milton town hall report

Today Is Election Day

Mike Cluett

Its been over 10 months since I began my campaign to become the local councillor for ward 6.  On January 11, 2010 I visited town hall and filed my nomination papers and started what was to become a tiring, yet satisfying campaign.

Over these past 10 months I have met many of you, a couple of times over, and heard what issues you find to be important.  In this time I spoke about 3 main things…responsible financial management, neighbourhood safety and accountability.

The first item of business for the new council will be to review the 2011 budget which has a projected 6.91% increase to the mill rate.  You have told me you want value for your dollar and you want your taxes spent wisely and this rate increase is simply too much.  Council needs to review line by line each item in the budget so we can see whats working, what isn’t working and where we can find savings.  I have made the promise I wont support the 2011 budget if the increase is over the rate of inflation.  I hope my council colleagues will work hard over that budget process to see if we can find the savings and give you value for your tax dollar.

We’ve talked about neighbourhood safety at length as well.  Im glad my opponent has been reading my blog since he started his campaign mid September and now understands this is an important issue.  Over the months and in fact the last few years, I have been talking about the importance of neighbourhood safety on our roads.  The town of Milton wants to become a pedestrian friendly town, but we need to look at options like traffic calming devices and other ways to slow down vehicles in the residential area so that all pedestrians are safer.  We’ve discussed the idea of a signalled crosswalk near Kennedy Circle and Thompson Road as there are people who would like to take advantage of the great splash pad and soccer fields on one side or others to go to Shoppers Drug Mart or Metro or the Dollar Blitz to shop without packing the kids in the car to travel less than 500 metres.  Over the next four years I want to bring these ideas forward and I need your input and help to get it done.

Last but not least, we talked extensively about accountability.  About being there when you call or email and giving you a quick response.  Ive promised, as I have done over the last 4 years, to update you on whats going on in Milton, at Town Hall, and how it affects you using this website/blog and other forms of social media like Facebook & Twitter.  During some important council meetings  you can find me sending updates through Twitter on what was going on, and when the decisions are made.  Its something I will do my best to continue as councillor, even though I’ll be sitting at the table, Ill make sure you can follow along.  Either by Twitter or what we hope to do is stream the meetings online so you can see whos working for you and asking the questions that need to be asked.

So now the brochures have been delivered and the doors have been knocked on and I’ve done my best to meet as many of you as I could over the last 10 months.  I leave it in your hands to make the decision on who you feel is the best candidate to represent all Miltonians at the council table.  If you havent made that crucial decision yet, I ask that you review my website and that of my opponents and see who has the plan for a better Milton.

You can vote today starting now at 10AM to 8 PM tonight.  If you live north of Clark Blvd in Ward 6 you will be voting at Guardian Angels on Bennett Blvd – and if you live south of Clark Blvd you will be voting at Hawthorne Village School also on Bennett Blvd.

If you have any last minute questions, call my cell (647) 888-9032!

Thank you everyone for making this a fun campaign.  Ive enjoyed meeting everyone and discussing the issues and while some of us disagreed we still came to the conclusion that the dialogue needs to continue and we need to work together to make Milton a better place.  I am humbled by the support I’ve received and the pledges of support and the volunteers who have worked endlessly to help me get the message out and for that Im eternally grateful.

I’ll update the blog once the polls close and the results come in.  Afterwards I will be at Ned Devines celebrating with other candidates, supporters, friends and family so feel free to drop by tonight (I’ll be there roughly after 9ish) and say HI!

Until then….I’ll see you at the polls.

Advance Poll Dates

Mike Cluett

Over the last few elections, voter turnout has declined.  In 2006, the voter turnout for the former ward 1 (which encompassed most of the new ward 1, 6, 7 and 8 ) was only 23%.

In an effort to help boost voter turnout, the town has come up with a number of different dates and times for people to be able to exercise their right to vote.  Listed below are the dates, times and locations of the advance polls for voters who feel they might not be able to vote on the 25th of October (now 95 days away and counting – YIKES!)

In addition to the 3 days of advance polls is the Hugh Foster Hall location which is open daily from Monday October 11th to Friday October 15th from 10AM to 6PM.

Lines at the advance polls are very short and you can get in, vote and leave in almost a matter of minutes.  Make sure you bring your voter ID card, or picture ID, copy of a municipal tax bill (to confirm address) to make the process go smoothly as possible.

