mike cluett milton town councillor

New Years Levee 2013

Mike Cluett

This year we continued our tradition of members of town council “serving” the public…literally.

Every year on January 1st Mayor Gord Krantz and members of town council host a levee, a meet and greet of sorts, for members of the public.  This has been a tradition for many years but since 2010 its had a bit of a change.  In the past, members of the Milton Historical Society have handled the event, from the coffee and snacks, to music and everything in between.  In 2010 members of council lead by Clr Cindy Lunau decided it would be fun if WE would take on those duties.

All the snacks and drinks were donated and arranged by members of council for the public.  So thanks to Tim Hortons (Steeles/Thompson Road) and LaRose Bakery for the coffee, tea and snacks.  I along with others took the time to serve drinks and greet residents as they came in to have a chat.  Thanks to Clr Colin Best and management of town staff, we had a display in the Milton Room of town hall to show residents the many projects underway in Milton which was a big hit.

Many thanks to everyone who came out this year to share in the holiday cheer, have some coffee and chat about important issues in town.  This is one of my favourite parts of the job and I know the other members of council feel the same way.

So on behalf of the Mayor and Town Council, thank you to all who came out New Years Day and the night before for the annual bell ringing as well.  We wish you nothing but the best for the upcoming year!  HAPPY NEW YEAR MILTON!

Region of Halton To Test Emergency Notification System

Mike Cluett

I just received notice that the Region of Halton will be testing its Community Emergency Notification System (CEMS) on December 6th between the hours of 6:30 and 8:30 PM.

This service allows emergency personnel such as health or police services to send important information to residents (ie boil water advisories, evacuations, etc)  The test for all municipalities in Halton is scheduled for Thursday December 6th and the area identified in Milton for the test is Ward 1.

Here is a copy of the map.

Here is a copy of the letter to Milton residents:

Dear Resident:

On Thursday, December 6, between 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., you may receive an automated telephone call from Halton Region and the Town of Milton as part of our Community Emergency Notification Service (CENS). Please help us evaluate the service by picking up, listening to the call and confirming receipt of the call by pressing 1.

If you receive the call, when you answer you will hear the following recorded message:

“Hello. This is a public safety test message from Halton Region and the Town of Milton. This is a test of the Community Emergency Notification Service. Once again, this is just a test. There is no emergency. During a real emergency, this service would provide further instructions. If you have any questions, please contact Access Halton by dialing 311. Please press 1 now to confirm receipt of this test message. Thank you for your cooperation.”

No further action is required. If you do not answer and have an answering service, a message will be left for you.

The Community Emergency Notification Service is an automated telephone call-out service that allows emergency personnel such as police or fire officials to send important information to residents in case of a real emergency. During an actual emergency, CENS would be used together with other methods of notification, such as radio, television, web or emergency personnel going door to door.

“Halton Region’s Emergency Management Program works to enhance the safety of residents,” said Halton Regional Chair Gary Carr. “Halton works with police, Local Municipalities, fire departments, Emergency Medical Services and other community partners and agencies to ensure that Halton is prepared to deal with emergency situations.”

For more information, visit www.halton.ca/beprepared.

If you have questions about the CENS test on December 6, please dial 311. You may also receive a follow-up telephone call from Halton Region asking for your feedback about the test.

A copy of the News Release can be found here and a copy of the FAQ here.

This will be just a test and nothing else will be required of you.  If you live in the area, please let your friends and neighbours know.  I will be posting this information on a regular basis on my Twitter and Facebook as well.

The Region of Halton thanks you in advance for your participation and cooperation.

Miracle On Main Street December 17th

Mike Cluett

UPDATE:

Just an update on the Miracle on Main coming up on Monday December 17th being held at Troys Diner downtown.

Due to a schedule conflict, Jimmy Hart wont be able to attend the event as was recently posted. We’re hoping the Mouth of the South will be able to attend future events but he regrets that he cant make it. Next time Jimmy !!! 🙂

Still there are lots of reasons to come down in support of the Tiger Jeet Singh Foundation Miracle on Main Monday morning at 6am, at Troys Diner. There will be lots for the kids to do…games, magicians, Johnny Bower, Walter Gretzky, Tiger Ali Singh as well as Jennifer Valentyne from Breakfast Television.

I hope to see everyone there…and please bring an unwrapped toy for the toy drive.

Monday December 17th is going to be a great day.  Not only is it my birthday (cheap plug) but its going to be the day to be at Troy’s Diner for Miracle on Main Street.

