Acquisition of river bank lot in Saint-Vincent-de-Paul
Laval’s executive committee has authorized the evaluation service to initiate the appropriate measures requisite to acquiring a river front parcel of land that does not have a registered property title. This land, now known as the Berge de la Brise, is located along the river bed of the Rivière des Prairies, bordering Lévesque Boulevard East, near the intersection of Limoges Street. The property which lacks a cadastral title is a lot of approximately 2,500 square meters. The property has been renovated during the past few years and thirteen parking spaces have been built along the riverbank with a boat launch, a wharf and a picnic area.
CISSSL to receive grant to celebrate the 10th Annual Tree Day
The members of the executive committee have agreed to award a $ 10,000 grant to the Laval Integrated Center for Health and Social Services (CISSSL) as part of the celebration of the 10th annual Tree Day. The amount awarded will contribute to the planting of 186 trees. This horticultural embellishment is scheduled for September 27th and will involve the addition of about 100 new trees as well as the replacement of 86 ash trees affected by the Emerald Ash Borer beetle. The emerald ash borer was first detected in North America about fifteen years ago. Native to Asia, the beetle has proven to be highly destructive in North America as it is estimated to have caused the destruction of tens of millions of ash trees, causing considerable economic and ecological impacts.
It is hoped that these efforts will help raise public awareness of the importance of reducing urban heat islands as well as the contribution of natural foliage in maintaining good air quality. Held annually since 2008, this program has enabled more than 1,640 trees to be planted embellishing the landscapes of the CISSSL establishments.
Rental space for community organizations at Place des Aînés
One of the ways the municipal administration helps and supports accredited nonprofit community, recreational and sport association operating in Laval is by providing them access to permanent office spaces as well halls and gymnasiums in order to host their activities. However the requests from community organizations have increased and the quantities of locals available in municipal buildings and rental spaces are now insufficient to meet these demands.
Laval’s executive committee has agreed to rent space at the Place des Aînés for the use of organizations offering cultural and leisure activities. The budget that was approved for the year 2017 is up to a maximum of $ 24,000 (tax-free).
Grants totaling $ 13,200 to cultural recreation organizations
The Choeur Chanterelle du Collège Lava (Laval College Choir), Choeur Sainte-Dorothée (Sainte-Dorothée Choir), Ensemble vocal Universalis (Universal Vocal Ensemble), Quartier des arts du Cheval blanc (White Horse Arts Quarter) et Théâtre d’art lyrique de Laval (Laval Opera Theater) were awarded municipal grants totaling $13,200. In order to promote cultural development the management has invited cultural and leisure organizations to apply to the City of Laval for annual financial support for their activities. This assistance is funded and directed according to Laval’s Cultural Policy. The administration has committed resources and aide to support artistic, musical and cultural development whose fruit will help define Laval’s artistic community and cultivate an open, vibrant regional cultural identity.
Municipal Arenas Program
The Executive Committee adopted the Municipal Arenas Program and its budget for 2017-2018. The anticipated operating costs are $ 5,755,800. With the opening of the Bell Centers the municipal inventory has added two community ice rinks, the Olympic ice and the training ice (NHL) which will all be accessible to Laval youth. As a result, an additional 3,000 hours of ice time can now be offered residents and sports association alike, this is especially significant during the peak periods of use.
In addition, the acquisition of the Complexe sportif Guimond, the City of Laval has signed an agreement in principle, will lay to rest any uncertainty about the availability of this quality infrastructure for ice rink related activities as access to its regular ice rink and two small skating rinks, training areas and complementary services has been assured. This is especially important as the Hartland-Monahan arena remains closed till March 2018 as the renovation program continues on schedule. The renovations began in April 2017.
The municipal arena program addresses and describes policies governing the management of ice rinks facilities in Laval. It defines the opening schedules and operating hours of municipal arenas during the fall-winter period and in spring and summer. It provides the procedural guidelines for the distribution of the skating rink hours allocated to youth activities and to the population at large in the form of free skating time. It outlines the responsibilities in the collaborative management scheme for the operation of the program between the various municipal services, namely the Department of Culture, Recreation, Sport and Social Development and the Department of Building Management. The program directives also address supplementary service offers including the arena pro shops, food services and the obligatory presence of automated external defibrillators (AED). Key to the program’s success is the inclusion of directives that govern among other things policies to provide free activities to the population organized by the municipality and activities supervised by Laval organizations and partners.
Management of Indoor Swimming Pools facilities 2017-2018
The Executive Committee adopted the indoor swimming pools management program for 2017-2018. In terms of aquatic activities, the City of Laval organized its indoor pool scheduling with the view of offering the majority of Laval residents access to swimming pool hours. Citizens can participate in free swim, take swim lessons or participate in sport activities offered by the various clubs (swimming, diving, synchronized swimming, water polo or triathlon). The organization and operations of the various programs and authorized activities are supported by the leisure organizations, the sports clubs and the Mouvement aquatique de Laval according to the number of hours allocated to them. The program runs from September 5, 2017 to June 15, 2018.
New Service to pick up refrigerating appliances
In the context of its Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction Plan, the City of Laval is now offering a free refrigerating appliance collection service in order to optimally collect and properly dispose of chlorofluorocarbons/halocarbons (CFCs and Freon) contained in the insulation foaming and cooling liquids of these units. An added ecological benefit is that this will also allow for the recycling and repurposing of various parts and materials with which these units are built.
The admissible appliances for pick up include; refrigerators, freezers, wine cellars, electric coolers, air conditioners, dehumidifiers, coolers, heat pumps and compressors.
A simple phone call to 311 to describe the item for recycling and to leave your coordinated is all that is needed to organize a pickup time. An agent from the Environment Service will schedule the service and contact residents with necessary directions.
Refrigerating appliances cannot be picked up during regular household waste collection. Leaving these appliances at the curb to be salvage by scrap collectors is not an ecological processing solution. It should be noted that the provincial regulation respecting halocarbons specifies that “Every person or municipality that, in connection with a residual materials collection service, picks up a refrigeration or air conditioning unit must, before disposing of the unit for elimination, recover or have the halocarbon contained in the cooling system of the unit recovered using the appropriate equipment and have it confined within a container designed for that purpose.” The City of Laval goes even farther by ensuring that insulation foaming, which also contains halocarbons is also processed adequately.
While almost everyone is aware of the scientific assertion that the release of halocarbons into the atmosphere contributes to the depletion of the ozone layer and climate change what is not common knowledge is that the effects of cooling agents used in refrigerating equipment represent a risk 5000 times more serious than CO2 in terms of global warming potential. Therefore, the ecological processing of 500 refrigeration appliances is equivalent to taking 300 cars off the road for a year.
