Blog Posts - OSHAWA ROSEMARY

OSHAWA ROSEMARY

Merry Christmas!

12/24/2018

Warm Christmas wishes from my family to you and yours! To our dear longtime friends, new friends, and each of the many who have touched our lives in 2018, know you have made special memories for us. We hope the personal and on-the-job connections, and new connections we look forward to making this coming new year, continue to deepen the appreciation we hold in our hearts this special season.

Kind regards, Rosemary McConkey

(Picture taken at the fabulous Anderson House B&B, 120 Columbus Rd. W., Oshawa, holiday event, which Jamie and Elizabeth Anderson generously host at Christmas for the community.)

Respond to Safety Risks on Ward 1 Subdivision Roads

12/22/2018

On Monday December 10th Ward 1 residents called me to express concern about the many raised manhole covers and catch basins on their streets.

As the saying goes, the squeaky wheel gets the oil. The same day I contacted the City's engineering and development services departments to get action on Jack Glenn St., Groveland Ave, Williiam Lee Ave. Clearbrook and Greenhill Ave.

I put in writing the difficulty Oshawa citizens were having navigating around these obstructions in winter weather, as well as the impediment they pose for emergency vehicles and the City snowplows attempting to clear the roads.

City staff explained that "the structures were raised to prepare for surface paving, but due to the cold weather this may not be possible this year."

They confirmed they were aware of the problem and indicated that staff were working with the developer and consultant to have the obstructions lowered due to winter control. It seems the developer had been holding off as long as possible to have this subdivision paved this year, but as they wrote back, the consultant was finally instructing their contractor to lower them.

I wrote once more to make sure the work would start and be completed soon, and was told it would start Friday Dec 14th and be completed by Friday Dec 21st.

Happy to report this is how it went. The work was successfully completed. These local roads are now without the pylons. and the catch basins and manhole covers have all been lowered.

Also I've followed up with conversations with staff to find ways to ensure this sort of problem does not happen again in other Oshawa new development areas in the future.

Week One on the Job!

12/9/2018

I found my first week as an Oshawa City Councillor very stimulating.
I asked a lot of questions at the two full day Education & Training Council meetings on Tuesday and Thursday!
Note there will be a third full day Education & Training session tomorrow, Monday Dec 10th.
For anyone interested in the information provided by senior staff to my questions, I'm posting a few videos clips. City meetings are webstreamed live and then archived. The archived videos take a few days before they are posted on the City's webpage.

The clips below are from the Tuesday, Dec 4th meeting webstream. In the first video below I'm asking Oshawa's City Manager Sharma some questions. The second is a clip of me with Oshawa's Commissioner of Finance, Stephanie Sinnott. In the third video is Community Services Commissioner Ron Diskey, who I asked questions re: the Rotary Pool, FIRE services and Waste Pick-Up:

Public Information Meeting To-night 3265 Simcoe St. N.

12/5/2018

Tonight, Dec 5th, 6:30-8:30 come to the public drop-in at 3265 Simcoe St. N. (Columbus Community Centre beside Columbus Church) to see/hear what the developer landowners' consultant Macaulay Shiomi Howson Ltd, are planning for future development of the Columbus area lands north of Hwy 407E

The several developers who are moving this planning area forward have their consultant-lead speaking, Liz Housen from Macaulay Shiomi Housen Ltd. (MSH) You can talk to her and others who will be there with any questions/concerns you may have, as MSH have engaged a number of sub-consultants who will be attending, along with City of Oshawa Planning Director Warren Munro, and Tom Goodeve, Laura Moebs and Laura Brown from the City Planning Dept

The new job!

12/4/2018

Yesterday I was sworn in to Oshawa City Council. The Standing Committees were formed and the two I will be on are: Finance and Development Services.
I am also the Council representative on the Oshawa Accessibility Advisory Committee. Today starting at 9:00 a.m. there is a Special Council meeting in the Council Chamber. As stated on the public notice: "The purpose of this meeting is to receive education and training as part of Council’s Orientation Plan concerning the following topics:
• Current and Emerging Issues
• Presentation: Ben Earle - Social and Economic Trends and Challenges
• Department Presentations:
 City Manager’s Department
 Community Services Department
 Corporate Services Department
 Development Services Department
 Finance Services Department

115 Simcoe St. S. Oshawa, where help, healing, understanding needs and community come together

12/1/2018

I attended the screening of the Strong Medicine video today, World Aids Day, at 115 Simcoe St. S. Oshawa, across from Memorial Park.

