halton region mike cluett

Britannia Road Environmental Assessment Completed

Mike Cluett

Update JULY 2014

Here is the most up to date information from Halton Region regarding the Britannia Road widening project.

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Further to our recent discussion, the following is an update on the work underway to implement the water, wastewater and road improvements on Britannia Road from Tremaine Road to Regional Road 25.

The EA for the Britannia Road improvements through the entire corridor from Tremaine to the 407 is being finalized for filing in late September.

The detailed design of the water and wastewater mains between Tremaine and Regional Road 25 is proceeding for tendering this Fall, with construction scheduled for completion in the Fall of 2015.

The detailed design of the widening of the road and the CN Grade Separation east of Tremaine Road is also proceeding and construction of the road works will commence immediately following completion of the water and wastewater works.

A detailed communication plan will be implemented as we get closer to the start of construction.

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The environmental assessment for expansion of Britannia Rd is complete. A report to be presented at the Planning & Public Works meeting on March 19th will outline the details of the EA.

http://sirepub.halton.ca/cache/2/s5ovydjdsi3qsugjgnaeqybr/17099203132014040442214.PDF

This now opens the door to get shovels in the ground to expand Britannia Road from Tremaine Road to HWY 407.

This project was accelerated back in 2008 by Halton Region as it was originally slated to START in 2021 if you can believe it. The EA process has been long due to dealing with property acquisitions AND funding.

It wont be done right away but at least we can look forward to this long awaited and much needed project to begin sometime in 2015 if everything goes to plan.

For more info on this project visit the Halton wesbite pagehttp://www.halton.ca/cms/one.aspx?portalId=8310&pageId=49605

What to do on Family Day in Milton 2014

Mike Cluett

Wondering what to do on Family Day in Milton? Here’s a list of events for February 17th. http://www.milton.ca/en/play/familyday.asp

You can come meet Toronto Rock lacrosse player Garret Billings who is going to hold a clinic as well to show kids this great game (AND Canada’s official game to boot)  Im looking forward to seeing this great new facility as well, so join me at the opening of the Milton Indoor Turf Centre.

ALSO…keep in mind that at the Milton Sports Centre there will be an event with big screens showing our VERY OWN Travis Gerrits as he goes for gold at the Olympics. If you are going to that event, please wear RED AND WHITE to show your support.

Show your Support for Travis Gerrits!

Cheer on Milton’s own Travis Gerrits as he competes for gold in freestyle aerial skiing at Sochi. Catch all the action on three big screens in the lobby, gymnasium and Banquet Room of the Milton Sports Centre. A DJ will also be spinning tunes to get you into the spirit of the games!

Don’t miss this opportunity to support a hometown hero! Travis is scheduled to compete at the following times:

8:45 am: First round qualifier
9:30 am: Second round qualifier
12:30 pm: First round final
12:55 pm: Second round final
1:12 pm: Third round final

In celebration of Sochi 2014, various Olympic events will be screened between 10:00 am and 12:30 pm. Olympic-themed family games will also be available in the gymnasium from 10:15 am to 12:30 pm and 2:00 to 3:00 pm.

Milton Education Village Getting Closer?

Mike Cluett

According to an article in The Toronto Star, it looks like the provincial government in Ontario is making headway to possibly choosing more than the 3 promised campuses for post secondary institutions.

But the province no longer specifies it will fund precisely three such projects — despite the Liberals’ pledge for three new satellite campuses during the last election — but rather says now it will fund as many as required to meet the need.

“It could be more than three, it could be less, but the focus is on those high-growth areas that are currently underserved (by higher learning), where Ontario students are waiting to get into undergraduate programs,” said Emily Hedges, spokesperson for MPP Brad Duguid, Ontario’s minister of training, colleges and universities.

For the last couple of years you have read on my blog that Milton Education Village is one of those potential locations.
Here is some information from the Town of Milton website on the status of the Milton Education Village, the plans, who will be involved and the potential job opportunities that will be available, not only from the campus location but the Milton Innovation Centre being located there as well.

As Milton has grown rapidly over the last decade, the amount of new business development has fallen further behind our residential development.  This puts even more pressure on the residential tax base to fund programs and future infrastructure as we rely less on business taxes & fees and more on property taxes.

Milton Town Council has been working hard with other levels of government to ensuring this becomes a reality.  There is no end to the positive impacts this will have in Milton in driving new companies and jobs to Milton….something that we need.

Here is a link to the Star article.

By: Louise Brown

Queen’s Park will fund new satellite campuses and possibly expand current sites to make room for thousands more undergraduate students in boom areas where space is falling short of demand.

But the province no longer specifies it will fund precisely three such projects — despite the Liberals’ pledge for three new satellite campuses during the last election — but rather says now it will fund as many as required to meet the need.

“It could be more than three, it could be less, but the focus is on those high-growth areas that are currently underserved (by higher learning), where Ontario students are waiting to get into undergraduate programs,” said Emily Hedges, spokesperson for MPP Brad Duguid, Ontario’s minister of training, colleges and universities.

The ministry said it will soon call for proposals for expansion projects that each have space for at least 1,000 new students to start, with room for 5,000 to 10,000 more in the next 20 years. Proposals are expected to provide at least 6,500 new square meters of space (70,000 square feet).

Already several universities have said they hope to be considered for a new satellite campus. Sudbury’s Laurentian University has its eye on a campus in Barrie, where it currently offers some programs together with Georgian College, and Wilfrid Laurier University hopes to open a satellite campus in Milton, and there are others.

