Councillor Kelly tours the Diefenbunker with tour guide, Brian Jeffrey, and the Executive Director of the Diefenbunker, Christine McGuire. Diefenbunker.ca
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Clarke's Column for February 9, 2023
As the community thaws out after a quick deep freeze and some unwelcome snow squalls, our office continues the business of helping to solve issues and representing the needs and wants of the people of West Carleton – March. These past weeks I have been involved in Committee and Council meetings, attempting to bring rural issues to the fore.
The issues of road safety and maintenance, the transparency of city government, and the lack of rural access to certain city services are the most common issues we see raised at our office. I am working to ensure I hear all of the concerns and challenges and will bring these forward as we establish the term of council priorities over the next weeks and months.
It has been such a pleasure to see people out in the community enjoying the beauty of winter despite the cold snap. I would like to thank everybody who organized and made it out to the Fitzroy Winter Carnival. Lots of good food, fun events, and I was pleased to see the carnival get kicked off with a big win by the Country Boys of Fitzroy Harbour over the City Boys to take the annual Carnival Cup. Good times were had by all as we celebrated the season here, and at the Corkery Community Centre for their family skating event.
Councillor Kelly at the Corkery Family Skate last weekend with Stephanie Rattray, Steve Berry and family.
I enjoy so much of the work of representing West Carleton – March, but these events are always particularly special. I look forward to being involved in some hands of Euchre in Fitzroy Harbour this weekend and ask for the mercy of participants as I am sure there will be some experts in attendance. Connecting with the residents of this community is always a great opportunity for me to hear from you so please, do not be afraid of striking up a chat with me at these events. Getting honest feedback from you is the only way I can truly represent the people in this Ward.
That representation this week took the form of budget consultations and the passing of a motion. At the February 1 Council meeting, I kept an election promise when I pressed City Staff to present all information used to arrive at the decision for the City to purchase battery electric buses. While I applaud staff’s intention to address climate change and recognize the need to move away from fossil fuels, I was unimpressed with how the plan came together and was bothered by how the procurement process lacked transparency. I am committed to supporting real programs that create real, identifiable change.
Too often, when talking about the climate emergency, people provide solutions that sound terrific on their surface, but do little to address the actual problem. I am looking for solutions that can demonstrate how they contribute to the goals of the city in addressing climate change. Because of this, a motion that I sponsored was passed at Council on February 8 to attach a Municipal Support Resolution to a Battery Energy Storage System proposed on the southern border of Ward 5. With systems like these in place, we can help ensure our grid’s resilience to worsening weather and outage events, while removing our reliance on fossil fuels as a backup.
On February 7, we held a budget consultation at our Ward office. The turnout was good, given our recent weather, with great information shared by city staff and residents. We had presentations about the 2023 budget and how decisions were reached; the Vacant Unit Tax; our roads; and Fire and Ambulance Services in the area. I need to thank City staff for participating in the event and allowing residents a chance to have their questions answered by those who have all the correct answers. For those who were unable to attend, the public consultation can now be viewed here on our YouTube channel.
Councillor Kelly addresses Ward 5 residents at 2023 Draft Budget Consultation Feb 7th in Kinburn
Meetings like these will continue into the spring and summer as we receive feedback about our current budget, along with direction suggestions about our future budgets. Increasing consultation was a major part of my election platform as I hoped to bring the residents of West Carleton – March closer to the aspects of their municipality that they can influence and allow them the chance both to have their enquiries addressed and their voices heard. I hope, as these consultations continue, we will hear from more of you.
What we have heard from residents has been informative and, for the most part, positive. Major complaints we receive on an almost daily basis mostly involve road safety and repairs. I had a meeting with OPS Deputy Chief Steve Bell about road safety in our area and I am happy to announce that we have submitted our requests for temporary traffic calming measures and are looking forward to discussing with the city the results of these initiatives once they are implemented. We hope to be able to report a decline in calls about speeding and want it to be the result of less speeding, not simply less reports of speeding.
Councillor Kelly meets with Deputy Police Chief Steve Bell (left) and Senior Advisor Mike Anderson at the Ward 5 office in Kinburn
The state of our roads and the impact of poor weather on them was also discussed in our meeting. The cold weather we are seeing right now reduces traction on the roads, the blowing snow reduces visibility to near zero and in a rural ward, like ours, a traffic accident is eight times more likely to cost you your life than an accident in the City. We all need to slow down, take more care with how we travel the roads, and stay warm in this most difficult stretch of the winter.
I look forward to hearing from more residents and seeing many at our future budget consultations.
