May 3 2020
The Deputy Mayor's Exchange
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How Tall is Too Tall?
There is a proposal for a 47 storey condo at Main Street Unionville and Enterprise Drive that will be coming to the
Development Services Committee meeting on May 11th.
If approved, this condo will be
the tallest building in Markham. It will be adjacent to Bill Crothers SS, the Amica seniors residence and the lower end of the Unionville Heritage District. Due to poor soil conditions, the developer wishes to change from an approved 2 building configuration of 29 and 32 storeys to a new 2 building format, one of which would be 47 storeys with 8 levels of above ground parking to be incorporated into the building. I am very worried that, if approved, this height will set a precedent for other developers in the area. What will be next ... 50 or 60 storeys? This building will be clearly visible from Main Street Unionville and many other locations in Markham too.
Certain businesses can open under
strict conditions starting tomorrow (May 4th). We are slowly and cautiously starting to come out from this pandemic crisis. Thank goodness!
Well done to Ben Cohen and Jonny Thompson. Ben is one of my former Markville SS students! The residents and staff at
Participation House certainly deserve our thoughts and prayers. See the video below.
Click here
to read the previous edition of
The Deputy Mayor's Exchange.
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In this issue
- Happy Highlights
- Food Availability
- Water Bill Insert
- Safety First
- MPL from Home
- Markham Board of Trade
- YRP Updates
- Elgin Mills EA
- Returning to the Workplace
- Using Masks and Gloves Properly
- YRF Accessible Trails
- Bayview Avenue Construction
- Business Recovery Partnership
- Community Gardens Open
- Emergency Preparedness Week
- Behind the Scenes at Pearson
- COVID Virtual Assistant
- Smole Alarms
- TRCA Events
- Who Should I Contact?
- York Region Update
- Community Meetings and Events
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Please forward this update to anyone that may find it of interest.
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Looking for more information?
Any of the
blue text,
blue buttons and most of the graphics have links to further detail.
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And an early note to wish all Moms and Grandmothers a terrific
Mother's Day next Sunday May 10th.
Hope your day is a special one. 💐
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Happy Highlights
As a part of an ongoing series, I am highlighting good news and events happening around the City.
If you have something to share, please
send me the details of your local initiatives and I will be happy to include them in future editions of the DME.
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Ben Cohen and Jonny Thompson
talk about the encouraging message of hope they brought to Participation House resident Bobby after he was tested positive for COVID-19.
View here
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Congratulations to
Caterable and their
Feeding Our Care Heroes initiative. This week they donated 110 grocery bags to the frontline workers at
Union Villa long term care in Unionville this week.
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Voices Rock Medicine
which includes MSH’s emergency physician Dr. Roberta Hood is in a choir of female physicians. They made a virtual choir
video
that has been a huge hit.
Their video was featured on Stronger Together.
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Bob Ysseldyk, Manager of the Markham Food Bank reached out to me this week. He asked that I pass along a message that the Markham Food Bank is open and available to help those in need.
The MFB had expected to see a large increase in requests but surprisingly that is not the case. Perhaps residents are not aware of the assistance that the MFB can provide or that they are currently open during the COVID-19 crisis.
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Food has been sorted by volunteers and is ready to be distributed. If you or someone you know is in need of food, please direct them to the Markham Food Bank.
Each client, who must be a Markham resident, is permitted to visit every 4 weeks and they typically leave with at least 50 pounds of nutritious food. This will include canned and packaged food as well as fresh foods like milk, fresh fruits and vegetables or meat when available. Beyond food, they also try to provide necessary personal hygiene products such as soap, toothpaste and shampoo and if there are children under one year they will be offered formula and diapers.
More information about how the Markham Food Bank can help, how you can volunteer or make a donation can be found at their
website. The Food Bank is located at
90 Bullock Drive Unit 11 and can be reached at 905.472.2437. Donations can also be made through the
Markham Cares Food Drive.
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Water and Wasterwater Bill Insert
Just a quick note to let you know that the insert in your recent water bill is incorrect. With all the COVID related changes, the information sheet contained old details and did not reflect the amendments recently approved by Council. Alectra mistakenly sent out the water bill insert reflecting an increase in the water rate effective April 1, 2020.
