 By Pepper Parr
August 21, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON.
They have been a God send said Red Cross volunteer Peter Hodgson –and indeed the Samaritan’s Purse has been just that to many homes in Burlington. Work crews have gone into homes that needed work done and sucked up the water and torn out dry wall and have then gone back in and sprayed with mould inhibitor.
They have been the front line people, doing more for the citizens than either the region or city. Samaritan’s Purse Canada is a nondenominational evangelical Christian organization that has been providing spiritual and physical aid to hurting people around the world since 1970. They partner with local organizations (usually churches) to provide compassionate and cost-effective assistance to anyone who needs it, regardless of religion, race, gender or socio-economic standing.
 Water seeped into basements and mixed with backup from the sewage system destroying everything. For many homes the August flood was preceded by flooding in May – it is more than these people can take. Their emergency relief programs provide desperately needed assistance to victims of natural disaster, war, disease, and famine. They offer food, water, and temporary shelter, and meet critical needs and give people a chance to rebuild their lives.
Burlington seems to be getting more help from outside groups than they are getting from either the city or the Region. There are some homes that are a serious health issue and to the best of our knowledge the Medical Officer of Health, who is required by the province to oversee the health of the community hasn’t had anyone anywhere in Burlington.
Residents are fending for themselves or getting help from outside groups like the Red Cross and Samaritan`s purse and the fire fighters.
The public donations have been coming in – not anywhere near what is going to be needed. The tally as of Wednesday at 5:00 pm was $128,160.
Hodgson reports that more than 7100 homes have been checked out by the Red Cross Volunteers and that 2000 damaged homes were reported to the Region`s 311 number.
It is apparently still not possible to determine exactly how many homes have been damaged and the extent of the damage. However Hodgson did say that there were 40 to 50 homes that were in desperate shape.
The Red Cross has between 15 and 20 teams of people out on the street doing their door to door work and then plotting it all on maps. Hodgson`s task is to oversee the assessment of the damage and send that up the command chain; something Hodgson understands well from his years as a Halton Regional Police officer. He retired as a Staff Sargent – we erroneously reported Hodgson was a Superintendent. Hodgson said he would cheerfully take the pension of a Superintendent.
 Household effects are piled in corners – as far away from the flood waters as possible. Community groups are doing their own work as well. A collective has been formed in ward 5; they’ve named themselves the Burlington Sewer Backup Victims Coalition BSBVC. Their web site sets out who they are and what they have had to put up with. These people are not happy campers and have major beefs with the Region, who don’t seem to be paying any attention to their problems. And those problems are severe.
On August 4, some residents were still rebuilding after a back-up in May, some haven’t received insurance money from that flood.
Sewer back-ups they are aware of in homes have ranged from 1 inch to approximately 10 feet
Some residents have been experiencing these back-ups for years and despite multiple reports, the region and city have failed to show the political will to address known root causes and ignored the need to enact preventative measures .
“We are inviting first-timers, repeat victims or just concerned citizens to join us as we unite to force the City and Region to finally act. We shouldn’t have to fight this hard to do that but we still have plenty left to lose.” Maui Groff, Joanne Karaiskakis and Michelle Peronne-Bonavita all delegated at city council when the disaster area resolution was passed. That bit of legalese doesn`t seem to have done anything for the people in ward 5 who meet regularly to keep each other up to date. We will report on their meetings for you.
They are working with people in the White Pines, Bridlewood/Idlewood. Foxbar and Meadow Hill communities.
By Pepper Parr
April 19, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON.
We got our first look at what a No Vacancy event was about last year when Selina Jane Eckersall hosted an illustration event at the Waterfront Hotel. It was a little longer than the average movie but it came close to rocking the socks off the Burlington arts community.
 Selina Jane Eckersall points out a location that will be active the No Vacancy Night. Hundreds of people will be crawling through Village Square. It took place at a time when the arts and culture community was beginning to create a presence for itself. The city had accepted the Cultural Action Plan prepared by Jeremy Freiburger and while they weren’t able to act on very much of the plan they did re-allocate a staff member from Parks and Recreation to co-ordinate events that were cultural in nature. This kind of work was being done by the Parks and Recreation department where the culture was more athletic than artistic.
 The No Vacancy event was a critical success and is being repeated this year with a much bigger venue and a more exciting program. Selina Jane Eckersall sums it up with the comment: “We’re looking to give you the best Friday night you’ve ever had.”
There will be 30 unbelievably talented contemporary artists who will transform a variety of spaces inside Village Square into an art experience that will have a lasting impact. “This incredible walking contemporary multi-artist exhibition will feature the best of contemporary installation art from Southern Ontario.”
“Village Square will be buzzing with activity as people explore the alleys and walkways and enter spaces they haven’t explored before. We will also have performance and street art throughout the square and a pop-up art market that will be open until midnight. Burlington has never had an art event quite like this and it is going to be a wondrous experience.”
Half of Pine Street will be closed to traffic and all the space available to No Vacancy in Village Square has been allocated.
 Selina Jane Eckersall points to one of the locations for some of the “installation art” that will be on display for less than four hours September 19 – a not to be missed event. The artists doing the installations are being paid – a bit of a first for Burlington. In the past artists have been asked to donate to various causes – when they themselves are a cause. The beer garden profits will be used to pay the artists that are putting up the installations.
Eckersall is putting on a much bigger event this year and giving the Village Square some life – something it has needed for some time. The longer term plan for No Vacancy is to be quite ambitious. They have organized themselves as an Ontario Not for Profit Corporation and have gotten charitable status in Ontario and are going after federal charitable status.
Later in the year they will apply for Trillium Funding (that’s where a lot of your lottery money goes) so they can develop the much more robust program they have wanted to put in place for some time. “We want to open minds and push people out of their comfort zone just a bit and we feel that we need a bigger presence in the city, which is why we are looking for a place, where we can be seen and the work of the artists we want to highlight can also be seen.”
“We would like to find a building somewhere or work with someone who has space –visibility is key to what we are setting out to do. What we want to create is a facility that is part studio, part media lab and part gallery” said Eckersall. “One of the bigger challenges is to come up with a business model that can result in an operation that is sustainable – we are still working at that”, she added.
“We would really like to find a van we could use to transport some of the material involved. Installation art tends to be quite large.”
Eckersall says she has “no idea how many people are going to show up on September 19th – it could be anywhere between 500 and 5000.” The event will run from 7 pm to 2 am and as Eckersall says : “A night of incredible art installation in Burlington.”
All the space in Village Square have been allocated and the artists are busy working on the fun stuff. Administratively Eckersall is dealing with permits, contracts, and insurance.
There is going to be a “pop up” market. If there are artists out there that are looking for a venue to sell some stuff – touch base.
Eckersall says the event is all about “Art that makes your heart beat faster.”
By Pepper Parr
August 20, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON.
This is not going to be easy. The people who are going to have to manage the distribution of flood relief funds have a mammoth task on their hands and it is vital for them to ensure that what they do is totally transparent even though they are dealing with some very personal information about the people who have lost so much due to the flood.
The immediate good news is that the public fund raising is coming along. The amount donated as of 5:00 pm on Tuesday was $120,000. $10,000 of that came from CUPE Local 44.
 The damage for hundreds of homes is extensive. The fear is that some families may not be able to recover from the flood. Local fund raising is vital. The Burlington United Way is serving as the main collection point – they will hold the funds and accept donations through their secure website. Once the Disaster Relief fund is established – and the province requires that this committee be created, they will set out the policies and procedures that will determine what is available for distribution and who gets funds.
There will be situations where the damage to a house was severe but the occupants were fully insured – would they get any funding? Take a neighbour two doors down who was also badly flooded and they also had insurance coverage but the deductible was very high – would they get funding. And then the household that had insurance but the insurance company decided there would be no payout – what would that household get.
Add to that the concern many people will have about the personal details of their finances being trotted out for the whole world to read about.
Colleen Mulholland, president of the Burlington Community Foundation, an organization that donated $15,000 to the Disaster Relief Fund, lives in a house that was badly flooded. Many will ask – isn’t there a conflict of interest here? Mulholland doesn’t see it that way. She is totally focused on pulling together the committees that will do their very best to help the people in Burlington take care of each other.
She is currently working at creating the various committees that will be needed to get the financial help out to people. At this point the thinking is to create three levels within the Disaster Relief committee; one will focus on the corporate sector seeking additional funding.
 It was a nicer evening and a better time for Colleen Mulholland when she posed with the BCF Masquerade Ball Honorary Chair Angelo Paletta For every dollar that is donated the province can match that on a two for one basis. While no one is certain yet as to exactly what the need is – the sense is that the community is going to have to come up with more than $1 million which would bring in $2 million from the province for a total of $3 million. Will that be enough?
A second committee will focus on working with the numerous agencies that are going to be involved in a task that Mulholland believes will become the legacy of the BCF. Not sure if this is the time to be talking about legacies but she makes a point. The Burlington Community Foundation is going to be the group that pulls this thing together so that the needs of the people that need help are met.
A third committee will focus on the “grass roots” which hopefully turns out to be people from those pockets in the community that were hit so very hard.
A concern that has been raised is the number of people involved – while it is vital that this be a community effort – with 22 different agencies at the table it could become the equivalent of trying to herd cats.
