Welcome
to my website. It continues to be a pleasure to serve as your city councillor.
I have been working hard to deal with issues related to my portfolio
of Public Works & Engineering and to make improvements to District
4 and the City of Cote Saint-Luc as a whole.
I would
like to invite you to come to my next district meeting to be held on
Tuesday, October 26 at 7pm at Le Waldorf Residence, 7400 Cote Saint-Luc
Road. We will be discussing what's new in District 4 and Cote Saint-Luc
and some of the priorities for the next year.
My priority over
the last few months has been to ensure that major projects related to
my new portfolio go smoothly. This summer / fall, you've seen or will
be seeing shortly several roads resurfaced (including Luck in District
4), 10 sections of water pipe relined (including sections on Arcadian,
Earle and Westluke), and replacement of old traffic lights.
On the environmental front, we continue to produce huge increases in
waste that is diverted from landfill through either the brown or blue
bin programs. In the next year, we plan on piloting the brown bin program
in a multi-family dwelling. Please let me know if you would like to
volunteer your building.
As a council, we have been busy working on planning the new Inter-Generational
Aquatic Centre and deciding which services will be offered. I have been
working very hard to make sure we get a facility that caters to all
ages and that we get the most for your tax dollars.
One of my personal priorities over the last few months has been to
remove all the graffiti in Côte Saint-Luc. This fall, I will continue
to lobby Canada Post, STM and Bell to remove vandalism from their installations.
We will also be contacting private owners and asking them to remove
graffiti from their buildings.
I would
like to encourage you all to support the S.O.S.
Meadowbrook campaign. We need your help to prevent the development
of the green space. The owner of the land is ready to announce next
month their plans to build on the site.
I
would like to thank the residents of Cote Saint-Luc District Four for
their support and for placing their confidence in me once again. I also
would like to thank all the volunteers that helped me with my campaign.
It has been a pleasure to serve the citizens of Cote Saint-Luc over
the last four years. I look forward to four more years and hope to continue
working to make Cote Saint-Luc the best place to live not only on the
Island of Montreal, but in Quebec and all of Canada.
Election
Results:
Steven Erdelyi: 752 votes - 94.4%
Charles Lemieux-Marchand: 45 votes - 5.6%
To
watch a video of my celebration speech, click
here.
In
District 4, my focus over the last year has been on the logistics of
the major renovations taking place at Fletcher Park. In September, renovations
began costing over $500,000 to make the park more user-friendly. The
renovations are now 95% complete with a few points to be finalized in
the coming weeks. This past winter, again saw the return of the skating
rink boards at Richard Schwartz Park. To read more news about district
4, please
read my newsletter or see the list of what's
new or what's coming soon on the FAQ
page.
I
have also been busy ensuring the successful implementation of the Brown
Bin Organic Waste Collection Program. So far, the results have exceeded
expectations and I thank all of you for your cooperation with this new
program. For more info, visit my blog,
ecoCSL.org or view
the DVD, program
expansion flyer, plasticized card,
FAQ flyer, sticker
and map distributed
to all homes.
Additionally,
in the last year, we’ve implemented recycling in about 90% of
all high-rises in Côte Saint-Luc, with the last few to follow
soon. With the recent adoption of a new
by-law, all high-rise buildings in Côte Saint-Luc must offer
recycling to their residents. The new by-law also makes it mandatory
to put recyclables in the blue bin and organic waste in the brown bin
or in compostable bags for residents of single-family homes or duplexes.
Last
June, all homes received a new
rolling blue bin. By participating fully in the Brown Bin and new
Blue Bin programs, we hope to be the first city on the Island to achieve
the provincial government's target of diverting 60% of our waste from
landfill. You will also be receiving a reminder card indicating what
is and isn't recyclable.
So
far, our environmental initiatives have produced excellent results when
we compare the first halves of 2008 and 2009:
Garbage
tonnage has decreased by 17%
Recycling (blue bin) tonnage has increased by 30%
Organic Waste (brown bin) tonnage has increased by 1200%
(in 2008 there were 500 participating homes, in 2009 there
were 5000 participating homes)
Total Diversion (blue + brown bins) increased by 90%
We
surpassed our goal of 1000 MT of organic waste in the first year of
full implementation with all single-family homes and duplexes. So far,
we have more than 12 times the tonnage from last year compared to only
10 times the number of homes. Overall, we have almost doubled the diversion
rate from the first half of 2008 to the same period in 2009. We hope
to continue to see improvements in these statistics in the coming months
and years when we see the effects of the new large blue rolling bins.
I have
also been busy working on upcoming special events throughout the city.
In May, Côte Saint-Luc held its third Spring Fair again bringing
together the Mega Garage Sale, Emergency Services Day, Public Works
Day and EcoAction Day. Last summer, I co-chaired this year's Canada
Day celebration and worked on making this year a virtually
zero-waste event. I was happy to see so many of you and I urge you
all to come out and enjoy our special events along with your whole family.
At
the Eleanor London Côte Saint-Luc
Public Library, I encourage you to all come out to the monthly "Wow"
events. If you are not a member yet, please go to the library and check
out all the services we can offer you. In an effort to be more environmentally
friendly, we are offering reusable
bags on sale for two dollars at the library.
I encourage
all citizens to participate in the various programs at the library,
special events and use the facilities the city has to offer to the fullest.
If you have any concerns or suggestions, please don't hesitate to contact
me by phone or e-mail.
I would
like to thank all the residents that came to my third district meeting
held on August 20 at Le Waldorf. Thank you for your suggestions, which
I will begin implementing very soon.
To
view the powerpoint presentations from my third district meeting click
below (note, these are large files):
What's New
in Cote Saint-Luc and District 4 (11 MB)
Tips on Recycling
(4 MB)
A Preview
of the Major Renovations at Donald Fletcher Park (4 MB)
