June 30 , 2016
Community
 
Fire ban remains in effect
 
The City of St. Catharines has issued a ban on all open-air burning until further notice due to prolonged hot and dry weather.
 
Fire Chief Dave Wood called for the ban on open-air burning because recent hot and dry weather has increased the risk of a fire burning out of control by quickly spreading to nearby grass and plants.
 
The ban prohibits all open-air burning, such as cooking fires, fireworks and sparklers and other types of outdoor burning. Barbecues are still permitted under the ban, but the fire chief advises residents to be careful when cooking.
 
The open air burning ban does not affect the Canada Day fireworks display in Lakeside Park hosted by the Port Dalhousie Lions.
 
 
 
 
 
City prepared for possible postal strike
 
The City of St. Catharines is taking steps to minimize any service disruptions during a possible strike of Canada Post workers.
 
Documents or payments that need to be submitted to the City should not be put in the mail until after the threat of a labour disruption has passed.
 
Until that time property tax and water bill payments can be made at most financial institutions or by cheque, cash or debit in person at the Citizens First counter on the second floor of City Hall. Payments by cheque can also be placed in the afterhours drop box near the James Street entrance.
 
Program registration, dog licencing, parking ticket payment and water meter reading can be done online via the City's website or in person at City Hall. Water meter readings can also be done over the phone by calling 905.688.5600.
 
Click here for more information.
 
 
Free Canada Day activities
 
Free Canada Day activities
 
Join in the fun July 1 with free activities the whole family will enjoy.
 
Canada Day Celebrations
Celebrate Canada Day with live entertainment, family activities and delicious cake pops, Friday, July 1 at Rennie Park in Port Dalhousie from noon to 4 p.m.
 
Families will enjoy the Puppet Tamer from 12:30 p.m. to 1 p.m. Elton Lammie takes the stage from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
 
Canada Day fun also includes a midway with bouncers, games and crafts, buskers and more. Click here to learn more.
 
Dominion Day Picnic
Celebrate Canada Day at the St. Catharines Museum and Welland Canals Centre during the annual Dominion Day Picnic Friday, July 1 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
 
Pack a lunch to enjoy on the museum grounds and try croquet, sack races and other heritage picnic games. Meet historic "characters" from St. Catharines' past, visit the tea tent, enjoy music provided by our guest fiddlers and enjoy Canada-themed crafts and activities throughout the day.
 
Click here for more information.
 
 
 
What's open, what's not on Canada Day 
 
City Hall, the Parks, Recreation and Culture Services administration office and some other City of St. Catharines facilities will close on Friday, July 1 for Canada Day.
 
City offices return to regular business hours Monday, July 4.  
 
Learn more
 

 

Outdoor pools open Friday

 
City outdoor pools open for the summer on Friday, July 1.
 
Enjoy free leisure swims on Canada Day at any outdoor City pool and the St. Catharines Kiwanis Aquatics Centre.
 
 

Port Dalhousie Piers  

 

Share your vision for the Port Piers

The City of St. Catharines wants residents to share their vision for the Port Dalhousie Piers.
 
City staff will be at major community events over the next three weeks to solicit feedback and encourage residents to complete a short survey on the Port Dalhousie piers. Look for us at the Port Dalhousie Supper Market, Canada Day Celebrations in Rennie Park, the Summer Concert series in Montebello Park and other events across St. Catharines.
 
The Port Dalhousie Piers survey is available online at www.portpiers.com. Paper copies of the survey are available at the St. Catharines Kiwanis Aquatics Centre and the Citizens First counter inside City Hall. The survey closes July 18.
 
Feedback from residents will be incorporated into a staff report to council outlining the City's position on the future of the piers.
 



Residents recognized

Mayor Walter Sendzik and members of City Council recognized the St. Catharines Transit Commission on Monday night for receiving a Fire Safety Award from the Ontario Fire Marshal's Public Fire Safety Council.

At Monday's City Council meeting, Mayor Sendzik and Deputy Fire Chief Monique Belair joined Shayne Mintz, a director from the Fire Marshal's Public Fire Safety Council, to recognize St. Catharines Transit for its partnership with St. Catharines Fire Services on a bus advertising campaign promoting smoke alarms. Transit general manager Dave Sherlock attended City Council to accept the honour.

Mayor and council also recognized Yoon Shin, the project lead engineer for the gold medal wining team at the 2016 Conrad Spirit of Innovation Challenge Summit. Shin was part of an international team of students that won the Aerospace and Aviation Category with its innovative space helmet at the competition hosted at the Kennedy Space Centre Visitors Complex in April.

Click here to read more about Shin.
2016 Trillium Awards nominations now open

Nominate a garden today
 
Nominations for the 2016 City of St. Catharines Trillium Awards are open.
 
The Trillium Awards honour the many beautiful gardens that liven up streets and neighbourhoods across the city.
 
You can nominate your own property or other properties that have caught your eye. Entry is free. Nominate a garden today
 
Nominate

  
Art Me Up goes to City Hall
 
Have you seen Art Me Up Goes to City Hall, an exhibit of original artwork on display at 50 Church St.?
 
The exhibit features artwork by 17 Expressions Art Collective artists whose creations emerged in the face of significant life challenges. Art Me Up Goes to City Hall was inspired by Mayor Walter Sendzik's Compassionate City program, which seeks to establish a city of dignity, respect and opportunity for everyone and is a partnership with Start Me Up Niagara. The exhibit runs until November.
 
 

Open Late
  
Museum open late Tuesday nights
 
The St. Catharines Museum and Welland Canals is Open Late Tuesday nights this summer to give visitors the unique experience of exploring the museum outside of regular daytime hours. The museum will be open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. every Tuesday until October with special programs, activities and one-night-only exhibits highlighting rarely seen artifacts.

