NEWS ARCHIVESMay 22, 2009 Put your best foot forward in the fight against Cancer The Canadian Cancer Society Relay for Life event is just around the corner, and I encourage you, your family and friends to sign-up and help find a cure for cancer The Relay for Life event runs from 7pm Friday until 7am Saturday on June 19. Last year 570 people participated and the event has raised close to $289,000 over the past two years. The event promises to be exciting. A dinner and wine pairing courtesy of the Arc Restaurant will be awarded to the top-fundraising team. Louisiannie’s will cater an on-site dinner for the second-highest fundraising team. Mad Science will delight those in attendance with creative experiments, and music will fill the air compliments of the 21st Century Boys and Foam. Many prizes, which have been generously donated by local businesses, will be drawn for throughout the night. There is still time to join the event either as a participant or as a volunteer. For more information, and to register a team, please visit www.cancer.ca/ontario. I hope to see you there. Coyote Park amenities public consultation Residents are invited to attend a public meeting to discuss the park amenities for Coyote Park. The meeting will take place on June 9 at 7pm at the Stittsville and District Community Centre, Upper Hall located at 10 Warner Colpitts Drive in Stittsville. Construction is currently underway for Coyote Park, located on West Ridge Drive, and I am looking forward to providing some features to the park this year. Funding for the park is limited at this time and this means the installation of park features will be phased-in. I am requesting public input on the park features the City will be installing within budgetary limitations. I have included Coyote Park in the City's Ready-to-Go
Infrastructure Projects Funding priority list being sent to the Federal
government. I have requested $500,000 for the park's complete development. This
money would be in addition to the available dollars we presently have for any
cost overruns. 2009 Final Tax bill due June 18 City Staff have completed the process of mailing out the 2009 Final Tax bill. The mail out for all classes occurred between May 22 and 27. Please remember the due date for your final tax bill is June 18, 2009. For pre-authorized monthly clients, you will receive your final bill in June and you will be provided with advanced notice of modified payments for July through October, as well as the January 2010 deduction amount. There is a $31 charge for bill reprints. Free reprints are limited to when notification is received before the cut off date of May 14 and it is not processed; you did not receive the bill before the due date; there is a change of ownership in the property between May 15 and May 21; or there is a change in mailing addresses between May 15 to May 21. Should you not receive your final bill before June 8 please contact the Revenue Branch at 613-580-2444. Any payment made after the due date is subject to a penalty. If you are waiting for an outcome of an assessment appeal, your taxes still must be paid in full until the appeal process is finalized. Pre-authorized clients must provide 30 days written notice to cancel from the program or change banking information. For more information please contact
revenue@ottawa.ca. Highway 417 expansion timelines The Ontario Ministry of Transportation has provided my office with an update of the expansion work occurring on Highway 417. With respect to the westbound traffic, lanes have been shifted to the right onto the new section of the bridge near the equestrian park. Some additional repair work is required over the next couple of weeks on the left side of the bridge. In June, some paving work will be done and the westbound lanes will be fully opened in July. All eastbound lanes are scheduled to be completed and opened in August. The MTO has confirmed they are working towards having the
tendering of the contract for the Eagleson Road bridge to Highway 7 widening
completed this year, with construction beginning in 2010. Discover hidden treasures through Give Away Weekend One person’s trash is another person’s treasure, so don't put your unwanted bounty in the garbage. Instead, set them out to the curb on Give Away Weekend for a treasure hunter to discover. On June 6 and 7, the City’s Spring Give Away Weekend will wrap up Environment Week. Old furniture and small appliances, kitchen gadgets, pots and pans, books, CDs and DVDs are just some of the treasures you may find lining your neighbourhood streets. Please place any items you have to give away at your curb and mark them “free.” Ensure any items that you want to keep are away from your treasures or tucked away safely in your garage. At the end of the day, bring any uncollected gems back to your home. I wish you the best of luck in finding some hidden treasures
and I thank you for taking part in this eco-friendly treasure hunt. Doors open throughout Ottawa Buildings of architectural, historical or functional significance will open their doors to the public on June 6 and 7. Elaborate embassies, peaceful places of worship, mind-blowing museums, green gardens, amazing artist studios, sensational science labs and more will all be open to curious on-lookers free of charge. This is a fantastic way to experience the rich cultural and architectural history of our City, and to truly immerse yourself in everything Ottawa has to offer. Within our community, the Goulbourn Museum will be open for you to visit. From 10am-4pm, you and your family will have the chance to explore some of Ottawa’s hidden – and not-so-hidden – gems. Please visit the City’s website at
www.ottawa.ca and follow the
links to Doors Open Ottawa, as there are specific times and availability of
buildings throughout the City. Committee of Adjustments items for Stittsville development On June 3, the City's Committee of Adjustment will be reviewing applications for two developments in Stittsville, beginning at 9am. For a proposed stacked townhouse development at 4 Orville Street, an application will be considered to provide access to the development’s underground parking with a right of way/easement over portions of 1531, 1535, 1539 and 1541 Stittsville Main Street. If approved this will not conform to the zoning by-law and, therefore, the applicant has submitted a number of minor variance requests regarding yard setbacks, reduced parking spaces, reduced landscape buffers and requirements for the underground parking access. On 1686 Stittsville Main Street, a severance application has been submitted to subdivide the property into two parcels of land. One parcel will contain the existing detached dwelling and it is proposed to construct a new dwelling on the other parcel, which will be know as 3 Elm Crescent. A minor variance is also required to permit a reduced rear yard (west) of 5.8 metres for the existing detached dwelling, whereas the By-law requires a minimum rear yard of 9.0 metres. You are encouraged to attend the meeting on June 3 at Ben Franklin Place inside The Chamber on the Main Floor, 101 Centrepointe Drive. Additional information about these applications may be found on my website, www.shadqadri.com, under Planning and Development. Please contact my office for more information and to provide comments. Route 163 expanded In order to provide an all-day service to compliment route 96, OC Transpo has extended route 163 from the Fairwinds subdivision into the western portion of our community. Route 163 will run every half hour throughout the day, connecting residents with the Terry Fox transit station. During peak periods, the 163 will be limited to servicing Fairwinds. However, throughout the day the bus will pick-up passengers living along Kittiwake Drive, West Ridge Drive and Beverly Street with stops at the Stittsville Arena, and along Carp Road, Stittsville Main Street and Hazeldean Road. For more information, please visit
www.octranspo.com. Always listening and acting on your concerns As your Councillor, I always welcome your keen input and
ideas on how we can sustain and improve Stittsville. Please contact
our office anytime by phone at 613-580-2476 or by e-mail at
Shad.Qadri@ottawa.ca. |