ward 6 town of milton

First Annual Indulge Event At Halton Region Museum

Mike Cluett

With the sun coming down on a very warm Sunday afternoon, hundreds of people went to the Halton Region Museum (after a long line up to Kelso Park) to attend the first annual INDULGE event in support of the Milton District Hospital Foundation.

Those in attendance were able to sample food from dozens of local restaurants and wine vendors as music was played on the patio.  It was an amazing event and well organized.  Many thanks goes to the leadership of the MDH Foundation for putting on a wonderful event which I am sure, based on the attendance, will become a regular event.

I cant wait to hear how much money was raised including a number of fantastic items on the silent auction table.  The Halton Region Museum was a perfect location for this event and if you haven’t been able to visit before, I highly recommend you do.  Its a wonderful place with a lot of history.

Again, many thanks to the organizers Helen, Sonya, Anne and everyone else involved.  It was a perfect day and I cant wait for next year.

If youre on Facebook you can view some pictures from Localize Magazine (while youre there, give it a LIKE)  Some great times for a great cause.

Another Source Of Cell Tower Information

Mike Cluett

Last night the Administration & Planning Standing Committee endorsed staff recommendation PD 026-12.  This was to modify the Town of Milton’s Telecommunication policy, while strongly urging telecommunication companies and Industry Canada to come to the table during discussions like the one we’ve had for the last 2 months and also to state opposition or what is called “non-concurrence” to the application from New Life Church & Altus Group (Bell Canada)

There was definitely an interest from the residents in the area surrounding the proposed tower and from all over Milton in attendance in what was a jam packed council chamber.  There were over 10 delegations listed and throughout the night, each one took ten minutes to explain their reasons for either supporting or not supporting the cell tower application. 

Of those delegates, many applauded town staffs report in its detail and thoroughness.  Some explained of their worries on the potential hazzards of living near a cell tower while others described the impact on the quality of life of business owners & those who no longer have landlines and soley use this technology as their only phone.  What was clear from everyone was this.  There was a call for better communication between the municipalities and the proponents is needed, especially as out town grows.

During my comments, I had mentioned that this isnt a short term issue.  As the Town of Milton grows from what was 35,000 to being approximately 100,000 now to its eventual size of nearly 250,000 people, THIS will happen again and again and again unless something is done about it.  The more people move to Milton, the more demand for better and faster data and phone services will increase.

So now that the Town (assuming the decision is ratified by full council on May 28th) has said no to this particular application, where do we go from here?  Good question.  Once this report is ratified, it will be sent back to the individual parties to see if some kind of resolution can be made on a possible compromise or new location entirely.  Thats a tough call. 

Outlined in the report was Altus Group’s attempt at other locations in the prime area with no success.  These towers cant be just arbitrarily placed whever needed.  There has to be a willing host for the tower and Altus Group found that willing party in New Life Church.

Not to burst any bubbles, but the deal isnt dead.  Maybe the two parties can come to an agreement or Altus Group can find another willing host for a tower.  If they cant come to that agreement on consensus, the eventual decision will be made by Industry Canada.  In some cases, municipalities that have opposed towers and Industry Canada has agreed with them, but thats not always the case.

There have been towns and cities who have opposed cell towers, only to have Industry Canada approve them anyway.  We will have to see how this develops over time.  But there is one thing that is quite clear that needs to happen.

Everyone’s got to come to the table from the beginning.  The Boyne Survey is the next “chunk” of residential development that will start soon and will bring what is estimated to be 70,000 more people to the greatest town in the world.  Imagine that.  70,000 MORE Miltonians.  With those people moving to Milton, it will bring more phones, Black Berry’s, iPhones and push the limits of what we currently have in place.

The reality is NO ONE wants towers in their backyard and in residential areas.  It’s been a clear message I and other councillors have heard over the last 2 months.  If not there….then where?  This is why the TC’s (telecommunication companies) need to come to the table with our planning department so as we plan the Boyne Survey and other developments, we can get an idea of where these need to be placed.  Then we can discuss these locations with current landowners and come to some form of an agreement with them so we can plan around the towers in residential areas and avoid any further issues.

I have read roughly 200 different reports, studies and brochures on this technology.  The good and the bad.  Some were quite clear in their conclusions while some left details and arguments to be desired.  During the two months I have spoken with, and will continue to follow up with a number of real estate agents both inside and outside of Milton to gauge what might happen to property values when cell towers are erected. 

