St. Catharines mayor talks lifted capacity limits, city budget, Halloween parade

St. Catharines mayor Walter Sendzik spoke with the Morning Live team Thursday and provided an update on what’s happening in the city. 

Capacity limits were lifted Monday for bars, restaurants and gyms and Sendzik says establishments have been consistently full.

He also said the Niagara IceDogs hockey games have had around 3,000 spectators in attendance and the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre is bringing in more musical acts. 

“[Capacity being lifted is] creating a new energy that has been missing over the last 20 months,” said Sendzik. 

There was an open house Wednesday to discuss the city budget, along with a town hall telephone meeting. 

Sendzik said town hall reached out to around 30,000 households and about 11,000 picked up. He said he was seeking engagement and feedback from the community on housing, homelessness and infrastructure. 

“It’s really informative to see what people are thinking about when it comes to the overall affordability of living in St. Catharines and some issues communities across the country face such as opioids, housing and homelessness,” said Sendzik. 

He also said water rates are important in the city budget discussion because clean water is one of the most important things for the community. 

“We want to make sure we’re balancing the ability for residents to pay the water rates, but at the same time, make sure we’re investing in our water infrastructure so it is safe,” he said. 

The mayor said a tax hike of about 4.7 per cent has been estimated. Inflation has been a big pressure, but over the next month, he says the city is going to work on reaching a more affordable rate. 

This Saturday is downtown St. Catharines Costume Parade. The walk will feature scary, fun and creative costumes parading down St. Paul and James streets. The first parade is at 4:45 p.m. and the second is at 5:15 p.m.