Thread by @meksmith

The Nov. 2 #yyccc meeting is about to start, except it could be the Nov. 2-4 meeting. There's a hefty agenda and some potentially long public hearings, and we already know we'll be here for at least a second day.

One of the first things up this morning is further discussion of the AHS takeover of Calgary's ambulance dispatch. Chief paramedic Darren Sandbeck is here to answer council's questions about the transition, which they still oppose. calgaryherald.com/news/local-new…

And the council compensation review committee is due for discussion right after the 6 p.m. dinner break. Here are the details on what it says: calgaryherald.com/news/local-new… #yyccc

There are 11 land-use amendment public hearings to get through today. If those go quickly, it's possible we could start on the public hearing on lowering residential speed limits to 40 km/h. But I don't think #yyccc will be done with that until tomorrow: calgaryherald.com/news/local-new…

If you're tuning in for the 11 new developments discussion, look away and come back tomorrow, because there's basically no way, barring agenda rearrangements, that #yyccc is touching that until Tuesday. calgaryherald.com/news/local-new…

The meeting is on but they keep having to recess to try to fix tech issues because, although the 11 councillors participating remotely are audible in chambers, it's somehow not carrying over on the livestream or into the media booths at city hall. Basically, a nightmare! #yyccc

Ok they're restarting for a third time and we can actually hear the councillors on the phone now. Not a great meeting to start late like this, but it's happening. #yyccc

Coun. Jyoti Gondek is asking for a procedural clarification on whether, when a council member's term is up on a board/commission/committee, them not being renewed constitutes a "removal." Certainly a reference to this claim from Coun. Jeromy Farkas:

https://twitter.com/JeromyYYC/status/1323245897321345024?s=20

Clerk says on org day (which was last week) there is a process for appointments, and not a process for removals. #yyccc

Coun. Diane Colley-Urquhart says she wants to table discussion on annexation from Foothills County, punting it to February instead of discussing it today. She says with the 11 new development vote and budget discussions ahead, there are bigger priorities. calgaryherald.com/news/local-new…

And #yyccc unanimously agrees to that. So further discussion of that annexation won't come up again for several months.

Coun. Jeff Davison is now asking to postpone discussion of the residential parking permit program too. Apparently there's further work and investigation they want on the issue. Committee approved making residents pay for the permits last month: calgaryherald.com/news/local-new… #yyccc

Coun. Colley-Urquhart, Farkas and Demong all say they'd rather the item just die — they don't want further work done on it. But in a 9-5 vote, parking permits get kicked down the road for "further consultation with members of council and stakeholders." Back in 2021.

Coun. Evan Woolley is now trying to get his urgent notice of motion on the floor on work to consider reallocating CPS funding during budget discussions. calgaryherald.com/news/local-new… #yyccc

Coun. Diane Colley-Urquhart says she doesn't think Woolley's motion is urgent and it's pre-empting budget, so she won't support putting it on the floor at this meeting. #yyccc

Colley-Urquhart: "I personally view this as a first step to defund the police. ... There have been hundreds of emails on this attempt to do this." She also says CPS should have the chance to present their budget ask first. #yyccc

Nenshi says he's gone back and forth on this motion with Woolley, the CPS chief and commission chair, and he believes it's a debate worth having at council prior to budget because it would mean there's "pre-work" available on what reallocation could look like. #yyccc

Coun. Davison, Gondek and Sutherland all say they're in support of getting the CPS funding motion on the agenda today. Davison says it's a good chance to get a conversation on the floor about what funding reallocation could look like. #yyccc

To get an item of urgent business on the floor, a 2/3 majority of #yyccc is required, so 10 votes. The vote was 9-5 with Colley-Urquhart, Magliocca, Farkas, Chu, and Demong opposed, so it failed.
But Demong changed his vote. So 10-4 — Woolley's motion is on the agenda.

Coun. George Chahal also has an urgent notice of motion he's trying to get on the floor. I haven't seen this proposal yet, but Chahal says it's on hailstorm relief for the northeast. #yyccc agrees to add that to the agenda.

Ok. Agenda-setting just took so long that we're skipping the consent agenda discussion and chief paramedic Darren Sandbeck, as well as other AHS representatives, are in chambers to discuss EMS dispatch consolidation. #yyccc

#yyccc asked to speak with people from AHS on this issue after they voted in September to officially oppose the change: calgaryherald.com/news/local-new…

Chief paramedic Sandbeck is presenting now. He says 911 callers will notice "no change" after ambulance dispatch is brought to an AHS site instead of municipal centres, like the remaining ones currently in Calgary, Red Deer, Lethbridge and Wood Buffalo. #yyccc

This is how Sandbeck says EMS calls currently break down in Calgary. One of the main issues municipalities have been raising about dispatch consolidation is the ability for firefighters and ambulances to communicate for medical first response calls #yyccc

Calgary officials have outlined that firefighters arrive at the scene to offer medical first response around half the time, and Sandbeck says it's actually only 17%. He says those are the facts despite "perceptions." Not sure what accounts for the data discrepancies here. #yyccc

Sandbeck says ambulance response times won't increase and says response times have stayed "relatively stable" in other cities that were brought under the EMS consolidated dispatch model in 2009. #yyccc

