December 23, 2009 at 13:08 (Events)
Tags: Happy Chanukah, Happy New Year, Merry Christmas
For a complete listing of what’s opened, closed or other holiday info on city services click here
Pour une liste complète de ce qui est ouvert, fermé ou pour d’autre infos sur les services municipal cliquez ici
December 21, 2009 at 15:24 (En français, Events)
Tags: Ken Lerner
I always enjoy the opportunity to attend the annual staff luncheon and to shake hands with the men and women on the front lines, the back offices and even the library basement of the City of Cote Saint-Luc. We are so fortunate to have a dedicated team of employees that care about their work on behalf of our residents. Many have worked here for decades and several even live here.
City Manager Ken Lerner and Councillor Glenn J. Nashen
A strong team always has a strong leader and Ken Lerner is the City Manager who leads the staff and ensures that the priorities and directives set by the Mayor and Council are undertaken in an efficient, cost-effective and customer-oriented fashion. Ken has been at the helm since March 2006. Prior to that, he was Division Chief of Purchasing and Interim Director of Information Systems at City Hall.
Ken has done an outstanding job working with Council and staff to re-build services to the level residents expect and deserve. A strong relationship between the Mayor, Council and City Manager is a key element in a successful municipal organization.
Ken is also a Côte Saint-Lucer for more than 20 years.
“As City Manager, I direct a team that provides the best services to the most people. I like the idea that the services we provide make life better for my neighbours,” Ken said.
Ken was formerly assistant director of procedures and automation at the International Air Transport Association (IATA), a trade association representing more than 280 airlines. He helped implement a $1.4 billion cost-reduction across the airline industry. He was also the manager for sourcing, planning and supply at Lafarge North America. In addition, he has served as the corporate material manager for Velan Engineering and cargo operations support and service manager for Canadian Airlines International.
“This Council’s goal, which I share, is to run the city like a business by bringing more accountability and transparency to city management,” Ken said. “For instance, we are leveraging information technology to improve efficiency and save costs. We are rationalizing purchasing in the same manner.”
The City Manager is the senior civil servant in the City of Côte Saint-Luc and works closely with the Mayor and City Council to establish the objectives of the City and to manage its daily operations. He solves problems and establishes priorities for ongoing programs and projects on a daily basis.
Ken’s leadership is exemplary and on behalf of my constituents I take this opportunity to thank Ken and the entire team of Cote Saint-Luc employees for their efforts in 2009 and wish them all a very happy holiday and a wonderful new year.
***
J’apprécie toujours la possibilité d’assister au déjeuner-causerie annuel du personnel et de serrer la main avec les hommes et les femmes qui travaillent de jours et de nuits pour les résidents de la Ville de Côte Saint-Luc. Nous sommes tellement chanceux d’avoir une équipe d’employés dévoués qui se soucient de leur travail au nom de nos résidants. Beaucoup ont travaillé ici pendant plusieurs décennies et même de vivre ici.
Une équipe solide a toujours un leader fort et Ken Lerner est le directeur général qui dirige le personnel et assure que les priorités et les directives établies par le Maire et le Conseil sont éffectués.
Ken a réalisé un travail remarquable en travaillant avec le conseil et le personnel afin de econstruire des services au niveau des résidents attendent et méritent. Une relation forte entre le maire, du Conseil et directeur municipal est un élément clé dans une organisation municipale.
Ken est aussi un de Côte Saint-Lucer depuis plus de 20 ans.
«En tant que Directeur municipal, je dirige une équipe qui fournit les meilleurs services au plus grand nombre. J’aime l’idée que les services que nous offrons une meilleure vie pour mes voisins», dit Ken.
Ken était auparavant directeur adjoint de l’automatisation des procédures et à l’Association du transport aérien international (IATA), une association commerciale qui représente plus de 280 compagnies aériennes. Il a travaillé également chez Lafarge Amérique du Nord et pour Velan ingénierie et les Lignes aériennes Canadien International.
«L’objectif de ce Conseil, que je partage, est de diriger la ville comme une entreprise en apportant une plus grande responsabilisation et de transparence dans la gestion des villes», dit Ken.
