Author: Mike Cluett

Milton Makeover Morning April 15th 2011

Mike Cluett

Last year over 3,500 people participated in Milton’s Makeover Morning to help keep our town clean!  This year we hope that even more people get involved in the 7th Annual event.  This event is in partnership with the Milton Chamber of Commerce.

I have talked with someone from Ward 6 who is really interested in getting this set up for that day, so please email me mike@mikecluett.ca and I’ll forward your information to her right away.  There are lots of areas that need a good cleaning, one of which is along Louis St. Laurent between Thompson Road and James Snow Parkway as well as a few of our parks that need to shed the “winter blues” and prepare for spring.

If you are interested in registering, look below for the Online Registration Link and sign up today.

Let’s help keep our town CLEAN!

From the Town of Milton Website

Participate in our Milton Makeover Morning on April 15, 2011

Over 3,500 participants gathered together to pick up litter during last year’s makeover. The Town of Milton, in partnership with the Milton Chamber of Commerce, is encouraging everyone to participate in this seventh annual makeover on Friday, April 15. The Town is inviting families, friends, neighbours, community groups, school students and employees at Milton businesses to gather together to pick up litter on streets, boulevards, surrounding grounds, parking lots, local parks, green spaces and woodlots. Take some time to “stash some trash” to preserve and enhance Milton’s natural beauty.

Makeover supplies

To promote safety during this clean up activity, the Town is asking participants to wear protective clothing such as boots and gloves, and will be making free garbage bags and gloves available for pick up starting April 5 at the Milton Leisure Centre, Sports Centre, Town Hall, and Milton Chamber of Commerce.

Looking for areas to clean up?

Watch for a map coming soon for areas needing special attention during the Milton Makeover

Register and be recognized

Register using our online registration form so that your participation will be posted on this website.
Online registration form
Makeover participants

Arrange for special garbage pick up by April 13

If you anticipate you will have 5 bags or more of garbage after your clean up, please fill in the online form above or contact us as indicated on the bottom of this page; schools are not eligible for special garbage pick-up.

Milton Makeover Morning promotional materials

The “Don’t Be a Litterbug” logo and public information posters will help you to advertise the makeover. In addition, participation posters will help you promote the specific involvement of your school, group, organization or business.

Information Poster
Participation Poster (to promote your involvement)
Don’t Be a Litterbug Symbol

Other upcoming anti-litter/clean up activities

There are many opportunities to get more involved in litter clean up in the community:

  • Nassagaweya Rural Road Clean Up Day: Saturday, April 30
  • Good Neighbours Community Day: Saturday, May 7

For more details on these activities, review Additional Clean Up Day Information

Town Council Meeting Tonight

Mike Cluett

Here is a link to the agenda for tonights meeting.

Some of the items up for discussion is Milton’s participation in the 2011-2013 Metrolinx Joint Procurement Initiative for purchasing transit buses, the memorandum of understanding with the Town of Milton & Wilfrid Laurier University for the Education Village, and a technical report regarding a possible zoning change for the intersection of Harris Blvd and Main Street to permint mixed use condominium development.

As always, you can follow the links to the right and click to watch the meeting streamed live on www.milton.ca  I, along with a few other councilllors will do our best to “tweet” updates from the meeting for those who cant make it.

See you tonight.

The Time Is NOW

Mike Cluett

As you might have already read in the Milton Canadian Champion and the Halton Compass this week, mark the date of Saturday April 16th at 10AM on your calendar.

There will be a citizens rally for the expansion of Milton District Hospital at Victoria Park (just outside Milton Town Hall) to show support of MDH and to send a message to the provincial government that “The Time Is Now” for approval.

Numerous studies have been completed by Halton Healthcare Services over the years that clearly outlines the fact we need a bigger hospital to help deliver healthcare services to the people of Milton.  Promises have been made over these years with nothing in return.

With the coming provincial budget and election this year, we feel that this is the perfect time to let the voices of Miltonians be heard.

