town of milton

Main Street PARTY Part 2

Mike Cluett

I can’t believe its been a year already. Last year around this time, we were in the midst of Milton’s 150th anniversary celebrations and the summertime was kicked off by a massive street party in downtown Milton.

Here we go again, as the old saying goes. This year is different because the 150th master committee isnt in charge. The event was so successful last year, the town of Milton, who has partnered up with the local DBIA, had decided to make it an annual event.

Being a part of the master committee that was involved in creating such an event, and then seeing it grow to become an yearly party is humbling to say the least. The master committee and untold numbers of volunteers made it a highly successful party and this year looks to be just as good, if not better.

The party gets started this coming Saturday. There’s a Facebook group if you’re interested in knowing more about the events. Local bands will be playing all day long so come out and support MILTON talent. Forget Canadian Idol folks…the real talent is here in Milton.

There are a few bands Im looking forward to checking out including Plan B and The Randalls as well.

Make sure you’re there for the Party of the Year in Milton. Here’s a link to the list of bands that will be playing…something for everyone!

See you there!

Is Milton doing an "Outstanding Job"?

Mike Cluett

In the May 9th edition of the Milton Canadian Champion, town CAO Mario Belvedere said the town of Milton was doing an “outstanding job” managing growth and roads over the past several years.

Town doing ‘outstanding job’: CAO

Town of Milton CAO Mario Belvedere tells council growth has been managed well overall

Melanie Hennessey, Published on May 09, 2008

While things may not be perfect when it comes to the timing of development and infrastructure in Milton, Town staff says that overall it’s doing a good job in managing growth.

This was one of the key messages staff delivered on Monday afternoon at an information workshop for council on growth management.

CAO Mario Belvedere told council he feels that generally the Town has done an outstanding job in managing growth.

He acknowledged there might be “hiccups” when it comes to things like the timing of road construction.

“But other than that we’ve done a pretty darn good job,” he said.

Town Director of Planning and Development Mel Iovio shared similar sentiments.

He said the planning, development phasing and financial agreements the Town has struck with developers have generally resulted in a controlled and logical growth pattern.

“I think we’re in pretty good shape,” he remarked.

He noted the fast rate of growth has caused some inconvenience, but on the plus side it’s resulted in communities being completed much faster.

Town Director of Engineering Services Paul Cripps pointed out that some roads projects are being fast-tracked through the Accelerated Transportation Capital Program, such as the widening of Derry Road from Tremaine Road to Bronte Street.

The work wasn’t slated to get underway until next year, but the timeline has now been moved up so that construction will start this spring and wrap up in the fall.

“We want to continue working with the development community to accelerate as many roads projects as we can,” he said.

He went on to outline other Town and Region road works scheduled to take place from now until 2021. Within the next few years, those projects include:

2008 — construction of James Snow Parkway from Steeles Avenue to Boston Church Road

2008 — reconstruction of Thompson Road from Derry Road to Main Street

2010 — construction of a road underpass on Main Street at the CPR tracks

2010 — widening Regional Road 25 from two lanes to four between Derry and Britannia roads

Cripps explained the timing of the projects coincides with when the “capacity crunch” will come along for those roads.

The downside of this, he said, is the pressure the Town receives from residents who are pushing for roads to be up to par before the development boom.

But Cripps said there’s also an advantage. With the new roads coming on board after the majority of developers’ heavy construction traffic has come and gone, residents will “get a brand new road with a maximum life expectancy.”

Ward 3 Councillor Cindy Lunau asked staff to keep in mind the road upgrades that are also required in the rural area. “We need to reserve a certain portion of our budget each year to maintain the quality of life in the rural area.”

Cripps said staff is mindful of the needs in rural Milton.

The workshop also included presentations from each of the Town’s senior staff members on the responsibilities and roles of their departments when it comes to planning for growth. For example, the Corporate Services department handles development charges and the financial agreements made with developers, Engineering Services looks after transportation issues and Community Services plans for facilities like arenas.

Iovio detailed the numerous items on the Planning and Development department’s plate for the coming years, including plans for the Derry Green Business Park, the next phase of residential development and the Milton Education Village, which will hopefully see Wilfrid Laurier University come to Milton.

Melanie Hennessey can be reached at mhennessey@miltoncanadianchampion.com

***

While I will disagree with some people who say the towns done a horrible job managing growth, outstanding isn’t a word I’d be using. That article made the town and its council sound very arrogant. Bad choice of words. It almost ranks up there with Mayor Gord Krantz telling the Champion during an interview that Milton didn’t have a traffic congestion problem right under a picture of Thompson Road (before all the work started) backed up from Main Street to Derry Road.

