May 19, 2016
Community
Victoria Day long weekend

There's a lot to do this weekend
 
The Victoria Day holiday weekend marks the opening of Happy Rolph's the Lakeside Park Carousel, Morning Star Mill and some of the community's favourite summer activities.
 
City Hall, the Parks, Recreation and Culture Services administration office and some other City of St. Catharines facilities will close on Monday, May 23 as part of the Victoria Day holiday weekend.
 
City offices return to regular business hours Tuesday, May 19. Click here for more about what's opening and what will be closed.


Celebrate a fireworks safe Victoria Day

St. Catharines residents can kick-off summer with fireworks over the Victoria Day holiday weekend. But, St. Catharine Fire Chief Dave Wood cautions revelers to be safe, use common sense and know the City's rules for using fireworks in St. Catharines.

 
Click here to read more
Click here to license your dog
Purchase dog tags online
 
St. Catharines residents can now purchase tags for the family dog online.
 
Dog owners can visit stcatharines.docupet.com to set up an account, complete online dog profiles and even upload photos. The new system also allows residents to manage and update contact information and details about their dogs as well as access to DocuPet's lost pet network should their dogs go missing. 

CLick here to learn more  

Get involved with Canada's 150th anniversary celebrations
 
The City of St. Catharines Canada 150 Task Force invites organizations to a community information session to discuss how it can work with organizations to make Canada's 150th celebrations a success.
 
All community organizations, clubs and school groups are encouraged to participate in the celebrations.

Join us Tuesday, May 24 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the St. Catharines Museum and Welland Canals Centre. Short presentations take place at 7:10 p.m. and 8:10 p.m. Email Carla Mackie
 
Email Carla Mackie to RSVP.

 

Port Dalhousie Piers Open House

Open house set for Port Dalhousie piers
 
Fisheries and Oceans Canada will host an open house to update the public on the status of the Port Dalhousie Piers on Thursday, May 26 at 7 p.m.

The briefing will highlight results from the recently completed engineering studies on the condition of the piers and provide the public with an opportunity to ask questions. The open house takes place at St. Ann Catholic Elementary School, 218 Main St.


Splash pads

 

City splash pads open Friday
 
City splash pads at Lester B. Pearson Park and Catherine Street Park are set to open for the season Friday, May 20, weather permitting. Admission is free.

Click here to learn more  

Fun Fest May 28
 
Mark Saturday, May 28 on your calendars because City of St. Catharines fire fighters have a fun-filled day planned for families.
 
St. Catharines Fire Services and the Real Canadian Superstore invite the community to spring into fire safety at the Community Safety Fun Fest from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Superstore parking lot at 411 Louth St.
 
The free event offers a chance for families to meet fire fighters and enjoy loads of activities, including a free barbecue, games, bouncers, CN Rail's Obie the Safety Train and more.
 
Click here to learn more
Amuse_ Public Spaces  
aMUSE at Lakeside Park

The St. Catharines Museum and Welland Canals Centre brings it's award-winning pop-up museum experience to the Lakeside Park Saturday, May 21 from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m.
 
Look for the pop-up museum experience near the carousel. Visitors will enjoy old-fashioned fun with games and a pop-up exhibit about Port Dalhousie with photographs and artifacts from the museum's collection. Admission is by donation.
 
Click here to learn more
2016_17 Hot Ticket season announced June 1

PAC looking forward to next season
 
The FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre will announce the line up for the 2016/17 HOT TICKET season on June 1.
 
 
PAC screening The Young Victoria this weekend

Looking to enjoy some indoor activities this weekend? The Film House at the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre will screen the Young Victoria, a
dramatization of the turbulent first years of Queen Victoria's rule and her enduring romance with Prince Albert Sunday, May 22 at 1 p.m.
 
The Film House has other screenings all weekend long. General admission is $9. Visit www.firstontariopac.ca for listings, shows times and other information. 

Click to buy tickets

A Report from
Mayor Walter Sendzik
Mayor Walter Sendzik
This week, after months of discussion and input from residents and volunteers, City Council decided to build a new pavilion at Lakeside Park.
 
