City Hall

VOLUNTEER FOR THE CITY

Citizen positions on Committees of Council provide Kawartha Lakes residents with an opportunity to volunteer their time in various activities associated with local government. There are openings for three members in two different committees: • Kawartha Lakes Municipal Heritage Committee:

Two members for remainder of Term of Council (November 14, 2022). Committee members identify and protect historic properties that are important to our communities throughout the municipality.

• Fenelon Landfill Public Review Committee:

One member for remainder of Term of Council (November 14, 2022). Be involved in open dialogue with Councillors and municipal staff about how we can work together to create a healthier environment. Committee members will discuss waste management programs and contribute ideas for the future.

Applicant eligibility

• A resident of the municipality (own, rent, live in shared accommodation where you do not pay rent or live in the municipality with no fixed address); or • An owner of property in Kawartha Lakes or a person who rents property in the municipality, or

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the spouse of the above; and • At least eighteen years of age; and • A Canadian citizen or a permanent resident of

Canada.

Members of the public interested in serving on either Board or Committee are asked to submit a Citizen Appointment Application Form available online at kawarthalakes.ca/boardsandcommittees, along with supporting material, by email to clerks@ kawarthalakes.ca. Applications must be received no later than 4:30pm on Friday, March 4, 2022.

RELIEF FUND PROVIDES ASSISTANCE

Created by the Community Foundation of Kawartha Lakes two years ago, the Bobcaygeon & Area COVID-19 Relief Fund has provided much needed assistance, with the tremendous support from you, our donors and supporters. Operating throughout the pandemic, the funds donated provided essential support to our residents, healthcare workers, and community organizations negatively impacted by COVID-19.

At this time the fund has dispersed over $137,000 in food, personal supplies, counselling, emergency shelter and transportation assistance, providing welcomed aid to over 50 families, 233 healthcare workers and the more than 250 seniors who reside at our local senior care homes.

RENOVATION FUNDING NOW OPEN

The 2022 Kawartha-Haliburton Renovates funding is now available for homeowners looking to make repairs like roofing, plumbing, heating, foundations, wells and septic systems. The fund offers a forgivable loan to a maximum of $10,000 for repairs, as well as a grant to a maximum of $5,000 for accessibility modifications.

“With the limited housing options we are facing, we know how important it is to help households maintain their homes by supporting them with major repairs,” said Manager of Housing, Michelle Corley.

Each eligible application received will be considered for funding on a priority basis. Application forms for the 2022 funding year are now open and can be submitted until March 15, 2022.

Applicants must own their home and the market value of their home must be at or below $435,126. The applicant’s household income cannot exceed the limits in the following list: • One bedroom: $34,000 • Two bedroom: $40,500 • Three bedroom: $45,000 • Four or more bedroom: $59,500

Applicants must have adequate home insurance, be current with property taxes and mortgage payments and their home located either in the City of Kawartha Lakes or the County of Haliburton.

Applications and further information can be obtained online through the City’s website under Kawartha Lakes Housing Services, Homeowner Assistance.

If learning about the future of agriculture, agrifood technology and the effect on the industry from climate change, there’s an interesting virtual event you might want to consider.

It’s the 17th annual Farmland Forum, being held on March 24. Discussions throughout the day will explore how humans, plants, and animals can work harmoniously to produce agricultural commodities, create ecosystem services, and combat climate change.

To start the conversation, David Phillips, CM, Senior Climatologist at Environment and Climate Change Canada will kick off the day with a keynote presentation on the status of the climate in Canada, necessary mitigation strategies and the importance of protecting land in its present state.

Branching off of this topic, Evan Fraser, PhD, Director of the Arrell Food Institute and Professor of Geography at the University of Guelph will raise awareness on global food security issues, introduce cutting-edge agri-food technology and dive further into the great challenge of sustainability.

Following these keynote presentations, several farmers from across Ontario will come to the table in a panel discussion on “A Multitude of Ecosystem Services across Unique Farmland Uses”. In this panel, farmers will describe how their various agricultural operations create vital ecosystem services that contribute to the health of our environment.

In addition to this conversation, a second panel discussion will be held in which pioneers of “Sustainable Innovations in the Agricultural Sector” will discuss unique agri-food technology. Speakers in this panel will demonstrate the overall efficiency behind integrating these innovations on farms and bring attention to their many benefits.

To wrap up the day, Philly Markowitz, RPP, Economic Development Officer of Grey County, and guests will present a local perspective on community sustainability, climate change resiliency and food security for future generations.

The event runs from 9am to 1:45pm with registration at 8:45am. Tickets are $50 per person, with $25 for students holding a valid student ID. You can find out more at www.ontariofarmlandtrust.ca.