Le directeur général est le haut fonctionnaire de la Ville de Côte Saint-Luc et travaille en étroite collaboration avec le maire et le conseil municipal pour établir les objectifs de la Ville et de gérer ses opérations quotidiennes. Il résout des problèmes et établit les priorités pour les programmes et projets en cours sur une base quotidienne.
Le leadership de Ken est exemplaire et au nom de mes électeurs je prend cette occasion pour remercier Ken et toute l’équipe de personnel de la ville pour leurs efforts en 2009 et je leur souhaite de très bonnes vacances et une nouvelle année merveilleuse.
December 20, 2009 at 12:46 (Finance, Montreal, News clip)
Tags: Anthony Housefather, Mayor Gerald Tremblay, Montreal Agglomeration
Major tax hikes loom in Montreal suburbs
Island municipalities fear city is trying to off-load costs on them
By David Johnston, The Gazette,December 19, 2009
MONTREAL – Property taxes are poised to increase significantly in Montreal Island suburbs next year thanks to higher levies from the city of Montreal for shared services.
The Tremblay administration sent out the levy notices to the 15 suburbs late Friday afternoon, that being the preferred time in politics to deliver bad news.
While the official figures are confidential for the time being, sources say the suburbs are looking at increases in their agglomeration bills, or shared-services bills, in the order the order of 10 to 12 per cent.
Since agglomeration expenses account for roughly half of a suburb’s overall budget – local expenses being the other half – this works out to five to six per cent. For suburbs which intend to limit their own local spending to inflation, now about two per cent, this means increases in overall property taxes of six to seven per cent in 2010.
This is more than three times the inflation rate.
“It’s outrageous,” said Baie d’Urfé Mayor Maria Tutino.
Whether or not property taxes in the city of Montreal rise by the same six to seven per cent remains to be seen.
Suburban mayors will be looking to see if the city of Montreal has played with the budget numbers to make suburbs shoulder an unfairly high share of the overall cost of shared services.
In the past, suburbs have complained to the provincial government about the way Montreal has done its budget planning for the agglomeration council. Quebec has upheld some of their complaints, and blocked certain practices. But suburbs say Montreal has found new ways to off-load costs on them.
Westmount Mayor Peter Trent said Friday night that he wants to wait until Monday before revealing what the levy notice he received Friday afternoon says.
“I expect, though, that the increase will work out to be around 12 per cent,” Trent said.
Underpinning the increases, Trent said, are continuing financial problems at the Société de transport de Montréal, the transit commission. Fare increases announced Friday of 2.2 per cent for 2010 will not, according to projections, raise enough money to balance the STM budget. As a result, municipalities are being asked to up their own subsidies to the STM out of property taxes.
Another problem, Tutino said, is that stock-market losses in 2009 resulted in pension-fund deficits for which cities will have to make special compensation payments in 2010. Pension plans for police officers and bus drivers and the like will require more taxpayer support.
Tutino also said she wants to wait until Monday to comment on the levy she received, but she hinted that Baie d’Urfé is looking at the same 12-per-cent hike as that facing Westmount.
Tutino said one other mayor she spoke with late Friday afternoon said he had received a notice telling him his town will be asked to pay 10 per cent more next year in agglomeration expenses.
Anthony Housefather, mayor of Côte St. Luc, said he didn’t want to say what kind of an increase he received.
“Suffice it to say that this type of increase would be unacceptable.”
Housefather used the conditional tense in talking about the increase because nothing is cast in stone yet. Budgets haven’t been tabled yet, let alone passed, and the mayors intend to fight back next week. But whether they will be successful in getting the increases in the levies scaled back is far from certain.
Unlike the former Montreal Urban Community government before forced mergers, the Montreal political agglomeration isn’t a separate legal entity from the city of Montreal. It is an operating division of the city of Montreal, and so Montreal controls it fully, from a planning and a voting point of view.
Darren Becker, a spokesperson for the city of Montreal’s executive committee, said the suburbs had been given a warning by the city two months ago that a big tax hike for agglomeration expenses was coming. He said they shouldn’t act as if the city is trying to pull the wool over their eyes.
