The Cheat Sheet: October 8 City Council

It’s the first council meeting since the summer break, so we’ve got a pretty hefty agenda! Here’s a sampling of items worth watching out for. Did I miss anything? Let me know.

The big ticket

• The putrid, rotting corpse of the Toronto transit debate heaves itself from its freshly dug grave once more. I suggest catching up with Steve “Transit Santa” Munro’s thorough overview and David Hains’ financial analysis. Also, taking a flask to Council chambers.

Budget

• This year’s budget process gave standing committees the opportunity to weigh in on the state of various City services and make recommendations to the Budget Committee. Community Recreation and Development Committee has a host of recommendations that include expanding youth drop-ins, Priority Centres, and swimming programs; maintaining programming hours at Priority Centres; and maintaining the target for affordable housing. Give the whole thing a look-through.

Transit

• Those lovable pinkos on the Board of Health (seriously, I love them) are asking the General Manager of Transportation Services to work with Dr. McKeown, the Medical Officer of Health, to develop ways to make commuting safer for cyclists, including implementing the 1m passing rule and improving construction zone safety.

• Mr. President, we cannot allow a Bay Street bike lane gap!

• Cllr Layton would like the City to stop tagging ghost bikes — the white-painted bike memorials to cyclists killed in collisions — as abandoned.

• Council may choose to look into designating reserved streetcar lanes on King in rush hour. Likely outcome: spittle-flecked rant by the Mayor or Cllr Ford. Comedy outcome: Council accidentally bans King Street.

• Cllr Stintz hopes to unclog downtown traffic by cracking down on illegal parking and delivery vans.

The great outdoors

• City staff report that the July flood cost the city millions of dollars. Council will be voting on whether to ask the provincial and federal governments to chip in for damage relief and infrastructure investment. See also this related item.

• The tree that reportedly inspired “The Maple Leaf Forever” was felled in a storm, and the City has to decide on a suitably patriotic use for the wood.

• Just. Stop. Feeding. Coyotes.

• It’s that time of year again. That’s right, it’s time for the Parks & Environment Committee to ask City staff to implement a pumpkin parade procedure for parks.

Poverty issues

• The 2013 Street Needs Assessment is out! You can read the results here (PDF). This year they began to track LGBTQ and veteran status, and the findings are depressing!

• City staff say that new federal funding formula requirements will hobble the Toronto Youth Job Corps program, which provides employment supports for at-risk youth.

• So this year the provincial government phased out the Community Start-up and Maintenance Benefit (CSUMB), a chunk of cash that people on social assistance could use to pay housing costs if they were moving off the streets or out of long-term care, or to prevent eviction. They replaced it with the slightly crappier Housing Stabilization Fund (HSF). Staff are updating Council on how the transition has gone and are requesting that the unused HSF funding go to a new emergency housing allowance. Do read their report (PDF) for more information on how it will work, who will be eligible, etc.

Middle-class issues

• Cllr Matlow wants wifi in parks and other public spaces.

• That hipster coffee shop across from Trinity Bellwoods wants a liquor license. Cllr Vaughan, that killjoy, is raining on their parade.

• Did you know that if you read the word “creative” over and over it starts to look funny?

• Ryerson University, which took over the old Sam the Record Man property, doesn’t want to put the historic sign back up. CanCon stalwarts, the Mayor, and — filling out the ideological spectrum — Cllr Matlow are all objecting.

Upper-middle-class issues

• Mid-rise development threatens to tear apart a wealthy low-rise Etobicoke enclave. For background, see these pieces by Robert Ruggiero and Cityslikr.

Miscellaneous

• Committee shuffle time: Cllr Mammoliti moves to Executive Committee, Cllr Bailão to Economic Development, Cllrs Di Giorgio and McMahon to Licensing and Standards, Cllr Nunziata to Planning and Growth Management. Cllr Parker resigned from the Budget Committee in order to join the Audit Committee.

• Our licensed childcare quality assessment is so awesome that other cities want to use it, too. Sweet.

• Captain John’s, the restaurant boat, is deep in arrears. Or rather…ARRRRRRRRears. The juicy details are confidential and I only linked this to make a pirate pun. Sorry.

• Unregistered zipline lobbyists: threat or menace?

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p>There you have it: pretty much everything worth paying attention to. I’ll see you at Council! Until then: good night, Night Vale #TOpoli, good night.