Councillor’s Corner

by Scott Moffatt

I am pleased to be submitting my first Richmond column to the Richmond Hub. As many of you may recall, I used to write a weekly column in the Stittsville News. Recently, my bi-weekly column in the Manotick Messenger began delivery into the village to help supplement the loss of the Stittsville News. This, however, will be squarely focused on matters than impact Richmond.  A big thank you to John Shearer and the Richmond Village Association for acting quickly to provide this important source of community news.

Martin Street Construction

Since the fall, construction of a new sewer main along Martin Street has been ongoing. This work is being completed by Greenbelt Construction on behalf of Caivan Communities to connect the Western Developments Lands to the existing forcemain that serves the village. While this is not a City initiated project, there is a Construction Technician that is overseeing the progress of this project on behalf of the City.

Recently, there have been reports of odours inside homes along Cockburn Street nearest Martin Street. Staff have been investigating and are on site this week to look into these concerns. If you do notice a sewer related odour inside your home, please report this to 311.

Woodlot Rehabilitation Program

As part of the Woodlot Rehabilitation Program and Ottawa’s Emerald Ash Borer Strategy, Forestry Services have identified and selected the Chanonhouse Park and the Jock River Service Road located at 15 Mac Storey Street (and a small portion of 3760 Eagleson Road). The rehabilitation program will begin with the removal of dead and hazardous trees and will end with the replanting of this site in 2018. J.B. Forest Products Ltd. is performing the tree removal work that began last month.

Additionally, Forestry Services has been in the process of removing approximately 50 dead trees (mostly ash trees) from the hedgerow in King’s Grant Park in recent weeks. This work is being done in anticipation of increased activity in the park, with plans to install new equipment and pathways this summer. The removal of these dead trees will help to ensure the safety of both contractors and residents using the park. The majority of the trees within the hedgerow will remain.

Whenever ash tree removal takes place, the City also develops a reforestation plan. Typical reforestation species include red maple, sugar maple, silver maple, serviceberry, hackberry, white pine, burr oak, red oak, American elder, white cedar, basswood, nannyberry, large tooth aspen, trembling aspen, dogwood and speckled alder. The purpose here is to prevent a future situation where an abundance of one species can be destroyed by an invasive species.

To learn more about the Emerald Ash Borer or the City’s EAB Strategy, please visit:

http://ottawa.ca/en/env_water/tlg/trees/preservation/eab/. If you have any questions or concerns regarding the Ash Woodlot Rehabilitation Program or the City’s EAB Strategy, please contact Cedric Bertrand at Cedric.Bertrand@ottawa.ca or call 311.

If you have any comments, questions or concerns, please feel free to email me at Scott.Moffatt@ottawa.ca or contact me by phone at 613-580-2491. For information on Rideau-Goulbourn issues, please visit RideauGoulbourn.ca.