While working on a story with the Samaritan’s Purse we wanted to take a close look at the work they were doing helping people who need help. “Let me see how the house we are working at now feels about pictures being taken” said our contact. ”These people are feeling very emotional right now and their dignity has to be maintained.”
There is a delicate balance to be maintained and a mammoth task to complete.
The announcements from Mulholland as to the makeup of the committees should be available sometime this week.
 By Staff
August 19, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON.
The $100,000 mark for the Burlington Disaster Relief fund has been passed.
To be exact the number for Monday evening was $111,985,00
More is needed.
By the end of the week the Disaster Relief committee should have numbers from the Red Cross which will quantify the damage – they will know how many houses were damaged and the extent of that damage.
 By Staff
August 18, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON.
It was a chilly weekend that put a damper on the public events – but the people working at collecting funds for the Flood Relief program were out on the street as were the Red Cross Volunteers who are going door to door in those areas hard hit to determine the extent of the damage.
 Peter Hodgeson, a former Regional Police Superintendent is working with the Red Cross volunteers going door to door gathering information on the extent of the flood damage, talks with ward 2 Councillor Marianne Meed Ward who is doing what she can to keep the problem in the minds of the public. Those leading the response to the disaster are still working at determining the extent of the damage. In order to quantify the damage, information is needed and the city is not convinced that they know everything they need to know.
The concern in the minds of those who work with this kind of disaster is that the news cycle is now so short that the public will soon forget just how badly damaged many homes are and how hurt the families are as well.
“We need to continually tell the stories and keep them in people’s minds so that the public response will be equal to what is needed” said Pete Ward who has extensive experience with disaster relief around the world.
Later this week the names of the people who will sit on the Local Disaster Committee that has been formed will be made known. It is this group of people, currently being led by Colleen Mulholland, President and CEO of the Burlington Community Foundation, who will oversee the actual distribution of funds. She will be joined by others in the days ahead.
The Burlington United Way is continuing to serve as the “banker” for the Relief Fund; they are the primary point for cash donations.
There are dozens of small groups throughout the city holding events to raise funds. The Centro Market held a fund raiser on the weekend; Ward 2 Councillor Marianne Meed Ward was seen talking to anyone who would give her five seconds about the need for funds.
The need is great.
By Staff
August 15, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON.
Mayor Rick Goldring said the local Disaster Relief Fund had reached $100,000 – not there yet Your Worship.
The fund sits at $92,398 at the end of the first week.
We have a long way to go folks.
Some homes had two levels flooded – the Mayor’s home had eight feet of water. There is provincial money out there for us – but those provincial dollars are matched on a two for one basis – for every dollar we raise the province will add $2.
With those matching funds we would have just over a quarter of a million in the bank – but given that there are 1052 homes seriously damaged with most of them having limited insurance coverage – the need is great.
There are some homes in the south east part of the city where they either do not have or are not going to be able to get insurance because of the number of floods they have experienced.
There are clearly a number of serious problems with the way pipes are laid out in that part of the city – and getting the Region to actually do something looks as if it is going to be a marathon of protesting and demanding that they step up and do the job they are in place to do.
But this is not the time to bash the Region – this is the time to look at the private individuals and the large and small business operations in the city and ask them to pull out the cheque books – pause before they write in the total and figure out what they can handle – and they add a bit more.
The need for some is dire.
Try the math on this. Take those 1052 homes – and divide it into the $276,000 we would have to disburse given where we are with the amount that has been donated. It amounts to a measly $262 per household.
This isn’t good enough people. There are people hurting and they need your help. The downpour of rain was unique in many ways – the city has never had so much in such a short period of time – and the rain cloud seemed to hover over a part of the city. Streets blocks away didn’t get a drop.
We know that global warming has something to do with the changes in weather; we know that we are going to see more of this kind of thing – and we also know that the need is big – really big.
Burlington MPP Eleanor McMahon put it very well, when she addressed her remarks to the commercial community. “These are your customers, these are the people who make this city what it is – and today they need your help.”
Dig in and dig as deep as you can – please.
The Burlington United Way is serving as the banker for the Disaster Relief Fund. They are collecting the funds and will turn it over to the local Disaster Relief Committee as soon as it has been formed.
Make your on line donation – or drop by the Burlington United Way office at 3425 Harvester Road, Unit 107
By Pepper Parr
August 15, 2015
Burlington, ON
The lights would have dimmed a bit last Monday when Murray Hogarth’s spirit left this earth.
 That twinkle never left his eyes. Surrounded by his family at their cottage Murray passed away in his 84th year.
It was a delight to interview Murray Hogarth when he was named the philanthropist of the year. There were some health issues at the time that kept him away from the podium at the annual Burlington Community Foundation Masquerade Ball – his son Tim spoke for his Dad and said: “Typical of my father’s entrepreneurialism Murray recognized that while we can’t always predict what lies ahead, we can always make sure we are prepared to seize the opportunity or meet the need when it arises. And that is what this is all about. It’s never too late… philanthropy, as Murray and Diana have proven time and again, has no retirement age.”
Murray was an entrepreneur in the full sense of the word. He was a risk taker and he was also a keen thinker – he knew how to figure out the odds and he took chances.
He was a foxy guy – you had to be fast to catch this man.
During our interview there was a consistent twinkle in his eye as he talked about how he consistently beat out the “big guys” in the retail gasoline business. The conversation ranged all over the place – from when he first met his wife Diana and included the thinking around the first gas station he opened and on to how he tweaked his marketing practices to constantly stay ahead of the name brands.
Murray was the first guy to put oil out beside the gas pumps.
Murray was the first guy to put light over the gas pumps and then added canopies to keep the rain off people.
He created loyalty cards.
In his prime he must have been a force in both his businesses and his community.
 Partners, friends since the day he first saw her when she was ten years old. Murray and Diana Hogarth in their Lakeshore Road home During my interview with Murray, his wife Diana came into the sun room, sat on the arm of the couch Murray was on and gently placed her hand on his shoulder; one of those touches that you instantly knew she had been doing every day of their marriage.
The Hogarth home was exquisitely decorated and I remarked that she must have had some experience as an interior decorator. Diana commented at the time that “interior decorators hang wall paper – I don’t hang wall paper.” That tart tongue put me in my place.
While Diana was the mother of the five Hogarth boys she was also very much a partner in the business with Murray. You could almost see them sitting across from each other talking over a business problem or situation with Diana giving it her all.
 The first Pioneer gas station – it didn’t look like this the day it opened but it has been open every day since November 1956. “There were problems” said Murray during the interview. “There were two occasions when we were in serious trouble” at which point Diana piped in with the comment: “How much do we want to tell this man Murray.”
The kind smile Murray had for Diana every day of their long healthy marriage appeared on his face and that subject got dropped.
There will be a Visitation August 19th at Smith’s Funeral Home on Guelph Line: 3pm to 5 pm; 7pm to 9pm. There will also be a private celebration at the Port Nelson United Church.
Background links:
They were a team.
 By Pepper Parr
August 14th, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON.
It is official!
Besides being the Best mid-sized city in Canada – Burlington is also a disaster area in the eyes of city council.
A motion, unanimously passed by council Thursday morning, asks the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing to declare the City of Burlington a “disaster area” for the purposes of public and private components of the Ontario Disaster Relief Assistance Program (ODRAP)
Passing that motion was the first step to getting funds into the hands of citizens who have suffered extremely serious flood damage particularly in wards 4 and 5.
 The Special Session of city council was called to pass this motion and two others; one asking the Region to give immediate priority and attention to address the sanitary sewage issues of those residents who have experienced flooding and significant property loss and damage on multiple occasions including May 14 and August 4.
Following this assessment, Regional Council be requested to review the current level of financial assistance available as part of the Regional Basement Flooding Prevention Subsidy, which is currently set at $1,000.
City staff were instructed to expedite any local approval processes and waive any related fees.
A third motion was passed to assist homeowners with the cost of building permits payable under the Building Permit Bylaw. Mayor Goldring made a big deal out of leaving the council chamber while that debate took place – his house was flooded and he would benefit directly from any waiving of fees.
The public fund raising is underway. The United Way announced Thursday afternoon at 5:00 pm that $80,828. had been raised. United Way is serving as the “banker” for the local fund raising. It is going to take a mammoth give on the part of the public. You can donate on line at the following secure web site. A tax receipt is issued almost immediately.
Before council members got to passing bylaws they heard from three delegations: Maui Groff, Joanne Karaiskakis and Michelle Peronne-Bonavita; all ward 5 residents, wanted both the city and the Region to look much harder into the sewage problems. The three women, part of a community coalition that has grown to more than 40 people who want inspections and assessment of “chronic sewage backup” in homes. One delegate spoke of their being six sewage backups in one building. Another said that she had insurance and her claim is going to be paid this time – but she can no longer get insurance.
The delegations wanted:
Inspection and assessment of chronically sewage back up homes.
Careful monitoring of water flow during heavy storms and subsequent emergency roll – out.
100% subsidy for purchase and installation of recommended back-flow valves and sump pumps. These things come up to close to $6000 installed.
Retroactive payments for residents who have already taken the above measures.
The community wants to hear a lot more from the Region’s Medical Officer of Health – there was no one commenting at all publicly on the health risks. Where the algae rate in Lake Ontario water reaches a certain level the Region puts out a bulletin. Where are those people when there is a crisis?
The delegations wanted someone to tell them if certain areas are deemed “sewage back up/flood risks. There are parts of ward 5 particularly where property owners have come to the conclusion they are not going to be able to sell their homes because of the flooding history.