Normally, municipal budgets are tabled and passed in December, but delays related to uncertainty over the agglomeration budget has resulted in Montreal and the suburbs postponing the tabling of their 2010 budgets until next month.
On the South Shore, Longueuil says its own property taxes might have to rise by an average 12 per cent next year to deal with its own problems.
It’s smooth sailing in Laval, however, where a budget was unveiled last Monday calling for average 1.7-per-cent increase – just under inflation.
djohnston@thegazette.canwest.com
© Copyright (c) The Montreal Gazette
December 20, 2009 at 08:55 (Public Security, Traffic / Parking)
Tags: Bram Eisenthal, Briefly Bram, Cote St. Luc Shopping Centre, Jordy Reichson
Sometimes you have the right to disobey the law
by Bram Eisenthal
Article online since December 14th 2009
Well, no usual Briefly Bram column in The Monitor this week as I am off on assignment to an exotic locale, Westmount, to work on a gift guide for our sister publication, The Examiner. But I wanted to warn readers about a potential wrongful ticket they may receive at the Cote St. Luc Shopping Centre… because I received one last week that I am not paying.
Right in front of the Jean Coutu entrance, facing the building, are several handicapped parking spots. Fair enough. Parking in such a spot is pretty disgusting unless you are in fact handicapped, as far as I am concerned. The problem is that the only indication that these are handicapped parking spots are the painted signs on the ground, which are fairly hard to see when the ground is dirty, or covered in snow, during the winter. It is a mall’s responsibility to put up the relevant signage and in these spits, there are no actual pole-mounted signs indicating a possible infraction and the existence of a city bylaw to that effect. These ARE evident at other places around the shopping centre parking lot, so why not here?
In any case, last Saturday afternoon, I received a $144 ticket ($100 plus fees) and I’ll be damned if I am paying one cent. As I was staring in disbelief at this ticket, a couple of seniors pulled up beside me and parked in the next spot, also handicapped. When the woman got out of the car, I queried her: Do you have a handicapped parking permit? She said no and when I indicated the poorly visible markings on the ground, she said she was sorry, but she had not seen them, thanked me and then moved her car.
Not everyone will have someone like me standing there and informing them of the glitch and many people will pay this hefty fee, which I am sure you have better things to do with at holiday time. So be forewarned. I will add that this handicapped signage error not only inconveniences non-handicapped shoppers, but also handicapped people who have the primary right to park there. The spots are taken by people unaware that these spots are reserved for those in need of them and that makes the situation doubly wrong.
In the meantime, CSL public security has no business ticketing people until the shopping centre erects that signage. And while they are at it, how about fixing the damaged stop sign at that spot, which is bent at virtually a right angle. People patronize your businesses… how about some proactive public service? Not the first time I have been at odds with this shopping centre’s administration and I’m sure it won’t be the last.
Happy holidays, everyone. Stay safe and ticket-free!
Last-minute development:
Just past deadline, I was informed by the CSL Public Safety administrator that his officers have all been notified of the situation and should not act until signs are installed by the shopping centre. New director Jordy Reichson acted immediately upon being made aware of this and for that he has my sincere thanks.
In my opinion: When Bram sent me an email about his lousy experience at the shopping centre, along with a photo, I rsponded within minutes and connected him with Public Safety Director Jordy Reichson and Chief Michel Martel. They responded quickly to everyone’s satisfaction. Things work well in a small town like ours!
December 19, 2009 at 10:02 (Environment, News clip, Public Security, Safety, Traffic / Parking)
Tags: snow clearing
The Suburban
December 16, 2009
Côte St. Luc informed motorists of rules “to ensure that snow removal is done in a safe, timely and effective way. Residents are called upon to do their part to help make their roads safe this winter” so that “once precipitation has stopped, the accumulated snow along the edge of these roadways is removed by our snow-blowing equipment.” Some elements:
”The city of Côte St. Luc puts temporary no parking signs on many streets before our snow clearing operation. The goal is to prevent delays in snow clearing caused by vehicles parked on city streets.”
