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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMaple Ridge This Month - 03 March Mid Month Issue.pdf11995 Haney Place, Maple Ridge BC V2X 6A9mapleridge.ca Maple Ridge This Month MID-MARCH 2017 INFORMED: Maple Ridge Scores a Hat Trick Maple Ridge Wins Bid to Host the 2020 BC Summer Games On Friday, March 10, Maple Ridge – Pitt Meadows MLA Dr. Doug Bing announced that Maple Ridge won the bid to host the 2020 BC Summer Games. This will mark the third time that Maple Ridge has hosted in the 40 year history of the Games. The bid announcement was hosted by former BC Games alumni and Olympian Karina LeBlanc who, interestingly enough, represented our community as a basketball player at the BC Summer Games. Paralympian Silver Medal winner Nathan Stein also spoke at the event. He represented our community in water polo. Both athletes talked about how the BC Summer Games were a signi cant stepping stone in their athletic careers. In her speech thanking Minister Fassbender and the local MLAs, Mayor Read acknowledged the great work of the successful bid committee team consisting of Christa Balatti and Dave Speers from the City of Maple Ridge, John Hayer from School District 42 and Bryan Hutton, owner of Canadian Tire, Maple Ridge. Mayor Read noted “The BC Summer Games create a legacy in each host community. Some of those legacies are in new and upgraded facilities and some of the most important legacies are around our citizens – the athletes and volunteers at the centre of the event. Over the next three years we have a lot of work to do to get ready for the Games. We will assemble a community leadership team to ensure that we can host between 3,500 and 4,000 athletes in a wide array of sports. We will be investing money to upgrade existing facilities and adding some new ones.” There are many volunteers who served as part of the 1998 BC Sumer Games and the 2009 BC Disability games that were hosted here in Maple Ridge. They were incredible ambassadors for our community and ensured that the young people from around BC returned home with many positive experiences from their time in Maple Ridge. In the coming months the 2020 BC Summer Games committee will be formed to ensure we assemble a strong team with skills in event management, sports, technology, cultural, fundraising and volunteer recruitment to, for the third time, deliver an incredible event. We will keep you posted on that work which will culminate in the Games opening ceremony in July of 2020. INFORMED: Stay Informed on Construction Projects Get in the Loop on Your Route We admit that we might have jinxed the weather by posting this notice a couple of weeks ago, but our ngers are crossed that winter has nally ended and temperatures will start to rise. We need a streak of good weather in order to complete some projects that require concrete work and paving which cannot be done in freezing temperatures. In the coming weeks and months you will see work on 203 Street, both on the southeast corner of Lougheed Highway and sections north of Dewdney Trunk Road as paving and sidewalk work continues to move these projects to completion. The construction teams will be looking for favourable weather in the forecasts and that work can have an impact on your commute. In addition to these larger projects there is a long list of work we will be doing to deal with the impacts of this winter from street sweeping all the sand we dropped to improve traction on the roads to the permanent repair of potholes. Many of these projects are weather dependent, so the call is made either the day before or rst thing in the morning. You can get emailed updates on any construction projects or have notices sent to your smart phone by signing up using the ‘Notify Me’ link at mapleridge. ca. Get in the loop on any work happening on your route! Sign up today and make sure you look for noti cations on our City Facebook and Twitter pages. INFORMED: March 2017 ENGAGED: Community Facilities Conversation Thank You For Your Feedback! The Work Continues Contact us at: enquiries@mapleridge.ca If you have a question about any of the content in this ad, or questions about any programs or services offered by the City of Maple Ridge, please email enquiries@mapleridge.ca and one of our team members will respond to you. INFORMED: Honouring a Home Town Hero New Synthetic Turf Field Named After Karina LeBlanc As part of the announcement of Maple Ridge’s successful bid to host the 2020 BC Summer Games Mayor Read noted that there will be a need to invest in upgrades and new facilities to meet the demands of our growing community. Council recently moved forward with