Milton
This weekend marks the first official weekend of the summer. For Miltonians for many years this means Strawberry Festival!
For 33 years running the Milton Hospital Auxiliary has been putting on this amazing event that never ceases to amaze. Lots of fresh strawberries, ice cream, smoothies … you name it, its there.
The festival is held at the Milton Fairgrounds and goes from 8AM to 4PM. Get there early for some strawberry shortcake and other goodies.
…Regional Councillor Tony Lambert left Milton high and dry.
The following video is from yesterday’s Halton Regional Council meeting. After a marathon 4 hour plus meeting an in camera report came up for a vote. This report is a result of 3 years of discussion regarding ROPA 38, which is the Regional Official Plan Amendment that affects many areas in Halton, including Milton.
Our council representatives Mayor Gord Krantz, Councillor Best and Lambert received this detailed report less than 24 hours before the meeting before having to be asked to vote on it. I wasnt part of the in camera discussions obviously, but what came out of it was a motion by Mayor Krantz to defer the report until such time that Town of Milton staff and legal teams could look into it in more detail. This comes on top of an announcement from the provincial government regarding a change to the Places To Grow Act that will now, once complete, bring a total of 1,000,000 people to the Halton region, and MANY of those to Milton.
When its all said and done, the province of Ontario has deemed Milton to grow to over 350,000 people by 2041.
You can see that due to this development and the fact that Milton will be the location of the majority of that growth, our councillors representing the best interests of Milton would want to take a look at it some more.
If you watch the video, you will see that some of the discussion on Mayor Krantz’s deferral motion. The results of the vote were 11-3 with our 3 regional representatives voting for the deferral, so it lost.
Then the vote on the main motion came up and this is where the head scratching begins. When Milton needed to stand united on an issue that will affect this town for 20-30 years down the road, Tony Lambert first opposed the report by voting FOR the deferral, and then after that motion was lost, voted FOR the original report.
Regional council voted against the deferral and in turn lone Councillor Tony Lambert chose to support it in the end leaving Mayor Krantz and Colin Best standing alone. When the chips were down and Milton needed to stand united, for whatever reason he might come up with, Lambert chose to flip flop and change his mind to in essence desert Milton’s long term needs.
As regular readers of my blog will know, THIS is why there has to be change in representation for Milton at the Region and why I intend to run for the regional councillor position for wards 1,6,7 & 8 in 2014.
3 years of on the job training has not worked. Sadly as it is, this isnt the only example of erratic voting behaviour.
With all of these changes and important issues facing Milton in the coming years, we need someone who will stand up for Milton when the chips are down.
Public Input Session: Trails and Cycling Master Plan Update
The Town of Milton is developing an updated Trails and Cycling Master Plan. The revised plan will build upon the Town’s existing system of roads and trails, as well as consider those planned in and surrounding Milton.
Members of the public are invited to review the project’s progress and provide comments at a public input session:
Thursday, June 27, 2013, 6:30 – 8:30 pm at the Milton Sports Centre (Banquet Room), 605 Santa Maria Blvd., Milton.
For more information about this event, including a list of presentation topics and additional ways to get involved, visit the Trails and Cycling Master Plan Update page.
Attention residents in wards 7 & 8
The long awaited construction of the Derry Road underpass between Scott and Bronte Street will begin MONDAY JUNE 17th. There will be some headaches along the way but this is a project that should have been done years ago before all the growth on the west side of Milton began. There are and were a number of potential safety issues with fire and ambulance potentially being caught in traffic and when completed that issue wont be around anymore.
We ask for your patience during this time and its slated to be completed in late 2014. Heres the article from the Milton Canadian Champion.
Construction of the new four-lane underpass will include new on-road bike lanes and a multi-use pathway. The project is expected to be complete by the end of 2014.
Motorists are advised to expect delays and use caution when traveling through the area. A map of the affected roadway and project updates can be found on Halton Region’s website at www.halton.ca/construction
Its that time of year again. No, not just getting the lawnmowers out and warming up the BBQ’s. Its time to begin the process of providing input on the 2014 Town of Milton budget.
As readers of this blog know, this is an important part of the process and I urge all residents to contact me and the town with their opinions on the direction of the towns finances.