Its important that everyone gets a chance to vote, to have their say on what the direction will be for the town of Milton for the next 4 years and beyond.  There are many changes happening in town and lots of projects that will be approved in the next term of council.  You want to make sure that you choose the right candidate who you feel will speak out for your needs, keep you engaged and informed in the process and one who will be accessible.

Check out the “WHY MIKE” page of my site to find out details on how I will be that councillor for the residents of Ward 6 in Milton.

Advance Vote

Wednesday, October 13 10:00 am to 6:00 pm
Campbellville Lions Club
42 Main Street South
Campbellville

Saturday, October 16 10:00 am to 6:00 pm
Milton Mall
55 Ontario Street South
Milton

Sunday, October 17 10:00 am to 5:00 pm
Milton Mall
55 Ontario Street South
Milton

Please note that the Sunday advance voting closes at 5:00 pm along with the Milton Mall.

Continuous Advance Vote

Monday, October 11 to Friday, October 15 10:00 am to 6:00 pm
Hugh Foster Hall
141 King Street
Milton

Until then, I’ll see you at the doors.

Town Council Meeting June 28, 2010

Mike Cluett

Last night I attended the town council meeting in which there was to be a discussion on possible ways for the Town of Milton to set up and fund a hospital expansion reserve fund for consideration in next years budget.

The original motion can be found here for you to review.

Some of the highlited options for funding include:

  • Capital Related Items:  Redirection of Slot Revenues, GTA Pooling Funds, Debenture Financing
  • Developer Related Items:   Development Charges
  • External Revenue Generating Items:  Hydro / Hospital Generation Partnership (similar to Oakville Hydro), Parking Facility, Tax Levy.

There was a lot of discussion from a number of delegates last night talking about the pros and cons of each item.  The general consensus around the table and in the gallery was that we need to do something …now.  But aside from some passionate discussions from some councillors there really wasn’t a lot of direction from the table other than what was in the report.

According to the report, here are the next steps:

Next Steps

Continuation of Working Group and Community Consultation.  It is anticipated that the established working group would continue throughout the project to ensure:

– help develop a co-ordinated communications plan to enable the parties to consult widely with the community about the level of municipal contribution and the Local Share plan including but not limited to the various options as outlined in this report.

Reserve Fund

Staff is recommending that the establishment of a reserve fund dedicated to funding the redevelopment and expansion of Milton District Hospital be included as a recommendation in the 2011 budget for consideration.

Now when you look at the next steps, you might think not much has changed and it really hasn’t.  The goal of everyone in this town is to ensure that Milton gets what it needs from the provincial government to expand the health care services for the residents of Milton.  The very last option to be considered would be the special tax levy that would be brought on Milton taxpayers to fund the local portion of what is needed for hospital expansion.  The VERY last option.

 There were a few interesting and controversial ideas that came up including naming rights (which the town has no control over), and selling Milton Hydro.  As you will see from my presentation, I suggested we move this idea up to the regional level of government and quite possibly pool the tax base and solve everyone’s problems.  There are some risks in that as Mayor Krantz brought up “be careful what you wish for, you just might get it!” but Milton’s tax base isn’t big enough.

 I also had concerns, that I didnt address in my presentation (due to 10 minute time limits) about slot revenues being used as we get them, instead of the towns current procedure of placing them in a reserve account for a year and then applying it to the capital budget.

I’ve been at the doors over the past few months and many of you have brought up slot revenues and how they should be used for the hospital fund.  Slot revenues are a gift, for the lack of a better word.  The Town of Milton gets a portion of the slot revenues every year but those funds aren’t 100% guaranteed.  They can end at any time and we cant take these revenues for granted.  So I’m cautious about relying solely on those funds.

Needless to say this isnt an issue that will go away or be solved in one meeting.

I talked about the need of not just putting strongly worded resolutions and forwarding copies of reports to provincial ministers and everyone else under the sun, but to make a concerted effort to work with other municipalities as well to put pressure on the the provincial government to change the Development Charges Act 1997.

Back then, the government changed the rules for municipalities and they were no longer allowed to use development charges (DC’s) to fund capital projects including funding local portions of the hospital.

The current government is on the record saying they wont be making changes and from reports recently other leaders are in agreement that the act shouldn’t be changed.  If this can be changed, the ability of a municipality to fund the local portion of hospital expansions becomes much easier and there is less of an impact on the taxpayer.

We need to be leaders and contact every municipal leader, every Mayor, every Councillor and get them on board to put pressure on the province to make these changes and soon.  There is an election coming up in 2011.

