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Thank you Volunteers! Another successful Village Clean Up day.

Our group of volunteers first want to give a big shout out to the students of Rideau Vista Public School and St Edward’s School for the stellar job they did picking up garbage and raking leaves a couple of weeks ago.  When the Village Clean Up volunteers met this morning, we all commented on how clean the village was due to the efforts of the students.

So we went back home and got our brooms (and a couple of garden leaf blowers) and hit the sidewalks to remove as much of the remaining sand before the street cleaners sweep through this coming week.

Thank you volunteers – this has become an annual get together for us and I hope that it continues for years to come.  Special thanks to Mr Tim Richards, who lives in North Carolina and summers here, who joined the work crew.

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REMINDER – VILLAGE CLEAN UP DAY TOMORROW! (MAY 11)

FINALLY … It is warm enough to get rakes and brooms out to give our village a spring cleaning.  If you have some free time tomorrow morning, please join us at Town Hall at 9:00 where you will be given a safety vest, garbage bags and work assignment.  Oh right! there will be coffee and doughnuts at Town Hall as well.  The morning wraps up by noon with pizza at the Spring.  Please bring your rakes, brooms, gloves and wear a hat.

Hope to see you tomorrow.

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REMINDER – BREAKFAST WITH THE MAYOR – THIS THURSDAY @ 8:00 am

Join us for Dream Big Westport – Part 2!  Lots of planning has taken place since we met in March.  Opportunities have been identified, partnerships formed and people are drawing on their passion for Westport to Dream Big!  Come and cheer for your colleagues as they provide updates on their initiatives and events. You will have the opportunity to share what you have been thinking as well.  I will provide an update on the grant application for Bedford St as well as the progress on illegal connections to the sewer system.

Breakfast is available at 8:00 from the Cove.  $10 pp

Business meeting begins at 8:30.

Hope to see you there … bring your neighbour and friends.

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Human Trafficking Prevention presentation tonight, 7:00 p.m. at Westport Free Methodist Church

This is a reminder of the important presentation being delivered by the Leeds & Grenville Human Trafficking Coalition.  You will learn of Leeds & Grenville children who have become victims of human traffickers and hear some suggestions on what we as parents, grandparents and friends can do to keep our boys and girls safe.

I hope to see you tonight.

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What happened 3,191,000 times in the Village last week?

That is the number of litres of water from illegal sump pumps that went into the sewer system.  That is the amount of rain water that people sent to the waste water plant for treatment.  That is equal to three times the number of services in the Village.  And these wasteful 3,191,000 litres represent the sewage capacity two new subdivisions need to get approval to build.  These are the facts.

Council is asking every home and business owner to check the connection of your sump pump to ensure that it is NOT discharging into the sewer system.  Help your neighbours as well if you can.  If you have questions, please contact our public works department who will quickly respond to provide you with support.

I have heard it said “I pay my taxes, I am entitled to discharge my sump into the sewer system”.  One has nothing to do with the other.  Water/waste water are paid by the users, not by property taxes.    We want to have growth in the Village that will  REDUCE BOTH our water/waste water bills AND our taxes.

It has also been said, “I am just one household, how big an impact could I have?”.  The industry standard states that the volume from 1 sump pump is the same as 35 households.  So even ONE illegal connection is too many.

In the next couple of weeks, members of Council will be following up with residents and business owners to discuss illegal connections to the sewage system.  I encourage you  to check your sump pump connection today and ensure that it is not an illegal connection.  Council is providing a $250 grant to assist in converting illegal connections.  Contact Town Hall for details.

The last thing Town Hall wants is charges to be laid for illegal connections.  The fine is $500 for a first offence and $2000 for subsequent offences.  None of us want to see our residents or business owners pay that amount of a fine, which would go a long way to correcting an illegal connection.  However, it has been made very clear to Council that the vast majority of people in the Village want this issue resolved, illegal connections stopped, paving the way for new development.  Again, I encourage you to check your connections to confirm that it complies with the law.

Please call anytime if you wish to discuss.    9195.

 

 

 

Committed to community. Dedicated to progress.