This decision came after the current pavilion was deemed unsafe and closed to the public in January. The plan to build a new pavilion is just one part of a larger plan for Lakeside Park which includes new beach accessibility mats (coming summer 2016), pathways, washroom renovations, a new playground and bandshell and electrical system upgrades.
 
The new pavilion will respect heritage elements of the old pavilion and community input will be welcome into the design. The new pavilion is an important part of the overall revitalization of this important community park.
 
As residents of St. Catharines we are fortunate to have access to such a beautiful public waterfront. Together with the repair of the piers, these improvements will help make Port Dalhousie and Lakeside Park more accessible and usable for generations to come.

Clarification
 
The Mayor's Report in the May 5 issue of the Garden City Current contained a spelling error.
 
The article should have stated Montebello Park was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted. The original article spelled the designer's name incorrectly.

The City of St. Catharines regrets the error, but we appreciate the opportunity to talk a little more about something else readers were interested in: the zipper.

While he did not live in St. Catharines, American engineer Gideon Sundback, the inventor of the modern zipper, put St. Catharines on the fashion map by establishing the Canadian Lightning Fastener Company in the city. Sunback designed a process to mass produce zippers and, in 1925, based his Canadian operations out of St. Catharines. According to St. Catharines: Canada's Canal City by authors John N. Johnson and Sheila M. Wilson, about half the zippers in Canada were made right here in the Garden City.


Council Highlights
New pavilion planned for Lakeside Park
 
The City will build a new pavilion at Lakeside Park in Port Dalhousie.
 
Council approved the City's heritage permit application to demolish the aging pavilion at Lakeside Park in order to build a new pavilion in the same place.
 
Council directed staff to consider saving the original wooden columns from the existing pavilion for interpretive purposes as well as the partially buried steps on the west side of the structure. Council also wants staff to orient the new pavilion in the same general direction as the existing pavilion.
Licensed curbside patios coming soon
 
Licensed patios may soon be popping up in on-street parking spaces in front of restaurants and other businesses.
 
Council will allow licensed curbside patios now that provincial regulations allow businesses to serve alcohol across public sidewalks.
 
Sidewalk patios are already allowed on City sidewalks wide enough to accommodate them and a clear walkway for pedestrians. Allowing licensed curbside patios gives restaurants and businesses on sections of streets with narrow sidewalks the opportunity to offer outdoor seating areas.
New homes planned for old school grounds
 
The old Meadowvale Public School grounds will soon be home to new homes.
 
Council heard about plans to build 20 new single detached homes and 24 townhouse units at the former school at 63 Cecil St and approved changes to the City's zoning by-law relating to the property to move the development forward.
 
Developers have also submitted an application for draft plan of condominium, which will allow the 24 townhouse units on a private road within the development to be sold separately. Council will consider that application once an associated site plan application has been submitted and reviewed.
Other council news
 
Climate Change
Council directed staff to work with the Niagara Sustainability Initiative on a plan to meet the greenhouse gas emissions inventory and reporting requirements of the Compact of Mayors.
 
Council also directed staff to review the Compact of Mayors climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies to make recommendations during a review of the City's Official Plan and to include climate change adaptation initiatives in department work plans.

Zoning by-law amendment
Council will allow small stand-alone commercial uses at 98 Welland Ave.
 
Downtown wayfinding
The City is making it easier for visitors to find the Meridian Centre, the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre and parking for both venues by posting additional wayfinding and "green P" parking signs downtown.

Bill Burgoyne Arena
Council directed staff to open Bill Burgoyne Arena this summer to accommodate an additional 224 dry floor arena pad rentals.

More council online

 

Council Highlights offers informal summaries of some of the recent decisions and business discussed during St. Catharines City Council meetings.

 

The Office of the City Clerk provides a full recap of decisions and motions in its official minutes, available on the Friday after every St. Catharines City Council meeting.

 

Click here for City of St. Catharines council meeting agendas and minutes.
Upcoming meetings

May 30

City Council

6:30 p.m., City Hall

 

Click here to learn about other upcoming meetings.

 

 

Click here to learn about construction projects happening in the City.

City of St. Catharines | [email protected] | http://www.stcatharines.ca
50 Church St
St. Catharines, L2R 7C2

City of St. Catharines | 50 Church St | St. Catharines | Ontario | L2R 7C2 | Canada