For those of you who were not at the meeting and cant watch on TV COGECO, here is a copy of my submission to council regarding this issue.  Feel free to comment.

Until then, I’ll see you at the doors.

Dear Gord Krantz, Mayor; Members of Town Council, Staff & Members of the public.

The purpose of my writing today is to submit my opinions on the report CORS 058-10 regarding Halton Healthcare Notice of Motion.

As a resident who has lived in Milton for over 7 years now, I along with many others have seen the need to ensure that the healthcare services for our residents are placed at the top of our priority list by the provincial government.  Outlined in the detailed staff report are many of the potential pitfalls that Halton Healthcare Services faces in getting the project started.  Many of the options that we have at our disposal are hinged on the province of Ontario coming to the realization that Milton, Canada’s fastest growing municipality for the last few years, is recognized in their long range goals for expansion.

Expansion of Milton District Hospital is not a new phenomenon whatsoever.  Just recently over half the population of Milton at the time, 35000 plus residents signed a petition to be delivered to the provincial government letting them know Milton should be a priority.  The efforts of those involved with the Friends of Milton Hospital organization should be applauded as many hours, days and weeks went into this movement to let our elected officials at the provincial level know that we need more for the residents of Milton.

I have no qualm with the goal.  I don’t think we can find anyone in our town that would disagree with the notion we need to have a bigger and better healthcare facility for Milton.  Our town is now approaching the 100,000 level and what we have right now is not enough.  This isn’t to say that the individuals, doctors, nurses and other healthcare workers at the Milton Hospital are doing a poor job.  They are doing the best they can with the resources they have.

The problem is the provincial government.  They need to make our town’s healthcare facility a priority and fast.  As Mr. Oliver from Halton Healthcare Services stated in the meeting on May 17th, even if they got approval that day for expansion, they are many years away from shovels in the ground.  Our hope is that the provincial government, after their budget deliberations, comes to the same conclusion that Halton Healthcare Services, the Town of Milton and the residents of Milton already know.  Approve the hospital expansion now.

I’m glad that staff also realized we need to put added pressure on the provincial government to change the Development Charges Act of 1997 and allow municipalities to raise funds for the local share of the hospital funding through development charges.  I would add that the town of Milton should urge all municipalities in Ontario to put added pressure on the province to get these changes put through.  All towns and cities in Ontario are either facing the same problems we are or will in the near future and there has to be concerted effort on behalf of ALL municipalities in the province to get these changes made.

This leads me to some concerns about where the funding will come from for the local portion that will be required to get the projects moving.  The face of health care services has changed over the last 20 years.  No longer do local hospitals serve local residents.  Hospitals serve the population in general throughout the region.  Milton residents can take advantage of services at the Burlington, Oakville and even Mississauga area hospitals for different health care related items.  My concern is with burdening the Town of Milton with raising all the funds required for the local portion.  Our tax base isn’t big enough to raise that kind of money in a fixed amount of time.

If we include the “hospital fund” as a budgeted line item for 2010, we run the risk of other high priority projects falling by the wayside and much needed infrastructure such as roads, bridges, etc being delayed.

One of the options listed in the report is to divert Milton Community Funds that were allocated to the Arts Centre to the hospital fund for the next few years.  This would add approximately $500,000 to the fund if it’s done over the next 5 years, which is a fraction of what would be needed.  Milton can do some of the fundraising for the local portion, but it would impede any future long term budgeting that the town needs to do to accommodate other projects, Boyne Survey growth, and Intensification along Main Street.

As we all know, there is immense pressure from the provincial government to grow our population.  Some examples I’ve sighted are the Boyne Survey and the intensification plans faced along Main Street.  The Town doesn’t have any indication from any other level of government on who is going to help, if any, pay for these projects.  Our budgets for the foreseeable future are going to be stretched to the limit.  Adding the addition pressure of the hospital fund, solely on the backs of the taxpayers of Milton will add further problems in long term budgeting.

This proposal should be sent to the Region of Halton for review and have the local portion of the possible expansion handled at that level.  The Town of Milton doesn’t have the resources to raise the much needed funds and if applied at the Regional level and a much greater tax base, the costs can be spread out through the region of Halton as it will be the region of Halton that will benefit from any hospital expansion.

The resources available at the regional level are greater such as debt financing, development charges and at the very last resort tax increases.  The job can get done faster and more efficiently at that level of government without putting the strain on Milton’s long term budgeting issues that we will be facing as growth continues.

