres, downtown cinemas bring people into the city centre where they can walk, bike, or take transit. Moviegoers grab dinner before the show or drinks afterward, supporting local restaurants and shops. This activity helps businesses and keeps downtown lively. Losing downtown theatres means losing both cultural experiences and economic benefits for local businesses.' Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy Victoria City Council's 2023 to 2026 Strategic Plan committed to supporting small businesses and the visitor economy, while investing in artistic, theatrical and musical spaces to keep the downtown culturally vibrant. Story continues below advertisement MOVIES! We have a motion at council this week asking staff to look into preserving downtown movies theatres, incentivizing new theatres, and supporting film. We're at risk of losing all our large downtown theatres in Victoria – bad for culture, vibrancy and the economy! #yyj — Matt Dell (@mattdellok) June 2, 2025 The three councillors would like to see stronger policy tools as part of the new Official Community Plan and an updated Downtown Core Area Plan to provide additional tools such as zoning incentives, leveraging Development Variance Permits to fast-track or relax requirements for projects that retain or integrate theatres, explore if any city-owned land downtown could be future theatre space and strengthening heritage tools by exploring protections for theatres in historic buildings. Councillors will be looking for council's support to direct staff to 'report on additional options to support cinema in Victoria, including incentivizing the construction of new movie theatres, assisting in maintaining existing theatres, incorporating the support of cinema into its broader strategy for supporting arts and culture in the city, or any other potential policy options.'
Hamilton Spectator
25-05-2025
- Business
- Hamilton Spectator
Council endorses plan for Gretzky Parkway extension
City of Brantford Council endorsed a plan to extend Wayne Gretzky Parkway north of Powerline Road during their Committee of the Whole meeting on Tuesday, May 13, 2025. As the lands north of Powerline Road get developed and the population continues to grow, the City has been looking into various solutions to help mitigate traffic congestion throughout the area. Having looked at different options, staff ultimately presented Council with a plan to extend Wayne Gretzky Parkway north of Powerline Road (sitting parallel to Highway 24/King George Road) where it will curve and meet up with Park Road North. The plan includes replacing the current three-way intersection at Powerline Road and Wayne Gretzky Parkway with a new four-leg roundabout, as well as a new four-leg roundabout where the newly extended Parkway will meet with Highway 24. The report explained that the extension will feature a four-lane configuration with a median in the middle and a multi-use path on the east side of the extension. As well, the roundabouts will be two lanes and designed to accommodate large vehicles, such as transport trucks and farm vehicles. While staff currently estimate that the project will cost around $8.5 million, the price could change as the plan is currently in its preliminary stages. The final cost will be refined through the preliminary design and detailed design phases. According to the report, which was submitted by Jennifer Elliott, the City's Director of Engineering Services, both the city's population and employment are expected to experience significant growth by 2051. 'Brantford's anticipated growth will notably impact local travel demands,' she said. 'By 2051, the city is projected to generate over 89,900 person trips during the A.M. peak period on an average weekday, reflecting a 72 per cent increase from the 52,616 person trips recorded in 2016.' As outlined in the 2020 Transportation Master Plan Update, the traffic conditions of Brantford's existing arterial and collector road network were observed during typical weekday peak hours, and the following key issues were identified: As well, the King George Road overpass over Highway 403 is expected to face high traffic demand, with over 60 per cent of the traffic using the route due to regional travel on Highway 403 or Highway 24. 'Adding an extra lane in each direction on King George Road would result in significant property impacts,' said Elliott. 'To alleviate congestion, diverting long-distance traffic from King George Road to Wayne Gretzky Parkway via a potential future extension north of Powerline Road would ease capacity issues near Highway 403 interchange and along King George Road.' If the plan is passed during an upcoming City Council meeting at the end of May, staff will be directed to issue a notice of completion and will open the 30-day public review period. 'The public will have an opportunity to, during that 30-day review, to provide comments, concerns or issues with the preferred solution,' said Mike Abraham, Brantford's Manager of Infrastructure Planning. 'Staff will then respond to each and one of those comments, and that will be made part of the filing to the MECP [Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks].' During the meeting, Councillor Richard Carpenter said that he hopes that as traffic increases along Wayne Gretzky Parkway, staff will consider putting in some sort of sound barrier to help with the noise. 'When we re-did Lynden Road and widened it to four lanes from two lanes and put in a centre turning lane; we put in a beautiful sound barrier wall for the residents who backed onto Lynden,' he said. 'It's been there for well over 25 years now, and if you look at it, it's easy to maintain. So, I would like us to use that as an example going forward.' Councillor Dan McCreary then thanked staff for their work, saying that the presented plan seemed to make sense. 'Councillor Martin and I were at the public hearings, and this option was well received,' he said. 'It certainly makes a lot of sense, even though there will be some disruption in the immediate neighbourhood once we get underway.' While the item was unanimously carried and Council will still have to give final approval later this month, residents will still have an opportunity to express their thoughts and concerns. Kimberly De Jong's reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative. The funding allows her to report rural and agricultural stories from Blandford-Blenheim and Brant County. Reach her at .
