By Staff
BURLINGTON, ON March 19, 2012 – Gerry Visca, an inspirational speaker takes the view that each of us has a brand and we can advance our personal interests, our job prospects and career aspirations if we define, refine and promote our individual brand.
Visca works with people who want to create their own brand. Among people he has worked with is a woman who is a “divorce coach”. She created a brand and works with people going through a divorce. These assignments are short term but very focused and intense. The Divorce Coach explained that people going through a divorce don’t have much in the way of a skill set to fall back on for what is a very emotionally traumatic experience for both men and women. A person needs access to very specific skills that are experienced in the world of managing ones way through a divorce.
Gerry Visca turns a skill set into a brand.
Brands, according to Visca are not just for the big names. He asks: “Ever wonder why certain brands like Amazon, Nike, Apple and Starbucks generate incredible momentum and buzz while other ones like Nokia find themselves standing still? There isn’t what I refer to as a culture of initiation driving their momentum. What I mean by that is there isn’t a culture of starting, raising your hand, speaking out, leaning forward, screwing up and learning from it.”
Well, let’s let Gerry Visca tell his own story.
The role of your brand in the lives of your client’s is more important today than ever before. I want you to view your brand as an invisible aura of meaning and emotion, a living entity if you will with the ability to create choice, build trust and establish loyalty. One of my goals as a branding expert in Canada is to help my clients ‘inspire to action’ and kick start a strong foundation by creating a culture of initiation within their brand experience. There is something special about getting out there and being recognized for taking action. Ask yourself the following questions right now as you contemplate building a culture of initiation: How can we stand out? How can we engage our target audience? The two key elements in those questions stem from the art of differentiation and meaningful engagement. Too often I see the start of what can be an incredible branding platform only to then witness a leader pulling back and pumping the breaks. The following are tips designed to help you build a culture of initiation within your brand:
Adapt to whatever changes the marketplace throws at you.
Design marketing strategies that stir a sense of emotion Why? To connect emotionally with your audience. A great example of this is ‘Coca-Cola’s Celebration Mix’ – a remix of previously unknown Somali Canadian artist K’Naan’s song “Waving Flag’ – became the unofficial anthem of the World Cup which made a powerful impact on individuals at the event. It resulted in more than 13 million web site hits. Worth looking at. hits: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTJSt4wP2ME)
Understanding the behavior of your brand will help you lay a stronger foundation for your marketing efforts going forward. Another great tactic is using feedback with your clients and weaving their insights into your practices. Think of creating brand ambassadors with your key clients by making them a part of your process.
Create something that connects and your story will travel faster than ever before.
Visca runs a Branding Boot Camps® and claims it became a world-class product that brought him to the point where his reputation became international.
Visca has been an inspirational speaker at Burlington Economic Development lunches where he had everyone in the room on their feet hugging each other. For Burlington – THAT is inspirational.
You can reach Gerry Visca at gerry@redchairbranding.com
By Staff
BURLINGTON, ON March 20, 2012 Spencer Campbell grew up in Burlington and lives here now. He’s done some amazing things but it is his latest initiative that you might want to hear about. Keep the words TEDx Burlington in mind and you might want to reserve May 27th for a possible outing.
TED stands for a Technology, Entertainment, Design. It is a known as a group that pulls together people who have Ideas Worth Spreading and Campbell is bringing a version of that program to Burlington. The local version is called TEDxBurlington.
TED'x's have been held all around the world - Waterloo Ontario recently held a TEDx - now Burlington.
TED is an international organization created to get people talking about ideas and then spreading those ideas as far and as wide as possible and then putting them on a web site. It is a non-profit organization devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. It started out in 1984 as a conference bringing together people from three worlds: Technology, Entertainment, Design. Since then its scope has become ever broader. Along with two annual conferences — the TED Conference in Long Beach and Palm Springs each spring, and the TEDGlobal conference in Edinburgh UK each summer — TED includes the award-winning TEDTalks video site.
TED has thousands of filmed talks from the likes of Sir Richard Branson, Bill Clinton, Jane Goodall, astronomers / physicists to philosophers/performers to many, many less known but just as inspirational speakers. The intent is to get highly motivated speakers –those who are professional and those who are not – from various walks of life to share their personal passion on issues that matter for audience discussion.
The TEDx program gives communities, organizations and individuals the opportunity to stimulate dialogue through TED-like experiences at the local level. TEDx events are planned and coordinated independently.
Spencer Campbell, entrepreneur and Burlington resident is heading up the group bringing a TEDx event to the city.
Spencer Campbell is bringing TEDx to Burlington to do the same thing and has so far confirmed four speakers for his May 27th event. Get to TEDxBurlington for more details.
On the platform so far are:
• Dr. Jean Chamberlain – distinguished McMaster Medical Professor and Founder of www.savethemothers.org an organization that focuses on reducing maternal mortality in African developing countries.
• Patrick O’Neill – CEO of www.extraordinary conversations.com a leadership expert who has been involved with the Middle Eastern Peace Process
• Michael Jones – a Juno nominate Pianist who will perform during the session and ask us to explore the heart of our own creativity
• Josh Nelson – a childhood cancer survivor. Three years ago Josh asked the Sears National Kids Cancer Ride cycling team to ride for him until the day he could ride with them. Two years ago Spencer Campbell cycled with 41 others across Canada in 15 days to raise more than $1.5M for childhood cancer patient needs – Josh joined them from Woodstock to Toronto. He gave an incredibly moving speech when they stopped in Burlington. Last year Josh cycled – from Vancouver to Halifax.
• Scott Graham – author, sought after speaker who focuses on helping kids develop character, confidence and budding leadership.
• Trish Barbato – author, inspirer and career planning expert
TEDx events have taken place in cities around the world. The advent of a TEDx in a city is usually a sign that it has grown up and has an engaged informed population.
TEDx Burlington will take place in the Community Studio at the Performing Arts Centre. Each speaker gets a maximum of 16 minutes. The event runs from 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm with a reception after the event at Thinkspot!, a three minute walk from the Performing Arts Centre.
The event is limited to 100 thinkers/doers/humanists. All the “talks” are videotaped and streamed online.
Campbell feels Burlington is ready for a TED event. They do tie in nicely with Mayor Goldring’s Inspire series where experts in different fields come to the city to engage the community in subjects that relate directly to Burlington.
By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON March 17, 2012 There are rumblings on the waterfront – people at Conservation Halton along with people at city hall were getting frustrated with the pace – actually the lack of any pace, with the development slated for the Riviera Motel site on Lakeshore Road currently zoned to hold two seven storey buildings and a 22 storey tower – but nothing is happening.
Looking from the eastern end of the Mayrose Tycom property you see the Riviera Motel that will get torn down, with the unfinished Pier in the background and the walkway at the edge of the lake. The set back the Conservation authority is threatening to invoke would relate to this area.
The Waterfront Access and Advisory Committee was given an update last week on a project that got approved back in 1994 – that was seventeen years ago. The critical piece of information in the update was that the Conservation Halton people put the developer on notice that “development of the property must proceed by the end of 2012 or else the new Ontario Regulation 162/06 will take effect, increasing the required shoreline set back.” Ouch!
Set back means less space for the developer. Less space to develop translates into less height and less height means less density, which then translates into fewer condo units that can be built and that comes down to the number of dollars in sales. And dollars is what development is all about. As Albert Facenda put it during a delegation to Council, “when a developer can tear down one building and put up two buildings in the same space, that’s pure gold”. A few weeks later Facenda got appointed to the Burlington Heritage Advisory Committee. Facenda didn’t manage to get to the first meeting he was entitled to attend as a full member.
This is the beginning of a pathway on the east side of the Mayrose Tycon property where a pathway leads to the waters edge The Pier is visible in the background with the Riviera Motel showing as well.
The plan for what is known as the Mayrose Tycon project, that exists on paper, and perhaps in the heart of an architect somewhere, was to have a hotel at street level – along the south side of Lakeshore Road. Behind the hotel and closer to the lake would be a 7 story condo and to the west of both buildings there would be a condo/mixed uses building that would soar 22 storeys into the air and completely obliterate the view for the folks across the street, who paid big dollars for the condos they own.
The design was to have an open space from Lakeshore Road down to the lake and there was talk of an open garden area but there isn’t a site plan for anyone to look at so no one knows what we are going to see down there.
There is a pathway down the east side of the property that will give access to the walkway that is now in place. This will eventually connect up to the lawns in front of the Beaver and the Bulldog which is at the base of the existing Waterfront Hotel, which is next to Pier, that will go into its final phase of development in the Spring. The end result, if we ever get there, will be an even nicer stretch along the water-front that will allow walking from the canal in the west to what is basically the bottom of Martha Street.
The football shaped piece of property seen from the west end with Lakeshore road on the left and Old Lakeshore Road on the right. It is adjacent to the Mayrose Tycon property.
Lovely idea – but there has been no development at the Riviera site. The most recent flurry of activity was the trade the city made for a spot of land where the existing Lakeshore Road and the Old Lakeshore Road meet. The city exchanged land they own for a public pathway right along the water’s edge – that gave the developer a better shaped piece of property to develop and the city got ownership of a strip of land along the edge of the water.
Chatter amongst the people who know something of what`s taking place development wise was that the Minto Group were talking to the Mayrose Tycon people about developing the lands that had been assembled but nothing seems to have come of that. The thinking was for some kind of high end condo development but the Minto people who certainly know how to build and operate high end condos was that the market wouldn’t support the thinking.
Delta Hotels were reported to be talking to Mayrose Tycon about a hotel – but the economy had not yet come out of the doldrums that American mortgage market greed put the world economy into – so that didn’t come to pass. Mayrose Tycon, the company that assembled the property, now wants to find someone to develop and finally get a return to the very patient investors who are reported to be Austrian.
Both the city planning department and most members of city council are getting frustrated and kind of fed up with the delays. Mayrose Tycon has zoning along the waterfront that they would not be able to get today given the changed view of the way the waterfront should be developed. At the time, back in 1995, the thinking was that the city needed a landmark development and a 22 storey tower would certainly be a landmark – so Council at the time went along with the proposal.
The Riviera Motel and the land to the right of it plus a bit to the left of this picture would house two seven storey buildings plus a 22 storey tower. The pathway seen here was built by the developer in exchange for some land along the edge of Lakeshore Road.
The property was the only commercial waterfront land in the downtown and was to house a landmark building with continuity on the waterfront trail and a strong urban design. The Official Plan designation set the maximum footprint for the taller building at 600m2
At the time the lands had an H for hold designation – that got removed when a shoreline Environmental Assessment was completed. The shoreline protection features and a public walkway were approved in 2000 with construction to begin in 2004. Believe it or not a Fisheries Act Permit was needed and granted – it was valid until December of 2004.
Zoning for the lands that was proposed to be amended in 1999 lapsed when conditions were not met. It came back to Council in April of 2004 when the heights were taken to the current 22, 7 and 7 storey buildings. They were originally 30, 7 and 7 with vehicle access to a center courtyard. Neighborhood meetings were held in February and April of 2005.
There were meetings with Conservation Halton in 2005. At that time Conservation Authority regulations did not apply to the shore line of Lake Ontario. Conservation Halton evaluated the shoreline protection works and provided positive comments to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans.
The shoreline protection work was completed in 2004/5 at a cost of approximately $2 million.
Required zoning was approved in June 2006 for a design that included:
A 22 story tower with 100 units
A 7 story tower with 50 units
A 7 storey hotel
2,270 m2 of ground floor commercial space
A publicly accessible center courtyard with a water feature and stairs to the lake
188 residential plus 272 non-residential parking spaces
A narrow floor plate for the 22 story building
All this was approved subject to:
A cash in lieu of parkland payment
An agreement of purchase and sale for land exchange.
Section 41 and Section 37 Planning Act Agreements being signed.
The H (Holding) designation requires land acquisition, utility planning, Record of Site Condition and wind study to be completed before it can be removed.
All this was done and the implementing by-law was approved by Council on June 15, 2009.
Can you see …
You can see where all this is going. The rules and regulations that apply to this site and this development are getting stiffer and more stringent, which puts the developer in a bit of a bind. You can expect the developer to be hiring planners, lawyers or other advocates to plead for the time and other considerations needed to get this project done.
Mayor Goldring has an opportunity to show a different kind of leadership and take the city in a direction former Mayor MacIsaac wasn't able to take it. He has a very full plate with the Pier, which is now under control, the hospital that isn't under control, the Beachway which has all kinds of potential and then the Mayrose Tycon property and the Old Lakeshore Precinct.
Well since 2009 The Pier took over the front pages and while it has cost us a bundle, it will become the landmark the city has been looking for – and The Pier is at least being built.
When the Conservation people served their notice on Mayrose Tycon they were upping the anti and telling Mayrose Tycon that if you don`t do something by the end of December you will be subject to a bigger set back from the edge of the lake – which could be as much as 15 to 20 feet. That means the developer has less land to build on – and the last thing a develop wants is to tangle with regulators, especially Conservation people.