”If you see a temporary no parking sign near your parked vehicle, please move your vehicle. If you don’t, your vehicle may be towed to an adjacent street and you will be fined $97. If your vehicle is towed, you can call 514-485-6960 to find out where it was moved.”
”If you see temporary no parking signs on your street, you might want to consider parking your car overnight at a nearby city parking lot. Call Côte St. Luc public security at 514-485-6960 to find the parking lot closest to your home. (City parking lots may not be used overnight in normal times.)”
December 19, 2009 at 09:21 (Events, News clip)
Tags: advertising, community announcements, Mike Cohen
Côte St. Luc chooses digital screens for community announcements
by Martin C. Barry
The Monitor
Article online since December 18, 2009
The City of Côte St. Luc has chosen a high-tech way to publicly inform residents of important coming events.
Instead of the ubiquitous banners the city has draped for years on railway and roadway overpasses to get the word out, large LED screens will start appearing in some key spots around Côte St. Luc next year.
At city council’s meeting for December last week, an agreement was approved with Kazoo Digital Inc., a Montreal-based company that specializes in the production and distribution of LED screens for public displays and commercial advertising.
According to the three-year agreement, Côte St. Luc will be getting four digital display signs at no charge. The first will be set up for a year at Kildare Road and Cavendish Boulevard. Others will follow at Westminster Avenue and Côte St. Luc Road, in front of the Samuel Moskovitch Arena, and at one other location.
Côte St. Luc is jumping on the digital display bandwagon much later than a lot of other municipalities. From Dollard des Ormeaux on the West Island to St. Léonard in Montreal’s east end, the brightly lit displays have become a common sight. They are often set up where cars come to a stop for several minutes when the traffic lights are red at key intersections.
Although Côte St. Luc had been exploring various ways over the past four years to acquire digital displays and found most very costly, the deal with Kazoo is free because the company earns revenue through advertising. The city believes it will be getting a lot of visibility, while Kazoo will be selling time on the displays to private advertisers.
“They will give us a very substantial amount of free time to publicize any of our events, and then they will sell the rest of the time to whomever they want,” says Councillor Mike Cohen, who is responsible for sponsorship, communications and corporate identity on council. “We’ll obviously keep a close eye on who they go after (as advertisers) and make sure that it’s not inappropriate.”
The deal specifies that Côte St. Luc is entitled to 25 per cent of the space in a two-minute continuous “loop” of advertising. The city is further entitled to 40 per cent of the loop time for 12 days throughout the year to promote special events, such as the Canada Day festivities and winter carnival. Côte St. Luc will be getting 57-inch, high-quality, commercial grade LED screens.
December 15, 2009 at 22:07 (Citizens on Patrol (vCOP), Events, Police)
Tags: Anthony Housefather, Bernie & Cookie Band, Happy Chanukah, Happy New Year, Irving Schok, Jordy Reichson, Ken Lerner, Le Bifteque, Lewis Cohen, Merry Christmas, Michel Martel, Mitchell Herf, Phil Mayman, Phillip Lackman, Ruth Kovac, Susie Schwartz, Sylvain Bissonnette, Welcome Hall Mission
Members of Cote Saint-Luc’s volunteer Citizens on Patrol gathered recently to celebrate the holidays and three-and-a-half years of patrolling the city. The program began on July 1, 2006 and has grown to 80 members patrolling city streets, parks and buidlings round-the-clock.
Team Leaders (TL) congratulate top performing volunteers, from left, TL Mike Litvack, Larry Cavallaro, John De Luca, Gerry Segal, TL Irving Schok, Phillip Lackman, TL Phil Mayman, Supervisor Susie Schwartz
Assisting in the festivities were Councillor Glenn J. Nashen, responsible for Public Safety and coordinator of vCOP, Mayor Anthony Housefather, City Manager Ken Lerner, Public Safety Director Jordy Reichson, Public Security Chief Michel Martel and Police Commander Sylvain Bissonnette.
