 By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON. June 26, 2013. There is usually a better way – we often can`t see it because we don`t want to see it. Our stubbornness gets in the way. My Mother used to say to me, when I was about to make a fool of myself again: I see you are going to cut off your nose to spite your face.” It took many years for me to fully understand what she was trying to teach me.
Those people who attended that meeting in a barn hayloft on Bell School Line sat and listened to Vince Rossi, owner of the Burlington Air Park as he said time and again that he would “take it under advisement” whenever people asked him to do something.
To be fair to Rossi – there were some pretty stupid asks but the point was clear to everyone; Vince Rossi isn’t going to do a damn thing unless he is forced to. Many thought the meeting was a waste of time before it was held and are doing the “I told you so” thing. But the meeting had to be held; the community had to show that it would come to the table and listen.
 Vince Rossi, owner of the Burlington Air PArk is keeping pretty good political company. He has Mississauga Mayor Hazel McCallion in his corner as well as Burlington Ward 6 Council member Blair Lancaster. The ward residents are opposed to the airport expansion. What they heard was a man on a mission determined to make his dream come true and if the property of some people is destroyed, well that’s the cost of progress. Rossi put it rather crudely when he said to one property owner that if they didn’t want airport problems they shouldn’t have bought property beside an airport. Problem with that response was that property owner was there before the airport.
This situation could be handled differently. There is another small airport in Tottenham, south of Barrie just off the 400 highway. They too are expanding and they too are bringing in landfill.
Known as the Volk Aerodrome on Hwy 9 is under new ownership, Tottenham Airfield Corporation owned by Toronto businessman John Bailey.
Bailey brought in a communications group that sends out information. The airport corporation said they were doing “An enhancement of the existing airfield and once a draft master plan has been completed – expected later this year – it will be shared with the local community.”
The news release went on to say: “We believe there is a tremendous potential to provide high quality aviation services at a small local airfield, particularly with the planned closing of the Buttonville Airport in Markham, the increased interest in recreational flying, and the increase in tourism and development in the Simcoe area.”
The Volk Aerodrome has been the subject of intense opposition from its neighbours who have pleaded with the Town to stop the fill operation that had been taking place over the past few months. Growing volumes of truck traffic in and out of the site caught the attention of the Ministry of Transportation which suspended entrance permits until several conditions were implemented.
Volk put together a contractual arrangement with the Green Soils group of companies. Green Soils is highly respected and specializes in the movement and remediation of soil. (…) with this single-source supplier arrangement, a strong level of control can be placed on the amount and quality of soils entering the site, as well as all trucking activity.”
Volk has set up a telephone hotline for enquiries about the airfield. A general manager for the company will be hired in the coming weeks, and the Volk family will continue to manage the airfield and flight school operations.
Tottenham Airfield Corporation Inc. is holding a community open house to seek input into the site plan, provide information about the enhancement project and answer questions from members of the community.
It can be done differently but for reasons that only Vince Rossi understands he is going to attempt to bulldoze his way through this in the belief that he holds the trump card: he is federally regulated.
Rossi has pulled in some powerful allies. His relationship with Mississauga Mayor Hazel McCallion is strong enough for her to fax material to the federal minister of finance on behalf of the Burlington Air Park.
Burlington’s Mayor Goldring will be meeting with McCallion to see what can be done to have her have some respect for Burlington and allow us to develop our own plans.
 For reasons that only she understands, Blair Lancaster, Ward 6 Councillor chose to seat herself beside Air Park owner Vince Rossi during a meeting between a resident association that is opposed to the dumping of landfill on airport property and would like to know much more about what the long-term plans are for the Air Park. The council member appears to be telling her constituents where she sits Rossi appears to have almost completely co-opted the ward council member. At a meeting of residents of the community and the organization set up to battle the airport plans, Blair Lancaster chose to sit beside Rossi throughout the meeting – not the best political optics but perhaps Lancaster thinks she has the votes she needs to win her Council seat south of Dundas. She appears to be doing next to nothing for the people who have organized themselves to get some information on what is happening to their community.
Lancaster has lost the support she had north of the Hwy 407/Dundas line.
 By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON. June 25, 2013. The banking business has changed. There was a time when they wanted rights to your first-born and they would loan you a reasonable amount of money. Now securing everything that is near and dear to you isn’t quite enough – the banks want to know what you are going to do with the money and if they feel you are making a contribution to society then they will lend you some money with the understanding that they still have a lien on your first-born.
Banks now have a second level CEO – this one is a little softer with not quite the same number of stock options that the real Chief Executive Officer has but it is seen as a socially responsible position while the real CEO had better improve the assets on the books and keep the costs down – even if that means throwing the well qualified Canadian technical workers under the bus and outsourcing all that code crunching work to some guy in a cubicle somewhere in Mumbai where there isn’t a Labour Standards Board because there are no standards.
 This second level CEO is the Chief Environmental Officer. TD Bank has one and she had quite a bit to say for herself in a Globe & Mail interview she gave awhile back.
Karen Clarke-Whistler is Toronto-Dominion Bank’s other CEO – its chief environment officer. The role doesn’t exist in any other large North American bank, and gives her unique power to influence TD decisions in every aspect of its business. Ms. Clarke-Whistler, who spent most of her career as an environmental consultant, joined the bank in the newly created role in 2008 and has helped turn TD into an environmental leader.
 By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON. June 25, 2013. That the meeting actually took place was a surprise to many. Vince Rossi, owner of the Burlington Executive Air Park showed up and listened. Tim Crawford was with him.
Most of those there didn’t come away with the feeling that there were measurable bankable gains; but Rossi did hear what the group of about 25 people, meeting in the hayloft of a barn that had been swept bare, had to say.
 Barbara Sheldon reads her 12 requirements to Vince Rossi at a Rural Burlington Green Coalition. Rossi did not respond. Barn doors were left open to let in fresh air and a breeze, as well as the sound of a small aircraft that looked as if they might fly in through the openings. The Gazette had agreed beforehand not to attend all of the meeting but to show up at the end to pick up some comments. Getting the meeting to take place was the objective. Everyone hoped Vince Rossi would show up – and he did – which will be seen as a success for the politicians and the Rural Burlington Green Coalition plus the residents who took part.
Scott Stewart invited people to make comments and gave Vince Rossi an opportunity to respond. Most of the comments that had an ask to them were taken ‘under advisement’ by Rossi.
Along with Stewart there were two additional city staff and five Council members in attendance: Marianne Meed Ward, Blair Lancaster, Jack Dennison, Paul Sharman and John Taylor.
Many had not met Rossi before and wanted to get the measure of the man and observe how he handled himself.
Scott Stewart pointed out that the meeting was a part of a several layer approach the city was taking to the issue of landfill on Air Park property. City council will hear what the legal department thinks the possible options are and what the strategy should be.
Meanwhile, there are no trucks entering through the south gate but there are certainly trucks entering through other gates onto the property.
When the last person had spoken Appleby Line resident Barbara Sheldon asked if she could read a statement that set out what her requirements were. While speaking for herself Sheldon made it clear that she had the consent of her neighbours as well. Barbara Sheldon speaks in capital letters.
 Vince Rossi, owner of the Burlington Air Park, seen by many for the first time, listened to what the Coalition had to say, shook some hands and left the meeting. BARBARA SHELDON’S CURRENT EXPECTATIONS FOR AIRPARK’S REMEDIAL ACTIONS
1) IMMEDIATELY STOP ALL LANDFILL DUMPING.
2) DECONSTRUCT THE LANDFILL HILLS ON ALL SIDES TO RESTORE THE SCENIC VALUES TO MY PROPERTY – AND MITIGATE ALL NOISE, DUST AND DIRT TO MY LAND AND HOME IN THE PROCESS OF DOING SO, TO MY REASONABLE SATISFACTION.
3) REMOVE ALL OF THE LANDFILL WITHIN 30 METRES OF MY PROPERTY LINE – AND MITIGATE ALL NOISE, DUST AND DIRT TO MY LAND AND HOME IN THE PROCESS OF DOING SO, TO MY REASONABLE SATISFACTION.
4) RESTORE THE LAND, INCLUDING HIGH-QUALITY GRASS (NOT HIGHWAY GRADE), WITHIN 30 METRES OF MY PROPERTY LINE – AND MAINTAIN REGULAR GROOMING OF THIS LAND.
