Issue 41 October 30, 2026
|
Ward 4 Cllr. D.J. Kelly, attends the Thorncliffe-Greenview Community Association AGM on Oct. 26, 2026. (Rukhsaar Daya / Ward 4)
|
|
Hey, neighbour.
If there's one thing I've promised you, it's to be transparent. For example, on October 27, I voted for the City's new water rates. I said it at council, and I want say it to you here: I didn't want to do this. But I refuse to play politics with your drinking water. You deserve the whole story, not half-truths.
So let me tell you plainly, the City's own risk report puts the chance of a serious failure in our infrastructure at better than nine in ten. Listing the impact as "severe" and the likelihood as "almost certain". Voting no would mean accepting that outcome, with you being punished by even higher repair costs in the future in exchange for political expediency today.
Yes, it is true council's vote will make your bill more expensive. And yes, I am fully aware that is real money coming from families and seniors - many of whom tell me they can't afford it. But given the 90% possibility of catastrophe, I don't see how we could vote no and simply wait for a miracle to happen because hope is not a strategy. That figure isn't just a percentage; it's a promise of failure and future expense. In the couple of weeks before our council vote alone, water main breaks closed 16 Avenue, 14 Street and 17 Avenue. The Bearspaw feeder main, which carries 60% of Calgary's drinking water and currently has no redundancy, has exploded TWICE. The Ogden siphon burst last year and spilled raw sewage into the Bow River, and still hasn't been permanently fixed.
Here in Ward 4, 60% of our water mains were laid before 1980, and they break about one and a half times more often than the pipes in the rest of Calgary. Since 2016, the water mains in our Ward 4 communities have broken more than 300 times. And on top of that, every single day 24% of the city’s drinking water is lost to leaks, never making it to your home, and we don't have proper monitoring to know where those leaks are.
It is completely unacceptable that we let it get to this point. The water utility is a mess, and it has to be fixed. Someone has to be willing to step up, not take the easy political win by passing the buck to some other councillor down the road. I know this choice will not be popular with everyone, but when I put politics aside, it is the only viable solution I see available to us at the moment.
I also want you to know this vote isn't the final word. At council, I seconded an amendment, which passed 14 to 1, so that council comes back to review these rates in 2027. I have also recently been appointed to the Intergovernmental Affairs Committee and the board of Alberta Municipalities, so I can advocate for other levels of government to join us in investing in Calgary's infrastructure to help us get caught up to where we should be.
I have no interest in supporting large rate increases past this crisis. We must fix what is broken, and deliver a water utility that is accountable to Calgarians, and not at long-term expense to neighbours.
- Councillor D.J. Kelly
|
|
For a complete listing of news articles and videos Cllr. Kelly has been featured in since being elected, see djkelly.ca/dj_in_the_media.
|
|
📰 Cllr. Kelly was quoted by CBC Calgary on his stance that he was reluctantly supporting the annual water rate increases approved by council, because the city's stormwater and wastewater systems have to be fixed and he saw little alternative.
📰 Cllr. Kelly was quoted by CBC Calgary about pedestrian safety after a pedestrian was struck at Fourth Street and 32nd Avenue N.W., saying it's the top issue his office hears about and urging drivers and walkers alike to get off their devices and pay attention.
📰 Cllr. Kelly, as chair of Calgary Salutes, was quoted by CTV Calgary about honouring Calgary's fallen soldiers and their families at the unveiling of a new plaque at the Calgary Cenotaph for Canadians who served in Afghanistan, which was also covered by the Calgary Herald (Yahoo News).
|
|
💬 See Cllr. Kelly at the Thorncliffe-Greenview Community Association's AGM, where he connected with neighbours on transit and development and celebrated the volunteers given lifetime achievement awards, on Instagram and Facebook.
