Opening Comments by Mayor Peter J. Malouf - Regular Meeting of Tuesday, November 22, 2022

" Good evening to all and thank you for being with us tonight. Thank you all for spending time with us this evening.

As has become customary, I will speak briefly about recent events and updates, as well as provide an overview of our first year as your newly elected mayor and members of Town Council.

The first year of our mandate has just finished, and I take this opportunity to thank my fellow council members for their hard work and dedication in working with me to continue to improve life for Townies.

In this first year of office, we have had to learn how the town works and how to work together as a team. I believe that as a group we have come out of this first year with a track record that demonstrates our commitment and desire to get things done.

QUARTIER SPORTIF ET COMMUNAUTAIRE

We have worked hard on the Quartier Sportif et Communautaire file, have had many meetings, and are at a point where we will be ready to present our vision (the vision of the entire council) to the public in the new year. At this time, we are planning to hold 2 information sessions on February 1 and 2, where we can show and explain the proposal and discuss it with residents.

ROYALMOUNT COMMERCIAL PROJECT

From the beginning of our mandate, we clarified our position regarding the addition of a residential component to the Royalmount commercial project, and maintained that there would be no change to the current zoning, which does not allow for the addition of a residential component to the existing commercial project.

PUBLIC SAFETY

Safety has continued to be a concern, and as we heard from many residents during the campaign, we have taken action on the issue. The intersections around Dakin Park have been reconfigured to increase pedestrian safety and reduce speed. The paths in the park will be cleared in the winter, thus making access for school children easier and safer. We have also added several new speed humps on various streets and continued to convert speed humps into permanent installations, thus increasing the efficiency of our workers, reducing asphalt waste, and most importantly, increasing road safety. 15 humps were converted into permanent installations this year. The remaining humps will become permanent in 2023.

In addition, with the swearing in the past year of 25 new public security officers, we have also increased the presence and visibility of our public security force throughout the community.

TOWN’S COMMUNICATIONS

In regards to communications, we have launched the BCiti+ application.

This new app. will replace Govillemo and offer our residents more varied functionalities. It is an evolving application; for the moment, the implementation is not optimal, but I am sure that soon it will meet everyone's expectations.

URBAN PLANNING DIVISION 

At the Urban Planning Division, we have hired an information officer for the service in order to better respond to the questions and expectations of citizens.

This has improved our customer service, and we continue to look for improvements to make the permit process better for the residents.

The CCU has two new members, and these new architects bring a new dynamic to the group.

CITIZEN ACTIVITIES

After a few years of absence, citizen activities have resumed with great success: Summerfest, Multicultural Fair, concerts in the parks, street trucks, public market and the safety expo.

It was wonderful to see our residents finally have the opportunity to take advantage of the Town’s offerings during the summer months, thank you to all who came out to enjoy these many activities and help create the warm community ambiance that breathes life into our Town. 

The new skatepark was completed and opened this summer. It is a wonderful new installation for our youth, and we are happy to have seen this project come to fruition.

INDOOR PARKING

After all safety measures were put in place, we welcomed the opening of our new indoor garage, a unique benefit to our community, so generously donated by the Rossy Foundation.

The past year has been a busy one, as you can see, and we as a team look forward to continuing our work to bring other projects to completion.

2023 BUDGET, TAX RATES, AND OTHER FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS

With respect to the budget and taxes, I know many of you received your new property valuations and are questioning the increase and how this will affect your taxes. Members of council and myself have been in budget meetings with the administration for several days. It is, a long and challenging exercise.

We have some difficult decisions to make and must weigh the impacts of each. The increase in the cost of contracts and materials has a huge impact on the budget. In addition, we do not yet know the amount of our aliquot share to be paid to the Agglomeration of Montreal.

Rest assured that we will continue to work hard to present you with a balanced budget that reflects the services that residents expect while respecting the capability of taxpayers to pay.

It is important to note that the percentage increase in the property value of a home is not the percentage increase in taxes.

The 2023 budget and tax rates will be adopted at the December 13th council meeting.

Regarding the Russell footbridge, you will see later in the meeting that we will reject the bids received. The price of the bids is well beyond our expectations and forecasts.

In the interest of sound financial management, we have decided to reject the bids, the lowest received being $7.7M, and instead evaluate the structural condition of the footbridge and proceed with rehabilitation work and minor aesthetic improvements. This work is also planned for 2023, in order to meet the constraints imposed by the REM. In 2024, we plan to add access ramps to make the footbridge accessible to bicycles, moms, strollers, and people with reduced mobility. This work should not conflict with the REM work since it is outside the right-of-way, so it can be done in 2024.

PERSONAL THOUGHTS

As I reflect on the past year, I wish to add, from a personal point of view and clearly speaking for myself as mayor: running in a campaign to get elected is one thing, seeing and experiencing the human factors of operations from the inside of the organization, as I have learned in my many other endeavours of leadership and good governance, makes one acutely aware that there is so much more to the business of efficiently managing a municipality.

There are constant demands and requests made to the administration and I can’t complement enough the stellar work and achievements that Ava and her team accomplish daily.

This cohesive administrative group lead by our Town Manager Ava Couch has been around many years prior to us being elected to represent the interests of the majority of residents, and they have proven themselves over the years to run a very efficient and smooth operation. We, as residents, both new and old, have benefited and therefore sought out TMR as an ideal community to live in and raise our families.

I have personally gained a better understanding of the daily challenges Ava and her team face and how they deal with them thoughtfully, wisely, and in the best interest of all residents.

It’s clear, and we all know the expression, "You can’t please everyone,"  but I can say that from the extensive reach that I have had during and after campaigning and now into my second year of the mandate that most residents, when given explanations in a clear and fair way, do understand and are satisfied with the outcome of decisions that come from this administration.

Having never been involved in municipal affairs and politics before, I have chosen, with the support of my family, to run for office to serve our community and hopefully make a difference on behalf of residents. Having grown up in TMR and now in my new role as Mayor, I have been humbled to learn about the workings of a municipal government and to better understand what it takes to meet the needs and desires of the more than 8,000 active residents, young and old, in our sports and recreation programs who rely on the Town's services, as well as the more than 7,700 households whose quality of life standards are so carefully maintained in our Garden City.

My objective is to do right for the majority, including the unseen and unheard silent majority, who also contribute so importantly to our quality of life in TMR.

I would also like to state that my role here is not to spend my time making decisions whose only purpose is to get me re-elected, but to make the tough and right decisions that will benefit all Townies for years to come.

For myself, just like when I coached ice hockey for 22 years, this is not a popularity contest for me, it's about winning and earning respect for making the right choices for the long term that will benefit our community.

It's not about me, it’s about the collective us. The people you don’t hear about, that don’t attend council meetings who when you meet them on the street, in the parks, or in restaurants just have a nice word to say and say, "Thank you, I don’t know how you do it, please keep up the good work."

To all of you whom I haven’t met yet, thank you for your confidence, I will always do my best to not disappoint, and I will always maintain my consistent enthusiasm and passion for our unique and beautiful city.

Finally, on another matter, I have never attended or spoken at as many functions in my life as I have now as Mayor. What a learning experience it has been.

Wow.....

In closing on a more festive and less reflective note, I remind everyone of our holiday celebration on December 3rd, which will also include fireworks to mark the Town’s 110th anniversary. This celebration will begin at 4:30 p.m. with the lighting of the Holiday Tree in front of Town Hall.

Thank you for your patience and for being here tonight.

Thank you to all, and have a good council meeting." 

Peter J. Malouf