The Mayrose Tycon people have been given more than a handful of breaks and the city along with the Conservation people want to see some movement. This is certainly putting some pressure on the owners of the property but there are other events taking place that have the possibility of the city losing all control over the development of the Old Lakeshore Precinct of the city – which is the land from about Brant Street east to about Martha Street.
The waterfront file was once THE Councillor Meed Ward domain but she has backed a bit away from this one of late.
Within the area there is a piece of land referred to as the football because of its shape. The western tip is currently occupied by a real estate office; that land is owned by a family trust. The eastern tip is now owned by the Carnacelli group that also owns the property on the corner of John and Brant Streets, right opposite city Hall.
Carnacelli also has a property in Hamilton that is under active development – and while developers like to build things they do so only when the economy is favourable to profitable development and right now the economy isn’t capable of absorbing all that the city would like to see developed.
Also developers have to raise the money needed to bring these opportunities on line. The people with money are reluctant to put their money at risk these days.
Has the Burlington market for high end condo`s been maxed out? The city certainly needs class A office space but developers look for a client before they put shovels in the ground and Mayrose hasn’t, at least not to date, managed to find someone who want to locate in Burlington on the edge of the lake.
The developers are now realizing that the different civic authorities they have to deal with do have some clout. The Conservation Authority has basically said to Mayrose Tycon – get a wiggle on.
By Staff
BURLINGTON, ON March 14, 2012 The Mayor has suddenly become a “social draw”. Last week James Burchill, Burlington’s best mind on social media, held a MeetUp that pulled together 165 people at the Beaver and the Bulldog. It was one of the better local examples of social media making something happen.
The event was made to happen when James Burchill used his LinkedIn account to broadcast a MeetUp. He pumped and promoted like crazy and got a more than decent turnout. Well let’s let Burchill tell his own story about the “happening”. “Last week” gushes Burchill, “our third Business in Burlington networking group MeetUp happened … and boy oh boy did it happen! We figured on getting 100 people to attend but blew through that and ended up with 148 confirmed and 165 finally accounted for.
Attendees at the March MeetUp
“The energy was awesome and people are still buzzing about it. So what’s the scoop today? Simple … it took us 3 weeks to reach 100 RSVP’s last time and about 3 days this time!”
“Yes, we’re well past the two thirds point for the April 4th event and yesterday we confirmed that Burlington Mayor Rick Goldring will be attending to show his support for our networking group.”
“Bottom line, there’s three weeks left until our next networking event and I’d say (if I were a betting man) that we’ll have filled all 150 available spaces before then.”
“Are you in?, asks Burchill. “ Don’t wait. It you want to attend the “hottest networking ticket in town” .
RSVP today
Clearly Burchill is on to something. By using his LinkedIn account and telling his network of the event that network broadcast for him and they all just appeared.
A contributor to Our Burlington mention she was going to attend and asked if she could do a write up on the event for us. She did and we published the piece. Within two hours our analytics were telling us that the 150 some odd people who had attended the event read the article and then passed it along to others. The analytics tell us that about 350 people read the piece. Normally that kind of an article would attract maybe 200 people.
If you’re a business person – what does this mean to the way you sell widgets? How can you use these social media tools to drive people to your web site and then to the point where they buy your product or service?
Burchill hasn’t said how he is going to “monetize” what he is doing. Having a bunch of people who have nothing else to do or who are on the make, show up for an event where they know there will be a crowd of like-minded people isn’t anything new. We all did that at university. What Burchill has done is create a happening for people who for the most part don’t know each other. What happens during his fifth and tenth event? Does the novelty wear off? How many people are there in Burlington that fit the demographic Burchill seems to be drawing?
Financial planners and insurance agents dream about getting their hands on this many business cards. Did anybody do any business at the March MeetUp?
From a business aspect – what Burchill has done is pull those 150 people together at a cost of less than $25. – plus his time. There isn’t a financial planner or an insurance agent who wouldn’t love to know how to make something like this happen for them.
It will be interesting to know how many people learned something they didn’t know about social media due to this event and understand how they can use it. Did anybody do any business? And how many new clients does Burchill now have?
Ivey, the hot new spot out on the South Service Road gave away tickets galore to free offerings at their new establishment and that worked for them. Could a meet up work for them? What is it you have to do to get some kind of a lift off and reach beyond the best 20 or so friends you have?
The politicians seem to be able to make it work for them – why do you think the Mayor is going? He wants to see for himself what the results are and hear what others have to say.
What about you – will you go again and why would you go again? Leave a comment.
The photography is © M.L.Holton 2012 / https://canadadaPHOTOGRAPHY.blogspot.com
By Staff
BURLINGTON, ON March 13, 2012
There is an opportunity for you to meet with your peers and guess what the federal budget is going to do to you and listen to someone who really does understand “Information Bombardment and has some ideas and thoughts Rising Above the Digital Onslaught”
Dr. Nick Bontis, Author; Strategy and Management Guru; Director, Institute for Intellectual Capital Research Inc., argues that as we accelerate into the knowledge era, intellectual capital becomes the most important asset of an organization.
Nick Bontis, author to speak at Economic Development luncheon.
Nick Bontis, ranked among the Top 30 management gurus in the world, will be delivering a dynamic, high-energy presentation on knowledge management process and how to grow it to sustainable competitive advantage.
When and where: Thursday March 29, 2012, 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m., Burlington Convention Centre.
Nick Bontis is a Canadian academic, professional speaker, author and management consultant. He specializes in intellectual capital, knowledge management and organizational learning. Bontis is Associate Professor of Strategic Management and Director of Undergraduate Programs at the DeGroote School of Business, McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. He is also the Director of the Institute for Intellectual Capital Research a management consulting firm and research think-tank that specializes in conducting human capital diagnostic assessments for corporate and government clients. He is also Associate Editor of the Journal of Intellectual Capital and Chief Knowledge Officer of Knexa Solutions – the world’s first knowledge exchange auction.[1][2][3]
In 1992, Bontis graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (Honors Business Administration) from Ivey Business School, University of Western Ontario. In 1999, he graduated with a Doctor of Philosophy (Business Administration) from Ivey. Bontis currently lives in Ancaster, Ontario with his wife Stacy, and their three children Charlie, Dino and Tia Maria.
Bontis teaches graduate and post graduates students at the DeGroote School of Business at McMaster University.
Bontis teaches business strategy to undergraduates, knowledge management to MBAs, and advanced statistics to doctoral students. He is also the coordinator of the first year introduction to business orientation course. In 2007, he was recognized as the first professor ever to win three outstanding teaching awards simultaneously: undergraduate instructor of the year, MBA instructor of the year, and McMaster University instructor of the year. He also received the faculty researcher of the year award for the business school.
Maclean’s has rated him as one of McMaster’s most popular professors for six years in a row.[4] In 2007, Bontis was one of 38 professors nominated for the 2008 Ontario’s Best Lecturer award.[5] In February 2008, TVO announced that he was among the top ten finalists.[6] In 2008, the OUSA (Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance) recognized Dr. Nick Bontis as the top university professor in the province. The official award citation read “OUSA would like to recognize Dr. Nick Bontis for having made a significant contribution to teaching excellence and for facilitating a positive learning experience for Ontario students”.[7] In 2009, Bontis was awarded the 3M National Teaching Fellowship,[8] an exclusive honour only bestowed upon the top university professors in Canada.[9] He was also the OCUFA Teaching Award winner which is given to the top professors in Ontario.[10]
This is a Burlington Economic Development Corporation Mayor`s Imagince, Ignite, Innovate luncheon event. Tickets are $65.00 plus HST Table of 8: $520 plus HST Register through the BEDC web site:
By Staff
BURLINGTON, ON March 8, 2012 King Road is getting all kinds of attention in terms of traffic restrictions. Phase 2 of the King Road Grade Separation Project will begin on March 12, 2012. This phase of the project involves the installation of round steel concrete-filled tubes to form an interlocking wall on the west side of King Road, south of the CN Rail crossing and north of the CN Rail, west of King Road.
Grade separation work will limit access and traffic on King Road for six weeks.
That means King Road will be closed for about six weeks beginning on March 12, 2012 from north of Enfield Road to 1135 King Rd. (IKEA Parcel Pick Up). Pedestrian access through the closure (across the CN Rail) will be maintained. Detours to Brant Street and Waterdown Road will be marked.
The construction work will consist of piles drilled into the ground; a steel sleeve put in place and then filled with concrete. This process is moderately noisy. Work will be done from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday to Friday.
It’s going to be a little on the messy side in that part of the city for the next while.
A grade separation is going in at the CN line on King Road. Expect construction to impede the flow of traffic while the city, CN and every public utility gets involved with what is a significant engineering task that will culminate during the Thanksgiving weekend. The project will also involve a widening of the bridge of the QEW.
Margaret Lindsay Holton, an award-winning writer and mid-career Golden Horseshoe artist found herself fascinated with a form of social media intended for the business crowd and reports on her experience for Our Burlington.
By Margaret Lindsay Holton
BURLINGTON, ON March 8, 2012 Chatter about ‘social media’ on the web is all pervasive these days. It is no longer enough to just have an email account. To be in the thick of things one must also have a Facebook and Twitter account. Generally, the latter two sites are for personal ‘interface’ with other like-minded types. However, in the business world, the pre-eminent ‘social media’ site, LinkedIN.com, is mandatory to stay within the business loop. Like it or not.
If you weren't at this event - you missed the buzz. Burchill, the social media guru behind this "social media" gathering is in the upper left with notes in hand.
Recently, I was doing my daily ‘check-in’ to that account, when I noticed that a few associates of mine had joined a group called ‘BusinessInBurlington’. Hmmm: what’s that?, I wondered, and within a few clicks of the mouse, I found out.
“The Business In Burlington open networking group started online in 2008 with a simple mandate – help connect, promote and support local Burlington businesses. If you’re a business in Burlington, do business in Burlington, or simply want to connect with local Burlington business owners and other entrepreneurs – THIS is the place to be!”
I was amazed at the size of the group, over 800 members. Wow. How come? Burlington, unlike Hamilton or Toronto, does not really have a unified City ‘identity’. Burlington is made up of six very diverse Wards spread out over a very large geographical area with a total population of only 170,000 +/-. For long-time residents, the City is better split into two distinct groups: those that live ‘above’ Dundas Street (formerly known as Highway 5), and those that live ‘below’. This divide is often expressed through contentious differences of opinion about the strategic growth of the City. It is built on fundamentally conflicting life values. Those above Dundas Street live in a predominately rural setting, while those ‘below’ live in suburban or urban clusters. Diverse, yes, unified, no.
So, WHO are these 800+ ‘like-minded’ business people of Burlington? And WHY do they feel the need to ‘join’ this group? (as I just did).
In answer, under the group discussion page, was a link for the third MeetUp on March 7th. There have only been two other MeetUps, in January and February of this year. Each had 60-70 attendees. As of March 7th at 3pm, 148 members have signed up. These are, by any standard, LARGE social events. People are coming together at a one physical location under the banner of ‘BusinessInBurlington’ without any specific agenda in mind. Again. Wow. How come?
The founder of Business in Burlington, (BiB), James Burchill, is naturally very enthusiastic about the response to his third event. In his own words, he is considered a “social media guru & an online marketing expert” (with 15,000 followers on Twitter to boot). He is also Founder/CEO of BusinessFusionMarketing, a Social Media Marketing (SMM) Advertising agency. I emailed and asked him WHY he thought there was such keen interest at this point in time for ‘Business in Burlington’? He first answered, “Good question!” He then promptly posted the same question on the LinkedIn ‘BiB’ discussion board. Over the next week, a few members responded with positive shout-outs for James, their inspiring BiB leader. But, more importantly, all comments exhibited a sense that ‘we be comrades in arms’.
Meanwhile, back at “BiB HQ”, James began offering a “video marketing” opportunity to some who intended to attend the next MeetUp event. A video booth, run by him, will record short introductions by participating members that will then be edited via his ad agency and posted on the BiB YouTube website with a URL linked back to member’s own websites. The strategy, according to James, is to maximize participants “SEO’d” exposure via YouTube, the “2nd most searched site on the net”. “Smart businesses”, he claims, “don’t have the time, the energy or the know-how to do proper video marketing on YouTube.”
“Businesses have no clue” James Burchill,Social Media guru. Further to this, James is now offering a special opportunity for those who want to “learn more about using video for email marketing”. Ask him about ‘Codename TF”.
All well and good comrades, but hey, WHAT ABOUT THE PARTY?There is no question that having an informal and free-admission ‘MeetUp’ at a familiar watering hole, the Beaver & Bulldog at 2020 Lakeshore Road, differs from more formal or conservative business gatherings that might be initiated by, say, The Chamber of Commerce or by the satellite McMaster University school site in Burlington. Talk about ‘dry’. And therein, to my mind, lies the key to this group’s apparent success.
