Storm recovery and community help 🤝

IN THIS ISSUE

• Non-Fiona Stuff.

• Waste Removal Info.

• Supports to Help Islanders

NON-FIONA QUICK HITS

🚧 Beach Street Extension: Drivers who use Park Street to access Riverside Drive will soon need to find a new route. The city posted a tender to extend Beach Street to Park Street, turning the two streets into one continuous crescent. Park Street will still be accessible from Riverside Drive, but will terminate where Beach and Park streets connect. The city posted drawings of the work to its website (PDF 2.7MB).

🆚 Sidewalks vs Fire Station: Residents in West Royalty will likely not see fire engines rolling from a new station next fall as planned. Council approved a budget transfer Monday that will see $967,000 that was earmarked for the new station used to cover sidewalk replacement cost overruns. Council had approved just over $5M in the 2022-23 capital budget to construct a new fire hall. There has been no official word from the city on when residents will see construction begin on the new station, which was planned to go to tender this year.

🕵️ CAO Headhunter: Charlottetown Council awarded a $55,000 tender to executive search firm Boyden to help find the city’s next chief administrative officer. The firm, which operates worldwide, will be tasked with narrowing down a shortlist of five candidates for council to choose from.

🗑 WASTE REMOVAL

Residential curbside collection and waste watch drop-off centres will resume operations tomorrow (Thursday). The Island Waste Management Corporation has posted a website highlighting some changes in service, such as extended hours. If you’re planning to drop off any waste or debris, check the IWMC website first.

In addition to waste watch drop-off centres, the province has partnered with private landowners to open “debris pits” where Islanders can dispose of fallen trees. Here’s a link to a map that shows the location of each pit.

SUPPORTS

🎗 Seniors and Social Recipients: Various one-time payments have been announced for eligible Islanders. The list, which is available on the province’s website, is specific to some seniors and recipients of existing support programs. Islanders already registered for social assistance, assured income, and social housing will automatically receive payments as early as next week. Any household receiving seniors independence initiative benefits will be contacted by provincial staff to arrange the best delivery method.

💸 Lost Wages: The province has asked employers to continue paying all staff for regularly scheduled shifts if the business is unable to open due to power outages. A wage rebate program will be rolled out to reimburse businesses for 100 per cent of wages paid out, with certain conditions and caps. Applications for the program will open next week.

🆘 Disaster Relief: A self-assessment tool has been launched by the province to help residents and small businesses determine eligibility for disaster financial assistance.

FIONA QUICK HITS

😔 Farm Day Cancelled: Discover Charlottetown announced yesterday that Farm Day in the City, scheduled to take place this weekend, has been cancelled. The notice did hint at the possibility of the popular event being rescheduled, but no other details were made available.

🦞 Spoiled Lobster: As day was breaking Saturday and while Fiona still held our Island in her grips, communications officials with Fisheries and Oceans Canada were crafting a Tweet that ‘pinched’ a few nerves: “...if you find lobster washed up on the shore after the storm, remember it is illegal to harvest them. Simply leave them there,” read the Tweet, which was later deleted and replaced with an apology.

🏢 Reopening Government: Provincial civil service offices will reopen tomorrow (Thursday) where possible. Some programs and services could be impacted due to buildings that are still without power or network services. There is a list available online of programs and services that are impacted. Islanders are asked to call ahead to ensure the services they require are available. Many of the province’s libraries will reopen tomorrow, except for the libraries mentioned in this Tweet.

📢 SHOUT-OUTS 

❤️ Islanders: To all Islanders who have helped a neighbour or stranger, and to those Islanders who returned to work to once again be an unsung hero.

🚒 First Responders: To the many first responders who have been answering calls non-stop since Friday evening.

🔌 Power and Public Works: To the crews working tirelessly to restore power and services to Islanders.

THANKS FOR READING!