From left: City Manager Ken Lerner, Mayor Anthony Housefather, Public Safety Director Jordy Reichson, Police Constable Laberge, Councillor Glenn J. Nashen, Public Security Chief Michel Martel
The commander handed out letters of commendation to several members for exemplary service while the Mayor added some light-hearted humour thanking the volunteers for always being ready to take a bullet for him and joining a group that stands for “veal, chicken or pork’. On a serious note the Mayor expressed great apprection to the volunteers for offering added protection to the city and always going above and beyond in serving the residents and assisting front line emergency services.
Top Volunteer Phillip Lackman congratulated for most hours on patrol (357 hours)
vCOP sponsors were also recognized, in particular Peter Kovac, who has always attended with his wife Councillor Ruth Kovac. Also thanked was Clairview Leasing and Toyota Montreal-Nord as well as the Cote St-Luc Car Wash.
Thanks to Peter Kovac (left) for sponorship of the Le Bifteque Boucherville dinner buffet
Councillor Glenn J. Nashen expressed sincere appreciation on behalf of the residents of the city to all the members, Team Leaders Phil Mayman, Jacques Berkowitz and Irving Schok and especially to Senior Supervisor Lewis Cohen and Supervisors Susie Schwartz and Mitchell Herf for dedication, committment and loyal service.
Police Commander Sylvain Bissonnette orders Seargant France Denault and Constable Laberge to take away vCOP Gerry Segal... just kidding!
Special recognition was given to scheduler Phil Lackman for patrolling 397 hours (not to mention all those hours updating the schedule), Bernie & Cookie Band for washing the patrol van every week on their regular shifts and to Herbert Taylor (last year’s top patroller) who was welcomed after a prolonged absence.
Final thanks to Susie Schwartz for organizing the event along with Phil Mayman and Irving Shock. A wonderfully appropriate gesture was the donation of all leftover food to the Welcome Hall Mission.
Happy Chanukah, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all our dedicated and eager members of vCOP.
December 14, 2009 at 22:22 (EMS, Fire, Police, Public Security, Safety)
Tags: Anthony Housefather, Martin Benko
On the afternoon of October 18, 2009, an elderly driver of a vehicle suffered a medical problem and lost control of his car. The car barreled through two fences and plunged into a half-filled private swimming pool. The man was pulled from the car at the bottom of the pool and successfully resuscitated. At the time he left for the hospital by ambulance, he had regained a pulse and was conscious.
This miraculous story of survival would not have been possible if not for the rapid intervention of Martin Benko, a 17-year-old Côte Saint-Luc resident who was walking his dog when he witnessed the accident. He quickly tied up his dog and jumped into the pool. He broke the rear window of the car which, along with the trunk, was the only part of the car not submerged, and pulled the man out. He dragged the man to the stairs of the pool where, as a trained lifeguard, he assessed that the man had no pulse. Mr. Benko suffered lacerations to his arms during the rescue.
Cote Saint-Luc City Council presents award to Martin Benko (centre, accompanied by his mother)
Cote Saint-Luc City Council invited Martin to be officially recognized and thanked for his heroic efforts. Mayor Housefather told Martin, ”Having been a lifeguard myself, I know that you are trained to save a life but nothing prepares you to do so in freezing water, to break a window of a car and pull a drowning victim to the surface. What’s more,” Housefather added, ”Martin had the presence of mind to tie up his dog so that he wouldn’t run away.”
Councillor Glenn J. Nashen, responsible for Public Safety said, “Martin exemplifies the qualities that we try to instill in our children and indeed all our residents – the notion of Tikun Olam, the saving of life, for he who saves a single life is as if he has saved the world.” Nashen added that the City would gladly accept Martin Benko as a volunteer in the Emergency Medical Services. “Seems to me that Martin is already a terrific first responder,” Nashen said.
CSL Public Safety Director Jordy Reichson was on hand for the ceremony. CSL’s volunteers and professional staff along with police and firefighters received written commendations by the City.
