Sidewalk Repairs Coming to Ward 2 Neighbourhoods
Starting in August, and finishing up by the end of September, the City of Hamilton will be tackling a large number of sidewalk repairs across Ward 2 for the first time in many years. These aren’t the kind of sidewalk repairs that involve temporary interventions using asphalt, but will be full slab repairs and historical curb cut reversals using concrete in compliance with accessibility standards.
When I first took office, City staff asked to meet with me to discuss sidewalk repairs and asked if I would be contributing any additional monies beyond the $78,000 that is allocated in the City’s budget. To be honest, I was stunned to learn that Ward 2 received so little - only 5% of the City’s total sidewalk repair budget.
I was shocked because Ward 2 has the most used pedestrian infrastructure, still has some of the oldest sidewalks in the city, and those who live here are disproportionately seniors, many with disabilities, and folks pushing around strollers and mobility devices.
I have asked the City’s Public Works staff to look at how equity is applied to the distribution of these funds and to come back with a report in time for the 2024 budget so that Council can discuss potentially changing the current allocation. The current allocation framework is neither equitable nor sustainable.
In the meantime, because Ward 2 had an unused surplus of money in its Minor Maintenance budget, I was able to allocate an additional $400,000 to improving sidewalks in this calendar year.
I recognize that the City is facing a number of crises and pooling these resources to tackle them, in future years, is an important discussion to have, but the City will always have a legislative responsibility to maintain its public assets. While these decisions were made by the previous Council, including the vast majority of what was included in the 2023 budget, there is a possibility to change this moving forward considering that this City Council has chosen new term of Council priorities.
In the meantime, repairs for this August and September have been scheduled in Beasley, Central, Corktown, Durand, and the North End. You can either look at the City’s map to see where the repairs are happening in your neighbourhood (you’ll have to Zoom in or input an address to find the little blue lines that represent the repairs that will happen this year) or check out this Google Sheet to see the complete written list.
Turning Biodiversity into Action in our Urban Spaces
On July 13, I co-led the first outing of the Biodiversity in Action Walk Series with Lynda Lukasik, Director of the Office of Climate Change Initiatives and Jen Baker, Land Trust Manager with the Hamilton Naturalists’ Club.
We walked throughout the North End in Ward 2 starting at the Strachan Street West entrance to Bayfront Park, walking down and along Strachan Street with stops at the Sunset Cultural Garden, the Jamesville redevelopment site, some of the City’s recent tree plantings, and the West Harbour GO Station, ending at the Workers Arts and Heritage Centre.
The goal of the walk series is to connect the City’s Biodiversity Action Plan to the community - to demonstrate how businesses, governments, organizations, and individuals can put biodiversity to action in our city by showing some examples of the work that’s already happening.
It was really interesting to hear from Jen and Lynda about not only the many simple things individuals can do to improve their front, side, and backyards (like requesting a free native tree species be planted on their property) but also how to contribute to larger community initiatives like maintaining the Sunset Cultural Garden.
But what struck me the most were the staggering number of opportunities that we were able to discuss, in this one small area, that organizations and governments can do, and have done, to make an impact.
At the Jamesville redevelopment site the conversation quickly turned to how the City, and the community, could come together to ensure that future development included the preservation of more mature trees during the demolition and building processes. Lynda and I were able to share a bit of information about how the process works and the potential we have to prioritize Green Development Standards (GDS) in Hamilton. The City is moving to implementing GDS in Hamilton and there should be some meaningful progress in this term of Council.
At the West Harbour GO Station the discussion turned to trees and the possibility of greening some of the larger areas that are currently filled with concrete pavers. In the past, the City has been reluctant to get involved in Provincial and Federal projects citing issues of jurisdiction and cost. When I was elected, I made it a priority to open up conversations with CN, CPCK, and Metrolinx so that we could bridge that gap in the future. I plan to discuss the potential for more greening with Metrolinx at our next monthly meeting.
From what I could tell, both the walk leaders and the couple of dozen people who joined the walk got a lot out of it, learned something new about biodiversity, and connected with others interested in helping our city adapt to climate change.
If you haven’t checked out the Biodiversity in Action Walk Series yet, please consider joining a walk in the future. There are 2 planned walks coming up! The next is Stormwater Management at the Saltfleet Conservation Area on August 2 led by staff at the Hamilton Conservation Authority followed by Yellow Fish Road in Dundas on August 8 led by staff from the Bay Area Restoration Council.
Time is Running out for this Round of Community Grants
Tomorrow, July 31, is the final day to submit an application for the first round of Ward 2 Community Grants. This round of funding includes expenses incurred between January 1 and July 31 and future expenses projected until September 30. Our goal for 2023 is to award $50k in each quarter, for a total of $200k by year’s end.
In case you haven’t heard about this new program, I launched the program this month after having discussions with members of the community, City staff, and some of my colleagues, about what to do with some of the monies that had been unspent by the previous Ward 2 City Councillor.
For context, what I had learned was that these monies, called “discretionary” area rating funds, would eventually expire (annually) and be sent back to the main area rating fund, which would subject them to a different set of rules.
What that means, is that as discretionary funds they can currently be spent more broadly to support organizations and groups in Ward 2, as long as they meet some basic criteria as outlined by Council in 2018. If those funds expire, they will only be available for infrastructure related projects (both social and capital).
