Good morning, Greater Sudbury! Here are a few stories to start your day on this Thursday morning.
Police to reconsider equity, diversity and inclusion position
The Equity, Diversity and Inclusion efforts of Greater Sudbury police are slated to go under review later this year for the potential addition of a staff member. During his first meeting on the police board since being elected last month, Gerry Lougheed Jr. urged police to look at bolstering the department. “I think it's a reflection to our society, which has got far more diverse, and ... everybody needs to have a voice at this table and outside this room,” he told Sudbury.com after Wednesday’s meeting. “I think it's very important that there's a proper investment made with regard to resources, whether that's human resources or financial resources with regard to programs. And I'm very blessed to have friends in the community that represent various groups that are very keen about this. I just want to make sure that they're included in the process.” During Wednesday’s meeting, Chief Paul Pedersen explained that the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion effort of Greater Sudbury police is currently headed by Sgt. Josh Rickard, whose portfolio also includes special projects. The effort has been enhanced by a part-time intern, who has joined under a one-year contract funded through the Northern Ontario Heritage Corporation to assist in the development of an Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy.
Transitional housing complex expected to open in November
A long-talked-about 40-unit transitional housing complex is anticipated to open on Lorraine Street in New Sudbury by the end of November. Its impending occupancy follows a number of notable hurdles, including a rushed site selection by city council, neighbourhood opposition, pandemic-related construction delays and the province declining to fund its medical staff, despite the expense being under their jurisdiction. But what, exactly is this project, why do neighbours oppose it and what is the city doing to address their concerns? The 40-unit complex is currently being built in segments at a Flex Modular facility in Dundalk, a village in southern Ontario. After its modules are completed this summer, it’s expected to take two to three weeks to assemble them together like puzzle pieces on a vacant city-owned lot on Lorraine Street. Finishing work will follow, with occupancy anticipated by November. A modular build was selected because it’s quicker than traditional builds, city Housing Services manager Briscoe told Sudbury.com, noting the $7.4-million grant from Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation toward the $12-million project stipulated it must be operational quickly.
Memory Lane: Readers recall the winter carnivals of yesteryear
Well, we’ve made it. We are only a month (33 days for those quibblers out there) away from the official end of winter (we won’t listen to those two Canadian groundhogs). Now, why is that important you may ask, considering the topic of this month’s articles? In Greater Sudbury, we may love partaking in the many various outdoorsy and cold-weather-centric activities associated with living in this northern climate, but we darn well love it when that cold weather is over. But I digress … Now, the weather that we are currently experiencing (above zero and raining) brings back a memory of my own from the Snowflake Festival of 1988. As a follow-up to their previous two years of prizewinning snow sculptures (1986’s “Dragon on Guard” and 1987’s whiskey barrel horse cart), the employees of the Sudbury Branch of the Canadian Red Cross decided to celebrate the then upcoming World Junior Championships, which Sudbury would be hosting, with a world-class sculpture bearing the title “Sudbury: A Global Community”. The sculpture was to include a stylized globe with a flame on top and three athletes representing different disciplines within track and field.
Things to look out for during Greater Sudbury 2023 budget talks
With the City of Greater Sudbury’s 2023 budget deliberations beginning tonight, Sudbury.com dug deep into budget documents and prior coverage to weed out what readers might look for. The city’s elected officials are tackling some big subjects, including adding more sworn members to Greater Sudbury Police Service, reducing GOVA Transit’s hours of operations, tackling the city’s degrading infrastructure and which, if any, of the 45 tabled business cases they will approve. Per city council’s direction, the 2023 budget has been limited to a 3.7-per-cent tax levy impact, which required city administration to cut $17.8 million from the base budget. Any changes city council opts to make will alter the levy unless they find alternative funding sources, such as city reserves, which already lag behind the provincial average, or debt, which has ballooned to approximately $355 million last year from $18.98 million in 2014. A 4.8-per-cent water/wastewater rate increase has also been proposed, which is in line with the city’s long-term financial plan.
Lead pipe replacement program still on the horizon
A financial incentive to help Greater Sudburians replace private-side lead pipes with safer materials is still in the works, with a presentation to city council anticipated by September. The presentation was initially slated to take place during Monday’s operations committee meeting, but chair and Ward 1 Coun. Mark Signoretti recommended its deferral. He’d been notified there was a change in staff and more time would be needed to present on the subject. The program was originally expected to be in place by September 2022. City council unanimously approved the lead pipe replacement program during 2022 budget deliberations, which would strive to remove residents’ financial barrier to having them replaced. Lead was considered an acceptable material in pipes until 1975, and was deemed safe in solder until 1990, according to a report by city water and wastewater professional Cheryl Beam presented to city council at the time.
City remains in fact-finding stage of fire station review
The city’s potential consolidation of fire/paramedic stations remains in the fact-finding stage as a series of public meetings and infrastructure analysis takes place. Times for the series of public meetings have yet to be announced, though city Communications and Community Engagement director Marie Litalien clarified during a recent meeting they will begin by the end of February, with “plenty of notification to the public.” These meetings will largely take place at fire stations affected by the proposed consolidations, and will include those at Falconbridge, Val Caron, Hanmer, Beaver Lake, Wahnapitae, Coniston and Copper Cliff. A location in Minnow Lake will also be organized, while a combined open house to cover Lively and Waters will be held in Waters, and the Skead Community Centre will fill in for the closed Skead station, and the Dowling Leisure Centre will fill in for the closed Vermillion Lake station. Meanwhile, there has been pushback to the sweeping changes proposed by the city, which draws from recommendations in an Operational Research in Health Ltd. report which includes several fire/paramedic station consolidations.
Return to more seasonal temps today
Expect a mainly cloudy day for your Thursday with wind up to 15 km/h. Today’s high is -8, but expect a -18 wind chill this morning and a -11 wind chill this afternoon. Today’s UV index is two, or low. Tonight, expect cloudy periods with a 70-per-cent chance of snow and a low of -21.