These are the benefits of consolidated dispatch, according to Sandbeck. The city has disputed that this change will save any money, and they say they don't want EMS dispatch removed from their system. #yyccc

Sandbeck is directly going after some of the data city officials presented in Sept about how Calgary's 911 dispatch centre follows best practices outlined by the U.S. 911 commission recommendations #yyccc

Apparently Coun. Colley-Urquhart will be grilling the AHS reps on behalf of #yyccc — other councillors have sent her their questions. She's a nurse, and has spoken out pretty vocally against EMS consolidation: calgaryherald.com/news/local-new…

Colley-Urquhart just said the "tone" of today's presentation is "somewhat offensive." She says "it implies the facts and the data that we are presenting have been a myth." #yyccc

AHS VP and medical director of clinical operations Dr. Ted Braun is also presenting on the consolidation plan today. He and Sandbeck says planning is important to ensure consolidation goes smoothly so that the public continues to have confidence in the system. #yyccc

Colley-Urquhart wants to know more details about the transition plan for EMS dispatch, asks, isn't council entitled to know about that?
Dr. Braun said he didn't bring all the information on that today but they can work on giving more responses. #yyccc

Nenshi says he has questions related to data and evidence. He asked for data on what happened to emergency response times across the rest of the province after the consolidation of 2009. #yyccc

Nenshi: "Will you commit today to sharing data that shows exactly what happened ... when various consolidations were done?" #yyccc

Sandbeck says yes, they can make that commitment. They cannot share certain raw data, but they say they'll share data publicly. #yyccc

The City of Calgary currently employs 50 ambulance dispatchers and AHS will be hiring 25 dispatchers for their centre. Nenshi asks how cutting those dispatchers by half will not affect service. #yyccc

Sandbeck says there's "capacity" in other call centres (AHS operates three) to make sure they can deal with call volumes from Calgary, with the 25 people they'll be hiring. #yyccc

Nenshi raising questions about the infographic detailing the percentage of calls where fire is involved. So... as a percentage of medical first response calls, which is 26% of the total, Calgary Fire actually arrives first 65% of the time, if you look just at that subset.

Nenshi says the conversation is really about where integration happens to make sure fire medics and paramedics are still collaborating to respond to emergencies. #yyccc

Coun. Gian-Carlo Carra says the city has been asking for a more detailed justification of consolidation with data, and he didn't hear that today, nor did he think there was respect for city concerns. #yyccc

Carra: "We don't have the data and I think there are some things we fundamentally disagree on ... I'm sorry we're so far apart on this." #yyccc

Oh, fire chief Steve Dongworth is on the line and Coun. Davison is asking him for a response on the assertions about fire response to medical calls. #yyccc

Dongworth says CFD also struggles with access to data from AHS. "I'm a little confused by that number of arriving first," he says. #yyccc

In response to a question from Coun. Davison, Sandbeck says public consultation wasn't a component of the EMS consolidation decision — it's a result of a provincial government decision from 2008. #yyccc

Coun. Druh Farrell says #yyccc has been assured this change will improve, not degrade service. She asks why there's a discrepancy between that statement and the Red Deer, Lethbridge, Wood Buffalo and Calgary mayors pushing back.

Dr. Braun says "obviously we have not convinced the council today" but he adds the decision is based on evidence, some international, some local. #yyccc

Farrell asks chief paramedic Sandbeck if he'll apologize and retract a statement he made in a letter sent to #yyccc that said Nenshi had made "untrue" statements. Here's a look at the letter: smartcdn.prod.postmedia.digital/calgaryherald/…

Nenshi is pushing on this. A letter from Health Minister Tyler Shandro, with a statement from Sandbeck attached, was sent to all of #yyccc and Nenshi says there was a "personal attack" on him in it. Here's the specific part Nenshi is angry about:

Nenshi says #yyccc would like to see the "international evidence" that AHS referenced they have used to make the consolidation decision.

And this discussion is closed. Lunch break time... onto the rest of the massive agenda when we're back from break. #yyccc

#yyccc is still on. We're through all the land-use public hearings and now on the public hearing on update of the municipal development plan. And Larry Heather just called the electronic voting records that appear on the screen the "evil displays," so there's that.

#yyccc is about to adjourn for dinner break but Coun. Jeromy Farkas wants to set the neighbourhood speed limit public hearing for first thing tomorrow morning. Apparently there are 29 people signed up to speak to council.

Coun. Druh Farrell and Jeff Davison are concerned people have been waiting all day for their turn for the speed limit public hearing and they don't want to push them into tomorrow at the 11th hour. #yyccc

The council compensation review report is up for discussion right after dinner break. It's been specifically set for that time so the citizen members of the review committee can present to #yyccc.

Alrighty so Farkas is withdrawing his move to set the speed limit public hearing to tomorrow morning, but council is almost certainly not going to finish that tonight and it'll be continuing into the morning. #yyccc

Against all odds #yyccc has actually started the neighbourhood speed limit public hearing tonight. Past 9 p.m. Typical practice is for council meetings to adjourn at 9:30.

A few people have spoken at the hearing so far but now Nenshi is reading names off the list of the around 30 who had signed up and no one is there. Item is getting postponed to tomorrow morning so the public hearing will start again then and #yyccc will vote after.