Calgary Ward 4

The Calgary Police Service, with support from the Alberta Motor Association, is expanding its public awareness and crime prevention campaign called “Keep it Locked.”

The overall purpose of the “Keep it Locked” program is to educate the public about ‘‘target-hardening” their property.

All areas of the Service will be using the “Keep it Locked” door hangers if they come upon an insecure residence. Upon finding an insecure residence, and if all reasonable attempts have been made to locate the homeowner and one cannot be found, an officer will secure the property, leaving a “Keep it Locked” door hanger inside.

The officer’s details, reason for the call and several safety tips will clearly be stated on the door hanger. At no time will the door hanger be left in a place where it can be seen from the outside of the address.

This program was piloted in District 8 following an increase in house break and enters in that area. Since its inception in May 2010 the district’s break and enters via insecure methods have declined 40 per cent, compared to a five per cent increase in the rest of the city. In addition to the program, The Service continues to focus on proactive awareness, education and prevention when dealing with break and enters citywide.

For more information please contact: Calgary Police Service MEDIA LINE, cps@calgarypolice.ca, 403-206-7979

Report suspicious activity: (403) 266-1234 for non-emergencies and 911 for a crime in progress.

As always, feel free to contact me about this or other Ward 4 issue at 268-2430 or bob.hawkesworth@calgary.ca

Bob Hawkesworth
Alderman, Ward 4

Today the Enmax District Energy Building had it’s grand opening.  I was pleased to speak at the ground breaking ceremony two years ago. This is what I said on that day:

 

Thank you – all of you – for being here today. This project would never have happened without your help. While you might find my fingerprints on this project somewhere, they’re by no means the only ones. Dozens of you played an absolutely crucial role in bringing this district energy project to fruition.

To Gary (Holden) and Owen (Tobert): I am most grateful to your staff that were responsible for making this happen at Enmax and at the City of Calgary. Please accept my heartfelt thanks.

There are some not represented here whose contribution needs to be recognized – the Federation of Canadian Municipalities for one.

My introduction to district energy was a tour to Cornwall, Ontario during an FCM Conference over a decade ago.

Since the late 1990s the FCM has offered district energy tours to Denmark, Sweden, and elsewhere in Europe.

These hands-on experiences introduced many of us, including myself, Ald. Farrell, Chris Wade and Owen Tobert to a vision of what the benefits of district energy could be.

Virtually all the district energy systems that have been developed in Canada over the past 10 years can all be directly traced to municipal leadership from individuals that were on these study tours. Calgary’s system is no exception. So, kudos to FCM and Michael Wiggin at Natural Resources Canada.

I also want to thank our Mayor. His support was especially important.

He identified the CAMRIF money for this project. He supported the regulatory changes City Council needed to make. And he was an unwavering advocate once he became convinced of the merits of this project….

We had big obstacles to overcome in order to implement that first Notice of Motion 8 years ago.

Among them: the Provincial government’s natural gas subsidy for consumers made the project uneconomic. Only when we were able to use the CAMRIF funds were we able to level the playing field.

The biggest obstacle was City Hall itself. The double taxation from municipal franchise fees was a very hard one to give up. But City Council took the plunge, and I want to thank all my colleagues for the effort and sweat they invested in that decision to make this happen.

In reflecting on this 8 year journey, my question was “Why didn’t we give up when barriers and indifference threatened to smother this project?”

The answer, I believe, has something to do with the values that underlie district energy technology.

Allow me a moment to explain what I mean.

On one level, the story of Calgary is a story about geography and people..For millennia, first nations peoples met, literally here, at the confluence of the Bow and Elbow rivers. Our transformation to a city of over a million people is a story we know well.

But Calgary’s story is also a story of technology and how it gave form and shape to our community…. Just behind us are the rails that brought steam locomotion, and people, and goods to an emerging prairie town.

In front of us is one of the many streets that now carry vehicles with their passengers and goods over hundreds of square kilometers in our metropolitan reach.