If you’re considering applying to this round of funding by the end of the day on July 31, there are a few things to keep in mind -
As much as these are “discretionary funds” any amounts over $350 must be approved by Council - the goal for this round of funding will be to bring the approvals together in one group to the August 18 meeting of City Council
Funds will not be awarded to support any group or organization’s ongoing operating costs (like food, alcohol, and staff salaries)
If you have questions about whether or not you’re eligible, you can connect with Ward 2 Constituency Coordinator, Liesl Thomas, at Ward2@hamilton.ca. For a complete breakdown of the funding criteria, application instructions, or to look at the scoring rubric, visit the Community Grants page on the Ward 2 website. Not to worry, if your expenses will be incurred later this year, between October 1 and December 31, there will be a second round of applications at that time.
Website Feature - Motions and Procedural Motions
The Ward 2 website was launched in February of this year along with the newsletter to ensure that my campaign promise to be transparent and accountable could be achieved over the course of this Council term.
In addition to pages outlining how Ward 2 specific funds are tracked and my public calendar, the Ward 2 Team also diligently tracks all of the Motions and Procedural Motions that I have either moved or seconded at Committee and Council meetings. Both are available in searchable and downloadable formats and each motion entry contains a link to the Minutes so the context is clearer and people can look at how my colleagues voted.
The process we use for tracking these motions depends on the schedule that the office of the City Clerk uses to publish official Minutes for each meeting, so it’s slightly behind the meetings where the motions themselves have been put forward. As of this month, I’ve either moved or seconded more than 125 motions and more than 200 procedural motions in my first 9 months on the job.
I’m happy to say that almost every single motion I have put forward has been supported by the vast majority of my colleagues. Almost all that were initially defeated were later brought back with modifications and eventually approved. For those interested, the only motions that remained defeated were
1 motion I put forward to strengthen protections for tenants as part of licensing Short Term Rental accommodations
2 motions I seconded, moved by Councillor Alex Wilson, to make the City of Hamilton a living wage employer
I stand by those motions and hope that they will be revisited, and supported by Council, later in this term.
I’m not aware of other Councillors who track this information, and the City doesn’t track it at all, so I can’t report on how it stacks up or provide any meaningful analysis. That being said, I can tell you that it definitely helps the Ward 2 Team and I to plan, reflect, and ensure that the types and kinds of motions we’re putting forward are in line with the platform I released during the election campaign.
I hope that you’ll find this part of my website useful in identifying the work I do as a member of the City’s Committees, Sub-Committees, and Council on behalf of Ward 2 residents. I made a commitment to do things differently, which includes doing everything I can to not only represent residents on decisions that impact Ward 2 but to keep the big picture in mind around citywide issues. I think the motions I’ve put forward demonstrate that I’m keeping that promise.
I’ll be featuring a different section of the Ward 2 website in my upcoming newsletters to help residents get a better sense of the information that we’ve made available to ensure that we’re being both transparent and accountable. If you have any questions about the content on my website, please reach out directly at Cameron.Kroetsch@hamilton.ca.
Upcoming Committee and Council Decisions
This section itemizes important upcoming Committee and Council decisions in case you wish to delegate, watch a meeting live, or send in correspondence to the office of the City Clerk at clerk@hamilton.ca. They’re listed by Committee and date.
General Issues Committee - Monday, August 14 - 9:30am
Hamilton Waterfront Trust - Business Model - FCS23029(a)
Public Feedback and Recommendations for Protocol and Sanctioned Sites - HSC20036(g)
Planning Committee - Tuesday, August 15 - 9:30am
Parking Standards and Minimums - City Wide
Review of City By-laws with Respect to Tenant Displacement and Renovictions
Audit, Finance and Administration Committee - Thursday, August 17 - 9:30am
Low Income Seniors Water, Wastewater, and Stormwater Assistance Program - FCS23045(a)
Roads Value for Money Audit and Roads Quality Assurance Supplementary Audit Report - PW22007(a)
Emergency and Community Services Committee - Thursday, August 17 - 1:30pm
Addressing Needs of Unsheltered Individuals and those relying on Hamilton’s Overburdened Emergency Shelter System (City Wide) - HSC23041
Addressing Renovictions, Tenant Displacement and Property Standards in Apartment Buildings in the City of Hamilton (City Wide) - PED23072
Hamilton Tenant Support Program - HSC23023(b)
Update on City’s Advocacy Regarding Housing with Supports - HSC23054
Upcoming Events and City Notices
For a list of City Notices directly impacting Ward 2, including encroachment applications, temporary road closures, and watermain repairs, visit our website.
Stormwater Management - Biodiversity in Action Walk Series - August 2 - Saltfleet Conservation Area
Festival of Friends - August 4-6 - Gage Park
Yellow Fish Road - Biodiversity in Action Walk Series - August 8 - Dundas
August Art Crawl - August 11 - James Street North from 6:00pm to 11:00pm
Winona Peach Festival - August 25-27 - Winona Park
Updates from the Last Issue of the Ward 2 Newsletter
This section provides updates on things I wrote about in the last issue of the newsletter. The article names are the same, including links, so it’s easier to keep track of what’s new.
Opening up Our Streets Brings the Community Together
The once a month Friday art crawl nights on James Street North have been a huge success and we were able to expand the footprint to include the block from Murray Street to Barton Street, thanks to the efforts of City staff. Environmentalist and passionate North Ender Jon Davey posted some footage on his social media account so everyone could see the comparison between the May and June art crawls. Even between June and July there was a big difference in the size of the crowds, the different artists and performances that took place, and the participation from folks in the nearby Central, Beasley, and North End neighbourhoods. City staff will be bringing a report back to Council in the near future detailing the successes, outlining the costs, and proposing future plans for making our streets more accessible to all. If you haven’t had a chance to come out to an open streets art crawl yet, the next one will be on Friday, August 11 starting at 6:00pm and running until 11:00pm. And don’t forget, this all culminates in the biggest open art crawl of them all, Supercrawl, happening September 8 through 10.