Mayor Rick Goldring said he had visited more than 100 homes in the past week and reported that more than 2000 homes were reported to the Region`s 311 line.
There is a report that 1052 homes in the city had significant to serious flooding.
 Mayor Goldring said about 2% – maybe a bit more of the Burlington population was damaged by the flooding; Councillor Sharman said 650 – 700 of the damaged homes south of the QEW were in his ward.
The Red Cross is doing a door to door survey of the city and leaving information packages behind. They will have identification and be wearing red vests.
“Most people have insurance”, said the Mayor “but they don`t have the appropriate insurance.” As disastrous as the situation is the basement cleanup are going quite quickly. Goldring said that earlier in the week he could see 11 dumpsters in the line of site from his from door; this morning there were just two.
The Mayors asks everyone – How can we help? The answer of course is to get funds into the hands of those people who have to buy new refrigerators, new furnaces and freezers plus washers and dryers.
Everyone seems to want to agree that no amount of infrastructure could have handled the rain that fell on the city and everyone agreed that we have not seen the last of the catastrophic weather – but that didn’t do much for the ward 5 residents who believe there is something wrong with the way sewage and storm sewer pipes seem to all run into basements rather than out.
Mention was made of the young pregnant Mother who had to leave the house they lived in because the basement floor was cracking and the structure was deemed to be unsound. They bought the house two years ago.
Michelle Peronne-Bonavita spoke of the nurse with an autistic child that could not handle the terrible disruption. “We have found the Region, which is responsible for water and waste treatment to be very dismissive. We are known as the floodies and we don’t feel the Region has given our problem the recognition we deserve. Bonavita maintains that if the infrastructure was sound and properly put together we wouldn’t have had this kind of damage.
She added that she should get paid by the Region for being a sewage holding tank. “This is public waste on private property and the problem is worsening.” Bonavita says she pays the Region $823 a year and wants her money back.
 Burlington MPP, Eleanor McMahon talks to media after a Special city council meeting which asked the province to declare the city a disaster area so that provincial funds can flow to the city. The community that has suffered severe flooding began to be developed 50 years ago and those still around will tell you there have always been flooding problems. Allan Magi, Director Capital Investment said that some municipalities tie their sewage and storm water pipes together but Burlington doesn’t do that.
Burlington MPP Eleanor McMahon, spoke to city council explaining the procedure the province would follow in getting funds to the city and its citizens.
Counsellor Lancaster wanted to know if the Region had done any upgrades in the community. There was no one in the room from the Region – they had been invited but didn’t appear.
Joanne Karaiskakis wondered why there could not be some form of “social triage” that looked at every situation on the spot, assessed the damage and made decisions. During the worst of the storm the city ran a Command Centre and had all the right people close to telephone, but there was no one out in the streets. The fire department and the gas company tricks were seen when a gas line was left exposed and the smell of gas in the air.
People wanted boots on the ground – and they just didn’t seem to be available.
Boots are beginning to appear at door steps. The Red Cross has people going door to door collecting information: were you flooded – how bad was the damage and where do you need help?
 Mayor Goldring explained that with the motion on its way to the Minister of Municipalities and Housing the city can turn to its next stage which is to get the local Disaster Relief Committee set up. Collen Mulholland, Executive Director of the Burlington Community Foundation is going to head up that local committee; names of Ron Foxcroft and Keith Strong are being tossed around as members of the committee. If Strong is on deck – bet on Jim Frizzle being there with him.
It is this committee that will evaluate the need at the really local level – no one better than Mulholland to do this job; smart, sensitive and connected. She was one of the homes flooded.
The BCF was quick to put $15,000 on the table from the get go – so far though the corporate community hasn’t exactly surpassed itself with generosity. When Strong is onside – then watch what happens.
Everyone wants to know if enough is being done. Councillor Sharman asked the Mayor if he could assure him that what is being done now does not constrain what the city can do in the near future. “No, I cannot” said the Mayor. The Sandra O’Reilly, Controller and Manager of Financial Services piped in with “the city can do something additional.”
This being an election year – watch for situations where members of council will think of ways to move as much city money as possible to people in their wards – especially four and five.
With the paper work on becoming a disaster area done by the city – people wanted to know: How soon does the province report back? Acting city manager Scott Stewart explained that it is really important to quantify everything – and we are 98% there.
But no one was able to say with any degree of certainty that there would be cheques in people’s hands by Labour Day?
By Pepper Parr
August 13, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON.
City council will be meeting Thursday morning to consider asking the province to declare parts of the city a disaster area – which is a necessary prelude to being approved for disaster relief funding.
While the public hears of the horrific damage done to individual homeowners and their property – the city is looking at its infrastructure and figuring out the cost of repairing, and replacing in some instances, pipes and roadways.
During the December ice storm the city received approximately $2.2 million from the province to cover the cost of the damage. There was no funding for private individuals.
 There was a time when bins in the driveway meant renovations and upgrades – for the month of August and on into the fall they identify those homes with serious water damage from the August 4th flooding. The Council meeting might be focused on the recovery of funds for the infrastructure. The people that voted the seven members of council into office have a more pressing problem – repairing their homes and figuring out how they are going to pay for refrigerators, freezers, air conditioners and furnaces when insurance coverage is at the as low as $5000 with some people having $15,000 in coverage.
Funds for individuals will not come from the city. Those funds will come from community fund raising that will get matched by the province on a two for one basis. The rules are such that not a dime of city money can be used to pay for individual losses.
A private fund raising arm has to be put in place – that was done last Friday when the United Way stepped up and made their information technology system available. Funds began flowing into the United Way account within hours and as of 5:00 pm Wednesday the United Way had collected $74,400 in donations.
Donations can be made on line on a secure site that issues a tax receipt automatically. Click on that red line – and be generous
Once the request for a declaration that Burlington is a disaster area has been approved by the Minister of Housing and Community Services; Burlington neighbour Ted McMeekin – the city will then create a Disaster Relief Committee that will oversee the collection and disbursement of funds.
 The fire fighters are making their man power – the woman as well – available to those who need help. The form on their web site sets out time slots that are available. There are a number of local grass roots opportunities to raise funds. This weekend the city will be holding a two day Children’s Festival on the waterfront. Someone should round up half a dozen clean oil drums, paint them bright yellow and have signs made up: Disaster Relief funding – and watch the $20 bills come out of wallets.
Later in the month Rib Fest takes place – another opportunity to raise funds. People want to help and they will help – if you give them the opportunity.
Ward 2 Councillor Marianne Meed Ward is married to Pete Ward who at one time headed up fund raising for World Vision – and those guys knew how to raise money. The job called for a lot of travel – Pete wanted less travel and got into consulting as a fund raiser. Expect Meed Ward to toss out some ideas at the Thursday Council meeting.
The city has not appointed anyone to the Disaster Relief Committee but there are names being floated around. “We want people who have some experience with this kind of thing” said Scott Stewart Acting City Manager.
While it is never fast enough, organizations are coming together and help is being delivered.
The Red Cross has taken on the task of organizing the volunteers. The Firefighters have set up a schedule showing time slots that are available for fireman to work at a home that needs help.
There are senior people at city hall who remark that the Region has been missing in action on this file; much the way there were totally uninvolved with the land fill dumping that was going on at the air park.
 We are going to see a lot of this for the next couple of weeks. Hopefully the Disaster Relief Fund, once it is created will be able to get funds into the hands of people who need it – now. The Mayor, whose home reportedly had eight feet of water in the basement, came close to “losing it” several times during the media event.
This experience has been hard on just about everyone. Time now to pull together and clean up the mess. We will be living with some of this come Christmas.
By Staff
August 13, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON
It will be the fun event of the weekend for families with small children. Each year the people who manage the events for the city put on a Children’s Festival that lasts two days. The coming weekend – Saturday the 16th and Sunday the 17th there will be thousands of kids with their parents stretched out along Spencer Smith Park taking in the various events.
The Festival is an award winning event that runs from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday, in Beachway Park and on Sunday, Aug. 17 in Spencer Smith Park. This year’s festival features a super hero theme.
The Saturday action includes sand-sculpting, superhero shows, meet-and-greet opportunities, face-painting, balloon artists, and a children’s marketplace and food court.
 The little ones loved this game; parents got to help them along as they walked each of the challenges • Adults, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• Families, noon to 4 p.m.
• Youth, ages 13 to 17, noon to 4 p.m.
• Children, ages 4 to 12 years, 2 to 4 p.m.
The Sand Sculpting Competition will award first, second and third prizes in each category as determined by the master sand-sculptor judges. A People’s Choice Award is selected by festival attendees who fill out a ballot. Prizes include a custom sand sculpture trophy for first prize for each category and great prizes provided by Burlington Canadian Tire stores for all prize levels.
 Many families make the sand sculpting a full day event – everyone takes part and they stake out their location as early as they can. Prizes for the best sculptures. Saturday’s free event features a Superhero Show with Spiderman and Batman, and superheroes Iron Man, Wonder Woman and Superman on the beach, and fun summer activities like face painting, a photo booth, marketplace, and food trucks.
The event continues after sunset with a free showing of the movie The Incredibles, on the Burlington Beachway, starting at 8:30 p.m.
