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4 – WESTMOUNT INDEPENDENT – March 19, 2008Garbage in, garbage out (GIGO)By Eve AspinallMember of the Healthy City projectWhat would you do if there were nogarbage pick-up? Would you dig a pit inyour garden? Or pile your garbage in thestreet and walk past it every day, watchingrats scurry around?Maybe you’d dump it in a neighbour’syard? Too late, that is already what is happeningright now when Westmount sendsits garbage to Lachenaie. And surprise!surprise! The residents of Lachenaie donot like receiving Westmount’s garbageand are protesting the extension of thepresent land-fill site, which will be filled bynext autumn.If you have to take care of your owngarbage, and your pit is nearly full, whatdo you do? Maybe you can reduce it bycomposting your kitchen waste. It wouldbe a bonanza for gardens, trees andshrubs. The city of Westmount has greatcompost made that citizens can availthemselves of. Those living in apartmentsor having no green space could donatecompostable material to the city. But willcomposting be enough?RecyclingRecycling everything possible would beanother reduction to the garbage problem:all paper and cardboard products, all glassbottles and jars, tin cans, hangers, cleanaluminum pie plates and foil, all hard plasticliquid or food containers (except No.6,toothpaste tubes, toys, tools, and thoseWESTMOUNTINDEPENDENTWe are Westmount.Editor & Publisher: David Price 514.935.4537Editorial coordinator: Kristin McNeill514.223.3578 – indie@westmountindependent.comChief reporter: Laureen Sweeneylaureen@westmountindependent.comLayout: Studio Melrose/Ted Sanctonwith mixed composition), clean plasticbags, dry cleaner bags – but not waxed orgreasy paper.Now, how about those old clothes anddraperies you no longer want? How abouttaking these to the recycling bin at Westmount’sCorporation Yard or giving themto the Salvation Army? Did you know thatsome of the paper and cartons you may beusing come from recycled fabric?There are several organizations thatwill pick up your old kitchen and laundryappliances. Electronic waste can be takento several sites on the island of Montreal,including Westmount’s Corporation Yard.Maybe you can give your computer to alocal school, or to one in an underprivilegedarea, before you consign it to a recyclingdepot?Leftover paint can be left at some localhardware and paint stores, empty paintcans go to the hazardous waste collectionsat Victoria Hall in May and October. If youhave questions concerning disposal, thecity has an excellent web site (westmount.org)that lists what, and where,things can go.ReducingDo you still have too much garbage?What about reducing consumption? Mustyou replace your furniture and your applianceswhen you redecorate? Have you consideredthe energy consumption and thetoxic emissions that their manufacture entails?Have you ever suggested to your groceror butcher that plastic wrapping andThree times monthly(1st, 3rd and last Wednesday of the month),next issue: March 26Westmount (H3Y and H3Z):10,000 copies by Canada Post1,000 copies distributed to over40 waiting-room dropsIf you don’t want to get our publication, Canada Post advises that you place a sticker on your mailbox that says, “No admail.” Si vous ne voulez pas reçevoir notre publication: Malheureusement, nous ne sommes pas capable de bloquerune adresse individuelle. Il faut mettre une étiquette près de votre boite à lettres qui lit « Pas de média-poste ».If you do want to receive our publication and you have a sticker on your mailbox (or are outside our distribution area),please send a cheque for $1.50 times the number of issues left in the year. We will mail them to you for the rest of thecurrent calendar year.Most frequently restocked drop sites: Lobby of 310 Victoria Ave.; Sherbrooke St. exit to Metro grocery store at VictoriaAve. and Sherbrooke St.Drop notice: Snow conditions may delay us getting around to all of our drop sites on Tuesday of publication week.Whatever the snow conditions, we still aim to reach our “most reliable” drops (Metro on Victoria, Westmount Squareand 310 Victoria lobby) on Tuesdays.Advertising sales:Annika Melanson 514.223.3567Published by Sherbrooke-Valois Inc.310 Victoria Ave., Suite 105Westmount, QC H3Z 2M9Fax: 514.935.9241Letters & Comments: We welcome your letters, but reserve the right to choose and edit them.Please email any letter and comments to indie@westmountindependent.com.Every letter of support helps us with advertisers!Paper is ‘a wonderful mix’I have recently had the enormouspleasure of reading your newspaper. Ilove it. It really is a wonderful mix ofbusiness, politics, fun information,events. And terrific touches like the petsfor adoption and the real estateinformation. Snoopy people like me loveit!Well done – and I know the WestmountIndependent