hawthorne villager

New Cell Tower Application

Mike Cluett

The town of Milton has received an application from Rogers for the installation of a 35 metre cell tower for the corner of Louis St Laurent and Thompson Road.  This location is going to be a Tim Hortons restaurant and the tower application is pending a public meeting and review by town staff.

The proponents of the application are Proliferate Group representing Rogers to keep up with the ever increasing demand for services in the community.  Regular readers of my blog are aware that there is still an application pending for a cell tower at New Life Church by Bell Canada.  These applications are not related.

Proliferate Group are holding a public meeting on Thursday April 25th from 6-8pm at Milton Leisure Centre.

If you would like to send comments you can always email me mike@mikecluett.ca or you can contact the following individuals:

Sean Galbraith, Rogers Communications
Profilerate Consulting Group
21A Prince Street Toronto, Ont. M5B 2P7
sgalbraith@proliferategroup.com
Phone: 416 732 5069

or

Angela Janzen, Planning & Development Department
Town of Milton
150 Mary Street Milton, Ont. L9T 6Z5
angela.janzen@milton.ca
Phone: 905 878 7211

I will update the blog when this application comes before council for review.  As with the other tower application, town comments will be based on if it complies with our telecommunications policy.  That can be found here.

Here are some pictures from the proposal received to give you a better idea where its to be located on the property.

2012 Milton Town Council Expenses

Mike Cluett

UPDATE March 25th

In a report released today for this coming Monday’s council meeting, the 2012 salaries and expenditures have been released.  Click here for the detailed report.

Here is a brief outline of the salaries / benefits / expenditures of each member of Milton Town Council.

In case you are wondering why my salary is lower than other local councillors, since being elected I have chosen not to accept pay increases as I feel that any raise approved by council, should be effective the date the next council is elected.  I’m opposed to any level of government approving a pay increase for themselves and Ive stood by that from day one.

The column of Professional Development includes conferences that councillors attend on behalf of the town of Milton including AMO (Association of Municipalities of Ontario) and FCM (Federation of Canadian Municipalities)  In 2012 I attended both FCM and AMO which explains the PD amount of $3,604.00 for me.  For your information, I will not be attending any conferences this current year of 2013.

Our regional councillors Colin Best, Tony Lambert and Mayor Gord Krantz also receive remuneration from the Region of Halton.  Their expenses were recently released at an Administration & Finance committee meeting earlier this week.

UPDATE:  Here is a listing of the detailed breakdown of Milton council remuneration when it comes to “Professional Development”  These are the conferences we attend through the year that members of council can gain further insight into issues that we face, network with other members of local council and meet directly with provincial/federal ministers to lobby for issues we find important.  Last year for instance a number of local councillors attended the AMO Conference in Ottawa to meet with provincial government ministers to discuss Milton based issues such as the horse racing industry changes and schools.

Here is the breakdown.

Here you will find the breakdown of each of the conferences for each councillor and how much we claimed while attending.  For example Clr Huffman attended 3 conferences in 2012.  I attended both the AMO and FCM Conferences in 2012  Our regional councillors who attended claimed some expenses through the region (you’ll find those numbers in the regional council section of this post.  Clr’s Malboeuf and Nelson did not attend any of the conferences this year.

If you have any questions of this or any other report, please feel free to leave a comment, share this post or email/call me anytime.

I’ll see you at the doors.

Stuff A Bus Returns March 23rd

Mike Cluett

This JUST in.  No, really it just came in my town email.  I just finished up editing a previous post and I thought I’d share this bit of news.  Seeing how Metro is in ward 6 I thought you should know.  If youre outside ward 6….well come on out as well 🙂

March 20, 2013

All are welcome to participate in Milton Transit Easter Stuff-a-Bus

Milton Transit will be holding its annual Easter Stuff-a-Bus event on Saturday, March 23, 2013 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The event will be held at the Metro Supermarket at 1050 Kennedy Circle, Milton. Residents of Milton are encouraged to bring non-perishable food items to donate to the Salvation Army food bank.

“On behalf of Milton Council, I would like to thank everyone who has come out at past events to help less fortunate members of our community during festive seasons, and our corporate partner Metro for hosting this event again,” said Milton Mayor Krantz. “We were told by the Salvation Army that last year’s contributions from the Milton community stocked their bare shelves in time for the Easter season and beyond, so we know we are making a difference!”

At the 2012 Easter Stuff-a-Bus event, more than 1,800 lbs of food donations were collected in addition to cash donations.

For more information on this event or on Milton Transit, call 905-864-4141 or visit the Town’s website, www.milton.ca/en/live/transit.asp.

– 30 –

For further information, please contact:

Paul Cripps – Director, Engineering Services

905-878-7252, ext. 2501

Liliana Busnello, Communications Specialist

905-878-7252, ext. 2154

Here is a link to the Milton Canadian Champion Editorial urging Milton residents to “Stuff the Bus”

Stuff that bus, Milton

Easter is around the corner and the holiday weekend will be filled with customs and traditions, including the celebratory feast many families will sit down to enjoy.

But not all local residents have the means to put such a meal on the table, not at Easter or at any time of the year.

While the Salvation Army, which operates the local food bank, doesn’t hold an official Easter food drive, there’s still plenty of opportunity to assist those less fortunate.

