Message from the Mayor – March 2023

Good day everyone, and Happy March! It’s been a little while since my last Update, and I am hopeful that we’ve captured all that’s new and exciting in Callander in this Update.

The Municipality has spent the last two years re-establishing and bringing consistency to our plans and strategies and bringing our vision of Callander to fruition. From properly maintaining our existing assets, to developing new plans for our downtown, municipal dock, and waterfront, we’ve explored it all. Capital plans and reserves have been established to get us there, and we look forward to seeing progress every year.

Staff have been working hard at developing a fiscally sound budget this year for Council. For more information regarding our budget, please see the March 16^th press release, or visit our Property Taxes FAQs on our website.

The Municipality has recently applied for provincial funding for the installation of public washrooms and shower facilities at the Municipal Dock on Lansdowne in hopes of providing the residents and tourists with a reason to come and stay downtown with us! We are also hoping that it encourages our water travellers to come in from Lake Nipissing to access the shower facilities and take advantage of our private businesses. We’ll keep you posted on the success of the application when we hear more.

Bill Barber is slated for improvements in this year’s budget, and we should see this work take place in October. This project was delayed last year when bids came in much higher than anticipated. We wait to hear from contractors on the final prices, before proceeding with the work.

The Municipality has also signed a rental agreement with the “Moose is on the Loose” to operate the canteen this year, where they will be introducing their very own smash burgers. They should commence sales by May long weekend and will be there until October. They intend to offer delivery services in Callander and should continue to add yet another draw to our fabulous park.

We want to thank Ryan Farquhar for his investment into our community, as he changes the skyline of Callander for many years to come. His lighthouse is coming along nicely, and we cannot wait to see it completed.

The Municipality has also been approving several community groups as part of our Community Affiliates Program, in hopes of facilitating programs for our residents and neighbours to take advantage of. Recently approved include Tai Chi, Glacier Bay Robotics, Callander Horticultural Society, and Callander Pickleball. In the queue include B-Fit Over 50 which offers light impact fitness classes, and Southshore Church, and the Ladies Auxiliary, which will be considered by Council shortly. We encourage you to take part in many of the opportunities available at our Community Centre by checking out “Callander’s Calendar” on our website “Events” page. If you have something to offer, and would like to be considered a Community Affiliate, please contact our staff at 705-752-1410 or by e-mail at info@callander.ca. We are hopeful that we can take advantage of our local talents to offer a wide variety of programming, without causing strain on our tax base. We encourage you to reach out!

Staff have also recently been working hard on updating the Callander Business Directory. If you are a business owner in Callander, we encourage you to ensure your listing is included and up to date. We encourage residents to check the Business Directory to explore all the local business options available.

If you are interested in becoming a vendor at any of the upcoming events this year, the Events Committee would like to invite you to complete the Vendor Application available on the Parks & Recreation page of our website. This will make sure they can reach out to you for future events to become a vendor.

Callander will be hosting the 3^rd annual Easter Egg Hunt, with our own Debbie Pyatt taking the lead, and we look forward to seeing you there.

Another important date to make note of is Spring Clean-Up. A confirmed date will be announced by the Municipality in the coming weeks. More information will follow on our Website, Social Media and VoyentAlert. As a reminder, the Municipality now has a Community Standards By-law, which was put in effect to help us achieve the vision of a beautiful and inviting space that we are all proud to call home.  Staff will begin campaigning in a few weeks, and we encourage everyone to do their part. If you’d like more information regarding the Community Standards By-law, please feel free to contact staff.

As always, we are looking for volunteers to assist us at Callander’s several yearly events. This helps keep the taxes low, as we can dedicate less staff time towards the events. Volunteering is a great way to truly experience and get to know your community, and the Events Committee is always looking for more hands to help.

We want to also thank the Library and Museum for opening programs up this last week and encourage you to follow their social media pages for more programming opportunities in the future.

Don’t forget to check the website for all the latest updates and follow us on social media.

Website: www.mycallander.ca

Facebook: @MunicipalityofCallander

Instagram: @MunicipalityofCallander

Twitter: @CallanderON

We hope you have a great start to Spring, and until next time!