Some of the 100 + people who took part in a "MeetUp"
Yes, business people from the broad business community are getting together. They are going to have a drink or two at the end of a long work day. They are also finally cashing in on their due diligence re: ‘on-line’ social media networking. Obsessively spinning in and out of e-mail, Twitter, Facebook and/or LinkedIn, can soon consume many hours of the work week. This ‘business’ browsing may keep us up-to-date on what our like-minded comrades are doing, but in terms of actual productivity, well, we all know how that works. When all is said and done, nothing replaces a good old fashioned chin-wag, or as James simply puts it, it’s “great to connect in person”. Ergo, and eureka, let’s rendezvous at the local pub! (By the way, another trending ‘social media’ site, Foursquare.com, has also figured this Old Truth out.)
Cynics could well dismiss this ‘BiB’ LinkedIn ‘MeetUp’ as just a hybrid ‘pick up’ or a veiled excuse for a ‘cocktail party’ circa 2012. However, Jennifer Aaker, Professor at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, has a different take. She believes that the role and impact of ‘brand marketing’ has changed so dramatically over the past few years, that brands, especially those gaining traction now, are those who act as “party hosts” aggressively overcoming the ever-increasing public “trust deficit”.
Additional thoughts on the public “trust deficit” can be found here and here.
Recognizing that we are becoming ‘cyborg-ized’ may also explain an increasing need for REAL human contact. Plugging into the internet is now an integral everyday extension of both our professional and personal lives. So, yes, how refreshing it is to just unplug for a bit, and get-together for some good old fashioned gossip.
To my mind, aside from the business hype, past and present, I think those who attend these ‘BiB’ MeetUps are genuinely interested in ‘down home’ socializing in a way not fashionable in well over a decade or two. In that sense, it really IS a local ‘cocktail party’ where rapid socializing, catching up, flirting, sizing up and business chats WILL happen over a drink or two within a very brief period of time. No strings attached.
James Burchill, as facilitator extraordinaire, has done Burlington a great service by manifesting this basic human need. ‘Let’s talk. Let’s have a drink. Let’s get to know each other a little bit better. Hey, what’s up with you anyway these days? What’s the BUZZ?’ As a community synergizer, he has effectively gotten people off their computers (and iGadgets), and put them in a convivial social atmosphere to ‘mingle’.
All of it – socializing in this friendly and informal way – encourages greater civic involvement, deepens an individual sense of belonging, and tangentially, nurtures a heightened civic responsibility by all those already actively invested in the success of this community. And, that, dear peeps, is GOOD for developing – and strengthening – a truly unified ‘identity’ for a rapidly evolving Burlington.
Turns out, it really is good business to ‘Know thy Neighbour’. Who knows. Maybe square-dancing will make a come-back soon too.
Business in Burlington (BiB) meets on the 1st Wednesday of every month from 5-7pm currently at 2020 Lakeshore Road, Burlington, inside theBeaver & Bulldog pub. There’s plenty of parking, on-site and on the street
© Margaret Lindsay Holton, 2012. Margaret Lindsay Holton, an award-winning writer & mid-career Golden Horseshoe artist, was born ‘above’ Dundas Street (aka Highway 5), and now resides ‘below’ it. The photography is © M.L.Holton 2012 / https://canadadaPHOTOGRAPHY.blogspot.com
By Gerry Visca
BURLINGTON, ON March 6, 20112 Many entrepreneurs that I coach often ask me how I am able to stay focused and help so many others create their lives. I tell them the key to driving my brand and my actions is daily discipline. Sounds easy right? Sometimes it’s the simple things that when executed on a consistent basis will drive your success forward.
Visca inspires - had Burlington's business elite on their feet shouting out BIG words - then hugging each other.
How long does it take to form a new habit? I receive several answers from audiences ranging from twenty to sixty days and everything in between. Based on my experience, I have found that the formation of a new habit will take the average individual approximately thirty days.
Following the consistent application during this period of time will encourage the mind to accept it as a new form of behavior. Ask any successful person and they will tell you that success is defined by replacing bad habits with really good ones. The key here is to ‘focus’ on creating new and better habits to replace the old habits and align all of your actions to pursuing your goals. The key words here are consistency and persistence.
Ask any professional speaker or entertainer how they are harnessing their energy. They need to recondition their mind and body for better physical and mental shape. They need the ability to summon their inner energy upon demand. They strive to form new success habits; preparing themselves physically with disciplined physical fitness and a healthier diet. They look great, feel great and have the physical energy to live life to the fullest. The audiences can sense their high energy the minute they pounce onto stage! They address the audience with great enthusiasm and passion and engage them within the first 10 seconds. Imagine being a leader in your organization that continually inspires and engages its employees to become the best that they can be? What would this look like?
If you have never fallen you have never challenged your potential.”
Gerry Visca
Your employees would be encouraged and inspired to strive for personal greatness in all they do. Just think about it for a moment, what could you achieve in that one hour of time every morning? It’s only one hour right? I know, you convince yourself that you really need that extra hour of sleep and you can’t function without it right? That is the habit you have created for yourself and you have conditioned your mind in that manner. The key is to stick to a consistent plan that is best for you.
The key to discipline includes the following attribute: Patience – a strong focus combined with harmonized thoughts. This allows you to get into flow and learn how to balance your energy levels. Personally, I find the morning the best time for me. I love getting up with enthusiasm before the world is awake, it is my time to get myself mentally and physically focused, organized and ready to face new and exciting challenges. My morning routine also provides me with the physical and mental energy needed to stimulate creativity. I actually find sleeping in makes me more tired. My routine starts with a twenty minute run followed by another twenty minutes of muscle conditioning followed by a meditation exercise. I encourage you to start tomorrow. You will feel great and be surprised at what you will be able to achieve with this type of daily disciplined conditioning.
The second attribute to discipline is: Passion – If you’re not passionate about what you are doing how can you expect to engage anyone around you?
As you start to form new habits you will be in a better position to manifest the things that you want most. Your mind is more in tune and ready to accept the transformation. This creative principle is also geared towards helping you laser focus on the things that you want most in life. Incorporating daily discipline is a very powerful principle in your personal transformation tool box.
Gerry Visca is an inspirational speaker who has made presentations to the Mayor’s Burlington Economic Development Corporation luncheons and has “inspired” some 100,000 people to harness innate abilities. He can be reached at: gerry@redchairbranding.com
By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON Match 6, 2012 Things got a little feisty at the Budget meeting at city hall last week.
Councillor John Taylor said he was not going to allow a budget committee to go into closed session to talk about how much the city was going to allocate for staff salary increases and that if he was found to be out of order he was going to walk out of the Council Chamber to the atrium and hold a press conference and spill the beans.
That is exciting stuff for Burlington.
The Dean of Burlington Council members, Ward 3 Councillor John Taylor fights for what he believes in. One of the things he wants is more openness and more transparency. He didn't get it this time out.
Councillor Taylor was talking about salary figures that were well known and discussed at the Regional level, Committee chair Rick Craven kept intruding and telling him that he was getting very close to the line on what was permitted and what was not permitted in terms of talking about specific matters.
Taylor would lose his train of thought and while the two bickered back and forth, they eventually went into closed session and sent everyone out into the foyer for close to an hour. That gave everyone sent out of the room time to get caught up on the gossip.
Taylor was making an very significant point. The matter was how much of the tax money collected goes into staff salaries and how much does what Burlington pays its employees?
Taylor started off by pointing out that the Region had gone public and openly discussed salary increases and said the Region was not going to go above 2% increase in their 2012 budget. Taylor felt Burlington should fall into the same line. At that point chair of the meeting Rick Craven cut in and advised Taylor that he might be crossing a line and beginning to talk about a matter that wasn’t permitted by the Burlington Procedural Manual.
A staff report had recommended more than a 2% increase but that document was kept confidential.
That wasn’t going to deter Taylor – he then began to talk about comments made by an Ombudsman’s report that said council members should be generous and broad in their interpretation of what is confidential and what isn’t.
That wasn’t going to deter Craven who said that he was following the rules as set out in the Burlington Procedural Manual and he didn’t want to have to rule Taylor out of order.
What Taylor wanted to do was put forward a motion to decrease the amount to be allocated for salaries in the 2012 budget.
That was enough for the rest of the Council. They decided to go into Closed Session and everyone was asked to leave the room.
Once everyone was back in the room Taylor’s motion to reduce the amount set aside for salaries and wages by $455,820 was voted on and defeated. Taylor then put forward a second motion for a reduction of $152,000 and that was passed.
The $455,820 would have meant a 1% increase in salaries and wages for city staff; the $152,000 meant the increase was going to be just 2% ; not the more than 2% staff was recommending.
Municipalities pay their people very well and the benefits are also very good. The pension – a defined one – is amongst the best in the country.
Taylor pointed out that 90% of the money raised in taxes by the city, which amount to $125 million, is spent on salaries and benefits and he wanted this to be discussed in public.
The discussion got to the point where Taylor and Craven were sparring over phrases and wording in the city Procedural Manual.
The heck with what is in the Procedural Manual: why does a budget committee go into closed secret session when discussing how much they are going to increase staff salaries by? They aren’t talking about an individual’s pay – they are talking about how big the increase is going to be for all staff during a specific budget year.
Folks that’s your money; 90 cents of every dollar is paid out as salary or benefits. If open, transparent government means anything telling what you are paying your staff is part of that business.
The province has a Sunshine list that calls for municipalities to report the name and amount paid to every person earning more than $100,000 a year. That information then gets published. If the province is prepared to let the public know who is earning more than $100,000 why can’t the city say how much they are going to increase salaries by? What is confidential about discussing the increases?
That young lad, second from the left is THE Lord Acton who took part in a Halton agricultural tour last year. The Acton name is famous for that powerful political dictum: "power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.." One can expect this picture to get used in Taylor's next election campaign.
A Burlington city staff report that was confidential had set out an increase for staff salaries that was in excess of 2%
These discussions are at committee level and have to go to Council meeting to be made final March 19.
One Council member pointed out that the staff report, which wasn’t public, uses what other municipalities pay their people as “comparators” and Taylor was arguing that it is unfair to use other municipalities as comparisons – that the city should be using what the butcher, the baker and the candle stick maker are earning – these are the guys paying the taxes and Taylor was arguing that they aren’t getting much more than 1%
One the day that Burlington was having this noisy debate the Premier of the province was telling teachers that their new contract would have a 0% increase for the next two years and that the practice of being able to get paid out for sick days that had been banked was going to be pared back.
Burlington might want to pay attention to the reality the province finds it has to face – it’s our reality as well.
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Sarah O’Hara is a Burlington mother of two who realized that her degree in modernist literature wasn’t going to lead to work that had meaning or a decent pay cheque attached to it, so she sat down with her husband and worked out a plan that had her recalibrating her career choices and now rides the GO bus to York University (“get my reading done on the bus”) where she will earn a teaching certificate and hopes to be in a Halton classroom, maybe as soon as next year.
Sara is not exactly a community activist, but she cared enough about her neighbourhood to be part of a group that has nine people delegating to a City Council committee to get the Drury Lane bridge repaired and operational.
Sarah expressed an interest in writing for us and because the publisher of Our Burlington wasn’t about to enter Tansley Woods where a couple of hundred women were looking at Botox and new make up and getting financial advice at the Burlington Woman’s Show – he knows when the territory is not man friendly – so he asked Sarah if she would cover the event. Here is her report.
By Sarah O’Hara
BURLINGTON, ON February 26, 2012 Where can one go to look ten years younger, lose ten pounds, learn how to invest, and plan her funeral all under one roof? The Burlington Women’s Show, of course! This afternoon I joined hundreds of other women at Tansley Woods Community Centre to meet dozens of local vendors promoting their products and services. Upon entering I received a stamp on my hand of a “Sex and the City” inspired martini glass which permitted me to enter a world exclusively geared toward women and the things we love.
Tony Racco of Cosimo's Salon- a Burlington institution that has been in the Roseland Plaza for more than 50 years provided coupons for a free wash, cut and style.. That made our reporters day.
The first booth I stopped at was hosted by Cosimo’s Salon which has called Roseland Plaza their home for fifty years. To celebrate their anniversary the booth was giving each visitor a coupon for a free wash, cut and style – valued at $79.10. Wow – a great start to my day! Tony Racco, the owner, did demonstrations on the main stage with two models, one in her twenties and the other in her fifties. As he curled, brushed and styled, he spoke about the many eras his salon has been through over the past fifty years from the bouffant styles of the sixties, to the sticky back combing of the eighties, to the softer curls that are in fashion now. He seemed confident and knowledgeable as he turned the older model’s tight cap of curls into a soft cloud of shiny waves. Seeing him in action made me look forward to visiting his salon.