 Is this one pretending to drive Dad’s car? Day two of the Children’s Festival takes place in Burlington’s Spencer Smith Park from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Themed around superheroes, children can enjoy:
• Live Entertainment
• Play Zones
• Superhero Inflatables
• Character Meet and Greet
• Themed Shows
• Kids’ Marketplace
The Superhero Show with Spiderman and Batman, and superheroes Iron Man, Wonder Woman and Superman will appear again on Sunday, along with fun summer activities like face painting, a photo booth, marketplace, and food trucks. The Canadian Tire main stage will feature a Boy Band Mania tribute and a Selena Gomez tribute. Both shows will follow with a meet-and-greet with the performers, presented by Safari Dentistry
Day two of the Children’s Festival takes place in Burlington’s Spencer Smith Park from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Themed around superheroes, children can enjoy:
• Live Entertainment
• Play Zones
• Superhero Inflatables
• Character Meet and Greet
• Themed Shows
• Kids’ Marketplace
The Superhero Show with Spiderman and Batman, and superheroes Iron Man, Wonder Woman and Superman will appear again on Sunday, along with fun summer activities like face painting, a photo booth, marketplace, and food trucks. The Canadian Tire main stage will feature a Boy Band Mania tribute and a Selena Gomez tribute. Both shows will follow with a meet-and-greet with the performers, presented by Safari Dentistry.
The pictures in this article were taken at last year’s event. They were having a great time.
 For some a snooze in the shade is a great way to spend part of the day.
By Pepper Parr
August 9, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON
When there is a disaster in a community the province has a program that requires the community to raise funds locally which the province will match on a two for one basis.
 It’s a sort of ‘if you will help yourselves – we will join you’. You can donate online to the United Way
It seemed to take a little longer that one would expect for the city and the United Way to get together and create a Burlington Flood Relief Fund. Everyone knew how bad things were by Tuesday morning but it was Friday before there was any announcement about the plans to solicit donations which the province will match.
 A number of people have commented on the paucity of information available to the public Monday evening – other than requests to stay off the roads and stay inside your homes. Tough for those who had water several feet deep. There wasn`t much more information available on Tuesday either.
Burlington had much the same problem with the ice storm last December. There was very poor communication between the city and the different media outlets – turned out that the city media people didn’t have an up to date data base and weren’t able to get information out.
For those who were not caught in the storm it is difficult to grasp just how bad it was. Some television footage tells part of the story.
 Well managed cities have contingency plans that were written, tested and sitting on a shelf ready to be implemented in hours. Imagine how much relief those dealing with flooding would have felt, had they known that come the next morning the city would have the wheels rolling.
We didn’t see wheels rolling in this town until Friday, when there was what amounted to a photo-op for the Mayor and the Regional Chair.
Earlier in the week ward 5 candidate James Smith urged Council to declare a state of emergency and get a disaster relief program rolling. It might take months to get funds into the hands of people, who have gone through several floods in the past and seen their insurance cancelled or capped at $10,000 when they face a restoration cost of $150,000.
Burlington has massive reserves; funds set aside for specific situations. Was there anyone at city hall on Friday pouring over the rules and looking for ways to loosen up some of those reserves and make funds available to people who need the help now?
Burlingtonians are generous people – the donations will flow and the province will eventually cut a cheque – but that will take time. Why can’t the city loan a couple of hundred thousand dollars to the relief fund the United Way is going to set up and have funds move into the hands of that family on Stanley Drive, where they were up to their knees in feces.
Ted McMeekin, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, said that Burlington must declare a “disaster area” for the purposes of the ODRAP program. That apparently isn’t going to take place until the Council meeting on Thursday – why the wait until close to the end of next week?
A large congregation in the east end of the city had senior staff members driving to the homes of the members of the church with cheques in their hands within 36 hours of the flooding. If a church can move this fast – city hall should be able to do so as well. .
The Ontario Disaster Relief Assistance Program is intended to ease the hardship suffered by private homeowners, farmers, small business enterprises and non-profit organizations, whose essential property has been damaged in a sudden and unexpected disaster, such as a flood. The program provides funds to those who have sustained heavy losses for essential items such as shelter and the “necessities of life.”
Jeff Valentin, CEO of the United Way said: “The families of at least 1,000 homes in Burlington are struggling to get their lives back to normal following the storm, and some do not have the means to make this happen. The United Way is here to help direct the generosity of people in Burlington toward their neighbours into a fund that can help the people who need it most.”
The City of Burlington has been working with Halton Region to clean up following the storm on Aug. 4, repairing, reopening and cleaning roads and sidewalks, and clearing debris in creeks and parks. Nearly 200 millimetres of rain fell in three hours. The high-intensity short-duration storm caused creeks to overflow and resulted in road closures and flooded basements in many areas of the city.
“We are very grateful to the United Way for setting up a community flood relief fund to help the people of Burlington affected by the flood,” said Pat Moyle, Interim City Manager with the City of Burlington. “The creation of a community-based fund is crucial to the success of securing provincial funding support for the residents impacted by the flood. For every dollar raised locally, the province has the ability to double that amount through its Ontario Disaster Relief Assistance Program.”
 “I have spoken to hundreds of people since Monday’s storm. Everyone is doing the best they can to return their lives to normal, clean up their homes and to try to make it work financially,” said Mayor Rick Goldring. “This is truly a very serious situation for the people of Burlington. I look forward to our provincial partners helping the United Way help those in need.”
Halton Region announced that it will support the City’s request for provincial assistance through the Ontario Disaster Relief Assistance Program (ODRAP). The provincial program provides assistance for those who have experienced extraordinary damage due to a natural disaster. The City will adopt a resolution next week requesting funding from the program. To strengthen the request, the Region will provide a letter to support Burlington’s request for Provincial assistance.
 By Pepper Parr
August 6, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON
We get mail, ok email. The mail bag yesterday had a piece from Mr. Vince Rossi, president of the Burlington Air Park Inc., with the words in the subject line “For your publication” . Mr. Rossi is the person suing the Gazette, me personally, Vanessa Warren and Monte Dennis for a total of $100,000 to be awarded to him as exemplary damages. He wants us to be ordered to give him money, so that we are set out as examples of what people cannot do.
That matter has yet to get in front of a judge.
In his article to us – which we have set out below in full – with comments in a different typeface and we identify the Rossi comments. Our objective is to show the full picture with all the detail.
 Getting the Air Park to the point where it has a strong sustainable business case has been an uphill battle for Vince Rossi – he’s not there yet. ROSSI The Ontario Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change recently completed a review of groundwater monitoring and an environmental site assessment by Pinchin Environmental completed in April, 2014. In a letter to the Airpark dated August 1, 2014, the District Supervisor of the Halton Peel District Office writes:
“Based on our analysis of the information provided in this report, the [Ministry] has found that there is no indication the fill operations are adversely impacting groundwater offsite at this time.”
The key words here are “at this time”. It takes a lot of time for anything to work its way into a water table and the MECC makes that clear. This is in no way a clean bill of health.
ROSSI The Airpark further understands that Halton Region’s Medical Officer of Health has concluded, based on the Ministry’s review and private well sampling conducted by Health Department officials, that there is no health risk to residents from the Airpark’s activities.
 Vanessa Warren has been the best voice for those who want much more transparency on what is taking place at the air park. She formed a community coalition, Rural Burlington Greenbelt Coalition and then decided that she would run for the council seat for the ward the air park is located in. Warren and six other candidates want to take the seat from Councillor Blair Lancaster Halton Region has not produced any reports related to the safety of the fill that has been placed on the Burlington Airpark property.
In August 2013, the Health Department and the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change (MOECC) (formally the Ministry of Environment) worked together to sample and analyze the drinking water wells of homes located immediately adjacent to the areas of the Burlington Airpark where fill was placed. The results were provided to the individual private well owners. The purpose of the private well testing was to determine the safety of the well water at the time of sampling based on the parameters tested. The results were not intended to provide any conclusive evidence of any impacts from the filling operation at the airpark. The Region has not completed any other testing, nor produced any reports or studies related to the fill operations at Burlington Airpark.
Dr. Hamidah Meghani, Medical Officer of Health and Commissioner, Region of Halton
ROSSI The Airpark will conduct further groundwater testing in the future and will be sharing the results with the Ministry.
An informed reader who asked not to be identified had these comments:
The majority of the sample wells are for testing groundwater that has reached the perimeters of the airpark. The only interior well that I am aware of, is in a location with very little fill deposited.
There does not appear to be any documentation from the MOE that indicates that Terrapex was erroneous in their 2013 identification of contaminants in the scant soil samples that Rossi provided.
Furthermore, since there was no indication as to where these identified contaminants lie within the airpark’s extensively filled sites, it is reasonable to understand and believe that while there is no health risk now, it is just a matter of time before these contaminants will leech into neighborhood wells and bodies of water.
Those who have kept up with this file, several on city council want a comprehensive, core test drilling for contaminants, grid by grid on all areas that Rossi accepted ungoverned and unregulated fill.
We are told by a source in the trucking industry that at least one of the companies that delivered landfill to the site says that all the soil the one company delivered was tested. Aecon, Millennium Dumping, and King Paving delivered landfill to the site. Where are all these soil samples – and why have they not been turned over to the City?
Yes they will be conducting further tests – because Mr. Rossi knows that without data that can prove there is no contamination – there will be little co-operation from anyone he hopes to do business with at city hall. Testing has to be done over a lengthy period of time.