LEARNING RECOVERY PLAN

Following two years of global learning disruption, caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ontario government announced record funding of $26.6 billion for the 2022-23 school year. This funding will support learning recovery and fund mental health supports for students to allow a return to a more normal school year next year.

As part of the announcement, Education Minister Stephen Lecce unveiled Ontario’s Learning Recovery Action Plan – a five-point plan to strengthen learning recovery in reading and math, anchored by the largest provincial investment in tutoring supports, summer learning and mental health.

“These investments will help students in our communities have access to the supports they need to ensure students feel safe and supported at school as they recover from the pandemic disruptions,” said Laurie Scott, MPP for Haliburton-Kawartha LakesBrock. Highlights from Ontario’s record investment in public education include: • A $683.9 million increase in Grants for Student

Needs (GSN) funding, with projected total funding of $26.1 billion. This represents a 2.7 per cent increase from 2021-22 • Average per pupil GSN funding is projected to rise to $13,059, which is an increase of $339 or a 2.7 per cent increase from 2021-22 • Over $500 million in Priorities and Partnerships

Funding (PPF) • $90 million in total mental health investments, representing a 420 per cent increase in funding since 2017-18 • $15 million to deliver expanded summer learning opportunities • $92.9 million increase in Special Education Grant funding through the GSN where it is projected to increase to over $3.25 billion, the highest amount ever provided in Special Education Grant funding • $304 million in time-limited additional staffing supports, through the COVID-19 Learning

Recovery Fund as part of the GSN. This funding will go towards the hiring of an estimated 3,000 front line staff – including teachers, early childhood educators, educational assistants, and other education workers to address learning recovery

The government is also continuing to provide $1.4 billion for the repair and renewal of schools for the 2022-23 school year. Included in that is almost $435 million for Kawartha Pine Ridge DSB and $218.5 million for Trillium Lakelands DSB.

CHANGING THE MENU

Have you changed up your grocery buying habits in the past few months because of rising food prices? Well, you’re not alone. As rising food prices take a bite out of Canadians’ budgets, new data from the nonprofit Angus Reid Institute finds four-in-five changing up their household’s menu to keep up.

While three-in-five (62 percent) are eating out less and one-quarter are drinking less alcohol, a significant segment of Canadians are making changes to what they put in their cart to save money as grocery bills rise. Approaching half (46 percent) say they are switching to cheaper brands, one-third (35 percent) are cutting back on meat and one-in-five (21 percent) are buying

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less fresh fruit and vegetables.

Inflation isn’t the only factor: Canada’s system of supply management is also pushing prices upwards as new, higher prices for farmers for their milk and butter came into effect on Feb. 1.

While Canadians broadly say they support supply management (68 percent do), there is significant interest in – at minimum – pausing its pricing requirements in the face of increasing food costs. One-quarter (27 [ercemt) of Canadians say supply management policies should be relaxed in the face of rising grocery bills, while a further third (32 percent) believe the system should not exist in the first place. Two-in-five (40 percent) say the system should stay as is even as food prices continue to rise.

For those with children under 13 in their household, nine-in-ten (89 percent) say they’ve changed up their food shopping habits in response to rising prices. That includes three-in-five (60 percent) who have switched to cheaper brands at the grocery store, more than the two-in-five (42 percent) of those without young children in their household who say the same.

The Angus Reid Institute conducted an online survey from Jauary 7 to 12, 2022 among a representative randomized sample of 5,002 Canadian adults who are members of Angus Reid Forum.

MOVE FOR KIDS’ SAKE

Big Brothers Big Sisters Kawartha Lakes-Haliburton wants everyone to get up and MOVE to help others. It’s their Move for Kids’ Sake fundraising program that will challenge participants to be active and, in doing so, raise pledge to support young people in our community.

This year, they are introducing Move for Kids’ Sake Bingo Board Challenges. There will be prizes for completing an activity line and completing a full bingo card.

Register as a team or individual, choose a Bingo Card or your favourite activity, get your pledges, share pictures and videos as you complete your activities, and use our hashtag #MFKS2022. Support Big Brothers Big Sisters Kawartha Lakes–Haliburton while raising awareness of the tremendous impact mentoring makes. Registration starts on March 1 and will run until March 31.

The funds raised through this event remain in our community to support one-to-one mentoring programs that help children reach their full potential. The Social Return on Investment is $18 for every dollar raised through this event.

If you would like to support Move for Kids’ Sake but aren’t ready to sign up, you can pledge to get Executive Director Janice Balfour up and moving. Janice will complete one loop of the Logie Park Skating Loop or walk her dog Hope for one Kent St block for every dollar pledged.