I think it isn’t up to the town to decide if they are doing a great job as only time will tell that tale for certain.

This article brought up a number of responses in the Letters to the Editor. Hmmm, next time a slice of humility before speaking with the press, shall we? It’s making those of us, like the author of this blog, who know everything look bad.

***

Let us decide if Town is doing the ‘wonderful’ job CAO claims

Published on May 16, 2008

In last Friday’s Champion, the front-page headline read ‘Town doing outstanding job: CAO.’

I think it would be a good idea if town council and members of regional council took a look around Milton before they decide how “wonderful” things are.

If they really want to know how things are going, they should have a town hall meeting and invite townspeople to speak about this subject — without limiting how people can voice their opinions and views.

AGOSTINO GALIOTO, MILTON

Comment on management of growth tough to swallow

Published on May 16, 2008

As a 22-year resident and taxpayer of Milton, it pained me to read the verbal diarrhea that emanated from the lips of our illustrious Town of Milton CAO, Mario Belvedere, at a recent town council meeting.

He stated that the Town is doing an “outstanding” job and that growth has been managed well overall. Not surprisingly, the statement was supported by his minions in the planning and engineering departments, who make me ask — outstanding compared to what?

The term outstanding is used to describe things that are exceptional, terrific, wonderful, stupendous, dazzling, marvelous, excellent, great or superior, not abysmal, myopic, unresolved, unsettled or incomplete.

Attempts to downplay the glaringly-visible deficiencies that plague Milton are disappointing to say the least, as statements suggesting there might be “hiccups” when it comes to things like the timing of road construction can only lead one to believe there have been and will continue to be numerous glitches, interruptions and setbacks. In my opinion, this has been characteristic of the progress of the roadwork and other infrastructure-related projects to date in Milton.

Now one may ask, how was the City of Mississauga able to implement access roadways into and out of subdivisions — equipped with proper turn lanes, fully-functioning street lights and pedestrian crossing systems — prior to new subdivisions being completed? Might it have something to do with the fact that the City of Mississauga actually controlled the manner and pace in which growth was implemented?

This logic seems to have evaded the grasp of the current director of engineering services, whose portfolio includes both transportation and community services plans for recreational facilities such as arenas.

In terms of roadways, commuters traveling east on Derry Road are now treated to a traffic backlog stretching all the way from Trafalgar Road down to Trudeau Drive.

Sixth Line south of Britannia Road is another source of commuter frustration, as drivers are greeted with an absence of turn lanes and traffic lights. Town Engineering Services Director Paul Cripps’ reply to this is that “staff is mindful of the needs in rural Milton.” Okay, prove it.

Meanwhile, Milton District Hospital is a mess that speaks to the collective inaction by the four levels of government within our area to ensure it’s able to adequately service the health-care needs of Miltonians. It’s abundantly clear that it isn’t.

I’m thankful my children were born between 1988 and 1992 when the hospital was able to adequately manage the patient load, and the emergency room was treating emergencies.

What has the Town of Milton’s executive and administration done in conjunction with the Region of Halton, provincial and federal levels of government to ensure the provincial minister of health, premier of Ontario and federal minister of health are aware of our hospital’s needs? And what has the Town done to secure the requisite funding to resolve the hospital’s need for expansion?

C.J. MCCARROLL, MILTON

***

OUCH. Maybe the Town needs a little help getting ready the next time it decides to pat itself on the back.

Where will ward one go

Mike Cluett

Is the town making the right decision by looking at changing the ward boundries in Milton?

By the sounds of this letter to the Champion last week, they might be jumping the gun. Milton resident Robert Harris states that the Town of Milton should wait until the Region of Halton completes its “Sustainable Halton” plan before making changes to how the town is divided up. Here’s the letter…

Doing review of town’s ward boundaries now is premature

Published on May 20, 2008

Hats off to Councillor Colin Best, who stated the obvious at a recent town council meeting about waiting for the Sustainable Halton plan as the template to follow before realigning ward boundaries in Milton.

He has shown that he can envision town growth and at the same time save taxpayers money — a sum of $40,000.

The optics around this ward boundary review recommended by council don’t look good at this time. Some would look at it as an attempt by some councillors to possibly ensure another term in office by surgically removing urban growth within their wards.

It could be initially viewed as an effect to ensure representation for rural Milton, but the consultant’s report will probably recommend a reduction in councillors in these sparsely-populated wards, favouring representation for urban areas.