5) INSTALL PROPERLY GRADED BERMS, WITH PROFESSIONAL LANDSCAPING CONSISTING OF HIGH- QUALITY GRASS SEED AND MATURE EVERGREEN TREES, TO BORDER THE AIRPARK’S REMAINING LANDFILL, THEREBY RESTORING PRIVACY TO MY LAND AND TO MITIGATE AIRPARK NOISE AND UNSIGHTLY VIEWS OF ITS OPERATION FROM MY PROPERTY. MAINTAIN REGULAR GROOMING OF THESE BERMS.
6) RESTORE ALL THE NATURAL STORMWATER DRAINAGE PATTERNS TO THEIR ORIGINAL PATTERNS – AND ENSURE THAT NO PONDING EXISTS WITHIN 30 METRES OF MY PROPERTY LINE.
7) THOROUGHLY TEST MY WELL WATER FOR CONTAMINENTS, AS GUIDED BY THE MOH, FOR THE NEXT 10 YEARS.
8) REPAIR AND RESTORE MY SOUTHERN ACREAGE TO ITS ORIGINAL CONDITION AND GRADING INCLUDING FULL REPLACEMENT OF THE RICH, FERTILE SOIL THAT WAS THERE BEFORE THE LANDFILL DUMPING OCCURRED.
9) REPLACE AND PLANT ALL VEGETATION, TREES AND BUSHES ON MY PROPERTY THAT WERE DESTROYED BY THE FLOODING CAUSED BY THE LANDFILL DUMPING.
10) REPAIR AND RESTORE MY LANEWAY TO ITS ORIGINAL CONDITION BEFORE IT WAS DAMAGED BY THE DUMP TRUCKS.
11) REPAIR ALL ECOLOGICAL DAMAGE TO MY PROPERTY INCLUDING INAPPROPRIATE GRASSES AND WEEDS THAT HAVE INVADED MY LAND, AS ASSESSED BY A QUALIFIED ECOLOGIST (AT AIRPARK’S EXPENSE) – AND RESTORE MY LAND TO ITS ORIGINAL, PRISTINE STATE PRIOR TO THE LANDFILL DUMPING.
12) PROVIDE COMPENSATION FOR EVERY YEAR OR PART THEREOF THAT THE AIRPARK LANDFILL DUMPING OPERATION HAS DESTROYED AND/OR DIMINISHED MY PROPERTY VALUE AS WELL AS DESTROYED OR DIMINISHED MY ABILITY TO ENJOY, LIVE AND WORK TO THE FULLEST EXTENT IN MY HOME AND ON MY LAND.
It is fortunate that the Sheldon requirements were read out at the end of the meeting. Rossi might well have let his well-known short fuse get lit and use its force to propel him out of the room.
The meeting closed quietly, it wasn`t a screaming match and there were no bodies on the floor when it was all over.
But you will not win any bet that there will not be trucks on the road Tuesday morning.
 By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON. June 24, 2013. They will apparently meet in a barn – during one of the hottest days so far this year. The barn is in a direct line with the north-south runway the Air Park wants to extend once it has acquired the land to the north of the existing Air Park. That land will become a runway ending at the edge of Vanessa Warren’s property where she expects to develop an equestrian facility. Vanessa is not pleased nor are the members of the Rural Burlington Greenbelt Coalition, which is made up in part of LARA, Lowville Area Residents Association, PERL Protect Escarpment and Rural Lands and CONE , Coalition on the Niagara Escarpment.
 Landfill from the Air Park crowds the fence of the Cousin’s property on Appleby Line. The meeting is the first event since the Regional government heard delegations last week from both the Coalition and Tim Crawford who was representing Vince Rossi, owner of the Air Park.
 Barbara Sheldon walks to the south side of her property – only to look up at a 30 foot + hill of landfill that touches the edge of her property and there is apparently nothing she can do about what a commercial operation has done. At that Regional Council meeting Burlington Councillor John Taylor pulled five undertakings from Crawford, who admitted that while he was speaking on behalf of the Air Park he had no authority to actually bind the corporation.
The five undertakings Taylor believes he has from the Air Park are:
1. “Shave” the earth piles back on Cousins and Sheldon properties to improve views;
2. Conduct well and surface water testing under MOE supervision of the surrounding properties for contamination;
3. Provide verification that the 58 soil samples provided are a complete set of all sources for the last five years and are fully representative of each source; if not complete provide other samples;
4. Provide a drawing where each fill source is located on property; and
5. Agree to provide a site development plan for review by City and Regional Planning Departments; and conduct a public meeting to get public input on the plan and review results.
Crawford’s apparent willingness to provide this information and to have the Air Park make the changes set out – is a significant step away from the position that corporation has been maintaining for the past five years and that was that the Air Park is a federally regulated operation which does not have to respond to the wishes, by-laws or rules of either the province, the Regional government or a municipality. They have maintained they are responsible to the federal minister of transportation only and for the past five years they have managed to get away with that story.
Oakville Mayor Rob Burton advised Vanessa Williams that she had rights that had been trampled upon and that there is jurisprudence and precedent in place that suggests her property and that of any other resident can be returned to its pristine condition if damage is proven.
 The Warren property has not yet been damaged, just threatened, but the Sheldon and the Cousins property has certain been severely damaged.
This evening Vince Rossi is expected to meet face to face with the steering committee of the coalition. The meeting is being held in a private home and will be chaired by city of Burlington General Manager Scott Stewart who knows how to manage a meeting with any number of hot-heads in the room.
Many don’t expect the meeting to last much more than fifteen minutes before Vince Rossi blows a gasket and storms out. Others don’t think he will bother to show up but send the hapless Tim Crawford again.
The Regional council meeting certainly, as Mayor Goldring put it,” left Rossi badly overdrawn on his public relations account.”
The attempt at a meeting with the community was to be a first step on the part of the city to begin a dialogue with Rossi. The hope was that if a first meeting could take place then possibly there would be an opportunity for a larger community wide meeting.
Meanwhile the city’s legal department is working through its options and expects to report to a city council meeting with recommendations as to what the city can do. Given the way the legal department in Burlington operates they will ask to hold the discussions in a closed session. This might be one of those instances where the lawyers will be right. Get council approval on a direction, file the papers at the Court House in Milton and have them served on the Air Park and then advise the public on what has been done.
 Air Park Counsel Glen Grenier wasn’t prepared for a city manager like Jeff Fielding who supported his legal team to the hilt and basically suggested the Mayor send the lawyer packing – which he did. Here Fielding and Grenier spar verbally while city lawyers Blake Hurley and city solicitor Nancy Shea Nicol look on. What is abundantly clear is that the different political jurisdictions have Vince Rossi on the run. He can no longer maintain that he is responsible only to the federal government. That position was lost when Burlington’s city council balked at the Glenn Grenier, the Air Park’s legal counsel of the day, tried to push past them when he delegated. Rossi appears to have parted ways with that lawyer. There will be others.
 While the city works on two fronts: determining what their legal options are and what they can develop in terms of a strategy, while at the same time doing their best to work with the people most impacted by the damage being done as a result of thousands of tonnes of landfill being dumped on Air Park property, there is a much bigger question the city and the Region as well as the provincial government has to ask and answer and that is: should there be an airport in north Burlington.
Do we want a “Buttonville” West? There are those who think that would be a super idea and great for economic development for the Region. Oakville’s Mayor Rob Burton tried to draw those for the idea of an airport out of the bushes at the Regional meeting but they chose to stay hidden. Make no mistake – there are those who think an airport would be great.
Rossi certainly has his supporters who have helped him get away with his antics for the past five years. That gig of Rossi’s is over – but the bigger question has yet to be asked publicly and then answered.
We will return to that question.
 By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON. June 21, 2013 It’s an eyesore. It no longer works as a commercial entity and the owners of the property want to re-develop. Everyone agrees that something has to be done – but there is very little agreement on what should be done.
 Pinedale Plaza is all but abandoned; two tenants and a site that is covered with graffiti. An eyesore for the community but residents don’t like the number of units the developer wants to build on the property. The Pinedale Plaza, located east of Appleby Line north of New Street, served the neighbourhood for years but that day has passed. Small shopping plazas have seen their day. This plaza is now covered with graffiti and has few tenants.
The owners, they took possession in 2011, have come up with a plan to develop the site and put 19 street townhouses on the property with 7 of those units fronting on Pinedale and 12 fronting on Wedgewood Drive.
