November Newsletter 2019

November 2019 newsletter from Rawlson King, City Councillor for Rideau-Rockcliffe.

Hello friends!

As we near the colder months, we are taking extra precautions to ensure our residents are winter-ready. In preparation for the upcoming months, we are trying to be proactive to ensure that when the cold air hits, our office will have all the information it needs for snow-clearing, and winter maintenance requests to be dealt with efficiently.

In addition, we want you to know that we are listening to all your concerns about transit. How you get around is critical. Whether you’re going to work, school, or simply running errands, taking transit should be easy. We’re taking your concerns to OC Transpo, and always value your input on the matters that affect you the most.

CITY HALL UPDATES

Parking

At Council last month, I was happy to have seconded and supported Councillor Kavanagh's successful motion to expand future funding sources for public transit and active transportation infrastructure.  The motion asked the Mayor, on behalf of the City of Ottawa, to petition the province to make necessary changes to the Municipal Act to give the City the ability to use municipal parking revenues for projects related to sustainable transportation in future budget years.  

Currently, parking revenue that is collected by the City can only be re-invested into other parking projects. In 2018, the balance in the City’s Parking Reserve Fund was $24 million and it was forecast to be close to that amount in 2019.  Those funds, as part of the City’s Municipal Parking Management Strategy, can only be used for the acquisition, development and expansion of parking facilities and the maintenance of lanes utilized for parking.  The intent of the motion is therefore to ask for the ability for Council to convert parking fees into revenue that could be specifically applied to other sustainable transportation projects, including sidewalk construction, cycling infrastructure and public transit.

Rental Accommodation Study Update

Staff conducted the third round of public consultations in October. The staff report and recommendations will be released in early November and presented at a Special Meeting of the Community and Protective Services Committee on November 15, followed by consideration by City Council on November 27th.

Following Council’s decisions on the recommended regulatory frameworks, staff will develop the required by-laws, policies and procedures as directed. Final by-laws will be submitted for Council approval beginning in early 2020.

This study will discuss affordability, safety, and the economic benefits and drawbacks of rental accommodations. We have heard your concerns about the regulations surrounding rental accommodations, and hope that this ongoing study will help to clarify some of your questions and concerns.

WARD UPDATES

Affordable housing approved for Ward 13

Since a major component of my platform was the pursuit and provision of affordable housing in Wateridge Village, I am happy to report that Council approved a plan last month for the City to acquire a portion of the former Canadian Forces Base Rockcliffe from the federal government for up to 271 units of affordable housing.

Under the agreement, the City will pay $300,000 and the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation will pay $4.6 million. Council also approved $10.3 million in capital funding last month for this development in Wateridge Village, from the $15 million that Council allocated for new affordable housing in Budget 2019.

Earlier this summer, I was also happy to support the Government of Canada's announcement that it would make a financial contribution of just over $6.5 million towards the construction of the Andy Carswell Building, otherwise known as Veterans’ House. This project, operated by Multifaith Housing Initiative, will be also built on the former air force base CFB Rockcliffe, located at 745 Mikinak Rd in Ottawa, and is expected to be completed by November 2020. The 40-unit residence for homeless veterans will be the first of its kind in Canada when it opens in November 2020, and will provide integrated on-site counselling and support services for its residents through Ottawa Salus.

Councillor King serving breakfast at the Shepherd’s of Good Hope World Homeless Day breakfast!

Public safety program and community policing introduced to Overbrook

I am pleased to announce that Ward 13 has secured $40,000 in funding from the City's crime prevention agency for investments in Overbrook to support a community-driven neighbourhood safety program.  The funding from Crime Prevention Ottawa will support a new community safety coordinator.

The Ottawa Police Service also launched a Neighbourhood Policing Pilot in Overbook. The pilot is designed to increase police presence and address community concerns about crime and social disorder.   

The members selected for the neighbourhood response team are experienced officers who have been assigned on longer fixed service terms to ensure they work in the same areas over several years. This will allow them to build long-term relationships and get to know the people and communities they serve. The officers have been given specialized training, which includes learning about relationship-building strategies, cultural awareness, how to establish neighbourhood networks, human-trafficking issues, and hate-motivated incidents and investigations. This training is designed to assist the officers to address Overbrook’s specific needs.