I would like to urge Mayor Krantz and members of council to rethink where this motion should be coming from and with the help of our regional councillors urge Halton to look at these plans as they have greater resources to work with at this level and Milton can continue to work out its long range budget issues with regards to growth.

Thank you for your time.

Best regards,

 

Mike Cluett

 

905-878-1327 Phone | 647-888-9032 Cell | mike@mikecluett.ca | www.mikecluett.ca

Major Changes Coming to Campbellville

Mike Cluett

The last full council meeting a couple of weeks ago went long…very long by some standards.  It was close to midnight by the time councillors, staff and some candidates made their way back home.

There was a public meeting on the Derry Green Corporate Business Park (James Snow Parkway, north to the 401, east to roughly Trafalgar and then down to the creek) but the last part of the discussion came from a motion by Councillor Cindy Lunau to expand the hamlet known as Campbellville.

As Tim Foran of the Milton Canadian Champion outines in his article, there are a few more changes coming to the quiet area of Campbellville.

Changes could be coming to Campbellville

The quiet hamlet of Campbellville could become a little noisier in future due to some changes made by Milton’s town council last week.

An existing no heavy truck prohibition along Campbellville Road, between Milburough and Guelph lines, will be removed, council decided without discussion.

The change is part of the Town’s handover of responsibility for maintaining the roadway to Halton Region, an uploading that will save Milton taxpayers some money.

The Region has indicated it plans to invest millions of dollars to improve the roadway to major arterial conditions in future years.

Council also decided that, subject to necessary studies, it will try to expand Campbellville’s urban boundaries westward.

If the expansion receives approval from Halton Region and the Province, which Town staff indicated is actually unlikely, it would allow for new development in some of the area bounded by Campbellville Road to the south, Twiss Road to the west, Hwy. 401 to the north and the hamlet’s existing boundary to the east.

The last major addition to the hamlet was Bridlewood Estates, a subdivision of million-dollar homes currently under construction.

The motion made by Nassagaweya Councillor Cindy Lunau to expand the hamlet came on the day council was approving its updated official plan following four years of planning for future growth by Halton Region and the Town. The motion passed 5-4. Lunau’s ward colleague, Jan Mowbray, supported the motion while the regional councillor for the area, Barry Lee, didn’t.

“I’m of the opinion there’s a certain critical mass (of people needed) to make a hamlet sustainable,” Lunau explained for her motion.

Mississauga-based investment company TSI International, which uses land banking as part of its real estate investment strategy, owns most of the property included in Lunau’s motion and has been the only developer that has asked for the hamlet to be expanded, Town staff confirmed.

Supporters of the expansion, including Lunau, Regional Councillor Colin Best and Mowbray, expressed concern the motion’s wording was obviously in support of TSI’s request as they didn’t want to be seen to be favouring one developer’s land over another.

Lunau had originally put forth a motion suggesting the Town support minor expansions to hamlets, in general. However, the Town’s lawyer advised council a motion indicating the Town has some idea where it wants to grow would have a greater chance of getting approval from the Region and Province.

TSI’s request was shot down by Halton Regional staff in December, when it completed an update to its own official plan. In a response document released at that time, Halton staff said they didn’t believe including TSI’s 100-acre property in the urban area was a “minor rounding out of the hamlet,” something allowable under Provincial legislation during the official plan update process.

Last week, the Town of Milton’s lawyer told council it was still unclear how many acres would actually constitute “minor” to the Province.

Town planning staff had also recommended against expanding the hamlet. In a June 10 document, staff explained the Province’s Greenbelt Plan only allows rounding out of hamlets if the proposal has been supported by appropriate studies assessing the need for the expansion as well as the availability of water to service the development. Those studies haven’t been done, according to staff.

Prior to council’s vote, Town Senior Manager of Planning Policy Barb Koopmans told council that Halton Region has “clearly advised” it won’t approve the expansion to the hamlet in the absence of such evidence.

That news upset Colin Chung, the planning consultant for TSI. He said after the council session the company has offered for years to do whatever studies are necessary, but never got confirmation from municipal planners.

TSI’s property is approximately 100 acres. The majority are forested and designated natural heritage system, but about 15 acres are rural, including some along the Twiss Road frontage.

Lunau suggested much of the land could be donated to the town for use as trails by local residents.

Town Council Approves MAJOR Growth Plans

Mike Cluett

Here is an article written by Tim Foran of the Milton Canadian Champion outlining details on the changes to Milton’s Official Plan.