 Dennis Monte, one of three people being sued for libel has delegated frequently on the air park. While a compassionate focused speaker – one wonders if this council is listening to him. Please find attached a copy of the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change (MOECC), Technical Support Section review of the following document: “Groundwater Monitoring Program and Limited Phase II Environmental Site Assessment” dated April 7, 2014, prepared by Pinchin Environmental Ltd. and signed by Melissa Gallagher, Sarah Ferguson and Andy D. Vanin.
For reference, this report can be viewed at the Burlington Airpark website www.burlingtonai rpark.com.
In summary, the Environmental Site Assessment and groundwater monitoring program found that groundwater down gradient of the fill area meets the provincial standards, except for uranium.
Based on additional re-sampling that was done, the report concludes that the uranium levels are likely naturally-occurring. A one-time cobalt exceedance was reported in one well, however additional core sampling was_done and the exceedences were not found.
Based on our analysis of the information provided in this report, the MOECC has found that there is no indication the fill operations are adversely impacting groundwater off site at this time.
Going forward, the MOECC is recommending that Burlington Airpark submit an ongoing groundwater monitoring plan for our review. The purpose of this groundwater monitoring program would be to monitor groundwater quality over time.
ROSSI In another development, Airpark owner Vince Rossi announced that he will not pursue a further legal appeal against the City of Burlington on the question of jurisdiction to apply its site alteration bylaw on land used for an airport.
Mr. Rossi has until September 10th to seek leave to appeal the Appeal Court decisionIf he doesn’t seek leave that ends things legally. While Rossi has said he will not seek leave the city is going to sit tight until the ability to appeal is lost.
ROSSI “While I do not agree with the decision given by the Ontario Court of Appeal in June, I accept the Court’s judgment and intend to comply with it. Equally important is my desire to move forward and in a mutually respectful and beneficial way with the Airpark’s neighbours, the City of Burlington and all other interested parties,” Rossi said.
The residents of the east side of rural Burlington scoff at the words “mutually respectful and beneficial way “
ROSSI “The Airpark is an important community asset, providing landing space for emergency medical flights and search- and-rescue aircraft, while also serving as a key economic driver for Burlington and Halton Region. It is my hope that with the litigation behind us, and the results of the groundwater testing re-confirmed, the City, Region and the Airpark can concentrate on enhancing the contributions the Airpark can make to the community and explore opportunities to attract more businesses and employment to our community. ”
 Part of the Sheldon property on Appleby Line. That rise of land in the background is fill Vince Rossi dumped without a site plan. There is a pile of landfill on the other side of the property as well. Sheldon basically lives in a valley with 30 foot hills on either side. The value of her property has been reduced by as much as 60% Justice Murray took the wind out of that sail with his decision which was agreed upon at the appeal level.
 We have a small piece of advice for Mr Rossi. Make an appointment with Frank McKeown, Executive Director of the Burlington Economic Development Corporation. His job is to grow the commercial and industrial side of the tax base for the city. He also wants institutional but unless you want to put a jail on the property there is nothing there for you.
McKeown is a tough cookie; he was Chief of Staff to the Mayor for two years and is one of those serial entrepreneurs that goes from one success to another. He can read a balance sheet better than most people you are going to meet – profit and loss statements get the full Monty treatment from McKeown. Pass the smell test with McKeown and you just might improve the Rossi reputation
Most of the people in rural Burlington like the airport – they kind of like that light fluttering sound when aircraft are landing. What they don’t like is what you have done to several properties. And they don’t like the spin you put on almost everything.
Can a leopard change its spots? Probably not – can Vince Rossi change? That’s an open question in the minds of the vast majority of your neighbours.
The decent thing for you to do is buy the Sheldon property and get permission to fill the space between your two 30 foot piles of fill with landfill that meets all the testing requirements. Then use the proceeds of that landfill to pay Sheldon.
Finally Mr. Rossi – keep sending us your thoughts – we really want to see you succeed – just not at the expense of others.
By Pepper Parr
August 6, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON.
The Halton Region 311 service recorded more than 2200 telephone calls from regional residents; in Burlington there were at least 500 homes with varying degrees of water damage.
The Gazette newsroom had inches of water with two streams, albeit small ones coming in from both the back and the front. The proof-reader and the publisher were at one point in water up to their knees, bailing water out of a stair well outside the house that was threatening to add a foot of water to the lower level.
The city got more than two month’s worth of rain in three hours, which brought traffic on the QEW to a halt for periods of time and many of the east west roads impassable.
Other than clearing water on the streets, there wasn’t much more the city could do for residents, who were scrambling to get things out of the lower level of their homes. Initial reports indicate the southwest Ontario city received about 125 millimeters of rain, prompting 2,200 calls to the Region’s 311 service number.
Regional staff were pretty good at taking down basic information. The Region does have a support program for specific types of damage – unfortunately the people taking the calls didn’t have that information at hand.
A request to talk to someone, who could explain what was available and what the processes were to get help with the cost of repairing property, was one the Region could not meet. They advised the Gazette that the Regional web site would be updated.
The flooding moved a significant amount of earth that was covering a gas line that then sprung a leak. The fire department and the gas company were on hand to contain that crisis. The city set up a shelter at the Senior’s Centre and the Mainway area for those who needed a dry place to stay.
Goldring said the north area of the city, near Guelph Line north of Dundas Street is among the worst hit area in the city and many of the roads suffered significant damage.
The city kept up a steady flow of information with the Mayor getting to the airwaves with information – he did a much better job this time than he did with the Via Rail derailment a couple of years ago.
For those with serious water damage Tuesday was a day to be on the phone to the insurance companies and getting through to reclamation companies before all their available manpower was spoken for.
We don’t know how the Mayor did, but the Gazette managed to get a crew in by 4:00 pm – they stayed until well past midnight to take out all the carpeting and cut out two feet of drywall. The water was coming into the building from both the front and the back and the drain pipes were not able to handle the flow.
An interesting point. The city has a program, overseen by the Heritage Advisory Committee, that approves grants to owners of property that has historical significance. Those grants are for as much as several thousand dollars. Those people who suffered serious water damage may not live in historically significant dwellings – but they could use some financial support. One of our neighbours, a pastor at a church that does not have its own building, lost much of the paper work and supplies for his congregation.
The Region has two support programs:
Sewer Back-up Flooding Grant (i.e., Ex-Gratia Grant Program)
If your basement floods due to a sanitary sewer back-up, Halton Region may provide financial assistance in the amount of $1,000. This grant can help home owners to either offset the cost of a deductible on their personal home insurance or help with flood-related clean-up costs.
The Region also offers a one-time Basement Flooding Prevention Subsidy Program. Residents can receive a maximum of $2,725.00. Some of the detail on the Region’s web site:
This table lists a breakdown of the maximum allowances for certain drainage system materials and work, under Halton Region’s Basement Flooding Prevention Subsidy Program.
Weeping Tile Disconnection / Sump Pump System
- Disconnection of the weeping tiles/foundation drains from the sanitary sewer system.
- Purchase & installation of a sump pump system; to receive storm water from the weeping tiles and to direct water to suitable location away from home.
- Covers costs for materials, labour, permit & taxes.
- Disconnection of Downspouts
- Costs associated with redirecting downspouts away from home and to cap the existing pipe leading to the weeping tiles at the side of the home.
- Subsidy is for ½ of all costs up to a maximum of $250.00*Backwater Valve
- Purchase & installation of suitably sized Mainline Fullport Backwater Valve (with clear cover); to prevent sewage flows from backing up into the basement.
- Covers costs for materials, labour, permit & taxes.
- Subsidy is for ½ of the invoiced total by contractor up to a maximum of $675.00. * Homeowners will only quality for this subsidy if they have demonstrated they do not have any downspout or weeping tile/foundation drain connections to the sanitary sewer or coinciding with measures to eliminate these connections.The Application Process: How do I apply?
- Contact the Basement Flood Prevention Subsidy Program Coordinator at 905-825-6000 ext. 7918 and arrange a time for a Regional Representative to conduct a Household Drainage Survey (HHDS) at your home.
- During the survey, the Regional Representative will assess the general installation and characteristics of your home, advise what work would be eligible for subsidy funding and obtain proof of past flooding (contractor invoices, insurance statements etc.). The work eligible for subsidy will be summarized and left with the homeowner for the Contractor’s use to help itemize the costs. A video inspection of the sanitary sewer lateral may be conducted.
This kind of situation is probably the first time many Burlington residents have had to deal with the Region. Most people don’t realize that close to half of the annual salary each city council member gets comes from the Region, where they serve as regional Councillors.
During the Christmas power outage due to snow and freezing rain the city was the contact point and for those really hard hit in rural Burlington the city had set up a command post in Kilbride.
Water damage is a Regional responsibility – which means dealing with an organization that is a bit removed from the average citizen. This was one of the few occasions when the Regional Chair, Gary Carr, did not have comforting words for the citizens.
There was some sunshine on Tuesday; for those who suffered no damage the world will continue to revolve. For those who did experience flooding – they now enter into that phase called “fighting with the insurance company”. When the Gazette met with the reclamation company – there was no opportunity to negotiate a price. It was fixed, firm and you had better take it now before all the crews were sent elsewhere. We gulped and signed the agreement.
Once the water is out of the lower level and it is close to dry, we then get to find a contractor to replace the dry wall and decide what colour we want the space to be.
A final comment – the neighbours were great.
