Having been through some campaigns in the past, I have found that sometimes there are casualties. The casualties in this case are lawn signs.

Election signs are an integral part of campaigning. They serve a number of purposes to the community as a whole. They provide an opportunity for people to show their friends and neighbours who they are supporting in the election campaign. Its a very humbling experience to drive down a row of homes and see your name many times over, and it never grows old on you.

Signs also tell the broader community that there is an election going on. Before the signs went up around town many people didn’t realize that this was an election year and it helps raise awareness to everyone to start looking around and do some research on the people running in your area.

As candidates have been running from home to home (at least you HOPE they are) part of the campaign experience is to design and order your signs. I was lucky that I had quite a few remaining from my previous campaign, so I have been able to recycle mine this time around.

You can see by the picture above that signs also become targeted and in a battle, most times don’t survive. If you have been following me on Twitter the last couple of weeks, you have read that my signs have been vandalized by individuals. Sometimes its playfulness and the signs are lifted from the ground and tossed down. Believe me, I know that’s part of the game and it will continue to happen as long as there are election signs. Some the Town of Milton has been picking up and removing to make sure they can cut the grass safely. Again…no problems there as I or my team members go to the “sign jail” on Nippissing to pick them up the next day.

But many of my signs have suffered the same fate as the one shown above.

Over the last couple of weeks, part of my campaign duties has included sign repair and replacements.  It seems to be a growing trend this election that once both myself and my volunteers put them up, somehow they end up getting damaged beyond repair.  Not only is it illegal to destroy the signs, it doesn’t help in the general cleanliness of the Town. 

A BIG thank you goes to my friends and neighbours in the ward for offering to keep an eye on the signs in their area and report any damage or missing signs immediately.  That shows our community is looking out for each other.

Here is a link to the Town of Milton’s By-Law on election signs from the website.  Here you will find contact numbers in case you have any questions.  If you feel that a candidate has placed a sign on your lawn without your permission, or if you feel a sign has been placed illegally you can contact the clerks office and let them know.

If you see someone destroying signs or vandalizing them, please contact the Halton Police Department.  It is a crime.  I know this topic has been discussed at council a few times recently as well as the Milton Community Policing Committee (of which I am a member) and it is looked upon as a crime…not a joke.

If you see signs that have been damaged or are in disrepair, please contact the candidate as soon as possible.  There are just about 20 days left until Election Day and there are also a number of opportunities for people to vote ahead of time in advance polls (Check out my Election section in the site) so get out and be informed.

And if you see me on the side of the road repairing signs give me a honk!  But until then, I’ll see you at the doors.

I had a great time knocking on doors last night near 4th Line & Louis St Laurent and meeting up with regular readers of my blog, like Andre (Thanks for reading!)

If you were going through that intersection last night, you know they are doing some repair work finally because going through the stop sign almost felt like an off road course.  The kids love it by the way, but its not good on the suspension of the car.

Many of the people I spoke with were looking for updates on when the high school would begin construction and I’ll be sending Donna Danielli an email today to find out.  Donna is our Public School Board Trustee who has worked very hard over the last 4 years. 

With this election comes a change in the number of trustees for Milton.  There are now 2 positions open for the October election, one for the “southern” wards 1,6,7 & 8 and the other for the” northern” wards of 2,3,4 & 5.  This will provide them with more of an opportunity to concentrate their focus on a smaller area instead of the town as a whole.

School board trustees are often overlooked as a “minor” position and are not given the due they deserve.  Hours upon hours of work are put into this job with almost very little recognition.  I know from experience dealing with a number of trustees that this position is anything but “minor”  It takes dedication and a lot of hard work to do what they do and to help ensure that as the town grows, so do the opportunities for our education system.

This election as you choose who you want to support for Regional Chair, Mayor, Regional Council, and Local Council (thats me!), take some time and research who you want to be your public and catholic school board trustee.

If you live in wards 2,3,4 &5 drop Donna a note as shes running for re-election at the public school board level.  Tell her I sent you.

The evenings are becoming more comfortable for strolls (and door knocking) and Im looking to do some more tonight and later on this week.  I hope to see you at the doors.

*edit*  Thanks to Gary for letting me know I had the wards Donna was running in listed incorrectly.