Click here to read all about the rescue
December 13, 2009 at 17:30 (Events, Jewish Community)
Tags: Hag Hanoucca Sameach, Happy Chanukah, Joyeux Chanoukah
Chanukah is known as the festival of lights and is one of the most joyous of celebrations on the Jewish calendar. Children love to sing Chanukah songs, play with their dreidels and collect Chanukah gelt usually in the form of chocolate ‘coins’. The highlight is the lighting of the Chanukah Menorah, each night adding a candle for eight nights.
Chanukah is celebrated across Cote Saint-Luc with Menorahs displayed in windows as well as at municipal buildings and many other institutions.
CSL Public Works Department, Swimming Pool, Gym, Rec Dep't and Public Security HQ
Chabad's giant Menorah in Veteran's Park next to City Hall
Even the Wiseman's did a little decorating
On Tuesday, December 15, rabbis from Beth Chabad in Côte St. Luc will hold a children’s program with music in the city hall auditorium, 5801 Cavendish Blvd., with a candle lighting at 6 p.m. in Veterans Park.
Click to enlarge
HAPPY CHANUKAH ** JOYEUX CHANOUKAH
Read the Montreal Gazette article on Chanukah
December 10, 2009 at 22:17 (Canada, Citizens on Patrol (vCOP), EMS, Events, Fire, Historical, Montreal, Police, Public Security)
Tags: Anthony Housefather, Coca Cola, Hampstead, Lawrence Bergman, Mike Cohen, Montreal West, Olympic flame, Olympic Torch Relay, RCMP, Robbie Laxer, Royal Bank, Vancouver 2010
A proud moment for the Nashens as we hold the torch in CSL
Hampstead resident Robbie Laxer had carried the torch earlier in the day and was on hand as we awaited the arrival of the flame. He became an instant superstar as he passed the (extinguished) torch from person to person to take a snapshot for the family album.
Hampstead's Robbie Laxer, today's Torch Bearer #17
Soon after, the flame was visible following a very, very long procession of sponsor vehicles from the Royal Bank, Coca Cola and the Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee, as well as RCMP and Montreal Police.
The torch bearer, Gordon Farrell of Montreal West arrives to a crowd of 1000 at the Cote Saint-Luc Shopping Centre
The Torch, engraved “With Glowing Hearts” from O Canada, stopped briefly for a photo opportunity with the Mayor, City Councillors, MNA and MP as well as throngs of well-wishers from the community.
Greeting the torch (from left) Councillors Mike Cohen & Glenn J. Nashen, Mayor Anthony Housefather, Cllrs. Mitchell Brownstein & Ruth Kovac, MNA Lawrence Bergman
After a momentary historic glance and chance to feel the excitement of the Olympic Games, coupled with a burst of Canadian pride the Torch was on its way through the streets of Cote Saint-Luc, on to Hampstead and throughout Montreal on its 45,000 km journey of 100 days through 1000 communities en route to the Games in Vancouver.
Many thanks to the CSL volunteers Citizens on Patrol (vCOP), CSL Emergency Medical Services, CSL Public Security, Montreal Police (PDQ9) as well as Parks and Recreation, Public Works, Communications and all other staff and volunteers who organized today’s festivities which will long be remembered by young and old as a great day in history.
Cllr. Glenn J. Nashen, MNA Lawrence Bergman and Cllr. Mike Cohen
Watch the video recap of the Olympic Torch Relay in Cote Saint-Luc at CSL-TV.
CTV News report.
Also, be sure to visit Cllr. Mike Cohen’s blog.
December 9, 2009 at 16:10 (Ambulance, Citizens on Patrol (vCOP), EMS, Environment, Police, Public Security, Safety)
Tags: Public Works, snow clearing, Steven Erdelyi
With up to 30 centimeters of snow blanketing Cote Saint-Luc today crews are out in full force to keep our streets and sidewalks plowed and safe for motorists and pedestrians alike. City crews as well as sub-contractors are responsible for clearing all of our 146 city streets. While many boroughs and towns in the region struggle to keep their roads passable, not to mention their sidewalks, Cote Saint-Luc is famous for its high level of service when it comes to pushing the snow aside and blowing it off the streets in record time.