As is usual in these presentations, the residents see that as far too many buildings; something that will change the tone, look and feel of the neighbourhood – they want something smaller.
 That cross walk handles pedestrian traffic for three schools and a community centre. Residents feel that having seven units with driveways back onto the street is unsafe. The units that would front on Pinedale would each have their own driveways – which for the locals is a problem. There is a school crossing guard on the corner and three schools in the immediate area.
This project is certainly intensification – excessive? Not necessarily. Vehicle access from the units on Pinedale is a problem; some redesign might help.
What is close to exceptional is the depth of the lots. There have been development applications that have postage stamp yards. Many of the new, very expensive homes in Alton don’t have yards the size of those being proposed for the plaza.
 Large lots are a feature; the concentration of units on Pinedale is a concern – expect to see that cut back to five – maybe less. The presentation, at what was the required public meeting, where anyone can show up and put their like or dislike forward, is the first time all the parties, the developer, the residents and council members are all in the same place and a sense of the reaction to the development can be gained.
The residents aren’t excited about this one and the driveways that front onto Pinewood are a genuine concern – but every other house in the immediate area has a driveway.
The city’s planners take part in the meeting. The architect and the developer’s planner are usually at the meeting. The professionals listen, take their plans away and look for ways to make the changes that will keep the residents happy, satisfy the city planning department and leave a developer satisfied that the project will be a profitable one.
There is little doubt that the plaza has to go – is the intensification just a little too much? Maybe, but the city has approved projects where people are squeezed into small spaces with very little yard space.
 It is a property that no longer meets the needs of the community. It is time for redevelopment. A developer has proposed a 19 unit townhouse project that will have very large yards. Traffic in the area will increase. There is a senior’s home to the east of the project and three schools plus a community centre in the immediate area.
There is a concern with the quality of the traffic study that was submitted. Residents of the community pointed out that the intersection of Pinedale and Mullins Way is a gateway to three schools, a community centre and a seniors complex and that the study submitted was seen by a number of residents as inadequate at best and misleading (deliberately) at worst.
Expect the planners to be looking at that traffic study very carefully.
The development is located in Ward 5, Paul Sharman territory. He didn’t appear to have strong views one way or the other – which is unusual for Sharman.
 By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON. June 16, 2013. They used to be located on Locust Street, half a block away from city hall – just a bit further from the Performing Arts Centre. The service they offered was delivered from that location but the overhead was – well too much.
Debra Pickfield called the place THiNKSPOT – a place for groups of people to get away to and think – think differently and work “outside the box”, a phrase that is terribly over used but does describe what gets done at THiNKSPOT.
 THiNKSPOT is a place for people to gather in small groups and large groups to talk. Breaking the boundaries that tend to determine what people can and should do at whatever work they do is not easy. Management tends to want things to run smoothly – no disruption please. Pickfield argues that disruption is exactly what is needed if organizations are going to be moved out of the complacency she feels smothers many operations.
 The feature that makes THiNKSPOT work is the setting and the level of facilitation, Pickfield works as a facilitator and from her perspective, location and setting for meetings is critical. Meeting in a stifling hotel meeting room where the setting isn’t much different from the office is not, according to Pickfield, conducive to bringing about a change in the way people think.
So – off to Lowville she went, where she rented a nice space. The setting is pleasant. The grounds are really nice with a sculpture garden yards away and, if people need to get out for a walk to talk, the paths and streams of Lowville Park is just across the road.
 While the setting is important – people use THiNKSPOT to transfer knowledge and exchange ideas and use the latest in technology to make it happen. One of the draw backs was the amount of meeting room space. Quite a bit but at times not enough for larger groups. What Pickfield didn’t know when she decided to move her operation to Lowville was that there was an old school-house literally on the other side of the road. Once Pickfield saw the space she met with city property types and put together a rental arrangement. She now has a very small meeting space, a larger meeting room and now one of those large school-house rooms as well.
Pickfield explains: “We focus on shifting the way people think and the way they work together. When you connect all the various intricate pieces of the puzzle – the people, the process, and the place – you create a sort of “sweet spot” where we can collaborate and think creatively and find solutions to complex problems.”
So – what do they do up there in Lowville?
Pickfield is holding an event to introduce people to the setting and to give them an example of how it all comes together. She is holding – not sure what to call it – let’s say an “event” which Pickfield describes as a unique way to experience THiNKSPOT and then extends an invitation:
We hope you can join us, and look forward to catching up and seeing everyone on June 20th as we introduce THiNKSPOT 2.0 Take part in a Summer Sockstice in the idyllic world of Lowville for a time of storytelling through Art.
A wonderful selection of artists will share their creativity and encourage you to recognize the creativity that resides in all of us.
Join Walt Rickli, sculptor, Fred Magie, songwriter/musician, Kevin Sutton, spoken word and drummers Tribal Thunder for an evening of creativity through music and stories.
 Admission – a half a dozen or so pairs of socks – there are people out there experiencing homelessness and a pair of socks is a big deal for them. Want in? Click here and reserve a spot.
There is no admission – there is the request that you buy a bundle of socks that will be distributed to people experiencing homelessness. That’s why the event is being called a Summer Sockstice.
 By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON. June 12, 2103. So here’s the picture.
There is a lady who lives on Appleby Line. She has a small piece of property with a century old house and a spring fed pond. She used to be able to sit in her kitchen, look out the window and see as far north as Rattle Snake Point.
She can’t see that part of the country side anymore because of a wall of dirt that is more than 30 feet high and less than 50 yards from her house.
This lady is not happy but she is doing all she can, working within the rules to bring about a change.
Yesterday she happened to be on the very edge of her property where it abuts to the property that is having all the landfill dumped and meets a man she assumes is the site supervisor for the company that is doing the landfill dumping for the property owner.
She engages the man in conversation and learns that he is a contractor who is going to install runway lights at some point. “I truly enjoyed learning about the runway lights” she says.
Shortly after the conversation with the contractor the lady with the house on Appleby Line gets the following email from Vince Rossi, owner of the Burlington Executive Air Park and the man who has been dumping landfill on his close to 200 acre property.
Hi Barbara Re your questioning on the airport staff of today’s date.
Kindly refrain from entering our property as of Today, if You have any questions regarding the airport or any item related there to feel free top contact the Proper person to answer any questions. So this is Your notice not to enter airport property without My authorization, failing which You will be charged with trespassing.
Vince Rossi, Burlington Executive Airport.
The lady with the house on Appleby Line responds:
I am not sure why this conversation offended, but being the good neighbor that I am, I will certainly respect your wishes.
To that point, you, your representatives and your contractors have entered my property without my authorization many times. Now however, I ask for the same respect – and this is your notice. If you, your representatives or contractors set foot on my property without my permission, in advance, You will be charged with trespassing.
To which Mr Rossie responded with:
Let the good lord direct every wish you have in life. Just stay away from ours,and above all stay off of our property. is that clear?
The word “property” is set as a link to a web site that has something to do with travel to Iceland – go figure.
The lady in the house on Appleby Line sleeps a little less soundly at night.
 By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON. June 12, 2013. Tracy Burrows, the city’s by-law enforcement office got a “heads up” phone call from Milt Farrow, who works with Vince Rossi, owner of the Burlington Executive Air Park, who wanted to advise her that trucks would be trucking in asphalt from highway 407 at night and on to the grounds of the air park.
It is not clear if Farrow is an officer of the Air Park corporation or working in some executive capacity or just some guy on the payroll but it is clear that he is a pipeline from the Air Park corporation to the city.
In a follow-up Memorandum to the city, dated June 7, Farrow sets out what they are going to do:
“The Ontario Ministry of Transport is resurfacing part of the 407 in or near Burlington. Some of the old asphalt material to be removed from the 407 is suitable for use as the sub base for the runways, taxiways and aprons being constructed. Further, the ability to reuse this material as part of the permanent finished product of the airport construction is also general beneficial as it will not other wise need to be disposed.
 The original position of the Air Park people was that they could do what they wanted when they wanted – which meant they could use construction equipment around the clock. While not admitting that the city might have some rights in enforcing their by-laws the Air park is believed to have said they will not use heavy equipment at night. “As you can appreciate” Farrell goes on to say, “most, but not all of the 407 re-surfacing is done at night. WE are required to accept the materials as it is removed from the 407. The timing is not something under our control, but it is obviously under the control of the MTO. While we anticipate some of the materials will be made available during the daylight hours, we understand that much of it must be done at night when traffic on the 407 is light.
