May 2010 Newsletter
The weather this past month has been just wonderful and I am sure many of you have been able to get out and start cleaning up yards now that spring is upon us and summer is ahead. We dug out a new garden late last year, so I am hoping to get a head start on more veggies this year. I hope many of you are able to do the same and plant even a few tomatoes or herbs that you can just pop in the backyard and pick something fresh for dinner.
The election is now less than 6 months away and approaching quickly. Summer is such a favourite time of year for me, so I certainly don’t want to rush it. That being said, I have so many ideas and such a passion and excitement to work and represent Newmarket and the residents of Ward 3 that I cannot wait until October 25th. I have had the opportunity already to meet many new residents here in my neighbourhood who have reached out to me hoping that I am able to win the election. I have met with you for coffee and have been invited for “girl’s nights” out at your homes. The response and enthusiasm from other people whom I have only just met really is inspiring. So, thank you to everyone in Ward 3 and Newmarket who have approached, wrote, phoned and met with me. You motivate me even more to work as a candidate, but more importantly you will motivate me even more as your councillor for the next term.
This past month I have attended the Committee of the Whole meetings, Council Meetings as well as my regular Committee meetings. There are many things that are happening in the town right now that will be taking place in this term as well as affecting the new term of council. It is important that as a candidate you are present at these meetings. It gives me the opportunity not only to watch the present council but also to speak to residents and hear their concerns and thoughts. One of the important issues that are taking place right now is the Old Town Hall. At a special Committee of the Whole, a decision had to made on whether to continue down the path of a completion of the Class A proposal of the Old Town Hall. At the time, it was coming in millions of dollars over budget. Due to a tie vote, the motion was lost and now they will be proceeding to a workshop to come up with a decision on how they will proceed in trying to keep this project closer to budget. It was a recorded vote, and I was disappointed that our present Ward 3 Councillor voted in favour of the continuation of the plans as presented and not in favour of looking at reducing the overall cost of the Old Town Hall. When you are looking at 3 million over budget on a project that was initially in the ballpark of 5 million dollars, it is a significant amount of the resident’s tax payer’s dollars. I commend the council that voted against this as they were doing the due diligence that we should expect from our council members who represent us as residents.
Of course, I have had the opportunity to attend some terrific and fun events as well, including the KC Cushion Fund “Irish Pub Night” that was held at the Roman Palace Banquet Hall on Leslie St. There were several hundred people in attendance for this terrific fundraiser that is now in its 4 year. All of this was started by a neighbour’s daughter in law, Kate Coen, who lost her battle to cancer a few years ago just after starting this fund to help families who need a financial cushion during the tough times of battling cancer. Many of them are women on their own fighting breast cancer and having to deal with raising a young family. I was honoured to be part of the committee this year and I look forward to helping out in the years to come.
This past Saturday, we had a terrific group of Newmarket residents who came out and helped out with the cleanup day. We went to the trails behind Glen Cedar and dragged out a lot of garbage from the trails, forest and streams. There is still more to cleanup, so I will be going back again to get some more of this cleaned up. It is just beautiful in there, so it is a shame that there is so much that does get dumped. The Lake Simcoe Conservation Authority and Sunoco Tree planting day at the new Environmental Park was a great success, and I was thrilled to be there as part of the Newmarket Environmental Advisory Committee. I was there answering questions and was able to meet with many residents from Newmarket as well as from outside of town.
Another initiative that I have taken on to help out with is the new Women’s Shelter, Belinda’s Place, which is going to be built in Newmarket. This is a very important shelter that is desperately needed in York Region and I am fortunate that I am able to help out with this. More than 500 women were turned away from shelters in York Region last year. There are no facilities for women who are homeless in York Region and many of them just need somewhere to go so that they can get the assistance they need to get their lives back on track.
Many of you will also be affected by the re-surfacing of Davis Drive that is presently being done on the portion of Davis Drive east of Southlake Health Centre. This is not part of the Viva project that is presently delayed. It is to enhance the corridor reliability for access to the Southlake Regional Health Centre, Highway 404, Newmarket, East Gwillimbury, Whitchurch Stouffville and Georgina to the north. This is expected to be finished by the middle to end of July and hopefully sooner as I know I have been stuck in it already. It is part of the Federal Governments Infrastructure’s Stimulus Fund.
Looking forward to meeting new residents and talking to you about what you would like to see for Newmarket and your new Council for the next term.