*QUICK UPDATE*  I’ve updated the IN THE NEWS section of the website with links to news articles that have covered my campaign and some updates on the “Milton TigerCats” situation.  Over the course of the next couple of days, I’ll be putting together a page on my site devoted to news, talk and updates on the TigerCats and their possible move to another location.

NOW..Just yesterday I posted about how nice it would be if we had some “connected” councillor from Milton to give us a status update on the AMO Conference.  Ask and you shall receive.

The Association of Municipalities in Ontario are holding their annual conference this week in Windsor and one of the major issues on the minds of Milton and Halton regional councillors is the expansion of the Milton Hospital.  In the Champion last week, some of the 5 councillors that are attending the conference made mention that they will be lobbying hard with provincial and fellow municipal representatives to see if we can get the ball rolling and raise awareness that Milton is in dire need of hospital expansion.

On the ever popular Milton forum, the Hawthorne Villager, Regional Councillor Colin Best posted an AMO update with some feedback on what the status in on their agenda items.

For anyone interested in the Association of Municipalities Conference I have a short update on the conference and our meetings with ministers and their staff.www.amo.on.ca

I am at the conference as a regional delegate along with Chair Carr and councillors from Oakville and Halton Hills.

On Monday we met with the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing regarding the new official plan which still has to be approved by the province and various housing projects which Chair Carr and the delegation requested further help with seniors housing which is a real need throughout the region.

Next the delegation which included Donna Danielli our school board trustee met with the Minister of Education regarding the Best Start program, school construction regulations and surplus school sites which the Board, Towns and Region will be submitting a resolution to the Ministry soon regarding our concerns with delays in the process and having surplus school sites like the Laurier Avenue site in Milton kept as parkland for the neighbourhood.

The group which also includes Councillor Lunau the Town representative on the Halton Health Care board met with the Minister of Infrastructure and Energy regarding the funding for the hospital expansion which the Minister requested a detailed funding request from the board to fit into their 10 year capital plan a good sign as this Ministry has the lead role in allocating the billions of dollars of requests for provincial funding.

Next the group met with the Minister of Transport highlighting the need for funding and action on the #401 corridor, Tremaine Road interchange and GO transit upgrades as well as concerns over the proposed GTA west highway that may cross the middle of Halton Hills. The minister and staff indicated they would review our requests as part of the Big Move plan to improve GTA traffic and transit infrastructure.

Lastly on Monday we met with the Ministry staff of Correctional services requesting their support for the hospital expansion as at any one time Maplehurst residents account for 2-6% of the bed use at the hospital and they indicated they would raise the issue with the Ministry of Health.

On Tuesday the group met with the Minister of Health regarding the hospital expansion and she indicated that they would seriously consider the request as part of their 10 year capital plan based on Milton’s growth and needs for various services. Mayor Burton of Oakville also raised the request for turning the current Oakville-Trafalgar hospital into a long term care facility with would help relieve some of the pressure off all the halton hospitals as about 20% of the beds are currently used for chronic care use that would be more suitable in a long term care centre which the existing hospital would be suited for and this change in use has been done in other communities such as Guelph.

Lastly the group met with the Minister of Natural Resources and Chair Carr and Councillor Lewis of Halton Hills stated the groups concerns with quarry applications in the region and the affect on the community from quarry activities such as heavy truck traffic and the need to reform the existing royality payments from quarries to communities to maintain roads in the immediate area of quarries.

Throughout the conference there has been a number of sessions regarding energy efficiency, the new Green Act, municipal services and policies that I will be raising at the next Council meeting.

Sorry that this was a long post but it is a quick summary of over 3 hours of meetings which the mayor indicated was the most he has ever seen in 45 years of attending these conferences of behalf of Milton and Halton.

You can also see more details on the conference at the AMO website.

Colin Best
Local & regional councillor

Thanks for the update Colin.  Its much appreciated and we look forward to hopefully a few more over the course of the week.  There are a few more councillors there and hopefully they can provide their perspective on the AMO Conference.

Until the next update, I’ll see you at the doors.

Keeping in tune with a previous article by Christina Commisso from the Milton Canadian Champion last week about elected officials and candidates being “online & connected” it made me wonder about the AMO conference that is going on this week.