Best regards,
Clarke Kelly
Councillor | City of Ottawa
Ward 5 | West Carleton-March
Clarke.Kelly@Ottawa.ca
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Councillor Kelly Hosts Local Budget Consultation
Councillor Kelly held an in-person, information session/public consultation meeting for Ward 5 residents on February 7th at the West Carleton Client Service Centre in Kinburn.
There were excellent presentations from City staff all evening, followed by questions and discussion. Our thanks to Fire Chief Paul Hutt (presenting above); Paramedic Chief Pierre Poirier; Acting Chief Financial Officer Cyril Rogers and Leslie Vanclief from Finance; Susan Johns from the Infrastructure & Water Services Department. Lance Nowak and Chad Featherstone also joined us from Finance to provide specific guidance on the Vacant Unit Tax.
There's still plenty of time to get involved in the Draft Budget and have your say:
- You can watch a replay of Councillor Kelly's entire Feb 7th budget consultation here on our Ward 5 YouTube Channel.
- Here's a summary of the planned investments for Ward 5 in the 2023 City Draft Budget
- Have your say on the City Draft Budget at Engage Ottawa or by contacting our office at Clarke.Kelly@Ottawa.ca
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The Carp Winter Carnival: February 17-18
Photo credit: Dan Wallace Huntley Community Association
Carnival Schedule of Events:
Friday evening (the 17th):
• Community skate at the Outdoor Rink – 5 pm – 9 pm
• Huntley Community Centre Canteen open for hot chocolate and snack purchases.
Saturday (the 18th) – Outdoor Rink Area
• Outdoor hockey games at the outdoor rink – starting at 9:00AM.
• Bacon on a bun for breakfast starting at 8:00AM, hotdogs for lunch, refreshments throughout the day.
• Canteen open at the Huntley Community Centre.
• Maple Ridge Farm Maple Taffy display and tasting.
• Fire pit at the Huntley Community Centre.
• Sleigh rides beginning at 10:30AM for seniors and 11:30AM – 1:00PM am for general public.
• Lunchtime kids games at the outdoor rink, 1:30PM.
Saturday (the 18th) – HCA Mess Hall, Craig Side Road
• Spaghetti Dinner (for purchase) at the Mess Hall, starting at 4:00 pm, for take-out or eat-in. See details below.
• Pub Night at the Mess Hall with dancing, board games, music, and the pool table will be open for play.
All weekend:
• Ski, snowshoe or hike to enjoy the Carp Riverwalk Trail
• Add a section to the Snow Worm at the start of the Riverwalk Trail/baseball diamond parking lot on Craig Side Road and post photos to the HCA Facebook page
Read more at the Huntley Community Assocation Website.
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Team Frlan Comes Up Just Short at Nationals in Timmins
Photo credit: Team Frlan Instagram
Congratulations on a great run to Team Frlan, who came up just short of the playoffs this week at the U18 Nationals in Timmins, Ontario. Team Frlan qualified for the event by going undefeated at provincials.
"Team Frlan represented our area, our province, and Huntley Curling Club beautifully," said Councillor Clarke Kelly. "What an outstanding performance they had this winter. I'm very much looking forward to cheering them on in the future."
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City Recreation: Saturday is Winter Health and Fitness Day
The City is celebrating Winter Health and Fitness Day on Saturday, February 11 by offering two-for-one pricing for one-day public skating, swimming and cardio/weight room passes. This is a great way for you and a family member or friend to work out and try City of Ottawa facilities and programs.
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Community Connect
Councillor Kelly was pleased to have a chance last week to meet with Meagan and Charlene from the Rural Ottawa Youth Mental Health Collective. They discussed ways to improve mental health services and supports to rural youth in our ward and across the City.
Learn more about their great work here: http://ruralottawayouth.ca
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Stay Connected With West Carleton-March and Ward 5 Office
DID YOU KNOW? When a new City of Ottawa Councillor takes office, they aren't allowed to keep the previous Councillor's list of contacts, subscribers and followers? So if you subscribed to Councillor El-Chantiry's newsletter or followed his social media in the past, you'll need to sign up and/or follow again.
Our office has a number of free and easy ways to stay in touch with us. We invite to you to click on any of the links below to help us better serve you. Please share with family, friends and neighbours who might be interested.
1. Our new website is now live at ClarkeKelly.ca. We invite you to bookmark the site or share a link with your neighbours. It allows residents to stay right up to date on community and city news, local events, with links to important West Carleton-March information and resources.
2. Follow us on social media at Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
3. Subscribe to this newsletter and receive it in your email inbox the second it's published.
4. Got a question about a Ward or City issue? Want us to help promote a community event or ask the Councillor to attend? Email us anytime at Clarke.Kelly@Ottawa.ca.
5. Call us at 613-580-2475 or send a fax to: 613-580-2515. |
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