Council is asked to declare a climate emergency
Like many federal and provincial politicians, Quinte West Council is being asked to declare a climate emergency and the mayor says that issue is already being addressed.
A Belleville resident spoke during public input on Monday and says she’ll be making the rounds to area councils to ask them all the same thing.
Mayor Jim Harrison says while the city hasn’t officially declared a climate emergency yet and is planning to soon, steps are already being taken to reduce the environmental impact, including the building of the new operations centre.
He added that environmental impact has also been taken into account in building the new fire hall and police station, along with having four electric car charging stations installed throughout the city.
Concern raised about need for accessible and adaptive housing
There has been plenty of conversation around the region and beyond about the need for affordable housing but a Quinte West committee may deal with a specific type of housing in the future.
A resident who spoke at public input during council’s meeting on Monday, uses a wheelchair due to a physical disability and lives at Trent Valley Lodge.
She says younger people with disabilities need places to live, besides a nursing home environment.
Councillor Terry Cassidy says not living with people the same age or capability can be difficult and meetings of the city’s Accessibility Advisory Committee are the perfect place for residents to bring up similar concerns.
The Accessibilty Advisory Committee meets this Wednesday (October 9) at 4:30 p.m. in the multi purpose room at City Hall.
Quinte West Councillor Terry Cassidy. (File photo: David Foot/Quinte News)
Decision on turf field grant deferred
Quinte West council is delaying the decision on whether or not to apply for funding for an artificial turf field at Centennial Park.
The request was initially to be made last month, but was pushed back so staff could look at the possibility of adding a dome-type facility over top of the turf field, but councillors asked for more time again on Monday to consider the idea.
Councillor Al DeWitt says he has spoken to people within the soccer community who think the field would benefit teams to practice earlier and later in the season, but Councillor Fred Kuypers wanted more information on the lifespan and maintenance costs of a turf field.
Councillor Leslie Roseblade questioned if the city even needed a turf field and says research she’s done shows a dome would be very expensive to install.
Staff will address those questions at the next meeting on October 21, with council needing to make a decision by November 12, if they want to apply for federal funding towards the project.
Quinte West Public Library continues to be busy
October is Canadian Library Month and Quinte West Council marked the occasion by getting an update on operations at the city’s public library.
Quinte West Public Library CEO Suzanne Humpreys gave an update to council on operations from the last year and plans moving forward.
She says the library, which employs 24 people between its Trenton and Frankford branches, saw more than 83,700 visitors in 2018 and despite advancements in technology and availability of internet almost anywhere, there were about 30,000 uses of its internet and WiFi services as well.
Humphreys says that shows that the library is still an essential resource for residents and visitors.
Moving forward, she says plans are in the work to refresh the Trenton branch, with details to come forward at upcoming budget deliberations.
She also says they plan to invest in new physical and digital collections, while continuing to improve and expand programming.
