June 30 2019
The Deputy Mayor's Exchange
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I will be helping serve some of our wonderful seniors at the City's annual Canada Day lunch and at night I will be viewing the fireworks at Milne Park. It's family time.
Next weekend, please join me for the opening of the
Tony Murphy Park. It is located at Chambery and Carlton behind the Unionville Library.
Over the summer, please get out and use your neighbourhood parks, trails, splash pads (25 of them!), libraries and community centres. Visit our farmers markets!
The kids can attend summer camp, take an art class, go on a bike ride, play tennis, baseball, volleyball, badminton, pickle ball, learn to swim, play basketball and more. There's always lots to do in Markham! Thinking of the future, why not encourage your child to become a City of Markham lifeguard?
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The Regional and City Councils are in recess during July and August. The
Deputy Mayor's Exchange will be published less frequently until the fall. If you need any help with an issue my staff and I are always available to assist.
We are anxiously awaiting the Regional review by the Provincial government. An announcement should come in the fall.
I hope that you have a great summer!
Click here
to read the previous edition of
The Deputy Mayor's Exchange.
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In this issue
-
Canada Day Celebrations
- Welcoming New Canadians
- Markham Cycles Launch Party
- Summer Fun
- Yonge Subway Field Work
- Markham Jazz Festival
- Rouge National Park
- The Lendery
- Call For Artists
- Farm Fresh
- Repair Café
- Markham at the Movies 10th Season
- YRP to use Licence Plate Readers
- I Don't Flush
- Community Meetings and Events
- Q&A - City summer hours?
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Please forward this update to anyone that may find it of interest.
Make sure you are on the list for future updates.
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Looking for more information?
Any of the blue text, blue buttons and most of the graphics have links to further detail.
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Tomorrow is July 1st and time to celebrate the 152nd birthday of Canada.
The City has many events planned for the day. The details can be found
here. Why not make some plans now to celebrate this great country of ours!
If your Canada Day includes being outside, please remember these helpful tips:
- Bring a reusable bottle and drink lots of water
- Wear loose fitting, light coloured clothing and hats
- Find/bring shade (tree, umbrella)
- Use sunscreen and reapply regularly
- Pets can't take the outdoor heat. Please leave them at home.
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Congratulations to these new Canadian citizens who will have something special to celebrate on Canada Day this year!
On June 18, 40 recipients stood in the Great Hall at the York Region offices and took their solemn oath of Canadian citizenship.
"I swear that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second Queen of Canada Her Heirs and Successors
and that I will faithfully observe the laws of Canada
and fulfill my duties
as a Canadian citizen."
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Perhaps kick off Canada Day by welcoming 50 new Canadians to our City!
There will be a Citizenship Ceremory on Canada Day at the Markham Civic Centre at 8:30am.
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Join us for cake and a bike ride on Wednesday July 3 at 11am for the launch of a community bike hub at Milliken Mills Community Centre and Library. Now through to the fall, a new group called
Markham Cycles, will be hosting community rides and bike repair workshops, a bike mentorship and loan program, e-bike try-outs and information about making greener travel choices.
Launch Party:
Wednesday July 3rd from 11am - 1pm at the
Milliken Mills Community Centre
in the parking lot near the basketball court. The community ride will depart at 1pm. The guided bike ride will be on streets and park trails. There will be a limited number of bikes and helmets available to borrow.
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Summer Fun!
There's lots to do in Markham now that the kids are out of school and the nice weather is here:
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During the preliminary planning, design and engineering phase for the Yonge Subway Extension, work activity will take place at various locations along Yonge Street and some side streets from Finch Avenue to Highway 7. Crews will be conducting geotechnical investigations. For approximately the next 2 weeks from 7am to 7pm the work locations will be:
- On Yonge, at Old Jane Street in Vaughan.
- On Yonge, at Highland Park Boulevard in Markham.
- On Yonge, north of Centre Street in Vaughan.
What you need to know:
- Crews will use a drill rig to bore holes and extract soil samples. At the end of each work day the roadway will be restored
- There will be short duration lane closures on Yonge through the work areas
- There will be construction-related noise and dust from equipment and trucks.
- Give yourself enough time to get to your destination, and remember to reduce your speed through the work zone.
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The Markham Jazz Festival has announced their 2019 Opening Night Concert and Party. Groove to the Lou Pomanti Project “Oakland Stroke”, a 10-piece band known for its ’70s horn hit repertoire highlighting the likes of Tower of Power, Blood Sweat & Tears, Earth Wind & Fire, Chicago and more. Tickets are available in advance only at this
link.
Date and Time:
Wednesday, August 14 - gate opens at 7:30 pm, music starts at 8:00 pm and the event ends at 10:30 pm
Location:
Markham Museum – located on the northwest corner of Highway 48 and 16th Avenue with free parking. Sit and listen to great music under the stars. There will be a c
ash bar and food available for purchase.
Worried about the weather?
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There's a contingency plan. The concert will move inside the hall on the Museum grounds if the weather changes.
For more information about this opening event or the Jazz Festival weekend events, check out their
website
.
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Now that summer is in full swing, why not take the opportunity to visit the National Park that is in Markham. The Rouge National Park land assembly is
now 95% complete with the last transfer completed in mid-June.