will thrive for many years tocome. It certainly deserves to.Louise PennyStraight talk abouta straight pathTo quote Councillor Cynthia Lulham inthe February 27 issue of the Westmount Independent:“‘The new [bike path] in WestmountPark will be [straight],’ shepromised.”This plan will be a green light for theincreasing number of cyclists to switch onstyrofoam do not bio-degrade and shouldnot be used?At a micro-level, garbage with no placeto go is still hypothetical, but at the macrolevel,it is reality. Do you remember theAmerican ship loaded with garbage thatsailed the world searching for a place tounload its cargo? We have to stop andthink about our present-day priorities. Recently,US president George Bush issued$800 tax rebates to encourage citizens tospend more money to jump-start the economy.Both the US and Canadian governmentsare handing out huge sums toindustry. Meanwhile, factories around theworld have been shutting down. Othersare streamlining, becoming more efficient,and hopefully, greener. But do weneed more goods or do we need moreservices?We have grown up with the idea thatmore goods and enhanced Gross NationalProduct (GNP) are the way to go. The depletionof our natural resources and the inherentdamage to the environment havebeen ignored. In the last decade, our qualityof life has not improved by the overconsumptionof material goods. The richgot richer, the poor got poorer and the gapbetween them grew larger.Economists are going to have to developdifferent strategies to the quick fix,“produce more” system of the past. Thenew policy must be ecological and sustainable.It takes time and hard work tochange our ingrained habits and sense ofentitlement.For the sake of our heirs and ourplanet, we must.Letters to the editortheir powerful gears to speed throughWestmount Park. If carried out, the consequenceswill be disastrous, if not tragic,for the elementary and kindergarten childrenwho daily play beside the path – andfor the seniors and pedestrians who use it.Besides, a number of beautiful maturetrees will have to be destroyed to make thebike path straight.Yours truly,Stephen Chin, Sherbrooke St.Getting the horsebefore the (waste) cartTo quote the late Peter Kohl: “Weshouldn’t be satisfied until no garbageleaves home.” A household that is recyclingand composting to the full does notneed more than one regular garbage pickupper month, if that. And garbage withoutputrescibles does not stink, so havingit stay around awaiting pick-up is not a realproblem.If Westmount moved from its currenttwo regular-garbage pick-ups per week toone per month, we would realize an annualsaving of 92 truck trips around thecity per year. A significant reduction toglobal warming, not to mention noise reductionand increased safety! And less obnoxiouslandfills, and…, and…But none of this can work properlywithout active composting — garden compostingin private homes (door-to-doorpick-up elsewhere), complete recyclablespick-up and a well-informed citizenry. So,we’ve got the proverbial cart a little beforethe horse here.How to get the horse in the right positionbefore the cart?Why so timid, Westmount?In March or April of this year, Westmountwill be starting a curbside compostpick-up in a small test area of the city forprivate homes only. But what of the apartmentbuildings in the area? Without accessto home composting and nowhere toput the compost even if they did, apartmentdwellers are the ones who need theservice most. Why so timid, Westmount?One easy way to get that horse and cartbusiness in order would be for the city toannounce that it was going on monthlygarbage pick-up starting soon at a specificdate, say on April 1, 2009 (to give peopletime to react and get organized).Then we citizens (with some educationalhelp from the city) had better getour recycling and composting in order. Ifcouncil feels they have to wait for its citizensto tell them they want this (or manyother similar environmentalimprove- continued on the next page
WESTMOUNT INDEPENDENT – March 19, 2008 – 5Civic Alert: Finding Westmount’s next director generalPart II: What city hall veterans would look forBy Don Wedge“I don’t think enough peoplerealize how much we citizensare going to missBruce St. Louis when he retiresas director general,”said a friend this week.“About 20 years ago, weand our neighbours had atricky sewage problem. We involved himLetters to the Editorcontinued from previous pagements), then we don’t know why they’rewaiting: our reading is that the majority ofcitizens in Westmount and elsewhere areyearning for this kind of action – now!Let’s go, Westmount! We’re behind you100%.Enthused Westmount citizens,Tony Moffat, Sunnyside Ave. &Richard Aylett, Claremont AveContractors snowedA crackdown on private snow removalcontractors operating in Westmount in theaftermath of the March 8 snowstorm resultedin fines being issued to seven.Three were issued tickets of $1,200each for operating without a permit, reportsPublic Security Director RichardBlondin. The other four received $75 finesfor dumping snow where it would impedetraffic or safety.