In the same area I spoke with Ken Arp, owner of Smart Betty, an internet-based daily deal company. As an avid wagjagger, I was eager to sign up for their emails, especially after finding out that for each purchase made 10% goes to a local charity of your choice, including the ROCK (Reach Out Centre for Kids), the Burlington Humane Society, and Women’s Cancer Centres.
I followed this with a trip to the Booty Camp Fitness booth, where Sandy Cordeiro filled me in on the details of a Burlington-based women’s only boot camp. This was only one of many fitness-oriented booths throughout the centre, such as golfing, karate, dance classes and yoga. It was nice to be able to pick up their flyers amid the many chocolate and cupcake giveaways that were prevalent at the show.
Of course it wouldn’t be a women’s show without the latest in beauty and anti-aging products. Slavica McIntyre, a certified Xtreme eyelash stylist, promises mascara-free beauty with her $150 eyelash implants available at I Love Lashes located in Queen B’s on New Street. There were also demonstrations of Botox-free oxygenated facelift systems, and Carol Fysh, a face many would recognize from promoting products on the home shopping channel, was there with her new anti-aging line Red.
Upon entering one room I was approached by a woman named Terezia who asked me if I would like a free sample. Thinking of the chocolate and toothpaste samples already abundant in my large purse, I happily agreed. I was somewhat disappointed when she ushered me onto a high chair and swiftly removed my carefully-applied eye makeup from one eye with a wet sponge. She gravely told me that I have inherited thin skin under my eyes and that only her Hollywood Eye Magic tuck serum could help me. She coated my left eye with the thick yellow serum and told me within ten minutes I would see a change that I would not believe. After advising me not to change my facial expression she informed me that I could buy the serum for $100. I promised her I would think about it. By now the skin under my eye was uncomfortably burning and tight, so I made my escape to the closest washroom to clean it off.
More costume jewellery than an average eye could take in was to be found at the Women in Burlington event at Tansley Woods.
By now I was quite hungry, so I followed the smell of fresh bread until I found the Jack Astor’s Bar and Grill table, where I was treated to delicious brushetta and a glass of Chardonnay. Next to them was The Water Street Cooker where I munched happily on a turkey wrap while chatting with the cooks about the supposed haunting of the old building where Emma and her family succumbed to strange deaths before the Old Lakeshore Road home was turned into a restaurant. This mystique, coupled with the delicious fare, makes the restaurant a popular Burlington destination.
The main event was the fashion show, hosted by City Line’s Lynn Spence. The gym was packed with women (and the odd man) in a horseshoe formation around the t-shaped stage. If one ignored the tucked-away basketball nets and fluorescent lights she could imagine she was watching the catwalk at a chic big-city show. Spence hosted with confidence, knowledge and humour. She showed clothes from Sears, J. Michael’s, Laura, Melanie Lynn, and other local (and affordable) stores. Spence gave tips on what styles best suit body types, what colours are going to be trendy this season (coral and orange) and how to make an outfit diverse – for instance, pairing a wrap dress with skinny jeans or removing a belt to make a dress a tunic. Her motto was “[this is] clothing you can understand – that makes sense.” The audience was enthralled and enthusiastic, applauding and cheering after each model. Cosimo’s provided all the hair and makeup.
The Women’s Show of course boasted the expected accessories. Jewelry, makeup, purses, scarves and belts were available from high priced designers, such as Breanne Morrow of White Feather Designs who studied how to pound copper in Mexico, to more affordable fun accessories such as those from Vixin, where I bought a Tiffany and Co. style bracelet for $10.00.
There were also booths I never would have expected to find at a Women’s Show, such as Investors Group. Mark Murray, the consultant I spoke with, told me they are geared toward family planning and lifestyle goals, and why shouldn’t these be things women think about? While I wholeheartedly agree that this is something that is important to both genders, I was more drawn to booths that concentrated on fun, beauty and glamour. This explains why I did not even stop at the Funeral Planning booth, and I didn’t see anyone else do so, either.
Nickelbrook craft brewery was there, and its host, Kevin, told me that craft beer is now making up 20% of the local selling beer. Coffee Culture was also present, giving away steaming cups of coffee and delicious looking squares for donations.
Of course, health and wellness centres abounded. Premier Homecare Services offers PSW services as well as companion services to post-surgical or elderly home owners; Dr. Derek Jasek of Headon Chriopractic Wellness Centre told me about the importance of devoting time to flexibility and posture to dramatically increase your quality of life; the Healthy Self Clinic specializes in thermographic imaging to detect and prevent breast cancers instead of the more traditional mammogram option. I was, however, surprised to see a booth called Brainworx. Its owner, Patrice Shennette, told me that our brains are deeply affected by trauma, both physical and emotional. She is confident that her method of converting brain waves to musical tunes, and then adjusting this music to reflect that which our brains made at birth, is key in allowing ourselves to maintain confident, strong and healthy lifestyles.
Several hundred woman spent Sunday at Tansley Woods enjoying all kinds of free treats and more advice than they could possibly use. A chance to get out of the house without the kids.
Sears Mapleview also had a table for the first time. Carol, the marketing coordinator, told me their new, young CEO, Calvin McDonald, is attempting to make Sears more visible in the community. On April 17 they are hosting a cosmetic and fragrance gala. Tickets are $10 and $2 from each goes toward “Look good, Feel better,” for people who are living with cancer. Canyon Creek will cater the event.
I left the Women’s Show with a bag full of flyers and samples, and a head full of ideas of how to look good, feel good and dress well. The women at the show all seemed to share a camaraderie, chatting easily to each other while inspecting different products, comparing finds and generally just happy to be in a facility where everything is geared toward the wants and needs of most women. The Women’s Show is a great way for women to get out and find local businesses that cater toward our needs. I look forward to next year!
By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON February 23, 2012 The Mayors “Imagine-Ignite-Innovate” speakers luncheon went just fine. The room wasn’t chock full but the program was good. Burlington business people learned that there was growth potential in developing intellectual property and using that property to give yourself a competitive edge.
There are two organizations along Mainway that do just that: Thordon Bearings and Ecosynthetix have created and continue to create products based on either patents they have secured or use trade secrets to put them ahead of others in the same field.
Xerox has done it with new products in the laser printing field and grew from a company that owned the photocopying market to one that is now heavily engaged in the short run printing business that brought full colour printing to a desk top in the office.
Paul Smith named a vice president of the Xerox Research Centre of Canada last September spearheads Xerox’s materials research activities through a team of 120 scientists and engineers. The research centre’s most recent innovations include advances in emulsion aggregation toner and the development of long-life photoreceptors. The centre has also played a key role in developing the next generation of solid ink, Xerox’s proprietary ink that melts to a liquid in the printer and because it does not use cartridges to hold the ink, reduces consumables waste by 90 percent compared to competitive office laser-based products.
Smith joined Xerox in 1995, and has held a number of management positions at the centre (XRCC), leading teams that have developed key materials for Xerox product platforms, including solid ink components and new inks for Xerox Phaser printers.
Smith received his doctorate in chemistry from the University of Bath and was a National Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) fellow from 1995 to 1997. In 2001, he received a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management. He is a named inventor on 55 U.S. patents and has published 16 research articles.
Dr. Smith was introduced by Acting Dean Dr. Bob McNutt, who announced that the Disney Institute was going to partner with the Executive Education group at DeGroote and sponsor a session on Business Excellence. The session, to take place at the Burlington Convention Centre April 25, will focus on teaching business leaders how to think differently. “Bring your business challenges and we will show you a clear, simplified way of looking at the problems and seeing what’s probably already right in front of you – easy effective solutions”, said the promotional literature.
In the world of marketing there is the phrase :”brand extension” which is when you take a product that has a very strong brand and extend it to a different product.
Mickey Mouse is about to become part of the Executive Education branch of McMaster's DeGroote School of Business.
Take Disney – you immediately think of Disney Land and that gets you to Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck in less than a jump. Disney has managed to extend their brand in the entertainment field very successfully. Now they are going to try and extend the Disney brand into the field of executive education. McMaster announced at the Mayor’s BEDC luncheon that the Disney Institute was going to become part of the Executive Education program at the McMaster DeGroote School of Business. Folks that means Mickey Mouse is coming to Burlington and that perhaps we will be able to recognize Mac students by those Mickey Mouse ears.
Now that is brand extension – the kind of thing that makes marketing managers cry as they struggle to make their brand work for them.
By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON February 20, 2012 The Sound of Music Festival (SOM) is big business for Burlington by any standard. It is a community based organization that got its start in 1967, when the Parks and Recreation department looked for a community group to take on an event that had become too big for city hall to manage.
Ever the trooper, Dave Miller, third from the right, belts out a tune as part of a promotional event to develop interest in the Mayor's Cabaret. Mayor didn't sing for Dave's delegation when he sought an increase in SOM funding.
It is, by any measure, a significant success and for the music industry in this province it is the stage to get on. The city has had some very big names come in for the four day event and it has grown. However, one thing it has failed to do is develop a strong relationship with both City Hall and the members of Council. When Dave Miller appeared before the Budget and Corporate Services Committee looking for an increase in the SOM grant he basically got the “bums rush”. He talked of plans to grow the event and they asked “when is enough, enough”.
There was clearly no meeting of minds and one has to ask why SOM didn’t have a sterling working relationship with the city it brings a major entertainment event to year after year.? Why are these two organizations so far apart in their thinking? Do the SOM people not realize there is a political aspect to what they do and that they have to keep Council members fully informed and that there has to be a top notch working relationship with every level of the city’s administration that impacts on the Festival?
One wonders if they didn’t move very quickly to meet with the new city manager and brief him on what they do – get there story in front of the man before anyone elsewhere at City Hall decides to give their version of what the SOM is and isn’t.
But that level of liaison with city hall doesn’t appear to be in place. Nor does there appear to be a really smooth working relationship with the Burlington Downtown Business Association whose members hurt when the SOM Festival is taking place. Not that many of that huge audience drifts north along Brant Street or into the side streets to get a nicer sense of the city.
SOM has expanded their offering and there are now events that don’t fit into Spencer Smith Park talking place along Brant Street. They want to expand it even more – but the Council committee wasn’t buying into their ideas.
The Sound of Music is believed to have a very sound balance sheet – I say believed because they don’t publish their financial results. All the public knows is that this is a $1 million operation. What the revenue sources are and what the expenses are is not detailed “because to do so would let our competitors know how we do what we do” , which has got to be one of the lamest excuses I’ve heard about why the financial kimono isn’t always wide open.
Whenever any organization appears before Council asking for funds – the books get opened. When you are given public money – you tell exactly what it is being used for and you explain why you need the funds – and that means having your financial statements with you.
A creative accountant can put ones financial situation before the public and not give away critical information. And, if there is a real concern, ask Council to allow you to go into Closed Session while you explain – and if Council accepts your reasons then the information is kept away from the public. There is a time and a place for information to be kept confidential. I must add that keeping the amount the city has spent on legal costs for the Pier squabble with the contractors is not one of those times, but I digress.
Volunteers make this event happen; hundreds of them. Tent stakes being driven into the ground
Today SOM has 13 committees:
Communications, chaired by Hoda Kayal,
Eco Team, chaired by Jacky Miller,
Music Education chaired by Dora Falcone,
Finance chaired by Tim Miron,
Fundraising chaired by Erin Court,
Licensed Areas chaired by Debbie Milner,
Parade chaired by Kevin Picott,
Programming chaired by Jill Duvnjak,
Security chaired by Ted Mills,
Sponsorship chaired by Kim Horvat,
Streetfest chaired by Martin Harm,
VIP Services chaired by Rick Horvat and
Vendors chaired by Paul Munro.
which has to be an outstanding example of community participation for an event that runs from the Thursday of Father’s Day weekend through to the Sunday.
Sources of revenue are set out - Sound of Music wants more from the city and wants to keep their portion f funding up their with the federal and provincial government.
Like every organization that serves the local community as well as the larger community, there are financial strains. SOM has a budget that exceeds $1 million and they can give you half a dozen good reasons why they need a boost to the city’s grant.
Dave Miller, SOM Executive Director since 1967 appeared before Council Committee recently to ask for an increase in the grant they get from the city. They wanted to go from the $52,000 they are currently given to $86,000 – a request that got stuck in the craw of more than one Council member. One of them, who had a pencil at hand and was quick with the numbers said – “that’s a 65% increase”.
A council member politely explained that Boards and Committees were being given a 2% increase.
Miller piped up and said they were going to ask to have their grant raised from $52,000 to $96,000 but added , “realizing the current economy we would like to ask for support to be at $86,000.”
Data charts are nice but the Sound of Music people have to produce a balance sheet along with a profit and loss statement and tell city council if they have a reserve fund.
There was a stunned silence and Miller added that the $34,000 increase he was asking for could be phased in over two years, which would work out to $17,000 a year in 2012 and an additional $17,000 in 2013.
It still didn’t fly.
