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7 | O akville B eaver | T hursday,A pril 23,2020 insidehalton.com TO ALL OUR TEAM MEMBERS ,THANK YOU We are so grateful to all the frontline healthcare workers, Amica team members and local suppliers who are working so hard to protect the health and safety of our residents. Your extraordinary efforts during this challenging time fill us with immense pride. Thank you for everything you do. The coronavirus pan- demic and new restrictions being put in place to com- bat it are resulting in some major impacts to the pro- grams and projects in the Town of Oakville. PROJECTS? WHAT PROJECTS? The Town of Oakville announced during an April 8 council meeting that due to an order by the province to cease all non-essential construction, 20 Oakville construction projects have been halted. This includes work on the Southeast Community Centre, which was expec- ted to open in the fall of 2020. Other projects put on hold include the planned Trafalgar Park Revitaliza- tion, the Coronation Park Renewal, the replacement of an ice rink at the River Oaks Community Centre and the creation of several new parks and trails. The provincial order took effect on April 4 and is to remain in place for 14 days, with the possibility of extensions as the situation evolves. Work is continuing on the Lakeshore Road Recon- struction and Streetscape Project. WHAT ABOUT TOWN PROGRAMS AND FACILITIES? The town closed all its recreation and culture fa- cilities on March 13, in re- sponse to the coronavirus pandemic. These closures have been extended until fur- ther notice. All registered spring programming has been cancelled and all town fa- cility, parks and sports field rental bookings are cancelled until May 31. The town's decision to keep its facilities closed and only focus on deliver- ing critical services during the pandemic has resulted in the temporary layoff of 800 part-time, casual and temporary staff and a deci- sion not to hire another 300 students. SURE, THE PARKS AND SPORTS FIELDS ARE CLOSED, BUT CAN I USE THEM IF THEY ARE EMPTY AND IT'S JUST ME AND MY KIDS? The Town of Oakville has issued repeated warnings that public facilities are closed and that people who continue to gather at these locations (including in park- ing lots) could be fined. While these areas have been closed in an effort to promote physical distanc- ing, medical authorities have advised that the coro- navirus can be caught from objects outdoors (e.g. play- ground equipment and park benches). On April 3, Oakville May- or Rob Burton signed a physical distancing bylaw into effect, under which res- idents could face fines from $300 to $100,000 for gathering in closed public areas. In an April 13 press re- lease, Burton said people would be warned to leave these areas first and then ticketed if they don't comply. During the April 10-12 weekend the town's bylaw enforcement department handed out six tickets to people who they allege failed to comply with an emergency order under the Ontario Emergency Man- agement and Civil Protec- tion Act. Each ticket carries a fine of $750 WOW. ANYTHING ELSE? The coronavirus out- break has resulted in the cancellation of all public events in Oakville up to July 3. This includes the town's renowned Canada Day cele- bration. That event has previous- ly drawn as many as 50,000 people to Oakville's Bronte area and provided much- needed revenue to area mer- chants. The 2020 Communi- ty Spirit Awards, which rec- ognizes local volunteers, has also been cancelled. That event would have been held on June 11. Certain committee and council meetings are also being cancelled due to the crisis. The town recently an- nounced that Heritage Oak- ville Advisory Committee meetings for May 19 and June 16 have been cancelledJune 16 have been cancelledJ as have Planning and Devel- opment Council meetings scheduled for May 4 and June 8. There will be no Ac-June 8. There will be no Ac-J cessibility Advisory Com- mittee on June 11, no Budget Committee meeting on June 22 and no Committee of Ad- justment Committee on April 28, May 19, June 2, June 16 and June 30.June 16 and June 30.J Regular council meet-Regular council meet-R ings are continuing, which the public can watch via YouTube. The next sched-YouTube. The next sched-Y uled council meeting is Monday, April 20. ANY GOOD NEWS? Back on March 26 coun- cil unanimously voted to give residents and business- es two extra months (until June 30) to pay their proper-June 30) to pay their proper-J ty taxes with no interest or late fees. The mayor said many residents and businesses have been financially im- pacted by the pandemic and the deferral is intended to offer some relief. NEWS TEMPERATURE CHECK: HOW CORONAVIRUS IS IMPACTING OAKVILLE #ESSENTIALSERVICES STILL OPERATING DURING PANDEMIC DAVID LEA dlea@metroland.com