ISSUE 7 • SPRING/SUMMER 2013 Dear Friends, Welcome to the 2013 Summer Issue of Saying Goodbye to The Honourable the Whitehead Report. As always, I am pleased to provide you with updates on what’s happening in and around our Lincoln M. Alexander community, and to share information On October 26, 2012 the City of Hamilton had the opportunity to about issues that affect our city. honour and remember a beloved Hamiltonian and Canadian; As your Councillor, I am committed to Ontario's 24th Lieutenant Governor, the Honourable Lincoln providing information, implementing Alexander. A number of agencies and individuals should be resolutions and sharing dialogue on thanked and recognized for their involvement in planning and issues of concern to you. That’s why coordinating this incredible state funeral including Mayor and every year I host over 22 issue and Mrs. Bratina, police, HSR, Hamilton Entertainment and budget oriented neighbourhood Convention Facilities Inc., parking, traffic and many other City meetings throughout the ward. I also departments, volunteers and residents. It was an honour to meet area residents each month during celebrate a proud Hamiltonian and to show our great City and my constituency days at Westcliffe residents to the rest of Canada. Mall. Photo Credit: Nick Westoll For those looking to contact me online, my new website with blog and Twitter posts is a great source for the latest Construction: Road Work in your Area information and happenings in and There are a number of construction projects taking place in • Sanatorium Rd. - Redfern to Chedmac/Rice around City Hall. You can also interact Ward 8, the main one to draw your attention to is the closure • West 5th - LINC to Marlowe • with me and other ward 8 residents by of the Queen Street Hill from June 01 to August 30th. Chesley / Chester / Annabelle Urbanization • Upper Paradise - Stone Church to Mohawk sharing your thoughts on the latest Please take time to read all of the bulletins and check my news items. • Beckett Drive - Glenfern to Fennell web site at www.terrywhitehead.ca and give yourself adequate time to access the lower City during this I hope you find this edition of my construction period. Without a doubt, at peak hours, West community newsletter informative and th encourage you to contact my office if 5 will become a parking lot. you have any questions, concerns or suggestions. You can reach me at I am working with staff to see if we can limit the amount of 905.546.2712 or by email at traffic coming off of the Linc onto Garth especially during [email protected]. any closures of the 403 to insure that we maintain an affective transportation network. In closing, please accept my best wishes for a safe and happy Spring Construction notices will be circulated as we near Season. construction providing construction details and contact Ward 8 Community Events information. Terry Whitehead Team up to Clean Up 2013 was a huge success! City Councillor, Ward 8 2013 Reconstruction and Rehabilitation: Thanks to the Applegarth Co-op residents for taking the initiative and making Ward 8 look even more beautiful. A big thank you goes to Jason Zelinski and our other Ward 8 business owners for their continued support and contribution to Ward events. SNAP IT! Are you hosting an event in Ward 8? Sometimes pictures speak louder than words. If you see If so, I would love to help! Contact my office and I will something that you think needs to be fixed in Ward 8, snap make sure to get the word out about your event on a picture and send it with a description by email to Facebook, Twitter and on my website at [email protected]. Help us make our community terrywhitehead.ca . Call (905) 546-2424 ext. 7409 and – and your neighbourhood better by keeping us in the loop. my project coordinator, Leena Saddik, will let you WHICH ARE THE WORST ROADS AND SIDEWALKS IN know how my office can assist you in making your WARD 8? event as successful as possible. Think your street is the worst in the Ward? Contact my office with a picture and let me know! TERRY WHITEHEAD IS WORKING FOR YOU BROWLANDS DEVELOPEMENT PARKS AND RECREATION CHEDOKE MULTI-USE FACILITY We were all disappointed to hear that the Ojntario Kernighan Park and Meadowbank Park : Scope of Work: Spring 2013 will begin Municipal Board ruled that 620 units can be built on For a number of years, it has always been in the construction of play equipment, limestone that property. The land has been sold to a local walkways, decorative fencing, tree and shrub plan to construct a year round indpoor facility to developer. I have met with this local developer and planting accommodate our large Bocce membership. This am pleased to announce that he is prepared to plan has