Miller went on to explain just how much the SOM did for the city. The city saves $500,000 annually by having the event run by a community group instead of the city. He didn’t provide much in the way of numbers to support that claim but nobody challenged him on it.
He added that $44,000 of the grant funding is returned directly to the city in permit fees, wages and equipment use.
The SOM is said to have a $4 million economic impact on the Burlington economy. Miller didn’t back that figure up either and he wasn’t challenged on it.
One got the sense that Miller was saying: ‘we’re good and we want more support from you because we are good’ – but that didn’t matter, this Committee wasn’t buying it and unless there is significant lobbying and the figures tossed out are backed up and a sounder business case made – the Sound of Music is going to have to settle for the annual $52,000 financial contribution.
Saying that Miller failed to make a strong case is not meant to embarrass the man but when you want elected officials to turn tax dollars over to you to spend – make the argument a strong one – or go without.
Miller didn’t get a chance to get into some of the really interesting ideas he and his committee had developed.
Miller says that he doesn’t like doing these “dog and pony” shows and it showed. The SOM people would be well advised to put someone in front of a committee that can generate some excitement and pump them up. It would have been great if he could have piped in some of the fabulous sound that comes from the stages that dot the waterfront in June. Councillor Taylor once flew to New York to listen to the Jersey Boys and told me that he was just pumping away to the “big sound”.
The Ladies of the Canyon would have helped - piping their sound into the committee room might have helped.
A section from the Ladies of the Canyon presentation last year just might have moved the room. The SOM is all about show business but they didn’t dazzle a soul with their presentation.
Alas, the overhead projector wasn’t working that day and the sound system has been a little jerky of late.
The SOM team has grown the event into a million dollar business that can be made even more beneficial to the city. This is a group that doesn't have any operational or serious budget problems. They just need to tell the story in a better way.
The lack of really strong support from Parks and Recreation was noticeable as well. If Council wasn’t “gung ho” on the festival, and senior staff didn’t come on side and the Parks and recreation people didn’t speak up for the event – then who is for the Festival? The SOM people would say the 250,000 people who show up for the event are what it’s all about – and that is certainly the case but Miller didn’t tap into any of that energy. Pity.
Something else was notable – there wasn’t a single person from the Board on hand to speak – just Dave Miller and his Power Point presentation. Next time Miller should take a band in with him.
There is a future for the Festival – it just isn’t clear what it is nor is it clear what the community wants. We know that Council is quite happy to leave things where they are. Parks and Recreation isn’t going to put in any more than they are doing. There are no Festival “spear carriers” within senior staff. The Festival needs to find a champion and move this thing forward – opening up the books would help too.
Attendance of more than 250,000 is no small feat. It takes hard work and perseverance to make it happen.
The Festival did get into “greening” the event and while they struggle with the city’s no smoking policy within Spencer Smith Park (and any attempt to do that with a music event is more than a challenge – if you know what I mean) they are doing their best.
They want to be able to continue with the year round children’s music education initiatives and, once The Pier is open in 2013 they want to bring back fireworks to the event. There was mention made in the presentation about national broadcasts of the event, Miller let that one slide by.
The most controversial part of the SOM delegation to the Council committee was the wanting to grow the event by adding programs and days to accommodate more visits. The intention was to make the SOM Festival an event that started one weekend and ended the following weekend – which takes a four day event and makes it a seven day event. That one just didn’t go down at Committee.
This is what it's all about. People sitting outside and enjoying the Sound of Music. More than a quarter of a million visits to the waterfront every year. Great!
The argument for increased financial assistance was pitched at two levels. The amount the Festival saved the city and where Burlington was in relation to funding from other sources that had already increased their financial participation.
There was a lot of “happy talk” in the presentation made up of pictures and mention that this was a “free” event. It wasn’t enough – the Sound of Music Festival is business – good business, but the case has to be made to the people handing out the dollars. That case didn’t get made last week and the likelihood is that SOM will not get an increase this year.
By Pepper Parr
Sooner or later we will figure it out. The next stab at finding an answer to that always perplexing question: What do we do with the downtown core? is being led by those able financial ninja’s at the Economic Development Corporation (BEDC).
They have been asked to stick handle a study with two key objectives: quantify the market potential and constraints for the development of office space and while they are at it quantify the unique economic factors affecting retail operations in our downtown core relative to other areas of the city.
Tough part of town to do retail in? Consultants will tell the city just what it costs to do business in the downtown core and what it costs elsewhere in the city - and why.
Retailers claim it costs more to run a business downtown. Robert Lyons, a Burlington real estate professional produced some data that suggested property assessments in the downtown core were tough for retailers to cope with. There was a lot of anecdotal stuff floating around but the people making the decisions wanted hard data.
The BEDC has been given up to $15,000 to play with and get this done, in what can at best be seen as a real tight schedule. Proposals in by February 28th; contract awarded March 5th then meet with BEDC staff to go over what’s going to get done three days later. Then just over a month after the Preliminary draft of the report is due and discussed at an hour and a half meeting the same day. Final report is due 12 days later.
May 10th the writers of the report present and defend the thing at a Council Workshop.
Much of the forward thinking being done in Burlington it tied to the Strategic Plan that set out three Strategic Directions for the city.
Vibrant Neighbourhoods – and while downtown is described as everyone’s neighbourhood – it isn’t very vibrant. However, it wasn’t all that long ago when there were dozens of stores with newspapers covering the plate glass and a for rent sign in the window.
Prosperity- bring hundreds of those high tech, high paying jobs to the city. Everyone knows that the city is not going to see a manufacturing plant with 500 new jobs on the horizon in this lifetime. Intellectual property, bio-tech, high value added are the buzz words for the economic development crowd. But to have any of this one needs decent office space – and there isn’t any of that in the downtown core – yet.
The third Strategic Direction was Excellence in Government which meant delivering services to the community at an acceptable cost and listening to the people who live in the city. The budget will probably come in at something very close to 2% – the draft version asks for 3.4% but look for some whittling down of that number.
Mayor Goldring has focused on economic development more than anything else (he has spent a lot of time and energy improving the working relationships between his Council members – but that’s another story) so far in his mandate. He was insistent that there be a solid, thoroughly thought through Strategic Plan and he made sure the time and the resources were put into the Task. City Council spent eleven half day sessions producing that document. The Mayor did the thinking behind the innovateBurlington program and has for the past six months being setting things up for a major look at what is wrong with the downtown core.
In May, 2011 Council asked city staff to update Council on the Status of the Core Commitment along with a work plan, time frames and a budget for a strategy designed to engage the community. Key to this was an implementation for delivering the vision, whatever it turned out to be.
Staff produced their report in August of 2011 – and it didn’t hit enough nails on the head to get the job done. While the Core Commitment had been ongoing for a number of years, they realized now that they really didn’t have enough data. The anecdotal stuff they did have was getting them nowhere.
The Mayor’s office could see where this was going so Council directed that a Task Group be formed to “identify challenges, opportunities, roles and responsibilities for creating a vibrant downtown”.
The Core Commitment people had already produced language that described the downtown core as a neighbourhood that belonged to everyone – and while true from a philosophical point of view – its tough to really believe that the folks in Alton and The Orchard or Aldershot for that matter, see the downtown core as “their” neighbourhood. These groups of people find what they need in their immediate community or head for the malls.
The Task Group got put together and did what any group does – (don’t think firemen do this) – determined their mandate, wrote it down and then met and decided that a SWOT (Strengths,Weaknesses,Opportunities,Threats) analysis was needed and that recommendations delivered had to be based on fact – but there weren’t all that many facts in front of them – so they wanted some targeted research to advance the understanding of systemic issues affecting the health of the downtown core.
That called for three research projects: Benchmarking, Market/Customer Analysis and the Cost of Doing business Downtown. The cost study is what the city wants to get done pronto.
The Benchmarking is being done by an intern who will compare what has been done in the Burlington downtown with what has been done in other downtown locations of a similar size and similar socio-economics.
The Market/Customer analysis will be the object of a Request for Proposal to be issued at a later date.
So – what have we got?
A Core Commitment group that kind of stalled. To be fair the Core Commitment is a vision document and a strategy to achieve the vision but they have stumbled a bit
A Task Group that hopes it can do a better job. And they are going to do their best to ensure that they have valid data to work from.
And three research proposals.
All this to inform and direct a Workshop that is going to take place on what can we do to leverage those two parking lots in the downtown core, spitting distance from city hall.
Is the Brant and James intersection the location for some Class A office space or will it go up in a parking lot a block away?
Councillor Jack Dennison has had dreams about what can be done with those properties. In 2006 the city thought they had a winner when six proposals came in response to a proposal to develop 100,000 to 150,000 sqft of Class A office space with a parking garage for 500 vehicles.
Something along these lines was planned for Burlington's downtown core - but McMaster stiffed the city when a nicer deal came along.
Before that idea got very far McMaster came along with their idea of putting one of their schools in the downtown core and the city retracted the RFP they had put out. But McMaster stiffed the city when a better offer came along. A BEDC document explains that unfortunate experience thusly: “Unfortunately, new opportunities later in the process presented themselves to McMaster and the downtown campus project was abandoned by McMaster.” Care to know who owned the land that the university is now located on?
Somewhere in all this there is some progress.
By Staff
BURLINGTON, ON February 13, 2012 The girls are going to show the guys how they have a plan to take over the world. On March 2nd, Paddy Torsney will host the 16th Burlington International Women’s Day breakfast to be held at what was once the Holiday Inn Burlington, South Service Road and Guelph Line.
The speaker this year is Burlington resident Kathy Bardswick, President and CEO of The Co-operators Group Limited. Bardswick is one of the few women in Canada to head a large financial institution. She will share with us her life’s journey and secrets for success.
Bardswick, featured speaker at the 16th Burlington International Woman's Day breakfast, heads up The Co-operators, a large Canadian insurance company.
Kathy Bardswick began her career with The Co-operators in 1978. Prior to her appointment as President and Chief Executive Officer of The Co-operators Group on March 1, 2002, she served as Chief Operating Officer of The Sovereign General and L’UNION CANADIENNE. From 1998-2002, she was in charge of operations for these companies and their subsidiaries under the umbrella of The Co-operators Group Limited.
A graduate of McMaster University’s M.B.A. program, Kathy Bardswick also holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics from the University of Manitoba.
She is Chairperson of the Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction. Equally active in the co-operative sector, Kathy served as Chair of the International Cooperative and Mutual Insurance Federation. She is currently a member of the ICMIF Executive. She is also a board member of the International Co-operative Alliance (ICA).
International Women’s Day celebrates the accomplishments of women and girls in our community, our country and around the world. It’s also an opportunity to take stock and plan for the future.
This annual event in Burlington allows people to celebrate, network, learn and be inspired. Our generous sponsors will ensure girls from each of our high schools in Burlington attend and you may wish to sponsor students you know.
Tickets are available at A Different Drummer Bookstore (see below) for $15 each and must be purchased in advance. Every year, this event has been sold out – so get your tickets early.
We are told that men and boys are welcome to join and celebrate women and girls! But no high heels guys.
By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON February 10, 2011 – What is it that brings about economic growth in a community? How can the strides that are taking place along Plains Road in Aldershot be grafted onto the downtown core?
The Plains Road Village Vision Group (PRVV) have shown that when people in the community want change to take place – it happens. When Shoppers Drug Mart opened their location on Plains Road they had planned on using their template for the store. Shoppers has a way of doing things and they planned to follow the formula..
Plains Road - no longer just the highway to Hamilton but now a Main Street in a part of the city with an identity of its own
Not so fast said members of the community. We’d like to see the orientation of the store more towards the street and not the parking lot you’re putting in – and while you’re at it – we want you to place one of the benches we’ve created close to the front of the store. And the door should be placed facing the street.
The bench is in place; the greenery at the front of the location is pretty consistent with the rest of the street and there is a door that faces the street – but it’s kept locked – you can’t use it. Which underlines the phrase – you can’t win every time. But the Plains Road Village Vision win often enough and a road that was once the main route through to Hamilton has become a street that is a little slower when it comes to traffic and is certainly much nicer to walk along. There are shops and restaurants and new projects are announced almost monthly. The shovels go into the ground whereas in downtown Burlington a project is announced and that’s about it.
The Ontario Municipal Board recently gave a developer additional height at the James – Brant intersection, which made him happy but the same developer has a major project past the approval stage for John Street. No shovels in the ground there yet.
The PRVV people have done such a good job on their end of things that the local Business Improvement Association has made the PRVV a formal subcommittee of the BIA. “In my view” said Ward Council member Rick Craven, “this initiative will strengthen both groups and serve the interests of Aldershot very well”.
Looks very cosmopolitan - and it is. But property taxes take a big chunk out of the revenue.
Meanwhile the downtown Burlington merchants struggle attracting traffic and making Brant Street vibrant. Downtown rents are a killer for those who don’t own their buildings and taxes, up significantly due in some measure to the high rise condos that have been built, don’t allow these business people to see the profits they need to grow.
