1998-05-25_Minutes
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COMMON COUNCIL
MAY 25,1998
At a meeting of the Common Council, held at the City Hall in the City of
Saint John, on Monday, the twenty-fifth day of May, AD. 1998, at 7:00 o'clock p.m.,
being the day fixed for swearing in the new members of Common Council.
Messrs. Mark Wilson, John McCarthy and Alan Powell, Pipers, entered
the Council Chamber, followed in procession by Mr. Kenneth Galbraith, Sergeant-at-
Mace, bearing the City Mace; Mrs. Mary L. Munford, Common Clerk; Councillors-elect
Mel Vincent, Stephen Chase, Walter Ball, Carl A White, Derek Chase, Christopher
Titus, Peter Trites, Stephen Fitzpatrick, Ivan Court and Bernard Desmond.
Mayor-elect Shirley McAlary, escorted by Mr. C. E. (Butch) Cogswell,
Chief of Police, entered the Council Chamber.
Oath Of Office To Mavor
Shirley McAlary, Mayor-elect, took the Oath of Office of Mayor before the
Common Clerk of the City of Saint John.
Oath Of Office To Councillors
Mel Vincent, Stephen Chase, Walter Ball, Carl A White, Derek Chase,
Christopher Titus, Peter Trites, Stephen Fitzpatrick, Ivan Court and Bernard Desmond
did individually take the Oath of Office of Councillor before the Common Clerk and,
preceded by the Mayor, took their seats at the Council table.
Also present were Messrs. 1. Totten, City Manager; J. Nugent, City
Solicitor; A Beckett, Commissioner of Finance and Commissioner of Corporate
Services; P. Woods, Deputy City Manager; J.C. MacKinnon, Commissioner of
Environment and Development Services; P. Groody, Commissioner of Municipal
Operations; W. Butler, Commissioner of Community Services; J. Baird, Manager of
Community Planning; S. Lodhi, Manager of Real Estate and Facility Management; W.
Edwards, Building Inspector; G. Tait, Fire Chief; E. Farren, Intergovernmental Affairs
Officer; B. Cormier, Social & Cultural Affairs Officer; Mrs. M. E. Gray, Administrative
Assistant to the Mayor; and Ms. C. Mosher, Assistant Common Clerk; and a large
assembly composed of relatives of Council members and other interested citizens.
MeetinQ Called To Order
Mayor McAlary called the meeting to order.
Invocation
A special invocation was offered by Reverend Walter Perry of the First
Wesleyan Church in Saint John.
Election Of Deputv Mavor
On motion of Councillor Vincent
Seconded by Councillor Ball
RESOLVED that Derek Chase be elected
Deputy Mayor of the City of Saint John.
Question being taken, the motion was carried by a unanimous vote of all
Council members present.
The Mayor extended congratulations to Councillor Chase on his election
to the position of Deputy Mayor.
Address Bv The Mavor
Mayor McAlary gave the following address:-
"Members of Common Council, Family Members, Friends, Ladies and
Gentlemen:
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MAY 25,1998
First, let me begin by expressing my sincere thanks to the citizens of the
City of Saint John for supporting me and placing their confidence in me and allowing
me the honour and privilege of being able to serve a second term as Mayor of Saint
John
To each member of Common Council, may I take this opportunity to
extend congratulations and best wishes to you and I know you will find the next three
years both challenging and rewarding. Each of you bring to this table individual
strengths and areas of expertise. This Common Council will be stronGer for that. I fully
intend to utilize each of your unique abilities as we all work toward the ultimate goal - a
stronGer Saint John and a better Saint John.
Tonight, Saint John can look forward to a new beginning. We are in a
unique position. We are Canada's First Incorporated City, New Brunswick's largest city
- in large measure, the economic engine that runs our Province. A newly elected Mayor
and Council and a new Premier and Cabinet for the Province of New Brunswick will
allow all of us in government a fresh start.
We will build a good working relationship with Premier Camille Theriault,
our own new Economic Development, Tourism and Culture Minister, the Honourable
Roly Macintyre, and our other local Ministers and MLA's. This relationship will be good
for Saint John.
Gone are the days where individual jurisdictions jostled for position and
headlines. Today, it will be the unified approach that prevails. TOGether we will move
ahead... tOGether much can be accomplished and tOGether we will create opportunities
for Saint John.
With the recent devastating news of Lantic Sugar, Premier Theriault,
Minister Macintyre and many other leaders of our community, I know, are committed to
working with us, on our newly established task force, to find new opportunities for the
refinery site.
We will be successful, with the assistance of the Federal and Provincial
governments and others, to locate a new business opportunity that will benefit the
employees, the Port of Saint John and our City.
Saint John is an active and vibrant city. We have much potential and
much to offer.
Tourism is one of the fastest growing industries in this Province. Our
heritage and history stand as a beacon attracting thousands of tourists to our city every
year. Our cruise ship visitors are overwhelmed by our hospitality. Our people are so
warm and friendly toward all of our visitors... this Red Camet Treatment brings our
visitors back. Our facilities, Harbour Station and the Imperial Theatre are second to
none, along with our many wonderful green spaces and parks. Our visitors are envious
of what we have.
Within the next couple of weeks, Saint John's Harbour Station will host
the first ever "Trip to the Calder Cup". Our Saint John Flames have achieved
outstanding success through their hard work and dedication. We are very proud of
them.
Economically, we will all strive to better our development opportunities.
