THANKS TO ALL THE VOLUNTEERS FOR CANADA DAY IN KANATA

I would like to offer my thanks to all the volunteers who made Canada Day in Kanata a success. On Canada Day thousands of us were out at Canada Day in Kanata celebrating with our families and neighbours. People had a great time.

A lot of hard work went into planning Canada Day in Kanata and making sure everything ran smoothly. Whether you were tracking down sponsorships, working security, sitting through countless meetings to sort out details, serving as stage crew, or doing any of the countless jobs essential to the smooth running of the event, THANK YOU!

CRIME PREVENTION INFORMATION AVAILABLE FOR RESIDENTIAL LANDLORDS

To assist small and medium sized landlords in helping keep our city safe, Crime Prevention Ottawa has produced an information guide for residential landlords. The information is particularly useful for landlords with only a few properties. The flyer can be obtained by going to the Crime Prevention Ottawa Website at http://www.crimepreventionottawa.ca/index.cfm.

DOG OWNERS MUST STILL BE ABLE TO CONTROL THEIR PETS IN PARKS

While dogs are permitted off-leash in some parks, dog owners must still be able to control their pets at all times. The Animal Care and Control by-law requires that dogs be kept in sight and under voice control. There is a requirement that dogs be kept at least five metres from children’s play areas. Dogs are still not permitted to run at large on private property without the owner’s permission.

Off-leash provisions for parks work when the by-law requirements are respected. I know most dog owners recognize this and will be keen to encourage other dog owners to respect the by-law to ensure there are no problems.

POLICY ON CHANGES TO DITCHES TO ADDRESS POTENTIAL FLOODING PROBLEMS

Filling in a ditch doesn’t seem like a big deal, but it could lead to flooding problems or increased infrastructure maintenance requirements. When our neighbourhoods were built there was a requirement that the developer provide a plan for how drainage for rain or melting snow would work. In some older neighbourhoods ditches were used. Whenever changes are made to one part of the drainage system there is a concern that other areas could be affected.

This week at Council a policy on how to deal with issues like filling in ditches was discussed. The policy provides a process for making sure that filling in a ditch will not result in flooding elsewhere. For some time there has been a by-law requiring people get permission before altering drainage ditches. This has not changed.

If you would like more information on either the new policy or the by-law, please don’t hesitate to contact me.   

RACK AND ROLL PROBLEMS SUPPOSED TO BE FIXED

Transit Services staff have assured councillors that bike racks have been fitted to enough buses on routes that have rack and roll service to end the delays that some people experienced last year. This includes the route 96.

Councillors raised the issue after a shortage of buses with bike racks last year meant people using the rack and roll service had to wait an unreasonably long time for a bus with a bike rack. This problem should be fixed for this year, but if you do experience delays waiting for a bus with a bike rack, feedback is useful for Transit Services.

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