Learn more  


PAC open on Canada Day
 
Looking to enjoy some indoor activities this weekend? On Friday, July 1 the Film House will be screening Endless Summer, a 1966 film documenting California surfers travelling the world in search of the perfect wave. The Film House has other screenings all weekend long. General admission is $9.
 
Click here for listings, shows times and other information.
 
Tickets are still available for the Canada Day showing of On a First Name Basis, a play written and starring acclaimed Canadian playwright Norm Foster. The performance is part of the Foster Festival, a theatre company showcasing the heart and humour of Foster's writing, taking place at the performing arts centre. 

Click here for more information.


A Report from
Mayor Walter Sendzik
Mayor Walter Sendzik
It's been a great week in St. Catharines, with lots of positive news, progress and to cap it off, Canada Day celebrations this Friday. 
   
Starting on Monday, Niagara Regional Housing announced a new affordable housing build at  527 Carlton St.  This will be NRH's first new build in St. Catharines in 40 years. This new building will go a long way to fill the need for affordable housing in our community. Read  more details on the development .  
 
Tuesday was an historic day with the announcement of daily GO train service to St. Catharines and Niagara by the provincial government. After years of hard work to make this a reality, we now have a full commitment of funding and timeline for GO train service. Construction on station upgrades and track improvements will begin next year with trains coming to Grimsby in 2021 and St. Catharines and Niagara Falls in 2023.

This is great news for
St. Catharines and Niagara and brings enormous opportunities to our community. Thank you to Minister Del Duca and our local MPP Minister Bradley. For more on what this announcement means for our community, please watch this short video.

Finally on Wednesday, Fortress Real Developments revealed their new vision for the development in Port Dalhousie to the community. This was an important step forward in the revitalization of the Port Dalhousie Core - a jewel to our entire city. 
Council Highlights
More four-pad repairs coming this summer
 
The first phase of repairs at the Seymour-Hannah Sports and Entertainment Centre will be expanded to include the replacement of the concrete floor and refrigeration/subfloor heating systems for Rink #1. The repairs ensure the availability of the facility for the coming season and the future.
 
Council contracted Schilthuis Construction Inc. in May to replace the concrete floor and fix the under-floor piping as well as the heating and refrigeration systems for Rink #4, which has been out of service since last summer. Schilthuis was also attempting to fix a leak in the under-floor heating system for Rink #1, reroute supply lines for the under-floor systems and some other enhancements to improve energy efficiency.

 
PAC fundraising exceed expectations
 
A glass wall for Robertson Hall, enhancements to the audio and visual systems and longer-lasting brick work outside the building are among the upgrades City was able to include during construction of the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre thanks to fundraising campaign that exceeded expectations.
 
PAC fundraising brought in just over $1 million more than its $5 million goal and that allowed the City to add in certain features that were cut out of an original design.
 
Since there are still fundraising opportunities available, council authorized staff to save any addition funds raised for the PAC for future capital work.
 
PAC looking for fed money for new equipment
 
The FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre is looking to split the costs of buying specialized sound, lighting and stage equipment with the federal government.
 
Council authorized the PAC to apply for a $100,000 grant from the Department of Canadian Heritage Canada Cultural Spaces Fund for the new equipment. The PAC would like to acquire the additional equipment in order to meet the special needs of its clients. The fund offers matching dollars and the PAC will use $100,000 from its reserve fund to apply for the grant.
 
City to collect $2.1 million for Fourth Ave. improvements
 
Council adopted a local improvement roll that will collect more than $2.1 million from some Fourth Avenue property owners to pay for part of the cost of extending watermains, sewers, sidewalks from Third Street Louth to Vansickle Road.
 
The municipal services were extended to allow for continued development in the area. Total project costs were about $3.15 million with the City paying nearly $637,000 and Niagara Region paying $372,000.
Other council news
 
Martindale Road
The City will sell two narrow strips of land it owns at 149 Martindale Rd. to the Niagara Region for an upcoming road widening project.
 
Affordable bus passes
Council referred a report recommending the City and the St. Catharines Transit Commission increase the discount for monthly bus passes for low-income residents to the Budget Standing Committee to consider for 2017.
 
Council appointments
Council appointed Sandy Derstine and Kim Bauer to the Recreation Master Plan Advisory Committee.

Customs pre-clearance locations
The City will send a letter to the Niagara Region requesting it include St. Catharines' support in a call to the Federal Government to expand customs pre-clearance locations and to consider the Peace Bridge in Fort Erie its premier location.

Tragically Hip
Council requested staff report on the feasibility for obtaining the public broadcast rights for the last Tragically Hip Concert and to speak to organizers of Port supper market and Port Dalhousie BIA about screening the event in Lakeside Park, or another other City park or facility .
More council online

 

Council Highlights offers informal summaries of some of the recent decisions and business discussed during St. Catharines City Council meetings.

 

The Office of the City Clerk provides a full recap of decisions and motions in its official minutes, available on the Friday after every St. Catharines City Council meeting.

 

Click here for City of St. Catharines council meeting agendas and minutes.
More council online
 
Digital versions of the Garden City Current are available. Click here to read past issues.
St. Catharines
Fire Service







April 2016
Service Calls

Total calls: 645
Fire calls: 100
Burning complaints: 52
Vehicle collisions: 48
Carbon monoxide: 7
Medical calls: 361
Miscellaneous: 77

Upcoming meetings

July 11

City Council

6:30 p.m., City Hall

 

Click here to learn about other upcoming meetings.

 

 

Click here to learn about construction projects happening in the City.

City of St. Catharines | communications@stcatharines.ca | http://www.stcatharines.ca
50 Church St
St. Catharines, L2R 7C2