Mayor's Corner - January 13, 2023
Mayor's message
This is the third edition of the Mayor's Corner, and I am so pleased to share that we have received positive feedback from the public about the new publication and our enhanced communications on Council activities. Council and staff are working together to develop creative approaches for sharing and streamlining information. Our goal is to keep you informed and inspire citizen interest and engagement in our community.
I am very excited about the Celebrate and Skate Levee on January 15 from 1:00 to 2:30 p.m. at the Jack Burger Sports Complex. I hope to see many of you there. Although it has been a few years since I laced up, I have dusted off my competitive figure skates for the event. A special thank you to Kelly VanBuren for helping me get my skates ice ready!
I am also pleased to share that I have started a Mayor's youth delegation to encourage the participation of youth in building the future of Port Hope. Stay tuned for more information in the coming weeks.
Finally, as I mentioned this week at Council, all of Port Hope was proud to cheer on our own Owen Beck in the gold medal game for Team Canada at the 2023 World Junior Championships in Halifax. Congratulations to Owen and all members of Team Canada for a job well done. We look forward to inviting Owen to Town Hall soon so that we can formally congratulate him and honour his spectacular achievement. (Photo courtesy of the Beck family).
Looking ahead, the next few weeks will be very busy as we enter the season of budget reviews and strategic planning. These are crucial projects for staff and Council, and we will spend the balance of the month focused on both. More information is included below, and I will continue to provide updates on these initiatives over the next several weeks.
Advancing municipal business
We met for our first Council and Committee of the Whole meetings of the year on Tuesday, January 10. Here are the highlights from those meetings:
Fire Station 2 - proposed relocation
Council approved, in principle, 55 Fox Road as the location for construction of the Fire Station 2 replacement project and directed staff to initiate the community engagement phase of the project. A community open house will be held on January 18 from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at the Canton Hub. Staff will provide an informative presentation and answer questions.
Additionally, a project page on My Port Hope is available with information about the proposed relocation as well as a comment form for public feedback on the proposal. Please review the summary and staff report, and provide your feedback on the comment form.
Options for Deputy Mayor appointment
Staff provided a report outlining various options for the process to select a Deputy Mayor. These included:
- 4-year appointment – status quo
- Annual appointment – appoint a Deputy Mayor each year
- Rotating appointment – appoint the Deputy Mayor on a rotating basis amongst the 6 Councillors throughout the 4-year term of Council
After a detailed discussion, we directed staff to bring forward the necessary By-law and policy amendments required to appoint the Deputy Mayor on a rotating basis amongst the 6 Councillors throughout the 4-year term of Council. This will also include a community review at the end of the 4-year appointment of the Deputy Mayor. We will consider the By-law at our next meeting.
Notice of Motion – Walton Street redesign
Councillor Attridge put forth a Notice of Motion, which I seconded, regarding the Lent Lane bump outs in the Walton Street Redesign project. Per the Procedural By-law, this motion is automatically forwarded to the January 24, 2023 Council Meeting and we will discuss the motion at that time.
For more details about these and other items on the agenda, read the media release or watch the recordings on our Council webpage.
2023 Budget documents and meetings
Municipality of Port Hope budget
Today (January 13) we plan to post the draft operating and capital budget documents on our website. Additionally, we are launching a community engagement page to gather feedback from the public on the proposed budgets. Once the page is live, we invite you to review the draft documents and provide your feedback until February 1. The Budget meetings will be held on January 31 and February 2. The meetings are open to the public and will also be live streamed via our YouTube channel.
Northumberland County budget
Northumberland County's 2023 draft budgets are available on their website. The draft budgets will be reviewed by County Council during a budget deliberation meeting on January 18, 2023, and will be considered for approval by County Council at the regular meeting of County Council on January 25, 2023. For meeting details, visit their Council and Committees page.
Upcoming meetings
- A Special Council Meeting is being held on Tuesday, January 17, 2023. This meeting will be a closed session, meaning that it is not open for the public to attend due to sensitive or confidential topics discussed. At the meeting, we will be reviewing the Municipal Code of Conduct, the role of the Integrity Commissioner, and Municipal Conflict of Interest Act.
- A reminder that staff are hosting an open house on Wednesday, January 18, 2023 at the Canton Hub (5325 County Rd. 10) from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. to provide information about the proposed relocation of Fire Station #2.
- The next Council and Committee of the Whole Meetings are on Tuesday, January 24, 2023.
- Budget meetings for the capital and operating budgets are scheduled for January 31 and February 2, 2023. The meetings are open to the public and will also be live streamed via our YouTube channel.
Council around town
- This Sunday (January 15) is our Celebrate and Skate Levee at the Jack Burger Sports Complex. Join us from 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. for a free afternoon skate. Don't skate? No problem! We are also hosting a reception in the warm area of the arena. Join us for some light refreshments and a cozy chat.
- Loyalist College is hosting a Community Information Session on Wednesday, January 25 from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at the Lion’s Club (29 Thomas Street). Loyalist College administration will be on hand to discuss the new Port Hope campus, opening Fall 2023. Learn about the campus renovations, programs, and ask questions. To register for the session visit: loyalistcollege.com/porthope
The next edition of Mayor's Corner News will be available on January 20. Subscribe to this news channel to receive an email notification when the weekly publication is published on our website. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram – the Mayor’s Corner News post will be available there, too!