President's Report

Jeff Forsyth

Posted Jun.  07

With summer approaching we have 2 community events, one in June and the other in July.  On June 16^th the annual Heritage Day Festival will be held.  This event gets underway with a parade along Lawson Road starting from Centennial School at 10:00 a.m. and finishing in Highland Creek.  Festivities then continue throughout the day in Highland Creek.  This annual community event for the whole family is sponsored in part by CCRA.  Plan to attend.

The other community event is our annual summer concert series held July 8, 15 and 22 at Port Union Recreation Centre.  This is a great way to spend a relaxing summer evening listening to some great musical entertainment.  This event is also co-sponsored by CCRA.  Events Chair Heather Lemieux has further information on the concerts in this newsletter.

Last month we launched our annual membership campaign.  In last month’s newsletter Membership chair Tony Sibley listed a number of streets requiring canvassers.  If your street was on that list please consider volunteering to canvass even if it is only a few homes on your street.   The membership campaign is our only major fund raising event of the year.  Membership was down last year.  We would like to see the number increase this year.  Remember you can pay your membership through our web page, or mail it in to our address shown in the newsletter or drop it off in our drop box located in Port Union Community Centre.

The Port Union Waterfront Trail Working Committee met in late April.  Unfortunately, one of the items discussed at the meeting was vandalism along the trail.  The City is responsible to repair and/or replace any items damaged or stolen by vandalism.  The money needed to replace these items comes from our taxes.  Plans are for work to get underway this summer on Phase 2 from the GO station to the Rouge River.

In late April the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) held a hearing regarding the subdivision application for a parcel of land south of Wanita and east of Meadowvale.  Following some last minute negotiations between the developer and the City, the developer agreed to reduce the number of lots from 18 to 16.  Subsequently the OMB approved the application. 

Looking ahead to the fall, we will be holding our Annual General Meeting in October.  For the past 2 years we have been unable to hold an official meeting because of the lack of a quorum.  I sincerely hope this situation does not occur again this year.  At the same time I would hope that some of you would give serious consideration to serving on the executive.  It is a rewarding experience that helps to maintain a strong, vibrant community.

This is our last newsletter until September.

Hope everyone has a safe, relaxing and enjoyable summer.

Jeff Forsyth President