We now have a newly appointed Regional Economic Development Commission and we
must all playa role in bringing more jobs to our City. With the proposed expansion of
the Oil Refinery, new opportunities at our shipyard, more jobs at many of our national
companies: Air Canada, Xerox, IBM, Hospitality Franchise Systems and others, I am
most confident that within the next eight months to a year our employment picture will
look a lot brighter in our City.
Just last week, the Honourable Roly Macintyre and I visited Xerox for the
release of their new initiative, Xerox North America. Service calls from the United
States are now being handled here in Saint John. The Xerox Corporation in Saint John
is to be commended for the success that they have achieved in a very short time. Xerox
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MAY 25,1998
first located in Saint John in early 1995 - 2 1/2 years later this call centre is rated as one
of the top three call centres in Canada - when rated on speed, service and friendliness.
The recent addition of 100 new jobs to this facility was indeed welcome news.
Air Canada's planned addition of 100 new jobs by year end is also
positive proof Saint John has earned its national recognition as the "Best Place in
Canada To Do Business". Much work has been done in attracting jobs here.
Our hard work is paying off and it will continue. It must continue, as the
number one concern of our citizens is jobs.
Development opportunities, such as the new SuperStore and the
expansion of the Sobey's store in the North End area will provide new construction
jobs.
Our Industrial Parks will soon undergo some facelifting, which will assist
in promoting new businesses to locate in our city.
Over the past year, Regional Commissions were formed for our Major
Facilities and Economic Development. We will be moving forward in working with our
surrounding municipalities, Rothesay, Quispamsis and Grand Bay/Westfield to promote
Greater Saint John.
I assure all of our citizens that issues such as: a Strategic Plan spanning
the next five years; the $80.00 garbage disposal fee; clean-up of the Saint John
Harbour; development of a new Police Station; development of our waterfront -
together with fiscal responsibility, will be studied by this Council and city staff to arrive
at the best possible solutions.
There will be new ideas and new ways of doing business that will take
place during the next three years.
Recycling and composting to reduce our waste will be a challenge for all
of us. A challenge, I know, which will be met.
The need for development of more low income housing is a priority for
this city that will be discussed with the other levels of government.
The youth of our city - in reality the future of our city - need to be listened
to and included in the decision making process. If the need and desire to locate a
proper skateboarding and recreational site in the downtown area is a priority with our
young people - I say we will work together to make such a facility a reality.
As Mayor, I strongly believe that it is vitally important for our municipal
government to re-examine itself regularly, thereby ensuring that we operate in the most
efficient and effective way possible. While tax rate stability will always be a prime
consideration, so too is making sure that we have the best possible staff available in
every position to provide the best possible level of service to every citizen.
In addition, other new initiatives such as: examining a Committee form of
government, where Council representatives would act as a liaison with our various
departments; Council members of the week joining me in attending public events -
these ideas will be discussed with Council.
In the mid part of June, Council will spend a day with an experienced
Municipal Government Educator to become more acquainted with the role expected of
a Mayor and Members of Council and how each fits in the overall structure. At this time
we will also be discussing the Council Committee form of government. Information
tours for each City Department will take place in late June or July for all Members of
Council.
I plan to stay in touch with our citizens by requesting to be a guest on
our local morning radio talk show on a monthly basis to discuss issues and receive
feedback from those we serve.
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Starting this fall, the hosting of community meetings on a quarterly basis
will commence that will involve all Members of Common Council and the citizens.
I resolve to improve the lines of communication between City Hall,
individual citizens and the community at large.
These improved communication actions will ensure, too, that we are all
working together in the community to re-build and expand our tax base which must be a
very high priority for this Council.
As we expand the tax base for our community, this will mean more tax
dollars for us and the creation of new jobs so that people who have been without work
will have a reasonable opportunity of re-employment, so our children and grandchildren
are no longer moving west to Calgary or other cities in search of opportunity and a
better future.
We must ensure their future is here in Saint John.
Saint John has become the capital for the province for Provincial,
National and International conventions and annual meetings. With our Inside
Connection and other facilities, we can accommodate convention and annual meeting
participants anytime throughout the year. Our Inside Connection is a tremendous asset
to our City. We have an uptown with a heart and an atmosphere that gives a warm
welcome to all. With Air Canada's annual meeting and the New Brunswick Liberal
Leadership Convention recently being held in our city, we are looking forward to hosting
several other large scale conventions in the next few years - to name a few - the
Canadian Chiefs of Police Association, the Canadian Chamber of Commerce Annual
Meeting, the First United Pentecostal Church Prayer Summit and the 1999 Ford World
Curling Championships - which will be a wonderful opportunity for the City of Saint John
to be showcased to the world.
In closing, I fully believe that we will have both challenges and
opportunities over the next three years; however, I am confident that job opportunities,
the economic conditions, and our levels of service will improve.
All Saint Johners should be confident and positive as we move toward
the Year 2000.
It is my hope this Common Council distinguishes itself as one that is
responsible and reactive, one that is aware and communicative.
One that rejects the status quo and one that will always work to build a
greater Saint John by always seeking to find a better way.".
The meeting invited those present to attend a reception, following the
meeting, in the Red Room on the 8th floor of City Hall.
National Anthem
The barbershop quartet comprised of Messrs. Charles Walper, Albert
Carson, Bruce Halpin and Alex Penman, known as "Dad And The Grandsons", led the
assembly in the singing of the National Anthem.
Adiournment
Mayor McAlary declared the meeting adjourned.
Common Clerk