“To minimize the noise at night, we are told by the contractor that the following measures will be observed:
a) The trucks to be used will not have banging tail gates
b) Work flow will be arranged so the drivers can deliver and deposit loads while driving forward without the need to stop and back up. As a result, the beeping back up alarms will not be sounded, and
c) To the extent possible, the night-time work will ne conducted on those areas of the site furthest from neighbours. Areas of work closer to the neighbours will be planned for the daylight hours.
d) We anticipate the work will commence on June 10th but we have no end date as it depends on weather but it will take two to three months on an intermittent basis.
Again, the airport takes the position that our construction activities are not subject to municipal by-laws because of the exclusive jurisdiction of the federal government over aeronautics, including the construction of permanent facilities at the Airport. Further, we are advised by our counsel that there is a specific case wherein it was held that a Toronto noise by-law did not apply to activities at the Downsview airport.
 It was going to be close to around the clock truck traffic because of a highway 407 asphalt removal contract – but there seems to be some common sense and decency creeping into the behaviour of the Air Park owners. Notwithstanding, we want to be a good neighbour. We understand that in some cases exemptions are given further to the Burlington noise by-law and thus, the City must have some experience in minimizing the noise impact of night-time construction activities, when same are necessary. As explained above, it is necessary in this case. We would be pleased to receive and consider implementing any other noise abatement measures you care to offer
All this was BEFORE the city Council meeting where the Mayor said that the Air Park people may be good at hiring lawyers and constructing airports but that they know nothing about “public” relations. Councillor Craven prefaced his questions to the Air Park lawyer with the question: “why are your clients such lousy neighbours”.
It is close to standard practice for the city to give professionals delegating to Council the time they need to state their case and engage in plenty of Q&A. Glenn Grenier, counsel for the Air Park and a resident of Burlington didn’t get much of that courtesy.
Some of the ire of the city appears to have gotten through to the airport people. While they have consistently maintained they can operate outside city by-laws they are said to have advised the city they will follow the noise by-law and NOT truck in fill after 11 pm nor will they do any construction on the site outside the hours of 7 am to 7 pm.
A usually reliable city hall source said it was good news – but “we have had all kinds of problems with these guys broken before so we will just have to wait and see”.
Maybe just a trickle of civility.
 By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON. June 12, 2013 PERL Executive Director, Roger Goulet asks: “Since when is it allowed to bury asphalt waste into landfill, especially above a drinking water aquifer?
“Why is 407 asphalt “waste” being land filled into the Burlington Airpark?
The risk is the contamination of the drinking water and the streams in the area.
Asphalt waste is should be recycled at asphalt recyclers like Nelson Aggregate or other recycling plants. It is a reusable recyclable resource. Why is the Provincial Ministry of Transportation not recycling this resource? Other jurisdictions are recycling removed road asphalt in place.
These kinds of non-sustainable road maintenance and land filling practices are causing unnecessary demands for more aggregate and oil based pitch.
When will our governments treat waste as a resource? In nature, NOTHING is waste.
 Highway 407 asphalt is to be dumped at the Air Park as land fill. Who approved the land filling of 407 asphalt into the Burlington Airpark?
This must be STOPPED; and the asphalt already dumped into the Airpark REMOVED.
The Greenbelt is not to be treated as a waste dump. Our water resources are not to be subjected to contaminants.
Again, this argues for regulations, oversight and inspections of land filling onto airparks and agricultural lands. Our governments must be more diligent in inspection and enforcement, whether issues are in their jurisdictions or not. What is right and ecologically sustainable in the long term? Who will protect the Greenbelt from ecological damage, before it impacts our human health?
The unfortunate and very uncomfortable answer to the question – can they do this? is , yes they can. While what they are allowed to do because they are federally regulated is legal, is it not, as Monte Dennis pointed out in his delegation to city Council Monday evening, just.
The Air Park has hired a lawyer with years of experience in the field of aeronautics law who tried to convince city council that they didn’t have a case and that while the Air Park people have been lousy neighbours (Councillor Craven’s words) they were prepared to cooperate with the city, providing what the city wanted didn’t get in the way of what the Air Park people wanted.
It is an extremely complex issue with every possible jurisdiction involved. Mayor Goldring told the public via the Cogeco broadcast of the council meeting that the city is on the case and that it is going to take some time to resolve this one.
 Glenn Grenier, lawyer for the Air Park, a pilot and a resident of the city got a little more than the time of day from a city council that decided they didn’t have all that much time for him. The city has served notice that it is not going to just lay down and let the Air Park people run rough shod over them. The first thing the city has to do is figure out exactly what they are up against.
One thing they are up against is an arrogant lawyer who thought he could steam roll city Council. Glenn Grenier, a Burlington resident on Couples Drive since 1995 and a pilot as well, was put in his place a number of times. Grenier feels he has 60 years of legal precedent on his side. Guess he has never heard of the Jefferson Salamander.
There is more to this story. Stay tuned.
 By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON. June 10, 2013. It`s a grind. There are so many levels of jurisdiction that it gets difficult to figure out who is responsible for what, but the city of Burlington is on the case and they are ferreting out information at a pace that is indeed remarkable for a municipal administration. Kudo`s to them for that.
Now to figure out what they have gathered in the way of information and what potential action there is for the city to take.
The city got into this when city council heard complaints about landfill operations that were taking place at the Burlington Executive Air Park. The work has been taking place since around 2008 but no one seems to have taken their complaints to the city until Dr. Teri Jaklin wrote a letter to the Council member for Ward 6, Blair Lancaster, who didn`t do much for the Dr. Jaklin wither response. Barbara Sheldon, the Appleby Line resident who has suffered the most damage, then wrote Lancaster a scathing letter
When Vanessa Warren created the Rural Burlington Greenbelt Coalition and made a delegation to city hall the wheels started moving. Up until that point no one had been on Barbara Sheldon`s property to see the amount of landfill that had been dumped. Lancaster has yet to see the property. Councillors Meed Ward, Taylor and Sharman have visited as has the Mayor who was appalled at what he saw.
 The is the view of the south side of the Sheldon property on Appleby Line. Trucks were dumping the day the pictures were taken. Sheldon is a major piece of business: direct, no-nonsense, no crap – do not speak to this lady with a forked tongue. Not a woman to be trifled with. The only relief she has had is a small reduction in her tax assessment – which at least has one government organization saying something has been done to change the value of this property.
On May 21st City Council issued a Staff Direction to the General Manager of Development & Infrastructure to contract with an aviation consultant to report on: The standards, processes and requirements of Transport Canada and other Federal departments for the development and expansion of aeronautical facilities; and to identify any opportunities for individual, municipal or provincial involvement and input in said Federal processes, and to expedite the presentation of recommendations to address the immediate issues of land fill, noise and expansion at the Burlington Airpark. Those were the marching orders.
So – what do we know?
A lot of information has been gathered and in the report General Manager of Development and Infrastructure Scott Stewart will make to Council this evening we learn of what has been done and what has not been done.
To put it mildly – Stewart didn’t manage to pull many teeth from a hen.
Information is being made available to the city by people who represent Vince Rossi, owner of the airport. Meetings have taken place between the City and Airport representatives (Mr. Milt Farrow and Mr. Tim Crawford) to facilitate a cooperative approach to addressing the City’s request for information regarding the past and current filling operations at the Airport site. Information is being delivered in dribs and drabs but at least there is some movement.
During all this jabber, jabber the airport people maintain that their operation – the Burlington Executive Air Park, comes under federal Department of Transport jurisdiction and so the city can just take a hike, legally.
We have been seeking an interview with airport owner Vince Rossi – he used to email us – we don’t hear from him anymore. He has learned what media people now call the “Rob Ford approach” – say nothing no matter how bad it looks. Stonewall, obfuscate, put out platitudes but don’t say anything direct. Send others to represent your interests; helps if one of them is a lawyer.
Rossi’s people did communicate with the city through the office of Councillor Lancaster, who many in the community feel is far too close to the airport owners. The email, sent to city staff May 27, 2013 by Councillor Lancaster advised that the airpark informed her that the city would receive a letter with soil test samples and they will work with the City on the esthetics of the berm. To date a letter has not been received.
Councillor Lancaster would be well advised to direct the airport owners to communicate directly with the city.