“We added additional patrols for thispurpose,” he said.Smoked outSmoking in a bus shelter has resultedin a $75 ticket. Public Security officialssaid the offender was spotted by a passingpatrol March 4 in the shelter at Park Placeand St. Catherine St. The fine was issuedunder the provincial tobacco law for whichWestmount public safety officers are designatedenforcers.and he surprised us with a visit to explainwhat was being done. Ever since, we havefelt that we could approach him if we hadanother problem.”That story could be repeated by dozens– probably hundreds – of Westmounters,including myself.How can he be replaced? After 15 yearsin the city’s top job, he will retire later thisyear.Mayor Karin Marks and the councilhave begun the selection process. Westmountis also blessed with loyal servantswho continue to be interested after retirement.I contacted five of them about qualitiesthey would look for in the new top administrator.50-year residentPhillip Aspinall was finance commissionerfrom 1983 to 1989 when St. Louis,then a departmental manager, was earmarkedfor advancement.Aspinall based his views on his municipalexperience as well as a 38-year businesscareer, during which he became oneof Canada’s leading accountants, followedby seven years in the public sector as headof the Royal Victoria Hospital. The 50-yearresident still maintains a close interest inthe city.After some consideration, Aspinall providedan inventory of ten qualities the selectorsshould look for in seeking the newDG (see panel below).“There may have to be some compromises,but you must start with clear objectives.If not, you are in for trouble downthe way,” he warned. “If they can findsomeone with such skills, they will be onthe road to success.”Many of Aspinall’s qualities wereechoed by the others polled.Schultz looks internallyManley Schultz, a consulting engineer,was recruited as director general by the1989 council, with a brief to mentor St.Louis for his anticipated top managementrole.After his three-year term, he remainedinvolved in the community, including becomingsecretary of the Westmount MunicipalAssociation. So he, too, was a closeobserver of St. Louis from several vantagepoints.He retired to Ottawa 11 years ago.Phil Aspinall’s criteria for the next DG1. A university degree.2. Preferably, but not necessarily, an engineer.3. A good communicator, preferably someone who has had experience inhuman resources.4. A good listener would be essential in Westmount, which is so multifaceted.5. A consensus-builder rather than an autocratic type.6. Reasonable computer skills.7. Must be bilingual, obviously.8. Previous experience in a not-for-profit environment —that could be inmunicipal, or other level of government, or a non-governmentorganization (NGO).9. A stable health record.10. A strategic thinker — someone who thinks forward on a macro scale.His first question when told of St.Louis’ retirement was: “Is there someoneinternally?” Of course, there may be, butcouncil has decided to cast a wide net, consultingheadhunters in the process.Cutler welcomes continuityContinuity remains important to MayCutler, mayor when Schultz was recruited.“I am delighted Bruce will stay to train thenewcomer,” Cutler said, adding she wouldfavour another engineer-manager replacement.“Citizens care about the housekeeping.”Embracing the city’s “culture” wassomething emphasized by Fred Caluori,who was deputized to “show the ropes” tothe rookie St. Louis when he joined the engineeringdepartment in 1975.Caluori, who was director of PublicWorks during St. Louis’ term, pointed outthat job requirements had changed overhis 30 years with the city. “Today you cannotavoid the environment,” he stated.Trent looks at relationshipsFor Peter Trent, who in the ’80s encouragedSt. Louis to grasp the opportunityof a big stepping-stone – promotionto head Hydro Westmount – the top prioritywill be the relationship between thenew director general, responsible for allthe city’s activities, and the mayor, as thecitizens’ representative.“It is terrible when they interfere witheach other’s roles – as has happened insome places.“The mayor is in constant contact withthe public and this must be respected.”In choosing the new chief, Trent observedthat often the DG lasts longer thanthe term of the council that made the appointment.Nevertheless, he recognized the challengeahead in selecting the successor.“Good luck to those trying to find the replacement,”was his closing wish.Let’s all echo that!Don Wedge’s e-mail addressis calert@web.net.
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