💬 See Cllr. Kelly, as Chair of Calgary Salutes, at the Oct. 25 unveiling of a plaque on the Central Memorial Cenotaph honouring the Canadian Armed Forces members who served in Afghanistan on Instagram and Facebook.
|
|
💧 Water restrictions will begin on Nov. 4 in order to allow for the safe completion of the new Bearspaw Feeder Main. Calgarians are being asked to help reduce water usage below 500 million litres per day as the old Bearspaw Feeder Main is shut down to connect the new feeder main. The restrictions will last approximately four weeks. For more information see Calgary.ca.
|
Cllr. Kelly delivers an impromptu speech written by a Mount Royal University Student, during an early-morning Q&A on councillor communications and speechwriting on Oct. 29, 2026. (Aryn Toombs / Ward 4)
|
|
On Monday, the Ward 4 team attended a seniors' housing meeting with Calgary Heritage Housing and Silvera for Seniors. Cllr. Kelly attended the Executive Meeting of Council. In the afternoon, Cllr. Kelly met with the Chief Housing Officer to discuss barriers to mixed-use affordable development and then met with representatives of the Partnerships business unit to discuss the upcoming budget. In the evening, he attended the Thorncliffe-Greeview Community Association AGM.
On Tuesday, Cllr. Kelly attended the Regular Meeting of Council. The Ward 4 team attended the Brentwood Crossing open house in the evening on his behalf.
On Wednesday, Cllr. Kelly had additional conversations with staff and colleagues about the City four-year budget and visited the Thorncliffe-Greeview Community Association to discuss issues related to developments and traffic on Centre Street.
On Thursday, Cllr. Kelly and Ward 4 Communications Lead Aryn Toombs visited Mount Royal University in the morning to speak with students about communications. During the noon hour, the Ward 4 team attended a lunch-and-learn session put on by the City Clerks on council office expenses and budgets. In the afternoon Cllr. Kelly met with the Calgary Inner City Builders Association on the topic of addressing challenges neighbours face from bad developments. During the evening, Cllr. Kelly attended the Triwood Community Association AGM.
On Friday, Cllr. Kelly met with the Calgary Alliance for the Common Good on the topic of the four-year budget. Cllr. Kelly followed that meeting with a discussion with City administration on the upcoming Executive Committee meeting. He then attended the first-year report-back on the memorandum of understanding between the City of Calgary and the Blackfoot Confederacy, and a press conference held by Premier Smith, Minister Williams, and Mayor Farkas on the topic of changes to the provincial portion of property taxes that would set a fixed mill rate year-over-year.
Over the weekend, Cllr. Kelly intends to spend Halloween doing activities with his family and wishes all neighbours a safe trick-or-treating on Saturday night.
|
|
Agendas, live streams, and minutes for Calgary City Council meetings and committees can be found at www.calgary.ca/council/meetings/agenda-minutes.html.
|
|
On Monday, Nov. 2, the Community Development Committee will be meeting to discuss the final report on the Calgary Transit visible security pilot.
On Tuesday, Nov. 3, members of the Executive Committee will be meeting to discuss five notices of motion, including Cllr. Chabot's notice of motion on a back-alley lifecycle repair framework, and Cllr. Wyness's notice of motion on addressing large-scale data centre impacts on municipal resources. Other notices of motion include Cllr. McLean's on the Flourish Foundation, Cllr. Pantazopoulos's on creating a Housing Asset Redevelopment Program, and Cllr. Schmidt's on a non-profit and community space framework.
Advancing Green Line project development will be discussed by the committee, as will capital investment scenarios for MAX Green Bus Rapid Transit (a request that Cllr. Kelly seconded when the Green Line LRT alignment was approved), off-site levies and growth infrastructure funding, and the Transit-Oriented Development Funding Strategy. Committee members will also receive an update from the Chief Administrative Officer Recruitment and Appointment Sub-Committee.
On Wednesday, Nov. 4, the Infrastructure and Planning Committee will be meeting to discuss supporting the Culture and Entertainment District by enabling hotels. Committee members will also receive a briefing on the Local Area Planning Program's annual lessons learned for 2026.
