Laval City Hall Watch - October 12 2016
City Watch
Laval ratifies an agreement to host the Federation of Canadian Municipalities
Laval’s Executive Committee has ratified the agreement with the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) with respect to the holding of a board meeting of the directors of the of the FCM Board. Laval will host the March 6th to 9th, 2018 meetings. Working on behalf of its members Canadian cities, municipalities and towns the FCM actively engages with the federal government on a wide variety of issues that impact municipalities.
Land Purchases for the conservation of natural habitats and creating parks
The City of Laval will acquire a lot measuring 557.4 square meters located southeast of Riviera Street. This site in the Laval-Ouest district is adjacent to a large area zoned for parks called des berges des Quatre-Vents (The Four Winds river banks). The decision to purchase this property is part of the administration’s strategy to conserve natural environments and habitats. The municipality already is the owner of adjacent lots in the area.
The City of Laval will also purchase lot 1,392,201 of the Quebec land registry, an area of 554.8 square meters for the sum of $ 55,000. Located north of Saint-Martin Boulevard East this purchase will consolidate the Le Bois Papineau (Papineau Woodland Park). The Association for the Conservation of Papineau Woodlands has expressed support for this acquisition as it will consolidate the plans to conserve the natural habitats in this area.
The Executive Committee also adopted the recommendation to acquire lot 1404794 of the Québec land registry for $350,000 which is needed for the overhaul of a portion of the avenue Léo Lacombe and François-Souillard Street. Following this acquisition an existing building present on the site will be demolished to allow for the future development of a city park aa part of the redevelopment of the Léo-Lacombe Avenue project.
Regional Council for Cultural development receives an additional grant
A grant of $ 40,000 was given to the Regional Council of Culture for the completion of the first phase of development of a web platform project designed to publicize and promote the diverse elements of cultural life of Laval. This not for profit organization is recognized as the official consultative body of Laval with regards to cultural development. Its mission is to promote the Laval culture at regional and national levels and to strategically position local art, music, and literature as an important vector of development of the region.
Young Promoters Fund awards grant
A favorable recommendation from the committee managing the Young Promoters Fund (YPF) has prompted the executive committee to grant a subsidy to Rosalie T. Perreault and Ernesto Blanco Landero in the amount of $ 6,000 each to help fund their fledgling business Air Ventilation Solution. Their company will provide ventilation duct cleaning services and sell ventilation hoods for commercial, industrial and institutional markets. The YPF was created to help young entrepreneurs access initial funding needed to start up their business ventures. Another positive intervention from this fund is that it can also facilitate access to supplementary financing required for the realization of their business plans. The ultimate goal is to help create and foster an entrepreneurial spirit in young people of Laval.
Construction of a chalet in Saint-Norbert Park underway
The City of Laval will need to demolish the existing St. Norbert park chalet before it can commence the construction of the new chalet. The existing structure is which is obsolete must be demolished and the land site located in the yards of the St. Norbert School must also be excavated in order to lay the foundations for the new building to be erected. The Executive Committee members have approved the initial funding for this project and awarded the following amounts (excluding taxes) to the following companies: general contractor Construction Encore an amount of $695,750, Gémel an amount of $15,286 to oversee the construction, L’Écuyer Lefaivre architects for professional services in the amount of $16,370 and $9,894 to Groupe ABS for laboratory and materials testing.
Community projects for planting greenery
The Environment Department has been mandated by the executive committee to coordinate community planting projects for the autumn of 2016 in collaboration with local organizations. This fall the Association pour la conservation du bois Papineau (ACBP) has been granted aide to close certain park trails and to replant trees and shrubbery. Plantaction will oversee the planting of greenery in thirteen residences and two local schools. The association Jour de la Terre will embellish the wooded areas of bois de l’Équerre and bois Papineau. The Corporation for the development of the l’Équerre wooded space project involves trail closures as well landscaping of the parking lot and adjacent spaces. Finally the Habitations du boisé FLOH will landscape and provide greenery at 2035 avenue Albert-Murphy and 1720 boulevard d’Auteuil while SOVERDI will oversee a planting project at park des Prairies.
Organizations, schools and volunteers who wish to embellish green spaces in Laval are invited each year to submit their projects to the Environmental Action Division. On average, six community plantations are performed each year. While much of the human and some of the material resources are provided by its community partners in these planting projects the administration coordinates the projects providing technical assistance as well trees, shrubs, compost and wood chips (from the municipal composting site) as well as additional materials such as protectors of tree trunks. The environment service has set aside an annual budget in the amount of nearly $14,000 to support these efforts.
Various grants
A grant in the amount of $7,000 will be given to the Canadian Red Cross, Quebec Division Laval, as part of their corporate fund raising campaign in 2016 while an additional and extraordinary donation by the City of Laval of $ 15,000 was also donated to the Canadian Red Cross to offer support to victims in Haiti affected by hurricane Matthew.
The executive committee also provided a grant of $2,800 under the program to support local activities to the Hospice of Laval (Maison de soins palliatifs de Laval) to help defray costs for the community fest organized in St. Vincent de Paul this past September 10th 2016. Financial assistance of $ 40,000 will be paid to Complexe Multi-Sports de Laval for repair work, mainly on the pool filtration system Val-des-Arbres sports centre.
Downtown Laval development open for public bidding
The Executive Committee has authorized its public works services to solicit bids through public tender for public works infrastructure projects needed to complete the development of the downtown sector and facilities in Laval up to the limits of the Place Bell Complex. Work involves the installations of a storm sewer and drainage network, roads and landscaping. Final road paving, sidewalks, curbs, and the extension of the city’s bicycle path as well as street lighting work, traffic light installations and coordination will all be covered by this call for public offers of services.
.){kind=link}