As promised, Im attaching a copy of the 2012 Pre Budget Consultation report to council for tonights meeting. I havent read through the presentation in detail as of yet, but if you have a few moments click and download for review.
town of milton
Walking Piano Steps – A good idea?
Does anyone remember the movie BIG? Tom Hanks and the famous giant piano scene?
Would you like to see those similar piano keys on the steps of the Milton Arts Centre? Councillor Huffman asked staff for a report on the viability, cost, etc of installing these piano keys on the steps of the Arts Centre. That report can be found here.
The picture here is of something similar, but not to the spec’s of the Milton Centre for the Arts. The cost is approximately $92,000. The staff recommendation is to approve the project once there is a sponsor available to pay for it.
After speaking with some people around town, some feel it will look tacky and cheapen the look of the Arts Centre that we just spent MILLIONS of dollars on and its not even open yet and we will have to tear up the steps removing the tile and replace it with this.
Do you think this would be a draw for tourism? Would you come from out of town to see this? This installation is apparently popular overseas and this would be the first one in North America.
Feedback?
There has been a lot of feedback on the Hawthorne Villager Forum (which is administered by ward 7 Councillor Rick Di Lorenzo) and you can find the comments on that thread here.
Here are some of MY comments:
This process is backwards as far as Im concerned. We have the approximate costs for the stairs done, which is fine. Council can receive the report for information.mike@mikecluett.ca with your comments/input for Monday’s meeting.Any other comments?
Next part of the process should be feedback from the Arts Centre. Does this “fit” into the vision of the MAC or does it take away from the feel of the building. For those who havent been inside, despite the outside appearance, its really well done and elegant on the inside. If I can get in or if anyone has any pics we should show them for sure.
After feedback has been received and given an “OK” that the MAC would support something like this, THEN we go out to the business community and search for a sponsor. That way we have the approx cost of the stairs AND the thumbs up from those who will be running it.
If we cant find a sponsor or sponsors for the full amount then the project should be shelved. Im not comfortable as a CSAC member and as a councillor suggesting these sponsor(s) make an application to the community fun for the difference. I’d hate to be on CSAC and have to deny funding for someone who qualifies under the Community Fund guidelines because $X was given for the piano steps.
If the private sector cant come up with the funding for this, I think we should pass. That wont be known until we hear from that business/arts community which is the reason why council (IMO) should wait before giving the project the green light.
We can receive the report for information, consult the people involved and address any maintenance issues/safety issues etc that might be on peoples minds, then go to the business community and get the full cost.
There are more important things for council to be considering right now like the 2012 budget call reports, hospital expansion funding, building/maintaining our roads and traffic calming policies.
Feel free to post here or email me mike@mikecluett.ca
Thompson & Louis St Laurent UPDATE
I have received a few postings on my Facebook page (Click on the Facebook logo to the right and join up!) about the status of Thompson Road and Louis St Laurent.
During the last municipal campaign, we talked about trying to get a signalled pedestrian crosswalk in front of the Metro mall so it would make it easier for people on the east side of Thompson to go to the splash pad and soccer fields instead of getting in their vehicles, going across Thompson Road, park and enjoy the wonderful area there. Likewise, people on the west side of Thompson told me that they have to get in their cars, cross Thompson Road and then park to go shopping at the mall.
We were notified by town staff recently that the intersection of Louis St Laurent and 25 will be completed soon and traffic will flow east and west now, which will help alleviate some congestion on Britannia Road. Paul Cripps brought this up at one of our recent meetings and in response I asked about traffic lights at Thompson and LSL. He informed us that they are pushing to make sure the lights are installed at the same time LSL and 25 is complete. Once that intersection is complete, traffic along LSL will increase which will require
At this coming Monday’s town council meeting there is a purchasse that will be authorized to get the materials needed for Thompson and LSL traffic lights, which shows its on the move.
HOPEFULLY this will help pedestrians cross the road safer. There will be lines for pedestrians to cross at this intersection and I urge EVERYONE instead of crossing mid-traffic to the park to use the intersection and cross there. I will continue to monitor this intersection after its done to see if it helps the problem of pedestrian traffic. If not, I’ll be asking town staff to look into the possibility of a signalled crosswalk.
Thank you to everyone who has emailed me their concerns and I hope we can continue the conversation as these changes happen. I’ll keep everyone in the loop as to the exact date we will have the lights installed, but it looks like late June as a possibility.
Do You Have Your Wristband?
Recently the Tiger Jeet Singh Foundation started a fundraising campaign to help the families and children of Japan affected by the massive earthquake and tsunami. The Tiger’s are international stars with a very large following in many regions around the world including Japan and they have never forgotten this. They were touched as other Canadians were at the plight of families in Japan and in the hope of helping them out, they are raising funds through their foundation by selling these wristbands.
