LED Street Lights, City of Ottawa Winter Maintenance, New Ottawa Library & More

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Thank you to all residents who have come out to our Town Halls thus far! We've had great discussions and are excited about the work we have to do. Photo credit: Jeff Morris from the Manotick Messenger

Thank you to all residents who have come out to our Town Halls thus far! We've had great discussions and are excited about the work we have to do. Photo credit: Jeff Morris from the Manotick Messenger

Due to some unpredictable weather recently, I have had to postpone two of our previously scheduled town hall meetings. The two were planned for Munster and Ashton. Additionally, the Richmond Village Association scheduled their Annual General Meeting on the same evening as we have scheduled a town hall meeting in Richmond. As a result, we will be rescheduling that town hall as well as the ones in Munster and Ashton. We will be looking to April to hold those three meetings. We do, however, have two upcoming meetings on the following dates:

  • February 26th: Marlborough Community Hall, 7:00pm

  • March 5th: Goulbourn Town Hall, 7:00pm

LED Street Lights in Rideau-Goulbourn

At my North Gower Town Hall, we had a discussion about LED lighting and a resident wanted to know how many LED street lights were installed in Rideau-Goulbourn. We have a total of 1880 streetlights in Rideau-Goulbourn. Currently, we have 193 Hydro Ottawa Retrofit lights and 215 LED lights. There are still 1472 street lights that need to be changed to LED lights. Staff anticipate all of the lights being changed in 2020.

City of Ottawa Winter Maintenance

I know residents are frustrated by the amount of snow they have been forced to deal with this winter. City crews have been operating around the clock since January 19th and all resources have been deployed during snow events. The City is trying to clear and remove snow as quickly and efficiently as possible but with a record amount of snow in January, and February likely bringing a similar fate, it has been challenging. Please note that snow removal is based on a road-priority system, with high-use roads and emergency and transit routes cleared first. After the last snowflake falls, the city standard is that residential roads are cleared within 16 hours. If your street is missed, please call 311, as they are available to action your request 24/7.

The City also encourages residents to avoid parking on the street where possible, to support efficient snow removal. Please remember not to push snow onto the street as this puts others using the roadway at risk, and makes it more difficult for City plows to pass. We sincerely appreciate your help and your patience as the City continues to clean up the streets.

Ottawa Public Library and Library Archives Canada Joint Facility Project  

In December, Diamond Schmitt Architects and KWC Architects were selected to design the new central library, which will be an Ottawa Public Library and Library Archives Canada joint facility. Part of the design will include a robust public engagement process, both online and in person.

Billed as the Inspire555 series, in a nod to the facility’s new address at 555 Albert St., the engagement process will include design workshops, pop-up events, expert lectures, online activities (local and national) and engagement with Indigenous communities - all planned for 2019.

The first in-person design workshops on Building Blocks are set for later this month and the details are as follows:

Phase 1 Design Workshop: Building Blocks
Participants will be invited to register for one of two design workshops on how to make best use of the site for the new joint facility:

  • Thursday, February 28, 6 pm to 9 pm, Jean Piggott Hall, Ottawa City Halll

  • Saturday, March 2, 9 am to 12 pm, location to be determined

The public is invited to visit Inspire555.ca to pre-register for one of the two workshops.

From 2013 to 2016, more than 3,000 people provided input into the spaces and uses for a new central library. In 2016, following the decision to explore a partnership with Library and Archives Canada, the public provided input into the selection criteria for a site for the joint facility, as well as its functional programming.

This is an exciting time for our City and we encourage Rideau-Goulbourn residents to have their say!

Community Dancing in Manotick

Interested in a fun, interactive session of dance, laughter & music? Join the Ever Hopeful Stringband and caller Pippa Hall for a family-friendly, alcohol-free evening of community dancing, including circles, squares and contras. Each dance is taught and the whole family is invited. The evening begins with simple dances, followed by dances that build on skills as the evening progresses. The fun takes place Friday, February 22nd, from 7:00pm to 9:30pm, at the Manotick United Church.  Admission is $10, $5 for those aged 12-18 and free for anyone under the age of 12. The family max admission is $20. For more information, please call 613-692-4576 or visit http://dance.manotick.net.

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If you have any comments, questions or concerns, please feel free to email me at [email protected] or contact me by phone at 613-580-2491. For information on Rideau-Goulbourn issues, please visit RideauGoulbourn.ca.

Happy New Year!

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We hope you have had the chance to take in the beautiful lights in Richmond's Memorial Park!

We hope you have had the chance to take in the beautiful lights in Richmond's Memorial Park!

Happy New Year Rideau-Goulbourn! As we embark on a new year, I do so with new responsibilities at City Hall. In December, Council approved the roles and responsibilities for the new term of council. After serving last term as Chair of the Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee, I had the privilege of being named the Chair of the Environment Committee. Subsequently, I brought forward a Notice of Motion to change the name of that committee to the Standing Committee on Water, Waste and Environmental Protection. The intent is to ensure that the name of the committee reflects the broad mandate of the committee and its key priorities.

As for other responsibilities, I will continue to sit on Agriculture & Rural Affairs Committee, Finance & Economic Development Committee and the Rideau Valley Conservation Authority. I will also be joining the Ottawa Community Housing Board and the Planning Committee.

2019 Town Hall Series

In the coming weeks, our office will be hosting a series of town hall meetings to help kick off the term of Council. We will host these meetings in Burritt’s Rapids, Pierce’s Corners, Kars, North Gower, Stittsville, Richmond, Munster, Ashton, Manotick, Country Club Village, Fallowfield Village and in the Quinn’s Pointe community in Barrhaven. These meetings will take place between January 9th and March 5th.