That cup of coffee on Brant Street is the same price as that cup of coffee on Plains Road but the tax portion of the rent on Brant is a lot higher than it is on Plains Road
Much to the chagrin of the Brant Street merchants, as well as their colleagues on the streets east and west of Brant, the condos brought tax increases but didn’t do much in the way of directing traffic to their doors.
All that hustle and bustle at Spencer Smith Park during the Sound of Music and RibFest doesn’t drive much traffic up Brant Street either.
While the people in Aldershot seem to have a grip on what their issues are and are working together to make the best of what they do have – Downtown can’t seem to make things work for them. During the Christmas Season at least two well-known restaurants did nothing to dress up their street scape. There wasn’t much of a “festiveness” on the street while the Village Square made their location look inviting at least.
Retail and hospitality are a grind – it isn’t easy to stay fresh, be seen as “the place” to get to and have fun or enjoy a meal. When retail is good – it’s great – it’s just isn’t all that good much of the time.
Are there lessons for the Burlington Downtown Business Association with what Aldershot’s BIA is doing? Might be worth looking into. Is there an equivalent to the Plains Road Village Vision representing the downtown merchants? That too might be worth looking into.
And does anyone have any thoughts on what the Festival of Lights will be doing for sponsorship next winter? And if anyone happens to know where those reindeer wandered off to – give the Festival of Lights folks a call.
By Pepper Parr
Each Sunday we drive to Hamilton to attend the church of our choice and unless we are late, there is nice comfortable conversation along the way. A few Sunday’s ago I turned to the Missus and asked: Are all the gas prices in Hamilton lower than they are in Burlington – and if they are – why are they lower?
With no snow in the driveway this Sunday, February 5th we set out to document what differences there were in the gasoline prices in Burlington and Hamilton.
We drove south from Upper Middle Road and down Guelph line and took pictures at four gas stations, some offering regular gas at the same price, some with lower prices.
With that information in the camera we headed to Hamilton and went west along Main Street in the Westdale community next to McMaster University where we took pictures of the same brand gas stations and recorded their prices.
In Burlington regular gasoline at the
The Shell station on Guelph line $1.249 per litre
Burlington Esso on Guelph Line $1.249
The Petro Canada station immediately across the road from Esso also wanted $1.249
Shell station on Guelph Line and Mainway was $1.249 cents per litre.
At the Esso station just across the road gas was $1.249 a litre
Husky was the lowest amongst the Guelph Line stations - $1.247 per litre
At the Petro Canada station, across the road from the Esso station gas was $1.249 per litre
At the Husky Station a little further north on the west side of Guelph line gas was $1.247
A ten minute drive into Hamilton and the prices were a lot lower – low enough to make the trip worth your while ? Perhaps not but we make a point of gassing up when we are in Hamilton.
Here are the Hamilton prices:
Esso station $1.226
Husky station $1.226
Shell station $121.9
Best price in Hamilton was at the independent Pioneer station where gas was $1.217 per litre
Pioneer station $1.217
At the Shell station on Main West in Hamilton - $1.219 per litre of regular gas
Regular gas at the Hamilton Esso station $1.226
Why the difference in prices? Because that is what the retailers can get away with. Prices for each brand of gas are set by the regional marketing office but the change is made at the gas station. We tend to use Shell because they hand out Air Mile points and were told by the operator at that station in Hamilton that he had “the lowest price on the strip”. This guy obviously wanted the business and was prepared to cut his price by a couple of pennies to get it. The Shell station in Burlington is more convenient for me but the guy in Hamilton wants my business and because I am driving by once a week anyway – he gets the business.
Best price in Hamilton was at the independent Pioneer station where gas was $1.217 per litre
And that is about all you have in the way of impact on market prices. Stop buying your gas at places that have higher prices – and if enough people do that – the price will come down.
After driving by the gas stations and checking out the prices we went on into Dundas to just look around and get some exercise and have lunch. Their Main Street was a delight to walk along and there was all kinds of stuff to see. Walking through their Heritage district was a pure delight.
The sign certainly caught our attention. Perky, inviting. Retailers in Dundas aren't beaten down the way those in Burlington are who have to compete with malls that have tens of thousands to spend on upgrades.
Posts that flyers can be put up on make streets in Dundas a little more friendly.
We wondered what it was that made the downtown part of Dundas so pleasant and the retail stores so attractive. Well even though it was a Sunday there were lots of people on the street; the weather certainly helped. The streets were welcoming, the merchants had a certain perkiness to them and the local Business Improvement Area had made the streets a little more people friendly.
What was it that made the difference. No malls, at least not the customer sucking malls that pull everything away from Burlington`s downtown core.
By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON February 4, 2012 – Most of the usual suspects were on hand for one of the public reviews of the 2012 city budget, along with city staff who were ready to explain the finer points of what looks like is going to be about 3.4% tax increase over last year`s which was less than 1%.
Citizens gathering in a public session to review a proposed city budget with Council members on hand to answer questions and staff on hand to delve into the details. They weren't doing that in Syria last Thursday night.
The public event, held at the Burlington Art Centre drew about 30 citizens who went through the workbook the city had provided. The evening started with an overview from Acting Treasurer Joan Ford after which staff joined each table to go through the well laid out workbook that for those attending , raised questions to consider.
We learned an interesting little bit about the technology the city uses to get the sense of what people in a meeting think about an issue. The city has a couple of dozen little key pads that look a bit like a remote but are quite a bit smaller. A question will pop up on a screen and people in the room key in the number that fits their answer to the question – less than two seconds later the results appear on a screen.
General Manager Budgets and Corporate Services, Kim Phillips brought the tool to the meeting – it was kind of neat to see what people in the room thought about a specific issue – you had the answer in seconds. This sort of thing could and perhaps should be used at larger meetings – say the Heritage Workshops where views are usually very mixed it would help to see what people were thinking. It was very “real time” and useful.
Here we are at the nitty gritty stage. Citizens have talked through their concerns and the politicians now join them for a more focused conversation. This table had executive level firemen taking part. They want the new station fully manned and they'd like to see funds set aside for the upgrading of the station on Plains Road as well. Lots of firemen on the province's Sunshine list as well. That's the list of those who get paid more than $100,000 annually.
Once a group has gone through the workbook the situation shifts and the politicians who were in the room join the table to discuss the major concern each group had. This particular public session saw a group from the fire department taking part – we’ve not seen specific stakeholder groups appear at these sessions in the past. The fire department has clearly decided that they need to make their point in quieter community based sessions.
It was interesting to watch Councillors Mead Ward and Craven along with the Mayor join the table and hear what the group had to say.
The evening ended with each table giving the audience a sense of their take on the budget. At this session the sense was that the city was on the right track ad that spending was seen as appropriate. One person thought some of the information given could have been put in a better context and made part of a large picture – good point.
While the workbook is some 20 pages, it covers the points city staff wanted to hear discussed and while there was no sense that anything was being hidden, public input on the questions that were asked, might have been helpful.
Time for these public sessions is limited so the city set out two service choices and asked participants to respond. They were told that the city planned on spending $80.71 on fire protection; $75.74 on capital spending, $66.53 on Roads and Parks Maintenance; $39.42 on Local Boards and committees (Library, Performing Arts Centre, the Economic Development Corporation; $32.92 on Parks and Recreation services and $28.60 on transit services.
The figures given are for every $100,000 of urban residential assessment – so if your house is assessed at $300,000 then you would multiply the number given by three.
The graph shows what tax rates have been historically. The city portion of the total tax bill has not always been in sync with what the Region and Schools Board ask for. Wide swings during the Jackson administration.
The participants were asked if they would maintain the amount budgeted for 2012; if they would enhance the amount (increase) or reduce the amount budgeted. Staff were on hand to delve into some of the detail in each of the spending categories. What would you have done with each of those categories? If you want to share your view, General Manager Kim Phillips would love to hear from you – she can be reached by email at phillipsk@Burlington.ca
A closer look at the proposed 2012 city budget called for some thinking and some animated discussion at the Burlington Art Centre session last week.
The participants were asked if they would support or not support reducing the frequency of mowing the grass under the Hydro rights of way from five times a year to four times and save $6000.00 . Or if they would support or not support reducing the school crossing guard coverage during lunch hours at under utilized crossings? I suspect the parents located near those crossings would like some say on this one – the specific crossings weren’t set out in the workbook – but if you`re concerned – ask your ward councillor.
There are 15 hanging baskets on Lakeshore Road between Maple and Locust – are they worth the $4000.00 the city spends to put them up and maintain them every year? Tell your Council member if you don`t think that is money well spent.
Running a city is a complex business and keeping everyone happy is no simple matter. A lot of people disdain politics – but like it or not – it is the glue that keeps the place together.
The previous session held elsewhere in the community had just five people in the audience and while that is disappointing – there is a very important point being made by the city. They have, each year, gone out into the community with well-prepared material and organized the event so that everyone had an opportunity to talk and make their views known. The attendance was disappointing but people in the city know that they can make their views known – so when the budget is approved – let`s not hear a lot of carping about the public having no input. There are additional public sessions scheduled. If you’ve got a beef – there is a chance for you to get your two cents worth on the table.
Chamber of Commerce Chair Tamer Fahmi listens in and considers a possible poker game with the assistant treasurer.
The sessions are kind of fun. One table left the sense they were prepared to get a small game of poker going – heck they were talking about the city budget so why not have some fun. That the deputy city treasurer along with the President of the Chamber of Commerce was at the table shouldn’t send out any alarm signals – they both looked like quarter a hand players to me.
Small, community based information sessions are just part of the public process. The budget, both the Capital budget, which is a longer term document and the Current budget – which sets out what is going to be spent in the current year, get discussed at length during the Budget and Corporate Services committee meetings, where any citizen can delegate and be given ten minutes to make their point. If you’re really hot and bothered about an issue – you can delegate at the Council meeting, where the budget is made official. You`re expected to have new information if you delegate at Committee and delegate again at Council – and you get just five minutes at a Council meeting.
If you’ve nothing new to say at a Council meeting you get met by stone cold silence from the seven members of city council, who thank you for your delegation and dismiss you – it can be a humbling experience, and it happens more often than it should. So if you chooses to delegate – be well prepared with facts and figures.
City council had asked staff to prepare a budget with a tax increase that ranged between 2% and 3.5% – they’ve produced a document that came in at 3.4%. Council at the Committee stage can and should squeeze this back to 2% and ensure that the needed funds for the road maintenance is in place.
The breakdown of what the city plans to commit itself to for the re-development of the Joseph Brant Memorial Hospital - when and if it ever gets re-built. The city is looking at a number of ways to collect these amounts. A straight tax levy every year or possibly a longer term funding that would spread the cost over several generations.
There was a very interesting and innovative proposal put forward by Councillor Taylor for a debenture offering that citizens could subscribe to as a way to raise the funds needed to pay for any re-development that gets done on the Joseph Brant Memorial Hospital. The proposal would have given citizens a risk free investment opportunity and also have spread out the re-development costs over a longer time frame. If there is ever a re-developed hospital in Burlington –and it is far from certain that there ever will be one – the cost can and should be spread out over several generations. Giving people a better financial return than a savings account wouldn’t hurt either.
By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON January 26, 2012 He managed to get through a 25 minute speech without once saying a word about The Pier, but did tell the Burlington Chamber of Commerce, State of the City audience that the city is in good shape.
Mayor Rick Goldring chose to point to the opportunities and left his audience with the impression that the challenges we have are all manageable without detailing just what those challenges are. The deficit the city faces with its infrastructure; the very real political problems he faces with the re-development of the Joseph Brant Memorial Hospital, where he has to front $60 million of the $300 million cost and hope that he can survive the damage when the province doesn’t come through with their portion of the funding in 2014 – which is an election year for the Mayor. Goldring opened the kimono just a little when he said: “…we didn’t anticipate the timing of the announcement or the fact that the city taxpayers along with donours have to front end $60 million each over the next six years.” Mr. Mayor, if the provincial government does it to you once – you just know they are going to at least try to do it to you again, so don’t bend over.
Old Lakeshore precinct continues to be "the jewel" that has yet to find a crown.
No mention was made of the opportunity to play a leading role in the development of the Mainway Beach west of Spencer Smith Park, that has been languishing for more than a decade. That opportunity, to do some significant and very innovative development in that part of the city, looks as if it is going to get away from us and be in the hands of the Conservation Authority, because Burlington hasn’t come forward with any solid plans or initiatives. The Waterfront Advisory Committee has let the city down terribly on this one. It had the opportunity to develop and present some creative ideas that would offer some solutions to make much more out of the western beach and the Old Lakeshore precinct. The Mayor can’t do it all.