“Move for Kids’ Sake is a great way to get outside and get moving well, supporting mentoring relationships in our community. I am looking forward to lacing up my skates, and Hope is always ready for a walk,” says Janice Balfour.

NO MORE STICKERS

The Ontario government is making life more affordable and convenient for nearly eight million vehicle owners by eliminating licence plate renewal fees and the requirement to have a licence plate sticker for passenger vehicles, light-duty trucks, motorcycles and mopeds, effective March 13, 2022.

“As the cost of living continues to go up, our government is cutting costs for families to make life more affordable,” said Premier Doug Ford. “Eliminating the fee to renew your licence plate and refunding the

cost of doing so for the past two years is a concrete way we can put and keep more money in the pockets of hard-working Ontarians.”

The government is introducing red tape legislation later today that would enable the province to refund eligible individual owners of vehicles for any licence plate renewal fees paid since March 2020. Upon passage, vehicle owners will receive a cheque in the mail starting at the end of March and throughout the month of April.

Under the proposal, renewal fees will also be eliminated for passenger, light duty commercial vehicles, motorcycles and mopeds that are owned by a company or business. However, no refunds will be given for the period of March 2020 to March 2022.

Vehicle owners will still be required to renew their licence plate every one or two years at no cost to confirm their automobile insurance is valid and pay any outstanding Highway 407 tolls and other municipal fines. The government is working with partners to develop a new, more user-friendly process that will continue to validate automobile insurance requirements, support law enforcement efforts and collect municipal fines and unpaid Highway 407 tolls.

20 YEARS OF TACKLING HUNGER

The idea for a central depot for local food banks was borne in 2000, when a collective of community members representing a variety of local organizations answered the call to action when observing a sudden increase in individuals seeking food support. Kawartha Lakes Food Source (KLFS) officially opened its doors on March 3, 2002. At that time, those around the organizing table agreed upon a mission of supporting those who feed our hungry. Now, twenty years later, KLFS is still doing just that, thanks to the strong

foundations laid during those early years.

KLFS is the largest non-profit food distribution organization in Kawartha Lakes, operating as a hub for over 30 member organizations. Every month, thousands of pounds of food are procured, sorted, and distributed to our member food banks, social service agencies, schools, and community programs.

“I am so grateful for and amazed by each and every person, business, and organization who has supported us over the last 20 years with donations, volunteering, or just generally rooting for us,” says Heather Kirby, executive director at KLFS. “This organization was created by our community, is operated by our community, and continues to serve our community.”

A year after KLFS was founded, socially conscious columnist Mike Puffer was writing for The Lindsay Post. In an article titled, “Food Banks Are The New Reality For Our City,” he wrote that the ultimate goal of KLFS “is to work itself out of existence”. He added, “the more understanding we have of such facilities in our community, the more people will support them. And that certainly makes things better for all of us.” Mike now sits on the KLFS Board of Directors and has been part of the 20th Anniversary Committee.

The KLFS 20th Anniversary Committee researched and wrote a historic timeline highlighting the many community members and groups who have shaped the non-profit to be the leading local organization it is today. The 20th Anniversary Timeline is now being featured on the KLFS website.

Explore Kawartha Lakes Food Source’s historic timeline and share your KLFS connection at www. kawarthalakesfoodsource.com/20th-anniversary. You can also follow them on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and TikTok.

MASS VACCINE CLINICS TO CLOSE

With the majority of eligible residents in the region having already received their booster dose, the Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit (HKPRDHU) will be closing its mass immunization clinics located at the Lindsay Exhibition (LEX) on February 25 and at the Cobourg Community Centre (CCC) on February 26.

To support ongoing vaccination efforts, in-house clinics will open at HKPRDHU office locations in Port Hope (200 Rose Glen Road) and Lindsay (108 Angeline Street South) with dates and times yet to be announced. Both clinics located in Fenelon Falls and Minden will continue to run once a week until March 24.

“As of today, 85.8 per cent of people within the Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District have been vaccinated with their first dose and 82.4 per cent with their second dose. Our booster dose coverage for people aged 18 years and older has also topped 60 per cent,” said Dr. Natalie Bocking, Medical Officer of Health with the HKPR District Health Unit. “The daily number of new lab-confirmed COVID-19 cases continues to decline, and other indicators are trending in the right direction. Although two of our mass immunization clinics will close by the end of this month, COVID-19 vaccines will still be widely available to eligible individuals through our in-house clinics located in Port Hope and Lindsay, community pharmacies, and health-care providers.”