Staff will be located directly in the identified neighbourhoods, which will allow the INST to focus on:

• Building trust with residents and community partners;
• Opening lines of communication to increase knowledge sharing between departments and with residents, OPS, OPH and community partners;
• Building on existing community assets, services and networks;
• Collectively prioritizing service and infrastructure gaps;
• Maximizing the impact of City programs, services and physical and social infrastructure;
• Fostering One City, One Team approach to identify and leverage key commitments and contributions, cross-departmentally;
• Creating a shared vision for sustainable change;
• Creating sustainable solutions to emerging and persistent concerns
• Using common data approaches to identify and prioritize needs and measure impact.

Additionally, the teams will be monitored by Carleton University’s Dr. Linda Duxbury. Her research group will evaluate the efficacy of the neighbourhood response team and offer feedback as the program grows. This accountability measure will ensure that goals are set, and met, to improve overall community safety.  If you live in Overbrook, please participate in the research group's survey.

Rideau-Rockcliffe Community Resource Centre is moving!

The Centre is moving from Donald Street to the new Rideau Community Hub at 815 St. Laurent Blvd. This is the former Rideau High School on St. Laurent near McArthur. 

The centre will be closed from December 23 to January 5 and will start serving clients from the new location on January 6, 2020.

New location, same services

The centre will have the same:

• Programs and services
• Staff and volunteers
• Website and phone number

The centre is excited to serve clients at the new location. They serve residents of Ward 13 - they are currently in the southern portion of this area and the new location is more central.

Tunneling for the CSST project completed

As many know, tunnelling is now complete, and the ancillary tunnelling equipment is being removed from the main shaft, but this is happening at both ends of the tunnel. Chamber construction at the main site will continue throughout the winter, with the landscaping to be completed in fall 2020. At Queen Victoria and River Land, residents would have seen that the noise wall has been removed because chamber construction is complete, and backfilling and reconnections of existing infrastructure are underway. Rough reinstatement and temporary road reopening is expected before the end of 2019, with the full road reinstatement to happen in the new year.

Check out the breakthrough moment here!

The north-south tunnel was completed in 2018 - meaning all six kilometres of tunnel have now been excavated. More than 113,000 cubic metres of rock was removed from deep below our city during tunneling for the CSST. That’s enough to fill every lock in the Rideau Canal waterway between the Ottawa River and Lake Ontario in Kingston - twice!

Construction on the project began in 2016, and the City and its partners are continuing work to have the CSST project operational in 2020. In the coming months, work will continue at surface locations in New Edinburgh, LeBreton Flats, Sandy Hill, New Edinburgh, Centretown and the northernmost tip of the Glebe to complete underground chambers, odour control facilities, and reinstatement.

My office will also work hard on the restoration, beautification and improvement of Stanley Park.  That work is projected to begin in Spring 2020.

City offers lead pipe replacement program

Living in a home built before 1955? If so, you may have a lead water service pipe connecting your home to the City’s water supply.

Drinking water supplied by the City is lead-free. However, trace amounts of lead can dissolve into drinking water during contact with lead in your home’s plumbing. This may impact the safety of your tap water.

The City's Lead Pipe Replacement Program provides support to eligible residents with the replacement of the public and private portions of a home’s lead water service pipe.

On September 25, 2019, Council approved updates to the Lead Pipe Replacement Program, including:

• Creation a new rebate of up to $1,000, approximately 20% of the pipe replacement cost, for property owners with only a private lead water service pipe.
• Continuation of the current loan option for property owners requiring replacement of the public and private portions of their lead water service pipe, with repayment periods of 5 or 10 years.
• Creation of a new stop-gap measure offering impacted residents a reusable pitcher and approximately a one-year supply of NSF-53 certified water filters to remove lead from their drinking water while they wait for replacement of their lead water service pipe.

These enhancements will make the program more accessible to residents and will support the ongoing replacement of lead infrastructure. Changes are expected to be in effect by spring 2020. Timelines on availability of filter kits and other program updates will be provided at ottawa.ca/leadpipes as they become available. Call 3-1-1 to have your tap water tested for lead, free of charge.

Get your flu shot!

Getting the flu vaccine is good for everyone. When more people get their flu vaccine, the odds of the flu virus spreading goes down. 

For the upcoming season, vaccines will be available across the City of Ottawa in pharmacies (for those five years of age and older), workplaces, OPH clinics, community health centres, physician and nurse practitioner offices, and long-term care and acute care facilities.

OPH will be offering 10 community clinics in different areas of the city from November 2, 2019 to November 20, 2019. Clinics are scheduled in areas where there are many young families, older adults and where there are fewer pharmacies offering the vaccine.

