Oct. 5 , 2016
Community
Thanksgiving Day operating hours

Last weekend of the season for carousel

Thanksgiving weekend is your last chance of the season to ride the historic carousel in Port Dalhousie.
 
Residents can enjoy the Lakeside Park Carousel from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. this weekend. The carousel will close for the season at 8 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 10.
 
City Hall and some other City of St. Catharines facilities will be closed for Thanksgiving Day on Monday, Oct. 12. City offices return to regular business hours Tuesday, Oct. 11. Click here for a full list of what's open and what's not at the City of St. Catharines.

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Pumpkinville

Pumpkinville Oct. 15

Pumpkinville is set for Saturday, Oct 15 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Happy Rolph's Animal Farm.
 
The fun-filled family fall festival will have plenty of free games, activities and entertainment including: pumpkin carving, scarecrow building, bouncers, hay dive, crafts, face painting and more.

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Don_t wait_ Check the date_ Replace smoke alarms every 10 years

Replace smoke alarms every 10 years
 
City firefighters are urging residents to replace smoke alarms that are more than 10 years old in a new campaign set to begin during Fire Prevention Week.
 
Don't Wait: Check the Date! Replace Smoke Alarms Every 10 Years is this year's theme for Fire Prevention Week, Oct. 9-15. Ontario law requires working smoke alarms on every storey of a home and outside all sleeping areas. Replacing them after 10 years is also the law. Fire Chief Dave Wood urges property owners to check the expiry dates of their life-saving devices and if in doubt, replace them.

Meet fire prevention officers and discuss smoke alarms, carbon monoxide alarms and more about home and fire safety at the Fairview Mall Thursday, Oct. 13. Fire safety information will be on display as well at the St. Catharines Kiwanis Aquatics Centre Oct. 9-15.
 
Learn more
 

PINGSTREET Emergency Alerts

 

Be warned, stay informed during an emergency


If you have a smart phone or tablet you can install PingStreet, the City of St. Catharines free app to receive instant messages during an emergency.
 
PingStreet is available from your device's app store. The City uses PingStreet to send messages when disasters or emergencies are imminent and occurring. By installing PingStreet on your device and signing up to receive notifications, you can use this important information to help protect yourself and your family from potential risks to health and safety.
 
Click here to learn more about PingStreet, the City's free smart phone and tablet app.
 
During an emergency you can also stay up-to-date by listen ing to local radio stations, monitoring www.stcatharines.ca and the City's Facebook and Twitter and visiting other local news sources on the Internet.

                                     

  

Online marriage license applications now available
 
Couples looking to tie the knot have a new, more convenient way for crossing an important "to do" off their list.

The City now offers online marriage license applications. Couples can fill out the online form and submit it easily over the Internet for review. Then, couples simply have to print, date and sign the completed application and bring it to City Hall with two pieces of government-issued ID and any other required documents for verification. When they come to City Hall to verify their information everything is ready for them.

The online marriage license application is the latest in the City's growing number of eServices residents can do online. Residents can go online to purchase dog tags, pay for parking tickets, apply for building permits and register for recreation programs.

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Pools to be demolished
 
Work to demolish the old pools and facilities at Arthur Street Park, Burgoyne Woods and Lancaster Park will begin next week.
 
Crews begin demolishing pools and pool buildings at Arthur Street and Burgoyne Woods Tuesday, Oct. 11. Demolition begins at Lancaster Park later in October. The demolished structures will be removed and the former pool areas will be restored as passive parkland. Pool demolition should be complete by Saturday, Dec. 10.
 
Arthur Street Park, Burgoyne Woods and Lancaster Park will remain open during demolition and park rentals will not be affected. However, the playground at Arthur Street Park may be temporarily unavailable from time-to-time to permit demolition.

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City has PA Day activities
 
There's a PA Day coming up on Friday, Oct. 7. Check out what the City has to offer to keep your children busy.
  
No school, get in the pool
The St. Catharines Kiwanis Aquatics Centre is open with leisure swims available throughout the day.
  
Museum
Visit the St. Catharines Museum and Welland Canals Centre and explore farms and agriculture in the Garden City with special activities, including a button making workshop and a chance to make butter the old fashioned way. A special farm-themed scavenger hunt will be available from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Workshops at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Admission by donation, $5/child suggested. C all 905.984.8880 for more information.
 
