Larry O’Brien

Over the next 62 days Council will have to make one of the most important decisions for the future of Ottawa. Where should we build a new outdoor event facility (stadium) – in Kanata or at Lansdowne Park?

To help us make this decision, today City staff released a study with 23 potential sites that would accommodate a major sports stadium with a list of specific criteria. Please click here to view the report. This study is not designed to recommend a specific site or plan for development or renovation of a stadium, but rather to assess the strengths and weaknesses of sites in the City.

In my opinion, before City Council makes a decision that involves tens of millions of dollars of taxpayer’s money, the City needs to take a look at the bigger picture. How do these two opportunities rank versus other potential sites for major sports stadiums in Ottawa? For example, is it accessible to transit? Is it located near a residential community? Does it have sufficient parking?  We need to have the answers to these questions and more in order to help us properly evaluate the MLS and CFL opportunities.

We have two world-class community builders who have submitted ideas to the City and we owe it to them to garner all information required to make the right decision.

What’s next?

The report released today will be formally tabled at Planning and Environment Committee (PEC) on Feb. 24, 2009 and will be considered at PEC on March 10, 2009 with Council consideration on March 11, 2009.

Then the staff report on the evaluation of the business cases for both concepts  will be tabled at a special meeting of Council on March 25, 2009 and Council is set to make a decision on April 22,2009.

The citizens of Ottawa will have an opportunity to comment at the Planning and Environment Committee on Feb. 24 and at a join Corporate Services and Planning Commitee meeting on April 7. I also encourage you to continue commenting on my blog.

On Friday City Manager Kent Kirkpatrick released a memo to City Council explaining the two step process for how the City of Ottawa will make its decision on the future of a professional stadium in the Nation’s Capital and evaluate both the Lansdowne Live and MLS Soccer proposals.

Council will make its decision in 65 days at our meeting of April 22, 2009.

Please post your comments on my blog and let me know what you think.

Here is a copy of the memo from City Manager Kent Kirkpatrick to Members of Council:

When I wrote to Council last month regarding the receipt of an unsolicited proposal from Senators Sports & Entertainment (SSE) for the development of an outdoor stadium that could accommodate a Major League Soccer franchise adjacent to Scotiabank Place, I committed to bring forward a proposed process for Council’s consideration of that proposal.

The purpose of this memorandum is to provide Members of Council with a recommended approach for the joint consideration of the SSE stadium proposal and the Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group (OSEG) Lansdowne Live stadium and development proposal. As Council is aware, the SSE proposal was received while staff was undertaking the analysis and evaluation of the OSEG proposal, which was submitted by OSEG in October of 2008.

With two stadium proposals now before the City, staff, in consultation with the Mayor and the Chair of the Planning and Environment Committee (PEC), is recommending a two-stage evaluation process. The process, as outlined below, has been designed to provide Council with the opportunity to first consider information regarding the location of a stadium prior to a subsequent presentation on the analysis of both the SSE and OSEG proposals.

Stage One: A staff report on The Needs Analysis for Multi-Purpose Sports & Entertainment Facilities Study will be issued on February 19, 2009. This report will be formally tabled at PEC on February 24, 2009 and will be considered at PEC on March 10, 2009 with Council consideration on March 11, 2009. This report will provide Council with information on the need for sports and entertainment facilities in Ottawa and on the evaluation of 23 stadium sites throughout the City. It was commissioned by the City in August of 2008 and was completed in December by the Corporate Research Group.

Stage Two: The staff report on the evaluation of the business cases for both the OSEG and the SSE proposals will be tabled at a special meeting of Council on March 25, 2009. This report will provide an analysis of the two proposals from both a land use and business plan perspective and will make recommendations for Council consideration.

In order to provide for public consultation, it will be recommended that Council refer this report to a joint PEC and Corporate Services and Economic Development Committee meeting to be held on April 7, 2009 for the purpose of hearing public delegations. The report will then be considered by Council at its regular meeting on April 22, 2009.

The City has spoken to representatives of both groups to advise them of this process

Today I delivered my State of the City Address to Council. Please see below a copy of my speech. 

This morning I would like to provide Council with some thoughts relating to priorities for 2009.

We have just passed the halfway point of our mandate and I think it is important to put our priorities in the perspective of what we as a Council have accomplished in the last two years.

In the hectic blur of dealing with so many different issues, sometimes people forget all that we’ve accomplished together so I thought I would take a few moments to congratulate you on your many successes.

In the past two years we have improved on the following:

Tourism

You approved the funding for an amazing new Ottawa Congress Centre. The new OCC will be an incredible addition to the Capital. This was long overdue but you made it happen.

Environment

You have approved an organics waste diversion green bin program after years of failed starts. Again, this was long overdue. You made it happen.

Transportation

You have improved the mass transit plans for Ottawa. Ottawa now has a magnificent plan that will transform the City for decades to come. This was an emotional and difficult debate, but together we got it done. This new plan has significant public and almost unanimous Council support. Together we made it happen. 

Technology

You approved a multi-year technology enhancement program for the City that will see Paperless Council and many additional improvements by 2010. Again, a few years late but you got it done.

Budget

During the last two years you have improved the budget process in many other ways.

You started in 2007 by developing a fiscal framework through a facilitated planning process in our first summer. This year you introduced a budget challenge function that saved our taxpayers about $10 million from our baseline. We got there because most of you worked with staff to find savings at the start of the budget process.