She had also written an article about our 5 councillors who are attending the AMO Conference in Windsor this week.  She spoke with a number of them and they all mentioned they would be pushing for the expansion of Milton District Hospital.  You can read the article here.

Seeing how this is an important issue to many Milton residents it would be helpful if we got some updates from those councillors at the conference.  Problem is, we dont know whats going on.

Just imagine if they posted updates on Twitter for instance saying “discussing Milton hospital with provincial officials at the AMO Conference…things going well” or something to that affect.  Those of us who follow on Twitter or on the candidates/councillors websites can from the comfort of our home get an understanding of what is happening and the status of those talks.

I know that at least one of the attendees at this conference is on Twitter so hopefully they will get the message and let us know how things are going regarding the Milton hospital issue.

One of the most common concerns I am hearing at the doors during this campaign is making sure residents are kept up to date on issues that face Milton.  Does it have to be instantaneous?  Not at all.  But something is better than nothing.  My promise to you as your councillor after Oct 25th is to keep that flow of information going so that residents are kept in the loop. 

It doesnt take that long to post a 140 character message on Twitter or quickly update a website/blog so that people know their concerns are being looked after.  I know its summer and the last thing on the minds of many residents is politics but quick postings here and there can go a long way.

I look foward to the councilors report on this conference at the next council meeting and how discussions went with other municipalities about a united front to lobby the provincial government to allow the use of development charges to fund the local portion of the hospital and discussions with provincial officials that are there about the importance of and the need for expansion of Milton District Hospital.

Maybe a quick update from one of the attendees is in order.  I’ll keep checking Twitter and see.

Until then, I’ll see you at the doors.

That question seems to be coming up on a regular basis as I knock on doors in Ward 6 over the past several months.  Ever since late March I have taken the opportunity to go out to visit residents and speak with them directly.  Some I get a chance to spend some time with to discuss issues that are important to them.  Most however are very busy and just have a moment to exchange pleasantries and get back to what they were doing.

The most common question after I pass them some information on me is “Are you online?’  The reason why they ask this is so at a time more convenient they can go to their computer, Google you, and read up on what you stand for, and how connected you really are to the community.

In a recent article by Christina Commisso of the Milton Canadian Champion, she outlines a number of municipal candidates who have a strong online presence (yours truly included) and who are using it as an effective communication tool.

Back in 2003, there were hardly any candidates with an online presence.  If they did have a website, it was what I like to call an “info-page”  Basic information on who they are, maybe some issues and how to contact them.  While its a step in the right direction, they were only utilizing maybe 0.05% of the effectiveness of the Internet.

Fast forward now to 2010 and there are dozens of other online tools that can be used to get the message out, inform residents of whats going on, how it will affect them and provide voters with direct contact to the candidates and elected officials.

While being interviewed by Christina I joked with her that my blackberry (the bane of my existence according to my wife) was sitting close by and buzzing intermittently with messages from people, responses to Twitter & Facebook postings and phone calls.  I like to call it my “Virtual Campaign Headquarters”.

If you go to the Towns Election website and look at a list of candidates who are running, you will also find their contact information including websites, email, phone numbers etc.  Of the 30 candidates that are registered for various positions on Oct 25th, only 13 have websites.  That’s less than half of the people running who have an online presence in the community.

Now, of the 13 website, only 8 (mine included) are updated regularly and have a forum for voters to provide comments on issues that are posted.  Others are what I referred to earlier as “info sites”  This is not saying that of those candidates, they don’t utilize other ways online to communicate with voters.  Some use the very popular “HAWTHORNE VILLAGER” site and post online comments to issues that are brought up.  There are some overlap of those people, but if you take away The Villager, there are still a number of candidates who don’t have the all important online presence.

Back when I ran for local council in 2006, I was faced with a similar situation.  All of my opponents for ward 1 local council position didnt have any online presence outside of email.  It was that election I came short of winning by 92 votes.  The problem was voter turnout ended up being the lowest in Milton at 23.5%.

During that campaign I had promised to keep my website/blog updated on a regular basis and inform residents in Milton of what was going on at Town Council meetings, decisions that were being made, and my opinions of them.  While unsuccessful that year, for the past 4 years now I have continued to update and provide my opinions on issues that the town has faced over the last few years.  You can check out the Archives section of my site and see every post and every comment since that campaign.

