February is here. The days are getting longer and the promise of spring is definitely in the air.

Speaking of great expectations, I have every confidence 2010 will be as rosy for Halifax Regional Municipality as 2009, especially in terms of construction activity. Last year, the value of all the residential, commercial and institutional building permits HRM issued was more than $681 million. Residential development was particularly active, worth almost $410 million, $28 million more than in 2008.

Last year’s good news caps an encouraging decade of construction activity in HRM. In the last 10 years, more than $6 billion has been invested in our area and there’s every indication of billions more to come over the next few years, along with the hundreds of jobs involved.

Looking ahead, I’m aware of construction projects with a total anticipated value of almost $1 billion for Halifax peninsular; projects which have either been approved but not yet issued permits; are pending; or have actually begun construction.

There are other developments with a similar combined value planned for the Dartmouth Waterfront, Burnside and Dartmouth Crossing. As well, there are proposals worth a total of more than $1 billion pending for Ragged Lake and Bedford West.

Developments like these and others waiting in the wings will help expand the tax base and represent a solid expansion of HRM’s job base.

This kind of activity is a real vote of confidence on the part of financiers, developers and builders in our municipality’s future, particularly when you consider that the world is still emerging from the worst economic downturn in more than 80 years.

Great credit must go to Regional Council for the important initiatives it has undertaken to make HRM a more attractive place than ever in which to do business. In addition to the clear regional plan we now have in place, we also have HRMbyDesign, a landmark urban design plan for downtown Halifax. As well, we have streamlined the approval process and introduced tracking software to handle development applications.

Visionary initiatives like these are making our municipality the foremost come-to place of Atlantic Canada.

Exactly one year from now, HRM will host the 2011 Canada Winter Games and the excitement has already started.

The largest sporting event in our history begins Feb. 11 next year and will last for 15 action-packed days.

To mark the start of the countdown, local sports venues are opening their doors to the public, without charge, from Feb. 11-16. Everyone is being encouraged to get active and enjoy the facilities that will be hosting the 3,600 athletes, coaches and managers coming to Halifax next year for the big event.

All the activities are free and include skating, swimming, skiing and curling. There’s also free admission to several sporting events. Here’s a detailed list of what’s on:

• Feb 12 - Public skate, 12 - 1:30 p.m. at the Halifax Forum;
• Feb 12 - Admission to SMU Varsity Hockey Game, 7:00 p.m. at the Halifax Forum;
• Feb 13 - Public skate, 6 - 8:30 p.m. at the St Margarets Centre;
• Feb 13 - Family swim, 3:30 – 5 p.m. at Cole Harbour Place;
• Feb 13 - Curling lessons, 7 - 8:30 p.m. and 8:30 -10 p.m. at the Mayflower Curling Club;
• Feb 15- Learn-to –Ski package, 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. at Wentworth; *
• Feb 16 - Downhill ski lessons, rentals and lift pass, 10:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. at Martock;*
• Feb 16 – Cross-country ski and snowboard lessons, 5:00 - 7:00 p.m. at Martock;*
• Feb 16 - Public skate, 6:30 - 7:45 p.m. at the Dartmouth Sportsplex.

*(Events with an asterisk require registration. Details at www.canadagames2011.ca )

And there’s much more happening this month to keep the momentum going, starting with the official proclamation of February 9-16 as Canada Games Week.

If you’re riding Metro Transit this month, you’ll have the chance to meet our two Canada Games mascots, Anni and Sammi. They’ll be visiting terminals as well as riding the buses and ferries on Feb. 11 and also on Feb. 16, so keep an eye out for them and feel free to shake a paw when they say hello.

All the excitement comes to a head on Feb. 16, which is going to be declared Nova Scotia Day at the Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

A number of schools in our area will have special celebrations to mark the day and so will we.

On that Tuesday, you’re all invited to the Grand Parade in downtown Halifax from noon until 1:30 p.m. for 90 minutes of fun and games. There will be free refreshments, slide shows of the Canada Winter Games, live entertainment and a very unusual pick-up hockey game which you won’t want to miss.

It’ll be street hockey at its finest with teams made up of local athletes, Moosehead players, HRM councillors and even some MLAs!

This is certainly going to be a month you won’t soon forget. And it’s just the start of the warm-up for next February, when the Canada Winter Games come to town!

Those of you who drive in the metro area will have noticed something different, literally right before your eyes - it’s easier to see and be seen at night!

That’s because we’ve undertaken a pilot project to replace some of our older, high-pressure sodium streetlights with more efficient LED ones. The project is being funded by LED Roadway Lighting Ltd.; the federal Eco-Trust Program; Conserve Nova Scotia; Natural Resources Canada; Nova Scotia Power; and us.

The new technology has been introduced at select locations on Robie Street, Dunbrack Street, Barrington Street, South Street, Hollis Street, Main Avenue, Leeds Street, Henry Street, University Avenue, Lakeland Boulevard, Hammonds Plains Road, the Bedford Highway, Forest Hills Parkway and Ash Lake Court.

So far, the results have been most encouraging. Tests show the new technology reduces light pollution; affords better visibility for motorists and pedestrians alike; and also lowers the energy bill in test areas by more than 50 percent. This reduces by 145 tonnes annually the amount of greenhouse gases being released by power plants and keeps us on track with our commitment to cut back HRM’s corporate emissions by 20 per cent by 2012. It’s win, win, win.

If the final report confirms our initial findings, we will be looking at an investment in LED technology on a much larger scale. If we convert all HRM’s 40,000 streetlights to these new fixtures, we would reduce our indirect greenhouse gas emissions by 12,562 tonnes per year.

This encouraging news complements our efforts to date to be a green municipality. In the last five years, HRM has completed $6.8 million in energy efficiency projects resulting in savings of $1.2 million annually and a 10,000-tonne reduction in our corporate greenhouse gas emissions each year.

Our efforts to be a sustainable community are being noticed on the national scene. The latest issue of Corporate Knights Magazine ranks us second only to Vancouver in the medium-sized city category. The independent publication takes into account such aspects as: ecological integrity; economic security; governance and empowerment; infrastructure; and built environment and social well-being.

This ranking confirms our own findings that HRM’s practices are creating a healthy, thriving community with an ever-decreasing environmental footprint.

Yes, there’s much to celebrate as we turn our faces towards the coming of spring.

If you have a comment or concern, I’d really like to hear from you. You can reach me here at City Hall at kellyp@halifax.ca or by phoning 490-4010.

Respectfully, I remain,

Peter J. Kelly