Greetings everyone! We hope that you are all doing well and gearing up for a week of summer temperatures. We’re all excited to see our parks and sidewalks filling with people, as everyone finds ways to enjoy the weather.

We are excited to announce that the new playground equipment at Centennial Park has a set delivery of mid-June, and we anticipate it will be up before this year’s FunFest. We encourage residents to take advantage of enjoying our beloved pirate ship while you have the chance, as it will be removed early to mid-June.

In my last Mayor’s update, I let you all know that FedNor had provided the Municipality $500,000 for enhancements and improvements to our waterfront and pier area. Since that time, the province has also come to the table with an additional $500,000. In total, the Municipality is set to devote $227,500 towards these initiatives, which results in a total investment of $1,227,500. The project includes a redesign of Lansdowne Road West, installation of pavilions, a boardwalk along the break wall, and improvements to accessibility. We are looking forward to seeing these improvements take place. We thank the Honourable Vic Fedeli and MP Anthony Rota for their support in this project.

We have various capital projects that are set to transpire this summer, including repaving of Osprey Crescent (portions of) and resurfacing of Lighthouse Road and McDonald Road. These will likely occur in late summer. Golf Course Road is currently passable but remains one lane. The developers are working diligently with staff and the Ministry of Environment to finalize the servicing, so that they may reopen this portion of road as soon as possible. Feel free to contact the Municipal Office, if you would like more information associated with these projects.

The Municipality is also hoping to open the canteen at Centennial Park this summer. If you are interested to learn more, we encourage you to check our municipal website, or call the Municipal Office.

The staff have been working diligently at by-law updates, in hopes of adding language that better encourages the community’s vision. As you may have already heard, a Community Standards By-law is being recommended to Council, to give staff the tools to properly enforce property issues. As requested by those who submitted comments, Council has agreed that a staff-led public meeting will be hosted in the next couple of weeks to educate the public and solicit more feedback. Those who submitted comment will be notified. It will also be advertised on our social media channel and municipal website.

Council has also directed staff to reach out to our User Groups at our facilities to solicit feedback regarding a new Community Affiliation Policy, now that the Parks and Recreation Master Plan is nearing completion. A staff-led public meeting will also take place, giving residents an opportunity to review the Policy as well. The intent is to align discounted rates for facilities for those users that provide a service/recreational program that meets the strategic objectives. More information will be available on our social media channel and municipal website.

A public meeting at Council is also anticipated in June regarding the Official Plan. We are anxious to receive the background report, which is anticipated to be heard at Council on May 24th. The background report will set out the direction of the Official Plan. If you would like more information regarding this process, and what the Official Plan means to the Municipality, we encourage you to contact our Planning Administrator.

The Municipality will be introducing a new line of communication in the coming month, to encourage better communication associated with emergencies, road closures, events, public meetings, etc. VoyentAlert is a text and/or phone alerting system, in which residents can choose which alerts they’d like to be kept up-to-date on, and where they could find more information. This should become available shortly, and if there are any issues or concerns with getting registered, or if you are simply wishing more information, please contact the Municipal Office.

Council is excited that our community’s FunFest will return this year, and we look forward to seeing everyone there. If anyone would like to get involved as either a volunteer, vendor or parade float, please contact the municipality at funfest@callander.ca.

I also want to thank the Legion and Marc Picard for donating a “Legion Coin” to commemorate their 75th anniversary. For those who are not aware, the Legion offers so many great initiatives here in Callander, and we are so happy to have them be part of our community.

A reminder that the Callander Public Library continues to offer great programming, for young and old alike. For those who do not follow their social media page, we strongly encourage it. You can visit their Facebook page here: www.facebook.com/callanderpubliclibrary.

Just another reminder that the Museum’s gift shop continues to receive new merchandise. If you are looking for Callander specific gifts, please visit our Tourist Centre at the Museum. They also have a great lineup of events and art shows coming up. To stay up to date with their lineup, please visit www.mycallander.ca/en/visiting-us/art-gallery.

Last but not least, nomination period for the 2022 Municipal Elections has opened up as of May 2nd and runs until 2:00 p.m. on August 19, 2022. Information regarding the election is available on the Municipality’s website or contact the Municipal Clerk’s office at clerk@callander.ca.

We hope you have a great week. Stay safe.
Mayor Robb Noon

Posted on May 11, 2022 at 3:11 p.m.