Over the last few years I have noticed others in town, mainly in the Hawthorne Village area starting up similar sites to accomplish what I had tried to start…a dialogue with Milton residents.  Many of those people are also seeking positions on town council.  Is it a movement?  Well, maybe not yet but its a start.  More and more Miltonians are going to the Internet to get their information and seek answers to questions they have.

Not all questions can be answered face to face during election campaigns and voters look to other sources to find out whats going on and how it will affect them.  This is why an online presence is so important.

Will it replace the door to door / face to face contact?  Absolutely not.  In fact just being online won’t make a difference.  An online presence only coupled with direct voter contact is the way of the future.  The way things have been done in the past is once you’re elected, you attend community events as a way of being “seen” in the public eye.  You do your job to the best of your ability and when it comes time for the next election, you go back out and knock on a few doors.

Welcome to 2010!  I am the only candidate who has made it part of my platform and promise to voters that I will continue to knock on doors in between election campaigns and not just during them.  Many comments I have received from voters so far is “why are you starting so early?”

I told them that this is what they should expect from me as their elected official.  Not just waiting until an election is near to be seen talking to people, but on a regular basis.  As Ive mentioned before there are a number of issues coming down the pike that WILL change how Milton looks and feels in the next 4 years.  From the intensification of Main Street (that will change the look of Downtown Milton forever), to the approval of the Boyne Survey (that will add another 55,000 + residents to Milton), to the hopeful expansion of Milton District Hospital and how we will fund it, and to major road construction on Main Street…these are important issues that need to be addressed.

Over the next few years there will be a number of public meetings that you can attend to tell council how you feel.  But how will you find out about them?  The local paper is one way and if youre close enough to the changes you might get a notice from the Town of Milton.  Other than that, you might miss your opportunity.

As your councillor I will “take to the streets” so to speak and solicit input directly from you. You can come to my website www.mikecluett.caand I will have a list of public meetings that are coming up so you can put them into your schedule and attend.  If you cant attend, you will have an opportunity to email/call/Tweet me and let me know what you want to say and I can be your voice.

When I ask people if they voted in the last election, many people shrug their shoulders and say they don’t know, or they didn’t have time, or they just didn’t know what was going on.  I want to change that…a little at a time.  Do I expect a flood of voters this year?  I hope so, but realistically change like this will take time.

Part of my job as your councillor will be to help change your opinion of your local representatives from “I dont know who they are” to “I know who my councillor is and he’s working for me.”

Here is a link to the article in the Champion and let me know what you think.  Send me an email, follow me on my Twitter page, become a “Fan” on Facebook or post a comment here.

Until then, I’ll see you at the doors.

 Public Meeting Notice – Wind Turbine Project – August 19th, 2010

Back at the June 28th meeting of council there was some discussion about a possible opportunity with Milton Hydro to install wind turbines at the Sports Centre as a pilot project.  This arrangement with Milton Hydro will not cost the Town of Milton (directly anyways) any money and could possibly be another source of energy for the Sports Centre.  In return for having the turbines located at the Centre would be 15% of the gross revenue for the advertising sales.  The pole height is supposed to be no higher than 9 metres as well.

Some residents brought up concerns at the meeting regarding the size of the turbines, sound polution if and general asthetics in front of the Milton Sports Centre.

From the report COMS-009-10

Background

Staff from the Town of Milton and Milton Hydro have been in discussions with representatives of a company that manufactures vertical wind turbines to consider a possible pilot project on a Town of Milton property. This report recommends a pilot installation of 2 units at the Milton Sports Centre, pending execution of a Memorandum of Understanding for said project, attached as Schedule A, and approval from the OPA.

Discussion

Representatives from a company that manufactures vertical wind turbines approached Town staff to recommend consideration of a pilot project to install two units at the Milton Sports Centre. Subsequent discussions resulted in Milton Hydro taking the lead with respect to the management of the project, pending Council approval.

Staff has provided correspondence to Milton Hydro outlining the proposed terms that would have to be included in a Memorandum of Understanding regarding a pilot project at the Milton Sports Centre. (Schedule A, proposed terms) (Schedule B, image of proposed units at Milton Sports Centre).

Council had approved that motion to look into the possibilities and then have an open house to discuss the matter with the public.  Today the Town of Milton announced an open house on August 19th, 2010 at the Milton Sports Centre and invites members of the public interested in learning more to attend.