Chicago Tribune
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Chicago Tribune
Four Evanston/Skokie D65 School Board members join, face cutting as much as $15 million
Four new school boardmembers were sworn into the Evanston/Skokie School District 65 Board of Education at Monday's Committee of the Whole meeting and will immediately face a financial crisis. The new members, Patricia Anderson, Nichole Pinkard, Maria Opdycke and Andrew Wymer, replace more than half of the outgoing board. The previous four members declined to run for re-election after a turbulent pair of years that saw the district plummet into a financial deficit. The new board will be tasked with continuing the district's deficit reduction plan to cut between $10 million and $15 million in expenses for the next school year, likely continuing cuts in jobs, school closures and district-wide expense cuts. Outgoing members Joey Hailpern, Biz Lindsay-Ryan, Soo La Kim and Donna Wang Su gave a final testimony about their time on the board, wishing the next board well and encouraging members to take on the work of an unpaid and sometimes thankless job. 'Despite the difficult years: the pandemic, the post-pandemic return to schools, the barrage of angry emails and threats — many with racist rhetoric and coded anti-Blackness— the misrepresented budget numbers and feelings of betrayal… despite all that, I don't regret having served' on the board, Kim said. 'Because despite all the resistance and heat from the community, we did also manage to do some worthwhile things: Updating the curricula, social studies, literacy, math and science — I think we touched them all — to be more rigorous, inclusive and evidence-based; reducing the racial disproportionality in discipline, expanding social, emotional supports, closing the opportunity gap in our early childhood programs, committing to sustainability goals, supporting translation services throughout the district and expanding dual language to middle schools, and of course, returning a school to the 5th Ward,' she said. Lindsay-Ryan, who served on the board for 11 years, thanked the district's staff and her family for their support during her tenure on the board of education. 'We are navigating a world that wants to challenge so much of what we as a community hold dear. The level of external threat to the fundamentals of education is staggering, and the threat has been weaponized to attempt to stop us from caring for our most vulnerable,' Lindsay-Ryan said. 'We see educational institutions abandoning their values and in the process their constituents in an effort to mitigate the financial repercussions of having essential funding, only to have it withdrawn anyway. I urge our community and our next board to remain steadfast in its commitment to all out student success, to maintain an inclusive and safe environment where all students can thrive, and ensure that we prepare them to be global citizens that understand the realities of power, oppression and justice and how to engage in a world around them in ways that make everyone safe, respected, valued and included,' she said. In the week prior to the new board, the U.S. Department of Education announced it would investigate a complaint of alleged racial discrimination filed on behalf of a white elementary school drama teacher, who alleged the district used educational materials containing social justice advocacy to discriminate against white employees and students, among other things. Superintendent Angel Turner thanked the outgoing board members for their service to the board. 'Serving on the School Board is no small task. It requires time, thoughtfulness and a deep commitment to public service. Over the past several years this board has grappled with very complex and often difficult issues that have had a real impact on our students, our staff and families,' Turner said. 'Through it all, they have shown courage, compassion and a steadfast focus on what they believe is best for our children.' Board president prevails after challenge Board members Sergio Hernandez, Omar Salem and Mya Wilkins, who were not up for election this year, remain on the school board. Hernandez, the previous school board president, nominated himself to remain the board's president. 'I want to directly acknowledge that the past two years have presented some significant challenges, some of which I could have navigated better,' Hernandez said before a vote was called. 'Communication, both within our board and with the broader community, has not always met the standard our constituents deserve. I take full ownership and it is not fair to expect new board members to carry the weight of these complexities without clear leadership and structure.' 'I commit to making communication a top priority moving forward, ' he said. Salem nominated himself as a the board's president too. 'I really want to kind of be this bridge here… having been on the board for two years, we have four new folks coming on, and I really just want to kind of balance the way we've done things while also making sure we have some opportunity for change. I think the community has made it clear we need some change,' Salem said. 'My goal really is just to ensure that every single board member has the opportunity to be heard internally within our board, but also externally within the community.' In a 4-3 vote, Wilkins, Hernandez, Pinkard and Wymard voted for Hernandez to be the board's president. Pinkard was voted unanimously as the board's vice president, running unopposed. 'As we transition into a new era of leadership, District 65 faces significant challenges and opportunities to rebuild trust across our community. I believe that strong strategic and collaborative board leadership is essential to supporting the superintendent and advancing our mission of opportunity, equity and excellence for all students,' Pinkard said.