Calgary’s story is also a story of how pipes and pumps, elevators, telecommunications, fiber optics, and hundreds of other innovations and technologies made our community what it is today.

I believe that just as the steam locomotive was a foundation technology for Calgary’s development in the 19th Century and the internal combustion engine was a foundation technology for Calgary’s development in the 20th Century, district energy will be a transformative technology for Calgary’s development in the 21st Century.

The premise of district energy is that energy should not be wasted. By combining heat and electricity generation into one process, the same energy we use for one product can be re-used for the second product. You get double the use for the same input of energy….

As we have recently come to realize, our planet is in trouble from all the fossil fuel energy we are burning. The environmental costs of securing this resource and the risks we run by loading our atmosphere with more and more CO2 are enormous. All of us on the planet stand to be affected. So, all of us have to do our part, no matter how small, to help change happen.

We also cannot count on fossil fuels to be as cheap and plentiful as they have been in the past. These are non-renewable resources, which means eventually they will run out.

Certainly not immediately. But probably within the life cycle of most of the buildings we see around us today, the era of cheap fossil fuel to power and heat them will be entering its sunset.

Our challenge will be to get better use out of the energy we consume. This is where we will need district energy to help us in that transition.

It is a technology our community will need if Calgary is to be resilient in meeting the energy challenges that are likely to confront us in the 21st Century.

The values that underlie district energy are conservation, efficiency, safety, thrift. It will help us eliminate waste. These are the values that motivated us to not let this project fail.

They are also the same values that Calgarians generally strongly embrace. This is why I’m optimistic that once this project is operational, Enmax should find it easy to sign up customers.

The full potential of Calgary’s district energy system will truly kick in once Phase 2 comes on stream – the co-generation phase currently being planned near Manchester. But you can’t get to Phase 2 without first getting through Phase 1. The facility here on 9th Avenue is the fundamental first step.

So, for all of you who have made this historic day possible, let me thank you again and congratulate you for you accomplishment.

I’m very excited by what is to come!

Good afternoon, everybody. Thanks for coming this afternoon. Linda and Victor, thank you very much for your friendship over the years and for the kind and generous words of introduction.

Calgary is a special place for each and every one of us. It is one of the best – if not the best – in Canada….In Canada – the best country on the planet.

Calgarians have to sometimes step back and remind ourselves what a wonderful and special privilege it is, that we find ourselves living together in this community.
I’ve always believed that blessings bring responsibilities. We have to wisely use the gifts, the talents, the opportunities we’ve been given. They are always entrusted to us for something greater than ourselves.

With that as the context, I’m here today to simply say … Calgary, I have decided to run, and would be deeply honoured if you choose me to serve, as your next Mayor.

Before undertaking any venture, it is always a good idea to start with the end in mind: So….What is the essential purpose of a community? ….. And what does it mean to govern one?

There are at least 4 key elements:

1. A community exists to help its residents find economic opportunity and meet basic needs. Our Mayor and Council must attend to our economic prospects.

2. A community exists to nurture the soul and inspire creativity. Our Mayor and Council must welcome and celebrate the creative spark in everything – from business, to communities, to the arts.

3. A community depends on the contribution and gifts of every person. Our Mayor and Council must lead the creation of an inclusive and caring community.

4. A healthy and resilient community uses resources wisely. It respects the air, water, land and energy upon which its well being depends. Our Mayor and Council must help our city become sustainable in every sense: environmentally, socially and economically.

To lead Calgary to be the best that it can be, our Mayor and Council must, without fail, do all these things … and do them well.

A city that’s great for everyone….

That’s the community Calgary can become. That is the community it should always be.

Calgary expects more from its leaders than clichés or idle rhetoric. These words have to have substance. Here’s a glimpse of what those ideas mean:

To quote the International Economic Development Council: World class communities are not determined by geographic location or the size of their population. They are not determined by the availability of natural resources. World class cities are determined by the mind-set and quality of their local leadership in addressing change and progress.
In other words, great cities have leaders with open minds…. who are not afraid to explore new ways of doing things.

