Mayor's Corner - January 6, 2023
Mayor's message
Happy New Year, Port Hope! The winter storm leading into Christmas altered holiday plans for many of you, but I hope that you were able to enjoy time with family and friends. I had the great pleasure of meeting and chatting with residents when I made some surprise visits to thank them for making Port Hope sparkle.
I hope to see many of you in a couple of weeks at our Celebrate and Skate Levee. Following the trends of many surrounding municipalities, we made the decision to move the date of the Levee to January 15 this year. The tradition of meeting with members of Council in the New Year has not been changed, but we have expanded the Levee to include free skating in the spirit of encouraging more residents to join us in the celebration. If you don't or can't skate, no problem! We will also be set up in the warm area of the arena, where you can join us for some light refreshments and a cozy chat.
Thank you for your patience during our Council transition over the last several weeks. We are committed to continuous improvement and enhancing the ways in which we communicate events and activities in the community. Stay tuned, Port Hope - this Council is just getting started and great things are on the horizon.
Significant weather event clean up and aid
Just before the holidays, we experienced a significant weather event in our community and across the County. Throughout the duration of the storm and in its aftermath, all hands were on deck at the Municipality. Many staff voluntarily cancelled their vacation time to assist with the cleanup.
Our roads crews worked tirelessly plowing the snow and clearing trees. During the storm, they dealt with snow drifts in the rural areas of the Municipality of up to eight feet, and required the use of front end loaders instead of plows to move the snow.
Our Firefighters also provided extraordinary service over the holidays. Port Hope Fire assisted the Cobourg Fire Service by attending to municipal calls in the Cobourg area during the storm.
Additionally, Port Hope Fire assisted with the evacuation of the VIA train that was disabled on December 23.
Finally, our Water and Wastewater staff responded immediately to significant facility damage due to high winds during the storm. Their swift response ensured our system integrity was protected.
It was my honour to visit with our first responders and front line staff on Christmas Eve and personally thank them for their dedicated service during the storm and throughout the holidays.
Advancing municipal business
Fire Station #2 community engagement and open house
In 2022, the Fire Master Plan (FMP) for the Municipality of Port Hope was created by the Loomex Group, along with the comprehensive Community Risk Assessment. The FMP identified that the current Fire Station 2 (located at 4366 County Road 22), built in 1978, is at the end of its life cycle and prioritizes the replacement of this facility. The Plan recommends that Fire Station 2 be replaced with a facility that includes all required functionality for providing fire suppression and an administrative area. A location change was also recommended since the current station is located on a flood plain and cannot be expanded.
At the Committee of the Whole meeting on December 20, 2022, the Protective Services Committee supported, in principle, the proposed relocation of Fire Station 2 to the area just north of the current Police Station at 55 Fox Road. Committee also directed staff to undertake community engagement efforts related to this new location.
As a first step in the community engagement plan, the Municipality is hosting a community open house on January 18, 2023, from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the Canton Hub (5325 County Rd. 10). residents are invited to join us for an informative presentation and question period. A project page with a comment/feedback form will also be launched on our My Port Hope community engagement website on Thursday, January 12.
2023 Budget
Staff have been developing the 2023 Capital and Operating Budgets. This process is one of the most important tasks carried out by staff and takes many months of planning before it is presented to Council for consideration.
The 2023 Community Grant Requests and Donation Requests are currently available on the Budget webpage for review. Council will consider these requests in their upcoming budget meetings.
As usual, a comment form to provide feedback on the 2023 draft budget documents will also be available on My Port Hope. The feedback period will open on January 13 and close on February 1, 2023.
2023 budget meetings 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.
Upcoming meetings
The next regular Council and Committee of the Whole meetings take place on Tuesday, January 10, 2023 beginning at 6:30 p.m.
There is also a Special Council Meeting taking place on Tuesday, January 10, 2023, beginning at 5:00 p.m. as part of Council's ongoing orientation. At the meeting, Council Members will be given a high-level overview of the Port Hope Area Initiative project. *Note - The Special Council meeting has been cancelled. A new date will be selected and publicized accordingly.
Council around town
Over the next month, Members of Council will be busy attending various announcements and events across the Municipality and beyond, including:
- Celebrate the New Year with Members of Council at the Jack Burger Sports Complex. Join us on Sunday, January 15, from 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. Don't skate? No problem! We will also be set up in the warm area of the arena. Join us for some light refreshments and a cozy chat.
- Later this month, I am pleased to represent Port Hope at the Rural Ontario Municipal Association (ROMA) conference in Toronto.
- I will be touring the Five Counties Children's Centre in Cobourg to learn about the good work being done for members of our community at the local facility.
- On Monday, January 2, I, along with Councillors Andrews and Pearson, attended a hockey game at the Jack Burger Sports Complex to cheer on our U18AA Nighthawks in a match against the Vanersborgs Hockey Club from Sweden. We participated in the ceremonial puck drop at the exciting game, which saw the Nighthawks defeated by the Vanersborgs Hockey Club, despite a spirited comeback in the third period.
Holiday spirit
At our last Council meeting of the year, I announced that Members of Council and staff would be making donations to the Northumberland Fare Share Food Bank. Some community members also graciously contributed, and we donated a grand total of $455 to this very worthy cause. A special thanks to all those who participated.
The next edition of Mayor's Corner News will be available on January 13. Subscribe to this news channel to receive an email notification when the weekly post is published on our website. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram – the Mayor’s Corner News post will be available there, too!