Kelly: Preparing for the freshet, tree removal and Women’s History Month

This past week, we celebrated St. Patrick’s Day and continue to celebrate Women’s History Month. I am thankful to the women in my life who make my work possible.

I have been blessed to be able to have the time to meet with many in the West Carleton-March community and cannot wait for the warmer weather to get myself and family out more. I was happy to sit down for some games of euchre in Carp last weekend to help raise money for the Carp Fair. It was a pleasure to be there but, as always, my partner and I did not fare well against the many experienced and competitive euchre players of West Carleton. 

Over the last several weeks I have met with organizations and companies working in Ward 5, committed to trying to ease the burden being placed on our landfills. As the city works towards a new solid waste master plan, I was thankful for the information and hopeful that we can determine how to best deal with our garbage. With the Trail Road facility nearing the end of its capacity, I believe local solutions to these major challenges are the way forward and will not only help divert waste from landfills, but also help our local economy.  

With the spring freshet upon us, it is a reminder of a yearly concern for many which is flooding. The large snowpack, the rapid increase in temperature, and the actions of holding and releasing water upstream have many concerned. I recently met with a group from Willola Beach to talk about these issues. We live in an area with annual flooding risks and, along with city staff, I am working with those in the most vulnerable areas to determine how we can help people prepare and react should we have to deal with flooding this spring. We need innovative solutions and hope to discover those with input from all involved. I believe the best avenue to speak to residents would be through a public meeting  we will be holding at 5670 Carp Rd. on Wednesday, April 12. City staff, emergency personnel, and public works representatives will be on hand to help our community prepare and mitigate the potential risks. We encourage residents to show up and join in this discussion about possible solutions both now and moving forward.

I made a special appearance at the Environment and Climate Change committee to discuss the removal of trees in the city, an issue that many are raising with our office. I campaigned on a promise to increase the number of trees and seeing clear cutting done on this magnitude is not something I take lightly. I wanted to ensure the voice of those who want to see a smarter tree removal and planting program in place was represented. The Tewin lands were cleared to make way for future agricultural purposes, which is something I support, but the question of transparency remains and I, for one, would like to see more of it. I believe farmers should have the right to expand and protect their agricultural venture if they choose, but any time this sort of cutting takes place, we need to ensure there are proper procedures in place to address the concerns of the public. If anything, this incident has demonstrated the importance of open communication to those who will, rightfully, have questions.

Here in West Carleton-March, we are blessed with larger property parcels, filled with all the beauty this part of the city has to offer. And to hear from people who have lived on the same property for generations, wanting to sever off a piece of this property, fills me with hope this will allow these same families to continue the work of farming in the same place they have existed for decades. I am currently working with city staff to make this process easier as many in our ward struggle with prohibitive fees and rigid zoning possibilities. City staff has a very large, complex overarching plan and all properties fit into it one way or another. My hope is to be able to streamline a process to allow for people in rural areas, whose land has never been severed and developed before, to be able to find an avenue for the continued presence of their family on their property.

With that in mind, I gave notice of motion about cash in-lieu of parkland, hoping to ease the financial burden for residents, while recognizing the immense importance of these funds to the city. I understand the money received as cash in-lieu of parkland goes to fund some extremely important city initiatives. There is, however, the feeling of undue burden borne by rural residents when they receive an invoice for these fees that are often prohibitive of their completion of a construction project. I am hoping to create an atmosphere of fairness, so rural residents do not feel like they are spending more and receiving less. There are residents who feel that their voices are drowned out by their distance from city hall and want city staff to hear what they have to say.

To that end, I was happy to see city staff respond so professionally and cooperatively to a housing project that was sent back after committee required some issues to be addressed. Those issues were addressed, staff and the developer worked together and presented councillors with the results of what was asked of them, and committee was able to approve an affordable housing project so desperately needed by our city. It is encouraging to see this cooperation and I look forward to being part of more of this sort of work at city hall.

As we move into spring, I encourage residents to prepare for flooding possibilities by staying vigilant and joining us at the information session at West Carleton Community Complex, to prepare for spring cleaning by using the year-round and free electronics disposal option at the Tomlinson facility on Westhunt Drive, and to continue to reach out to the Ward 5 office to let us know how we can be of assistance. As your representative, I base my priorities on your feedback, and I am always happy to hear from you.

To read all Coun. Clarke Kelly’s columns, click here.

The preceding column was written by City of Ottawa Ward 5 Coun. Clarke Kelly, part of the councillor’s ongoing, bi-weekly column for West Carleton Online, made available to the entire community through an agreement with the publisher.