From the Tiger Jeet Singh Foundation site:
Tiger Jeet Singh’s connection to Japan is longstanding. He has spent the majority of his 45-year wrestling career in Japan and his son Tiger Jr. made his professional debut close to twenty years ago in Tokyo. Both fondly refer to Japan as their second home and have also held the country, and even more so the children of Japan, in a special place in their hearts. That is why this event focuses on the students’ contribution along with corporate support, to provide emergency supplies and relief to help those young lives following this disaster.
The Foundation will provide Halton schools with customized red and white wrist bands symbolizing the colors of the Canadian and Japanese flags, and decorated in a manner to demonstrate support for the students in Japan. There will be an inscription of “KIDZ 4 KIDZ – United We Rise” illustrating the children supporting one another and paying tribute to the Japanese flag of the ‘Rising’ Sun. There will also be a Japanese inscription, which translated means “We Pray for Japan”.
You can help support these efforts by purchasing your wristbands either through the Foundations website or by going to Troy’s Diner in downtown Milton and each one costs only $5 each.
All proceeds from the sale of the wrist bands will go towards the Japan Relief Campaign. The bands are available for $5 each and are offered in both small (7″) and large (8″) sizes.
Description:
Customized red and white wrist bands symbolizing the colours of the Canadian and Japanese flags and decorated in a manner to demonstrate support for the young students in Japan. There will be an inscription of “KIDZ 4 KIDZ – United We Rise” illustrating the children supporting one another and paying tribute to the Japanese flag of the ‘Rising’ Sun. There will also be a Japanese inscription, which translated means “We Pray for Japan”.
Please help support the campaign and ask Troy for your wristband and together we can help families and the children of Japan. You can find out more information by going to www.tigerjeetsinghfoundation.com
Disappointment at Health Ministers Visit to Milton
This marks the third time in a year where a “high profile” member of the Ontario government has visited Milton to make a speech and failed to acknowledge the importance of the expansion of Milton District Hospital.
Earlier this year at the Mayors Breakfast for the Milton Chamber of Commerce, Infrastructure Minister Bob Chiarelli also spoke at lengths about what the McGuinty government has done, but failed to even mention the number one issue in Milton.
Before that Premier Dalton McGuinty was asked directly about Milton’s chances for hospital expansion given the fact that council had approved at 1% tax levy for the hospital expansion reserve account and he replied with this…
Now we have the other minister responsible for making the decision on the expansion of MDH failing to mention it.
Disappointment doesnt cover what the people of Milton are thinking right now.
Kathy Yanchus, CANADIAN CHAMPION STAFF
It was what Ontario Health and Longterm Care Minister Deb Matthews didn’t say that sparked discussion following her quick departure from a shortened version of her ‘Women and Politics’ speech, hosted Wednesday morning by Liberal provincial candidate Indira Naidoo-Harris.
Disappointment was expressed among the small group assembled at Casa Americo Italian Restaurant that Matthews didn’t touch on some of the subjects they had hoped, including the proposed Milton District Hospital (MDH) expansion.
As Matthews was hastened into her waiting vehicle by ministry staff to address a matter of urgency in Question Period, Naidoo-Harris assured those in attendance that she had invited the minister to tour MDH in the near future and mentioned the 18 new hospitals built since the Liberals took office in 2003.
With a slideshow operating behind her, Matthews introduced herself as a mother and grandmother, factors, she said, that influence her decisions as head of one of the largest ministries in the provincial government and one of the many influential women in the Liberal caucus. She interspersed talk about government costs and savings and initiatives with comments about the influence and values women bring to their positions.
“Women bring different experiences, different priorities to the job,” she said. “We want more women and are absolutely committed to bringing more women into caucus.”
When she looks into the eyes of her four grandchildren, Matthews said she sees not just their potential, but that of all Ontario children, and it’s the government’s job to ensure the province’s youth have what they need to reach that potential.
“Education is the key to unlocking that potential,” said Matthews.
She identified the Liberals’ full day kindergarten initiative as a courageous one in tough economic times. Currently there are 35,000 children enrolled in full day kindergarten and the plan is to implement it into all Ontario schools by 2014. So far, said Matthews, the children enrolled are “very much up to the job” and it represents a savings in daycare costs to parents.
Decreasing high school dropout rates and increasing post-secondary enrollment represent tremendous improvements in education in the province, she said.
“And we wouldn’t be talking about poverty reduction if not for women in caucus,” said Matthews, crediting Liberal tax changes and an increase to the minimum wage for boosting the incomes of struggling single moms working fulltime. “This takes us back to education; we have to ensure children get the education they need to break the cycle of poverty.
“If we didn’t have a strong caucus of women we wouldn’t have this kind of social justice.”
Shaving hundreds of millions off the cost of drugs, increasing Ontarians access to primary care, adding more long-term care beds and improving seniors’ programs to allow them to stay in their own homes longer are other successful and ongoing Liberal initiatives on her ministry’s agenda, said Matthews. “Maybe it takes a woman to understand you have to shake things up and do what’s right.”
Tigerfest Card Announced for June 4th 2011
Here is the line up for Saturday June 4th for Tigerfest 2011.
PLUS a special Main Event Match TO BE ANNOUNCED LATER.