One presenter last night, who admittedly isnt an expert in real estate, but in economics, stated over and over that property values would plummet in areas where cell towers are put in place.  To be honest, the real estate agents I spoke with in detail showed me proof that despite the claims of the presenter last night, property values do not decrease.  There has been no evidence in Milton to prove that property values go down in areas surrounding cell towers.  In particular Duncan Lane, which at some points directly fronts a cell tower located on Bronte Street (near a child care institution) there have been homes sold OVER asking price.

I’m sure that debate will continue as these towers continue to be installed to improve the quality of communication, data transfer and fill in the empty areas to ensure no dropped calls by providers.

During this process I have also had the opportunity to speak with many people both in my ward and all throughout the Town of Milton and have learned a lot from them.  As I continually updated my website, many from outside Milton took the time to read my posts and even offer links to studies and other sources of information.

This past Thursday I received an email from Todd White of Canadian Radiocommunications Information & Notification Service (CRINS) who provided me with a link to their organizations website which I thought was valuable.  With his permission, here is his email:

Dear Mike,

First I would like to congratulate you on a job well done – of all the municipal politicians which we have observed in dealing with antenna system issues, your efforts on the part of your constituents to address their concerns are top-of-the-class. Our staff has been watching your website regularly to keep up-to-date on the New Life Church  application, and have reported back that you seem to have done a great job and hopefully your constituents are appreciative of your efforts.

I wanted to offer you an opportunity to maybe off-load some of your educational duties with respect to the public and antenna systems. As you may be aware, CRINS-SINRC is a shared service consisting of participating municipalities who are dealing with the same challenges in antenna siting as the Town of Milton. We’ve spoken to Angela Janzen, and her colleagues about our activities and we are available to them at any time.

However, I wanted to suggest that you  should feel free to send members of the public to our website – http://www.crins-sinrc.ca/  – specifically to the “I Have A Question…” section which lays out quite clearly the jurisdictional and process issues surrounding antenna siting.  This may reduce the amount of time you spend explaining to the public how the process works, and it will hopefully give you some of your day back.

We try to keep our resources up-to-date and communicate any interesting changes to our members and the public – so do avail yourself of those resources if they can help.

I wish you well and once again good job in working for your constituents.

Regards,

Todd

Todd White
Executive Director  CRINS

Please take a few moments to read through his website as it provides a good source of information and clearly answers a number of questions that people might have.

I wanted to end with a thank you to all the people I have spoken with recently.  I have learned a lot about this technology and its potential affects on the public and more importantly, the process that needs to be followed in case….nope, WHEN it happens again.  I hope that when it does come up again, we have everyone to the table beforehand in an open and frank discussion so that people are not surprised when another application is made.

I’ll see you at the doors.

Cell Tower In Milton? My Thoughts

Mike Cluett

Some questions have been raised on our local Hawthorne Villager forums…what does Mike think?  Here it is.

As I had mentioned in the meeting at the Sports Centre last week, a report is coming from staff.  We don’t know what’s in that report and I will read it when it becomes available to not only me and the rest of council, but to the public as well.

Since receiving this information on March 1st, I have worked hard to facilitate educating the public on the process we need to follow.  Given that there are different regulations on the public process on certain heights of these towers, I made sure that this was put out there for people to know.  I posted it on my website and contacted to local media to make them aware of it as well.  Shortly after the posting on my blog, the Champion wrote an article about it to make it public to everyone in town, not just our areas. 

I have knocked on doors in my ward to first inform them of the proposal and then to educate them and me as to what they are thinking and how they feel.  I have heard from a lot of people in Milton about this proposed tower.   There has been a lot of information to digest over the last 2 months, I kid you not.  From Health Canada to Brazil studies and everything in between my head has been spinning and I know some of my council colleagues have felt the same way. 

I have talked with dozens of real estate agents in Milton to get an idea of potential impacts on property values.  Some have said they’ll go up and some have said they’ll stay the same and a few said go down.  Lots of information to digest in a short period of time.  I’ve taken the time from my day to day schedule to meet with residents in coffee shops and on their front porches to discuss this.  My other boss that I work for would rather I didn’t but to me, this is important.

I have probably driven many people crazy with me asking them about their opinions on cell towers in communities.  I don’t step into a coffee shop without asking someone that question and even while out having a beer with friends watching the NHL Playoffs I ask these questions…so I can get an idea of what’s to come.