There is plenty to see and do in the Park. You could celebrate
Canada Day, participate in
Parks Day on July 20th, go on one of the many
guided walks in the park or find out about the other events planned in the Park
here.
Not sure how to get to the Park? The easiest way to access the Park from Markham is
here.
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It is important to remember that we all need to be safe outdoors both in the Rouge National Park and anywhere else where you might be this summer. I'm linking to 2 specific safety topics on the Rouge website that we all need to consider when we are outside and not just in the Rouge National Park:
- Wildlife encounters - Let’s keep the “wild” in wildlife! Rouge National Urban Park is home to over 1700 different species of animals and plants, and we want to help them thrive here. We recommend using “the rule of thumb” if you close one eye, extend your arm and can fully cover the animal with your thumb, you are likely a safe distance away. If you can still see any of the animal, you’re too close and it’s time to move back! Click for more information on Wildlife Safety.
- Be Tick Smart - Ticks do live in the Rouge Valley, and some may carry Lyme disease. Here's what you need to know to be tick aware and stay safe while enjoying the park.
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Instead of buying new household appliances, why not check out The Lendery, a loanable library of common household items? The Lendery will launch at the
Milliken Mills Community Centre and Library
this July.
The Lendery can save you money, space and time.
- No need to spend money on a new item
- No need to find or make space to store the item
- No need to spend time researching best brands and prices
RSVP
for the grand opening of The Lendery at the Milliken Mills Library on Wednesday July 10 with remarks at 11am. Celebrate with a ribbon cutting ceremony, refreshments and a chance to check out some of The Lendery made projects.
More information on The Lendery can be found
here
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The
Varley Art Gallery
is excited to announce its first annual En Plein Air Competition! In celebration of F.H. Varley and his connection with Unionville, local artists will set up their easels on Main Street Unionville and in Toogood Pond Park to paint or draw in the open air the weekend of August 10 – 11, 2019. The works produced will be juried by a committee and the winners’ works will be shown in the En Plein Air exhibition at the historic
McKay Art Centre
on Main Street Unionville. The exhibition will take place in September 2019, to coincide with
Doors Open Markham
.
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Now that the nice weather is here, local fresh produce will start to appear in stores.
There are lots of opportunities to pick up seasonal treasures at local markets. Both
Unionville and
Markham have weekly farmers' markets and there are many farm markets in York Region too.
York Farm Fresh provides a map to local area markets, farms and festivals.
The markets are now open and the fresh local produce is so good at this time of year.
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A
Repair Café
brings together people with items to repair and volunteer fixers willing to share their skills and tools. They inspire people to repair items as an alternative to just throwing them away. Everything needed for the repairs are provided by our partners York Region and NewMakeIt for free!
All you need to do is show up with your broken items but only one item per person please.
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Sunday July 21, 2019
1pm – 4pm
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Have you been to Markham at the Movies? There is a group of dedicated volunteer film enthusiasts who f
ocus on bringing award-winning Canadian and international films to our own doorstep at the
Flato Markham Theatre
. Brought to you by the
Markham Arts Council
, Markham at the Movies is a partner of Film Circuit, a division of the Toronto International Film Festival group.
Their 10th season starts in September and they have just announced some of the films that will be shown this fall. Find out
more
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from the YRP website
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Drivers within York Region will soon be seeing some York Regional Police cruisers with cameras mounted on the rooftops. The automated licence plate reader system uses three cameras to automatically read licence plates on vehicles while the officer is on patrol.
The system can read 3,000 to 5,000 licence plates in a 12-hour shift and provides the officer with an alert for infractions such as stolen licence plates, a driver’s licence suspension, expired validation or failure to have insurance. The officer will confirm the information obtained from the automatic reader once a traffic stop is conducted. York Regional Police joins many other police services in Ontario and throughout Canada currently using this technology.
For more information, click
here
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While it isn't
World Toilet Day
until November (who knew that was a thing?), it is important to remember that we all have a part in protecting our environment including our water supply.
Flushing improper items can lead to backups in our homes, sewers, problems in our
wastewater treatment
facilities and can even cause sewage to overflow into our lakes and rivers.
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Community Meetings and Events
All City of Markham meetings are listed on the City's website at
Upcoming Council and Committee Meetings
. Unless noted differently on the link above, meetings are held at the Markham Civic Centre and are open to the public. If you aren't able to attend in person, meetings are live streamed.
The calendar of York Region meetings is available
here.
You can listen to meetings on line. The details from past meetings are available online.
I'd be pleased to highlight other community meetings in future newsletters. Please forward the details to
dhamilton@markham.ca
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Frequently Asked Questions...
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As an ongoing section in these email updates, I would like to provide answers to some commonly asked questions by residents.
If you have a question that you would like answered, please send me an email with your question.
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Question:
If I have a municipal issue to deal with over the summer, who should I contact? Isn't the City closed over the summer months?
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Answer: While the City and Regional Councils do not formally meet over the summer, there is still a fully operational City and Regional staff. They are ready to respond to any request or any emergency situation that might arise. Feel free to contact my office with your concern and I can direct your request to the appropriate area.
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Working together to make Markham better!
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