 While all the jabber, jabber goes on Barbara Sheldon watches as the pile of landfill on the north and south side of her home gets higher and higher. More than 32 feet on the north side and no one knows how much higher on the south because they are still dumping. The city wants data on past and current filling operations at the site. They have also requested a grading and drainage plan, current and past soil test reports, the continued maintenance of silt fencing around the work area, securities to ensure contractor performance and permission for City staff to access the site.
The city argues this information would be required for review by City staff to reach a conclusion that a site alteration permit could be issued if one was applied for. Rossi and his people have taken the position that they don’t need permission from the city – they are federally regulated.
King Paving, the company that is hauling in the bulk of the landfill these days, has the majority of the original soil reports. Milt Farrow followed up with King to organize the reports and to have them photocopied. The first batch of the photocopying of the reports was not completed until May 31st. Mr. Farrow delivered 5 reports to the City on May 31, 2013 at 4:15 pm. An additional 15 reports were delivered on June 5, 2013 at 1:30 pm.
The city points out that soil test reports undertaken years prior are unacceptable because the City has no knowledge of what has occurred on the source site since the tests were undertaken.
There is not a lot of trust between the city and the air park operators.
Whenever changes are made to property a process called Environmental Assessments come into play. There are phase 1 assessments and phase 2 assessments; it’s all kind of arcane and difficult for parents who want to get the kids to soccer on time, but a process fully understood by planners and lawyers who know how to exploit these processes to the fullest.
Milt Farrow advised the City that last year, as part of a potential financing arrangement, the Toronto Dominion bank was provided with additional soil test reports and a Phase 2 Environmental Site Assessment (ESA).
The air park position is that the city has no jurisdiction and is not entitled to stick their noses in and ask for data and Environmental Assessments but if you want financing from the bank – guess what – the required documents appear.
In the criminal world investigators always tell you to “follow the money”. In times past it was “follow the babe” but times have changed.
Mr. Farrow has apparently agreed to try and get the soil reports back from the bank and provide them to the City. He would also ask Mr. Vince Rossi (Airport Owner) for permission to provide the Phase 2 ESA.
Clearly a pressure point is at the bank level. Drag them into this and let them feel the ire of the community. Banks just can’t loan money with no concern as to what the funds are going to be used for and what good or harm they will do to the community. The days of loaning money and getting the best return are over – there is now a social responsibility element to all this. Being socially responsible is also good business. For all of those who live in north Burlington and have accounts with the TD Bank – mention your concern to your branch manager and write the head office.
A “DRAFT” Phase 1 Environmental Site Assessment (ESA) was provided by Rossi yesterday to city hall as opposed to the Phase 2 ESA previously discussed. A formal request for the Phase 2 ESA report has been made by the city. If this were a typical Site Alteration Permit process, the City would not be in a position to issue a permit because the typically required information has not all been provided.
Rossi and his representatives argue they are federally regulated. Well are they?
Transport Canada is being co-operative. The city was in contact with them May 14, before the Williams delegation was made, to pose some basic questions regarding jurisdiction over the fill operations at the airpark and the approval process should the airpark expand.
On the issue of fill, the city was advised that there were no specific rules or legislation pertaining to fill, but made it clear that anything integral to aviation was under federal jurisdiction. Transport Canada indicated that importing fill to an aerodrome to build aeronautics facilities would be subject to federal jurisdiction. However, they Transport people, also indicated that fill could be subject to other authorities (local, provincial, conservation authority), citing specifically the ability to regulate the quality of fill. Transport advised that fill could fall within federal jurisdiction if it pertained to aeronautics, giving the example that if fill contained magnetic material, Transport Canada would have an interest as this could impair aeronautics.
Transport Canada, advised that on the matter of expansion and approvals required there are different rules for the different types of operations. Burlington Airpark is a registered aerodrome, and that there is a distinction between registered and certified aerodromes.
Registered aerodromes are registered with Transport Canada, which publishes the Canada Flight Supplement. Aerodromes are required to comply with Part 301 of the Canadian Aviation Regulations. Transport Canada does not typically inspect these facilities, unless there is a need to do so. In terms of expanding or modifying the airpark, Transport Canada advised that there is no process that the owner would have to follow, except to notify Transport Canada and change the published information in the flight supplement.
Gets complex. People who want to make changes that others don’t want exploit these complexities and get away with it. Something one wants to know and never forget – don’t mess with city hall. They have long arms and even longer memories.
Certified aerodromes must comply with document TP-312 – Aerodrome Standards and Recommended Practices. Transport Canada requires an aerodrome to become certified under the following circumstances: . Aerodrome has regular passenger service; Aerodrome is within a “built up area” – no hard rules on this, but opinion is usually there is “built up area” on 3 sides minimum. Deemed to be necessary in the public interest by the Minister.
Burlington Airpark used to be certified. It is believed the certification was removed around the time the airpark was sold in 2006-07.
This exchange of information led the city to asking: Is there a functional or regulatory difference between “airport” and “aerodrome” as defined by Transport Canada? The city also wanted to know if calling themselves the “Burlington Executive Airport” signifies anything from a legislative or regulatory perspective.
The city also wants to know if there is anything in the Transport Canada rules that outlines Transport Canada’s position with respect to the City’s ability to enforce its own by-laws?
 By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON. June 6, 2013. It’s a good idea; it should work. And if you ever wanted to try out one of those stand up paddle boards well Maria Gerow has just the thing for you.
Gerow has always thought setting up a rental location for paddle boats and deck chairs somewhere along the Beachway Park was a great idea. “I’ve had the idea for more than five years and I’ve been bugging the city for the past three years about renting the Pump House and running a rental operation out of the place”, she said.
 Many have wanted something in the Pump House – the hope was that maybe an upscale wine bar – the best that could be done was a rental outlet. The signage on the door isn’t very upscale. Perhaps there will be something better than a hand drawn sign in the near future. When the city Waterfront Access Protection Advisory Committee (it was sunset last December) recommended putting something in the building – they thought an upscale coffee shop with a nice selection of wines would be just the ticket – Gerow saw her chance and when the city ran its advertisement looking for a tenant for the space she moved real quick and got her idea in front of the right people and before she knew it – well it didn’t happen quite that fest – I mean this is city hall – she had a three year contract and opened up the last long weekend and she was in business.
 Looks easy enough and if you want to try it – Burlington Beach Rentals is the place. A Burlington resident Gerow was in insurance for some time but that entrepreneurial streak in her came to the surface and she now has a business called Burlington Beach Rentals – where you can rent paddle boats; stand up boards, chairs to sit out in the beach on with an umbrella.
Sun tan lotion, sun glasses will also be available. Small rental lockers and for those who rent chairs – WiFi is also available.
Gerow has targeted the “family friendly” market. If you’re a boozer and a carouser – don’t bother dropping by.
 Two adults or one adult and a child. Looks like fun. Prices seem reasonable and according to Gerow the demand is there. Now all she needs is some sunshine.
The Beachway will be going through a change; not in the next six months but certainly in the next few years. The Regional Planning people produced a report which they felt set out a detailed background. some feel the report was badly biased and there is a bit of a move to have the report sent back for a re-write.
However, the report is a regional document and the decision as to what will be done is a Regional decision. It will be up to the Burlington Council members to convince their fellow regional council members to accept what Burlington wants done. And that is a large part of the problem: Burlington isn’t at all clear on what it wants.
The people who live in the Beachway have made their point loud and clear – they don’t want to have to move. They like where they are and they think that if anything is done about housing in the Beachway it should be to add more housing.
 The Family Medical facility under construction will be the first part of a several phase re-build of the hospital. When completed it will change fundamentally the way people see and use the west end of LAkeshore Road. A couple of years from now the hospital will open the Family Medical facility where ten new doctors will practice on the ground level of a structure that will have several levels of parking. The entrance to that facility will be off Lakeshore Road which will change the traffic pattern considerably.
When the hospital completes its re-build the entrance to the hospital will also be on Lakeshore Road which will change that par of the city.
Lakeshore Road will become the entrance way to a park – what we don’t know is what kind of a park will it be?
The Waste Water Treatment Plant upgrade will be completed by the time the Family Medicine Facility is operational. The planned planting of a cedar tree screen will make the roadway much different than it is today.
Is the Burlington Beach rental operation the first part of the change?
