Carolyn Amyotte

During the evening of Wednesday, January 26, 2011 a very positive and forward thinking public meeting took place at our local school.  A partnership between The North Kawartha Community Development Corporation (NKCDC) and the Township of North Kawartha (NK) enabled Apsley to take part in the First Impressions Community Exchange Program.  This provincially run initiative offered through the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) pairs two communities with similar characteristics to complete ‘secret shopper’ type visits in each town to discover the first impressions a community conveys to visitors, including tourists, potential investors and people looking for a place to live.  

Our community was matched up with Kinmount and the visits took place last summer and fall.  The findings and observations from the NK visit were presented to nearly 100 residents at the public meeting.  The hour long presentation highlighted our community’s strengths like the beauty of our natural surroundings, the modernization our infrastructure and the variety of available services like social, retail, health and education.  Some of the challenges identified were lack of signage both directional and promotional, limited employment opportunities for youth and young families, and limited accommodation for visitors.  The report also suggested potential opportunities for us like expanding our tourism economy to four seasons, coordinating promotional activities such as branding, marketing and heritage potential, and attracting retail opportunities through the development of a signature event (e.g. a trade show and/or festival).

The completion of this project dovetails perfectly with the creation of the ‘Community Planning’ Committee of Council (CPC).  The committee members are me, Reeve Whelan and Councillor Brown along with community members Lilit Malins, Roman Miszuk and David Wease.  One of the first business items for this committee is to develop its terms of reference which I hope will include the creation of a detailed strategy for North Kawartha to be a sustainable and thriving, four season destination.  I am looking forward to addressing the issues identified through participating in this most worthwhile provincial program and making our community an even better place to live, work and play!  For more info on the Apsley/Kinmount exchange please contact me at (705)656-9453 or at  bacouncillor@northkawartha.on.ca .  For more information on the First Impressions Community Exchange Program contact Judy Coward at OMAFRA at 1-705-324-5715 or visit www.omafra.gov.on.ca .

I am sure that most North Kawarthans are aware of all the municipal building projects taking place in our community.  As chair of the North Kawartha Library Board I am pleased to announce the completion of our library expansion projects this May.  Thanks to grants from both the provincial and federal governments, North Kawartha has been able to build 2 brand new facilities to replace the main branch in Apsley and the branch located in Woodview.

On Thursday May 6^th, 2010 the Woodview branch will be open for 2 days a week… all year long!  Previously basic library service for our southern residents was being provided from May to October in the former #1 school in Burleigh located just off on Northey’s Bay Rd on Library Rd.  Due to the age and deterioration of the building we could no longer maintain a library in this facility and service was suspended last year.  With input from local residents plans were made to build an addition onto the Wilson Park Community Centre for a 1200 sq ft library.  $250 000 of Ontario Municipal Partnership Funds were used for this project along with a Trillium grant for shelving and other furnishings to meet accessibility requirements.  Open Thursday’s 10am-5pm and Saturday’s 10am-2pm, the Woodview branch will offer a newly updated and expanded book collection, DVDs, public access computers and high speed internet access.  Even though the Woodview branch will be open this May the official ‘grand opening’ will be scheduled for sometime in July, so stay tuned.

While the rebuilding of Woodview facility was a priority and identified in the Library’s Strategic Plan, the opportunity to build a new library for Apsley at the same time was a welcome surprise.  Thanks to the hard work and preparation of staff, North Kawartha received an Infrastructure Stimulus Funding grant to rebuild the main branch along with the Community Policing facility.  This $880 000 project is also to be completed this May, with service suspended for the week of May 10^th to allow the demolition of the old building and time to set up the new facility.  The library will reopen Tuesday May 18^th, 2010.  In my humble opinion, this over 4000 sq ft building is quite simply a ‘work of art’!  Set back amongst the pines the new library is bright, spacious and inviting.  It has enlarged areas for the children’s section and the computer area.  The book collection is centrally located with a beautiful stone fireplace surrounded by comfy chairs set off to the side.  A separate meeting room will allow the library to provide the public with meeting space both during and after hours.  

This new library facility will also have expanded hours of operation which will be:  Tuesday 10AM – 5PM, Wednesday 10AM – 6PM, Thursday 10AM – 5PM, Friday 10AM – 5PM, and Saturday 10AM – 2PM.  Once again, a ‘grand opening’ for the main branch has been scheduled for Saturday July 17, 2010.  Please check out the library’s website www.northkawarthalibrary.com for more details and information and please come out and visit your local branch to find out about all the wonderful programs and services that the North Kawartha Library has to offer.