The open house starts at 7pm and goes to 8:30pm.  There will be a presentation and then an question/answer session.

Until then, I’ll see you at the doors.

Over the last few elections, voter turnout has declined.  In 2006, the voter turnout for the former ward 1 (which encompassed most of the new ward 1, 6, 7 and 8 ) was only 23%.

In an effort to help boost voter turnout, the town has come up with a number of different dates and times for people to be able to exercise their right to vote.  Listed below are the dates, times and locations of the advance polls for voters who feel they might not be able to vote on the 25th of October (now 95 days away and counting – YIKES!)

In addition to the 3 days of advance polls is the Hugh Foster Hall location which is open daily from Monday October 11th to Friday October 15th from 10AM to 6PM.

Lines at the advance polls are very short and you can get in, vote and leave in almost a matter of minutes.  Make sure you bring your voter ID card, or picture ID, copy of a municipal tax bill (to confirm address) to make the process go smoothly as possible.

Its important that everyone gets a chance to vote, to have their say on what the direction will be for the town of Milton for the next 4 years and beyond.  There are many changes happening in town and lots of projects that will be approved in the next term of council.  You want to make sure that you choose the right candidate who you feel will speak out for your needs, keep you engaged and informed in the process and one who will be accessible.

Check out the “WHY MIKE” page of my site to find out details on how I will be that councillor for the residents of Ward 6 in Milton.

Advance Vote

Wednesday, October 13 10:00 am to 6:00 pm
Campbellville Lions Club
42 Main Street South
Campbellville

Saturday, October 16 10:00 am to 6:00 pm
Milton Mall
55 Ontario Street South
Milton

Sunday, October 17 10:00 am to 5:00 pm
Milton Mall
55 Ontario Street South
Milton

Please note that the Sunday advance voting closes at 5:00 pm along with the Milton Mall.

Continuous Advance Vote

Monday, October 11 to Friday, October 15 10:00 am to 6:00 pm
Hugh Foster Hall
141 King Street
Milton

Until then, I’ll see you at the doors.

Over the last few days we have seen the temperatures rise to new heights and it looks like the next little while will be no different.  I’ve had to take a break from hitting the doors in Ward 6 because of the scorching heat and hopefully it will let up soon.

I had received a call from someone who was wondering what the Town is doing to help beat the heat and where they could take their family to help cool off during this heat wave.

The Town has recently posted some information on www.milton.ca which lists areas where families can go to take the heat off so to speak.

Milton has two designated cooling centres:

Milton Leisure Centre:  1100 Main Street East and Milton Sports Centre: 605 Santa Maria Blvd

There are two locations for pools as well.  One at the Milton Leisure Centre and the other one is outdoors at Rotary Park at 1 Garden Lane (near downtown Milton)

Milton has 6 locations for splash pads which the past few days have become a very popular place for kids to play and stay cool from the heat.  Times of operation are from 9AM to 9PM daily.

Beaty Neighbourhood Park  – Beside Guardian Angels School (Yates / Bennett Ave)

Bristol District Park – Across from Metro Plaza (Thompson Rd / Louis St Laurent Ave)

Clark Neighbourhood Park (South) – Opens late summer 2010

Coates Neighbourhood Park (North)- (Near Philbrook / Yates Drive)

Dempsey Neighbourhood Park- Beside Chris Hadfield School

Lions Sports Park – 77 Thompson Road

There is also a splash pad at Rotary Park  from 10AM to 8PM Daily.

If you would like to get more information on the Milton Leisure Centre swimming hours/costs/ programs, click here for the recreation guide.

As the summer goes along, we will be faced with many more days like we’ve had this week and its best to take all the precautions necessary in order to make sure we all have a safe holiday.  Watch out for kids while your driving, stay cool as much as possible and take in some of the amenities that the Town of Milton has to offer.

Until then, I’ll see you at the doors.

Last night I attended the town council meeting in which there was to be a discussion on possible ways for the Town of Milton to set up and fund a hospital expansion reserve fund for consideration in next years budget.

The original motion can be found here for you to review.