On Thursday, Nov. 5, the Intergovernmental Affairs Committee will be meeting to discuss a declaration of relationship agreement request from the Otipemisiwak Métis Government, to receive updates from the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, Alberta Municipalities, and the October 2026 Greater Calgary Regional Table. Members of the committee will also hear the regional water allocation report for 2027-2030.
Committee members will receive confidential updates regarding the Government of Alberta and urban reserves. Members will also receive a briefing on the Prairie Economic Gateway Oversight Committee's 2026 Q4 update.
On Thursday, Nov. 5, the Calgary Planning Commission will be meeting to discuss land use item LOC2026-0122 for a requested change from R-C2 to H-GO at 4411 Edmonton Trail NE in Greenview. Items from wards 1, 5, 7, 8, 10, and 11 will also be heard.
|
|
New development permits that are in circulation for public comment or are in advertising for Ward 4. For all Ward 4 permits that are in circulation, or have been recently approved and are in advertising, see www.djkelly.ca/dp.
|
|
DALHOUSIE — 111 DALCASTLE CO NW (DP2026-05877) — Temporary use: home occupation - class 2 (gift basket manufacturing ) (R-C1) — Discretionary
HIGHLAND PARK — 3820 CENTRE A ST NE (DP2025-04201) — New: multi-residential development (2 buildings), secondary suite (11 suites) (M-C1) — Discretionary
HIGHLAND PARK — 3403 CENTRE A ST NE (DP2026-03760) — New: semi-detached dwelling, secondary suite (basement), accessory residential building (garage) (R-C2) — Discretionary
HUNTINGTON HILLS — 6505 HUNTRIDGE HL NE (DP2026-05663) — New: multi-residential development (4 phases, 4 buildings), child care service (25 children, outdoor play area), community entrance feature - 2 (M-C1) — Discretionary
ROSEMONT — 1239 ROSEHILL DR NW (DP2026-05380) — Relaxation: driveway (access from rosehill dr) (R-C2) — Discretionary
WINSTON HEIGHTS/MOUNTVIEW — 426 22 AV NE (DP2026-06000) — New: contextual single detached dwelling, secondary suite (basement), accessory residential building (garage) (R-C2) — Discretionary
|
|
DALHOUSIE — 6607 DALCROFT HL NW (DP2026-05168) — Temporary use: home occupation - class 2 (massage centre/office - 5 years) (R-C1) — Discretionary · Approved on October 26, 2026
|
|
This new feature from Ward 4 Communications Lead Aryn Toombs shares visualizations of important statistics and measures that Cllr. Kelly uses in his decision making.
|
|
🎃 Pumpkin Carving Night
Take in a night of pumpkin carving with the Winston Heights-Mountview Community Association on Oct. 30, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m, at their community hall. Take in live music, carve a free pumpkin courtesy the Nicastro Group, and there will be prizes for best costume. For more details see winstonheights.ca/events/pumpkin-carving-presented-by-nicastro-group.
|
|
🍬 Brentwood Trick or Treat
Little ghosts, goblins, and superheroes can take part in early Trick or Treating at the Brentwood Sportsplex on Oct. 31, from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. There will be free Candy, a Halloween Photo Spot, and more fun for the whole family to enjoy. For more details, see brentwoodcommunity.com/2026/10/23/trick-or-treat-at-brentwood-sportsplex-oct-31st-2026.
|
Twiggy, Flora, Annie and Count Catula are animals available to be adopted through the City of Calgary's Animal Services. (City of Calgary)
|
|
See https://www.calgary.ca/our-services/animal-services.html to learn more on how to adopt one of these animals. If this newsletter has prompted you to adopt an animal from Animal Services, send Cllr. Kelly an email at [email protected].
|
|
Twiggy — gray and white Domestic Shorthair mix, 1 year, spayed female
Flora — tortie point Domestic Shorthair mix, 7 months, spayed female
Annie — brown and black German Shepherd Dog mix, 4 years, spayed female — reduced adoption fee · waiting since September 6, 2026
Count Catula — brown tabby Domestic Mediumhair mix, 7 months, neutered male — waiting since September 29, 2026
|
|
|
