St. Catharines Fire Services is reminding residents to stay fire and carbon monoxide safe as holiday celebrations pick up across the city.

This Sunday the fire department will kick off a 12-day campaign, providing essential safety tips to navigate the holidays and fire risks associated with the season.

From ignition sources such as candles, to increased use of electrical appliances, to the consumption of alcohol and the distractions of cooking in a house filled with family, there are a variety of risks associated with the holiday season. With that in mind the department will share a new tip via the City’s Twitter account each day from Dec. 12 to 23, each aimed at mitigating fire and carbon monoxide risks over the holidays.

Residents can get started in ensuring a fire-safe holiday by:

There are many other ways residents can stay safe, including ensuring electrical cords aren’t damaged and responsibly using candles.

Heading downtown to get some holiday shopping done at local small businesses is going to get a little easier in the weeks to come.

Just in time for holiday shopping, the City is offering up to three hours of free parking between noon and 6 p.m. on weekdays from Monday, Dec. 13 to Dec. 31.

Free afternoon parking is available downtown at City-owned on-street metered spots and City-owned parking lots with pay machines. Visitors taking advantage of free afternoon parking are still subject to the City’s three-hour time limit for parking in the downtown.

New this year, downtown visitors will also be able to park at the Ontario Street Garage as part of the promotion. Free parking at the garage will be available from noon to 6 pm., for up to three hours. Those parking at the garage who are visiting a downtown business can ask for a voucher from the business, providing for three hours of free parking at the garage.

Long-term parking at the City’s parking garage at Garden Park / Carlisle Street isn’t included in the holiday parking promotion but is a good option for visitors who need more time to do their downtown business.

The annual parking promotion is a joint program between the City and the St. Catharines Downtown Association to bring people downtown during the holiday season.

There are more than 1,000 City parking spaces downtown within a few minutes' walk to shopping and dining.

Friday marked the official launch of a partnership to develop a meaningful memorial recognizing the service of firefighters, including those who have made the ultimate sacrifice in giving their lives in service of their communities.

City representatives, staff and members of the Fallen Firefighters Memorial Task Force (FFMTF) joined together Friday to celebrate the formal launch of a donor campaign for the memorial. The event took place adjacent to the City parkette at the corner of Carlisle Street and Race Street where the memorial will be erected. As the campaign kicks off the City and FFMTF have unveiled designs for the memorial itself, as well as signage that will mark the location ahead of installation.

As part of the launch St. Catharines Professional Firefighters Association Local 485 announced a significant donation in the amount of $50,000.

The memorial will honour members of the St. Catharines Fire Services who died in the line of duty, along with the volunteer firefighters who died while serving in various St. Catharines wards and townships prior to 1919 when the St. Catharines Professional Firefighters Association Local 485 was formed.

The City first formed the FFMTF in the fall of 2019 to investigate options for a memorial including size, scope, location, design and funding. Since that time the members — including individuals from the public, political leadership and the fire services — have selected a location as well as awarded a contract to CFC Supply for the design and build of the memorial.

Now with the launch of a public donation campaign the project takes one step closer to completion. All funds for the memorial will be raised via private donations from individuals, businesses, organizations and fire services members.

Donations will contribute to the creation of a public work of art and memorial parkette honouring fallen firefighters. The task force will work with community partners making large donations to facilitate special recognition features including sponsor wall recognition, memorial benches, fundraising bricks for the parkette and customized donation features.

With a proven track record of leadership and decades of service to the community under his belt, Dave Upper has been named as the new leader of St. Catharines Fire Services.

Upper will permanently take the reigns as Fire Chief following the departure of Jeff McCormick from the position in late October. Upper has been serving as acting chief since that time and brings with him decades of experience with St. Catharines Fire Services.

Upper first joined the service as a firefighter in 1991, working his way up through the ranks to deputy chief, a position he has served in since 2017. Beyond his familiarity with the community, and extensive leadership successes, he currently acts as the City’s backup Community Emergency Management Coordinator and has served as a board member with Community Care and as a volunteer hockey coach.

Upper’s past successes include spearheading the department’s new, award-winning, health and wellness Mental Health Journey program and contributions to the recent Fire Master Plan.

With St. Catharines City Council’s approval, the pursuit of a single transit system serving all of Niagara took one step closer to completion.

On Dec. 8, 2021, Council voted in favour of an integrated regional transit model, continuing years of effort to establish one public transit system to serve all of Niagara’s 12 municipalities. The vote by Council to consolidate municipal transit systems into one regional entity follows a November vote by Niagara Region Council to begin consolidation efforts.