Here is the link to the petition we will be getting signed by as many Milton residents as possible to deliver to the provincial government by our MPP Ted Chudleigh.  MPP Chudleigh is no stranger to voicing the concerns of residents in his riding when it comes to hospital expansion as he has been a strong advocate for MDH expansion.

You can also join the Facebook group as well by going here.

Again join us on the 16th of April at Victoria Park to speak out and let the provincial government know that “The Time Is NOW!!”

There will also be lawn signs available for you to show your support and advertise the event.  Email me or post your address on this blog post if you would like yours.

 

New Piano For Arts Centre

Mike Cluett

There is also a lot of discussion about the piano on the Hawthorne Villager and feel free to click there and contriubute to the feedback.

Arts centre to get classic piano

It’s truly one of a kind.

Handmade in a factory in New York City, the Steinway is reportedly the workhorse of the concert stage, or, as others refer to it, the Cadillac of grand pianos.

Comprised of 12,000 parts and covered under 120 patents, the Steinway piano is the standard among concert performers. Soon, one of these collectibles will find a home at the Milton Centre for the Arts.

It will cost the Town about $115,000 for the piece and centre manager Rob Mackay says it’s an investment Milton can be proud of.

“It’s an absolutely great thing for Milton to open a first-class performance hall with a first-class piano in terms of attracting national and international talent,” he said.  Mackay said many performing arts centres possess Steinway pianos.

However, Milton art centre’s pièce de résistance is the only one in the region, with neither the Oakville or Burlington performing art centres owning a Steinway.

“The Milton Centre for the Arts was built for local talent, and I’m sure they’re going to appreciate this,” Mackay said.

“But we hope to also supplement the use of the centre with national and international performers and they’d be requesting the Steinway. I’m sure the local musicians will be ecstatic about it too.”

The Town is purchasing the piano from Toronto’s Remenyi House of Music, Steinway’s exclusive agent in southern Ontario and Atlantic Canada.

Al Kowalenko, Remenyi’s director of institutional sales, said the Steinway is the standard for concert halls in North America.  “I think what’s really beneficial to Milton is that in the area you’re going to be recognized for having this in the concert hall and this will draw a better caliber of touring and performing artists to your town.”

Kowalenko said in addition to  the craftsmanship, the Steinway sets itself apart by appreciating in value as it gets older rather than depreciating.  He said the value of the piano will increase four to five per cent per year.

“They are considered a hand-made collectable item and on top of that there’s a limited number produced,” he said.

About 2,500 models are made in Steinway’s factories in New York City and Hamburg, Germany, which supplies Europe.  Since they’re handcrafted, no two pianos are alike, which is why the company flies North American buyers out to their New York City showroom to personally pick out their own Steinway.

Mackay said a handful of local musicians have been approached about the opportunity and he suspects by the end of the month, one lucky Miltonian will be off to New York to pick the piano with the perfect sound, tone and colour.  

“This piano, if it’s well looked after, will last as long as the building will last,” said Mackay.

It’s not uncommon for Steinways to last 75 to 100 years, he said.  “It’s really a life-long investment.”

Furthermore Christina Commisso added the following detail on the discussion the committee had regarding this purchase.

Questions raised in piano purchase

Some councillors have raised concerns surrounding the purchase of a Steinway piano for the Milton arts centre.

Town council recently approved spending $115,350, plus HST, on the collectible piano through a single-source procurement — a non-competitive purchase.

The purchase was included in a February report presented to council outlining various items the Town is planning to buy with council’s approval.

“I don’t like any single source procurement. What other options were discussed?” asked Councillor Colin Best.

Town treasurer Linda Leeds said looking at alternative suppliers wasn’t possible as Remenyi House of Music is the only authorized dealer that sells the instrument in the area.

Councillor Greg Nelson proposed a motion that would see the piano purchase presented in its own report, separate from the other purchasing variances.