Some of the highlited options for funding include:

• Capital Related Items:  Redirection of Slot Revenues, GTA Pooling Funds, Debenture Financing
• Developer Related Items:   Development Charges
• External Revenue Generating Items:  Hydro / Hospital Generation Partnership (similar to Oakville Hydro), Parking Facility, Tax Levy.

There was a lot of discussion from a number of delegates last night talking about the pros and cons of each item.  The general consensus around the table and in the gallery was that we need to do something …now.  But aside from some passionate discussions from some councillors there really wasn’t a lot of direction from the table other than what was in the report.

According to the report, here are the next steps:

Next Steps

Continuation of Working Group and Community Consultation.  It is anticipated that the established working group would continue throughout the project to ensure:

- help develop a co-ordinated communications plan to enable the parties to consult widely with the community about the level of municipal contribution and the Local Share plan including but not limited to the various options as outlined in this report.

Reserve Fund

Staff is recommending that the establishment of a reserve fund dedicated to funding the redevelopment and expansion of Milton District Hospital be included as a recommendation in the 2011 budget for consideration.

Now when you look at the next steps, you might think not much has changed and it really hasn’t.  The goal of everyone in this town is to ensure that Milton gets what it needs from the provincial government to expand the health care services for the residents of Milton.  The very last option to be considered would be the special tax levy that would be brought on Milton taxpayers to fund the local portion of what is needed for hospital expansion.  The VERY last option.

 There were a few interesting and controversial ideas that came up including naming rights (which the town has no control over), and selling Milton Hydro.  As you will see from my presentation, I suggested we move this idea up to the regional level of government and quite possibly pool the tax base and solve everyone’s problems.  There are some risks in that as Mayor Krantz brought up “be careful what you wish for, you just might get it!” but Milton’s tax base isn’t big enough.

 I also had concerns, that I didnt address in my presentation (due to 10 minute time limits) about slot revenues being used as we get them, instead of the towns current procedure of placing them in a reserve account for a year and then applying it to the capital budget.

I’ve been at the doors over the past few months and many of you have brought up slot revenues and how they should be used for the hospital fund.  Slot revenues are a gift, for the lack of a better word.  The Town of Milton gets a portion of the slot revenues every year but those funds aren’t 100% guaranteed.  They can end at any time and we cant take these revenues for granted.  So I’m cautious about relying solely on those funds.

Needless to say this isnt an issue that will go away or be solved in one meeting.

I talked about the need of not just putting strongly worded resolutions and forwarding copies of reports to provincial ministers and everyone else under the sun, but to make a concerted effort to work with other municipalities as well to put pressure on the the provincial government to change the Development Charges Act 1997.

Back then, the government changed the rules for municipalities and they were no longer allowed to use development charges (DC’s) to fund capital projects including funding local portions of the hospital.

The current government is on the record saying they wont be making changes and from reports recently other leaders are in agreement that the act shouldn’t be changed.  If this can be changed, the ability of a municipality to fund the local portion of hospital expansions becomes much easier and there is less of an impact on the taxpayer.

We need to be leaders and contact every municipal leader, every Mayor, every Councillor and get them on board to put pressure on the province to make these changes and soon.  There is an election coming up in 2011.

For those of you who were not at the meeting and cant watch on TV COGECO, here is a copy of my submission to council regarding this issue.  Feel free to comment.

Until then, I’ll see you at the doors.

Dear Gord Krantz, Mayor; Members of Town Council, Staff & Members of the public.

The purpose of my writing today is to submit my opinions on the report CORS 058-10 regarding Halton Healthcare Notice of Motion.

As a resident who has lived in Milton for over 7 years now, I along with many others have seen the need to ensure that the healthcare services for our residents are placed at the top of our priority list by the provincial government.  Outlined in the detailed staff report are many of the potential pitfalls that Halton Healthcare Services faces in getting the project started.  Many of the options that we have at our disposal are hinged on the province of Ontario coming to the realization that Milton, Canada’s fastest growing municipality for the last few years, is recognized in their long range goals for expansion.

Expansion of Milton District Hospital is not a new phenomenon whatsoever.  Just recently over half the population of Milton at the time, 35000 plus residents signed a petition to be delivered to the provincial government letting them know Milton should be a priority.  The efforts of those involved with the Friends of Milton Hospital organization should be applauded as many hours, days and weeks went into this movement to let our elected officials at the provincial level know that we need more for the residents of Milton.