In addition to the incredible work by snow plow, snow blower and sidewalk plow operators, security spotters who walk ahead of the blowers and a variety of other public works crews and foremen, the city’s emergency services personnel and volunteers are also out on the road to ensure safety and security of our residents and visitors.
Residents can get information on snow clearing in Cote Saint-Luc on the city’s website or by calling 514-485-6800 ext. 8888.
EMS First responders are suited up and ready to answer medical emergency calls in any weather condition. While ambulances can experience delayed response due to stormy weather and heavier traffic snarls, CSL EMS is typically at their destination within just a few minutes, ready to treat and stabilize the victim prior to arrival of the ambulance.
vCOP crews are also on the road to assist motorists and pedestrians who find themselves in need of assistance. Police and Public Security officers routinely rely upon our vCOPs for low-level emergency assistance. In the case of winter storms vCOP crews can help motorists who need an accident report form or to help summon a tow truck and to warn oncoming vehicles of an obstruction. vCOP crews have even spotted residents who had fallen in the snow and needed help to get back up again.
Also worth mentioning, the role of City Councillor is to monitor service levels throughout each department and to ensure residents continue to receive the very best quality possible given the circumstances. Councillor Steven Erdelyi, responsible for Public Works will surely be out checking that our snow clearing operations meet or exceed our high expectations. And as usual, as the councillor responsible for Public Safety I will be monitoring all emergency services, often responding myself to monitor or to assist at late hours.
All our services and crews plan for emergency situations. No matter the weather the City of Cote Saint-Luc is at the ready!
December 8, 2009 at 22:03 (Events, Jewish Community)
Tags: Jewish Peretz & Peoples Schools, JPPS
From left: Councillors Ruth Kovac, Glenn J. Nashen, Mitchell Brownstein, CPE Director Randy Zuckor, Mayor Anthony Housefather, Steven Erdelyi, Mike Cohen, Sam Goldbloom and Allan J. Levine
Cote Saint-Luc City Council was on hand for the grand opening of the newly constructed JPPS Childrens Centre (Centre de petite enfance, CPE) at the northern end of Westminster Avenue. The event was attended by community leaders, teachers, staff, parents, architects and Jack Vincelli, the builder of the new premises.
The Childrens Centre was located for many years at JPPS on Wavell and Rand. JPPS was built there in the late 50s during the early building boom in Cote Saint-Luc. This site was formerly the Jewish Peretz School until the merger with Jewish Peoples School on Van Horne in the mid 70s. The elementary school ran out of both sites until JPPS sold the Wavell building to Ecole Yavne five years ago. The Childrens Centre remained in the basement until last spring.
The new facilities are modern, bright and colourful – a wonderful learning environment. Congratulations to Randy Zuckor and her incredible staff of dedicated, motivated and inspiring educators.
December 7, 2009 at 20:58 (Press Release)
Tags: Anthony Housefather, CoteSaintLuc.org, CSL-TV, Darryl Levine, Internet video channel, Mike Cohen
Côte Saint-Luc launches CSL-TV as a new way to communicate with residents
Côte Saint-Luc, December 3, 2009 – The City of Côte Saint-Luc has launched an Internet video channel where it will post videos from municipal events.
The new CSL-TV website showcases videos produced by the city. Since 2007, Côte Saint-Luc has posted videos on its website, such as V-E Day ceremonies, Winter Carnival and more. CSL-TV is a way to organize these videos in one central place. Residents can see the video channel by clicking the CSL-TV button at CoteSaintLuc.org.
“Video is becoming a standard communications tool in business and government as the cost of producing quality videos decreases,” Mayor Anthony Housefather said. “There is an opportunity for municipal governments to show what we do in a visual way.”
Large government institutions such as the White House and the British Prime Minister use video extensively to communicate directly with the public. The council member responsible for communications in Côte Saint-Luc says small municipalities can also benefit.
“Communicating through video is something that would have been prohibitively expensive or even impossible for municipalities 10 years ago,” Councillor Mike Cohen said. “But new tools have leveled the playing field and we can do more for less. Our Director of Public Affairs and Communications, Darryl Levine, has a background in recording and editing videos, so we’re able to do everything in-house.”