While things appear to be under control with the plans the province had to ram a road right through Lowville, the fact is that the Minister who told the Mayor that the road would not be built is no longer the Minister responsible for transportation. Saying “we are committed to keep our 50/50 rural urban split, meaning that all new development must occur south of the Dundas-407 corridor” is one thing. Putting a stake through the heart of the idea of an Escarpment highway is another matter. The Mayor is going to have to rely on rookie MP Jane McKenna to ensure that we don’t get horn swoggled by the province should they try to argue that Burlington is going to have to take it on the chin for the greater good of the province and all those jobs that will result in trucks being able to roar across the Escarpment with products bound for the U S of A.
Thordon Bearings, a Burlington based technology company with a bullet proof vest made out of patents and trade secrets. Burlington could use a few more of these.
The American economy is in such poor shape that Burlington would be better selling products to China and India. We would be even better off if we could create intellectual property industries and sell ideas and technology to South America and some of the developing countries. Thordon Bearings and EcoSynthetix are great examples of what we are capable of – and at that level Mayor Goldring was dead on when he talked about the opportunities for on-going executive education at the McMaster DeGroote School on the South Service Road. The disappointing point the Mayor made was that less than 4% of the McMaster business students who do a co-op program – there were in excess of 140 of them in 2011 – worked with Burlington based companies. This city is letting top notch talent work on co-op programs with companies outside of the city – probably our competitors. We should be and could be providing at least 20% of those students with co-op opportunities. Not because we want to give them work experience but because we want to be able to pick their brains and use their developing skills and energy. They just might find a future vice president as well.
Burlington has been on the cusp of breaking through an economic barrier for a number of years but the city doesn’t have any class A office space. Hopes have reigned supreme for more than a decade for the development of some first class office space. Goldring told his audience there are three major development applications approved several years ago – but there are no shovels in the ground yet. Can he use a cattle prod to get something moving on this? Someone is going to have to get very creative and put together a development in the downtown core that involves the federal and provincial governments who will take some space in a new building to ensure it is economically feasible for the first five years. You know the phrase – if you build a better mousetrap they will come – but you have to put some cheese in that mousetrap. We seem to have forgotten that.
Is Brant street going to see some class A office space or will it always be retail that is consistently challenged to be viable?
An appeal to the Ontario Municipal Board for a change to the Official Plan that would allow for more height on property at Brant and James Street favoured the developer who can now put up seven floors as of right and can ask for an additional three floors. The understanding within the Planning department is that the developer will make it a mixed use building with retail on the ground floor and both residential and commercial above that. The developer used the same model for another development five or six blocks north on Brant and one block east where a 17 story building, a parking garage and a smaller structure that hopes to attract medical practitioners.
The city’s heritage problems didn’t get as much as a mention but the Performing Arts Centre got the favourable comments it has gotten since the day it opened. However, no one is saying anything about what the revenue and expense number for the BPAC look like.
The Mayor did announce one very interesting program that is just being launched. InnovateBurlington is an intern program that was put together by an advisory committee that saw the need for an innovative, entrepreneurial community of graduate students who could gain some meaningful work experience during which they would develop strategic projects for local corporations. Burlington needs a little more ginger in its commercial diet.
Innovate Burlington is a partnership between the BEDC, the city, the Chamber of Commerce, The Centre for Skills Development and Training and McMaster University. These were the founding forces that took part of Rick Goldring’s election platform and grew it to the point where it was ready to be made operational and given to the BEDC to operate at least during the early stages.
Serious problems with retaining the really significant heritage homes in the city weren’t addressed. We can’t be a world class city if we ignore and demolish the important heritage homes. A city that forgets its roots will, like a tree, eventually topple over. Freeman Station is still out there waiting to be saved.
Mayor Goldring tells Chamber of Commerce audience that he is just taking care of business.
Mayor Goldring is developing as a speaker. For some reason he came across as a little rushed this morning – sounded as if he needed to get all the words out before people left the room to get to their offices. Public speaking can, and should be, entertaining. It has a pace of its own and hopefully over time Goldring will develop a style that is a little less rushed. As for content and style it had a line that will certainly get picked up by others and I think you can expect to see it in his campaign literature. He said the 21st century is going to be about the ability to learn, unlearn and relearn. He can put that on a T shirt and win an election on it. And make no mistake about it – short of a calamity, Goldring is a two term Mayor and maybe even three. Based on what we have seen so far from this man – we should be so lucky.
Whenever you talk to someone who has lived in Burlington for more than ten years you will hear again and again how great a city this is to live in. It does have great geography going for it – but it doesn’t have much in the way of buzz going for it.
We talk about the high tech, high paying jobs we want to attract. The people who do the innovative thinking at work need a city that is innovative, fresh, growing with at least some excitement in it. Goldring clearly underlined that point when he said: “the state of a city is an attitude, a feeling, a level of confidence about how things are going”. We are confident – are we complacent as well?
By Mayor Rick Goldring
BURLINGTON, ON January 25, 2012
Good morning ladies and gentlemen. Thank you all very much for coming this morning to the State of the City Address.
Last year there was record attendance for this event, and I am pleased and a little surprised that there is approximately the same number of people here this year as last. I thought the honeymoon would be over and the attendance would be less. Maybe the honeymoon is over and that is why you are all here.
Thank you to the sponsors for your contribution to this event. Scotia Bank, Bell, the Certified Management Accountants Association along with the Burlington Youth Soccer Club – you are all great contributors to our community. I have great affinity for the BYSC as all 3 of my daughters played soccer at all levels in the club and 2 continue to play soccer as young adults.
I also want to thank TV Cogeco for being here this morning, providing many who cannot be here, the opportunity to see this event at a future date on TV Cogeco.
I also wish to thank the Burlington Chamber of Commerce for not only hosting the State of the City Address, but also for the efforts you expend in the areas of advocacy as well as providing educational and networking opportunities for your members. The net impact of your efforts is a significant contribution to prosperity for our city.
Before I go any further I want to introduce my colleagues from Burlington City Council: Councillors Marianne Meed Ward, John Taylor, Jack Dennison, Paul Sharman and Blair Lancaster. Councillor Rick Craven is away on a well earned vacation in the Caribbean.
I also would like to introduce the Senior Executive Team with the City:
Kim Phillips – Acting City Manager – General Manager of Corporate Services;
Scott Stewart – General Manager of Community Services – who also served as Acting City Manager while Council was in the recruitment process; and
Steve Zorbas – Acting General Manager of Development and Infrastructure.
Kim only has two more days in the Acting City Manager Role.
I want to publicly thank both Kim and Scott for the time that each of you served as acting city manager. You both did a superb job – we were in good hands.
At this point, I would like to introduce our new City Manager – Jeff Fielding – who is with us this morning, even though he does not start until Monday.
Jeff was the City Manager in London for almost 8 years and prior to that, was the City Manager in Kitchener. Jeff brings with him not only great experience as a municipal leader, but also an incredible amount of enthusiasm.
Jeff, welcome to Burlington. We are all looking forward to working with you.
There are a number of additional members of our senior management team and staff who are also here this morning. We are extremely fortunate to have a fine team of public servants serving the needs of our community.
Goldring says being Mayor "has been everything I had hoped for, and at times more, and some times much more!"
This morning is my second opportunity to address the Chamber and the public through the press, and TV Cogeco and talk about our city. I have had the privilege of being the Mayor for just over one year now, and I must say that the opportunity has been everything I had hoped for, and at times more, and some times, much more!
The State of the City address can be a series of statistics and facts to prove we have done our job. However to me the state of the city is an attitude, a feeling, a level of confidence about how things are going. That is the foundation that allows us to focus on the hopes and dreams for the whole city.
This past year, I had the opportunity to speak to many residents. I attended more than 300 community functions and it often seemed that I spoke to every person present. In the Mayor’s Office, we had over 150 meetings with concerned citizens, groups and staff about the matters that were important to the community. I had the occasion to speak to and engage in dialogue with many service clubs, church groups, community organizations and business groups, including 10 CFOs from local businesses in a meeting that was arranged by the Chamber.
I was in arenas, art centres, halls, parks, libraries, schools, hospitals, churches, food banks, and just about any other facility we have here in Burlington. I visited local businesses regularly and met with several prospective Burlington businesses. During the year I hosted the Mayor’s Community Roundtable and invited about 30 community groups to attend and we have had great attendance. We established a series of Open Door sessions where residents simply show up to meet me without an appointment to discuss their issues. In fact there is one this Friday morning at City Hall.
Last week I invited some prominent citizens for dinner to talk about the city’s challenges and opportunities. This group of participants represented social services, culture, development and the business sectors. For me it was an inspiring evening. The level of enthusiasm and expertise we have in our community is an asset that we need to capitalize on more.
Many citizens also engaged me in grocery stores, shopping malls, on the street while out I was out walking, at the Y during my workouts, and sometimes even when I am out of town. This past Sunday I talked to a resident at the Sleeman Centre in Guelph while attending a Guelph Storm hockey game with my daughter.
In 2011 I had the opportunity to do Ward Tours with my colleagues. We drove through neighbourhoods, walked through parks and pathways, visited developing areas, areas of concern and areas of opportunity. I am consistently impressed with the work of my colleagues on Council, with how in touch they are with the Ward’s they represent, and how hard they are working every day in little ways that few people see.
The Mayor is chief spokesman for the city; directs trafic as well.
While the Mayor is the chief spokesperson for the city and the head of council, it is not the Mayor’s role to lead on every issue. The city is fortunate to have the blend of different people on council who are all community leaders.
So how are we doing?
In my inaugural speech just over a year ago, I spoke about the importance of rebuilding TRUST; the trust between council members, council and staff, council and the public and between City Hall and the public.
Elections can and often do end up creating at the beginning an interesting dynamic for municipal councils and the staff team they lead. It takes effort on all sides to meld together, different views, experiences and approaches into a cohesive team. I am pleased to report that the organization has come a long way in a year resulting in higher levels of trust and respect that allows us to focus on the issues in front of us more effectively.
I would like to read a quote from Kent Murdoch, President and CEO of the O.C. Tanner Company:
“If your workplace culture isn’t open and honest, it won’t create satisfaction, and you will experience turnover and a lack of productivity that will cost you money, ideas and time. On the other hand, if the work environment is ethical, productive and positive, people will stay – and stay committed. They will drive your organization forward”.
The result of a high trust organization will be a much better and more trusting relationship with the people we serve.
Having a high level of trust doesn’t mean that all decisions are unanimous. We all know that this is impossible. Trust is based on transparency, openness, an explanation of decision making, honesty and respect, including respecting alternative positions. This is true in our interaction with each other, staff and the community.
As we move forward to look at what happened in 2011 and what we look forward to in 2012, I hope you come away with these thoughts from today:
- I believe you should feel positive about what is happening in Burlington and how your council and city staff are working on your behalf.
- All municipalities have their challenges. We don’t have to look far to see examples. Burlington is in a better position than most. We have a very good and diversified local economy, we have a great quality of life and access to amenities and services and we are in a position to address our challenges in a professional and thoughtful way.
- We are addressing our issues head on. We are “living within our means” and we will continue to do so.
Highlights of 2011
2011 was an eventful year.
Joseph Brant Memorial Hospital
As we saw and heard in the video we played earlier, on August 10th the Province of Ontario announced the go ahead on the Joseph Brant Memorial Hospital re-development project. This project, with a budget of over $300 million will result in a significantly rejuvenated hospital.
We will see new operating rooms, new private rooms, a new cancer clinic and many more improvements. The progress that has been made on this project is remarkable. This redevelopment will provide the infrastructure needed to provide the healthcare that Burlington must have for this generation and the next.
The project will proceed in two Phases. The hospital will begin with an RFP process and tender in Phase 1 in 2012 and construction in 2013. Phase 2 will go through a similar process with the tender award in 2014.
We have members of the Joseph Brant Memorial Hospital here this morning and I would like to acknowledge Eric Vandewall and the team.
The re-development of the hospital is not the only thing happening at Joseph Brant. As most of you know, the city and Region committed $10 million several years ago to McMaster University as part of the DeGroote School of Business at the Ron Joyce Centre on the South Service Road. This project had a second component which related to the commitment by McMaster to open a Halton McMaster Family Health Centre in the Burlington downtown area.
I would like to welcome here today Dr. David Price, Chair of McMaster Family Medicine and Dr. John Kelton, Dean and VP of Health Science. I am pleased to tell you today that McMaster has selected the Joseph Brant site as the preferred site for the Halton McMaster Family Health Centre. McMaster anticipates taking ownership of two floors and about 15,000 square feet at Joseph Brant as part of the Phase 1 project. All parties hope to be operational at Joseph Brant by the end of 2013.
We anticipate that a site plan application for Phase 1 will be submitted to our planning department in May this year. Through public consultation this will allow the public to more fully see and understand the plans at Joseph Brant.
Performing Arts Centre
The Burlington Performing Arts Centre opened this fall on time and on budget. This facility is absolutely magnificent. It is and will remain a centerpiece of our community for generations.
