Well it’s not quite that time of year yet, but the Hampton Iona Community Group is starting to look for volunteers to help build the skating rink this year at Iona Park.  If you’re interested in helping out, please drop Lorne an email and let him know.

Ottawa Centre Member of Parliament Paul Dewar invites you to a community dialogue on arts and culture.

The Summit will be an opportunity for the community to engage in dialogue, explore ideas and identify best practices to improve arts and culture in Ottawa and Canada.

When : November 7th, 2009 10AM-2PM

Where: Tom Browne Arena (in Hintonburg) 141 Bayview Rd.

UPDATE: Location moved to  Churchill Seniors’ Centre. 

RSVP: Send an email with your name, address and phone number to dewarp1b@parl.gc.ca to confirm your attendance.

Light lunch will be provided for all participants. More information can be found on his website here.

The weekend of October 24/25 will be Ottawa’s next Fall Give Away Weekend. Don’t throw out those treasures that can still be used by others. Items that you no longer need but can still be used should be taken to your curb for others to pick up.

Also, on October 25, between 9:00 am and 4:00 pm. there will be a household hazardous waste disposal drop-off in our own neighbourhood at Tunney’s Pasture. If it’s corrosive, flammable or poisonous it’s hazardous waste. Household hazardous waste such as solvents, oil-based paint, gasoline, etc. can be brought to Tunney’s Pasture for safe disposal.

More information can be found here.

The rain date for the Iona and Hampton Parks cleanup will be Sunday, October 4th at 11am.  The cleanup will start in Iona Park, before moving down to the playground portion of Hampton Park.

On October 13, 2009 from 7:00 to 9:00 at Fisher Park School, the Hampton Iona Community Group, Westboro Community Association, and Hintonburg Community Association will be sponsoring an environmental seminar on Get Energy Smart!    This seminar will be put on by Seventh Generation Community Projects.  Come out to this free seminar and learn tips on how to save money while saving on your energy usage.  Several neighbourhood environmental companies will be participating in this seminar.  More information can be found in the attached informational poster.

The City of Ottawa will be holding six consultation sessions on the proposed plan to redevelop Lansdowne Park.  At this time, it is anticipated that these meetings will consist of a display of story boards and the opportunity for one-on-one discussion with the project proponents and staff.  There is no plan for a formal presentation with formal questions.

The consultation on Monday October 5 at Tom Brown Arena (in Kitchissippi Ward), which is being organized by Councillor Leadman, may be the only exception as Councillor Leadman is planning on including a formal question and answer period. It is important that you have your say on this project given that it will affect a central part of Ottawa and will require the City taking on an additional $120 mln. in debt.

The locations of the meetings are:

Monday, September 28, 6 to 9 p.m.
Lansdowne Park, Salon A
1015 Bank Street

Tuesday, September 29, 6 to 9 p.m.
Ron Maslin Playhouse, Lobby
1 Ron Maslin Way, Kanata

Wednesday, September 30, 6 to 9 p.m.
Ottawa City Hall, Jean Pigott Place
110 Laurier Avenue West

Thursday, October 1, 6 to 9 p.m.
Jim Durrell Complex, Elwood Hall
1265 Walkley Road

Monday, October 5, 6 to 9 p.m.
Tom Brown Arena, Hall
141 Bayview Road

Tuesday, October 6, 6 to 9 p.m.
Shenkman Arts Centre, Lower Lobby
245 Centrum Boulevard, Orleans

In addition to public meetings, the City will be using the Ottawa Talks e-consultation platform starting on September 28 to engage residents in online discussion of Lansdowne Partnership Plan. This will provide the public with the opportunity to share information and opinions, and to pose questions 24/7 on the City’s website.

Further information on this proposed project (both pro and con) can be found at the following websites:

Friends of Lansdowne Park

Lansdowne Blog

City of Ottawa

As previously reported, the NCC is planning to allow dogs to go off-leash in Hampton Park on a trial basis.  The trial period will begin September 24, 2009.

The off-leash area is to be confined to the open field next to the Queensway (where construction of the new Island Park bridge took place a few summers ago).  The trial period will last 3 months after which an assessment will be done by the NCC as to the impact on the park, including whether there has been increased vehicular traffic to the park.  Appropriate signage is to be put in the park by the NCC.

More information on the NCC’s off-leash policies can be found here.

This Sunday, September 27th, 11:00am, bring the family and lend a hand to the Hampton Iona Community Group as we do the fall clean up of Iona Park and the playground area of Hampton Park.  Bring your rakes and join in as we start at Iona Park and move over to Hampton when we are finished.  It doesn’t take much time if we have lots of hands!!!

Hampton Iona Community Group has proudly “adopted” Iona Park and Hampton Park through the City of Ottawa’s “Clean Up the Capital” program.

If you have an hour this Sunday we hope we will see you there!!!

The City of Ottawa has prepared a document containing design principles for developers interested in the Soeurs de la Visitation convent site.  The document is available to view here.

It also contains a number of photos and a detailed description of the site.

Thank you to all those who attended tonight’s board meeting.  As promised, here are a few follow-up points:

First, information on the Westboro Collection development on McRae Avenue can be found here.

Second, those wishing to contact the NCC regarding the off-leash dog park at the south end of Hampton Park may do so by contacting Elisabeth Lacoursière of the NCC at  (613) 239-5196 or elacours@ncc-ccn.ca or René Coignaud at (613) 239-5683 or rcoignaud@ncc-ccn.ca.

Third, anyone wishing to contact the Hampton Iona Community Group’s president, Lorne Cutler, regarding any items discussed at the meeting may do so by emailing lorne@hamptoniona.ca

Finally, we’d like to encourage you all to sign up for the Hampton Iona email newsletter by sending us an email.  Any website concerns can be addressed directly to James.