Good morning, Greater Sudbury.
Here are some stories to start your day.
Downtown security: Councillors agree to add two bylaw officers to downtown core:
Two bylaw officers are being added to downtown Sudbury in hopes of improving security and providing a quicker response to problems. The seven-month pilot project will cost $275,000, and will be funded by using $225,000 from the Ontario Cannabis Legalization Implementation Fund. The remainder will come from the downtown Sudbury BIA. The motion approved Monday by the finance and administration committee would see two bylaw officers “provide mobile security response at the Greater Sudbury Downtown Transit Hub and for all City of Greater Sudbury facilities and properties within the downtown core. Get the full story here.
City finalizes purchase of strip of land for Maley Drive extension:
While there’s still some finishing work to be done in 2020 along the Maley Drive extension, Greater Sudbury has completed a key piece of businesses for the $80 million project: acquiring all the land. As reported by Sudbury.com in October, a design change for Maley to ensure it was built on more suitable land directed the road onto property not owned by the city. The roughly one-kilometre stretch was owned by Dalron Ltd., with whom the city was still negotiating, even as construction of the extension was proceeding. Full story here.
Property tax hike sits at 3.4% as councillors grind through budget process:
City council managed to add a few more items to its 2020 budget basket Monday, while staying below the 3.5-per-cent property tax increase they have set as their target. Councillors were able to free up a considerable amount of money last week — more than $1.6 million — by changing the way they finance new snowplows and delaying redeveloping the parking lot at Bell Park. They are also tapping into a two-year, $40-million fund the province has set aside to help cities adjust to cannabis legalization. Tuesday's meeting began with news the snowplow budget has gone $1 million further into the red because of severe weather so far this winter. It now totals $5.3 million, which means the 2019 budget has a $7.5-million deficit. It will be made up using $3.7 million from delayed debt repayments and money harvested from cancelled capital projects. Reserve funds will be used to make up the remainder. The snowplow budget has been increased by $2 million in 2020, after successive years of red ink. More on this story here.
Six drivers hit with impaired charges over the weekend:
This past weekend (Friday Dec. 6, to Sunday Dec. 8), the Greater Sudbury Police Service investigated several incidents involving impaired driving. As a result of these investigations, a total of six drivers (five men, ages 26, 28, 52, 55, and 61, and a 20-year-old woman) were charged with impaired operation in the three-day span. Police will not release their names at this time, as the charges against the accused have not yet been sworn to through the court process. Two of those drivers (the 52-year-old man and 20-year-old woman) were identified and charged during the Reduce Impaired Driving Everywhere (RIDE) spot-check on the night of Dec. 6. That RIDE check was sponsored by Action Sudbury – Citizens Against Impaired Driving. The RIDE Program is aimed at reducing property damage, injuries and death caused by impaired driving. RIDE checks are intended to target high-incident and/or high-complaint areas, police said. Members of the Traffic Management Unit supported by the dedicated RIDE team conducted two separate spot checks this past weekend on Friday night and Saturday night. As a result of these spot checks, GSPS checked 1,229 drivers.
City staff and volunteers hard at work prepping rinks and ski hills:
City of Greater Sudbury volunteers and staff are hard at work preparing hills and outdoor rinks for winter. The City of Greater Sudbury operates two ski hills which offer plenty of winter fun for the whole family. To safely open and to create the best skiing conditions possible, they require a sufficient amount of both man-made and natural snow on the ski runs and ski lift loading and unloading areas. The opening of Adanac and Lively Ski Hills is dependent on weather and hill conditions. At Adanac Ski Hill, the ability to make snow requires consistent temperatures of -10 C or below. Openings at Adanac tend to fluctuate between Dec. 17 and Jan. 15. Lively Ski Hill needs consistent daily temperatures of -15 C and below for the snow making system to be effective. Opening dates for Lively Ski Hill have ranged from as early as Dec. 27 to as late as Jan. 17, depending on conditions. You can skate outside this winter at the Ramsey Lake Skating Path, Queen's Athletic Skating Oval and neighbourhood rinks. The Ramsey Lake Skating Path historically opens mid-January to early February. In order for work to begin on the skate path, ice must be a minimum thickness of 12 to 15 inches. Depending on temperature and weather conditions, it takes approximately two to three weeks to prepare the skate path. To prepare the Queen’s Athletic Skating Oval, staff must build the banks and begin the flooding process. To safely open the oval, ice must be a sufficient depth and evenness to allow for a safe and enjoyable skating surface.
Businesses, volunteers come together to build soup line to the soup kitchen:
Staff and owners from local businesses came together in downtown Sudbury on Dec. 10 to make a unique delivery to the Blue Door Soup Kitchen. More than 100 volunteers formed a human chain from Zaher's Small Batch on Elgin Street to the Cedar Nest Décor Café on Cedar Street, down Durham street and back along Elgin to the soup kitchen. The idea for the human chain came from Cedar Nest owner Sue Peters and Zaher's Small Batch owner Deke Zaher. It took off. Joining in to help form the human chain of soup were students and staff from Marymount Academy, as well as staff from several downtown businesses, including Respect Is Burning, Peppi Panini's and Peddler's Pub. Besides the soup, participants were also encouraged to bring non-perishable food items to donate to the Sudbury Food Bank.
EcoLife owner in court this morning:
EcoLife Home Improvements owner David Murray is scheduled to make an appearance in court Wednesday morning on more than 40 fraud charges. Murray was arrested Oct. 31 and charged with 14 counts of fraud over $5,000 and eight counts of fraud under $5,000. Murray was also charged in May of this year with 20 counts of fraud over $5,000 and three counts of fraud under $5,000. The embattled contractor appears twice on the court docket for Wednesday as the two sets of fraud charges (May and October) are currently separate matters, and will likely be combined together in order for the court to deal with all of the fraud charges at the same time. Check back with Sudbury.com later today for an update.
12 Days of Kindness: École Ste-Marie students help us surprise their beloved teacher:
Tuesday marked day two of Sudbury.com's 12 Days of Kindness supported by @homeEnergy. Tuesday's Act of Kindness brought us to École Ste-Marie in Azilda where we not only surprised a beloved teacher, but some of her students as well. Watch as the school choir serenades Chantal Boudreau and we deliver some gifts to thank her for going above and beyond for the students. Be sure to visit Sudbury.com as we bring you more acts of kindness each weekday morning leading up to Christmas Day.
Wednesday Weather:
Flurries to start the day, ending near noon then clearing. Around 2 cm of snow is expected. Wednesday's high will be -9, feeling more like -22 with the wind chill this afternoon. Partly cloudy with 40 per cent chance of flurries overnight. Low will dip down to -19, feeling like -23 overnight. For current weather conditions, short-term and long-term forecasts visit Sudbury.com's weather page at www.sudbury.com/weather.