Altus Group has submitted their information to the town for review as did probably thousands of Miltonians to be put into a report that comes out in a day or so. 

What I can tell you is I have heard from many people against this tower from day one and I have done my best to help promote the flow of information and to provide advice if asked on what the next steps will be.  The Town of Milton doesn’t have the final say on this and I understand others will pull out the quote from Lisa Raitts staff’s email but from what I have been told when it comes to the final decision on this tower, it aint us.  We can state our opinion and that might be enough to change minds but seeing how there have been towers erected in municipalities despite the opposition; it might not be enough to change.  I can only promise that I and the rest of council will do our best to make the voices of the people we represent heard.

I can also tell you that I have heard from many people who DO support the tower.  I can also tell people that when I visited them at the doors during the last 2 election campaigns that I would be their representative and listen to their concerns and do my best to serve them.  I feel that I’m doing that at this time. 

Do I want cell towers in residential areas? No.  Why? I would hope they could go somewhere else because really, no one WANTS them near where they live.  Problem is, with the consuming public demanding better and faster data and more reliable cell service, it’s a necessity.  Put it somewhere else we’ve been told.  My question would be….where then?  There are lots of places now that could be used for these towers and I hope they’ve all been investigated and inquiries made.  IF they haven’t, they should. 

There are a number of towers in residential areas already.  One is by the Foodport…many people didn’t know that it was there despite its height and the two flashing red lights on it.  There’s another one by MCRC daycare on Bronte Street and many people didn’t know THAT was there.  That’s just to name two.  They have been there in some cases since 2005.  Have property values decreased?  There isn’t any evidence to show that they have and I can only review the numbers as they are now.

When the report is released I will review it in detail as I do with many of the reports that we get before council meetings.  I will continue to consult with Ward 6 residents and others on their opinions after it’s released and I welcome a good hearty discussion about this.

Is this a short term issue? Nope.  Not a chance.  It’s not a short term issue because Milton is a growing, changing community that before it is all said and done will reach a population of close to, if not more than 250,000 people.  In that time technology will improve and the need from the consuming public will be for better, faster and more reliable phone and data service and this will come up again.

The rumour right now is another tower at the Rabba Plaza at Derry and Trudeau.  From what I’ve heard about that, it’s not going forward.  As we develop this town there will be questions asked, where DO we put these towers?  The Town of Milton’s policy is to encourage that they don’t go in residential areas, which I agree with that.  Health Canada needs to review these studies and do more to find out what the effects of cell towers have on the public.  The Region of Halton Medical officer already has stated that he agrees with current Health Canada studies but also says more research is needed. 

From a planning aspect we need to have discussions with these telecommunication companies on where these towers can be placed and if at all possible NOT be located in residential areas.  It can’t be swept under the rug or attempted in the dark of night while no one’s looking.

Over the next few years Milton will continue its transformation from being a quiet little town of 35,000 people to a major centre in the GMA (The Greater Milton Area as I refer to it as) and we need to have these discussions every step of the way.  From what our streets will look like to what services we will have in neighbourhood parks to serve our growing population, to who will be using the Velodrome after the games are over, to working with the province to make sure our hospital is expanded, to what companies we will be trying to get to move their offices here along with much needed jobs to Milton, we need to have these discussions.  The unofficial ticker right now is we are close to if not over the 100,000 mark.  Are we done?  You aint seen nothing yet.

As this continues I hope that everyone is part of the discussion every step of the way.  It’s something that I believe in very strongly and I’ve campaigned on it endlessly and putting my money where my mouth is it’s something I’ve done since day one as an elected official.  I will always listen to people’s concerns and do my best to make the right decisions around the council table and be a voice for everyone.

Main Street Closure This Weekend

Mike Cluett

As I posted earlier last month, Main Street will be under construction for the next few years.  From time to time there will be a need to close the road over the weekend to allow some important work to be done.  THIS is one of those weekends.  The road closure will go from Ontario Street to Wilson Drive.

REMINDER That Main Street East will be temporarily closed this weekend from 12AM Saturday (tonight at midnight) until 5AM Monday morning and again from 12AM Saturday May 12th until 5AM Monday May 14th.

We apologize for any inconvenience and there are detour routes clearly marked on Woodward Ave and on Childs Drive.  Please drive with extra caution this weekend. 

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