City council debates LRT, and whether to license cats and dogs

It's a bureaucratic move, the sort of fine print that often escapes people who aren't ardent city hall watchers.

But Hamilton'slight rail transit (LRT) project is on the agenda again Wednesday, and the decision will impact how the project moves forward.

City council will debate whether to keep a special subcommittee that oversees the $1 billion Metrolinx project's many details. Instead, some will argue those details should go to all Hamilton councillors at onceincluding those whodon't want the project in the first place.

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It's a move that comes from Judi Partridge, a Ward 15 councillor from Flamborough. Partridge has voted for LRT over the years, provided the province pays to build it. Now it will, but Partridge still has questions.

Her motion would disband the subcommittee, and all the project details would go to the general issues committee (GIC) instead. Every councillor sits on that.

She has another motion too. This one says that every binding agreement between the city and Metrolinx will come directly to GIC.

So would decisions requiring city money, or any that impact the whole city. That includes "traffic, infrastructure or any environmental related issues."

Those two motions appear to conflict, but Partridge could drop the first one and pursue the second instead. She couldn't be reached for comment Tuesday afternoon.

So why does this matter? Some of Hamilton's16-member council have deep questions about the projectnow. And at least one Chad Collins of Ward 5 appears to have backed away altogether.

On one hand, having details come directly to GIC would mean more hours of LRT debate there, putting the project more often in the crosshairs of skeptical councillors. On the other, it would mean suburban councillors feel more a part of the process.

GIC and city council already give final approval to the LRT subcommittee's decisions.

Here's what else is on Wednesday's agenda:

• Licensing dogs and cats. Council will vote whether to ratify a committee decision not to license cats. Coun. Sam Merulla also has a motion to drop dog licensing too.
• Avoiding Trump hats. Mayor Fred Eisenberger and Coun. Aidan Johnson want to establish a code of conduct for the committee of adjustment, and other municipal committees. This comes after a committee of adjustment member had a Donald Trump "Make America great again" hat on the table at a meeting last week. The committee is quasi-judicial and non-partisan.
• Improving life for cats. Johnson will push to develop a "Hamilton cat strategy." He wants organizations already working for cat welfare to work with the city. He also wants it to not cost local taxpayers.
• Sewage in Hamilton creeks. Some older homes have improper sewer connections so some sanitary sewer waste goes into Hamilton's storm sewers. Then it ends up in local creeks. It will cost the city about $900,000 a year for more than eight years to fix those improper connections. The public works committee voted last week to defer that to the 2017 budget.

CBC Hamilton reporter Samantha Craggs will tweet live from the meeting. Follow her at @SamCraggsCBC or in the window above.