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Residents asked me during my campaign and came and made excellent delegations...then after some serious prompting to other members of the Community Services Committee May 14th to be proactive and not delay (only a couple voted against) I am pleased to report Ward 1 Councillors John Neal and I received Council approval May 21st for these new speed stop signs and speed limit signs soon to be installed at Arborwood and Park Ridge Dr. and on Ormond Dr. north of Coldstream Dr.. 
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 The Public Open House for the Airport South Field Master Plan held Thursday, May 24, 2019 at 6:30 p.m. in the cafeteria at Paul Dwyer High School was well attended. Concerns about noise from the Tank Museum, access to the community garden, preservation of the heritage canteen building which is in disrepair, as well as the issue of noise from the flight school were topics raised during the Q & A period after the City staff presentation of the Background Study. The City of Oshawa has posted an on-line survey to be submitted before 4:00 p.m. Wednesday, June 12th for more public input (paper copies are also available at City Hall, 50 Centre St. South). The link is here: https://connectoshawa.ca/southfieldMP/survey_tools/SFMPff and a copy of the questions being asked can be seen below.  A Public Open House is being held this Thurs. May 23rd 6:30 - 8:30 p.m. @ Paul Dwyer High School cafeteria (700 Stevenson Rd. N., Oshawa) concerning the 23 hectares (56.8 acres) area where the Tank Museum, Gemini Gymnastics, 420 Wing Canteen are, and includes a portion of the Thornton Road North lands
The 2008-2012 Airport Business Plan noted that the South Field lands are no longer required for aviation services and do not need to be retained for the future development of the Airport. The 2015-2019 Airport Business Plan directed that a study of the Airport South Field lands be undertaken to identify appropriate land uses. Completing the study this year, the Public Open House is to gather comments on the proposed land use option. Under the City's proposed land use option the City will not contemplate selling any of its land in the Study Area in order to preserve the future use/development opportunities of the airport lands if the airport ceased operation, But the City will continue to lease/license lands and structures, as appropriate, for uses permitted under the zoning by-law. For particulars see the 10 page March 20, 2019 City Report DS-19-45 (linked below which is 96 pages in total as it includes as attachments the 8 page November 2016 Proposed South Field Master Plan Terms of Reference Report DS-16-116 and the 77 page June 2018 Draft Background Study Report DS-18-21) http://app.oshawa.ca/agendas/development_services/2019/03-25/DS-19-45.pdf The minor changes between the draft and final versions include the renaming the “Bone Yard” associated with the Ontario Regiment Museum as the “Spares Yard” and reflect the completion of the following:
  Friday May 17, 2019 started with a wonderfully upbeat and well attended morning ground breaking ceremony for a new 6 storey building coming soon to Trent U Durham. The project is being built on the 1.8 acre property donated by the City of Oshawa in 2017 and fronting on Thornton Rd. S. immediately north of the Oshawa Civic Centre. University Head, Joe Muldoon, who will be retiring this summer, expressed in warm words Trent U Durham's great appreciation to Oshawa Development Services staff and City Manager Paul Ralph and the tremendous support of donors, such as the Region of Durham's $1,42 Million gift towards Trent U Durham's expansion. He spoke of what a dynamic and exciting place Trent University Durham is, and how welcome the new facility will be since they have grown from the original 900 students to over 1400 and are now 'busting at the seams'. For construction updates he invited all to follow the hashtag #growingtrentudurham The weather continued to warm and the sun shone during the PFLAG Rainbow flag raising at Oshawa City Hall. May 17th is designated International Day against Homophobia and Transphobia. This date was chosen to commemorate the decision by the World Health Organization in just 1990 to remove homosexuality from the International Classification of Diseases. The official season opening of the Oshawa Chamber Visitor Information Centre at 2 Bloor St. E (north east corner of Simcoe St. S and Bloor) was launched mid afternoon with a ribbon cutting ceremony. I joined Oshawa Mayor, three other Councillors, Oshawa Chamber Chair Nancy Shaw and the three student volunteers, who will be manning the premises and assisting new visitors to Oshawa 9:00 a.m to 6:00 p.m. seven days a week from Victoria Day weekend to Labour Day.
