Synchronized swimming

City swimming lesson registration is coming up, but are you thinking of something different for your swimmer? Synchro could be their sport! Try synchronized swimming with the Nepean Synchro Swim Club. Programs are available for different ages, swim levels, boys and girls. Combine dance, gymnastics and swimming for a ton of fun!
Try-synchro session Aug 16th and 18th for $10.
Fall registration also now open.
Check out our website for more info and to register: http://www.nepeansynchro.com
Any questions, feel free to drop me (Michelle) an email at rec@nepeansynchro.com

Advertisements

No McKellar Park Fall Fair this year.

The Executive of the MPCA, after much discussion, has reluctantly decided not to hold a Fall Fair this year.
A fair the size of ours needs many volunteers and most importantly someone to oversee and co-ordinate their efforts. We were unable to find someone willing to take on that role.
We would like to thank Patrick Morris and the Morris team, Diana Sneddon of the Twin team, Kelly Ebbs and Liam Kealey who generously offered to help sponsor the fair.

Info on Sherbourne/Redwood construction coming end of July. From Jeff Leiper’s newsletter.

Sherbourne/Redwood construction

Work is set to begin this fall on a watermain replacement and asphalt rehabilitation at the south end of Sherbourne and on Redwood this fall. We have more details here. This was the subject of a public consultation / open house in February.

Berm in McKellar Park

On Sunday night MPCA is hosting a meeting to discuss whether or not building a “landscaped berm” in the south east corner of the park would be beneficial. The attached document was a study done in the community in 2011 which outlines what people felt would be useful additions to the park. Thinking has evolved since then but it does show that a berm was envisioned. The berm we are looking at will be smaller, maximum 2 metres in height at it’s highest .
If you are interested in this idea, please attend our meeting at the MP Field house at 7PM on Sunday, June 10th.

Community Submission for McKellar Park Enhancements
A meeting was held by McKellar Park stakeholders and neighbours on September 27, 2011 and launched a widely-engaged discussion on what the community wanted McKellar Park to look like in the future. The motivation behind the meeting was to generate a list of park enhancements that would be considered by Councillor Hobbs and the City of Ottawa for funding from the Cash-In-Lieu of Parkland fund. Four subsequent Friends of McKellar Park meetings followed, resulting in various community engagement efforts and resulting with this submission.
Discussions about why to change an already great park followed. Discussion points included:
• creating a barrier-free, inclusive park
• increasing family use because a family-used park is a safer park
• ‘recreation’ having been redefined over time, and with the exception of the play structure erected eight (8) years ago, the park is remains in its original state
• increasing the park’s appeal to all age demographics
• any changes to the park would tie in with the City of Ottawa’s Global age-friendly cities initiative
• the funding opportunity currently available

This submission will detail the following areas of desired park enhancements:
1. Fitness Trail
2. Shelters / Gazebo
3. Seating
4. Berm
5. Field Improvements 6. Winter Rink
7. Safety Enhancements 8. Tennis
9. Basketball
10.Wading Pool

Meeting to Discuss a New Landscaped Berm in McKellar Park

7 pm, Sunday June 10
McKellar Park Field House Wavell Avenue

Come and Hear About Plans for a new Landscaped Berm in McKellar Park

Get an Update on the Project

See Preliminary Plans

Let us Know What You Think

@McKellarPark mckellarpark.ca mpca.blog@gmail.com

MPCA delivered the letter below to residents who live on or across from the park. It provides more information about the proposed berm. We hope you can come out on June 10 th , find out more about this project and let us know what you think.

To McKellar Park residents:
As a follow-up to our letter to McKellar Park residents in February, we would like to provide you with updated information about the proposed landscaped berm in the southeast corner of the park, in front of the existing trees.
In our earlier letter we wanted to inform neighbours about the proposed berm and get their feedback.
This letter will give people in the area of the park some information about the feedback we have gotten so far, and about the next steps.
The proposed berm project is still at a very preliminary stage. The feedback to date has been quite positive, but some residents raised concerns that we would like to address.
We asked a City Parks and Facilities Planner how to address these concerns. We found their comment, which follows below, quite useful and we wanted to share it with you.
Trees
The proposed berm will be sited and designed to stay outside the critical root zones (CRZ) of any existing trees. It would be best to avoid placing fill in the CRZ to ensure there will be no impact on the health of the trees. The CRZ is defined by the drip edges of the tree canopies. You will note that the berm is located outside of these edges. In any case, the City’s Forestry Services will review the proposed berm plan and provide additional recommendations to avoid any tree impacts.
Proximity to the Street
The closest point from the bottom of the berm to Windermere Avenue will be 15 m (50 ft.). That is a considerable distance that cannot be covered by a sled going down the wrong side of a short 3:1 berm slope. As a result, a fence on the back slope of the berm should not be needed.
While there are already a number of mature trees between the proposed berm and the street, we could plant some additional deciduous/coniferous trees or shrubs on the back slope of the berm to further discourage sliding in that direction. This would have an added benefit of greening and screening the berm over time for the neighbours.
@McKellarPark mckellarpark.ca mpca.blog@gmail.com
June 1, 2018

Drainage
The berm will be located and graded to ensure no water will be trapped or directed to the street. A survey of existing grades in that area of the park will be completed and used as a base plan for the design of the berm. The new grades will work with the existing drainage and direct water away from the street and private property.
Our Plans for the Project
The berm project is still in its infancy, but we wanted you to know where our thinking is at this point.
We will be holding an open meeting at the McKellar Park Fieldhouse on June 10th, from 7 pm to discuss the berm project with the community.
We will have initial design plans and project information on hand at the meeting so people can get a more concrete idea of what we are proposing.
This is an opportunity for the community to come out and ask questions, raise concerns and to show their support for the berm proposal.
Our advice from City planners is that the project would likely cost about $15,000 to complete, and if there is enough support in the community, we would move forward with an application for a City matching grant later this year.
We hope to see you on June 10th. If you are unable to attend the June 10th meeting, or wish to express your support for the project, or to raise any concerns not covered above, please write to us at mpca.blog@gmail.com.
Sincerely,
Sybil Powell
President, McKellar Park Community Association.