The intent of these meetings will be to look at what issues are present currently in our communities, what priorities we want to focus on and any other matters that residents feel requires our attention. It is also an opportunity to discuss how best we can improve communication. We have a number of new initiatives we are going to bring forward in order to better serve our residents. Included in that will be drop in meetings where residents can stop by and visit with our team. We will rotate these meetings around the ward every two weeks.

For the Town Hall meetings, we have the following meetings scheduled:

  • January 9th: Canadian Golf & Country Club, 7:00pm

  • January 12th: St. Patrick’s Church, 10:00am

  • January 15th: Manotick Arena, 7:00pm

  • January 19th: Burritt’s Rapids Community Hall, 10:00am

  • January 23rd: Munster Community Centre, 7:00pm

  • January 28th: North Gower Client Service Centre, 7:00pm

  • February 4th: St. Benedict Elementary School, 7:00pm

  • February 6th: Ashton Christ Church, 7:00pm

  • February 13th: Kars Recreation Centre, 7:00pm

  • February 19th: St. Philip’s Parish Hall, 7:00pm

  • February 26th: Marlborough Community Hall, 7:00pm

  • March 5th: Goulbourn Town Hall, 7:00pm

I very much look forward to these meetings, as does our team. I hope you will be able to attend.

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If you have any comments, questions or concerns, please feel free to email me at [email protected] or contact me by phone at 613-580-2491. For information on Rideau-Goulbourn issues, please visit RideauGoulbourn.ca.

2019 Town Hall Series, Richmond Transit Meeting, Washka Park & More

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Speeding Costs You Deerly_EN.jpg

As we march into December and toward Christmas, things begin to get a little busier in the community and at City Hall. Throughout Rideau-Goulbourn, our communities will begin to celebrate Santa Claus’ arrival with countless events. Christmas in the Gower kicks it all off this Friday, November 30th. On Saturday, December 1st, the Manotick Santa Claus parade begins at 1:00pm. The Richmond Santa Claus parade takes place a week later on the 8th beginning at St. Philip’s School at 5:30pm.

Meanwhile, at City Hall, the new term of Council begins on December 1st with the official swearing in ceremony being held at the Shaw Centre on Monday, December 3rd. We will follow that up with a couple of Council meetings and the Nominating Committee as we determine who will sit on what committee or board in the coming term of Council. It is also anticipated that Council will consider the next steps for the City of Ottawa following the legalization of cannabis and Ontario’s regulations surrounding retail sales of cannabis.

2019 Town Hall Series

In 2019, we will be hosting a series of town hall meetings to help kick off the term of Council. We will host these meetings in Burritt’s Rapids, Pierce’s Corners, Kars, North Gower, Stittsville, Richmond, Munster, Ashton, Manotick, Country Club Village, Fallowfield Village and in the Quinn’s Pointe community in Barrhaven. We are still finalizing all of the dates and will communicate those shortly.

Richmond Transit Meeting

Before we host a general town hall meeting in Richmond, we will be hosting a Richmond Transit Meeting to discuss issues with the 283, transition to light rail and future opportunities. The meeting will be on Monday, December 10 from 7 to 9 pm at St. Philip's Parish Hall (127 Burke Street). Attendees at the meeting will include John Manconi (General Manger of Transportation Services Department), Jocelyne Begin (Manager and Special Advisor to the General Manager), Pat Scrimgeour (Director of Transit Customer Systems & Planning) and Troy Charter (Director, Transit Operations).

We look forward to seeing many Richmond residents there and working towards a sustainable solution. 

Washka Park

Manotick’s newest park design is seeking your input. Washka Park will be located at 855 Artemis Circle within the new Regional development, Riverwalk, on Manotick Main Street at Century Road. Comments are being accepted until December 14th. Please visit https://tinyurl.com/washkapark to find out more about Washka Park and to see the proposed design.

The name of the park is derived from an Algonquin word. Through the development process, archeologists found sherds of decorated Middle Woodland Period (approximately 500BC) pottery near the water within the development.  The Algonquins were contacted and they chose to name the archeological site with the word ‘washkà’ [wush-KAH], which is their word for ‘crooked’, and in this case acknowledges the zigzag lines impressed in the pottery sherds that were recovered.  As a result, Regional adopted that name for their proposed park.

Kanata South Link

In the past, I have mentioned the Kanata South Link project that will see the widening of Old Richmond Road and West Hunt Club as well as intersection upgrades including a roundabout at Hope Side Road and Old Richmond Road. I am pleased to report that the project is out to tender now and expected to close before year-end.  Utility work is scheduled to continue over the winter months.  Once the contract has been awarded, the priority will be to begin with layout, environmental mitigation measures such as erosion and sediment control, fencing, tree clearing for the utility works along the new road widening corridor and in-water works. 

The National Capital Commission Land Transfer Agreements were approved by the NCC Board last week. They will go through their internal processes over the next few weeks with final signature from the Director of NCC before they will finalize permission to enter the lands for construction.

Once half loads have been lifted in May 2019, the main construction work will begin and will be completed by fall 2020.  We will be sure to continue to post updates on this major project as it continues to progress.

A December Fa La La

The Village Voices Women’s Choir presents “A December Fa La La” on Sunday, December 9th at 2:00pm with special guests The Manotick Brass Ensemble at St. Paul’s Anglican Church, 5462 Osgoode Main Street.  Advance tickets are available for $12 while they can be purchased at the door for $15.  Children under the age of 12 free. There will be refreshments available and gift baskets to be raffled. The evening will also be an opportunity to collect non-perishable donations for the Food Bank. Please consider a donation when attending. For additional information, please contact [email protected].

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If you have any comments, questions or concerns, please feel free to email me at [email protected] or contact me by phone at 613-580-2491. For information on Rideau-Goulbourn issues, please visit RideauGoulbourn.ca.