In his article he mentions a local resident Michael Fox that I referred to in my Communication post recently.  Also he refers to comments that resident Steve Camilerri made regarding the benefit of Milton Transit, the new route for his area in September and how council should focus on its growth.

Town council approves significant growth plans

The future is written but the book may need some revisions.

Milton council Monday night signed off on two secondary plans that will guide the last phases of residential and employment growth originally designated in the Town’s 1997 Official Plan.

It also endorsed an update to that same official plan. The document now includes new ‘smart growth’ policies that will govern areas of future growth from 2015 to 2031.

By that time, Milton is projected to be a community of almost 240,000 and its urban fabric will stretch to Hwy. 407 in the east and Lower Base Line in the south.

Council unanimously approved all three plans. However, planning staff indicated Monday there’s a long list of future studies that still have to be completed including assessing the price tag for the infrastructure necessary to accommodate future growth. Those studies will likely result in tweaks to all three plans before Halton Region, the municipal planning authority, gives its stamp of approval.

While much planning is left undone, it was still imperative council approve the three plans Monday, according to staff.

The Province had set a deadline of June 16 for lower tier municipalities such as Milton to update their official plans to conform to legislation enacted earlier in the decade, such as the Greenbelt Plan and the Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe.

Milton’s new official plan also had to be brought into conformity with Halton Region’s December update to its own official plan, ROPA 38, the result of the Sustainable Halton planning process.

But there was no such such deadline for Milton to approve the two secondary plans, one for the Boyne Survey residential area to be built south of Louis St. Laurent Boulevard and another for the Derry Green Corporate Business Park destined for the area east of James Snow Parkway.

However, staff reports said the two plans must be completed by June 16 so that developments in the Boyne and Derry Green areas would be “grandfathered” and governed by the policies in the 1997 Official Plan rather than new less development-friendly ones contained in the updated official plan.

Those new policies, first outlined in Halton’s ROPA 38, could “potentially impact (the) feasability” of development in the Boyne and Derry Green areas due to their requirement for higher densities and the application of an enhanced natural heritage system that includes links between key natural features, stated staff reports reviewed by council.

The new policies also require all players at the table — the local municipalities, school boards, developers and the provincial and federal governments — to agree on what infrastructure is necessary to support “complete communities” and provide evidence the money is in place to build it, so that taxpayers don’t take the hit.

Municipal planners have said they expect these ‘growth must pay for itself’ policies to be challenged at the Ontario Municipal Board as soon as the Province signs off on ROPA 38.

Council didn’t discuss the decision to grandfather the two secondary plans. However, the Town’s consultant said after council it’s common practice for developments to be governed by the policies in place when they first began.

“Is it fair to change those (rules) in midstream?” asked consultant Elizabeth Howson rhetorically.

The policies in the updated official plan were applauded by local resident Steve Camilleri, who said he appreciated the focus on intensification and smarter development.

Camilleri, who lives near Derry and Holly roads, said he has lived in his community for four years but will only be getting a bus route this September.

Though he said he’s thankful to get it, he supported the municipality’s efforts to get transit on track quicker in the future.

“The answer is public transit and it needs to be looked at as an asset,” said Camilleri.

ROPA 38 policies require municipalities to have a plan in place to provide public transit to new subdivisions as they come on stream.

Another delegate to council took a dimmer view of intensification. Michael Fox, a resident of Frobisher Boulevard, petitioned council to reduce the heights allowed in the official plan for the section of Main Street in front of the GO Train station.

The plan allows the north side of Main Street across the street from the GO station, between Ontario Street and Thompson Road, currently occupied by low-rise commercial and industrial units, to be redeveloped into four-storey buildings, with potential for a maximum of three more storeys through typical bonusing provisions. Immediately adjacent to the GO Station, the plan allows for 10- to 14- storey buildings.

Fox said 72 of his neighbours, more than half of whom have pools, could be affected by shadows of buildings of that height.

However, Town staff responded the four-storey limit and the bonusing provisions haven’t changed since the 1997 Official Plan.

“To take away what is currently permitted without justification would be problematic,” Barb Koopmans, Milton’s senior manager of policy planning, told council.

She added developers are required to do a shadow impact study when filing their development application.

Through the site plan approval process, staff can mitigate any potential impact by buildings higher along the edge of Main Street but “step down” at the rear of the lot, she added.