Its the beginning stages of this process and there will be more to come as the year moves on. As always, I will be having my public budget input sessions in the later part of the summer / early fall so please keep that in mind.
You can forward your comments as always to me directly mike@mikecluett.ca or through comments on this blog, or on social media as well. My Twitter handle is @Mike_Cluett so feel free to tweet this post, share it with your friends and colleagues and lets get the discussion going on what you would like to see or not see in the 2014 budget.
You can also go to this link to complete the Town’s official survey. It only takes a few minutes to answer so I would appreciate if you would take the opportunity to complete it and send me your thoughts as well. Too long? Too short? Better questions to ask? All feedback is good.
From the Town of Milton
Town of Milton seeks community input on 2014 budget
The Town of Milton is inviting members of the community to provide input into the programs, service levels and priorities for the 2014 Operating and Capital budgets.
The annual budget assigns financial resources to various municipal services, programs and infrastructure projects within the community and establishes the associated tax levy that is required to meet these needs. The budget is developed by staff within the guidelines approved by Council in July and takes into account input received from the public in person, by written submission and through an online survey. Council will deliberate and approve the 2014 budgets in December 2013.
A brief public input survey will be available on the Town’s website at www.milton.ca from Tuesday, May 28 to Friday, June 28, 2013. Residents and business owners are encouraged to complete the online survey to express their opinions of Milton’s municipal services. The results of the survey will provide information to staff for consideration in preparing the 2014 budgets, including satisfaction with levels of service, recommendations for new services or elimination of existing services, and level of support for property tax increases.
A presentation will be made at the beginning of the Council meeting on Monday, May 27 at 7 p.m. to introduce the 2014 budget process. The meeting takes place in Council Chambers, Milton Town Hall (West) at 150 Mary Street, Milton. Those wishing to provide input in person are required to register as a delegation by filling out a Delegate Request Form, available at the Town Clerk’s office (Town Hall West, 150 Mary Street, Milton, L9T 6Z5) or on the Town’s website, www.milton.ca. Completed forms must be submitted to the Town Clerk’s office or faxed to 905-876-5022 by 10 a.m. on May 27.
For more information, visit www.milton.ca or call 905-878-7252, ext. 2470.
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For further information, please contact:
Linda Leeds – Director, Corporate Services and Treasurer
905-878-7252, ext. 2142
Liliana Busnello – Communications Specialist
905-878-7252, ext. 2154
From the Town of Milton website:
We are seeking some input on the direction of the development of our trails and bike paths in the Town of Milton. In order to get as much information as possible, we want to hear from you. Please read the following from the Town website and send your information to them as soon as possible.
You can always comment here or email me Mike@MikeCluett.ca as well.
I’ll see you at the doors.
Trails and Cycling Master Plan Update
Share Your Feedback
Your input is important to the success of this study. The information you provide through this survey will be invaluable in shaping the recommendations that are developed from this study. The survey will be available to fill out for the duration of the study. Before you begin, please review the documents below that will be referred to in the survey. These documents will also be on display in Town facilities during the month of February.
Survey
Background Information
The Town undertakes a review of its Trails Master Plan every five years. In December 2012, the Town of Milton retained MMM Group to develop a Trails and Cycling Master Plan Update. The revised Master Plan will build upon the Town’s existing system of roads and trails, as well as consider those planned in and surrounding Milton. The recreational and commuter/utilitarian needs of the pedestrians, cyclists and trail users who enjoy this network will be studied. The work completed for this Master Plan will provide recommendations and strategic priorities for the Town to consider that aim to increase the connectivity within its trail and cycling network.
The overall goal of the study is to generate a Trails and Cycling Master Plan Update which directs the planning, construction, maintenance and communication of the Town’s trail and cycling network for the next five years. Its objectives include:
The study limit is the entire boundary of the Town of Milton, which includes the hamlets of Brookville, Campbellville and Moffat.
Current Trails Master Plan
The latest copy of the Trails Master Plan is available for downloading in separate sections; please be patient as these files will take a few extra minutes to download due to file size and you may temporarily see a blank screen during the file transfer.
Trails Master Plan Report
Trails Master Plan Maps