Council Briefs
Survey says social problems worry Yk'ers
Emelie Peacock
Northern News Services
Wednesday, June 28, 2017
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
While generally satisfied with quality of life, Yellowknife residents report they are worried it is declining.
The feedback came from a telephone survey conducted by Ipsos Reid, presented at Monday's municipal services committee meeting.
Of the 600 people contacted by telephone, more than nine out of 10 respondents rated their quality of life as good or very good. Residents were satisfied with municipal services and operations, the value for taxes paid and with the city's customer service.
When asked how quality of life had changed over the past three years, 59 per cent of respondents said it had stayed the same and 29 per cent said it had worsened. Catherine Knaus, director of polling at Ipsos Reid, told councillors by teleconference the results indicate a pessimism present in Yellowknife not seen in other communities across Canada, where people generally reported their quality of life is improving.
The number one reason given for the decline of quality of life was poverty and homelessness, followed by high cost of living. In 2014, cost of living was number one while homelessness was less of an issue for respondents.
Senior administrative officer Sheila Bassi-Kellett noted a jurisdictional issue with homelessness and high cost of living.
"Interestingly, both are issues that the city itself does not have full control over and something that we need to navigate with a number of partners," she said.
This year's survey included questions about downtown for the first time. It revealed negative perceptions about the city's core, with 73 per cent of respondents disagreeing that downtown is "vibrant and exciting."
Several councillors said the survey results were useful for their work. Coun. Adrian Bell noted the negative views of downtown showed him how far away council is from achieving its vision for the area.
"Now the immediate challenge is to make sure that this valuable information and this valuable direction is translated into policy direction and that this flows into the budget with initiatives aimed at these priority areas," he said.
One thing Coun. Linda Bussey said was missing in the survey was the changing demographics of the city. She said more and more people are choosing to retire in Yellowknife.
Calls to library decline sharply
Councillors are praising municipal enforcement and day shelter changes for a significant decrease in municipal enforcement calls to the public library.
Calls decreased by more than 50 per cent compared to last year. By May this year, officers had visited the library 195 times, compared to 418 times during the same period in 2016. Dennis Marchiori, director of public safety, said the decrease is partially due to proactive patrolling by enforcement officers and the Safe Harbour Day Shelter extending its hours.
The numbers were presented during an update from the city's municipal enforcement division and the RCMP's G Division during Monday's municipal services committee meeting.
Coun. Adrian Bell praised the municipal enforcement division for being proactive.
"To me this is a message that there are two very important things that need to be done," he said. "You've got to have the services available, the day shelter hours, a place where people who are inebriated are able to spend their time."
Presenting a monthly RCMP report, Sgt. Alex Laporte said G Division completed 36 patrols downtown in May and two patrols at Frame Lake. He said these included foot, bike and vehicle patrols.
Coun. Adrian Bell voiced concern about the number of RCMP foot patrols and their duration, which Laporte said can last anywhere from 10 to 45 minutes.
"I'm concerned that it doesn't send a message to people behaving inappropriately downtown that there might be RCMP around the corner," he said.
Starting June 6, Laporte said the RCMP is also working with people who frequently use emergency services. Referring to them as "our top 15" he said the detachment is working to bring them through the GNWT's integrated case management system. So far he said at least six people have been receptive and are engaging in the process meant to help navigate social-service agencies and get options for assistance.
Parking payment app coming
Soon drivers in Yellowknife could be able to pay for parking using an app.
The municipal services committee heard Monday the new service will require an update in the bylaw about payment options for parking, as the current wording only allows payment with coins or prepaid parking passes.
Residents could also see heftier fines for speeding in restricted zones or using their phones while behind the wheel.
This change was also proposed by city staff at the meeting. The highway traffic bylaw changes are proposed in order to make the bylaw consistent with the Motor Vehicles Act and other recently changed territorial legislation.
Definitions are being added to the bylaw for construction zones and schools, to be consistent with territorial law the fines are also being increased. Under the current bylaw, a person caught driving one to 15 kilometres over the speed limit in a school or construction zone gets a $100 ticket. With the bylaw change, the ticket would be between $118 and $191.
To make sure the city can collect fines for distracted driving, a section is being added to the bylaw restricting the use of phones and other electronic devices.
"Right now, without us having that explicit content within our bylaw, any revenues that come from ticketing distracted drivers are going to the GNWT," said Sheila Bassi-Kellett, the city's senior administrative officer.
The bylaw to amend the bylaw will be presented for adoption at the next city council meeting July 24.
First steps toward changing trucked water and sewer rate
Council broached how to update fees for trucked water and sewer services Monday.
In March, the city implemented temporary fees for trucked water rates that charge a bulk fee for users who require more than the twice weekly delivery. This measure came after several business complained of exorbitant utility bills in December and January as a result of a change to the city's water contract and installation of water meters.
At the municipal services committee meeting, councillors gave their thoughts on what a new rate structure could look like. Bassi-Kellett said after hearing council feedback, the city's next steps include a financial analysis identifying how much revenue the city will require, how the costs will be divided and what the design of the rate structure could look like.
Couns. Niels Konge and Adrian Bell emphasized the need to provide services to all citizens, with Bell adding people should not pay more because of the choice they make of where to live or start their business in the city.