Rural Milton stands to come up shorter in representation as a result of this poorly-timed initiative.

Best’s view to wait until the 2014 election to realign ward boundaries is prudent and falls in line with regional council’s decision.

The Region has stated that there’s to be no change in the number of councillors representing Milton until the 2014 election.

I say wait, Milton council, and save the taxpayers some money. This will prevent the possible hassle of a future Ontario Municipal Board hearing over proposed ward boundaries that will require changes again after another four years of growth.

ROBERT HARRIS, GOWLANDS CRESCENT

In case you missed it, the Town of Milton recently commissioned a study to review the ward boundaries for the next municipal election in 2010. Currently, the town has 4 wards with two councillors serving for each ward. For much of the new area south of Derry, we live in whats called ward one.

Before the “big pipe” was built and the throngs of new homes were constructed here, ward one was mainly a rural ward much like ward 3. Seeing ow the majority of the growth has happened here, theres a population spike in our ward and what looks like an unfair balance in the way we are represented on council.

Councillor Brian Penman at the April 28th meeting of council stated that it was difficult to answer the calls and emails from the growing number of residents in ward one. It is this logic which brings us to the changing of the boundaries in Milton.

Yes it does need to be done. Right now ward one has the largest population of all the wards and continues to grow with every new family that takes possession of their new homes. The population will continue to grow over the next couple of years and if I plan on running again in 2010 for town council, it will essentially be double the size of 2006 election. (I need the exercise anyways)

Milton, we have a problem. The Region of Halton has yet to make formal its “Sustainable Halton” initiative which will make clearer what new developments are going to be approved and when. While it might seem that Milton has reached its peak in development and population, there is still lots of land to build homes and businesses in the coming years. The Town of Milton has just entered into talks for the Wilfred Laurier University education park, which would bring thousands of new residents to town to continue their studies.

The land surrounding the hospital is to be developed for commercial and residential use, not to mention HOPEFULLY the province gets off its duff, and makes changes to ensure the expansion of Milton’s hospital (thats another rant) and many more subdivisions to come.

Regional Councillor Colin Best made mention of this very fact at that meeting and urged council to hold off until the Region has finalized its plans.

With all this new development to come, it could change the population of the now Ward one area by upwards of 40,000. Then at that time, changes would have to be made again.

So whats the hurry then? Why doesn’t it make sense to Milton council to hold off on the ward changes and wait for the Region in 2014 and then make the much needed adjustments to the wards? Good questions.

This doesn’t even touch the cost of the program yet. The Town staff has budgeted $40,000 to pay for the study to be done. Dr. Robert Williams, who is a political science professor is also doing a similar study for the city of Kitchener and is expected to make his ideas known soon. I do have a problem with the cost of this study and where the money was to be coming from.

The Town of Milton gets a per centage of the revenues from the Mohawk Racetrack just north in Milton. Its a great deal that was signed awhile back to ensure the racetrack gives back to the town. These revenues are to go to programs like the Milton Community Fund that helps organizations and events in town with raising money to help better our community. Proceeds from the racetrack revenues are NOT to go to operating expenses but towards programs like this and possibly capital programs to help the town grow.

It would be like you turn to your spouse and ask them to go to the corner store to buy a lottery ticket so you can afford to buy milk and bread for your family. Its just wrong.

The money to commission this report was going to come from that fund…which is wrong. Town staff does the odd thing right but this idea, whoever it was, is just plain stupid. Before the motion was passed by council, they made an amendment to have the cost of the study come from the Capital Works reserve fund.

So, given the fact that once the Region finalizes the SH plan, we as a town will have to do this all over again. Lets save $40,000 from our reserve funds and wait. The councillors can tough it out for another few years to give the residents the representation they need and once completed, we can get it right.

It doesnt seem that council is thinking that way. So, $40,000 is tossed away on a study that can wait and those funds can go to something else the town needs. The Town of Milton seems to like spending money.

Don’t get me started on how the Town of Milton is spending its away into financial problems…again, another post for another day. Seeing how time is limited with the new addition to the family, I have to pace myself in my rants to avoid bursts in blood pressure.

The topic was also brought up casually during the discussions of the April 28th meeting that they might want to look at making the Milton town council a full time position instead of what it currently is, a part time job.

While nothing was brought forward formally regarding the change in job description, the seed has now been planted to talk about it.

WLU coming to Milton?

Mike Cluett

I was able to take sometime tonight to attend a Milton Town Council meeting and as the old saying goes….

Breaking news!!!!