The first thing our next Mayor and Council must do is build a stronger partnership with our community to address Calgary’s changing economic circumstances.

In the past two years, we have been buffeted by global economic turbulence. Unemployment is higher than we are used to – especially for our youth, our young people. Growth has slowed. People are anxious about our future.

Research tells us that more than 3 out of every 4 jobs in a local economy are created by existing businesses.

Our economic development strategy has to be built with community partners focused on local job growth – a community economic development strategy built on community economic strengths.

Let’s get everyone around the table to figure out the solutions. And plug into Calgary’s “can do” attitude.

Calgary will need its Mayor and Council to work collaboratively. A Mayor and Council who can bring people together.

What else do we need for Calgary to stay competitive?

Well, I think we should find out.

Let’s review our competitiveness and benchmark ourselves against the best.

The City of Calgary needs to review how our quality of life, our regulatory processes, and our policies, could better support job creation and the kind of investment we need and want. Even how well we move goods and services around our city is a competitive issue.

Now, I realize in proposing a competiveness review, people may jump to the conclusion I’m talking about cutting property taxes and levels of service. I need to be very clear on this point.

The City has to balance its books as carefully as we have to balance our budgets at home. How else will we be able to provide quality public services over the long term?
The City has to continually show value and fiscal responsibility for the public funds it spends.

Everyone, including the City of Calgary must live within their means. We must make sure we keep the tax burden affordable for everyone, including business.

But, spending money on good public services can also help us save money. And cutting quality public services can be fiscally irresponsible.

Think of how much all of us would have saved earlier this winter, if Council had budgeted more money for snow removal. We could have avoided a lot of grief and inconvenience…. and expense.

It was too bad that City Council turned down my motion in 2007 to put more money in the snow removal base budget.

Another example: The downtown provides approximately 40% of The City’s tax revenues. A vibrant, prosperous downtown is highly dependent on good public services like transit, Police, and By-law enforcement. These public services are essential. Yes. But they also influence the city’s economic well being.

Still another example: ENMAX is about to open Phase 1 of a new district energy centre in downtown Calgary. (I toiled 7 years by the way, to get that project to happen.) This new service can help building owners in downtown Calgary save on their operating costs. And because district energy provides huge improvements in energy efficiency, it will also help customers avoid the future environmental regulatory costs that we know are coming. District energy, developed by ENMAX in the public interest, now gives Calgary downtown business a further competitive advantage.

By the way, that would never have happened if City Council had sold ENMAX in 2001. It’s another one of the public purposes served by keeping that company for Calgarians.

The competitiveness review I’m suggesting should be comprehensive. Calgary needs a Mayor who is open to exploring all the innovative ways we can keep Calgary competitive. Our Mayor needs to have more than one tool in the tool box.

And Calgary needs a Mayor who is not going to sell ENMAX. We need to keep ENMAX city owned. We need ENMAX as a partner that continues to bring our community economic and environmental benefits!

What else does Calgary need to help it meet its essential purpose?

This is Environment Week. Calgarians are coming to realize that we have to be much more careful and responsible in our use of energy, water and land.
This is one reason our new curb side blue box program has been very popular with Calgarians.

The City of Calgary, with its partner ENMAX, has shown great leadership on energy. It is now the largest customer of green, renewable energy in Canada.
And as your Mayor, I will continue to be absolutely committed to help our community leave a smaller ecological footprint.

That means encouraging the construction of more homes like the one we are in today.

This house is a high-performance home built by an emerging Calgary development company called Jigsaw Homes.

It incorporates numerous technologies to reduce energy consumption and improve environmental impacts.

Jigsaw is trying to figure out how to incorporate these concepts into homes of all sizes in the residential market. And they don’t want their customers to pay any extra premiums for it – compared to conventional construction.

