Dear Neighbours

First off, congratulations to all of our Ward 3 graduates from our elementary and high schools! It is always a pleasure to celebrate your hard work and achievements. I wish you all the best as you strive to fulfill your goals.

Committee and Council Updates

June was a busy month for Council and Committees, while July and August see only one Council cycle each, we tackled a number of important issues in June including:

Storm water Management. You can review the report from GIC to dig into more details on the stormwater incentives and credits

Housing, Homelessness, and Encampments (please see the section below)

Keeping Cool in the Heat

This summer has already had a number of record-setting days and it’s only getting started! The City of Hamilton provides a number of opportunities for residents to cool off on our hottest days. If you go to hamilton.ca/heat you can find out if we are in a heat wave, and find more information on ways to cool down, including:

  • Cool Places – you can find a map here of places across the City where you can go to cool down
  • Spray pads and/or wading pools are open and a good option for cooling down and having fun
  • Birge Pool is open daily from 12-7p
  • Air Conditioning Benefit Program is available to eligible residents to receive $350 for a one-time purchase of an air conditioner. More information about the benefit, eligibility and how to apply is available on the City’s website at Special Supports Program | City of Hamilton and/or by calling the Special Supports Program at 905-546-2590.

Ward 3 Office Pop-Ups

I am looking forward to seeing residents around the ward this summer at the many festivals and events that occur in our local parks. I have already hosted two in June and have two more Ward 3 Office Pop Ups in July and August. These are opportunities for residents to meet with me and my team one-on-one for support on issues or concerns you may have. You can find us at the following locations:

July 23rd – 4-6pm at Lucy Day Park

August 6th – 2-4pm at Myrtle Park

Woodlands Park Update

Work on the spray pad began at the end of June, and is projected to be ready for the spray components by the end of August. Assuming no delivery delays, we are still hopeful the spray pad can open in September. I will continue to follow up with staff on this and provide updates.

Reminder that the restoration work on the bathroom facility is guided by the City’s insurance policy. Staff are continuing to explore all options to expedite the works. My office and city staff will continue to work with the community on future enhancements to the park in a coordinated manner. More on this to come!

Encampments

In the June Council and Committee cycle, my colleagues and I passed staff recommendations from the Reducing Homelessness and Managing Encampments report, which updates the Encampment Protocol. You can find that report here.

In addition, we passed a motion requesting staff to report back in August about the addition of the following changes:

  • Private Property Line minimum distance increase from 10m to 25m;
  • Construction Site minimum distance increase from 25m to 100m
  • Funeral Home minimum distance change from classification of Funeral Home to Active Business
  • Pathways minimum distance increase from 5m to 50m
  • Heritage Designation distance increase from 5m to 50m and add monuments & memorials to the classification.

I want residents to know that I have heard your concerns about safety, increased litter and criminal activity in neighbourhoods where there is a high concentration of encampments. These are valid, impacting social cohesion and resulting in compassion fatigue. As a Council we must respond to these societal impacts while continuing to urge the provincial and federal governments to align strategies to address the compounding crises we are facing.

To stay current on all updates, events and opportunities sign up to receive my e-newsletter released each week we have a Council meeting.

Yours in Community,

Councillor Nrinder Nann