The Tiger Jeet Singh Foundation presents this great family event at LIVE in downtown Milton at 295 Main Street E.

The list of the celebrities is going to knock everyone socks off and they include appearances by:

– Tiger Jeet Singh & Tiger Ali Singh – Milton Walk of Fame Members and international superstars!

– Canada’s Most Famous Hockey Dad Walter Gretzky,

– Stanley Cup Champion Johnny Bower,

– Toronto Rock member Garrett Billings…

Admittance is free and all we ask is that you bring an unwrapped toy for the toy drive.  There will be games, amusement rides and lots of things to keep everyone busy.  Breakfast Television BT will be there with Jennifer Valentyne to host this great event.

It all starts at 6AM and goes to 9AM….so be there early to take part in this annual tradition.  Over the last few years the Tiger Jeet Singh Foundation has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars in toys to support Sick Kids Hospital, Salvation Army, McMaster Childrens Hospital and Halton Womens Place.  This year looks to be the biggest yet.

For more information please go to www.miracleonmain.ca on how you can support the Tiger Jeet Singh Foundation to help make this Christmas a happy one for so many children.

Halton Region Announces 311 Service

Mike Cluett

Halton launches 311 service

Halton Region is making it easier for residents to connect to programs and services.

It has launched the 311 non-emergency service online, which allows residents to find, pay, register, report or request services from the Region, Halton Regional Police, or local municipalities.

Residents can now either dial 311 or visit www.halton.ca/311 to access all eight Halton government partners (Regional and local municipal governments, Halton Regional Police Service, Halton District School Board and Halton Catholic District School Board) and find out more about recycling and waste pick-up or register for parenting or parks and recreation programs.

Customer Service is a priority of Halton Region’s Citizens’ Priorities (2011-2014) Action Plan. Last year, more than 290,000 residents called Access Halton for information about programs and services.

What is 311?

  • 311 is an easy-to-remember, three-digit, non-emergency telephone number that offers a single window of direct access to Halton government services.
  • 311 provides free, multilingual assistance to anyone calling from within Halton.
  • It allows citizens to request a service or receive general information.

Whose services can I access by dialing 311?

  • Halton Region
  • City of Burlington
  • Town of Halton Hills
  • Town of Milton
  • Town of Oakville
  • Halton District School Board
  • Halton Catholic District School Board
  • Halton Regional Police Service (non-emergency calls)

Why do we need 311?

  • 311 means you don’t need to know which Halton government provides a particular service. You don’t have to sort through dozens of telephone numbers to find the people you need to talk to.
  • 311 also provides an easy-to-remember telephone number for non-emergency police calls which will reduce the burden of non-emergency calls made to 9-1-1.

How does 311 work?

  • 311 calls will be answered by customer service representatives in Access Halton.
  • While 311 is a program of Halton Region, callers will be able to access the programs and services provided by any of the eight partner organizations:
    • Regional and Local Municipal governments
    • Halton Regional Police Service
    • Halton District School Board
    • Halton Catholic District School Board
  • The customer service representatives will use a powerful database of about 1,500 records to respond to your inquiries on a vast array of Halton government services.

What are some examples of 311 calls?

  • reports of potholes
  • questions on site plan applications
  • location and hours of libraries
  • requests to register for parks and recreation programs
  • complaints about parking bylaw infractions
  • reports of stolen property after an event has occurred
  • requests to hire police officers for special events
  • reports of motor vehicle accidents
  • queries on police security checks
  • reports of suspected food poisoning
  • queries about well water
  • requests to book travel health clinic appointments
  • reports of dog bites
  • requests for financial assistance
  • queries on child development
  • queries on road construction projects
  • reports of sewer backup
  • reports of missed garbage collection
  • queries on acceptable items for recycling

What are the hours of operation?

  • You can dial 311 any time and speak to a live person.
  • Regular business hours of 8:30 am to 4:30 pm.
  • After regular business hours, only those of an urgent nature will be handled.

Will 311 work from cell phones, payphones, etc.?

  • Yes.

Can I still call the city or town directly using the ten digit number I have previously used to reach them?

  • Yes, and if you know the name of the person you wish to speak to, you should always call the ten-digit numbers.

Champion Editorial Comments on 3 Bag Limit

Mike Cluett

Unloading baggage

We fully support Halton Region’s plan to reduce the bi-weekly number of garbage bags residents will be able to place curbside before a user-pay system kicks in.

