#yyccc is on this morning. Tweets ahead!

Calgary Growth Strategies director Matthias Tita is retiring. If you're a planning nerd in this city or tune in to planning commission on a regular basis, you may be familiar with him. #yyccc

Question period time. First up is Coun. Jeromy Farkas, asking about supply cost inflation, which could affect projects like the new arena or other big capital projects. He's bringing up the Green Line ad hoc committee featuring Jim Gray, who have proposed an alternative plan.

Farkas wants to know if the ad hoc committee's vision for the Green Line might be considered. Apparently the city received a letter outlining it last week. Green Line manager Michael Thompson says #yyccc has already decided on the currently approved alignment for the project.

City manager David Duckworth says he has been watching the effects of inflation on infrastructure projects closely and consulting with other governments across Canada. He says the city is "in tune with what to expect." #yyccc

Mayor Naheed Nenshi adds he's asked city staff to look at ways to protect themselves from the effects of inflation. "Hopefully this bubble is, indeed, a bubble," he says. #yyccc

Green Line GM says the "alternative" proposed by the ad hoc committee has been looked at before and it is not feasible. #yyccc

Coun. Diane Colley-Urquhart says Calgary is entering a three-week "critical period" in the fight against COVID-19 and she'd like the mayor to comment. Nenshi says his phone is "blowing up" today with people excited about booking their shot. #yyccc

Nenshi says vaccines alone won't get Alberta out of its current situation, especially for Calgary where the curve is just too steep. "We know this worked at Christmas time, we saved a lot of lives. We're asking people to do it one more time." #yyccc

Nenshi says he's also pleased to see more action against rallies against public health measures. "Some will argue it's too late. It is not, however, too little." #yyccc

Nenshi says he was wrong to say the "anti-mask" rallies are "thinly veiled" white nationalist rallies. He says in fact, they're not veiled at all, "they're completely out in public." #yyccc

Nenshi says white supremacist symbols, Nazi paraphernalia has been seen at the anti-restriction rallies. "It has to stop," he says, adding those who aspire to leadership need to step up and call this out. "Condemn the racists and denounce them." #yyccc

Two reports on councillor expense policy and councillor conduct will be reported today. Coun. Diane Colley-Urquhart wants to move them up in the agenda today so they're presented during "prime time." #yyccc

Sounds like #yyccc is going to deal with some closed session items this morning before coming back into public and getting into the councillor conduct/expense items later in the morning. #yyccc

First, though, we need to talk about #yyccc's proposed roof rebate program. Eligible homeowners can get up to $3,000 to repair their roofs with more hail and other damage-resistant materials.

For the first six months of the rebate program, only Calgarians who suffered damage from the 2020 hailstorm can apply. Then in the subsequent six months, it's open to anyone in Calgary. #yyccc

The city has sent a letter to the province asking them to match the funding the city is putting up for this, but haven't heard anything back at this point. #yyccc

VOTE to take $2.175M from Calgary's fiscal stability reserve for resilient roof rebate program: CARRIED 8-5. #yyccc
Opposed were Coun. Chu, Colley-Urquhart, Magliocca, Demong and Farkas.
Mayor Nenshi was recused because his home was among those damaged by hail last year.

#yyccc has been in a closed session for the past hour and a bit, roughly. Back in public now, we'll see what they have to reveal...

Councillor office expense governance and accountability is changing. These recommendations just passed unanimously. #yyccc

Coun. Evan Woolley offers "unequivocal apology" to Coun. Sean Chu over language he used in this incident, following integrity commissioner report: https://calgaryherald.com/news/local-news/city-councillor-demands-apology-from-colleague-over-insults #yyccc

Coun. Druh Farrell points out that not every councillor who has been asked by integrity commissioner to apologize recently has done so. Both Coun. Joe Magliocca and Coun. Jeromy Farkas have not apologized after being directed by either #yyccc or commissioner.

Farrell has brought this up a number of times lately. Basically, there's nothing #yyccc or the city can really do if they're directed to apologize or take other action as a sanction, and they don't do it.