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Grand Forks City Council members debate plan to renovate former water treatment plant site
May 12—GRAND FORKS — A proposal to raze the former water treatment plant and in its place build an "amenity-rich development project" that highlights the city's connection to the Red River sparked an 80-minute debate among City Council members Monday. Specifically at issue was the expanse and scope of the project and not necessarily just the decision to tear down the decommissioned plant, which sits on prime real estate on the south edge of Grand Forks' downtown. During Monday's Committee of the Whole meeting at City Hall, Matt Wetli, of St. Louis-based Development Strategies, Inc., presented the latest news on the proposal, which his company calls a "truly transformative project to redevelop the downtown water treatment plant site." The company's goal was twofold, according to documents presented to the council: To create "a market-supported vision for an amenity-rich development project" and also "to create a district strategy that builds on the catalytic potential of the project." The Committee of the Whole includes all members of City Council but conducts meetings generally to gather information and plan for future council meetings, similar to other elected bodies' working sessions. In a unanimous decision, committee members voted to receive and accept the report, but did not authorize any further action on the project. Development Strategies has so far been paid roughly $250,000 for its work, with another $10,000 expected to be paid out in the coming weeks. The cap for the company is $260,000, although another $100,000 was proposed to move on to Phase 2 of the project, although with Monday's decision to receive and file, that won't happen — at least for now. For the sake of this project, Development Strategies is strictly a planning organization and would not be involved in actual development. The company prefers a concept that would see a development rise — literally — from the ground up, after demolition of the current building. The proposed building would be placed on a higher level than the plant currently sits, thus allowing a full range of views of the confluence of the Red River and Red Lake River, from which the city takes its name. The $109 million project presented Monday — nicknamed "Hi Point" by the company — would include multifamily development with a mix of uses on the ground floor. Additionally, "a small, but realistic, amount of retail, dining and entertainment uses are integrated into the development to support residents, neighbors and visitors to the site," according to company documents. Since it would be a raised development, one option would see the current flood wall removed, to be replaced by a sloping earthen dike, pending approval from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. That sloped approach would allow for what Wetli called an "elevated amenity deck" that would feature greater views of the river forks and access to the nearby Greenway. The next step would have involved inviting requests for qualifications and then requests for proposals, followed by demolition of the decommissioned treatment plant and development of a master plan. However, that won't happen after Monday's decision to receive and file. "We think this would create a great opportunity for commerce and this would create a destination that we think would bring people downtown today that maybe don't come downtown a lot," Wetli told council members. "This is a true regional destination because of how special we think this space is and how special you all believe this space would be. So many of you all told us 'views of the river, access to that Greenway.' We wholeheartedly agree and we see that playing out in city after city." City Administrator Todd Feland said a local steering committee "wanted something bold and everlasting." The group wanted to be realistic, but "at the same time, we didn't want to go small." He spoke of the legacy of the site, noting its years of city use during times of community growth. In addition, Feland told council members, the city also could possibly purchase two adjacent properties in order to make even more room for the project and expansion. Approximately $6 million — from a state revolving loan fund — has been set aside for the demolition of the plant. Mayor Brandon Bochenski said the possibility of a TIF — or tax increment financing — for the project would be important. At present, the property brings in no property tax revenue; developing it would change that, he said. "This is new revenue without a new expense," he said. "Granted, the public spaces would have some maintenance and upkeep expenses ... but for the most part, we don't have to hire more police, more fire, more street plows. All of that extra revenue (from future taxation) is going to be coming back to the city." At that point, council member Rebecca Osowski raised several questions about the project's scope, intention and costs. Among them: She sought clarification on how much the city has paid Development Strategies and asked "are we going to have to pay them more?" she said. Feland's answer: "What we're proposing is, under Phase 2, it would be ... a max to $100,000." Osowski said that seems expensive, but Feland explained that it generally follows market rate. She continued: "I guess when I voted to approve hiring these folks, this was not at all what I expected. I think there were multiple comments on the council