Next spring (April 1, 2013), residents will be provided with complimentary bag tags to affix to any garbage bags beyond their three-bag limit (currently residents enjoy a six-bag limit) they place at the curb on their regularly-scheduled waste collection day.

Five months later, on September 9, 2013, after having had ample opportunity to monitor and adjust their waste habits, residents will be asked to pay $2 for each tag they affix to garbage bags beyond the three-bag minimum.

There will be some exemptions granted, to those living in townhouses with common collection pile areas, those with diaper/medical condition-related waste as well as a two-week exemption for everyone immediately following the December holiday period.

While some municipalities have similar limits to free waste collection — Durham’s bi-weekly limit is three bags and Peel’s weekly limit is two bags — other municipalities — like Wellington (Guelph) — charge residents for every bag collected on garbage day.

We believe the Region’s tag concept is an incentive for Halton residents to be less wasteful and more thoughtful when deciding what should and shouldn’t get thrown out. The goal is to reduce the amount of Halton waste ending up in the landfill and, by doing so, extending the number of years before the landfill will be full. Regional staff say a three-bag limit could extend the landfill by as much as four years, creating an overall savings of $15 million.

Halton has been a leader in waste diversion among GTA municipalities with a rate of 57 per cent. That success is due, in part, to 85 per cent of homes already placing three garbage bags or less to the curb.

Only five per cent of Halton homes don’t participate in the Blue Box program each week, while 70 per cent of residents have been regular users of GreenCart since its Halton launch in mid-2008.

In order to help Halton homeowners reduce their waste, the Region is also planning to expand its Blue Box program to include mixed plastics like clear clamshells and yogurt and pudding cups, empty steel paint cans and cardboard spiral cans, which are commonly used for products such as refrigerated dough, frozen juices, chips, nuts and other snacks, powdered drink mixes and baby formula, shortening and powdered cleansers.

With this boost to the Blue Box program will come a larger 22-gallon container to hold the additional recyclable items.

Hopefully these initiatives will convince more of us to divert our waste and maintain Halton’s place among the greenest communities in the GTA.

Blue Bins With Lids? Could be coming soon.

Mike Cluett

Coming up at tomorrow’s Region of Halton Planning & Public Works meeting will be a report on the Blue Box Litter Containment Study.  As some might remember this past spring, there were a number of days that were very windy not only in ward 6 but everywhere in the town of Milton.

During these windy days of spring, a number of people came home daily to piles of recycled waste all over lawns, in parks and along the sides of many roads.  It almost came to be expected that whatever day your garbage was to be collected, the wind would blow it away.

I never really saw it as much of a problem since the Blue Box program began many moons ago, but this time it felt different.  Every week the number of email’s I received would increase.  “Why is the garbage all over the place?” “What is the town going to do with all the flying garbage?”

Garbage collection in Milton is handled by the Region of Halton and after a few windy weeks, it was brought up at Regional Council and hence this report was prepared.

From the report the recommendation is as follows:

RECOMMENDATION

1. THAT Council approve the 22 gallon Blue Box as the new standard Blue Box in Halton Region as outlined in Report No. PW-65-12 re: “Blue Box Litter Containment Study”.
 2. THAT Council authorize staff to issue a Request for Proposal for the manufacture and supply of a 22 gallon Blue Box with an affixed lid.

The report outlines a number of different options in order to handle the flying recycling debris problem that Milton has faced over since this past spring, including lids on the blue boxes, accepting recycled materials in clear plastic bags, or going to the “new standard” 22 gallon blue box.

Obviously there will be additional costs to the Region to order, produce and deliver these new 22 gallon Blue Boxes which will be subsidized by taxpayers.

Is this something you feel is needed at this point?  Can the Region provide better communications / instruction to homeowners to better pack their blue boxes in order to avoid this flying debris problem we’re just now facing?

To give you an idea, here’s the financial impact from the report:

FINANCIAL/PROGRAM IMPLICATIONS

Based on the annual average number of Blue Boxes distributed each year, the cost increase as a result of implementing the 22 gallon Blue Box as the new standard is an estimated $28,600 per year.

The annual purchase of 2,000 Blue Boxes with an affixed lid is estimated to be $30,000.

As a result, a total of $58,600 will be incorporated into the 2013 Budget and Business Plan for consideration.

Let me know what you think in the comments or email me mike@mikecluett.ca – on Twitter www.twitter.com/mike_cluettor Facebook!