Here comes Coun. Diane Colley-Urquhart to discuss proposed changes to the code of conduct for elected officials. #yyccc

And those changes are passed unanimously, no major discussion in chambers today... #yyccc

Colley-Urquhart now chairs the Co-ordinating Committee of the Councillors' Office (CCCO), which, among other things, has an oversight role for councillor expenses. The previous chair was former Coun. Ray Jones, prior to his retirement. #yyccc

Colley-Urquhart says there were past practices that were "sometimes discretionary" and there's been a lot of work done to address things. #yyccc

Nenshi: "It's fair to say that we've seen more work done on the last seven months on this than we have since I've been in this chair, anyway." #yyccc

And now for something completely different.

COVID update and discussion of the face coverings bylaw, a.k.a. Calgary's mask mandate. #yyccc

City staff are asking permission to increase the fines for failing to wear a mask where required to $500. That's five times the current $100 penalty. The possibility of doing this was raised last week: https://calgaryherald.com/news/local-news/this-is-actually-the-law-nenshi-airs-frustrations-over-lack-of-covid-enforcement #yyccc

Coun. Diane Colley-Urquhart says she's having a hard time supporting the idea of a $500 fine, she says with the current stricter public health restrictions and the additional enforcement powers the province has now allowed, that should be the focus. #yyccc

Coun. Farkas asks whether there's evidence that the reason mask bylaw tickets are getting thrown out is due to the low fine, and if the city can demonstrate upping the fine will increase compliance. #yyccc

Coun. Druh Farrell is bringing up this story, asks whether the elector list can be prevented from being distributed to mayoral candidates: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/kevin-j-johnston-dox-calgary-mayor-voter-list-1.6020029 #yyccc

The city solicitor says she doesn't have a legal opinion on that issue at the moment, but she'll be coming back with some further info by the end of the day. #yyccc

Anyway, Farrell says she'll support increasing the mask bylaw fines. Coun. Gian-Carlo Carra says he will also support it. "People who do not wear a mask are deliberately putting others at risk." #yyccc

Coun. Jeff Davison says Calgarians are largely doing their part to stop the spread of COVID-19, but "certain people" don't take the situation seriously, "so if we have to raise the fine to show we are serious about the impact in our city, so be it." #yyccc

VOTE on increasing fines for failing to wear a mask where required in Calgary: CARRIED 10-4
No votes came from Coun. Magliocca, Chu, Colley-Urquhart, Farkas. #yyccc

I missed this in the procedural churn of the end of the meeting before the break, but upping mask fines is not a done deal yet. Unanimous consent for third reading of the bylaw was denied, and that means it will have to be considered at another meeting. Possibly called today.

We've arrived at the point in the meeting everyone has been waiting for: the notice of motion on a pilot project for public consumption of alcohol in parks. https://calgaryherald.com/news/local-news/council-set-to-decide-on-testing-alcohol-consumption-in-city-parks #yyccc

Coun. Gian-Carlo Carra says citizens and businesses have been largely enthusiastic about allowing alcohol in parks, but some more conservative people and health professionals have expressed concern. #yyccc

Carra says it's a pilot, so if the people who are against it turn out to be right that it's a bad idea, #yyccc can pull the plug.

Nenshi asks whether there would be designated booze spaces in all parks — city official says no. There would be space in community parks in all four city quadrants, and in all wards, but not every single city park. #yyccc

The pilot would apply to only designated picnic tables within the parks with signs, it wouldn't be every table across the whole park. #yyccc

Calgary zone medical officer of health Dr. Karla Gustafson has sent a letter to #yyccc expressing opposition to this project, saying parks are needed for safe outdoor activities during COVID and having alcohol present could negatively affect that.

