town of milton

Milton Haunted House a HUGE Success

Mike Cluett

This past weekend at the Milton Mall was another edition of the Milton Haunted House.  Hundreds of children, young and old, made their way through a maze of ghouls n ghosts with surprises around every corner.

The Haunted House originated from Ward 7 Councillor Rick Di Lorenzo’s garage in Hawthorne Village.  People used to come from all over town to visit his home during Halloween to take part in his ghoulish creation.  Just last year, Rick along with others held this event at the Pirate Festival and raised over $5,700 for Milton District Hospital Foundation.

This years goal was $10,000 and even though the donations are still being counted, we are confident we either hit or surpassed our goal.  On behalf of the team (which included a LOT of people) I want to thank Miltonians for their generosity.  Our donation boxes were filled to the brim over the course of the two days and we were blown away by the enthusiam of the residents of our town.

To Rick and his even more enthusiastic mother 🙂 , Zeeshan, Jennifer, Kim, Ed, and the MANY volunteers, actors, face painters, greeters, raffle ticket sellers and everyone who took part in the event….THANK YOU!

Another big THANK YOU goes to the sponsors of the event who helped us out.  MinMaxx Realty, Milton Canadian Champion, Mattamy Homes, SST Group, Milton Nail Spa and of course without the help and space from Milton Mall, this couldnt have happened.

Taking Miranda around trick or treating last night I had the chance to hear directly from people who did come to the haunted house and the reviews were fantastic and they cant wait for next year.  There are a bunch of volunteers who are pretty tired and who also have the fun task of taking down the scary structure in the mall but Im sure theyll be ready to go for next year.

I was happy to help out this weekend and it was great to see all the smiling faces and the kids who came back more than once to get the full effects of the haunted house.  Some didnt make it through all the way and had to turn back but Im sure next year they will be back again.

Thanks again to Rick for the concept of the haunted house and thanks to his wife Nicole who is expecting their second child any day now.  Thanks for letting Rick do this.

We will see you next year.  Stay tuned for the final total … all in support of the Milton District Hospital Foundation.  Our community needs this hospital expanded and the community showed just how much this weekend.  Thank you! 

Remembrance Day in Milton

Mike Cluett

Bright red poppy’s are appearing on the lappels of suits and jackets everywhere which means Remembrance Day is approaching.  This is a time where we remember those who gave their life for our country in battles all over the world during our history.

Its also a time to remember those soldiers who came back to tell the stories of these battles and to thank them for their service to our country.  Over the next week, there will be volunteers from the Royal Canadian Legion at storefronts all over Milton with poppy’s.  Make sure you thank the veterans and donate for a poppy.

There are two more ceremonies to be held in Milton for Remembrance Day.  The next one is on Sunday November 6th at Milton Town Hall cenotaph starting at 1:30PM.

If you cant make it on Sunday, you can join Legion Members at the Milton Evergreen Cemetery at 11AM for a brief ceremony.

Please take the time to remember those who helped make our country and other countries free and pay respects to those who did not make it back.  Canada is a great place and will continue to be a great place because of their sacrifice.

Lest we forget.

Celebrating Stories Oct 23 2011

Mike Cluett

Ward 3 Councillor Cindy Lunau wanted to make sure she passed this information on to as many people in Milton.  Please join us at the Milton Centre for the Arts on Sunday Oct 23rd from 12-4pm  for a Celebrating Stories event.

Celebrating Stories A Family Festival (formerly known as Milton’s Book Festival for Children) is a free family literacy event dedicated to promoting Canadian talent and encouraging reading and writing.  It is a fun filled afternoon of musical entertainment and interactive sessions with authors, illustrators, and storytellers.

Some of the talent includes:

  • Joe Ellen Bogart
  • Ruth Ohi
  • Lana Button
  • Mahtab Narsimhan
  • Kevin Sylvester
  • Helaine Becker
  • Jude Johnson

This event is completly free of charge and for a schedule of times and room click http://www.celebratingstories.ca/schedule.htm

We hope to see you there!!