“That’s a sizeable amount of money,” commented Nelson, stating that including it in the purchasing report didn’t provide enough transparency. “To avoid the optics of trying to slide something under the rug, I propose a report that’s transparent and something council can vote on.”

Nelson’s motion was defeated.

Al Kowalenko of Remenyi told the Champion renting a Steinway would cost between $1,500 and $2,000 a night. He said 98 per cent of concert performers request or require a Steinway piano.

A production grand piano can cost between $30,000 and $50,000, said Kowalenko.

Staff said they hope to have the piano in place for the beginning of the fall season.

I was the seconder to Councillor Nelson’s motion that night as we, along with Councillor’s Best and Malboeuf, thought that there could have been more detail in that report for such a large purchase and the amount was over $100,000.00

Curious to look at different options, I did a quick Google search and found a supplier in the GTA who sells refurbished models of the Steinway product and when after I told him the amount of our purchase he replied “Thats outlandish”.

That motion wasnt put in place to kill the purchase of the piano, as we are well aware in order to attract performers to the Arts Centre, we need to have a quality product for them to use.  Rental of the piano was out of the question due to the amount and the time needed for transportation.  Town staff mentioned during the meeting that other options were looked at, but the report lacked in those details.

The Milton Centre for the Arts is slated for opening this fall, and by deferring this report for futher detail would not have placed the deal in jeopardy but would have provided council with more clarity and an assurance that all the I’s were dotted and the T’s crossed.

The motion for deferral was defeated by 6-4 margin and the purchase has gone ahead.  I have no issues about questioning the dollars spent on items such as this, even though the amounts were already in the budget.  The town is under a growth phase and with the coming 2012 budget discussions dollars will have to be found in the operating budget to limit any potential tax increase.  Its what I promised to do if elected and I will continue to do so.

Traffic Calming Policy Approved

Mike Cluett

Over the last several years, people in Milton have talked about issues in their neighbourhood when it comes to traffic, speeding cars and pedestrian safety.  There have been far too many examples of preventable collisions in our subdivisions using Yates Drive near Bennett as a reference.

Town staff has now come up with a traffic calming policy that came before the Community Services Standing Committee a couple of weeks ago for approval.  This is now sent to council for final approval on the 28th of March.

Here is an article in the Milton Canadian Champion by Christina Commissio that outlines the details.

No speedy process involved with traffic calming – Town’s new policy includes many steps, strict criteria before measures can be put in place

Milton’s first traffic calming policy was presented to councillors last week and judging by the draft plan, getting speeders to slow down won’t be a hurried process. After residents complain to Town Hall about hasty drivers barreling along their streets, it could take up to eight months for a traffic calming measure — speed bumps, curb extensions or stop signs, to name a few — to be installed, and that’s if the street meets the Town’s lengthy checklist.With $45,000 in this year’s budget allocated for traffic calming, the Town’s director of engineering Paul Cripps said one, maybe two, projects can be completed in 2011.

But there’s no shortage of demand.

“We get requests for traffic calming on a regular basis,” said Cripps. “It’s not a problem getting people engaged.”

Public engagement is a key part of the policy, which requires at least 51 per cent of households on the street to sign a petition in favour of the calming measures. If the road gets a green light from the Town, transit and emergency services to install a traffic calming device, the public will be asked for their input on the project, followed by a public meeting and community support survey. The survey has to be completed by at least 25 per cent of households on the street and show a 60 per cent support for the measure. After a traffic calming design is recommended by the Town, it will have to be approved by the Community Services Standing Committee and town council before residents are notified and the measure is implemented.

But before this process takes place, the street will have to meet a stringent point system to qualify for traffic calming. A local roadway must incur 35 points, and a collector roadway, which carries between 1,000 and over 3,000 cars daily, must incur 52 points to be eligible.

Speeding, volume, short-cutting traffic, collisions and road characteristics, such as sidewalks and distance to schools, playgrounds and retail centres will garner points. But racking up points isn’t easy.