I have no qualm with the goal.  I don’t think we can find anyone in our town that would disagree with the notion we need to have a bigger and better healthcare facility for Milton.  Our town is now approaching the 100,000 level and what we have right now is not enough.  This isn’t to say that the individuals, doctors, nurses and other healthcare workers at the Milton Hospital are doing a poor job.  They are doing the best they can with the resources they have.

The problem is the provincial government.  They need to make our town’s healthcare facility a priority and fast.  As Mr. Oliver from Halton Healthcare Services stated in the meeting on May 17^th, even if they got approval that day for expansion, they are many years away from shovels in the ground.  Our hope is that the provincial government, after their budget deliberations, comes to the same conclusion that Halton Healthcare Services, the Town of Milton and the residents of Milton already know.  Approve the hospital expansion now.

I’m glad that staff also realized we need to put added pressure on the provincial government to change the Development Charges Act of 1997 and allow municipalities to raise funds for the local share of the hospital funding through development charges.  I would add that the town of Milton should urge all municipalities in Ontario to put added pressure on the province to get these changes put through.  All towns and cities in Ontario are either facing the same problems we are or will in the near future and there has to be concerted effort on behalf of ALL municipalities in the province to get these changes made.

This leads me to some concerns about where the funding will come from for the local portion that will be required to get the projects moving.  The face of health care services has changed over the last 20 years.  No longer do local hospitals serve local residents.  Hospitals serve the population in general throughout the region.  Milton residents can take advantage of services at the Burlington, Oakville and even Mississauga area hospitals for different health care related items.  My concern is with burdening the Town of Milton with raising all the funds required for the local portion.  Our tax base isn’t big enough to raise that kind of money in a fixed amount of time.

If we include the “hospital fund” as a budgeted line item for 2010, we run the risk of other high priority projects falling by the wayside and much needed infrastructure such as roads, bridges, etc being delayed.

One of the options listed in the report is to divert Milton Community Funds that were allocated to the Arts Centre to the hospital fund for the next few years.  This would add approximately $500,000 to the fund if it’s done over the next 5 years, which is a fraction of what would be needed.  Milton can do some of the fundraising for the local portion, but it would impede any future long term budgeting that the town needs to do to accommodate other projects, Boyne Survey growth, and Intensification along Main Street.

As we all know, there is immense pressure from the provincial government to grow our population.  Some examples I’ve sighted are the Boyne Survey and the intensification plans faced along Main Street.  The Town doesn’t have any indication from any other level of government on who is going to help, if any, pay for these projects.  Our budgets for the foreseeable future are going to be stretched to the limit.  Adding the addition pressure of the hospital fund, solely on the backs of the taxpayers of Milton will add further problems in long term budgeting.

This proposal should be sent to the Region of Halton for review and have the local portion of the possible expansion handled at that level.  The Town of Milton doesn’t have the resources to raise the much needed funds and if applied at the Regional level and a much greater tax base, the costs can be spread out through the region of Halton as it will be the region of Halton that will benefit from any hospital expansion.

The resources available at the regional level are greater such as debt financing, development charges and at the very last resort tax increases.  The job can get done faster and more efficiently at that level of government without putting the strain on Milton’s long term budgeting issues that we will be facing as growth continues.

I would like to urge Mayor Krantz and members of council to rethink where this motion should be coming from and with the help of our regional councillors urge Halton to look at these plans as they have greater resources to work with at this level and Milton can continue to work out its long range budget issues with regards to growth.

Thank you for your time.

Best regards,

Mike Cluett

905-878-1327 Phone | 647-888-9032 Cell | mike@mikecluett.ca | www.mikecluett.ca

Here is an article written by Tim Foran of the Milton Canadian Champion outlining details on the changes to Milton’s Official Plan.

In his article he mentions a local resident Michael Fox that I referred to in my Communication post recently.  Also he refers to comments that resident Steve Camilerri made regarding the benefit of Milton Transit, the new route for his area in September and how council should focus on its growth.

Town council approves significant growth plans

The future is written but the book may need some revisions.

Milton council Monday night signed off on two secondary plans that will guide the last phases of residential and employment growth originally designated in the Town’s 1997 Official Plan.

