Additional Yard Waste Collection on December 22
Council approved a motion to add an additional yard waste collection day on Monday, December 22. Yard waste must be in a clean, open, rigid and reusable container such as a garbage can or bushel basket, a cardboard box, or a large Kraft paper bag (available at most retailers). Clear plastic bags are not accepted. Brush must be tied and bundled with twine (1.2 m in length and no branches larger than 10 cm in diameter). Each container or bundle cannot exceed 18 kg. Residents are asked to place the yard waste at the curb by 7 a.m. on December 22 and no earlier than 6 p.m. on December 21. Snow-covered yard waste bags and bundles cannot be picked up. Regular yard waste collection will resume on March 30, 2015. For more information about yard waste collection guidelines, visit RichmondHill.ca/YardWaste. For information about the additional pick-up date, please contact Grant Taylor, Director of Public Works Operation at 905-780-2966.

Richmond Hill Winter Maintenance Plan
The Town reaffirmed its commitment to continuous improvement in keeping Town roads and sidewalks safe for travel during the winter months and is investigating instances of delayed service during the significant snow event of December 11. Richmond Hill is responsible for maintaining 653 km of sidewalk, 1270 lane km of Town roads and 1334 senior/disability windrows. Primary roads are maintained first followed by secondary roads.

To minimize inconvenience to the community, the Town’s goal is to clear roads within 16 hours from the time the snow accumulation exceeds 5 cm. To address icy conditions, main roads and side streets are also treated with winter de-icing materials. Richmond Hill uses pretreated salt, rock salt, sand or any combination of salt and sand to optimize the results and to minimize negative impacts to the environment. The intent is to treat icy main roads and side streets within eight hours. Town staff are deployed to clear sidewalks once accumulation on main roads reaches 5 cm. The Town’s goal is to clear all sidewalks of snow within 14 hours of dispatch of this service. If the sidewalks are icy, they will be treated with a 50/50 salt/sand mix.

Richmond Hill’s level of service guidelines exceed the Province’s required Minimum Maintenance Standards (MMS) for Municipal Highways. For example, the Town begins plowing main roads (such as Weldrick Road) when snow accumulation is 5 cm whereas the MMS recommends it should be 8 cm, and the Town also treats side streets (such as Palmer Avenue) for ice formation within eight hours instead of 12 hours as suggested in the MMS guidelines.

Residents are asked to avoid parking their vehicles on Town roads during the winter months, particularly during a snow event. This ‎negatively impacts Operations and could result in a parking ticket.

Unpredictable winter conditions may affect winter maintenance operations and the Town encourages the community to exercise patience during snow events. York Region maintains major roads, such as Yonge Street, Bathurst Avenue and Highway 7. Visit RichmondHill.ca/WinterInfo to learn more about the Town’s winter maintenance operations and which roads are maintained by York Region. For more information, contact Grant Taylor, Director of Public Works Operation at 905-780-2966.

Work Underway on Oak Ridges Library Project
Council approved the creation of a Steering Committee for the new Oak Ridges Library project. The new 16,000 sq ft library will be located at the northwest corner of Yonge Street and Regatta Road. This facility will serve the growing population at the north end of Richmond Hill. The design for the new library was awarded to Perkins + Will Canada Inc. in September of this year and public consultation has begun. Costs for construction of the facility are expected to be presented to Council in 2015 along with projected operating costs. The project Steering Committee will facilitate communication between the project team, the Library Board and Council. For more information about the project, contact Pat Caron, Director of Asset Management at 905-771-2403.

Tastes of the Hill Provides Culture, Food and Funds to the Community
Deputy Mayor, Regional & Local Councillor Vito Spatafora announced that $30,000 was raised in support of local charities at the 2014 Tastes of the Hill (TOTH) Multicultural Festival held in August. This year’s recipients – The Canadian Cancer Society and Kerry’s Place Autism Services – will each receive $15,000. This year’s Festival was a cultural celebration like no other, complete with food, dance, arts and crafts, music and entertainment, providing visitors with the opportunity to learn about cultures from around the world without leaving Richmond Hill. As Chair of the 2014 TOTH Organizing Committee, Councillor Spatafora thanked the TOTH Organizing Committee, residents and sponsors, whose support of the Festival was integral in making TOTH a successful celebration of cultural diversity within Richmond Hill. To date, Tastes of the Hill has raised more than $400,000 for local charities. For more information, contact Risa Healey, Community Liaison Coordinator at 905-771-5489.

*photo available upon request

Richmond Hill Wants More Consultation on Canada Post Service Changes
In response to Canada Post’s announcement about transitioning door-to-door mail delivery to community mailboxes, Council passed a motion to require open communication between Canada Post and concerned Richmond Hill residents. Richmond Hill Council requests that the Town Hall meetings be hosted by the local member of Parliament along with Canada Post representatives. Council is concerned that the planned transition to community mailboxes in Wards 2, 4, 5 and 6 will be especially hard on seniors and people living with mobility and health challenges. It may also have an adverse economic impact on the community. For more information, please contact Ward 2 Councillor Tom Muench at 905-771-2549.