Nenshi said alcohol is in fact the most widely misused substance, and the city needs to remember that. But he is interested in pilot projects, so he'll be listening to today's debate. #yyccc

Coun. Ward Sutherland says he's heard both sides on this issue from his constituents. He says he's concerned this creates one more policing job that CPS and bylaw doesn't have time to deal with right now. #yyccc

Sutherland worries this is a bit "tone-deaf" amid all the COVID issues right now, and he'd like to see a pilot project go ahead after COVID restrictions are lifted. #yyccc

Coun. Jeromy Farkas wants to refer this to the community and protective services committee meeting to let Dr. Gustafson weigh in on the matter, offer expertise. #yyccc

Carra said he'd rather do a pilot, see what happens, and then evaluate afterwards. He says it's "a tremendously bad use of everyone's time" to add this to a very full committee agenda this week. #yyccc

Coun. Joe Magliocca asks who will be patrolling to see if people are having a couple cocktails and then going rafting/tubing down the river.
City official says they aren't proposing any alcohol consumption in parks along the river. #yyccc

Coun. Woolley says this is a "tiny little incremental step just to see if this might work." He says people are already drinking in public amid COVID and there have been very few problems. #yyccc

Woolley says this doesn't need to be referred back to committee, and if you don't like it, just vote it down. #yyccc

We're temporarily recessed because the #yyccc live feed has gone down, apparently. Back soonish?

We're back. Coun. Jyoti Gondek is on a line of questioning about what the city has seen in terms of cannabis use after legalization and retail outlets opening across the city. #yyccc

The designated alcohol-consumption picnic tables would be able to either be booked in advance or used on a first come, first served basis. #yyccc

Gondek: "I don't know why we're overregulating this. Let people drink in parks and see what happens. ... we are imagining the worst-case scenario, like we did with cannabis." #yyccc

Coun. Jeff Davison says he won't pass referral. He says it's time to make a decision. "It's not like this is spring break in Florida." #yyccc

Farkas now closing on his bid to have this whole issue referred to a future committee meeting. He says the debate shows that there's a need to dive into the issue a bit more. #yyccc

VOTE to refer alcohol at city park picnic sites to another committee, thereby delaying it: LOST 10-4 #yyccc
Chahal N
Chu Y
Colley-Urquhart Y
Davison N
Demong N
Farkas Y
Farrell N
Gondek N
Keating N
Magliocca Y
Sutherland N
Woolley N
Carra N
Nenshi N

Davison has a lil amendment to add "as COVID restrictions permit" to the motion so that there isn't angst about whether the city is encouraging people to go out and socialize when they should not be doing so. #yyccc

This is the motion on the floor now. #yyccc

Farkas says he won't be supporting moving forward with this pilot since the local medical officer of health has expressed reservations. #yyccc

Gondek says she isn't really a fan of this, she thinks it's overregulating, but "I find myself holding my nose and voting in favour." She doesn't want the booking system for the picnic tables to end up being extremely onerous. #yyccc

Sutherland says hopefully the city can see how this goes and in the fall, when the new council comes in, they can get the facts and decide how to move forward. #yyccc

Colley-Urquhart says she does not support this. She says the city is sending mixed messages and she thinks it's important that #yyccc doesn't dismiss the opinion from Calgary's medical officer of health.

Nenshi said he is still hesitant about this but he also likes doing pilot projects — it sounds like that may have won out for him in this case. #yyccc

Carra says for the "more conservative members" of #yyccc, he points out that the provincial government has already moved ahead with this same initiative in provincial parks.

VOTE on doing a pilot project to drink alcohol at some city picnic sites this summer: CARRIED 12-2
No votes from Coun. Farkas and Colley-Urquhart

Picnic beers for all, coming soon!

The pilot project will start June 1 and run until Sept. 7 or earlier, and as COVID restrictions permit. Only at designated picnic sites in city parks, and only some city parks. #yyccc
(deleted and reposted because I got start date wrong)

Going back to a conversation from much earlier today, a city legal rep is talking about concerns around voter lists being given to all candidates. #yyccc https://calgaryherald.com/news/local-news/we-cannot-open-the-door-to-violence-gondek-says-voter-lists-should-not-be-released

Oh wait this might actually be a city clerk/returning officer speaking now. My bad. #yyccc

There will be an update coming to the next finance committee meeting later this month on the voter list issue. #yyccc