Ward 4 Councillor Paul Scherer pointed out to Fox the original heights proposed the Town’s intesification background study called for buildings of six to eight storeys opposite the GO Station, which was ultimately dismissed in favour of keeping the status quo.

“I think we’ve done a reasonable job of protecting the neighbourhood,” said Scherer.

Ward 1 Councillor Rick Day was absent for the four-hour session as he was away on business, Mayor Gord Krantz said.

Council to Debate Hospital Tax Levy

Mike Cluett

From the Milton Canadian Champion May 20, 2010 By Tim Foran

Councillors to debate hospital tax levy

Milton council will debate whether to provide cash, perhaps through a dedicated tax levy, to assist Halton Healthcare Services Corporation’s as yet unapproved plans to expand Milton District Hospital.

At Monday’s council session, Ward 3 Councillor Cindy Lunau introduced a notice of motion, which Ward 4 Councillor Paul Scherer indicated he would second, stating the Town would “endeavour” to help HHS cover its share of the costs to redevelop the half-century-old hospital, which hasn’t undergone a major expansion since the mid-1980s.

The motion states the Town would research and identify potential funding mechanisms including the possibility of including a special property tax levy beginning next year.  Council will debate and vote on the motion at the June 28 council session. Lunau said she wanted the long lead time for the community to have an opportunity to provide feedback and plan to attend the session.

Under Provincial funding guidelines that began in June, 2006, Ontario pays for all of the planning costs and 90 per cent of the bricks and mortar for hospital capital projects. Previously, most capital cost share rates varied from 50 to 80 per cent depending on the project, the Province stated at the time.

However, the hospital corporation is still responsible for the remaining 10 per cent of construction costs along with covering the full cost of building revenue-generating facilities such as cafeterias, retail areas and parking lots as well as the medical equipment inside the hospital.

In total, depending on the equipment a hospital needs, that means the Province will cover around 70 per cent of the total project costs, with the hospital corporation paying the remaining portion, dubbed the local share.

The hospital has three ways to pay that local share: its own revenues from, for example, parking lot fees or stores; fundraising done by the Milton District Hospital Foundation; and through financial assistance from municipalities.

The problem Milton council tried to wrap its head around Monday is that HHS won’t provide the municipality with an estimate right now of how much money it would need.  “At the end of the day, if we put too much (money) away, that’s fine,” Scherer said to HHS President John Oliver during Monday’s council session.  “But we need a starting point.”

Oliver said he understood council’s frustration but he doesn’t want to float a dollar figure that would inevitably turn out to be wrong years later after more detailed planning has taken place.

The hospital provided a preliminary cost estimate when it presented its business case for the expansion to the Ministry of Health in September, 2008 but Oliver said after the council meeting that number is already out of date and he doesn’t wish to release it.

“It’s not just inflation, the original size and scope has evolved from the original business case,” he explained. He said he also doesn’t want to jeopardize a competitive bidding process by leaking expected total costs.

However, Oliver did provide council with a benchmark for comparison when he said the redevelopment planned for Milton’s hospital is at least as big as the one proposed for Burlington’s Joseph Brant Memorial Hospital. The first phase of the redevelopment of Jo Brant is projected to cost $312 million, with the local share pegged at $120 million. In December, Burlington’s city council committed to covering half of that cost, or $60 million, and has already started a dedicated property tax levy this year. The City of Vaughan last year committed $80 million to a proposed new hospital for its community. Both projects are also unapproved and are in competition with the Milton hospital expansion to get on the Province’s next 10-year list of infrastructure projects, to be released next year, likely as part of the 2011 budget.

However, the competition is not just among those three hospitals. The Ministry of Health is currently prioritizing at least 50 other proposed hospital projects before submitting its list of requests to the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure, which will ultimately decide on the 10-year capital plan.

Other ministries are also prioritizing their own lists of proposed capital projects, one of which includes the proposed Wilfrid Laurier University campus in Milton. That prioritization is expected to take place over the next three months, said Jason Grier, a professional lobbyist from Hill and Knowlton working on behalf of HHS.

One of the things the Ministry of Health will be looking for during this time when prioritizing projects is whether the hospital corporation has a firm plan to meet its local share commitments, Grier said after council Monday.

“They don’t want to move forward on projects that aren’t going to have that local share commitment because then the project isn’t going to happen,” explained Grier, who served as executive assistant to George Smitherman when he was health minister in the provincial government.

Oliver told council it would help the hospital if the Town made a firm commitment of financial support. “I don’t know if you need to put a dollar figure behind it right now.”