City Watch December 5th, 2018

Laval City Hall
Hôtel de ville de Laval – Laval City Hall. 1 Place du Souvenir, Laval, Québec, Canada.

New Saint Martin primary school and park redevelopment

With an ever-increasing number of children now residing in Laval the number of students who will be attending school in the near future has created the urgent need to expand the existing number of school accommodations. In several sectors of Laval this means building new schools.

The Laval School Board and the City of Laval are working together to build a new school in the Chomedey district having identified it as one of the areas with a large increase in the number of children that will be entering the primary school system shortly.

To address this concern municipal and school board administrators have arranged for a public information and consultation evening concerning the proposed development of the Saint-Martin Elementary School and park redevelopment project.

This meeting will be held on Monday, December 10th 2018 from 7 pm to 9 pm at École Saint-Martin – 4055 Saint-Martin Boulevard West, Laval. All participants must register in order to attend this meeting. Residents, parents, organization representatives, staff of the CSDL or Ville de Laval, members of school governing boards or parents committee and others interested are invited to register their attendance online ion the city website. Anyone having difficulty registering can call 311.

Agreement with Laval’s la Centrale des artistes committe

The Executive Committee approved the services agreement contract costing $124,287.98 with the Centrale des artistes organization which has the responsibility to produce and oversee the artistic program on the occasion of the Grande Fête des pompiers and the 2019 Firefighters’ Run. Their mandate depending on the project includes the development of programming of the various elements involved in the event as well as to ensure logistical follow-up (from conception to completion). They are responsible to manage the hiring of artists and suppliers (from the negotiation of contracts to the payment of fees), ensure a presence in the field and produce a balance sheet of activities, as well as accountability at the end of each project.

Appointments to City Committees

The members of the executive committee agreed to submit for city council approval the appointment of Yannick Langlois, L’Orée-des-Bois municipal councilor, as a member and chair of the toponomy committee (Comité de toponymie) for a renewable term of two years. They also agreed to recommend that Council appoint Mr. Omar Waedh to the Planning Advisory Committee as a resident member of the City of Laval for a renewable term of two years.

Donation of $ 250,000 for Centraide

For a 20th year, the employees and pensioners association of the city of Laval mobilized its membership to participate in fund raising efforts on behalf of Centraide of the greater Montreal region.  This year’s record campaign collected a total of $250,150.16. Centraide provides financial assistance to more than 25 Laval agencies and organizations.

 Filing of the 2019-2020-2021 property valuations

The value of Laval’s building/housing inventory has increased by 7.3% since the last compilation of the 2016-2018 property valuation roll, from $ 58 billion to $ 62.2 billion. This fact emerged from the filing of the triennial property evaluation roll of 2019-2020-2021, which will take effect on January 1st 2019 and reflects the conditions of the real estate market of Laval as of July 1st 2017.

Each year, the Evaluation Department conducts more than 13,000 audits of its property files to update Laval’s real estate inventory so that it reflects accurate property values. The total number of evaluated properties has reached 152,997 units. The variations in value according to the types of buildings reflect the growth of the different sectors of the real estate market recorded between July 1, 2014 and July 1, 2017.

The residential market alone accounts for 75.9% of the total value of Laval’s building stock. The increase in the value of single-family properties is 5.5%. In the rental sector, the value of buildings with 2 to 5 units increased by 8.0% and that of buildings with 6 or more units by 10.1%. For their part, condominiums have seen their value remain stable.

Other real estate sectors, which account for 24.1% of total real estate value, include all non-residential buildings and vacant lots. The 14% increase is mainly due to the industrial market, the hotel industry and the agricultural sector, where there is greater growth in value. “When the values ​​of Laval properties increase, it is proof that the economy is doing well. Our teams are working hard at the City to create major projects and revitalize some neighborhoods that need to be modernized. This contributes to our influence and makes our city ever more attractive to citizens and investors, “says Stéphane Boyer, vice-chairman of the executive committee and councilor of Duvernay-Pont-Viau. “The value of Laval’s housing stock, as reflected in this new triennial assessment role, continues to grow and remains in harmony with the economy. »

The deposit of a new assessment roll generally has little impact on tax burdens for taxpayers, since the city of Laval can adjust its property tax rates across the different categories of buildings which determines the actual property taxes to be paid. In addition, to minimize the fiscal impact of the new valuation roll, the City is staggering changes in value over three years. It is in the context of the adoption of the 2019 budget and the tax guidelines that will result from it that the levels of taxation will be determined.

Laval Christmas Market

The 8th edition of the Laval Christmas Market will be held from December 7th to 9th 2018 at the nature park (Center de la nature). Nearly 70 exhibitors will present quality and original products for sale under heated shelters. The large nature park will transform into a magical Christmas space making it a unique winter wonderland experience for visitors of all ages.

Gourmet pleasures, local products, jewelry, cosmetics, toys, children’s clothing, fashion accessories and other decorative items will be on display throughout the weekend. It will also be possible to buy a natural tree to decorate. Balsam fir from Quebec, of different sizes, will be offered at various prices.

Santa Claus will welcome the children in his decorated cabana. Horse pulled sleigh rides are one of the many diverse activities offered family members of all ages. Visitors will have the opportunity to participate in a free horticultural workshop allowing them to leave with their mini decorated tree. Please note that this activity is only offered to everyone on Friday, December 7th and is only open to children 12 years of age and under on Saturday December 8th and Sunday December 9th 2018.

When in need of a well-deserved break, visitors will be able to visit two heated igloos where visitors can sip a hot drink while listening to the sound of local musicians. Laval’s library service will also offer a reading corner and public storytelling of children Christmas favorites.

The Village des arts is transformed into Santa’s workshop where elves oversee numerous fun activities and where one can also find time and tools to write their Christmas wish list for Santa Claus. The “greeting machine” will be on hand to allow everyone to offer video wishes to their loved ones. In the evening, the decorative lighting and illuminations will fill the eyes of young and old dreamers.