that we want owner-occupied buildings here and I didn't see any of that presented at all. What I see is the biggest, grandest thing that you can put on that property." Osowski also does not agree with buying out nearby properties, and said the proposal of closing and roads (Fourth Street) and elevating the property "are things that I think we cannot afford at all." She also said the plan looks like "Epic 2.0," referring to the troubled Epic company, which filed for bankruptcy during its development of a property — which also includes a public-use space — on the western edge of downtown. "We already have public space we just cannot take care of," she said. "We have the Downtown Association taking care of our Town Square right now because our city staff just doesn't have the time or energy to do it." Osowski prefers the water treatment plant area be developed for single-family homes or duplexes, not more apartments. She does, however, like the idea of more public trails or low-cost and low-maintenance amenities in the Greenway. "I disagree with this 100%. I think it will turn into another Epic failure," she said, saying that the city has other projects that aren't yet complete. "I would like to see some homeownership and that wasn't even brought up." To Osowski's remarks, Feland said "I think we have so many positive things going on in our community, so I don't agree with those sentiments that we have this negative energy going on. In fact, we have positive energy in this community. I don't buy into those comments." He said the city directed the committee and Development Strategies to come back with various ideas, rather than "one thing or another." He said they investigated other options, too. He also believes it's important to determine what the concept will be before demolition of the plant, since various plans could result in differing processes to bring down the current building. Even if the council someday approves, he said, the project is probably several years down the road. Council member Tricia Lunski then spoke. "I'm a little angry right now. ... We have so many public spaces in downtown Grand Forks that we have no control over right now," she said. "We don't have anyone who wants to program them — well, that's a lie, because the (Downtown Development Association) wants to program them, but there is nobody else programming events." She said some residents are doing illegal activities in public spaces, "so why do we want more public spaces to maintain?" Council President Dana Sande said "we do have a lot of positivity in the community, so we should try to maintain that positivity while still asking hard and reasonable questions." He also questioned the order of the next proposed steps — sending out a request for qualifications before a request for proposal. "Why would we whittle down the number of people who can respond to our RFP?" he asked. He said he has advocated for owner-occupied space at the site, since that's the "fastest way to prosperity." Council member Ken Vein said he "loves the potential for the project" but would like to see more questions answered. Mike Fridolfs said he sees the plan that was presented Monday as one "that would revitalize the whole area." Bochenski thanked Development Strategies staff for the work they've done and said "it's extremely rude when we have consultants and people come here and get treated poorly for doing the work we've asked them to do." He said the council's task is to decide "do we want a generational project that gives us the best chance to get our return back when we tear the building down? If we want to have owner-occupied and small density, we have to know we'll be doing that at a loss and we'll lose significant dollars. That's fine, if that's the route the council wants to go." And one option, the mayor said, is to simply leave the building sitting there, vacant. "Dying towns across the country do that," he said. In other news from Monday's meeting: * The council decided in a 6-1 vote to recommend — for next week's council meeting — a plan to remove a city ordinance that caps the fees that towing companies can charge for removing cars that are illegally parked. The law was enacted more than a decade ago in response to "incidents reported of towing companies trolling and driving around, waiting for somebody to park in a lot so they can pick it up and tow it away," reported city staff member Sherie Lundmark, saying some of the fees were exorbitant. It led to the cap, plus the requirement that property owners had to actually call the tow company to make the pickup. Sande said he was uncomfortable with reverting to the old method, since unscrupulous companies could revert to previous practices. City Attorney Dan Gaustad said a "cleanup item" on the proposal would include that a property owner will still have to make a specific request for a vehicle to be towed. "With that change, I am OK," Sande said before the vote. * By unanimous vote, the council approved a charitable gaming machine — to benefit Grand Forks Youth Hockey — to be placed at the Little Bangkok restaurant. * The council, also in a unanimous vote, approved an amendment for River City Speedway's Class 6 alcohol license (specifically, the entity wishes to add canned cocktails to a drink menu that already includes beer and wine). * The council also approved, in a unanimous vote, to award a $410,120 electrical contract to Sun Electric Inc. for work on two lift stations. Other companies that applied were not eligible due to missing bid items.