Information is now on-line for review before Metrolinx public meetings Tues. May 21 6-8 pm Garnet Rickard Rec Centre in Bowmanville; and Wed. May 22 6-8 pm at Civic Centre, Bobby Orr Lounge, Thornton Rd. S. Oshawa    Circle your Calendars! Two Metrolinx public meetings next week: 1st in Bowmanville - Tuesday, May 21, 2019 - 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. Garnet B. Rickard Recreation Complex Hall #2 2440 Highway 2 2nd in Oshawa - Wednesday, May 22, 2019 - 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. Oshawa Civic Recreation Complex Bobby Orr Room 99 Thornton Road S Attend to find out what the four options they've been saying they are sending to Ontario Transporation Minister Jeff Yurek are! AND MAKE SURE OSHAWA VOICES ARE HEARD LOUD AND CLEAR FOR A SECOND STATION IN OSHAWA!!! And of course, HOW MUCH WE NEED A PARKING GARAGE at OSHAWA'S current station!!! Metrolinx's invitation says: ...”One of our other goals is to find a way to get more rail service to communities beyond Oshawa as quickly as we can, and to do so with an all-day service. The original plan from a few years ago was for limited service in the morning and evening peaks only. The options we are now considering are based on operating train service throughout the day. We will work very closely with our municipal and freight partners to test which options are most advantageous, balancing both the benefits and the costs associated with each option to achieve this very important rail extension. This will include identifying how we achieve this extension as quickly as possible. You are invited to attend one of our community meetings to learn more about the four options we are considering to extend GO service beyond Oshawa.” For more information please contact Carmen Rapati, Community Relations and Issues Specialist, Lakeshore East Corridor, telephone 416-202-4719, email carmen.rapati@metrolinx.com By the way, here's the latest GO train map...note Oshawa has had 1M riders year to date April 2018 to Jan 2019  A Red Letter Day, 4 Motions approved at Committee, now go to Council May 21st for Final Vote5/13/2019 Successful Community Services and Finance Committee meetings Monday May 13, 2019! Three motions I submitted at Community Services Committee meeting passed, two by 3-2 votes (with Councillors Derek Giberson, John Gray and John Neal in support) and one by a 4-1 vote (with same as above and Councillor Rick Kerr also in support) (as I don't sit on that Committee I don't have a vote). These motions, re lowing a speed limit from 50km to 40km, changing a 2 way stop to a 4 way, and adding 2 garbage receptacles on Simcoe St. S. now go to the May 21st Council meeting for a final vote. Fingers crossed there is no last minute glitch and Council approves the Committee recommendations. I have to commend the residents of Ward 1 who took the time from their schedules to come and speak to the Committee Monday morning about their neighbourhood issues! Hats off to Kevin Fenelon, Ron Bremner and Alan Smith. Each made strong delegations and it is something positive now that each of their concerns should be addressed in a timely way. Below is a picture from Mr. Fenelon's powerpoint presentation that speaks volumes of a problem intersection. Bonus, at the afternoon Finance Committee meeting my motion requesting that there be an improved tracking of the timing and completion/costs of the City's Capital Projects passed unanimously! It will also go to the regular full Council meeting May 21st. Below is a copy of my motion with the example of the City of Hamilton's comprehensive tracking of its Capital Projects. Yeah, these two committee meetings made my Monday a Red-letter day!  McConkey Motion to Finance Committee May 13, 2019 that Staff update the City of Oshawa’s current process for tracking capital projects, with a view to implementing improvements based on best practices and alternative methods that other municipalities have established, one example being the attached excerpt from the City of Hamilton Capital Project Monitoring Policy and Capital Projects Work-in-Progress Sub-Committee; and That a report be prepared prior to the presentation of the City’s 2020 Budget, as the City’s capital projects are publicly funded, and an improved tracking may assist informing Council, City departments and the public of certain trends and allow reporting in greater detail, what funds are being spent on which capital projects and when they are completed and how a project’s actual expenditures compares to a project’s approved budgeted.   Some Ward 1 items coming up Mon. May 13 @ 9:30 a.m. at Oshawa Community Services Committee meeting. First are Ormond Dr. traffic issues, speeding and parking, and the motion to reduce the speed from 50 to 40km on Ormond Dr. between Woodmount Ave. and Coldstream Dr. Note: Related to this matter, also on Mon. May 27 @ 1:30 p.m. the proposed 7 storey, 201 unit with 139 underground parking spaces, Chartwell/Wynfield seniors residence project expansion, with a Petition signed by 85% of the area residents impacted, will be on the Development Services Committee Agenda. Here is the site plan and some pictures which should give some insight to the concerns being raised.    Another matter on the Monday morning Community Services Agenda are the safety issues at the busy intersection of Park Ridge Drive and Arborwood Drive, close to Norman G. Powers school. Concerned residents are requesting a 4 way stop here.
If Metrolinx is turning a thumb's down to the Knobhill site/CP rail line, Oshawa Mayor and Council should be ahead of this perplexing GO train east extension scenario. There is authentic need for a second Oshawa station with the explosive growth planned for the north. The Provincial Growth Plan projects Oshawa's population will be 245,000 by 2031, and the Official Plans for both the Region and City of Oshawa forecast over 70,000 new residents north of Conlin Rd. in the next decade. The task of finding an alternate site for a station along the CN line may appear daunting but the time for marshalling forces and getting one on the landscape would be now, before Oshawa is shut out from having a second station! Better to be proactive rather than reactive! Why be in denial of the fact that municipalities are creations of the Province and large infrastructure projects are subject to the priorities and finances of the Province. If the Province directs, based on a stronger business case from Metrolinx, that the GO Lakeshore East expansion will continue on the CN LINE for an earlier, less costly project, with fuller service (instead of the deep pocket transfer to the CP LINE which Oshawa has been pumped about for so long) because there is still no deal yet with CP and an expensive bridge over Hwy 401 will need to be built... Considering the greater cost, longer wait, and less train service with Oshawa's CP line Plan A...is a CN line Plan B Second Station not a conversation to have? https://www.durhamregion.com/news-story/9343414-back-to-the-drawing-board-for-durham-go-train-extension-plans/?fbclid=iwar1wlcemtjd-zpzi7zccz3ajoqi60jtjdmkaevqlp2arodvimfrxbprf3uk  Public Planning Meeting in Oshawa Council Chamber this Monday, May 6, @ 6:30pm for 3 development plans as follows: A proposed second farm dwelling for 430 Howden Road West, Thornlea Farms Ltd. For more info here is a link to the Report DS-19-73 http://app.oshawa.ca/.../2019/05-06/REPORT_DS-19-73.pdf  450-464 Taunton Road West to permit additional Select Industrial uses as the applicant intends to develop the site as a 64 unit industrial mall and market the proposed development as an industrial condominium...this is located on the north side of Taunton Rd. W. beside the KIA dealership by Stevenson Rd. N. and just west of the Embassy Pentecostal Church Here is a link to the Report DS-19-75 http://app.oshawa.ca/.../2019/05-06/REPORT_DS-19-75.pdf  291 King St. E., converting the existing 3 storey brick house to a dental clinic with a 2 storey addition Here's the Report DS-19-74 http://app.oshawa.ca/.../2019/05-06/REPORT_DS-19-74.pdf  |