Milton In The Race For Pan AM Velodrome

Mike Cluett

From The Hamilton Spectator ONLINE

By Matthew Van Dongen

Milton is racing to bid for the permanent Pan Am indoor cycling facility turned down by Hamilton council.

The council for the booming town of about 90,000 decided Monday make a pitch for the controversial velodrome after receiving a letter from Pan Am officials last week offering a last-minute chance to bid on the venue.

That letter was quickly delivered to several municipalities last Wednesday after Hamilton council effectively turned down a chance to build the 250-metre track by offering only $5 million towards the project, which Infrastructure Ontario estimates could cost up to $45 million. Pan Am cities are expected to pay, or find partners to help cover, about 44 per cent of new venue costs.

“We think it could be a really good fit for us, if all the pieces fall together,” Councillor Mike Cluett said Tuesday. “But it is a really, really tight timeline … and I think the general feeling is if we can’t reduce the impact on the taxpayer, it probably won’t happen.”

Cluett said the town is putting together a basic “expression of interest” by the Oct. 20 Pan Am deadline, but noted the “real work” involves trying to find other funding partners for the pricey project before Nov. 30 — the date Games officials have set for a host municipality to sign a binding agreement.

Councillors are tentatively looking at setting aside six of about 150 acres of town-owned land already slated for a research park partnership with Wilfrid Laurier University and Sheridan College.

Cluett said staff will go first to the academic institutions to gauge interest in shared project-funding. But private sector funding, he said, will be “the main focus.”

“Milton is growing so fast and the number of companies that want to be here is huge,” he said. “We think we have an opportunity (with the velodrome) to tap into that.”

This isn’t the first time Milton has stepped up with a Pan Am rescue offer when Hamilton appeared ready to drop the ball.

The town also offered a stadium site for the Games during the long-running argument over where the new home of the Ticats should go.

Mississauga councillors are expected to decide whether to bid on the velodrome in a meeting Wednesday.

 

From CHCH News

Why Didnt You Vote?

Mike Cluett

A lot of interesting discussion and polls over the last week since the provincial election in Ontario trying to come up with “THE” reason why people didn’t vote.  As you are aware, the voter participation in our last election was the lowest in MANY MANY years.  Here in Halton the number was below even the provincial average.  The Champion covers it here.

So to those who voted, I say THANK YOU for taking the time to learn the platforms, talk to the candidates and take the time to head to either the advance polls or on election day to exercise your right to vote.

NOW…to those who didn’t vote don’t get me wrong.  I am NOT saying you were wrong because many people didn’t vote for different reasons.  The party leaders didn’t “speak directly to you” … you didn’t agree with any of the party platforms … you didn’t like any of the candidates who were running…

No matter what your reason for NOT voting, Id like to hear from you.  Why didn’t you?  Was it lack of opportunity?  Did the local candidates not impress you?  Were the leaders of the provincial parties out of touch?

Take some time and post a comment here on my blog and let me know.

Also, what would it take to get you to vote?  What can “we” do as elected officials do or say to change your mind about not voting?

I look forward to hearing your comments.

I’ll see you at the doors.

Administration & Planning Committee Meeting September 19 2011

Mike Cluett

The video of this meeting is now online.  Follow the link to the online stream of the Admin & Planning Standing Committee meeting.

This coming Monday Sepetember 19th is the Administration & Planning Standing Committee meeting at Town Hall starting at 7pm.  

This Committee consists of five Councillors and the Mayor. Committee members review all reports, formulate policy and make recommendations to Council on matters over which Council has authority under the Municipal Act, the Planning Act and other legislation. Recommendations are made in the areas of corporate administration, personnel, legal issues, planning and finance.

The Administration and Planning Committee reviews the operating and capital budgets as well as various financial matters affecting the Town of Milton.

The agenda for the meeting can be found here.

Some of the highlites include:

As always you can watch online on Monday night at 7pm.  If you have any questions or comments for any of these reports, please email me mike@mikecluett.ca