Council approved
a deferral of the 2020 water rate increase of 7.8% on March 27, 2020, a move supported by York Region.
The rate charged on the bill remains at the 2019 rate without the increase. The City is preparing an updated communication to reflect the correct information.
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As the weather improves and more people are venturing outside, we all need to remember safety first. That means wearing a bike helmet or making sure you indicate that you are passing from behind preferably with the bell on your bike or just a quick "passing on your left", pathways are for both walkers and cyclists to enjoy. Safe cycling tips can be found
here
.
Markham is a great place to explore by bicycle, on foot and other forms of active transportation. City of Markham continues to deliver projects and programs to improve safe walking and cycling for people of all ages and abilities. More information about walking and cycling in Markham can be found
here
.
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Reading is an essential skill for children and helps them to succeed in school, but how do you keep them motivated, especially when schools are closed? MPL’s new Spring Reading Challenge is open to children ages 0 to 12 where they will be asked to read and complete a series of fun challenges throughout the month of May. Those who complete all the challenges will be entered into a draw for a $25 gift card. More detail on the Reading Challenge can be found
here
.
That’s not all, MPL will also be hosting weekly virtual meetups for both kids and adults.
Check out their Library at Home programming which includes circle time, parents social hour, STEAM activities, trivia night, infant sleep workshop and more.
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The MBT is working to help local businesses with resources to
access various programs and events.
This week they will be hosting a video chat with Markham Mayor Frank Scarpitti on May 8 at 2:30pm. Join the online conversation with the Mayor and MBT President Richard Cunningham. This event will bring updates from the City on COVID-19 as well as answering your questions submitted when registering. Event details and registration is available
here.
The Markham Board of Trade in support of Markham business has their
Are You Open? website to make it easy for you to find what's open and where you can buy locally. Let's help each other battle COVID-19 together.
They have also created the MBT Business Support Group for members to share questions, challenges, ideas, resources and support each other. Details about joining this group can be
found here.
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Congratulations to Chief McSween who was
sworn in on May 1st as the ninth Chief in the 49 year history of York Regional Police.
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An
Environmental Assessment
(EA) has been initiated by the City for Elgin Mills Road from Prince Regent Street to McCowan Road. The need for this road corridor improvement is mainly driven by the expansion of the urban boundary.
More information can be found
here
.
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May 7 at 1pm
The City's Economic Growth, Culture and Entrepreneurship Department is open for business and continues to deliver programs and services virtually. They are partnering with Cushman & Wakefield to assist businesses with planning for economic recovery.
As organizations turn their attention to preparing their workplaces for the return of employees, there are critical areas that must be addressed to mitigate risk. The webinar will address Organizational Readiness, Workplace Assessments, Protocols, Procedures and Change Management as well as a Q&A opportunity.
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Check out this
video for tips on how to properly apply and remove gloves and face coverings.
If they are not discarded properly, you may be putting someone else's health at risk as well as your own.
DON'T DUMP THEM ON THE STREET!
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Did you know that
York Region maintains three Accessible Trails? While these trails are accessible to wheelchairs and other assistive devices, it is also a great way for young families with strollers and wagons to access the York Regional Forest too. Thank you to the McIntntyre's for the picture! The three Accessible Trails total 4.3 km in length:
- Hollidge Tract at 16389 Highway 48 (North of Aurora Road)
- North Tract at 17054 Highway 48 (South of Davis Drive) - the accessible trail can be viewed virtually - here
- Hall Tract at 15681 McCowan Road (North of Aurora Road)
The Accessible Trails have been widened, cleared of obstructions and graded to ensure ease of movement for all visitors. Each trail ranges between one to two kilometres in length with loops that pass through a variety of landscapes. Accessible parking is available.
The York Regional Forest is made up of 2,400 hectares of protected land, located in different parts of the Region with 21 public tracts and more than 140 kilometres of trail. More information can be found at
www.york.ca/yrf
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16th Avenue to Steeles Avenue
York Region is making improvements to Bayview Avenue from 16th Avenue to Steeles Avenue. Construction is anticipated to begin on May 4 and is expected to be complete by the fall. This work may be rescheduled due to weather conditions or COVID-19 related health delays.