Walk-ins for first, second and booster doses (if eligible) are now available from 10 am to 4:30 pm for anyone age 5+ at Health Unit COVID-19 vaccination clinics. Both mRNA COVID-19 vaccines (Pfizer and Moderna) are available.

All vaccination appointments within the Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge district are walkin friendly and offer first, second and booster doses (pending eligibility) for anyone five years of age and older. View a complete list of vaccination clinics, pharmacy locations or primary care providers at www. hkpr.ca. In addition, as of 8am on Friday, February 18, 2022, Ontario is expanding booster dose eligibility to youth aged 12 to 17. Appointments will be booked for approximately six months (168 days) after a second dose. To be eligible for a booster dose or a fourth dose (if eligible), at least 84 days must have passed since your most recent shot.

“I would also like to take this opportunity to recognize all of our employees and volunteers who have been assisting with COVID-19 immunization, case and contact management and outbreak response,” said Dr. Bocking. “Your dedication and tremendous contributions to keeping the people of the Haliburton, Kawartha and Pine Ridge districts safe and healthy throughout this pandemic has been nothing short of extraordinary.”

MUSIC COUNCIL NOTES

Submitted by April Scott

At the last Council meeting, via phone, a lengthy discussion was held about the possibility of holding Concerts in the Park this year. As protocols are slowly being lifted, it was decided that it is better to go ahead and plan for them and if necessary to cancel at the last minute, rather than wait until the last minute to organize them.

Several sponsors are ready to go, Parks Canada has given its approval, our Sound Man, Roy, has said yes and the musicians are all ready to perform. So things are looking up for a great summer. Unfortunately the bridge will not be in action but hopefully the park will be fine and the boats will still be going through the

locks. Unfortunately, we have lost the large tree under which people liked to sit during the concerts.

We will keep you up to date as the months go flying by, Please stay tuned and also visit our Facebook page -- The Bobcaygeon Music Council.

Until next time…think positive.

OLD MILL STUDY

A draft of the Old Mill Heritage Conservation District study has been released for review and comments. Staff are looking for input on the study and any additional information on the history and heritage features of the area.

The Old Mill area contains a significant concentration of nineteenth and early twentieth residential properties and it is also recognized as the oldest area in Lindsay, initially developed with the construction of the town’s original mill around 1830. Long considered an important local historic site and community landmark, Council initiated a Heritage Conservation District Study for the Old Mill neighbourhood in June 2020.

The development of the Heritage Conservation District is a fully public project for any resident of Kawartha Lakes to get involved. Visit the municipality’s online engagement tool Jump In, Kawartha Lakes at jumpinkawarthalakes.ca/oldmillhcd. An online survey is available to share feedback on the draft study.

The project team is also holding two public engagement sessions in March, to discuss the draft study and provide updates on the project. There will also be an opportunity for the public to provide feedback and ask questions. The meetings will be held electronically via Zoom and a recording of the meeting will be posted online for anyone to tune in afterwards.

Public Engagement Sessions

• Saturday, March 26 at 7pm • Sunday, March 27 at 2pm

A variety of resources and information is available on Jump In, Kawartha Lakes. Subscribe to the platform and project to stay up to date.

SUMMER STUDENT JOBS WITH THE CITY

The municipality’s Summer Student positions are now open and several opportunities are available across a variety of departments, including Engineering, Public Works and Community Services.

Summer student positions are four-month hires for the months of May through August.

More positions may become available for Outdoor Summer Students. Students can expect to be assigned to one of the following teams and areas: cemeteries, Centennial Trailer Park, landfill sites, arenas, parks and trails, roads operations or housing facilities

maintenance.

Kawartha Lakes Summer Student Program introduces students to the public sector through challenging experiences, while providing meaningful opportunities to contribute to the community.

If you are an innovative and passionate summer student or you know one interested in working for Kawartha Lakes, visit kawarthalakes.ca/ summerstudents for details and to apply.

KAWARTHA QUEST

Kawartha Conservation wants to invite you and your family to take part in Kawartha Quest, a fun, interactive outdoor adventure series for all ages.

Combining your amateur skills in animal tracking, wildlife identification, map building and more, participants will be guided through the trails at Ken Reid Conservation Area where they will complete a series of challenges to reveal letters to a secret code word.

Once complete, participants can upload the secret word on the Kawartha Conservation website to receive a Certificate of Completion and a participant button.

To begin your adventure today, download the Kawartha Quest Passport and head to Ken Reid Conservation Area for a visit filled with fun, adventure and learning for the whole family. Passports are also available in the brochure racks at the Administration Centre and the map kiosk at the main parking lot.

You can find out more information at www. kawarthaconservation.com.

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