Milton CAO Mario Belvedere is making a presentation to council about the proposed education village in Milton. During his report he made official that Wilfred Laurier University has entered into a memorandum of understanding to work on bringing a campus to Milton.

The proposed site would be on Tremaine Road south of Derry Road and north of Britannia on the west side.

There’s still a lot of work to be done to get this rolling more but it’s the first step to bringing a university to our town.

More to come.

Also, here’s a link to the story in The Record  and in today’s Milton Canadian Champion.

Halton Region Police Services is outlining some of the benchmark statistics in the region of Halton and more specifically in the Town of Milton.

Many of the major stats have shown a decline in Milton like the number of violent crimes, robberies and incidents of impaired driving remaining the same.

Also included in the report is new technology (like photo radar) for residential streets that will send an occurrence report to the registered owner of the vehicle.

Again, more to come.

150th Kudos

Mike Cluett

150th Group

As many of my blog readers are aware, I was heavily involved in Milton’s 150th Anniversary Celebrations for 2007.  It was an amazing time in my life as I got to learn more about our town and its rich history and we got to celebrate the town and the people who made it what it is today.

I can tell you from personal experience that a lot of work goes into planning these events.  It started back in 2005 during a selection process where a number of Miltonians signed up to volunteer their time and efforts.  We first met with the council committee in charge of organizing the team and after what seemed to be a very grueling interview process, I along with a number of others were chosen to head the master committee.

At our first meeting I was appointed the chair of the committee along with Karin Muller and other volunteers who represented the Town of Milton, Mayor Gord Krantz, Lorrie Ferrante, Janet Davidson and council member Cindy Lunau.  We also had members of the Milton Historical Society come on board which included Bruce Carlin.  It was back then where we came up with the idea for our core events to mark the amazing achievement of 150 years.

The committee came up with 4 main events to be held during the 2007 year which included a Winter Fun Fair at the Thompson arena, a summertime street party, Canada Day celebrations and the finale of the Amazing Race.

Part way during the spring of 2006 I had to step down as Chair of the committee due to some increased responsibilities at my employer, as well as the fact I had launched my municipal campaign for town council in Ward One (which has been outlined here in the blog).  At that point in my life, time was very limited and with the celebration plans underway, I didnt want anything to slip through the cracks.  Karin Muller stepped in as chair and along with her hard work and dedication she continued the efforts that were started and brought the celebrations to a reality.  I of course stayed on as a member of the master committee and with the rest of the group we came up with a year full of highlights.

Some of the highlights for me include the Canada Day Celebrations where we had created the Milton Walk of Fame.  During our several meetings in 2005 and 2006 we wanted something memorable to come from this committee and the idea of honouring the people who made an impact on our town, our province and our country was perfect.  With the Town Hall being expanded to include a more modern facility while maintaining its roots, we devised a walk of fame that would bridge the new part of town hall with the older part.

The deliberations for the first inductees to the Walk of Fame were very long as the number of people who we felt made that kind of an impact on Milton were many.  Even the most knowledgeable people in town didn’t realize a number of people who had roots in Milton who were a big part of our culture.

From artists like Albert Casson , to high profile members of the media like Susan Delacourt and Ernie “Mr Dressup” Coombs, to political leaders like Senator Betty Kennedy, to many noteable names in town like Jim Dills, Chris Hadfield, PL Robertson and professional athletes like Tiger Jeet and Tiger Ali Singh, Bruce Hood, John Toneli, Leon Stickle and others , the names were many.

On a beautiful Canada Day in 2007 hundreds of Mitonians showed up the the fairgrounds and watched as each inductee was introduced and given the honour of being the first people to grace the Walk of Fame.  The speeches were emotional, funny and thought provoking but the main theme of all of them was that they were incredibly proud and honoured for this achievement.

Out of all the events that we organized from the ground up, this to me was the most gratifying.  There were other events of course.

The summertime street party in June that brought out thousands to the downtown core of Milton with games, events, fun times, music and most importantly the opportunity to celebrate this amazing town of Milton and its people.  The weather was perfect and many people called and emailed the town to find out if this was going to be a regular event.

This past budget the Town of Milton allocated funds to preparing for this summers street party, so stay tuned to www.milton.ca for more information on that event.

Selling merchandise

Another great time was the Winter Fun Fair where many people braved the sub zero temperatures to join us for a family skate at the Thompson area.  We were joined by the legendary NHL hockey player Johnny Bower and the Milton Ice Hawks team had a very brief and very cold game outside as well.  Kids were there to enjoy the games and activities in the warmer area and lined up to get their hockey sticks signed by members of the Ice Hawks and Johnny Bower.  We knew then that this was going to be a great year.

