By Cameron Kroetsch
Featured image above: James Street North closed for the North of Barton Block Party on Saturday, October 18
Happy November North Enders! I hope you had a great Halloween and are getting ready for the cooler weather and a much-needed break over the upcoming holidays. As the neighbourhood with the most single-family homes, I’m sure your doors were busier with trick or treaters than the rest of the downtown core.
I share the excitement I’ve heard from some of you who are eager to see the future rebuilding of Jamesville now that the majority of the demolition has been completed. The City is still waiting on an answer from the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing about the request we put in for a Minister’s Zoning Order. Once we hear back, the City will share information about the next steps with all of you.
The end of this year will be busy with the City’s Water Budget and the final town halls and community meetings of 2025. The end of this year will mark more than 80 events, town halls, and community meetings held and organized by my office since I was elected in 2022. That’s an average of more than two per month over the course of this term of Council. It’s a milestone worth celebrating and my way of honouring my deep commitment to checking in with you as often as I can.
To that point, I hope you’re able to join me to share your feedback and learn more about the City’s 2026 Tax Budget on Tuesday, November 25 at 7:00pm at Ringside at 322 James Street North.
The topics for discussion will be a brief overview of the City’s budgeting since amalgamation, recent budget directives, an outlook on the 2026 budget including an overview of the water and tax budgets, the City’s $5.2 billion infrastructure deficit, and budgets from Boards and Agencies including the police and library boards. There will be refreshments and we’ll be livestreaming the meeting at instragram.com/ward2hamilton. I look forward to hearing what priorities you want me to bring to the Council table during our budget deliberations.
We’ll also be holding a Community Meeting to discuss both Eastwood and Strachan Linear Parks at the end of this year on December 4 at 7:00pm (location to be determined). We’ll be reviewing the results from our community engagement around these spaces, speaking to funding challenges, and going over some short-, medium-, and long-term planning strategies. Everyone in the North End will receive a postcard in the mail with the details in advance of the meeting and I hope you can come out to share your ideas and weigh in on the future direction of these important greenspaces.
I’d also like to take some time in this issue to ask for your support of the North End Breezes. As one of the last community newspapers of its kind, it’s struggling to meet all of its expenses each year. If it helps to know, during this term of Council, I’ve supported the Breezes through the Ward 2 Community Grants program with grants totalling $9,300 to help keep the news coming to your doorstep month after month.
If you’re able to donate to the Breezes, in any amount, please consider sending an e-Transfer to office@northendbreezes.com. You can also email this address if you’d like more information on how to donate by cheque or credit card. If you can’t donate, but have time to volunteer, join the Board, or participate in an event, please let North End Breezes volunteers know.
If you need any help from us or want to provide your feedback about something the City’s doing, the Ward 2 Team and I are available and would be happy to hear from you. Please send an email to the Ward 2 Team at Ward2@hamilton.ca or call us at (905) 546-2197. You can reach me directly at Cameron.Kroetsch@hamilton.ca.