 By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON. June 5, 2013 If you haven’t seen the Mayor around town that’s because he left town – spending a couple of days in Germany on city business. That should bring howls from those that think the politicians do nothing but spend public money and provide little in return. They do that in Toronto.
 Mayor rick Goldring delivered an address on water to an organization that develops strategies on how to better manage water around the world. Burlington with its abundance of water will provide a significantly different perspective. Mayor Rick Goldring and Kyle Benham, Executive Director of the Burlington Economic Development Corporation, have been hopping across Germany and dropping into Berlin, Munich and Frankfort.
The Mayor was invited to give an address to the German Water Partnership (GWP); a central coordination and contact office of the German water sector serving foreign partners and clients.
 Kyle Benham, Executive Director of the Economic Development Corporation joined the Mayor on a three day trip to Germany to develop interest in Burlington as a Canadian base for German companies in the water business. Burlington realized that it has a cluster of some 60 organizations that are involved in the water business and that the Canada Centre for Inland Waters was a leading research institute on water. The thinking was that there might be some synergies that could result in some much needed economic development.
While we in Ontario seldom think about water as a commodity or a problem other parts of the world are not nearly as fortunate. Water is a very serious problem in large parts of Africa and the Middle East. Wars are fought over water.
The GWP is involved in water projects in Palestine, Jordan and Beirut, Lebanon. They put together the umbrella organisation that is now the Arab Countries Water Utilities Association.
The GWP is seen as the leading organizational group focused on water. They wanted a Canadian perspective and Mayor Goldrring was invited to speak and while there visit with organizations that might look on Burlington as a place to grow their North American operations.
This can be pretty heady stuff – something different for the Mayor who often finds himself bogged down in small local problems.
Boehringer Ingelheim (Canada) Ltd., a major multi-national in the prescription drug field with a focus on products for the veterinary market has an operation on the South Service Road. While in Germany the Mayor will be meeting with some of the head office people.
 Centre for Inland Waters, a federal facility that may have the potential to spearhead some economic development. Burlington is home to Canada Centre for Inland Waters where the National Laboratory for Environmental Testing, , a fully accredited environmental analysis capability for a wide range of organic and inorganic chemicals, including a specialization in low level metals and the analysis of organic contaminants.
In addition to laboratory research, work carried out at the National Laboratory for Environmental Testing involves engineering and technical operations, such as the planning and management of field sampling programs.
This is all pretty technical stuff but a vital part of the water business and something Burlington just might manage to build into something that could become an industrial and commercial focus for the city and perhaps put some of the “economic development” land we have for sale to use.
The decision to make the trip to Germany came out of the realization that Burlington has a number of companies that are in the water business. About 60 actually. Economic development types call that a cluster – and clusters are very good for economic growth.
Burlington’s economic development corporation is in the middle of a re-development of its own – moving away from putting on events, retaining the companies that are doing business in Burlington and looking for newer opportunities for the city.
The change in focus bumped into a stunning surprise when the city realized that the income from Industrial, Commercial and Institutional (ICI) tax sources was going to be a negative number for 2013 – less than it was for 2012. That was not a good sign for a city that has reached the build out point in terms of large new housing developments. There is the Eagles Heights development in the north east and the Tremaine Road/Dundas development on the drawing boards and after that it is all infill.
Burlington does have a lot of land that is defined as “employment lands” but very little of that is shovel ready which in the minds of the economic development people means they can begin to build in a short period of time. Some of the developers are not all that keen on seeing land used for ICI type construction when, in their minds, they can build houses which provide a significantly larger financial return.
These conflicting interests put Burlington in an awkward financial spot – we have the land for new business; the developers don’t want ICI type construction; the city faces a situation where the money needed to run the city for an aging population isn’t what it used to be; that population will need more in the way of services and the city faces a massive expense to repair the infrastructure. The cost of getting our roads up to snuff is reported to be $18 – annually.
 Pasquale (Pat) Paletta will be inducted as 2013 Entrepreneur of the Year Thursday evening at the Burlington Convention Centre Given that kind of a scenario a Mayor might be forgiven for wanting to go to Germany and staying there. Our Mayor is hoping that his trip to Germany will interest companies over there into coming here – and using some of that “economic development” land we have for sale.
International Harvester is in the process of getting ready to move out of the Harvester Road and Guelph Line property. Emshie Developments either has it on the market or is looking for an opportunity to get a new client into what is really industrial space on the corner of two of the busier streets in the city. There is perhaps a better use for that land.
It will be interesting to hear what the Mayor has to say when he returns. He will land in Toronto on Thursday and head directly to the Economic Development Corporation dinner to celebrate Pat Paletta, founder of the company that is the largest holder of economic development land in the city.
Pasquale (Pat) Paletta will be inducted as 2013 Entrepreneur of the Year. Mr. Paletta is the founder of what is known today as Paletta International Corporation. He started the company in 1964 with a 10,000 sq.ft meat packing plant, today the facility is over 200,000 sq.ft. They export to over 17 countries worldwide, in addition have developed 1000s of residential units, constructed over 500,000 sq.ft of buildings, developed 100s of acres of property for retail and employment, farm thousands of acres, and expanded in to film, media and entertainment. Burlington has always been home for the Paletta Corporation.
 By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON June 5, 2013. There is at least some movement on the space rental situation at the Regus operation on Brant Street where tenants were advised the operation was going to be shut down at the end of August.
Grant Greenberg, a spokesperson for Regus advised that the tenants were given 90 days’ notice and that Regus was actively looking at two possible locations for a new operation in Burlington. Greenberg said they were looking at two buildings where they hope to be able to rent a full floor.
Many suspect that information – and wonder where these buildings are with a whole floor of space available for rental. There is some space that will come on-line in a couple of years – but no one we talked to could name a building with that much space suitable to the kind of operation Regus runs.
James Burchill, the éminence grise that hosts the Business in Burlington Meet Up at The Ivy on South Service Road once a month will be setting aside some time on Wednesday evening to allow Jackie Isada, the Mayor’s Chief of Staff and Ian Cameron who is with the Economic Development office in Burlington to update the community on what has taken place so far.
Regus advises that they will have a representative on hand. Barry Weinghell will apparently be able to speak for Regus. The Meet Up at The Ivy starts at 5 pm runs till 7pm.
Greenberg said Burlington is a strong market for Regus and they would like to remain in the community. He did admit that there might have been some miscommunication from the Regus operations manager. For a short period of time no one was able to get through to a woman named Charlotte who was understood to be responsible for the day-to-day operation of the Regus office on Brant Street.
Marie Copeland (Hryczynski), a mortgage broker, has been part of the discussion around what tenants can do, said in a communication that she was informed from one of the more established tenants at Regus, an accountant, that there may have been some financial mismanagement and as a result the landlord is not renewing the lease. “I don’t know but there may be other issues surfacing from this”.
The property, owned by Upper Canada, has experienced some difficulties recently when the movie theatre decided to go out of business. The building also recently underwent a major re-construction of the front entrance area.
The Regional Police have a small office in the building. There has been a solid, well established base of tenants in the building which many people find very convenient with a city parking lot at the rear of the building that is well-lit and maintained.
 By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON. ON. June 4, 2013. Boy there is really something wrong with parts of the corporate world.
Regus, the office services operation on Brant Street decides to give up the Burlington operation and advises their tenants that the doors will close at the end of August.
 James Burchill has succeeded in pulling together more than 1000 entrepreneurs and smaller business operators who meet monthly. The Mayor’s Chief of Staff will be talking to his group about what appears to be an office space problem for this sector. These things happen.
Most of the tenants are small operations requiring a couple of hundred square feet – but with enough of them you have a viable business.
Regus has operation around the world so you think they would know how to shut down an operation with a minimum of damage to both their clients and their corporate image.
Afraid not. The Mayor’s office begins making calls trying to help. Their phone calls to Regus don’t get returned but they did answer some email. (Isn’t it amazing how scummy companies hide behind their email addresses?)
Both the Economic Development office and the Mayor’s office ask if they can get a list of the tenants and let them know what they are trying to do.
Regus fails to co-operate. OK – so there might be a privacy issue – but Regus, as a sound corporate operation could have offered to forward a message from the Mayor’s office.
 Nice furniture – lousy service. Nope – they don’t do business that way. Remember that if you find yourself looking for an office somewhere.
The Mayor’s Chief of Staff will be attending the Business in Burlington Meet up Wednesday evening (5 to 7 at The Ivy on south Service Road) to give a quick update on what they are trying to do.
