You might have seen some different trucks in the village today. The first group of vehicles belong to the crew doing bore holes on Bedford St to take samples of the road bed. Yup …. one of the first early steps required before the reconstruction of Bedford St.
The second group of vehicles belong to a sewer camera crew. The Village had to wait for the spring water levels to rise to install cameras in the sewers. These are expected to help identify where the illegal sump pumps are operating. The contractor was busy today doing the installations. For the 98% of you who comply with the sump pump by-law, we want to thank you and let you know that we are still working hard to resolve the issue. More about this in the next few weeks.
Currently, there have been no reported cases of COVID-19 in the Village and an Emergency has not been declared.However, there have been 3 cases reported in Kingston.
Prior to today (March 17), we had already made some changes, including closing Town Hall at 1:30 each day, closing the Community Centre, Library, suspending meetings of committees of council and other boards.
The Village’s Emergency Control Group (ECG) met March 17th 2020 and opened the Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) to incorporate proactive measures to limit the spread of the virus within the Village and to protect our residents, businesses, visitors and staff.The EOC will remain open and the ECG will meet weekly or as required to ensure the the continuity of services is maintained.
On the agenda for the ECG meeting were many of the items that the Premier announced this morning.As a result of Premier Ford’s declaring a state of emergency, the following establishments in Westport are legally required to close immediately:
All facilities providing indoor recreational programs;
All public libraries
All bars and restaurants, except to the extent that such facilities provide takeout food and delivery;
I want to recognize the many organizations and businesses who prior to Premier Ford’s announcement had already made the decision to cancel events and food/bar service for the next several weeks to limit the spread of the virus and to help maintain social distancing.These organizations include the Cove Country Inn, Tangled Gardens and the Lost Penny Pub, churches – Knox Presbyterian, Westport United and St Paul’s Anglican, Lions Club, Branch 542 Royal Canadian Legion, the Westport Brewery, Steve’s Restaurant, Cottage Coffee, the Westport Arts Council cancelled all choir rehearsals, performances and festivals and of course, Terry Bryan, decided against hosting our beloved St Paddy’s Day parade.Good business decisions and very important for the health of community members.
The Westport Village Pharmacy and Kudrinko’s, under the strong leadership of Tracey Phillips and Neil & Martha Kudrinko, have strategies in place to ensure people receive their supplies – whether shopping in person or remotely.Well done you three!
Pastor Paul Millar has stepped up and taken on the role of volunteer coordinator.If you are interested in helping others during the pandemic, pls contact Paul at westportpastor@gmail.com and if you need some assistance you can email westportcare@gmail.com. Thank you Paul.
Seniors citizens and people with pre-existing health conditions are more vulnerable to COVID-19.Please find a senior to “buddy” up with to prevent them from feeling isolated during this time.A phone call can go a long way to provide support and inquire of anything they need.If they don’t have access to the internet, pls keep them informed about the virus and what we are doing working together to slow it down.
Village Staff tell me that Rideau St Lawrence monthly bills are going into the mail this week, however payment is not due until first week of April.You can register for e-billing at www.rslu.ca.
The declaration of an emergency by Premier Ford should highlight how important your personal actions are in the coming days.Stay home if you can and limit your interactions with other people.Social distancing will protect people’s health, their familyand neighbours.Every opportunity to avoid interaction helps to control the virus and flatten the curve.We need to look out for each other.My behaviour affects your health and your behaviour affects mine.Keep our Village safe and healthy and we will come out the end of the pandemic a stronger community.
Please call if you have suggestions or concerns – 613-273-9195.
As you would expect, I have had many meetings and teleconferences this past week with Village and UCLG Staff, members of council, Mayors, Dr Paula Stewart – the Medical Officer of Health for Leeds, Grenville & Lanark, MPPs and other service providers to our municipality.With the quickly evolving information about COVID-19, it is important to communicate with others who are also putting together strategies to slow down the spread of the virus and keep people healthy.
Currently, there have been no reported cases of COVID-19 in the Village and an Emergency has not been declared.
Today, some changes occurred at Town Hall that I want to brief you on.We employ two staff in the office, other than the CAO.One of our staff has had to self-isolate for fourteen days having just returned from a vacation outside of Canada.Our casual employee is not available to fill all of the shifts for the next ten days.Beginning Wednesday and until March 30, Town Hall will be open weekdays from 8:30 to 1:30 p.m.We apologize if this creates any challenges.
The Community Centre (arena) was shut down on Sunday for the rest of the ice season.Discussions are underway for closing the Library,suspending Committees of Council meetings and other strategies to limit people gathering and/or ensuring that adequate social distancing can occur.
Each municipality is required to have an Emergency Control Group (ECG) as part of its Emergency Management Plan. The ECG is meeting tomorrow (Tuesday) morning and I will have further information for you tomorrow. You can call or email me anytime if you have questions or concerns. 613-273-9195 rjones@villageofwestport.ca
The rapid developments concerning the COVID-19 pandemic and the need to take all reasonable measures to help contain the spread of the virus have led us to take the decision to cancel the March breakfast.
“Everyone needs to do their part to flatten the curve,” is the phrase used by health officials across the country, urging people to do what they can to slow the spread of disease and thus lower the burden on the health-care system.
You can still “have your say” regarding the Village Strategic Plan. The survey will remain on our web site home page for another couple of weeks.
Please take care of yourselves and stay tuned to the best sources of information about CVOID-19 – the provincialgovernment and federal government websites. There you will find information on how best to protect yourself and others, travel advisories and facts about the virus.
We all have our own part to play in protecting ourselves, or colleagues, and our friends and families
I have been asked these questions many times in the past couple of weeks. As leading scientists world-wide work collaboratively to develop treatment and a vaccine, we all can have a role in preventing the spread of coronavirus. The Leeds, Grenville & Lanark Board of Health is the best source for information regarding who is most at risk, the spread of the virus and methods of prevention.
You might have seen some different trucks in the village today. The first group of vehicles belong to the crew doing bore holes on Bedford St to take samples of the road bed. Yup …. one of the first early steps required before the reconstruction of Bedford St.
Robin, The Mayor 
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