ward 6 town of milton

Public Input Sessions – Bruce Street Library

Mike Cluett

Public Input Sessions – Bruce Street Library

In the Spring of 2011, the main library and library administration that are currently housed at 45 Bruce Street and 407 Pine Street will be moving to a larger facility, with the completion of the new Milton Centre for the Arts.  This relocation presents the opportunity to consider alternatative uses for the two buildings including the following:

  • services for the youth
  • services for seniors
  • services for non profit organizations
  • modified library services
  • other

The Town of Milton invites you to learn more about the feasibility study for future use options at these locations and to provide input into future use options to be presented to Milton Town Council in 2011.

Sessions will include

  • updates on the study
  • feedback attained from stakeholder groups
  • proposed alternative uses for the buildings
  • question & answer period

The date for these public input sessions are:

Tuesday December 7, 2010

Milton Seniors Activity Centre (500 Childs Drive, Milton ON)

Session 1:  3pm to 5pm

Session 2: 7pm to 9pm

 

Residents Association Formed

Mike Cluett

If you go way back in the archives of this blog…way back to the 2006 campaign, I made a point that residents should be more engaged in the political process locally.  There are many ways to accomplish this.  One of them is making sure that residents are informed as much as possible about decisions that affect them directly and indirectly.  I stressed during this campaign that I would make sure I continue to knock on doors in between election campaigns, and not just during them.

If there was a public meeting coming up about an issue that would affect residents, I will do my best to get out there and inform people of that meeting, whats being discussed, how it will affect them and how they can participate.  Not everyone can make every town hall or public meeting, but I will make sure they have a voice around the table.

Another great way is by a residents association or Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC).  These groups are usually formed when the local officials aren’t listening to the needs and concerns of residents.  Recently, there was a new association formed in the Hawthorne Village area, which encompasses Ward 6, but it was formed for an entirely different reason.

During the last election campaign, I noticed an increase in awareness of local issues by residents in my ward.  Other councillors and candidates would say the same thing.  The Hawthorne Village Residents Association (HVRA) was formed by several concerned residents to be a part of the process, to stay involved and to work with council when decisions are being made.  I applaud all the members and participants in this process and will do my best to work with them and keep the lines of communication open.

Christina Commisso at the Milton Canadian Champion did an article recently about the formation of the HVRA.  Congratulations to Martin Capper and Andrew Salmons for co-chairing this committee as well as the many people who signed up.  We can only hope this will help enhance the flow of communication from town council to the residents in Milton.

Here is the article from the Champion.

Residents group forms

Christina Commisso, CANADIAN CHAMPION STAFF November 16, 2010

What started as an online discussion following the municipal election has ballooned into a newly-formed residents group that hopes to strengthen the lines of communication between Miltonians and town council.

“We started with a post on the Hawthorne Villager (website), which got 1,600 hits and 60 posts from 20 different people in a matter of days,” said Martin Capper, co-chair of the Hawthorne Village Residents Association (HVRA).

The group isn’t exclusive to Hawthorne Village residents — it’s open to all Miltonains, he said.

CLICK ON THE LINK FOR MORE.

For more information, email HawthorneVillageRA@gmail.com.

Lest We Forget

Mike Cluett

We will not forget.  We cannot forget our heroes past and present.  We will not forget those who still serve, those who made it back and those who did not.  We cannot and will not forget.  THANK YOU!

In Flanders fields the poppies grow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie,
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

Getting Oriented

Mike Cluett

Last night was the first of many orientation meetings for the members of Milton Town Council.  With the sheer number of “new” councillors around the table the orientations have been split up so that our heads don’t spin off of our bodies.  Good luck with that.

I have to thank Milton Town staff for putting on these meetings and as someone who is somewhat familiar with the breakdown of the departments and what they do, it was still a good refresher filled with many “ah-ha’s” throughout the night.  I’m really looking forward to more of these sessions so that when the council is inaugurated on December 6th, we can hit the ground running.

There are some members of council who were re-elected and what we referred to as “recycled” at the meeting and they will be a great source of information to help us “newbies” get on track.  There is a lot to do in the coming weeks and many more pieces of paper to digest but its a challenge we are all looking forward to.

There are a lot of decisions to make before we get started and council members have to decide which sub committees they would like to sit on, from transit to trails to accessibility to economic development there are many to choose from.  These committees will be populated not only by councillors but members of the public as well.  Citizens are encouraged to apply for the open positions that are available on these committees and you can find a list of them on the Town of Milton’s website Please take a look at the list of boards and committes, see what you would like to apply for, and send your infomration in.  Again…we want your input!

Here are just a few of those boards/committees to consider:

There are also a few training courses put on by AMO (Association of Municipalities of Ontario) that new councillors and “older” ones are encouraged to attend.  Then…the forms.  Lots of forms.  But that’s just par for the course.

I was also reminded last night that the first meeting of a new residents group took place (of which I will get an update on what happened) and that encourages me that we can have more involvement of the community in town affairs.  I, along with many of my counterparts during the election campaign, made commitments that we would do what we could to keep you engaged in the process and look for feedback and ideas as well.  This residents group will be a good start.  Thanks to Steve and Annie and many others who got the ball rolling on this and I know that it will be successful.  I will also do my part in helping out, so that way we can all do our best to make Milton a better place.

So my head goes back into the books, so to speak, but I hope that we can continue our dialogue started many years ago now and people will get involved in that conversation.  Only with your help can we do this.

As always, you can email me mike@mikecluett.ca or call me by going to my Contact page (yes that is my home phone number 🙂 ) and I will do my best to answer any questions or concerns you might have.

I’m looking forward to hitting the ground running and I hope you join me on this journey.

Firefighter Appreciation Day November 6th Milton Fairgrounds

Mike Cluett

From the Milton Canadian Champion

Local emergency personnel to go up against civilians – This Saturday November 6th starting at 9AM

IN TRAINING: Civilians Kim Smith (left) and Annie Gordon train in bunker gear for Canadian Firefighter Appreciation Day this Saturday. Graham Paine / Canadian Champion

If you’ve ever been interested to see how your local police or firefighters would fare in a fitness competition against regular civilians, you will soon get your opportunity.

The Canadian Firefighter Appreciation Day, which will pit teams of civilians against emergency services personnel, will take place this Saturday from 9 to 3 p.m. at the Milton Fair Grounds.

The day, intended to raise awareness and funds for the Canadian Fallen Firefighters Foundation (CFFF), will feature real-life events that firefighters might face, including sledge hammering, rope climbing and car pushing.

The second annual event, which will be supported by the Milton Fire Department, managed to raise $3,000 last year for the CFFF, which honours and remembers fallen firefighters and supports their families.

Anyone interested in finding out more about the 9 to 3 p.m. event, which asks visitors for a charitable donation, can visit www.firefighterappreciationday.ca.