 By Staff
August 3, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON.
Two trailers loaded with athletic gear and parked in a driveway at 3335 North Service Road were “removed” sometime in the late night between July 30th and July 31st.
 Unmarked 53 foot trailers parked in a driveway on the North Service Road got taken away by thieves. The value of the contents was $430,000 of Adidas athletic shoes and apparel.
This had to be an inside job – somebody told somebody.
Detective Vince Couce of the 3 District Criminal Investigations Bureau at 905-825-4747 ext. 2307 or by e-mail to vince.couce@haltonpolice.ca has this file.
Does The HRPS have access to the film feed from the camera that dot the QEW? Trucks that size have to move along highways – but this was a planned job – and that merchandise is far from Burlington by now.
 Oddly enough, the detective investigators usually catch the culprits; they are very good at their jobs – we will watch for details on this one: $430,000 worth of equipment, that’s a lot of money.
If Crime Stoppers is your preferred way of talking to the police you can reach them at 1 800 222 8477 (TIPS) or through the web at www.haltoncrimestoppers.com or by texting “Tip201” with your message to 274637 (crimes).
By Pepper Parr
July 29, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON.
The power that your municipal government has can shock at times.
One of the things a city can do is expropriate a person’s property. They can’t just walk in a take it – there is a process that has to be followed. The city first has to serve notice that it wants to expropriate a piece of property and then there is what is called a Hearing of Necessity at which the city has to justify the wish to expropriate.
The city is doing reconstruction and widening of Waterdown Road between Plains Road and Masonry Court including the provisions of full municipal services. It needs to buy property to do that work. Vito Tolone, Senior Transportation Planner in the Engineering Department testified at a Hearing of Necessity that “as presently configured, Waterdown Road will not be able to accommodate the travel demand growth anticipated by 2031″
 A Hearing of Necessity report said just part 1 was needed for the road widening; city decided to expropriate all the land owned by the Lee family at the intersection of Plains Road and Waterdown Road. Not a word heard from the ward council member Rick Craven nor was any explanation given for the full taking Tolone also testified that if the sole objective of the City was to construct the presently planned works to the intersection of Plains Road East and Waterdown Road, a full taking of the Lee property would not be necessary.
Mr. Tolone testified that sometime between Environmental Assessment (EA) (December 6, 2006) and the Notice of Expropriation being served on the land owner on or about March 24, 2014 the City of Burlington decided that it was desirable that the City expropriate more land than required to perform the scope of the work contemplated in the EA document. On that basis, the City seeks a full expropriation of the Lee property.
The basis of that decision was stated by Mr. Tolone to be concerns about the growth of Plains Road which might require further widening. However, no description of the likely scope of such future work was given. In addition, there was no evidence that even with a requirement for a future widening or other work, that a full taking of the Lee property would be required.
Hearing officer Victor Freidin Q.C. , said in his findings that “There is nothing in the Notice of Grounds about the objective being wider than acquiring property to perform the “Work” as defined. If the objective was to make the road wider, as suggested by the City, it should have been so stated in the Notice of Grounds.
In my opinion, the Notice of Grounds gives rise to questions of prematurity, a concern that future work (after the “Works” are completed) is likely to occur. Even if am incorrect in that regard there was no evidence regarding the nature of any such future work, when that future work might occur, or the specific purpose of that future work. In addition, Mr. Tolone testified that the concern re future work would relate to Plains Road, but the two grounds described above refer to “future capacity and safety deficiencies along Waterdown Road”, not Plains Road. I further note that these references to future deficiencies appear to be traffic related -not some other unidentified concern.
“Prematurity” in the context of Hearings of Necessity, refers to a situation in which an expropriating authority seeks to expropriate land with insufficient evidence regarding when, if ever, land will be required in the future to achieve the objective of the Expropriating Authority. If an Expropriating Authority does not really know if it will ever have to use the expropriated land to achieve its objective, the tentative nature of that objective is a relevant factor to consider, when balancing the public and private interests. An Inquiry Officer can find that a proposed expropriation is not reasonably defensible because it is premature.
The onus at a Hearing of Necessity is on the Expropriating Authority to meet the test described in section 7(5) of the Expropriations Act. I find that they have failed to meet that test as it relates to its proposed full taking.
Sounds like a open and shut case. City first asks for part of the 1300 sq m property (410 to be exact), but then changes its mind and says it wants all the property without giving the required justification.
The owners of the property, Mrs. Kyung Ja Lee (Lucia Lee) understood the need to widen the road, but she didn’t feel the city needed all of her property. Isaac Tang, her lawyer argued that the city could take a portion of the property and leave the rest in the hands of the owner.
Doing an actual expropriation takes time – about four months before the property changes hands. The Lee’s said they were prepared to use a section of the Expropriation Act that would give the land to the city on the understanding that the portion not needed would be returned to them. Isaac Tang said the Lees were prepared to let the price to be paid for the land, to be agreed upon after the expropriation has been done.
The property, amounting to 1300 square feet has been the location of the Murray Variety store that the Lee family operated for many, many years. They were the typical Korean immigrant family that bought the property, operated the store and lived in the space above the store. They worked hard and they prospered. When Mr. Lee died, Mrs. Lee found that she could no longer operate the store by herself and she rented out the business.
The Hearing of Necessity report was dated June 24th and went to the Community and Corporate Standing Committee on July 8th – things seldom move at that speed in any municipality.
When the matter got to the Standing Committee it got less than 30 seconds. Chairman Meed Ward asked if there was any discussion; there being none she asked someone to move the report – Councillor Rick Craven moved it – and off it went to city council for final approval.
Isaac Tang, counsel for the Lee family, did not attend the Standing Committee, probably a tactical error. He said there was some confusion as to the dates for the meeting and that he could not find any reports on the city web site (We are hearing more of the complaint lately.)
 It is a busy intersection and Waterdown Road does have to be widened to handle future traffic projections. City documents said less than a third of the land was needed – they expropriated all the land without giving a public explanation. When he did delegate at city council he got caught by the clock that gave him just five minutes to make his points. Along with the decision from the Hearing of Necessity Officer that the city had not made its case for a full taking, Tang pointed out the city was relying on a section of the Municipal Act, that had been repealed some time ago. Some in the legal department had not done their homework.
The city argued that the remaining 900 square meters was too small to develop; Tang pointed out it was less than a km from the Aldershot GO station and part of a major traffic intersection. Tang said he could see a Starbucks going in there easily.
Tang added to what could only be seen as an impressive set of arguments, when he pointed out that if property acquired by the city for a purpose and then was not used for that purpose, the city was obligated to make it available to the original owner.
There were a few questions from Council – Councillor Sharman was brusque, close to being rude, when he asked Mr. Tang why he was not at the Standing committee meeting.
Council planned on going into a Closed Session to hear what the legal department had to say as to why they were apparently supporting the full taking. The public will never know what the city lawyers had to say – all that is off the record.
Council stayed in closed session for just over half an hour. When they came out they passed the motion to expropriate, which was not set out in the Council agenda; so no one was all that sure just what it was they were passing.
And that was it. Not a word from Councillor Craven whose ward the property was located in; not a word as to why the city chose to disregard the finding of the Hearing of Necessity Officer.
No one explained to the Lee’s why all of their property was being taken when the reports made it clear that all of the land was not needed.
Those words: transparency and accountability got lost at this council meeting.
The Mayor who likes to pride himself on his compassion for people wasn’t even able to look the Lee’s in they eye.
 The Lee family immigrated from Korea more than 30 years ago; worked hard, raised two children and prospered. They understood that the city had to expropriate part of the land – they just didn’t understand why it was all taken. They will be paid fair price – but based on documents put into evidence at the Hearing of Necessity – the property was not needed. An immigrant family, who matriarch was now the head of the household had to listen and try to understand why 30 years of hard work was being taken from them.
Yes, they would be paid a fair price – but that wasn’t the issue. The land was theirs; it wasn’t needed by the city, but they took it anyway.
They had the power to do so. Lord Acton, who visited Burlington not that long ago, was the son of the Peer who wrote: “Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”
Let Councillor Cravens friends in the Beachway heed this example. The same thing is going to happen to them. Small matter that the Beachway property belongs to the Region, these municipal bureaucrats are all cut from the same cloth.
By Pepper Parr
July 28, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON.
They aren’t going to give up
There is something to be said about a city that has these small pockets of people who just don’t know how to give up. More than a year ago city council decided that despite the objections of more than a 300 people and against the staff recommendation they had in front of them, council decided they would sell a small stretch of waterfront land to an adjacent property owners.
 This is the view that will be lost to the public forever should the center property be sold. One wonders if the city would allow the property to be fenced off? Probably The first due date for the valuation of the property May 2014 but that had to be extended with no specific return date. The property in question is owned by both the city and the provincial Ministry of Natural Resources and they were apparently having both second thoughts as to whether or not the property should even be sold and the possible price as well.
 The view to the east from the foot of St.Paul Street. This would become one of the “windows on the lake” In their complaint the BWC argued that a “decision by Burlington City Council that is inconsistent with approved City policy and contrary to a staff report on the topic of the Water Street walkway/parkette.