Burlington residents now have access to performances that could not previously come to our City. Our community cultural groups now have a place to perform and an environment to be inspired.
To build a city, attract creative people and have a vibrant downtown, you need the performing arts. The Prime Minister of Canada agrees, and as part of the opening week festivities Prime Minister Harper came to Burlington to celebrate with us. The Prime Minister spent most of the day here in Burlington, had an opportunity to visit one of our thriving businesses and to see Canada’s musical ambassadors The Burlington Teen Tour Band.
Education and Partnership
Our city building continued in education and partnership.
Ground was broken this fall for the new Alton High School, Library and Community Centre. This is a joint effort with the school board and public library to integrate high quality services on a more cost effective basis.
The city is also building Norton Park with soccer and football fields across the street and creating a campus to meet the community needs. This is a great example of partnership in action.
The McMaster DeGroote campus on the South Service Rd. brings a significant educational institution to Burlington "making world class executive education" available to the business community.
Life-long learning, innovation and entrepreneurship are critical to our prosperity and continued success. One of the very important institutions in our community to help us achieve this is the DeGroote School of Business. This is the home of the McMaster MBA program.
The program has expanded to 577 students for the 2011/12 academic year and continues to see an increase in International students which make up 20% of the class entering in 2011.
The program is in the top three in Canada for return on investment. 100% of the co-op students secured employment placement for the fall 2011 program. Since 2010, 17 Burlington companies have recruited co-op students. However, only about 4% of these co-op students are finding permanent employment opportunities in Burlington.
McMaster representatives are here today and I encourage local businesses to look into these opportunities. This is a win/win situation and if we can attract and keep leading graduates in our local economy, we will all benefit.
McMaster’s presence in Burlington also makes world class executive education available. Since 2010, 840 executives have participated in programs. Former Dean, and our good friend Paul Bates, leads this initiative. This is an opportunity for the community which we hope you consider.
I believe that innovation, entrepreneurship and keeping our young graduates in our local economy, is vital to our future.
To help achieve this, I am pleased to announce today that through partnership with the BEDC, McMaster, the Chamber of Commerce, and The Centre for Skills and Development Training, we are launching Innovate Burlington.
Innovate Burlington is a first step towards building a sustainable innovation and entrepreneurship program in Burlington.
Innovate Burlington will provide recent graduates the opportunity to work as interns, in Burlington, on meaningful projects to help local companies. We see this as a win for graduates and a win for you, our local businesses, who will have access to a tremendous talent pool. You may well find your future leaders through this program.
I hope you will seriously look at this opportunity for your organization. I would also like to introduce to you one company that already has. Here today are Ryan Djordjevic and Tim Sluy from Global Mobility Products.
There will be a formal launch for this program on February 16. I would like to thank Kyle Benham, the Executive Director of BEDC and Anita Cassidy, our Program Coordinator, for their efforts in getting this program off the ground. I would like to express my personal thanks to the Advisory Team that has contributed to this effort.
Strategic Plan
A new Strategic Plan was developed in 2011. The Strategic Plan focuses on three key areas: Vibrant Neighbourhoods, Prosperity, and Excellence in Government.
This plan was developed with unprecedented public input. It is a much more focused document than previous plans. For example, we reduced the number of initiatives from 107 to about 42 for the term. We have created a plan which is meaningful, focused, and attainable.
Niagara to GTA Highway
In October 2010, the province attempted to amend the Region’s Official Plan maps with a change that identified a corridor for a new highway right through the middle of rural Burlington. Council is committed to protecting this natural heritage for generations to come.
Escarpment map with an arrow showing a new road was a surprise to many. The corridor proposal was removed but still lurks out there.
Through a tremendous effort by Councillors Taylor and Lancaster and the Stop the Highway coalition this corridor proposal was removed from the Official Plan maps and Minister Wynne announced in July that there would be no highway.
I spoke to Minister Ted McMeekin about this issue again last week. I am assured that the province is looking at all multi-modal options, including rail, road widening and public transit to address our long term transportation needs.
There are still challenges associated with this issue and we continue to fight to protect the rural heritage. We need 21st century solutions to our transportation challenges.
In addition to these major milestones in our community, there were many others were noting:
- Burlington Transit ridership increased by 7.0% in 2011.
- In 2011, construction value increased meaningfully. Residential construction value grew by 23% and Industrial/Commercial development grew by 30%. That translates to a total of $451 million in construction this past year. We hope to see job numbers reflect this investment in 2012.
- Some high profile retailers selected Burlington as a location of choice. Sail, an outdoor retailer selected Burlington in October and should be open later this year. And of course the Apple Store opened prior to Christmas at Mapleview Mall.
- In August, EcoSynthetix completed a successful IPO, raising just over $100 million. Congratulations to John van Leeuwen and his team. Prime Minister Harper was also impressed and visited EcoSythetix on December 2.
So where are we going in 2012?
In 2012 and beyond there are a number of challenges and opportunities to address.
Community Engagement
Our new Public Involvement Coordinator, Christine Iamonaco is in the process of creating an Engagement Charter – a document that helps define the relationship between citizens and the city, whether it be staff or council. We need to demystify and enhance our processes to create an environment where our citizens can provide appropriate and timely input on the many initiatives and decisions that council is responsible for.
Official Plan Review
This year we will commence an Official Plan review. This is an exercise mandated by the province that must be done every 5 years.
An official plan is a statutory document which sets out the land use policy directions for long-term growth and development in a municipality.
I believe that this official plan review is the most important in Burlington’s history for a number of reasons.
- We have the lowest projected growth rate of any municipality in the GTA for the next 20 years.
- We are committed to keep our 50/50 rural urban split, meaning that all new development must occur south of the Dundas-407 corridor.
- After the Alton Community is complete, we have very little room left for “greenfield” development.
- Up to 80% of future residential development will be intensification, redevelopment and infill.
- We need to maintain an appropriate amount of employment lands for new business and new jobs to 2031.
Council will be having a workshop on the Official Plan shortly and just as the Strategic Plan had an unprecedented level of public input, we will also have a very thorough public process for the Official Plan review.
Neighbourhood Development
We continued to develop and protect our neighbourhoods in 2011 and will continue to do so in 2012 and beyond. Over 80% of our neighbourhoods will see little change, while certain areas of the city will see further intensification.
Aldershot
A great example of this is Aldershot and the Plains Road Corridor.
Plains Road; an old suburban highway transitions into a vibrant urban main street.
Plains Road is in the process of transitioning from an old suburban highway to a vibrant urban main street. My compliments to Councillor Rick Craven, along with the Aldershot BIA and the Plains Road Village Vision, who have lead many of the positive changes we have seen along Plains Road.
A fundamental factor that is influencing the Village Vision is that Aldershot has insufficient population to attract new businesses.
The newer residential and commercial buildings have more cohesive design features that result in a more vibrant and attractive area of the city. There are many examples of this and the most recent is the brand new Aldershot Library.
The new 403 interchange, a new Kings Road Underpass (that will be completed this fall) along with the work of the Aldershot BIA and city staff, have all contributed to the tremendous level of interest and activity with regard to new development along Plains Road.
Downtown
Under the Province of Ontario’s Places to Grow plan, our downtown is designated as an urban growth centre. It is expected, in fact it is mandated, that our downtown should add more residents and more jobs. We have seen some progress on this but progress has slowed.
There are 3 major development applications that were approved several years ago; however the shovels are not in the ground yet. When complete, these projects will add over 650 residents and over 500 jobs.
We need more of this. In the spring, council will be participating in a workshop discussing the potential for the parking lots located to the west of Village Square and east of Brant Street, south of City Hall. We see these lots as development opportunities that have the potential to add more jobs and residents without taking away parking spaces.
Downtown parking lots on John and Brant street offer significant development opportunities.
The success of a downtown is one of the major keys to a prosperous city. Development needs to continue in the downtown in order for our city to thrive.
I should mention that Councillor Meed Ward is taking me on a Ward Tour on Monday which will allow us to look at all of the opportunities we have in the downtown.
Economic Reality
The economic climate has changed significantly over the last 5 years. The issues in the US and Europe have cast a negative pall over many in the world. Canada is fortunate, on a relative basis, but we cannot be too smug as we are still vulnerable.
The world is transitioning from an Industrial Age to an Information and Communication Technology Age, resulting in many traditional manufacturing jobs being eliminated or moved to countries in the developing world, like China and India.
We need to leverage our investment in McMaster to help foster innovation, job creation and life-long learning in Burlington. I believe a culture of life-long learning is critical to prosperity.
“In the 21st century literacy will not be about reading and writing but will be the about the ability to learn, unlearn and relearn.”
The days of having only one job with one organization are over and the ability to be resilient and flexible in adapting to changing circumstances has never been as important.
Governments at all levels have to deal with issues differently. Yesterday’s approaches to the challenges of today and tomorrow will not work. We need to be creative, innovative and use ingenuity to address our future.
I am pleased to say that our staff has responded appropriately to these challenges in a very positive manner.
Burlington has to "front end" $60 million of the $300 million Joseph Brant Memorial Hospital redevelopment.
Last year, we had a City of Burlington tax increase of .9%. Obviously good news, but it is not sustainable to continue on at that level. The regular operations of the city require an annual increase to reflect increasing costs. On top of this, we have infrastructure challenges that all municipalities have. As much as the hospital announcement was great news for Burlington, we did not anticipate the timing of the announcement or the fact that the city taxpayers, along with donors, have to front-end $60 million each over the next 6 years.
I am confident we can deal with our financial challenges carefully and judiciously resulting in responsible tax rate increases and “living within our means.”
So what do I hope you take away from today?
- I hope you feel positive. Our City is in very good shape and we are committed to keeping Burlington as a thriving prosperous inclusive community through strong fiscal management, innovation and partnerships and cooperation.
- We all have challenges. Our City is changing. I propose to embrace this change.
- We have a meaningful Strategic Plan in place and you will see a more focused Council and a Council and Staff that better understands our priorities.
- We will continue to improve in how we work with the community as we work through the change that is taking place.
- Your City is focused on improving customer service, productivity through technology and decision making through engagement and measurement.
- We will “live within our means.”
In closing, I would like to thank the Chamber for hosting this event.
I want to thank council and staff of the city for all their hard work.
I also want to recognize the efforts of our faith communities, services clubs, social agencies, sports groups, and arts and cultural organizations, for the major contribution they are to a city where people, nature and business thrive.
It is an honour and privilege to serve as your Mayor.
I look forward to continuing to work collaboratively with you to make this city the best it can be.
In my inauguration speech I closed with the African Proverb “If you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together.”
Ladies and gentlemen, we are in this together and together we will continue to build a wonderful City.
Thank You.
January 26, 2012
Burlington Convention Centre
The Burlington Chamber of Commerce has been hosting the Mayor’s Annual State of the City Address for thirty years. With advocacy being a key objective of the Chamber, hosting the Mayor’s Address gives Burlington business people an excellent opportunity to gain a greater understanding of local politics and how issues being dealt with by the mayor and council can affect them and their business. Often viewed as the mayor’s most important speech of the year, the address outlines the city’s challenges, opportunities and priorities for the upcoming year. Recently, the mayor has made use of technology by conducting real-time polls during the event to gauge the thoughts and priorities of those in attendance. This gives the audience a way to directly interact with the mayor during the event. The Mayor’s Address is one of the premier events hosted by the Chamber which hosts 80 events each year.
By Staff
BURLINGTON, ON January 25, 2012 Halton Region residents looking for work or employers looking to fill positions now have access to a “personalized” service. It is a significant time saver for employers.
The service for employers includes personalized services such as: screening and matching services to help employers select the best qualified candidate; reference checking and education verification service; training incentive programs to off-set the cost of training and hourly wages; access to the Haltonjobs.ca job board; the Employment Halton LinkedIn group where employers can network together regarding hiring needs and access to annual job fairs. All the services are free.
If you are looking for a job the Region has an accessible employment resource centre complete with one-on-one support to help people searching for a job, help explore career options, and access programs and funding for apprenticeship and career development programs. The only thing they don’t do is send a cab to pick you up. All services are free.
Funding for the Employment Halton office has been provided by the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities.
In 2011, there were 8000 visits to the Employment Halton office and over 190 employers in Halton received services from Employment Halton staff. The service exceeded Ministry targets for the number of clients and employers served and the number of clients that obtained jobs. Anyone who is searching for a job or interested in training for a new career can visit the Employment Halton office in Bronte Village Mall (2441 Lakeshore Road West – Bronte Village Mall) in Oakville
Job creation is a top priority for every level of government and they don’t want to leave very much to chance. “The government believes people are our best resource the province has and programs like these help them to continue to contribute,” said Glen Murray, Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities.
To learn more about Employment Halton visit our office in Bronte Village Mall, call us by dialing 311 or 905-825-6000, toll free: 1-866-442-5866, TTY 905-827-9833 or visit www.halton.ca/employmenthalton or www.haltonjobs.ca.
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