I personally was not happy with the result of 2009 budget, but I was encouraged that we moved ahead with a more transparent and easier to understand process. We have now set the stage to improve even more in 2009 and 2010.

Infrastructure renewal

You approved a 2 per cent infrastructure levy in 2007 that helped us invest over $300 million in infrastructure in 2008.  This was an important and critical decision.

Education

City Council donated land to help build two new trades schools at Algonquin College and Cité Collégiale. This will ensure we train and keep the future of our workforce here in the Nation’s Capital. Good decision for the long term.

Ottawa River and environment

You also committed to investing  $100 million with the help of the federal and provincial government in to repairing the sewer systems in Ottawa so that we will reduce all accidental spills and 65 per cent of the planned spills into the Ottawa River. This was the right decision for our future.

Transformation

You have also approved the de-layering of and re-organization of City Hall that will result in reducing staff levels, the elimination of management silos, and better operational control of city operations. This is the most significant management change at City Hall since amalgamation. You have given management the okay to restructure and that took courage.

Public safety

You have worked with the Police Services Board to approve a budget in 2007 that resulted in officers back on the beat and a new squad focusing on street crimes. As a result the City feels safer and is safer. Congratulations!

And we did this along with conducting the regular business of Council and all that it entails. This Council has done an amazing amount of high-quality work. People forget all that we’ve accomplished together. Well done to all of you.

We have come a long way, but there is still much important work to be done. 

After public safety and security of our water, electricity, police, fire and paramedics, the next priority for a municipality is the prosperity of its residents. The single most important economic tool we have is our public transit system.  

Transit

Now that the strike is over, we are working hard to get all our buses back on the road and grow our ridership levels. Our next priority is achieving funding for our new public transit plan.
 
Already our staff is working with the provincial and federal governments to reach a common understanding of the technical aspects of our plan. 

Once that is complete we will invite the federal and provincial government to become fair funding partners and become part of our shared vision for the City of Ottawa transit plan.

As a Council we will also explore and debate the various alternate funding models that may accelerate the implementation of the entire plan. City Manager Kent Kirkpatrick has made it a priority of his own.

We as a Council will have important policy debates around these issues as we proceed in the best interests of the taxpayers.

Spending infrastructure stimulus money

The next priority we have will be to maximize opportunities provided by federal and provincial government stimulus funding.

Next week we will be producing a list of shovel-ready infrastructure projects and this Friday I am meeting with industry representatives to ensure we are ready to meet the challenge of spending this money effectively by the spring and in the best interests of the Citizens of Ottawa.

Lansdowne Park

Another priority is the renewal of Lansdowne Park.  

Lansdowne Park is the largest and most significant City owned property. I know all of us agree it has the potential to be the most important meeting place in our City. It should be the jewel of Ottawa.

It is time to bring Council together on this city building project and work out a process to establish the principles for this property development, reach a conclusion and move forward.  

During this debate we will also look at two competing proposals to bring new important sporting assets to Ottawa.

High quality contributors are presenting MLS Soccer and CFL Football to Ottawa and we owe it to our citizens to make a thoughtful choice of which proposal to support and what is in the best interest of the taxpayer.

Accountability and governance

We have committed to reviewing our governance process in 2009…how will Council decide to structure itself to make decisions in the future.

I believe this is an important long-term improvement that we should make in the coming year.

Our citizens have made it clear – they want our governance process to improve. 

My Task Force on Governance is set to release their report in the coming weeks.

City staff will also be circulating a series of discussion papers to help facilitate our deliberations.

These white papers are a direct result of consultations and interviews they have had with each member of Council.

Finance committee

According to staff, Council has made many valuable suggestions on how to improve our decision making process.
My belief is that we also need to include in this debate the potential of altering our committee structure to create a standing committee on finance.

I hope we can reach an agreement on creating this committee to keep an eye on spending year round and give this committee the tools and the human resources to build and recommend a budget to Council instead of leaving the heavy lifting to city staff.

The budget process is one of our most important responsibilities.

The budget is far too important not to have the checks and balances of the budget process going on all year long.

In closing I want to congratulate you again for the work you have accomplished in the past two years. 

It has been rocky at times but that is the nature of transformation.  

We are past the halfway mark in our 1,000 days of transformation and we are doing well.

Thank you and lets start the meeting.

On the eve of the tabling of the federal budget, the Governor General of Canada has given Canadians a sense of what is to be expected tomorrow and has also outlined the priorities of the Conservative government through the Throne Speech.

In these last few months the political environment has changed. World economic forces are impacting our economy and while we are in a better position to weather the storm than other nations, action must be taken to protect the livelihood of workers across Canada.

That is why I was pleased to see a commitment to fund infrastructure projects that will not only provide a economic stimulus, but will have a lasting effect on our communities as we struggle to address the infrastructure gap.

Cities like Ottawa need the support of both the provincial and federal governments to stimulate growth with long-term investments in infrastructure projects. That is why we have presented a list of projects that with shared funding from the federal and provincial governments we can begin almost immediately to create jobs and improve our city. We will also continue to seek funding for some of our larger and longer-term projects such as Ottawa’s new transit network, the Congress Centre and the redevelopment of Lansdowne Park.

The goal must be to react to the economic pressures in a fiscally responsible manner and to ensure that everyone, including the most vulnerable, can emerge from this period stronger and better prepared to seize opportunities in the future.

The government presented their priorities for this session of Parliament today and will take the next important step tomorrow with the federal budget. I encourage everyone to focus on the important job at hand and work together to restore Canada’s economy.