Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION
FELINES, chickens and snakes top the agenda at city hall as council gathers for the final time before its six-week summer break.
In a welcome departure from other July meetings, there are no last-minute property deals or other walk-on proposals to give councillors -- and Winnipeg voters -- fits going into the legislative downtime known as the summer prorogation.
The most contentious item on today's council agenda is Winnipeg's long-delayed package of new rules governing pets and exotic animals. It includes a plan to license cats and new rules for exotic animals.
Other significant items on today's agenda include a new labour deal for city middle managers, a downtown lane closing that will clear the way for a new hotel tower near Portage and Main and a $7.8-million package for downtown residential improvements.
In recent years, the July meeting has tended to be the longest and wildest of the year, with contentious issues requiring hours of debate, such as the Parker land swap (2009), the once-planned dissolution of Winnipeg's water and waste department (2009), the reduction of mosquito-fogging buffer zones (2010), additional spending on the city's new police headquarters (2011) and the potential lease of golf courses (2012).
This summer, Mayor Sam Katz's office worked with senior city staff to ensure contentious reports, especially on property matters, made it to council earlier in the year or could be held until September, when council committee meetings resume.
But there will be some debate at today's meeting, not all of it involving cats, chickens and reptiles.
Charleswood-Tuxedo Coun. Paula Havixbeck alone plans to introduce three motions: one to offer police free parking at their new headquarters, a second to increase the number of police officers in schools in 2014 and a third to apply new city rules on council spending to the mayor's office.
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-- Bartley Kives
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition July 17, 2013 B3
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