Who are you going to call?

Congratulations to all those people who, on Monday October 27, won the right to represent us at local and regional levels. And thanks to all the people who worked so hard running for office, attending debates, knocking on doors and putting out their ideas into the community. 

The MHBPNA looks forward to working with everyone in these exciting times of development and engagement.

We have several levels of government so here is a list of who now represents you:

Ward 10 Councillor: Sarah Marsh

Mayor of Kitchener: Barry Vrbanovic

Kitchener's Regional Councilors: Karen Redman, Tom Galloway, Wayne Wettlaufer and Geoff Lorentz.

 

MHBPNA Annual General Meeting Update

On October 4, 2014 we held our Annual General Meeting at the Breithaupt Centre and were very excited to see about 35 people in attendance. We had Lego for the kids, coffee and food for the older folks and lots of information about what has been happening in our community over the past year and what we would like to work on for the future.  We also elected a full slate of Executive Members.

We began with current board members giving an overview of the past year where we have been very successful in engaging government and citizens. 

We have followed the Weber Street Widening closely and successfully lobbied for a pedestrian-activated cross walk at Wilhelm. We found some problems with the train tracks next to Louisa and Weber and CN sent crews to repair the deficiencies within a couple of days. We had several people out for our Earth Day cleanup.

We led a successful Jane's Walk, where we celebrated the history of our neighbourhood, and held our 'second annual' bike tour of the area. We ran Lego programs at the Breithaupt Centre, a Much Music Dance Party and are involved in supporting the Spur Line Trail, fast tracking the Margaret Avenue Bridge and painting one of our intersections.

We would like to thank the Kitchener Optimists who have disbanded but who gave us their Abitibi paper collection bins. It took many phone calls and emails to sort all of that out, but we now receive over $1000 per year from those bins in the parking lot of the Breithaupt Centre, so please continue to drop off your paper!

Prior to the AGM we were also presented with a certificate of appreciation from the Guelph Street Garden because of our financial (and community) support. We have also supported a Lantern Walk last winter and a Bike Rodeo and street party on Dekay.


We appreciate that all four candidates for Councillor, Ward 10 attended and spoke about their background and platform (Adam Kochanski, Sarah Marsh, Gabrielle Korschewitz and James Howe). And Geoff Lorentz and Ken Seiling from the region also attended and Ken provided an update on Weber Street construction. 


Here is our new 2014-2015 executive:


Lane Burman: CoChair
Ted Parkinson: CoChair
Chris Dewar: Partnerships Director
Linda Vandenakker: Secretary
James Gaede: Communications Director
Trudy Beaulne: Treasurer
Dan Lackner: Special Events Director
Louis Burback: Member at Large
Graham Jackson: Program Director

We would like to thank everyone who came out to the meeting and all of you who follow our Blog and Facebook and participate in any of our activities. We look forward to an exciting year ahead!

Margaret Avenue Bridge Update (from the city of Kitchener)

Construction to start on Margaret Avenue Bridge

KITCHENER – Work to construct the new Margaret Avenue Bridge is set to begin Oct. 27, 2014.  Access to all local businesses will be maintained throughout the construction which is estimated to be complete by July 2015. Alliance Verdi Civil Inc. has been awarded the tender.

“We are pleased that construction of a replacement bridge is going to start soon,” said Steve Allen, manager, engineering design and approvals. “We recognize how important this bridge is to the neighbourhood, and we would like to thank the community for their patience."

In June 2013, a structural engineers’ report recommended the bridge be closed due to safety concerns and was subsequently removed after further structural analysis. In June 2014, staff provided options to council regarding the size of the new bridge after investigating what future needs might be required in light of the potential for enhanced rail service.  Council approved staff’s recommendation for a two-track bridge once GO Transit confirmed it would be sufficient for all current and future GO operations. 

More information about the Margaret Avenue Bridge replacement can be found at www.kitchener.ca/Margaretbridge. Updates will be made available on the webpage as construction progresses.

AGM on Saturday

Mt. Hope Breithaupt Park Neighbourhood Association

Annual General Meeting

Saturday October 4th

10:00am-12:00pm

Breithaupt Centre Room 207

AGENDA

Introduction of Current Board

MHBPNA Year in Review

Reports from Executive

Ward 10 Candidates Introductions

Constitution Amendments

Election of New Board

Discussion of Priorities for 2015

EVERYONE WELCOME

COME SEE WHAT IS GOING ON IN THE 

NEIGHBOURHOOD

Have a coffee on us!