a plan to convert two gravel all-weather elds to synthetic turf. Let’s pick up at this point in the Mayor’s speech; “One of those new synthetic elds is located at Merkley Park - right near Karina’s old high school, Maple Ridge Secondary School. If I’m not mistaken, Karina actually played some of her early soccer on that gravel eld. Last year Karina retired from her international soccer career and began a new journey as a broadcaster, motivational speaker and UNICEF ambassador. Karina, your voice as part of the Summer Olympics coverage in Brazil was simply amazing. Your energy and message of empowerment and positivity is much needed in our world today. I want to announce that Council unanimously voted that the new synthetic eld will be called the “Karina LeBlanc Field at Merkley Park.” Karina is an example of how an investment in youth sports can create a star athlete, but it can also create amazing citizens who become ambassadors for their City, Province and their nation. In the fall of 2017 we will invite Karina and her family back for the grand opening of the eld that will bear her name. In a few years there will be teams from around BC competing on that turf eld as part of the BC Summer Games and we hope they will be inspired to achieve their dreams when they read the dedication plaque and see Karina’s journey from Maple Ridge to the world.” Maple Ridge is proud to honour this amazing Home Town Hero whose message of dreaming big, empowerment and positivity is a much needed message around the world. The new eld is expected to be complete in the fall of 2017 and there will be a grand opening and dedication ceremony for the community with Karina at centre stage. Council Meeting Schedule Mayor and Council encourage everyone to attend these important public meetings. It’s your chance to see how public policy is debated and enacted. Monday, March 20 10:00 am, Workshop - Blaney Room 1:00 pm, Committee of the Whole - Council Chambers Tuesday, March 21 7:00 pm, Public Hearing - Council Chambers Monday, March 27 10:00 am, Workshop - Blaney Room Tuesday, March 28 7:00 pm, Council Meeting - Council Chambers Agendas & Minutes Agendas for these meetings are posted online the Friday before the meeting date. Go to mapleridge.ca, click the link under Your Council on the home page. Workshop at a Glance Subscribe to the ‘Workshop at a Glance’ eNewsletter that provides a summary of issues discussed at Council Workshop meetings. Go to mapleridge.ca, click the link to ‘Notify Me’ and sign up today. Council Meeting Videos If you are unable to attend a Council Meeting, Public Hearing or Committee of the Whole meeting you can now watch these meetings on your computer 24/7. The entire unedited meetings are posted two to three days after the meeting. The video is indexed to the agenda package so that you can watch them in their entirety or click through by agenda item. Go to mapleridge.ca and click on the video link at the centre of the home page. In addition, Council meetings are now broadcast on the internet via live streaming using the same technology used for our live budget Q&A sessions. For more information about the live stream go to the ‘Council Meetings’ page at mapleridge.ca. In December of 2016 The ‘Community Facilities Conversation’ kicked off with the development of the webpage mapleridge.ca/1676 outlining eight different proposals for future parks, recreation and cultural facilities that were identi ed in the Parks Master Plan that was adopted in 2009. On February 24, 2017 the deadline for the random survey and the stakeholder survey passed. The goal was to get 380 responses for the random survey and Maple Ridge residents stepped up big time with 508 people investing the time to complete the survey. We also heard from 94 people representing Maple Ridge’s stakeholder groups (community sports, recreation and cultural organizations). The general survey open to all citizens closed on March 14 with just under 400 survey forms completed online or as a result of the pop-up displays. What happens now? The consultants will compile the statistical data and begin drafting a report for Council. In late April the consultants will facilitate focus groups with stakeholders and pop-up intercept interviews with the community. The schedule calls for a public open house in May that will present the results of the consultation and recommendations that will go forward to Council. Information on upcoming community events will appear online, as part of this bi- monthly ad and on City social media sites. Thank you to all citizens who shared their views to help move the Community Facilities Conversation forward. @yourmapleridge @yourmapleridge