In recently released guidelines called the Major Capital Expansion Policy, the province said it will favour sites that offer a range of undergraduate degrees as well as student services, something satellite campuses sometimes lack.

“Satellite campuses can sometimes become a two-tier system where students don’t have the supports they need, from health counselling and disability services to academic counselling and a writing centre,” said Queen’s University student Allison Williams, a member of the steering committee of the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance. “So we’re happy to see the province is requiring these services should be in place.”

It’s also crucial to ensure satellite campuses have some senior, tenured professors who conduct research — not just instructors on short-term contracts with little time to prepare, noted University of Waterloo Professor Kate Lawson, president of the Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations.

“We’re happy there is a policy now on how satellite campuses will work, because we have seen problems before where they haven’t had decent libraries or labs, and sometimes even scramble to throw classrooms together,” said Lawson. “If you’re a student paying good money for an education, you want to make sure the quality is preserved wherever you are.”

Alastair Woods of the Canadian Federation of Students Ontario warned students at a satellite campus should be able to complete their entire degree at the satellite — which is not always the case.

Emily Hedges said this focus on degrees needn’t squeeze out community colleges, noting the province could consider new sites with degree programs offered jointly by a college and university.

Update on Road Conditions in Milton

Mike Cluett

Over the past few days I have received a number of calls and emails about the road conditions in Milton due to the cold snap “Polar vortex” we have been experiencing.

Town of Milton staff have been working very hard to get the roads as clear as possible for traffic and in our neighbourhoods and we all appreciate your patience in this matter.

Here is a quick update we have received from our engineering staff:

Mayor and Members of Council,

Our efforts to keep all roads in a usable and safe state have been generally successful however, not to the normal visual standard everyone is used to at this point in time following the end of the precipitation event.

Salt stops being effective as an ice melter at approximately minus 10 degrees C. Air and pavement temperatures have remained consistently below minus 10 C since the flash freeze that occurred Sunday night.  This flash freeze was preceded by heavy rain, which prevented the pre-storm application of anti-icing liquid which would have stopped the ice from bonding to the asphalt surface of the roadways.  We are still working on removing this stubborn ice layer,  which is more of a nuisance while driving over it due to its rough nature, than a hazard as it does exhibit some degree of friction.  In addition to various snow removal operations, we had graders out last night working on the arterial, collector and Regional roads where this ice layer exists in an attempt to improve their condition prior to the morning rush hour. Winds causing blowing snow and streamers have also been a major factor during this time period that  the crews have had to deal with.

Temperatures are expected to rise in the next few days, starting today, with winds subsiding and prevalent sunshine, which will help alleviate the situation and aid our efforts.  We continue to ask that citizens drive with care and thank them for their understanding and cooperation as we continue to provide winter control services to the community.

According to the forecast, we should be heading into a period of “warmer” weather towards the weekend with temperatures in the plus range, which will go a long way to getting rid of the ice packs at the end of our driveways and improving the quality of the roads.  If there are any specific concerns you might have about the past few days and snow clearing, please feel free to email myself or engineering@milton.ca

I think we can all say that we are all looking forward to warmer weather coming up to give us a break from this cold, arctic weather. Thank you again for your patience.

Election Campaign Announcement

Mike Cluett

Earlier this morning I filed my nomination papers to run for the position of Local & Regional Councillor for wards 1,6,7 & 8.

This might come as no surprise to many as it’s been apparent that residents in our area have been under-represented during the last term.

I look forward to the campaign and meeting as many residents as possible and details on how you can support my campaign will be posted soon.  You can click on the Facebook link to the right and that will take you to a campaign page where you can comment, like and hopefully SHARE with all your friends and neighbours in Milton.

As resident of Milton for more than 10 years and the Local Councillor for Ward 6 since 2010, I have built a solid reputation as an active community member (United Way Milton, Milton Community Resource Centre) and an advocate for accountability and delivering efficient, cost-effective services.

I’m known for being engaged and accessible to residents and am seeking to represent Milton as the Local and Regional Councillor for Wards 1,6,7,8 to continue my tradition of open, transparent and accessible governance.

I am committed to protecting the taxpayer, building safe, strong and healthy neighbourhoods and engaging with my constituents to ensure that the needs and concerns of our growing community are well managed by Halton Region.

Thank you all for your support and encouragement in running for this position. There are so many challenges Milton faces in the upcoming years and it’s vital that we have strong leadership both at the local level and at the Region as well.

If you have any questions or if you would like to volunteer/donate to my campaign, please feel free to call or email me at mike@mikecluett.ca

I’ll see you at the doors.

Town of Milton New Years Levee

Mike Cluett

Wondering what to do on New Years Day of 2014? Why don’t you come down to Milton Town Hall for the annual Mayor’s New Year Levee.

All the fun starts at 1pm and goes until 3pm.  Lots to see and do, so I look forward to seeing you then.

From Michael Gregory at the Milton Canadian Champion

Milton town councillors are inviting residents to join them for a festive kick-off to 2014 at the annual New Year’s Day Levee.

The traditional celebration will take place Tuesday, Jan. 1 from 1 to 3:30 p.m. at Milton Town Hall.

“Milton council is pleased to continue this tradition,” Councillor Cindy Lunau said in a news release. “We invite Milton residents and their families to join us in celebrating the new year.”

The event will feature musical entertainment and refreshments from La Rose Bakery and Tim Hortons.

Milton residents will also have a chance to discuss Town projects, and learn about council initiatives for the upcoming year.

Levee festivities date back to the mid-17th century when the governor of New France hosted an event to update citizens of the happenings back in Europe.

The tradition continues to be celebrated by many municipalities across Canada.