Play a piece of Canada_s story

What to play the FirstOntario PAC
 
Know a singer-songwriter that wants to play the PAC? Upload a video to Facebook for a chance to win a guitar and play live on stage! Click here for full details.
 
Coming up at the PAC:
Pavlo and Remigio
Thursday, Oct. 6
 
Ballet Jörgen's Swan Lake
Oct. 14 and 15
 
Burton Cummings
Tuesday, Oct. 18
 
A Report from
Mayor Walter Sendzik
Mayor Walter Sendzik
It's been a long 10 weeks and the next time you see me at City Council I'll be fresh-faced and beardless. On Wednesday, Oct. 12, I'll finally be shaving off my #BeardForGord at a fun ceremony at the Walker Family Cancer Centre.
 
I'd like to say another big thanks to Tom Rankin for his $5,500 donation at my golf tournament in July and Tootzies Tune Up for collecting donations at their barbershop. Over the last 10 weeks I've heard from many of you who have been touched by cancer and I'm proud of our community's efforts to raise funds for the Walker Family Cancer Centre through this experience.
 
As St. Catharines is considering a proposed move towards a double-duty or double-direct councillor model, we would like to hear from you. We'll be holding another town hall meeting for members of the community to share their opinion on Thursday, Oct. 20 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Robertson Hall inside the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre.
 
Under the double direct model there would still be 12 members of St. Catharines City Council, with each ward represented by two councillors. However, six of the councillors would serve on both regional and city councils, while the other six councillors would serve only on St. Catharines City Council. This model is used in nearby cities like Oakville and Burlington.
 
Click here for more information about the proposed double direct model. I hope to see you at the town hall meeting.
Council Highlights
Survey says rebuild Port Piers

St. Catharines residents want to enjoy the Port Dalhousie piers the way they have for more than 100 years, according to results of a survey the City used to study the issue over the summer.
 
City Council is requesting the federal government proceed with a design for the repair of the piers that will restore both the east and west piers so residents can once again walk along and moor boats to as well as other recreational uses.
 
The feds closed public access and restricted boat mooring and vehicle access on the piers in the spring of 2015, citing safety concerns discovered during routine structural inspections.
The feds advised it's beginning to prepare engineering drawings and budget estimates for rehabilitating the piers but requires City Council to confirm how the public intends to use the piers.
 
The City polled residents with a survey about their vision for the piers, receiving more than 1,000 responses. The majority of surveys indicated residents preferred the option for restoring pedestrian access and boat mooring.

Pay for parking with your phone
 
Downtown visitors parking at City Hall and Market Square will soon be able to pay by smart phone .

City Council awarded services for pay by mobile device for municpal parking to Honkmobile Inc. for a 12-month trial period. The service will allow parking cutomers with the Honk app on their device to pay for parking at the City's Market Square lots as well as at on-street spots along parts of Market and James streets.
 
Parking customers using the Honk app, available free at app stores for iOS and Android devices, will also pay a 35 cent fee per transaction along with regular parking rates.
Apply by Oct. 28 for culture funding
 
Applications for the final intake for the 2016 St. Catharines Cultural Investment Program are due by Friday, Oct. 28.
 
City Council approved a motion to cover a projected shortfall for cultural investment program through the Civic Project Fund.
 
The City is receiving applications for Arts Development, Culture Builds Community and Festival Programs.
 
City Council increased its investment into the cultural sector by 43 per cent this year, which represents a return on investment to the tune of $4.1 million in economic activity for the community.
 
City Council referred the matter to the Budget Standing Committee and directed staff to report back on alternate ways of funding the SCCIP program.
Other news

Moffat Street
City Council awarded consulting engineering services for design and contract administration for a road reconstruction project on Moffat Street to Kerry T. Howe Engineering for nearly $123,944.
 
Ridgewood Road
Council also awarded consulting engineering services for watermain and sewer work on parts of Ridgewood Road to GHD Limited for an estimated $80,600.
 

More Hwy. 406 construction
City Council granted noise exemptions to the provincial government that will allow construction work at night on Hwy. 406 underpasses at First Street and Geneva Street.
 
The construction is expected to take place from May 2017 to December 2017.

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.
 
Digital versions of the Garden City Current are available. Click here to read past issues.

Upcoming meetings
Oct. 24
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