Five things to look forward to in 2020 in King Township

Building on the efforts and accomplishments made in 2019, Mayor Steve Pellegrini shared fives programs and services that residents can expect throughout 2020.

Yorkregion.com
Jan. 2, 2020
Shelia Wang

The year of 2020 for King Township is wrapping up old unfinished businesses and getting the ball rolling on new exciting initiatives.

Building on the efforts and accomplishments made in 2019, Mayor Steve Pellegrini shared fives programs and services that residents can expect throughout 2020.

King City Library and Seniors' Centre

The $10.8-million library and seniors' centre expansion project is expected to open in the first quarter of 2020, the mayor wrote in his response to King Connection.

The construction work that began in August 2018 was expected to take a year to 18 months to complete, according to the library’s Chief Executive Officer Rona O’Banion.

Once complete, the new library will see the footprint of the existing building increase from 7,839 square feet to just over 20,000 square feet.

The new library will include a space to accommodate the new seniors' centre, which would relocate from its current location on Fisher Street.

“Construction has been moving along well,” Pellegrini wrote, noting that having the two centres together not only brings the service areas up to provincial standards but also reduces operational costs.

Residents are encouraged to visit the library’s building blog at ktplibrary.wordpress.com for all updated information on the construction process.

Better roads, fewer tax dollars

Township-wide commuters are going to see better road conditions in King as the mayor promised to continue with the current “ambitious” road programs.

King is set to turn more gravel roads into pavement and improve existing paved roads in 2020.

The mayor noted King will continue to work with current contractor Lisbon Paving to add extra work in the new year at 2019 prices.

“This recent development means we'll be able to do more paving with fewer tax dollars, a win for ratepayers,” Pellegrini noted.

New Recreation Centre

Wouldn’t it be nice to have a community swimming pool? And an ice rink? And a multi-use field?

Come 2020, the township will be one step closer to that goal and possibly more.

King is aiming to break ground for the future new township-wide recreation centre in October of the new year on Seneca College King Campus, with completion scheduled for 2023.

The township and Seneca College entered into a partnership where the college leases a 25-acre parcel of land for 60 years at a nominal rate.

The future recreation centre is located on the southeast corner of its campus near the 15th Sideroad and Dufferin Street.

“Although we conducted extensive consultation with the community to see what it wanted in the centre, we're still collecting feedback,” the mayor said.

Visit wwww.speaking.king.ca to review the site plan, aerial view and list of features.

King Road makeover

King Road has gradually taken on a better look in King City over the past year, but the best is yet to come.

The township will complete its streetscaping improvements on the stretch from the municipal centre to Dufferin Street in 2020.

King will work to enhance aesthetics on the main road, including sidewalk replacements, a multi-use path, tree planting, banners and poles, street furniture and limited lighting, the mayor noted.

Website revamp

The township is looking to overhaul its official website in order to provide a better user experience in 2020.

Staff is scheduled to start reviewing submissions for revamping king.ca this winter and complete some time next year.

Pellegrini said the township will be looking at best practices of other municipal websites to make sure they can deliver services to residents.

The new features under consideration include online payment options, a community calendar, and a host of other user-friendly components.