Minutes of the meeting of November 19, 2008

Mayor Michael Harding preferred this evening to answer all questions from the members of the club about the City of Woodstock.

Al Shipp: New sign of Woodstock, why are the letters so small. Answer: Ministry of Transportation dictates exactly what is on a sign.

Rick Kiers: City is promoting to save energy. Why do we need so much light for example on highway 2 towards 401. Answer: City buys its energy in a coop program. That saves about 25 % in costs. Also they are still looking to reliable street lights that are more energy efficient.

Peter Van Wees: What are you going to do on Friday with the Mayors meeting about automotive industry. Answer: Mayor wants to make sure that the municipals interests are on the table. The most efficient income for a city is industrial taxation.

Paul Turner: Last 3 years how did taxation shift. Answer: Was 70 % residential. Now 60 % residential and rest industrial. Toyota brings in more then two times the taxation then all the box stores in town.

Eric Tremblay: How much was assessment of Deere company before they left. Answer: this was an older facility. Probably a few hundred thousand.

Peter Stam: Is baling out the auto industry solving the problem. Answer: Do we have a choice. They need credit. There are made huge mistakes by the auto industry. We need to bail out with strict conditions.

Keith Sherman: Did we buy three new recycling trucks. Answer: Yes

Al Shipp: Are the city buses justified with the amount of passenger they transport. Answer: A city needs to offer a transportation system. There are 250,000 rides a year. The more people use the system the more the city can invest in upgrades. It is that simple.

Paul Turner: Update on the art gallery. Answer: In a new growing city, what are people looking for: culture. The current art gallery is in bad shape and it is too small. Something has to happen. There has been done research in building a new gallery. In the mean time the city was able to buy the Shoppers Drugmart downtown. This is one of the best buildings in this area and it is good for the city to have this building. If this building is suitable for an new art gallery is not clear yet. Under investigation. Mayor wants as much buildings in downtown as possible. We cannot tax parking lots.

Peter Stam: Thought about stacked parking. Answer: Yes we did look into that.

Paul Leroy: A update about the mess of the spring clean up. Answer: This is a service that not every city provides for. We wan to keep offering this to our citizens but peoples attitude has to change. Read the information that is out there!

Eric Tremblay: Maybe open a depot. Answer: Doesn't work. Not everybody has transportation to bring the garbage in.

John Garton: how many buses do we have: 6

Peter Stam: how much does it costs to get rid of garbage and why do we not burn it. Answer: $ 50,= per tonne. With the current energy costs we have it is not interesting to burn and reuse the heat for greenhouses etc. Landfill is still the cheapest way to go.

Speaker is thanked by Wim Duizer. In name of Michal Harding 20 children will be vaccinated for polio.

Meeting adjourned at 8.15 pm.