You can help protect yourself against the flu by getting the vaccine yourself and sharing this information with your community. The Ottawa City Hall flu clinic will be Wednesday, November 20 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

EVENTS

OCDSB Trustee Ellis Zone Meeting – The Schools We Want

November 21, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Come discuss the community’s vision for schools, at a school level, board level, and provincial level.

Rideau Community Hub, 815 St. Laurent Blvd.

Remembrance Day Ceremony

November 11, 10:30 a.m.

A remembrance ceremony to honour the men and women who gave their lives for our country.

Riverside Memorial Park, North River Rd.

Free Community Meal

November 13, 9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m., and November 21, 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.

Enjoy delicious healthy meals for free at the Rideau-Rockcliffe Community Resource Centre. 225 Donald Street.

Children's Clothing Swap 

November 23, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Clothing items brought in to swap must be clean and bagged.  Swap items should be delivered to the community centre on weekdays from 9 am - 4 pm.  To arrange an alternate drop off time, please email [email protected]. Clothing donors receive a voucher entitling them to participate in the Clothing Swap to select from the 'new' clothing items available. Any remaining or unclaimed items will be donated to a shelter or charity.  An entry fee of $10 per family will be charged in lieu of a voucher. No diapers or accessories, please.  Drop off items accepted November 1^st to 21^st.

Manor Park Community Centre, 100 Thornwood Road.

Scottish Tea and Christmas Bazaar

November 30, 1 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Attic treasures, art collectibles, baking, linens, books, crafts, jewellery, silent auction and Tea Room.

St. Andrew’s Church, 82 Kent St.

Sleigh Ride and Chili

November 30, 5 p.m.

Kick off your holiday season with our annual sleigh ride and chili dinner on November 30th.  Join us in Lindenlea park at 5:00pm for a sleigh ride around the community, followed by a delicious chili dinner at the community centre. This year we will be collecting cash donations for Robert E Wilson Public School. 

Lindenlea Community Association, 15 Rockcliffe Way.

Hot Topics, Hot Coffee at Chartwell New Edinburgh Square

Why not drop by Chartwell New Edinburgh Square’s main floor lounge if you’re in the neighbourhood? The coffee is hot and so are the topics. We have a unique and very special bistro coffee shop with exciting issues thrown in as a bonus.

We meet every Friday morning; discussions range from international news to current and local issues. Residents, guests and occasional special guest speakers follow the polls, enjoy behind-the-scenes intel, consider the latest political intrigue, and will be discussing the riveting presentations by our leaders. Well, at Chartwell New Edinburgh Square, we love stories, and we love to discuss them!

Vintage Clothing Sale

Saturday, November 16, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Discover a stylish treasure or two while supporting a worthy organization. All proceeds will go to Cornerstone Women’s Shelter, which assists approximately 500 Ottawa women annually, offering safe and secure accommodation and counselling.

All Saints Church Hall, 10 Blackburn Avenue in Sandy Hill.

Ottawa Food Bank Town Hall: Poverty Reduction Strategies and Food Security

November 13, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.

The Ottawa Food Bank will be hosting a Town Hall event featuring a panel of experts speaking about the need for a poverty reduction strategy in Ottawa. Our city has not had a poverty reduction strategy in over a decade. As the City is currently undergoing strategic planning, we look to take this opportunity to make this a priority now.

Panelists include: Rawlson King, City Councillor for Rideau-Rockcliffe; Tom Cooper, Director, Hamilton Roundtable for Poverty Reduction; Linda Lalonde, Chair, Ottawa Poverty Reduction Network; Michael Maidment, CEO, Ottawa Food Bank.

The moderator will be Michèle Biss, Policy Director and Human Rights Lawyer with Canada Without Poverty.

Our goal for this Town Hall is to discuss the need for a strategy, how to bring a strategy forward for the city, what should be included in a Poverty Reduction Strategy, and how it can be used to reduce food insecurity in Ottawa. 

Nepean Sportsplex - Hall A, 1701 Woodroffe Ave, Nepean.

Holiday Craft Market

November 9, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Saint Mary's Home is hosting a Holiday Craft Market. Over 25 vendors from across the city of Ottawa will be selling their handmade items and tasty goodies! This fundraising event will help support the programs and services offered free of charge to young Ottawa parents here at SMH.

780 Rue De L’Eglise.

2nd Annual Community Get-together

December 6th, 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Rockcliffe Park Residents Association welcomes you to the launch of the Annual Fund Drive for the RRCRC's Food Bank. Tickets are $50 which includes a silent auction, live music, drinks, and Syrian food. 

St. Bartholomew's Church, 125 MacKay Street.