Small space opportunities are at a bit of a premium in Burlington – especially in the Downtown core, which is where a lot of the smaller entrepreneurial types like to be. Opportunity here for someone.
 By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON. June 1, 2013. It started when Stuart Crawford told colleagues on the Business in Burlington web site that he was going to have to vacate the office space he had because Regus was shutting down their operation in August. That was a bummer and Crawford wasn’t the only person in this situation.
 ert James Burchill, the guy that runs the Business in Burlington (BiB) MeetUp group, has maintained that the best way we have of communicating really effectively is to use the social media that is available to us.
Here is how this has worked this time.
Crawford puts up his note. We at Our Burlington put in a call to Ian Cameron at the Economic Development Corporation who gets in touch with Crawford.
Others from the BiB site plug into the conversation.
Here is how part of it went:
Hi Everyone…The Regus office at 460 Brant Street is shutting down leaving many businesses without a business home at the end of August. We are looking for a new home for our IT marketing business. We need a small office for our 2 team members to work advises Crawford
Barb Keck, who runs a graphics operation in Burlington passes along a recommendation (Try https://www.ceoburlington.com/) for Crawford to follow-up.
Jose L. Ponce adds that the closest Regus will be Glen Abbey (Oakville). “Yesterday, I did receive an email with an interesting idea on co-working space for entrepreneurs / small business. I know it is not an immediate solution but I think it’s something that can be developed over time since I am sure there is demand for shared/flexible open spaces.”
Jason Calacanis comes back with: I started a co-working space in LA and passes along some detail.
“It was a co-working space in Los Angeles. Being an entrepreneur is sometimes lonely work, and having a bunch of founders around you makes it a lot easier. We’re calling it LAUNCH co-work, and it’s a 10,000+ square-foot, 30-foot ceiling space in Culver City with room for a dozen start-ups.
“We’re looking for awesome collaborators to learn, share and generally change the world with. I might angel invest in some of the start-ups, have them on “This Week in Startups” or just talk shop in the kitchen.
Rent starts at $50 a desk/month (unfunded) and tops out at $350 (funded). We’re not making a profit, we’re making a community!”
 The Regus operation on the top floor of 460 Brant is shutting down in August. The space recently had a major face lift done to the front of the building. The movie theatre on the ground floor went out of business recently – they didn’t want to invest in an upgrade to their projection equipment. Interesting idea but the tenants at Regus need to nail down new space now
Marie Copeland (Hryczynski) comes on-line and adds that she too is at Regus in Burlington and “only needs very small space, even shared space as we are fully paperless and don’t even have a filing cabinet – most of our clients want to deal by phone and only occasional client wants to come to the office.”
She adds that she has a commercial realtor looking — how about we survey some people at Regus to see if we can get several businesses together and create a shared office. Contact her if you’re interested: 905-308-8063
None of this could have taken place without the BiB site. That crowd meets on Wednesday June 5th – at Ivy’s on the South Service Road; might be an opportunity for some ideas to get some traction.
 The people that run the smaller, usually techie type operations but a number of service providers as well, meet monthly in the city. Business in Burlington now has a number of its members having to look for new space with the announced closure of the Regus operation on Brant Street. What was a little on the disappointing side was that Regus didn’t appear to be doing much for their clients other than trying to get them to perhaps move to their Oakville location and the Economic Development people didn’t appear to be moving quickly to resolve the problem. For the people with small office space needs – having to find a new home in a couple of months is disruptive and it will be expensive. Moving your computers and all your communications gear is not cheap.
Burlington’s Mayor Goldring wants to meet with the tenants and see what the city can do to help. He leaves for a short trip to Germany next week, where he will be meeting with people in the water business. More on that later. His Chief of Staff will be making calls and pulling people together.
The Mayor will be traveling with the Executive Director of the Economic Development Corporation – perhaps they can have a chat about how one services the smaller operations.
The small operations are the base metal of every economy. They provide services or vital parts that the bigger guys need. It is at this small, two, three five member shops that make the big wheels turn around. The Mayor would do well to connect with these people and find a way to keep them in town.
Quite why Economic development has not taken the lead on this is – disappointing.
Let’s see what comes out of this.
 By Staff
BURLINGTON, ON. May 31, 2013 The Regus Serviced Office in Burlington on Brant street is s shutting down requiring a number of small companies to find new space – which is apparently at a premium in the city.
Scott Crawford of Ulistic, a an IT support company announced on the Burlington in Business web site that the “Regus office at 460 Brant Street is shutting down leaving many businesses without a business home at the end of August. We are looking for a new home for our IT marketing business. We need a small office for our 2 team members to work.”
“We may have to take space in Oakville – even though I live in Burlington”, said Crawford
Crawford can be reached at 416.840.9106 ext 101 if you have any leads of a new home for hid business.
Ian Cameron, with the Burlington Economic Development Corporation has been in touch with Regus management and started the process of finding new space for their tenants.
 By Staff
BURLINGTON, ON. May 31, 2013 – The city’s community services committee approved a staff recommendation to name the new recreation centre in the Alton community the Haber Recreation Centre.
Through a contract agreement, Burlington law firm Haber and Associates would give the city more than $1.3 million over 20 years for the naming rights. The name would become official following the signing of an agreement between the city and Haber if approved at the June 10 council meeting.
 Haber and Associates have been aggressive advertisers using the space on city buses for public exposure. Haber and Associates focus on wrongful death and personal injury law and advertise themselves as a full service law firm with nine lawyers as part of the 30 member firm. They have done business in Burlington for more than 40 years.
The new recreation centre is part of the city’s largest community construction project made possible through a unique, three-way partnership between the City of Burlington, Halton District School Board and Burlington Public Library. With construction on the project 85 per cent complete, the facility is on time to open in September 2013.
The staff report recommends the sponsorship money go into a newly-created reserve fund, which contributes to capital repair and renewals of the recreation facility.
The high school part of the complex that is to include the recreation centre and a library is to be named after Frank Hayden, founder of the Special Olympics.
The complex will become a little like the McMaster School of Business on the South Service Road where the DeGroote` s have their name on one part of the building and Ron Joyce has his name on another part.
Our buildings are beginning to look like those uniforms racing car drivers wear.
But the money is good – let`s just hope the signage is dignified and done with some taste.
The city brought in a consulting firm to guide them and determine what the market would bear in terms of setting a price and determining what wold be acceptable to the community.
The consultants did point out that Burlington missed out on a larger opportunity for sponsorship by not having some kind of policy co-ordination between the three organizations that are part of the complex.
The level of co-operation on the overseeing of the construction of the project has not been the smoothest. The Board of Education took the lead on this one and – let`s just say things the city wanted to do didn’t get done – Board of Education said no.
Prior to these small recent incidents the project has gone particularly well. The project is on target for a September opening, which is going to make a huge difference to the Alton community.
Facility gymnasium space has been offered to the user groups with approximately 90% of weekday evenings (up to 11:00 pm) and weekends booked for Fall 2013 – Spring 2014. Of that time, 68% is allocated to youth and 32% to adult play. Primary sports targets of basket ball, volleyball, badminton and disabled sports have been met with rentals. Tournament play consists of 900 hrs booked to date including large events with the focus on disabled sports, volleyball, basketball and kickboxing.
Community rooms will be booked for on – going programs Monday to Friday with current interest from a variety of service providers (i.e.Montessori program, yoga, fitness and educational services).
Weekend use will primarily connect to tournament use. Further marketing initiatives are planned to target rentals for the community rooms to maximize utilization.
With the support and direction of the consultant hired, staff developed a sponsorship strategy which included:
An estimated annual value the city may obtain for the naming rights of each component of the facility:
Name of the recreation centre
Name of the gyms (4 in total)
Name of the Multi-purpose room
Name of the Sports room
Name of the Sports Square
No stones left unturned by this approach.
Sixty to seventy thousand a year for the facility, Haber and Associates will get this if Council approves it on the 10th of June. Haber has agreed to $68,000 a year for the next twenty years.
$15,000 – “20,000 to name a gymnasium – there are four of those.
Getting your name on the multipurpose room will cost you $12,000 to $15,000 a year and the Sports Square will cost you between $15,000 and $17,000.