No doubt Salvation Army officials and volunteers would be the first to admit how much they wish they could announce the closing of the local food bank due to a lack of need. But that, sadly, isn’t the case — poverty does exist in Milton. Many recipients are the working poor or those who have been caught in a financial squeeze.

So how can you help?

Milton Transit will hold its annual Easter Stuff-a-Bus event this Saturday at Metro. A 40-foot bus will be parked at the Kennedy Circle supermarket from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., with volunteers accepting donated bags of food for the Milton Salvation Army Food Bank. Residents, who can either bring their own filled bags or purchase a pre-made bag at Metro for $5.99, are encouraged to board the bus and find a spot for their donation.

If you can’t make the event, food can be donated throughout the year at The Salvation Army Khi Community, 3-100 Nipissing Rd., or at the fire stations on Steeles Avenue and Derry Road, as well as at donation pantries located at Metro, Real Canadian Superstore,  Longos and Walmart.

As well as non-perishable food, donations of household cleaning products, toiletries and baby items (especially size 5 and 6 diapers) are appreciated.

Come on Miltonians, stuff that bus.

Watermain Construction Update Wards 7 and 8

Mike Cluett

I met with Halton Regional staff earlier this morning to get an update on the watermain development in ward 8 (Derry Road/Louis St Laurent – Tremaine Road to train tracks).  The watermain construction is complete and servicing to this area will be switched to the new watermain.

The Region will be dropping off information to homeowners explaining everything and letting people know they MIGHT experience some changes in water pressure, which wont be permanent and the quality of water will NOT change.  This should happen within the next month.  The remainder of homes west from the tracks to 25 will be undergoing these changes later in the year and everything should be completed by fall 2013.

If there are any questions, dont hesitate to ask or you can always call 311 anytime.

Metrolinx Statistics Milton GO Station

Mike Cluett

Found this report online today and it had some very interesting statistics they’ve collected on who uses the GO Station in Milton, how many drive, bike, walk etc.  As you might have heard Metrolinx has started up what they call the BIG MOVE.  Its a plan for the next 25 years to look at options and create a transit system that can be integrated together to help promote increased use.  There are $56 BILLION projects planned and of course it takes money.  Part of this BIG MOVE is to find out the HOW we pay for it.

One of the issues I have with this whole process is that the provincial government (who runs Metrolinx) is essentially only discussing options for “dedicated revenue sources” which in government speak means TAXES.  Everything is on the table from dedicated gas tax increases, sales tax increases, congestion taxes, parking levies for businesses and the list goes on.

This blog post wont get into my disdain for the “tax first” mentality but to go over some statistics they’ve collected from Milton GO transit riders and review them to see what we can do first locally before jumping into the “dedicated revenue sources” discussion.

Here are some of the statistics that I found interesting:

***

1,910 people end their trip at Milton GO Station (ie from out of town – mostly Cambridge/Guelph western riders)

2,720 people start their trip at Milton GO Station.

Of the 2,720 people starting their trip here, 86% use car, 7% walk, 4% bike/other and 3% use transit.

***

GO Station access

76% of people drive and park
12% of people who drive get dropped off
7% of trips are made by local transit (not including GO Bus)
5% of trips to GO Station are made by walking

***

Majority of GO customers 74% live within 5KM of the GO station.

With all the discussion going on about the Big Move www.bigmove.ca and coming up with ideas to fund this massive investment in transit, what kind of funding sources can be used here?  Parking fees?

My beef with the Big Move is that the provincial government agency Metrolinx have set up these meetings to discuss what needs to be done.  Forget for a second that they’ve moved plans for Milton expansion from their 15 year plan to 16-25 year plan, one could say that a case is being made for charging for GO parking.  Now given our current service level, I don’t think charging for parking is appropriate seeing how we have limited number of trains for this location but if there was increased service/flexibility would it be an idea you’d consider?

This goes out to those who take the GO in the morning and drive/park to the station.  What is stopping you from using Milton Transit?

St Patricks Day Weekend

Mike Cluett

Yes, its St Patricks Day Weekend.  Blarney stones, green beer and jigs will be the order of the day this coming Sunday.  Lots of fun to be had by all but we should also remember to enjoy the celebration and party responsibly.

Here is an article from the Milton Canadian Champion about Halton Police’s plans this weekend.

http://www.insidehalton.com/community/milton/article/1593505

Halton police watching on St. Pat’s weekend

Halton police announced Friday they will be out in force on the lookout for impaired drivers during the St. Patrick’s Day weekend to ensure it is remembered for its festivities and nothing else.

Police are reminding residents to plan ahead if their evening is going to involve any amount of drinking.

Such planning can include assigning a designated driver, calling a cab or using public transportation.

Police said being prepared ahead of time is key to avoiding the temptation to get behind the wheel while intoxicated.

The consequences of impaired driving are severe and can result in licence suspensions, vehicle impoundments, fines and even jail.

Police said those who drink and drive not only put themselves in danger, but their passengers and other motorists as well.

Residents who suspect a person is driving while impaired are asked to call 9-1-1 immediately.

The Halton Regional Police Service has stated it is committed to combating drinking and driving and keeping Halton’s roads safe.