Road improvements on Bayview Avenue include:
- Removal and replacement of existing asphalt
- Upgrading intersections to meet Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act requirements including push buttons, upgraded walkways, curb depressions and tactile (raised) walking surfaces.
In order to minimize disruption to those living, working and travelling in the area most of the work will be completed at night between 8pm and 7am and on Saturdays from 7am to 7pm. Temporary lane restrictions may also be in place. Work will not be occurring on Sundays or statutory holidays. For everyone’s safety, please reduce your speed through the construction area.
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Collaboration focuses on current needs of the business community, with an eye on recovery
York Region is collaborating with economic development stakeholders and industry leaders from across the area to support local businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Have you ever wondered how your bags get from a ticket counter to the belly of an airplane? Or how air traffic controllers watch the skies? Or why they spray green fluid on airplane wings in winter?
Pearson Airport has launched its
Explorers Club which is an educational program to teach children about the airport, aviation and travel. New modules and activities will be added weekly and will include interviews with experts and interactive activities.
Start exploring
While there might might not be much passenger traffic at Pearson, they are an important cog in keeping the supply chain moving. Here are some updates:
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This week Markham became the first City in Canada to partner with IBM to utilize “IBM Watson Assistant for Citizens” to offer 24-hour customer service for residents looking for COVID-19 information. The solution will use AI and machine learning to enable the City to deliver reliable, consistent and accurate information conveniently to residents via online text chat and voice calls – anywhere, anytime.
The online virtual agent can be accessed via the City of Markham website, and the telephone virtual agent can be accessed by calling 1.833.926.0929 – enhancing Markham’s COVID-19 information hub at
markham.ca/covid19
. Further information on this new online virtual assistance can be found
here
.
Markham’s Contact Centre continues to respond to inquiries about municipal services and programs at
customerservice@markham.ca
and 905.477.5530, Monday to Friday between 8am and 5pm.
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In the event of a fire, it's the smoke alarm that will save your life. Test each one monthly to make sure that it works. Check out this
video.
All smoke alarms need to be replaced every 10 years at a minimum. Maybe you've been putting off this task but now is a great time to check all the smoke alarms and the carbon monoxide detectors in your home. Details can be found in this
video.
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While a number of their upcoming events have been cancelled due to COVID-19, they have a number of educational webinars. These include landscaping for birds, culinary herbs, frog watch, rain barrels and various introductory gardening topics.
Check out the calendar
.
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What level of Government can
help
?
False information continues to spread about COVID-19. Please use official sources to verify what you have heard or read. The best sources of official updates are noted below. The
City's page helps to decipher who to contact about various issues.
Below are some links mentioned - click on the
blue
text to access updates and resources
COVID-19 Assessment Centres
- check their website for specific hours
Federal or Provincial issues, please contact your local Member of Parliament or your Member of Provincial Parliament.
Upcoming Meetings
- May 4 - virtual General Committee Meeting - 9:30am - details
- May 6 - virtual Housing York meeting - 9am - details
- May 11 - virtual Development Services Meeting - 9:30am - details
- May 12 - virtual Council Meeting - 1pm - details
- May 14 - virtual YR Committee of the Whole - 9am - details
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We have been holding all meetings virtually including York Region Council meetings. Some of the items brought forward can be found in the highlights video of our April meetings. Details of this and upcoming YR meetings and other information is available
here
.
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York Region Council showed their
#SpiritofYR
at this week's virtual Council meeting with a
thank you for all frontline workers.
Share a photo, a simple act of kindness or something that made you smile. Share your spirit at
york.ca/spiritofyr.
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Community Meetings and Events
As it stands now, most upcoming events have been cancelled.
Once new events are scheduled they will be added to the list.
- Upcoming Markham Public Library Events - here
- Upcoming Varley Gallery Events - here
I'd be pleased to highlight other community meetings in future newsletters. Please forward the details to
dhamilton@markham.ca
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Working together to make Markham better!
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