They want to make environmental sustainability attainable for every Calgarian.
That’s a wonderful vision. If builders like Jig Saw can succeed with it, they can help Calgary achieve its important goals as well.

The City needs to encourage developers and builders like this. The City needs to reduce the barriers to building homes that adopt state-of-the-art innovations and minimize our environmental footprint.

Environmental sustainability has to be a key component of our community led Economic Development Strategy.

So how will we knit a community focus, a competitiveness review, and green jobs together? How will we integrate them into a meaningful direction and help Calgary achieve its purpose and full potential over the long term?

Beginning in November of this year, if I am your Mayor, I will launch a series of facilitated community conversations on Calgary’s future using these principles as the framework.
We will collect the intelligence, insights and recommendations of Calgarians in meetings from all across the city. They will also be drawn together using social media, crowd sourcing and other internet tools.

It will all culminate in a Summit on Calgary’s Future in June of 2011. This will be in time for the recommendations and directions coming from this process to be reviewed and incorporated in the next City of Calgary Three-Year Budget Plan.

There will be other priorities that I will want to highlight in the campaign to come. There is not time today to do anything more than mention what some of them will be:

A great community is a safe community. City Council needs to assure Calgarians that safety remains a top priority and receives the attention it deserves. We need a Safe Community Strategy.

A great city cares about all its citizens. It is inclusive and provides the means for all to contribute.

For Calgary to be a city that’s great for everyone, it must always have safe and affordable housing choices for people of all incomes and means.

Housing must be a cornerstone of the new relationship The City of Calgary needs to establish with the Province.

And speaking of a new relationship with the Province – a great city also has the resources it needs to achieve its essential purpose. That is why a new relationship with the province is imperative.

It is a relationship that needs to be marked by mutual respect – order of government to order of government.

Calgary will need a permanent extension of the Municipal Sustainability program for infrastructure funding. In order to finance growth, our city has to find reliable, ongoing revenues. We will not be able to meet our community’s current needs without it.

Achieving these objectives, realizing this vision, won’t be easy. I am going to ask every Calgarian who cares about our community to pitch in and help.

At the moment, many Calgarians are feeling ignored, overlooked, and taken for granted. They feel disconnected from the rapid changes Calgary has experienced in the past decade.

Mayor and Council have done the right thing and are on the right track by building the hard infrastructure that growth demanded. We must turn our attention to the social contract with our citizens.

It’s time we addressed the social infrastructure of our community.

Calgarians want their leaders to listen. But more, they want to be involved in creating our common future. Ultimately, that is what makes a community great for everyone. It becomes great for people when they have a part to play, and can help determine the outcomes.

Throughout my career as an alderman, MLA and community activist in this city, I have worked not only for, but with people, to achieve goals together.

It’s a track record of results that I would like to continue.

Calgary, it would be an honour to serve with you, and for you, as your Mayor.

I welcome the opportunity to help build together, a city that’s great for everyone.

I’ve had success at getting Council support for mandatory public consultation in the review of all cell tower applications. Prior to this, the exemption for public consultation for tower applications under 15 metres in height created a loop hole.

Here are two examples of the unappealing design that is scarring Calgary’s urban landscape as a consequence of this loophole. No wonder neighbours objected to these installations. Unfortunately, they were powerless to change them once Industry Canada had approved their construction.

I don’t object to the installation of safe and needed infrastructure – private or public – as long as it is attractively designed and contributes to the aesthetics of our community. We need telecommunications services. There is constantly growing demand for those services.

However, these services should not come at the price of an ugly urban landscape in Calgary. How hard is it to put some thought and effort into designing structures that are pleasing to the eye? My recommendation to the telecommunication carriers: hire artists to help design attractive cell towers. Don’t just leave it to the industrial engineers.

And my recommendation to Industry Canada: don’t render citizens powerless to influence the community they live in. Require a high standard of design. The time needed to review cell tower applications and the objections to them would be reduced.