 There are three parcels of land. The city currently owns the ones on the left and the right. The parcel in the centre is owned by the province and the city. The city said it would create “windows on the lake” with “minimal” amenities on the left and the right and sell the property in the centre to adjacent property owners. Deal hasn’t been done yet. Getting their complaint made turned out to be easier said than done. The Burlington Waterfront Committee first took their complaint to the provincial Ombudsman. Bureaucracies being what they are it took some time to get paper back and forth only to learn that people in Burlington do not get to take their complaints to the Ombudsman – they have to deal with Local Authority Services (LAS) which is a wholly owned subsidiary company of the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO)
In order to get your complaint before LAS one needs to lay all their cards in front of the city clerk who then normally asks for a fee of $100. That fee was waived for the Burlington Waterfront Committee.
The complaint is now in the hands of an independent investigator.
The issue has to do with an unopened road allowance known as Water Street that lies between Market St. and St. Paul St. in downtown Burlington. At one point Water Street, which no longer exists, was the main road along the lake’s edge.
Back when the city had an official waterfront advisory committee they looked into upgrading, improving and adding to the collection of Windows on the Lake. These are very small parcels of land the city owns that are at the edge of the lake and serve as places where people can sit on a bench an just enjoy the view.
When the Waterfront Advisory Committee was brought to an end the “unofficial” Burlington Waterfront Committee was formed and they have got their teeth into ensuring that the old Water Street land just doesn’t disappear into the hands of private people.
The BWC argues that if the City concludes the sale of this property, the public will lose this waterfront asset forever. At the October 2013 Committee meeting which was held in closed session, the Councillors directed staff to negotiate the sale and report back in six months despite delegations from citizens and from the Burlington Waterfront Committee (BWC) and a staff report that recommended retaining and using the land for public use. In May 2014 City Councillors extended the negotiation period with no end date. The BWC attempted to present its case again that the sale was contrary to City Policy, however the BWC delegation was ruled out of order as the specific issue on the agenda was limited to the status of negotiations.
Citizens get suspect when dates for decisions get pushed back with no real date set. Files like that tend to get lost which is what got this whole matter before the public.
 A group of citizens proposed a pathway through the properties – it never got off the ground. But when the idea was put forward – it wasn’t an election year. Burlington was the lead city in what is now known as the Lake Ontario Waterfront Trail that starts at Lake Erie and runs along the edge of Lake Ontario all the way to the Quebec border.
While the piece of land between Market and St. Paul streets is very small – it is an important part of the trail that former Toronto Mayor David Crombie created.
Like the famed Bruce Trail – these things start out as an idea and they grow. It takes council members with vision and a true understanding of what their city is about to ensure that its heritage is maintained and grown. Vision has always been a problem for this council.
Background links:
It started with the old Waterfront Advisory Committee
Waterfront Advisory died and so did the idea for more Windows on the Lake.
Private interests made their move to buy the land.
Selling the family jewels Part 1
Selling the family jewels Part 2
How the city decided to sell it.
It wasn’t a popular decision
By Pepper Parr
July 27, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON
There are many views on the reformed Economic Development Corporation that has just held its first Board meeting. That occasion may have been the first time these men and women have met each other.
It takes time for a board to gel but Burlington doesn’t appear to want to give them even a little breathing room. At a city council workshop on commercial strategies and how zoning could be used to entice development to the city, much was made of the role the EDC was going to play in all this.
 Frank McKeown, then the Mayors Chief of Staff explains a concept to Ward 5 Councillor Paul Sharman, when the city was developing its Strategic Plan. Sharman is now in a race for his council seat, while McKeown serves as Executive Director of the reformed Economic Development Corporation of which Sharman is a city representative. EDC Executive Director Frank McKeown was in the audience and he wasn’t taking any notes. Much of the comment on what the EDC could do was coming from ward 5 Councillor Paul Sharman who also sits as one of the city representatives on the EDC Board. When that Board met a week after the city workshop there would surely have been much comment on where the direction for the EDC was to come from.
It is an arm’s length organization, funded by the city and responsible for carrying out the mandate the city gives it. What hasn’t been spelled it in really simple language is just what that mandate is.
There are some who know what it is, but they’ve not said very much about how they intend to deliver on the mandate.
To be fair, the EDC board will need some time to get its act together. The members of the Board do get paid for the work they do – there was some grumbling about that. Should they be paid? The private sector members are entitled to payment – those who hold elected office or represent a city agency should not be paid; that is called double dipping.
 One source, who has a considerable amount of experience with both the Planning Act and Community Improvements Programs, spoke on the condition that he not be identified, said that in “Burlington CIP’s are idea driven, not market driven . A CIP should not be presented without risk consideration – look around – the biggest empty office tower and shopping centre in downtown Hamilton was a community renewal plan; and so too, the downtown disaster mall in Brantford. At least for these projects we had three levels of government carefully reviewing the plans, full public participation is required, and the funding risks shared among three levels of government – the feds paying 50 cents on the dollar. All the marketing research firms said these projects would not fail – same guys who built the Titanic I guess.”
 Mayor Rick Goldring: He has a pro-active mode and when he’s confident he puts it to good use. . “So now, a new Burlington BEDC that has no cash flow, no experience, paying its Board, and modeled after the non-competitive Hydro utility which should be sold ASAP – go figure? Is it a panacea or political placebo?
“I have a lot of respect for both the Executive Director and the people in the planning department, but let’s not go in with rose colored glasses.”
Indeed let us go into this with our eyes wide open and with as much information as possible. McKeown has said the EDC he runs will be transparent; the hope is that he will be forthcoming with information on a timely basis.
 Councillor Jack Dennison, running again in ward 4 serves as a city representative on the Economic Development Corporation. Dennison has yet to see a deal he did not like. McKeown works with an 11 person board with just one member kept over from the previous board that has Gary Graham, Chairman Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP; Rick Goldring City of Burlington; Paul Sharman City of Burlington; Jack Dennison, City of Burlington; Ruta Stauskas, Boehringer Ingelhein (Canada) Ltd.; Bonnie Prior; Appraisal Institute of Canada; Randall Smallbone Portland Investment Counsel; Michael Hanna Kylin Developments Inc.; Gordon Knack, MHPM Project Managers Inc.; Dr. David Conrath, Conrath Communications Ltd.;– President; Patrick Moyle City of Burlington.
We don’t know much about these people other than they applied to be members of the board. Dr. Conrath appears to have a very interesting resume while Kylin Developments has a web site that says they will do almost anything you want and they will do it well.
 By Staff
July 27, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON.
With no ward debates planned, except for ward 4 where a debate is scheduled for October 1 with Maureen Tilson-Dyment moderating a panel of three journalists, who will have questions for the candidates. Get a ticket to this one.
Without debates in each ward, all the best candidates can do is knock on doors and hope that people spread the word.
What we might be seeing is a media release campaign where candidates send out their statements and positions on issues and hope that media pick up what they produce.
The Gazette will be publishing almost everything it gets.
Some candidates, notably Jennifer Hlusko running in ward 6, are making exceptional use of social media. Hlusko gets something out on her blog almost daily and covers a wide range of issues.
 The Skyway Plaza is seen as a location with an absentee landlord who does not want to talk to anyone about improving the property. The city has wanted to see something done with this location and the sitting council member appears to have made it an election issue in his ward. Direct the Director of Planning and Building and request the Executive Director of the Burlington Economic Development Corporation as follows:
Prepare a series of re-development options for the site based on intensive mixed use re-development and approach the owners of the property with the redevelopment plans; and
Investigate and report on the authority available to permit the use of incentives for re-developing the site, and
Provide an estimate of the resources needed to prepare and implement a Community Improvement Plan.
And it didn’t take the planner very long to pull together a committee and start figuring out what they could take back to Council in September. They had a committee set up within a week.
The Economic Development Corporation had yet to hold its first board meeting when the Staff Direction was approved. It would be interesting to hear what the Board thought of the Sharman idea.
Not quite so fast was Smith’s response. There is a public that has to be involved. “In preparing to run for city council” Smith said, “I have studied Community Planning in other cities, notably in Toronto. I can tell council that Burlington needs to do a couple of things to establish any Community Improvement Planning (CIP) process; we need to have a CIP specifically sanctioned in our Official Plan – and that is already in place. However; according to the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing: “The Planning Act requires that public meetings be held before a community improvement plan can be considered by council”.
Smith has been campaigning since April on a 3 for 5 platform; three policy ideas for Burlington’s Ward 5. Basically he is focusing on how the city plans, how people get around the city and how we pay for the city we want.
 There is a single ice pad arena at the rear of the plaza that the city felt could be part of a land assembly to do something significant. Smith however has several major concerns including the failure to follow proper council procedure. The staff direction “was not presented to the public for discussion – unless you count my proposal on my website (3for5.ca) nor was the idea presented to a committee as is the accepted and normal practice.”
Smith adds that: “This proposal for a staff direction to study a CIP was also not circulated to council prior to their last meeting of the summer. Rather it came as a surprise agenda item. This oversight makes me question the skill, ability and experience of a sitting city Councillor at the end, rather the beginning of his term and makes me further question his motives.”
Smith points out that the East End of Burlington is a gateway to the City for the vast majority of residents, businesses, and visitors. Lakeside plaza is only one of many under-utilized resources in the East End. The present Councillor may not agree, but the East End should be playing a major role in the development of the city.”
Smith wants whatever is done “to be a legitimate process”, and adds that we “need to remember Burlington has an engagement charter that is supposed to be city policy, Community Planning is too important to the future of our city and to Ward 5 to have it be predetermined by yet another secret back room deal, we’ve had enough of those in the past few years.”