December 5, 2009 at 20:55 (Canada, Elections, Montreal, News clip, Quebec)
Tags: Henry Aubin, school boards, The Gazette
Education minister should kill this bad idea
Twinning municipal and school votes would only make matters worse
The notion of holding school-board elections on the same day as municipal elections is a bad idea that will not die.
Quebec Education Minister Michelle Courchesne has been mulling the idea ever since the last school elections two years ago, when a pitiful 7.9 per cent of eligible voters across Quebec went to the polls. The minister sees this as a way to increase voter turnout, and the expectation in education circles is that she’ll produce a bill to that effect in the new year. Ordinarily, the next school elections would be in 2011; the bill would postpone them to 2013 so as to twin them with the next municipal elections.
The sign of a healthy democracy, however, is not so much in the raw number of any old voters as it is in the number of informed voters. (I’ll settle for even slightly informed voters). Far fewer citizens follow the school-board scene than they do municipal politics; getting voters in a municipal election to also cast a ballot in a school-board contest they might have no interest in or knowledge of is therefore hardly a recipe for electing well-qualified school commissioners. I call this blind voting.
Twinned elections have two other problems.
One is coverage of election campaigns by the news media. Many voters get much of their information on school issues from newspapers, radio and television. If these media, whose news-gathering resources are already shrinking, have to cover two separate sorts of elections simultaneously, their coverage would only get thinner. That means that even motivated citizens would find it harder to obtain impartial news.
The other problem is the potential for municipal parties to try to expand their power by sponsoring affiliate parties in school-board races. Schoolboard candidates in Montreal, who now usually spend peanuts on publicity, would be able to tap the city parties’ warchests. These now bulge with up to $4 million.
The downside is that this would intensify the trend toward block voting by commissioners and other partisan methods that discourage thoughtful debate and decision-making.
Turnouts in federal, provincial and municipal elections have also been declining to record or near-record lows, reflecting a nationwide weakening in the ethos of what it means to be a citizen. Several additional factors help explain why voter participation at the school-board level is so much lower, especially at francophone boards. (As the table indicates, turnout for anglophone boards’ is far better, though it is still too low.)
One factor is that many parents who care intensely about education, and who would ordinarily be likely to vote, are now sending their children to private schools.
Another factor is the province’s low birth rate. Many eligible voters have no children and thus have little interest in school matters.
As well, the typical school board has doubled in size since the late 1990s, when many were merged and their number plunged from 158 across Quebec to 71. It’s a political-science truism that citizens tend to vote less in school-board and municipal elections as their board or municipality grows in size; they feel less connected. Sure enough, turnout has fallen sharply since the mergers of school boards (as well as of municipalities.) In 1994, the last year that school elections were held before the mergers, the Quebec-wide turnout was 18 per cent, more than double the rate in 2007.
What should be done to increase voter turnout? No easy answers exist. But one thing that would help is far better campaign literature by candidates. (The norm is for flyers to contain mere platitudes.) So would more public debates. (They’ve been curiously rare at English Montreal School Board races.) Boards need to show citizens, including non-parents, why it’s in their interest to vote.
Twinning the two elections would be like giving growth hormones to gym rats: It would produce an impressive superficial appearance, but chances are it would eventually have an unhealthy effect.
Beware artificial boosters.
December 4, 2009 at 19:10 (Public Security, Safety)
Tags: crossing guard, employment
Help Wanted by Cote Saint-Luc Public Security
Crossing guard needed part time
The City of Cote Saint-Luc is looking for a part time crossing guard for the corner of Kildare and Cavendish.
The work is five days a week, six hours per day, totaling 30 hours per week for the months of December, January, February and half of March.
The City requires someone who will reliably be at that intersection come snow or shine from 7:30 AM till 9:00 AM, and between Noon and 4:30 PM. You will be issued a Public Security safety vest, and your sole duty will be to ensure the safe crossing of children and adults alike.
If you are interested or for more information, please contact City Hall at 514-485-6800 or hr-rh@CoteSaintLuc.org.