To move forward with the proposed plan, a majority of Niagara’s municipal councils, representing a majority of Niagara's electors, must vote in favour of the plan. All of Niagara’s municipalities will vote on the matter.

Hello St. Catharines,

Monday night was our final City Council meeting of 2021, and it was another productive meeting, highlighted by the approval of the City’s 2022 Operating Budget.

Despite continuing to face challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic, while trying to balance pandemic recovery, City Council managed to deliver a balanced budget that is below the rate of inflation, yet still respects the service levels our residents expect and deserve.

As we continue to endure new COVID-19 restrictions in the wake of the new variants, Council is hoping we may see some further support from the provincial and federal governments as we have seen in the past through Safe Restart Funding. Their support was critical for 2020-2021, and will continue to be moving forward.

The approval of the operating budget follows last month’s approval of the $51.7-million capital budget for 2022, which prioritizes investments in active and healthy lifestyles, recreation and parks renewal, infrastructure improvements and the fight against climate change.

Thank you to Budget Chair Mat Siscoe and Vice-Chair Lori Littleton for their leadership in guiding the budget through the Council process, and to City staff for their efforts to find efficiencies, responsibly deploy reserves and prioritize projects. The result is a strong budget that will continue to propel St. Catharines forward.

Council also made a decision to select Councillor Siscoe to fill the seat left vacant at Niagara Regional Council following the death of Sandie Bellows. He will be a strong leader around the regional table, with deep understanding of the issues of today, such as regionalized transit and some of the social issues we continue to face throughout the City. He brings three terms of experience as a City Councillor and is a strong leader and collaborator who will serve our community well.

I encourage you to take a moment to watch my mayor’s report for more City and community updates, and continue to watch the City’s website and social media accounts for updates on the response to COVID-19.

I would like to wish everyone in St. Catharines a safe, healthy holiday season – may you be filled with peace, love and hope. Take care and happy new year!  

While the City of St. Catharines continues to cope with the financial impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, critical investments will continue to be made on economic, social, cultural and environmental strategic priorities.

On Monday night City Council passed a $114.7-million 2022 Operating Budget, and with it a tax increase that will see the average St. Catharines homeowner paying an additional $4.06 a month. With a goal to continue strategic investments the City will utilize reserves in the year ahead to offset the cost to taxpayers for the continuation of important work and the financial impacts of COVID-19.

The passage of the $114.7-million operating budget comes alongside the passage of a $51.8-million 2022 Capital Budget that includes $8.3 million for water distribution projects; $2.7 million for wastewater and pollution control; and $13.1 million for transportation projects.

The capital budget contains critical investments in the priorities of active transportation; climate change adaptation / mitigation; and parks renewal. Investments include $6.7 million to support active lifestyles with $2.3 million directed to active transportation projects like bike lanes and trails; and $4.4 million for recreation and parks renewal.

In the capital budget, $5.4 million will support the fight against climate change with investments to increase the urban tree canopy, pollution control, shoreline protection and reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.

The 2022 Operating Budget will drive economic prosperity through investments in development charges initiatives; utilization of the election reserve to fully cover the costs of the 2022 municipal election; implementation of a City-wide rolling stock purchase and funding strategy; and high-quality programming at the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre to stimulate growth downtown.

Social well-being investments include continued COVID-19 mitigation efforts; support for the Niagara Assertive Street Outreach Program; a new licensing program for short-term rentals; and staff resources dedicated to equity, inclusion and diversity.

These investments will move forward despite the impacts of high inflation; $2.1 million in non-discretionary increases to the budget including debt repayments and rising insurance premiums; and $230,000 in costs associated with bringing services back up to their pre-pandemic levels. To offset these costs, and the impact to tax payers, the City will utilize about $3.6 million in reserves while delaying about $2.6 million in major projects and increases to later years.

As a result of these mitigating factors the City portion of the tax rate will increase by less than inflation, with a 3.3 per cent increase. This increase will see the average homeowner, with a home valued at $254,000, paying $48.69 or about 2.97 per cent more on the City portion of their tax bill in 2022.

Ward 4 Coun. Mathew Siscoe will head to Niagara Regional Council to fill the seat left vacant in October by the death of St. Catharines Regional Coun. Sandie Bellows.

On Monday, Council voted to appoint Siscoe to the Regional Council, leaving a vacant Ward 4 City Council seat. As part of the motion, Councillors opted to engage the third-place runner up in 2018 Municipal Election for Ward 4, Robin McPherson, with the possibility of them filling the vacant seat at City Council.