January 21, 2008 SCOTT TRACEY MERCURY STAFF GUELPH Todd Dennis is hardly reeling from the revelation south-end projects ranked low on a city council priority-setting exercise. "It doesn't surprise me," said the chair of the Clairfields Neighbourhood Group. "I'm just glad they're on a priority list, because for years they weren't on any list at all." City council has been trying to set a list of priorities to help with budget decision-making. The final list of priorities goes to council for consideration tonight. Mayor Karen Farbridge said while some people may be concerned about the rankings assigned to certain projects, all items on the final list "have percolated to the top from almost 200 issues" compiled by councillors and city staff. "All of them you see there have a level of significance." <!--more--> That first list was whittled down, with each councillor asked to identify their top 10 priorities. A ranking accompanying each item on the final list indicates the number of councillors who included that item on their top 10. Implementation of the community energy plan and a new organic waste facility, for example, were highlighted by 10 councillors each, while just two included a south-end community centre and fire hall in their top 10. But Farbridge was quick to point out projects already underway or committed to -- such as the south-end fire hall and community centre -- will not be affected by their comparatively low rankings on the priorities list. "It's not a perfect process but it helps us to focus," the mayor said, calling this "the most extensive priorities-setting exercise I've ever been involved with." Dennis said the low rankings of the south-end projects is just further evidence the majority of council are not focused on the rapidly-growing south end of the city. "The south end is very vibrant, but we're largely ignored," he said. "There just seems to be so much focus on downtown." The Downtown Action Plan made seven councillors' top 10 lists. "Well, that's nice," Dennis said with a laugh. But while south-end projects might be near the top of the minds of only two councillors, local housing activist Ed Pickersgill was disappointed the words "social housing" do not appear anywhere on the final priorities list. Pickersgill conceded Wellington County is responsible for housing in the city as well as the county, but noted Guelph's vacancy rate "has plunged down into crisis range again, under two per cent," suggesting council should be concerned about it. "We shouldn't just prioritize what we can pay for," he said. "We should prioritize issues we want to pursue as well and then find partners in those areas." Farbridge said her council is concerned with a lack of affordable housing, but the purpose of this exercise was specifically to identify where city dollars should be spent and where limited staff resources are best utilized, so it wouldn't make sense to focus on something which is not a city staff responsibility. "We're not going to try to do everything and get nothing done," the mayor said. stracey@guelphmercury.com http://news.guelphmercury.com/News/article/284717