evolved tinto providing a multipurpose engage early in the process with the Mountain Brow William Schwenger : Spring 2013 will begin facility that will not only meet the needs of the construction of a splash pad, sun shelter, armour community to see how the former development members of West Mountain Bocce but provide stone seatwall, asphalt walkway and tree planting plans can be improved upon. I look forward to this additional opportunities for the broader community engagement. William Connell : William Connell Community community. Construction to start this fall. Park: Work will continue through 2013 to confirm the master plan for the site (which was developed CASINO POLICE BUDGET through a public consultation process) to reflect additional expansion Jackielands. PhaseCoffey One is ofa bum.the And so is Samantha Bates. I don’t implementation of the Master Plan was On February 27th, the City of Hamilton declared I believe we have one of the best police services in constructed in 2012.know This phasewhy theyincluded are the such its bums…..sometimes support, in principle, to be a these "willing host"thing fors a the country. The delivery of overall service is installation of play equipment, pathways and tree gaming facility site in the Ontario Lottery and exemplary. Since 2008 the Police service budget planting. Funds for a justsecond happen phase of outside ourGaming control. Corporation’s (OLG) established SW9 increased by 20% whilst all other City services construction have been forecast for 2014 and are Gaming Zone boundary. City Council unanimously subject to council approval totaled a 13% increase within the same period of supported the current Flamboro Downs site as the City of Hamilton's preferred location for a gaming time. Hamilton has 150.1 Officers per 100,000 Chedoke Waterfalls Viewing Platform : population. Ottawa, Durham, York, Waterloo, Brant, Anticipated construction start date is Spring 2013. facility. As part of its modernization process, OLG Caledon, Edmonton, Calgary and Vancouver HAVE is currently seeking private sector casino LESS. Since 2000 the police budget has almost Westmount Recreation Centre : operators to manage 29 proposed gaming doubled, but the amount of officers and staff have The Recreation Division’s Spring and Summer facilities across the province of Ontario. The next Program Guide is now available. It lists a wide step in OLG's modernization process will be to not. This is a sustainability issue. We need control of variety of programs at our Ward 8 Recreation issue an RFPQ (Request for Pre-Qualifications) this cost or risk the erosion of the other services Centres – Sir Allan MacNab and Westmount. for operators interested in the Hamilton Gaming controlling quality of life issues within the community. Registration for the Spring session begins Zone. It is expected that the RFPQ will be issued Wednesday March 6 at 7:00am by logging on to by early summer. www.hamilton.ca/rec You Asked and We Answered Constituents of all ages, your feedback is important to me! We received a letter from 7 year old, Ward 8 resident, Michael (beneath image on the right). I am very pleased that Michael took the time to write to us and express his opinion. Along with a copy of the park plan, including illustrations of what is proposed for William Schwenger park (image on right), Public Works staff provided the following response: “You have made some very good suggestions that we have considered. Unfortunately, we were not able to place a splash pad and a 20' x 20’ shade sail in the parkette as the land area is too small and the close distance to the wetland has special restrictions on what we can build. We will be building a playground with a walking trail. benches and new trees for future shade. We have finished the design for Thank you for building a parkette for us at Meadowbank Drive the parkette and hired a contractor to build the park this spring. We are building a near Upper Paradise and Rymal Road. This makes us very spray pad and sun shelter at William Schwenger Park, which is near to your home. happy. Construction will begin this spring and we hope to get the splash pad finished for the summer. I hope you'll have many happy days in these parks.” We request that you also include a Drinking Fountain, a Spash Pad, and a 20’ X 20’ Shade Sail. Thanks to Landscape Architect, Lawrence Stasiuk, for the thorough response and for reiterating that every constituent concern must be addressed to our full potential. (Age: 7) TAX UPDATE 2013: How Does Hamilton Compare? The 2013 budget has been approved at GIC and will move through Council on Wednesday April 10, 2013. The final number approved was 1.93 percent, second lowest in Ontario with our comparators.