WARD FORUM TO DISCUSS PLANS FOR “DOWNTOWN KANATA”

Before amalgamation, the former City of Kanata made plans for a downtown for our community. The “Town Centre” was to be east of Kanata Avenue and north of the Queensway. The goal was to avoid a repeat of the problems with Centrum.

The original partner selected by the former City of Kanata has withdrawn, so plans are being reviewed. While the site is in Kanata North, people in all parts of Kanata are concerned about what happens. There is the opportunity to add a place that can be a focal point for our community, but if we get it wrong we could end up with a repeat of the problems we see with Centrum.

To provide information on plans for the Town Centre and get your comments, city staff will be attending the November Kanata South Ward Forum. The Ward Forum will be:

Thursday, November 22
7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Program Room, 2nd Floor, Kanata Recreation Complex
100 Walter Baker Place

COFFEE WITH PEGGY NOVEMBER 23

The next Coffee with Peggy will be between 10:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. on Friday, November 23 at Hazeldean Mall. I look forward to chatting with you about issues affecting our community.

HOPE SIDE ROAD EXTENSION ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT TO GO TO TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE ON NOVEMBER 21

The Terms of Reference for the environmental assessment for the extension of Hope Side Road east to Highway 416 and Hunt Club are scheduled to go before Transportation Committee on Wednesday November 21. I will be including a link to the report on my website at www.feltmateforkanata.com as soon as it is made public.

With the completion of Crownridge, extending Hope Side Road to Highway 416 and Hunt Club will help divert a significant amount of the traffic that currently uses Stonehaven and Richmond. Because the proposed route will pass to the south of the Greenbelt, the refusal of the National Capital Commission (NCC) to allow new roads to be built or existing roads to be widened near Stony Swamp will not be an issue.

Originally, work on the environmental assessment was supposed to start after 2021. However, as a result of a motion I moved at Council last year, the project has been moved forward.

BUDGET CONSULTATIONS REMINDER

Just a reminder, that over the next two weeks there will be two budget consultation meetings in Kanata. For seniors there will be a budget consultation with Marianne Wilkinson and myself on Thursday, November 22 from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the Mlacak Centre. On Tuesday, November 27 between 6:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. at the Ron Maslin Playhouse there will be a budget consultation meeting with all four of the west end councillors.

LIMITS OF OUTSOURCING

Parking services in the City of Hamilton were recently used as an example of how outsourcing can save money. However, a report from the City of Hamilton’s Planning and Economic Development Department found that, after eight years, taking parking services in-house would improve the city’s financial situation by $28,000. The report can be found here. The experience Hamilton had with parking does not mean we should never consider outsourcing, but it does mean outsourcing cannot be regarded as a magic bullet for solving our budget problems.

WORKING FULL-TIME FOR KANATA SOUTH

I appreciate the chance to hear from you about issues affecting our community. You can reach me at 580-2752 (office), 580-2762 (fax), www.feltmateforkanata.com or peggy.feltmate@ottawa.ca