Ward 15 Community Update - February 2025
The latest issue of the Ward 15 Community Update was mailed to all residents in early February 2025. Check your mailbox!
Download the PDF version here or view the plain text version below:
Increasing Food Security in Ward 15
I was proud to introduce several motions at City Council to financially support people in need in our community. Specifically, the City of Hamilton will invest $30,000 across Food for Grace foodbank in Waterdown, the Flamborough Food Bank in Carlisle, and provide the capital to launch a new lunch program, inside Waterdown District High School called Tastebuds. The program will routinely assist approximately 150 students at WDHS this school year.
New School
Through intense advocacy, the Ministry of Education has finally announced $22 million in funding needed to build a new elementary school in east Waterdown, near Skinner Rd. and Great Falls Blvd. The school will open with 504 new student spaces for K-8 students, as well as boast a new 88-space childcare centre.
Police / Fire Station
A new joint police station and fire hall will be built near Parkside Dr. and Highway 6. The City has already allocated $60 million to the project, which will also include a new collision reporting centre, a #911 dispatch centre, and new EMS bays. The compound will be staffed by full-time firefighters, plus 40 police officers.
Recreation Centre
The City of Hamilton is on track to build a new $20 million recreation centre in Waterdown. It will be located near Harry Howell Arena. The public engagement process is now underway, seeking input as to the amenities of a new community centre. Visit engage.hamilton.ca to help shape the vision of a new recreation centre in Ward 15.
Major Reconstruction Work Coming to Bridge on Dundas Street
The bridge on Dundas St. over the railway tracks and Grindstone Creek near Mill St. will be demolished and reconstructed across the 2025 and 2026 construction seasons. From spring through fall of 2025, demolition and rebuilding of the south side of the bridge will take place. During Phase One, only one-way only traffic will flow through the bridge, traveling east towards Burlington. West bound traffic will be detoured through Avonsyde Blvd. to Parkside Dr. and back to Dundas St. through Hamilton St. Phase Two will begin in the spring of 2026, wherein two-way traffic will flow while the north side of the bridge is reconstructed. Pedestrian traffic and emergency vehicles will be able to traverse the bridge at all times.
Ogimaa Kwe & Lieutenant Governor visit Waterdown
It was a special moment when I helped welcome the Honourable Edith Dumont, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, as well as Ogimaa Kwe (Chief) Claire Sault, of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation on National Indigenous Peoples Day. The dignitaries unveiled new monument stones within “The Ponds”, an extension of the Souharissen Natural Area, located in Waterdown. Students from WDHS, led by Nathan Tidridge of the Department of Canadian & World Studies, have been instrumental in coordinating, developing, and maintaining the area off of Dundas St., between Burke St. and Mallard Dr.
Ward 15 Community Council
Over the past year, it has been my privilege to have secured over $150,000 from City Council for the benefit of deserving groups and causes in Waterdown, Flamborough and Carlisle. In making these strategic decisions, a group of approximately 50 residents has guided the process to recommend and endorse dozens worthy initiatives. The Ward 15 Community Council sees issues and priorities through the lenses of urban and rural denizens, newcomers and longtime residents, parents, professionals, volunteers, students, disability advocates, and retirees. The group’s collection of perspectives makes me a better councillor, while also ensuring a holistic, community-focused approach to funding organizations and programs in Ward 15.
Creating a modern “neighbourhood watch” in our community
For several months, a group of community leaders within Mountainview Heights consulted with residents, the Ward 15 Office, and Hamilton Police Service, in preparation of launching a modern version of the classic neighbourhood watch program. It’s an app/web-based concept, similar in nature to a social media community page, but it is specific to a localized group of residents. The idea is to help foster a more close-knit community and help residents to look out for each other, in a volunteer, crowd-sourced manner. I was proud to support this initiative at City Council, securing the funding needing to produce marketing materials, car stickers, and permanent signage leading into and out of the community.
Spotlight: Investment in Ward 15:
$15,000 for the Flamborough Santa Claus Parade, which accounts for approximately 25% of its annual budget.
$10,000 to enhance the more than 60-acre Souharissen Natural Area in Waterdown, which celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2024.
$10,000 to assist Migrants Matter Flamborough, which supports nearly 500 agricultural workers in our community.
