Martin C. Barry
The City of Laval has begun laying the groundwork for a new park to be located in the western Laval district of l’Orée-des-Bois on the Rivière-des-Mille-Îles which also could include a beach alongside the river.
During city council’s monthly public meeting on Aug. 9, the elected officials passed a resolution authorizing the purchase of more than 100,000 square feet of land near the Arthur-Sauvé bridge for $1.4 million previously owned by a Khmer Bhuddist monastery.
Delays at du Sablon
Questions regarding delays in carrying out repairs and renovations at Chomedey’s Centre du Sablon were asked during the council meeting. During question period, Samir Boulos of Chomedey complained to the mayor that the locker room and the hot water system at Centre du Sablon have been “deteriorating” while the renovations remain undone. He also pointed out that while the city-subsidized centre offers V.I.P. service, the fee for membership “is higher than many other places.”
Mayor Marc Demers replied, “As far as Centre de Sablon, we will make repairs. We’ve had delays and that. We wanted to do that before. We have given a certain amount of money to make those repairs, and this will be done to the windows, the dressing rooms will be changed.”
In an interview on the evening of the council meeting with the Laval News, Chomedey city councillor Aglaia Revelakis said, “They had promised us that the renovations were going to be done before the summer holidays, and now from what I’m hearing today the renovations are only going to start in September which is going to create a backlog on registrations at Sablon because all the activities at Sablon start in September.
Season about to start
“This is when the new season starts,” she continued. “And now with the renovations we’re going to end up losing our clientele, they’re going to go elsewhere to find services, and I don’t think that Sablon will ever be the same as before even after the renovations are done. It’ll be too late.”
During the second half of the meeting reserved for council business, Revelakis quizzed the mayor as to when the renovations at Sablon will begin. The mayor said he paid a visit to the centre around two weeks before with Abord-à-Plouffe city councillor Vasilios Karidogiannis to assess the situation. “We met with the board,” said Demers, adding that they reviewed the schedule of work. “It should be done shortly, including the beginning of work and everything else.”
Good news for the economy
St-Bruno city councillor and executive-committee vice-president David De Cotis delivered a summary of data regarding the economic performance of the city this year. Among the highlights: unemployment in Laval dropped to 5.4 per cent in June (the lowest in nine years), the number of construction permits issued in Laval is double the number from the same period last year, and residential housing starts are up 7 per cent over last year. De Cotis also expressed congratulations to the two Laval Olympic athletes, Roseline Filion and Meaghan Benfeito, who won bronze medals in diving the day before at the Rio Summer Olympics.
He also noted that on Aug. 15 and 22, the members of city council will play in fundraising softball matches against their counterparts from the Sir Wilfrid Laurier School Board and the Commission scolaire de Laval. While the city team always fares well in hockey matches played in January against the SWLSB and the CSDM, they have consistently lost at baseball in the years since the games started. SWLSB chairwoman Jennifer Maccarone, who was seated in the audience with board commissioner Ailsa Pehi, said the school board team was prepared to beat city council again this year.
Pitbull by-law postponed
Councillor Gilbert Dumas tabled a resolution asking that the city support efforts to exempt not-for-profit organizations from Quebec’s lobbying law which requires such groups to comply along with corporate lobbyists. Although the matter was subjected to some debate among the councillors, it was accepted.
Those who might have been waiting since last month for the mayor to table a new by-law to safeguard residents from aggressive dogs will have to wait at least until next month. Although the matter drew a significant number of pitbull dog owners to the council meeting in July when they expressed their concern, the mayor said an updated by-law wasn’t ready in time for the meeting this month.
As part of the agenda for city council meetings, reports on the research and support expenses of the members of council are filed each month. The August council meeting agenda included the following expense statements: Independent councillor Alain Lecompte ($5,419.70 for April and May); independent councillor Michel Trottier ($1,878.75 for June); Mouvement lavallois/Équipe Marc Demers ($16,549.06 for July).