To generate points for speeding, the Town will look at the 85 percentile of vehicles on a street, and those driving more than 15 km/h over the speed limit will incur points (once 15 km/h over the limit, five points will be assigned for every additional 2 km/h over). Every two collisions per year on a street generate one point.

One councillor is worried that the point system could be too stringent.

“It’s good to have a traffic calming policy, but will that policy catch roads we feel have major safety concerns,” asked Councillor Rick Di Lorenzo. “Thinking of some of the streets I know of that are high risk, I was trying to add the points in my mind…If drivers are going 65 to 70 km an hour (in a 50 km/h zone), then it would be enough to qualify. But if they’re going 60 or 63 or 64 km/h, it almost seems that there wouldn’t be enough points to qualify.

“I agree we should have some type of formula or calculation so it’s not all about perception. But what use is having a traffic calming policy if the formula doesn’t show many roads need traffic calming?”

Di Lorenzo said he’s curious to find out what streets in town qualify under the policy. During the community services committee meeting, Cripps assured council that certain streets will qualify.

While canvassing the Hawthorne Village neighbourhood while campaigning, Di Lorenzo said road safety and speeding were the most common complaints he heard. “On a street where it’s (speeding) a concern, you’re going to get that majority of people signing the petition.”

During the meeting, Mayor Gord Krantz said he didn’t“want to get the public’s hopes up,” with the policy, explaining that speed bumps, stop signs and lowered speed limits on one street could simply move traffic to a neighbouring street.

However, Cripps said after traffic calming is incorporated on a street, it will be re-evaluated to ensure its effectiveness.

“It’s going to be a learning process to a certain degree to find out what residents of Milton want to see and what they will respect in terms of traffic calming…it’s trial and error, hopefully more trial than error.”

Councillor Greg Nelson, chair of the committee, said he’s worried about a substantial backlog in traffic calming requests.

“There’s no community at all that doesn’t have this problem. The one concern I have is that who doesn’t want a speed bump on their street is going to be a much shorter conversation.”

Request for streets to be surveyed for traffic calming will begin in early April. 

I for one am very glad we now have something in writing when it comes to traffic calming issues and there is more to be done.  This policy is reactionary instead of proactive and I’d like to see what can be done in the sight approval stage of the development of our communities especially in the Boyne survey.

There are some that feel the guidelines are too stringent when it comes to evaluation of a street / area for traffic calming measures.  It surely isnt a fast process, but this will definitely allow the public and the residents of the affected area an opportunity to have their say.  This is similar to the process undertaken when it comes to reviewing the parking by-laws in residential streets.  There first has to be a majority of people on the street wanting a review and then when it comes to input the residents will have to provide their opinions in a public process.

There might be glitches as we work through the process for the first few times and the beauty of this is now it can be amendedif we find issues to help make it a smooth process for residents and staff as well.

I asked Mr Cripps during this presentation about the time limit in between reviews in which he responded that its not in the policy itself but they will be working with the same guidelines as with the parking by-law and have a minimum of a year in between.

Does this mean every area that asks for a traffic calming device will get it?  No, but it will ensure there is a public discussion with those people to come up with solutions that make sense and not cookie cutter answers to traffic control.  As effective as they might be, traffic circles can not be put everywhere, as an example.

Its a good start and I hope people take advantage of this process and work with staff and council to find the best solution possible.

Work to begin at Hwy 25 and Louis St. Laurent

Mike Cluett

Good news!  Work is now scheduled to begin at the intersection of Hwy 25 and Louis St. Laurent to allow for a widened intersection and installation of a traffic signal as well.  Work is expected to commence soon and be completed by June 2011.

This means that the extension of LSL towards 25 is almost ready to be used.  This will help in alleviating traffic along Britannia Road east / west ( a route I take daily).  What I will be looking for and asking for a timeline is the installation of a traffic signal at Thompson Road and LSL.  With the new east / west route up and running, this means there will be more traffic going through this already busy intersection in the morning.

Here’s a map of the work area.