And it was.  The final event of the year was the Amazing Race where many teams registered and showed their town spirit in an event that would take them all around downtown Milton.  The teams were, forgive the pun, amazing and very creative.  This event was organized by Karin Muller who replaced her dining room furniture and decor with organizational charts and paper to make sure the event went off without a hitch.  There were untold numbers of hours put into that event and Karin did an incredible job.

I say all of this because on April 5th at the Granite Ridge Golf Club, the Milton Chamber of Commerce Community Awards Gala will be honouring Miltons volunteers and businesses in one night.  In the coveted Presidents Award, 3 integral members of the committee will be honoured.  Karin Muller and Bruce Carlin from the Milton Historical Society will receive the 2007 Presidents Award for their leadership on the 150th Master Committee.

Karin “took the ball” as the old saying goes and ran with it to help create an incredible celebration to mark a very significant part of Miltons history.  They deserve it for all their hard work.  Congratulations!

Federal Budget Benefits Municipalities

Mike Cluett

A couple of days ago, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty released his third budget. This is something unheard of for a minority government being able to have this many budgets without being defeated. In many cases, they’re doing a good job and while most Canadians don’t want an election, they seem comfortable with our MP’s in this minority situation.

Some of the big highlights for towns and cities are as follows:

  • Strengthening Public Transit

    Public transit plays an important role in easing traffic congestion in urban areas and contributing to cleaner air and lower greenhouse gas emissions. In Budget 2006, the Government set aside $1.3 billion in support of public transit infrastructure and introduced a new tax credit for public transit passes.

    Budget 2008 sets aside up to $500 million in 2007–08 to be paid into a third-party trust, allocated on a provincial-territorial per capita basis, for public transit infrastructure. Funding will be paid into the trust, once legislation has been passed, for only those beneficiaries that have made public commitments before March 31, 2008 to undertake investments in public transit. The beneficiaries of the trust will have the flexibility to draw down the funding as they require over the next two years. They are encouraged to report publicly on the expenditures financed and outcomes achieved.

    The trust will be used for specific projects of capital infrastructure such as rapid transit, rail, transit buses, and high occupancy vehicle and bicycle lanes.

This means more federal money will be available to municipalities to invest in public transit improvements. What the GTA desperately needs is a seemless transit system that will allow a Milton resident who works in Brampton or Hamilton to be able to take a bus from here to there with minimal difficulty. As it stands right now, that person would have to drive.

  • Permanent Gas Tax Fund

    The Government recognizes the need for long-term funding for infrastructure to help drive economic growth and productivity, to achieve our environmental goals, and to build strong, competitive communities.

    To this end, in Budget 2007 the Government announced the historic seven-year $33-billion Building Canada Plan. More than half of this investment under the plan will flow to municipalities. For example, municipalities can access the $8.8-billion Building Canada Fund and benefit from the increase from 57.14 per cent to 100 per cent in the rebate of the Goods and Services Tax they pay.

    The largest component of the Building Canada plan is the Gas Tax Fund, which provides municipalities with funding for priorities such as public transit, water and wastewater infrastructure, and local roads. Under the plan, the Gas Tax Fund will grow and reach $2 billion by 2009–10 and stay at that level through 2013–14.

    In response to ongoing requests for stable, long-term funding, the Government announces that the Gas Tax Fund will be extended at $2 billion per year beyond 2013–14 and become a permanent measure. This will allow all municipalities, both large and small, to better plan and finance their long-term infrastructure needs. A permanent $2-billion-per-year Gas Tax Fund will help put in place the world-class infrastructure Canada needs.

With Milton being the fastest growing municipality in Canada, this should benefit us as we wait patiently (or impatiently as it may be) for our roads to be developed to accommodate its growing numbers. The town of Milton is now over 70,000 and counting and we need the Region of Halton to keep up with the growth and ensure minimal delays while widening roads in the area like this summers plan for Derry Road to Trafalgar. The Region of Halton and the Town of Milton cannot keep relying on Mattamy Homes to bail them out.

These are just a couple of items that I pulled from the budget. All in all, it is a pretty sound plan for the coming years. Using a good portion of the surplus to pay down the national debt, make these kinds of investments and reductions in taxes like the GST cut, it looks like Canada can weather some of the impact of the US economy with minimal effects.

Thanks for reading and feel free to comment here or send me an email at mike@mikecluett.ca