By Cameron Kroetsch
Winter is here and I hope you’re looking forward to taking a break, big or small, with your family and friends in December and January. For many in our community this is a time of celebration, but for some it can include difficult memories, loneliness, or isolation. If you have an extra seat at your holiday table or event, consider inviting a neighbour who might benefit from some of the joy of the season.
As you likely know, this part of the Council calendar year is primarily focused on the water and tax budgets. It’s why I held a town hall on the budget at the end of November, like I did last year, to ensure residents could provide feedback about their concerns to me in person and get a sense of what the budget process is all about from me directly.
Apart from that, I’m focused on wrapping up committee work for the year and preparing for winter and spring in Ward 2. I’m proud of the work we all did together to get some major safety interventions funded and on the books, but now the difficult process of waiting in the queue is in front of us. There are projects, some even in Ward 2, ahead of those I’ve put forward on behalf of the community.
The cybersecurity incident delayed many projects, unfortunately, but we’re finally back on track at the City and things are moving forward. The impacts of losing so many of our systems has been felt across the organization and in every Ward. I’m grateful we’re recovering and learning from this to make our IT systems better than ever.
As much as it pains me, we’ll have to be patient as each and every project goes through design and procurement processes. Some things are quicker than others, especially speed cushions, so look for those to come online in neighbourhoods where people voted in favour of them, this coming spring.
I should have dates soon for everything else I’ve funded through Ward 2 reserves, like pedestrian crossings, traffic signals, road resurfacing, and other safety features coming in the next year or so to the North End. For a complete list of the projects I’ve funded, that Council has approved, please read past issues of my newsletter at ward2hamilton.ca/newsletter.
I’m also planning on connecting with all of you by mail in the new year to outline where things stand at the end of this term and the work we still have to do, neighbourhood by neighbourhood, including in the North End. You deserve a report from me about the priorities I put forward when I ran to be your Councillor and what I was and wasn’t able to get done in my first term.
As a reminder, I’ll be hosting a community meeting at the Discovery Centre on December 4 to talk about the future of both Eastwood and Strachan Linear Parks. There’s a lot to review and I really want to hear your feedback, so please consider coming out at 7:00pm to find out more and have your voice heard on what’s going to happen next.
I’ll also be holding public skates on two Saturdays early in the new year at the Pier 8 outdoor rink – January 17 and February 21. As with our public skate last year, skate rentals and hot chocolate are free for anyone who shows up between 1:00pm and 3:00pm. I’ll be there so if you want to chat about an issue important to you, or just say hi, feel free to come by, no skating required!
Our office will be closed on December 22 and will reopen on January 5. We won’t be available during that time, but if there’s something urgent I need to know about you can email me directly at Cameron.Kroetsch@hamilton.ca as I will be checking my email regularly.
In the meantime, we’ve changed our hours as we weren’t getting enough requests to engage on Saturdays. You can now reach us Monday, Wednesday, and Fridays from 8:00am to 4:00pm and Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8:00am to 8:00pm. The easiest way to be in touch is Ward2@hamilton.ca but feel free to call us at (905) 546-2197. If we don’t answer, leave a message and we’ll get back to you.
And in case you haven’t heard, the Breezes is looking for submissions for a new North End Pet Calendar. Those of you looking for inspiration to take the leap and submit a photo, here’s my best little fur friend Harper for encouragement. I adopted her on Valentine’s Day of this year and she’s been such a joyful part of my life ever since. Hope you have a purrfect December and January!
