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.