It also endorsed an update to that same official plan. The document now includes new ‘smart growth’ policies that will govern areas of future growth from 2015 to 2031.

By that time, Milton is projected to be a community of almost 240,000 and its urban fabric will stretch to Hwy. 407 in the east and Lower Base Line in the south.

Council unanimously approved all three plans. However, planning staff indicated Monday there’s a long list of future studies that still have to be completed including assessing the price tag for the infrastructure necessary to accommodate future growth. Those studies will likely result in tweaks to all three plans before Halton Region, the municipal planning authority, gives its stamp of approval.

While much planning is left undone, it was still imperative council approve the three plans Monday, according to staff.

The Province had set a deadline of June 16 for lower tier municipalities such as Milton to update their official plans to conform to legislation enacted earlier in the decade, such as the Greenbelt Plan and the Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe.

Milton’s new official plan also had to be brought into conformity with Halton Region’s December update to its own official plan, ROPA 38, the result of the Sustainable Halton planning process.

But there was no such such deadline for Milton to approve the two secondary plans, one for the Boyne Survey residential area to be built south of Louis St. Laurent Boulevard and another for the Derry Green Corporate Business Park destined for the area east of James Snow Parkway.

However, staff reports said the two plans must be completed by June 16 so that developments in the Boyne and Derry Green areas would be “grandfathered” and governed by the policies in the 1997 Official Plan rather than new less development-friendly ones contained in the updated official plan.

Those new policies, first outlined in Halton’s ROPA 38, could “potentially impact (the) feasability” of development in the Boyne and Derry Green areas due to their requirement for higher densities and the application of an enhanced natural heritage system that includes links between key natural features, stated staff reports reviewed by council.

The new policies also require all players at the table — the local municipalities, school boards, developers and the provincial and federal governments — to agree on what infrastructure is necessary to support “complete communities” and provide evidence the money is in place to build it, so that taxpayers don’t take the hit.

Municipal planners have said they expect these ‘growth must pay for itself’ policies to be challenged at the Ontario Municipal Board as soon as the Province signs off on ROPA 38.

Council didn’t discuss the decision to grandfather the two secondary plans. However, the Town’s consultant said after council it’s common practice for developments to be governed by the policies in place when they first began.

“Is it fair to change those (rules) in midstream?” asked consultant Elizabeth Howson rhetorically.

The policies in the updated official plan were applauded by local resident Steve Camilleri, who said he appreciated the focus on intensification and smarter development.

Camilleri, who lives near Derry and Holly roads, said he has lived in his community for four years but will only be getting a bus route this September.

Though he said he’s thankful to get it, he supported the municipality’s efforts to get transit on track quicker in the future.

“The answer is public transit and it needs to be looked at as an asset,” said Camilleri.

ROPA 38 policies require municipalities to have a plan in place to provide public transit to new subdivisions as they come on stream.

Another delegate to council took a dimmer view of intensification. Michael Fox, a resident of Frobisher Boulevard, petitioned council to reduce the heights allowed in the official plan for the section of Main Street in front of the GO Train station.

The plan allows the north side of Main Street across the street from the GO station, between Ontario Street and Thompson Road, currently occupied by low-rise commercial and industrial units, to be redeveloped into four-storey buildings, with potential for a maximum of three more storeys through typical bonusing provisions. Immediately adjacent to the GO Station, the plan allows for 10- to 14- storey buildings.

Fox said 72 of his neighbours, more than half of whom have pools, could be affected by shadows of buildings of that height.

However, Town staff responded the four-storey limit and the bonusing provisions haven’t changed since the 1997 Official Plan.

“To take away what is currently permitted without justification would be problematic,” Barb Koopmans, Milton’s senior manager of policy planning, told council.

She added developers are required to do a shadow impact study when filing their development application.

Through the site plan approval process, staff can mitigate any potential impact by buildings higher along the edge of Main Street but “step down” at the rear of the lot, she added.

Ward 4 Councillor Paul Scherer pointed out to Fox the original heights proposed the Town’s intesification background study called for buildings of six to eight storeys opposite the GO Station, which was ultimately dismissed in favour of keeping the status quo.

“I think we’ve done a reasonable job of protecting the neighbourhood,” said Scherer.

Ward 1 Councillor Rick Day was absent for the four-hour session as he was away on business, Mayor Gord Krantz said.