Chicago Tribune
11-04-2025
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
Park Ridge leaders may consider age restriction of Delta-8 product sales before a ban
Park Ridge city leaders may soon move to outlaw the sale of two hemp-derived synthetic THC products to anyone under age 21, likely an intermediate move before an outright ban regardless of age. The City Council met as the Committee of the Whole Monday and voted at that committee meeting to begin now considering an age restriction on sales of products commonly known as Delta-8. Then later, the alderpersons could deliberate a broader restriction. 'Given the level of risks, why don't we just do a temporary ban like many other municipalities have done?' Alderperson Harmony Harrington asked at the committee meeting. City leaders learned earlier this year that Delta-8 and Delta-9 products slipped through existing regulations on tobacco and marijuana or cannabis products. 'Delta-8 tetrahydrocannabinol, also known as Delta-8 THC, and Delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol, also known as Delta-9 THC, are psychoactive substances typically manufactured from hemp-derived cannabidiol,' according to previous city documents. Delta-8 can be found in drinks, vapes, edibles and other forms. Hemp products are mostly not regulated by state law and, because Delta-8 is a synthetic derivative of hemp, it slips through a legal loophole, leaving local authorities scrambling to close it. By May, if the City Council passes an ordinance, those under age 21 will not be allowed to purchase the substance in the city, putting Park Ridge ahead of several surrounding communities – including Chicago. City leaders had been leaning toward an outright ban, but during a March meeting, Olga Ochisor, co-owner of Hemp CBD Wellness, said she was concerned the law would be too broad and affect her business. She said her store doesn't sell Delta-8 or anything that is synthetic, but she was concerned that a blanket ban could impact her. At the time, Alderperson John Moran said he favored waiting until language of the draft ordinance could be clarified so it would only prohibit Delta-8. The council agreed to wait to better define what would be prohibited, and work with retail outlets. The council voted then to hold the issue until Monday's meeting. April 7. However, City Manager Joe Gilmore told the council Monday the draft ordinance wasn't quite ready yet and he proposed holding off until May. 'Staff hasn't had a chance to interact with stakeholders and create a new recommendation for the council,' Gilmore said. He said he'd like to take more time to craft an ordinance that would be more widely agreed on before leaders consider outright banning Delta-8. But Harrington then said the city could still pass an age restriction ordinance. She pointed out that at present, anyone of any age could buy Delta-8 products at any store in town that wanted to carry it. Gilmore said city leaders taking more time to consider how to deal with an outright ban shouldn't be an issue. 'The approach from staff is more measure twice cut once,' he said. 'This is a product that's been around for a very long time and the extension [to consider in May] is, in my opinion, very minor. We're asking for another month, a month and a half. … We want to make sure what we implement is logical and efficient. Could we just do an outright ban right now? We can, but that's not responsive to some of the feedback we got from business owners.' Harrington pushed back, though, and suggested at least an age restriction. A total ban could come later — if at all. 'I am all about getting the policy right before legislating things,' she said. 'But doing something like, you must be 21 to purchase, makes me feel more comfortable.' The owners of Hemp CBD Wellness attended the meeting Monday. One of the owners, Avi Thakar, assured the board an age restriction wouldn't hurt that store. 'We want to assure you we already have that policy and the staff is already trained on all the products,' Thaker said.