 A very large park space is adjacent to the recreation centre which is at the rear of the plaza – which many feel has the makings of a significant opportunity to develop the east end of the city.
 Frank McKeown, then the Mayors Chief of Staff explains a concept to Ward 5 Councillor Paul Sharman. McKeown went on to become the Executive Director of the reformed Economic Development Corporation which Sharman wants to do something to revive the east end of the city. Smith added: “Far too often with the present Ward 5 Councillor, public meetings and engagement mean window dressing; in other words, tell citizens what the city has decided after decisions have already been made. We can’t let this continue to happen! We need to go beyond the present Ward 5 councilor’s timid and sneaky proposal, a proposal that illustrates his record as a city Councillor, a record that can be summed up best as Ready, Fire, Aim!”
The gloves are off in ward 5.
Background links:
How that staff direction got passed.
By Pepper Parr
July 21, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON
He will begin his second year of life on Tuesday. HRH Prince George Alexander Louis of Cambridge, the fourth in line to the Throne and the person, who will at some point become the Monarch of Canada, is also the recipient of a handsomely bound Book of Best Wishes from the people of Burlington.
The idea for the Book of Best Wishes came from the community and was made real by a small committee of four people: Joe Veitch, Susan Fraser, Selina McCall and publisher of the Burlington Gazette Pepper Parr.
Once the fundamentals were in place the group met with the Mayor to get a buy in at that level. While the initiative came from the community, it was important for the city to be onside. The Mayor loved the idea – “cool” he said, and then suggested that the signing period be extended a few days to include Canada Day.
 No fancy “apps” in the classic binding business. Our binder is in the business of restoring ancient volumes and making presentation copies of original work. We are looking forward to their doing our binding for 50 years and then some. Joe Veitch recruited the volunteers needed to be at the tables, where people could sign the sheets and write their greeting.
 This banner, which stood 7 feet high was set out wherever the public was invited to sign the Book of Best Wishes. The challenge now is for the “trust” running this project, to determine what the picture will be for next year. Joan Krygsman and Selina McCaul, designed the banner. First time out on this project, we learned a lot of lessons – almost everything ended up costing more than we had planned.
Many wondered why they couldn’t see the finished product, when they were signing. We had people at a number of places on the same day – and we didn’t know how many signatures we were going to manage to collect – and thus didn’t know how thick the book was going to be.
Special metal plates had to be made for the gold embossing that was to be stamped into the leather. We would set the type, send it to the book binder, who would have the metal plate made. We had to do some guessing as to how many signatures might be collected – that would determine the thickness of the book and also the size of the plate that had to be made.
The book couldn’t be shown to anyone until it was bound and it couldn’t be bound until all the pages with signatures had been collected..
To get around this problem we endured the expense of having a demonstration copy made – a book bound the way the actual version was to be bound, but with blank pages inside.
One doesn’t just send a book to a Prince. Anything of any significance that gets sent to members of the Royal family, goes through the offices of the Governor General at Rideau Hall in Ottawa. Rideau Hall, home of the Governor General has staff that communicates with the various members of the Royal family – well not the Dukes or Princes or the Duchesses personally – but with their staff. All this communication is bound by more protocol than you can imagine.
Because the Book of Best Wishes was a new idea, it took a bit of talking to convince Rideau Hall to go along with us; it wasn’t until they saw a picture of a sample binding that they understood just what we had in mind.
 Citizens signing the Book of Best Wishes at the Burlington Library on New Street. The Mayor convinced us to set up in Spencer Smith Park on Canada Day – that worked out very well.
 Burlington Gazette publisher Pepper Parr works with binder Keith Felton on the way pages will be gathered together for binding into the first Book of Best Wishes being sent to HRH Prince George Alexander Louis to celebrate his first birthday. The volume was ready in a few days and shipped to Ottawa where it had to be x-rayed before it could be accepted and then sent off to Kensington Palace where the Prince will celebrate his very first birthday.
We have no idea if the Prince will actually see the book – who knows how Royal Families work, but we believe that the parents will see and handle the book – and perhaps wonder just where Burlington is anyway.
The project has been organized as a “trust” so that its members can replicate themselves and ensure that a Book of Best Wishes is sent to the Prince every birthday of his life.
There is more to the project – stay tuned.
 By Pepper Parr
July 21, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON.
The Skyway Plaza, an east end commercial location that is as close to a suburban slum as Burlington is going to see, has suddenly become headline news – especially in ward 5, where Councillor Paul Sharman senses he might be facing a tough opponent in the October municipal election.
Forlorn looking Skyway Plaza – looking for someone to save the place – but the owners seems content to leave it as it is. Has the Council member made the site an election issue? There is a basement bowling alley that hasn’t been used in years. There was once a Swiss Chalet; the Shoppers Drug Mart has a very faded sign and you’ll not have a problem getting a parking spot. To the rear of the plaza, there is a single pad arena that could use an upgrade.
Councillor Sharman has been doing everything he can for the past three years to get something going, but has gotten absolutely no traction with the absentee owner of the property. At one Standing Committee meeting, then city manager, Jeff Fielding suggested that the city could pool the property it has to the rear of the plaza and come up with a major development opportunity. What would it take to get to that point, asked Sharman? A staff direction would get us started, replied Fielding. But that wasn’t enough.
Sharman has made phone calls – dropped into offices in Toronto – nothing.
When Council went into a Workshop setting a week or so ago to look at ideas and opportunities to put some oomph into the commercial side of the city’s finances – Sharman was all over the idea of doing something with the best opportunity he has of raising his profile during an election year.
During that Workshop July 7th, mention was made of Community Improvement Programs (CIP). There wasn’t much more than a mention of CIP’s during the Workshop, but that mention was enough to get Sharman moving.
At the city council meeting of the 14th, Councillor Sharman put forward what Councillor Taylor called a Walk On motion, that few saw before it was actually presented. Sharman didn’t inform his colleagues – other than the mayor – but he did manage to get a majority of council to allow the motion.
Sharman explained in a telephone conversation. that getting the memo on the motion he had planned to put forward was left in the hands of the Clerk. Apparently planner Bruce Kruchelnicki was drafting at least a part of the document and was to send it along to the Clerk – who apparently failed to get it out to the other members of Council.
That comes pretty close to saying the dog ate my homework excuse – limp and lame if you ask me.
Much of the debate on the Sharman motion was at times contentious, if not nasty, but they managed to agree on a Staff Direction that went as follows:
DIRECTION REGARDING LAKESIDE PLAZA
Direct the Director of Planning and Building and request the Executive Director of the Burlington Economic Development Corporation as follows:
- Prepare a series of re-development options for the site based on intensive mixed use re-development and approach the owners of the property with the redevelopment plans; and
- Investigate and report on the authority available to permit the use of incentives for re-developing the site, and
- Provide an estimate of the resources needed to prepare and implement a Community Improvement Plan. (SD-23-14)
A Recorded Vote was requested by Councillor Dennison on the above recommendation, resulting in the following:
IN FAVOUR: Councilors Craven, Dennison, Sharman, Lancaster and Mayor Goldring
No one in Halton has done a CIP in more than 20 years; no one seemed to know all that much about the things – until Councillor Meed Ward informed Council that the downtown development group knew all about the things and that all they had to do was ask Special Business Area Coordinator Jody Wellings, who has been looking for ways to make a CIP work for the downtown core and Aldershot, but no one has actually asked Ms Wellings to do anything – yet.
Back in the 70’s and 80’s the provincial government made some money available for CIP type projects – but that tap got turned off and it isn’t likely to get turned on again.
However Wellings knows her stuff and she will get more than a chance to set out some of the potential at a meeting planned for tomorrow. Unusual for a team to get put together quite that fast. Is the force behind all this the Sharman Staff Direction or is it the EDC exercising some of the muscle it is supposed to have?
What was evident during the debate was the total lack of process – matters like this get brought to a Standing Committee, where input from staff enhances the debate. But that wasn’t the route Councillor Sharman wanted to take – he has an election he wants to win, and he needs an issue that puts more space between him and what looks like a strong contender.
The city owned area, with a very large play field area is right behind the plaza – this is what the city hopes to attract developers to – possible? With discussion about spending money for community improvement elsewhere in Burlington on the table, Ward 1 Councillor Rick Craven mentioned that Aldershot likes the look of those Community Improvement Projects as well.
The reformed Economic Development Corporation (EDC) looks as if it is going to become the financial saviour of the city. During the workshop on the 7th – several references were made on how the EDC could work with the city and the role it would play in getting the Skyway Plaza situation fixed. Executive Director Frank McKeown was in the audience, but he wasn’t taking notes.
The EDC board met for the first time on the 15th – the day after Council approved the Staff Direction requesting that it jump into bed with the city on this one. Sharman is a city representative on the EDC board.
The elephant in the room is the massive shopping centre planned for the other side of the Burlington/ Oakville border – blocks away from Skyway. Why all the fuss and bother over a Council Workshop and a Staff Direction? Burlington now knows that it cannot expect to pull in the kind of revenue it used to on development charges – it now has to expand the tax base on the Industrial, Commercial and Institutional (ICI) sector and it has reformed the EDC to make that happen.
The end run that Sharman did at Council before it rose for the summer looked like corporate shenanigans – not a good sign.
The expropriation done at Plains Road left at lot to be desired in terms of the way a property owner was treated. More on that on another day.
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