What a inspiring group of individuals, all united in their outreach work for proper Aids/HIV treatment, and their harm reduction among the vulnerable in our community. They have this new location, with entrance at the back of the building, and well appointed premises with offices, several quiet counselling spaces and boardroom in the basement.

Pictured here with the Naxolone kits are Adrian Betts Executive Director and Swati Naidu, Women and HIV Community Development Coordinator.

I also met up with fellow Councillor-elect Derek Giberson. With several others we watched the video and learned a lot. Such as, although the anteretroviral pills won't get rid of HIV, they will keep it under control, and if you adhere to the medicine, which needs to be taken every day, you can live a long and healthy life.

"Strong Medicine" is a short film which "shares accurate information about HIV testing and treatment. It encourages people to get tested and to start, resume or stay on HIV treatment for their own health and wellness. This video is a positive and supportive educational tool for all Indigenous people living with HIV and those affected by HIV."

At the Legislature with Lindsey Park, MPP

11/26/2018

Dropped in for a quick meeting with Lindsey Park, our elected representative at Queen's Park. Topics of discussion, the disturbing news about GM shutting down operations in Oshawa, as well as #OREPC18 convention where Premier Ford and former Prime Minister Stephen Harper were guest speakers, as well an ask about updating REBBA, before she was called into the Select Committee on Financial Transparency meeting.

p.s. Good to say hello to 'The Agenda''s Steve Paikin who was attending the meeting :)

13th Annual City of Oshawa Realtor & Developer Breakfast

11/22/2018

Presented by the City of Oshawa. at the new downtown Oshawa Convention Centre, 67 Simcoe St. N. around 120 guests were happy to attend. These included the developers who are restoring the Genosha Hotel, as well as the wonderfully renovated Simcoe/Quebec St. apartment building 'The George', principals of Tribute Communities, Halloway Holdings and many more in the development industry, including residential and ICI realtors, as well as Region Chair-Elect Henry, and Councillor-Elect Hurst and me.

The informative session was hosted by the City's Economic Development Services Director Kyle Benham, who gave a superb 40 minute talk with Powerpoint (see below) touching on the many latest stats and accelerated growth happening now and future plans for development in Oshawa.

Budget Pop-Up Monday Nov 19 @ 9 a.m., Delpark Home Centre (formerly known as Legends Centre)

11/18/2018

Also at the Budget Pop Up meetings, the City will be asking Oshawa residents to fill out a survey whether they prefer to opt-in or opt-out of hosting private recreational cannabis retail stores in Oshawa.

The Province is providing municipalities a one-time opportunity to opt-out by January 22, 2019. The City Manager states that "this option to opt-out, which may affect the portion of funds (a minimum of $10,000) a municipality may be eligible to receive from the cannabis excise tax or Provincial Offences Act fines, can be reversed but any decision to opt-in is final.

Municipal licensing by-laws will not apply and local zoning cannot distinguish the use of land or building on the basis of the sale of cannabis. The public and municipalities, however, will receive a 15-day notification period to allow comment on a proposed store site.

To better inform City Council’s decision of whether to opt-out by January 22, 2019, the City will be initiating a public consultation process on the hosting of private recreational cannabis retail stores. The consultation will take place in November 2018. A staff report containing the results of the public consultation will be released to Council mid-December in advance of a January Council meeting."

Oshawa's Santa Parade of Lights

11/17/2018

A brisk chilly evening warmed with the excitement of the crowds of spectators along King St. W and Bond St. between Simcoe St and Stevenson Rd.
Starting at the Oshawa Shopping Centre, this year's annual Christmas parade began at 6:00 p.m. with so many keen participants of all age groups clearly enjoying themselves and hyped by the wonderful sights and sounds of the bands, lively music, dance routines, sparkling costumes and colorful floats!