 What the city doesn’t want is buildings plastered with corporate decals and looking like the uniforms racing car drivers wear. Staff within Parks and Recreation feels that broadening the Naming Rights project is important to help the City find new revenue sources to support future capital repair and
renewal requirements. The City has a large number of assets from facilities to parks to roads etc. that have the potential to generate additional revenue, through the sale of
naming rights. However to ensure a successful naming sponsorship outcome, time and resources will be required.
If Council is interested in pursuing the sale of naming rights across the City, the assignment of this project, to a corporate department, through the direction of the General Manager of Community and Corporate Services, would be essential. The lead corporate department would determine the need for internal and external resources.
At a different city council meeting there was discussion on the number of personal injury legal claims the city is facing; several are in the more than a million range with at least one having to do with an injury that is reported to have taken place on a bus.
Municipalities are well insured and are seen as solid financial targets for those seeking damages.
 By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON. April 22, 2013. Five very smart people gathered in the Community WHAT at the Burlington Performing Art Centre last week to talk about the city’s Community Energy Plan. They met in a Workshop setting – and while energy is vital – it isn’t the most exciting thing to sit in a dark room and look at power point presentations for a couple of hours.
That time proved to be very well, actually exceptionally well spent.
 Here is where the energy we use comes from.  Here is how that energy is used. We learned how the city has mapped the way energy in the city is used. We learned how critical energy use is to attracting new business to the city. We learned how stakeholders in the city look at the way energy is used. We learned what and how Burlington Hydro can be a leader in the creation of a more energy-efficient city.
 These graphs show electricity use in the province and the way we use electricity in Burlington.  Compare our use of natural gas with electricity> How do we heat our homes? How do we heat our office buildings? Remember when Hydro had programs for us on how to convert to electricity? They would pay you to tear out those radiators and put in electric baseboard heaters and more insulation in the attic. Turned out that wasn’t such a good idea and now Burlington has more than 4500 homes heated electrically and we are looking for ways to convert those homes to something more economical. Who knew?
Natural gas is now the energy use of choice. There is now far more natural gas than we need – so much that we now liquefy the stuff and send it off to places that need the energy. The Americans have convinced themselves that they have so much natural gas that they will be energy sufficient soon and not need as much of that Saudi Arabian oil. That the Americans are fracturing to get much of that natural gas is another matter.
 The graph on the left sets out the housing stock we have and when it was built. On the right the graph sets out the different square footage of the housing stock we have. A large house built at a time when energy was cheap is an expensive building to heat in today’s markets. The kind of energy you use and the amount you use is determined in large measure by when your house was built and how many square feet of space you have.
Katelyn Margerm, a researcher with the Canadian Urban Institute, explained how she took data from multiple sources and mashed it all together to tell the story of how people in Burlington use energy.
 Spend some time comparing the electricity consumption map with the gas consumption map. where do you fit in this picture? Spend a few minutes looking at the data she collected. Where do you fit into the pattern of energy use? What are the options for you? Are the options you have similar to the options the city has? Are the city’s options important to you?
 Natural gas consumption is significantly different than the consumption of electricity. Given that the supply of natural gas is very high right now and will remain that way for at least ten more years one would think this is the route to go. Is it? More questions than answers at this point – but the answers Burlington comes up with are critical to how financially healthy this city is – and if it isn’t financially healthy – guess who is going to pick up the shortfall?
Nearly half of housing units in Burlington were built before 1980. More than half of units are between 1,500 and 2,500 sf
This work helps form a baseline which can be used to establish community energy targets and timelines. Industrial, commercial and institutional location mapping allows planners and economic development people to explore future development scenarios and to help identify opportunities for conservation and retrofit and think through land use policy (infill, zoning).
One of the next step is to overlay the information now in hand with demographic information and consumer attitudes using the Environics Analytic s information to design retrofit and conservation programs.
If you didn’t think energy efficiency is all that important – stay with us as we take you through a series of articles on what we learned last Thursday afternoon.
Part 1 of a series
 By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON. April; 22, 2013. James Burchill, an absolutely shameless promoter and one of the those people in this city who KNOWS social media and has managed to make a decent living at it.
He has created a network that grew from about 50 people to the point where it is now at more than 2000 “members” and strong enough to support a mini-trade show at the Performing Arts Centre and bring his flock together once a month, always at an upscale bar for nodding and noshing.
 There is someone out there who wants to MeetUp with all these people – James Burchill founder of Business in Burlington doesn’t quite see it that way and is becoming familiar with the phrase “cease and desist”. Will that be enough to stop some interloper from eating his lunch? MeetUp is the vehicle Burchill uses and Business in Burlington is the name of the game. He also has gigs going in Oakville and Niagara. Add to that the chutzpah to get a car dealer to loan him a fire-red sports car for use for a day – or is it longer? My name wasn’t drawn so I’ve no idea how long anyone gets to use the car.
 Burchill handing out as Hypnosis session as a door prize. Has James been asleep at the switch while someone tries to steal his market. Competition is said to bring out the best in all of us. Burchill sent out a note to his followers with this “heads up. I’ve learned someone has launched a new MeetUp using our the “Business In” trademark in their name. t’s already causing confusion and thank you to everyone who’s emailed me about it.
There are 3 approved and licensed Business In ™ Networking groups and Burchill is in discussions to launch more. “Unless you hear it from me directly,” advises Burchill “ it’s not an approved group nor is it licensed, part of the “Business In” network, or operating under the same code of conduct and/or rules.
Burchill has “reached out” to the person behind the group and is endeavouring to clear up the naming confusion. Again, if you didn’t hear it from me – it’s NOT an approved Business In ™ Networking group.
Burchill has bumped into that hairy beast called “intellectual property. Can he lay total claim to the name? It costs to do that. Someone obviously sees that Burchill is on to a good thing and they want in on it. Is Burchill far enough down the track and keeping his flock warm and fuzzy enough for them to stay with him? Or will they wander over and see what the other guy has to offer.
The business schools tell us that competition brings out the best in us – gets us the lowest price and the best value for our money. Burchill doesn’t charge a fee – he just puts on an event and charges people for using his event to promote themselves and his service. His followers do however give him their time and that’s more valuable than cash at times.
How will Burchill handle this? Does he have the cahonies to ward off some interloper? This might be a useful lesson for him to involve his membership in – great brand bonding if he can get his followers to ride this wave with him.
And a lesson in what to do when someone walks into the room expecting to eat your lunch. Stay tuned.
 By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON. April 19, 2013. In the no-kidding department of research, a new study found that even though more than half (53%) of women have up to five shopping apps on their smartphones, most (76%) prefer to shop for clothes and shoes in a retail store rather than through an app.
While hardly a surprise, the same study also contains some insights for how marketers and retailers can engage with female shoppers on location.
There are some obvious areas where mobile can’t compete with what women want in stores. For example, the study by Research Now looked at the apparel shopping behaviors and preferences of 1,000 smartphone-owning women shoppers and found what they like about in-store shopping:
92% — See and touch clothes and shoes
90% — Try on clothes for fit
72% — Explore and discover new styles.
No rocket science there.
 Research suggests woman can be drawn to a product they did not plan to buy with an app that gives them a special offer. That is slick merchandizing manipulation. What they don’t like about in-store shopping:
84% — Crowds
70% — Transportation and parking
45% — Interacting with sales people
41% – Trying to find their size
Mobile interaction can deal with at least the last two of those issues, by automating some interactions and providing real-time inventory information.
Women shoppers also are interactive while in the store, based on the ResearchNow study, which was commissioned by mobile company Swirl.
While in-store, they seek information from the following sources:
37%– Family and friends shopping with them
21% — Shopping and lifestyle apps and websites
15% — In-store sales associates
14% — Family and friends not with them
9% — Retailer’s branded mobile app or website
 Shopping is no longer just a customer browsing through the aisles – with today’s computer technology they can track you as you walk from department to department and show you what they think you might buy – and make you a “special” offer. The opportunity for retailers and mobile marketers is that women shoppers will act based on incentives. For example, while a third of them love it when reminded of in-store sales by a sales associate, a majority (58%) said they would be “thrilled” if they received a personalized offer on their smartphone while in the store.
The study also found that while 17% of women shoppers would not share their location, most would, based on the following incentives:
83% — $15 in-store credit
47% — $5 in-store credit
20% — $1 in store credit
There is hardly a limit as to what the retailer won’t do to get those dollars from your wallet into their cash register – maybe that should be from your credit card into their banks accounts.
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