 By Staff
August 27, 2015
BURLINGTON, ON
In the summer of 2013 the Art Gallery of Burlington proudly launched the John Willard Fibre Arts Residency to celebrate the remarkable life of John Willard.
 Willard took quilting in a different direction – he was bold, at times outrageous and left a collection to guide others. Not one to follow the rules of tradition, Willard turned the craft of quilting into a truly remarkable art form. With scissors, needles, thread and fabrics Willard created his own one of a kind quilt designs whether inspired by traditional patterns that he had deconstructed or by historical events.
To continue Willard’s legacy as a fibre art teacher, the residency will enable emerging artists to have access to one of the AGB resident fibre studios in order to develop a body of work for their first solo exhibition in the RBC Community Gallery.
 Karen Cummings has a strong style of her own – she looks like an admirable choice to follow in some of the Willard footsteps Cambridge’s Karen Cummings has been named the first recipient of the John Willard Fibre Arts Residency for Emerging Artists. She describes her current work as abstract collage for which she uses fabric and fibre. Cummings sees her eclectic collection as an opportunity for personal expression, based on the classical techniques of machine and hand stitching. Her work at times can be careful, contrasted to the frenzied moments of fast machine-stitched along with the arranging and rearranging of fabric, thus creating endless possibilities of diverse surfaces. Between the harsh difference of the rate of speed at which Cummings works and techniques used, Cummings hopes to convey her message.
During the residency, Cummings will engage with the public to share her passion for textile art. This opportunity to share her work gives her a chance to talk about some of the processes she has come to use and to expand her fibre art language. Cummings shares “…that feedback from visitors is valuable and hopefully AGB visitors will ‘see’ and understand a little about the complexities of this medium”.
Cummings’s will begin her residency in September and expect to spend a few days each week at the gallery
The Art Gallery of Burlington is located at 1333 Lakeshore Rd, Burlington, ON L7S 1A9
Gallery Hours:
Monday: 9:00 am – 6:00 pm
Tuesday – Thursday: 9:00 am – 10:00 pm Friday – Saturday: 9:00 am – 5:00 pm Sunday: 12 noon – 5:00 pm
By P epper Parr
August 27, 2015
BURLINGTON, ON
The don’t give up – they’ve got a cheque book that is pretty thick and they can spend; and right now the Regional Realty Services department is wanting to spend taxpayers money to acquire as much Beachway Park money as they can.
To put all this in context – there are 28 private homes in the Beachway Park that the Regional government would like to buy – and they want to do that buying on a willing seller – willing buyer basis. The problem with that is there is really only one willing buyer and not that many willing sellers – but that hasn’t stopped the Region from making offers.
 An attractive, well maintained home in the Beachway – the owner struggles to ensure that it will be eventually expropriated by the Regional government who need it if they are to build an announced park. Helene Skinner, who has been a Beachway Park resident since 2000, told the Gazette that the Region made us an offer back in the spring of $750,000. We said “NO WAY” The location, property and lovely completely renovated homes with all the upgrades is perfect for us !!
Keenan G. Lane, Manager of Realty Services for the Region, said in his letter to Ms Skinner: “On our end, all the reports we have received to date indicate Halton’s offers are certainly in keeping with the larger market.
“It is regrettable that our discussions regarding the Region’s proposed acquisition of your property ended so abruptly. Melissa and I were looking forward to a follow-up meeting with you, wherein we had planned to discuss the additional options outlined in the Burlington Beach acquisition program.
“There are several incentives we are offering all Beach owners, including a 5% purchase premium in recognition of the inconvenience related to relocation. This, together with the fact that you don’t pay commissions to Halton (market rate is 5% payable by the vendor), would mean that you are realizing a 10% premium relative to a private sale at the same number.
“We completely understand your position in this matter, but I hope that you will consider Halton if you do decide to sell your property.”
Skinner replied:
 This Beachway home was sold to the Region for more than $600,000 with additional incentives that included closing costs and the right to rent the house for a number of years. “As indicated by you on behalf of Halton Region, the multifaceted park plan, if approved will start and stop and/or work around the existing homes.”
Skinner uses every opportunity she gets to quote and remind the Region that they would like to buy her property; her concern and fear is that they will expropriate.
Skinner believes it is important for the public and real estate appraisers / agents to be assured that the Beachway community is NOT obligated to sell and/or sell to Halton Region/City of Burlington and that any park enhancements will be made to include the homes as they remain. Again…NO expropriation, hence, our homes can increase in value like all other communities on the open market. The fact that the Region would love to have our property is a value add. Little supply…BIG demand!!!!
 The Regional government released the plans for an impressive park design that would require the removal of the 28private homes in the park. Most residents have no interest in moving – the park design doesn’t allow for the homes. The Region revealed a very extensive Beachway Park re-development plan – that was impressive. One homeowner took exception to the plans and said in a public meeting that while it was a nice plan – “you seem to want to build it on my property and I don’t want you to do that.”
The Region will do what government does – the Beachway home owners will do that they have been doing for more than fifty years – hang tight and stand up for their rights.
Links to related stories:
Beachway Park plans made public
 By Pepper Parr
August 27, 2015
BURLINGTON, ON
 A great way for the season to start at the Performing Arts Centre – new Executive Director starts that day as well. When asked what his favourite program was in the 2015/2016 Performing Arts season Executive Director Brian McCurdy said: the brilliant jazz guitarist Pat Metheny who appears on September 1. McCurdy retires in the very near future – we hope he was given a pair of tickets and that his wife will be able to join him for the performance.
This fifth season of programming at The Burlington Performing Arts Centre will see 68 artists and companies on the stages; it is The Centre’s largest offering of arts and entertainment to date. This Season delivers an exciting mix of returning favourites, and exceptional performers gracing our stages for the first time; from Canadian music icons and hilarious comedians, to world music stars and beloved childhood characters.
There will be opportunities to see Lighthouse, comedian Howie Mandel, Jully Black & Jarvis Church, José Feliciano, classical pianist Emanuel Ax, Broadway legend Colm Wilkinson, and many more.
In addition to world renowned talent coming to Burlington, The Burlington Performing Arts Centre is once again partnering with local professional theatre companies Tottering Biped Theatre, Nortesur Artistic Productions, and KooGle Theatre Company as part of the Theatre Series.
The Centre also partnered with the Live & Local Music Series – presenting six events throughout the season, putting local musicians on stage. New this Season, local acts will perform in the lobby prior to a selection of events, to provide pre-show entertainment and greater exposure for local artists. These initiatives collectively work towards supporting the growth of a strong regional theatre and music scene, with Burlington as the focus.
 Starting in the cabarets and jazz clubs of Toronto while still a teenager, Micah Barnes is now a well-loved singer-songwriter.
And if you didn’t know – this Friday there will be another of the Jazz on the Plaza – starts at 6:30 – the bar will be open and you get to hear the Micah Barnes – and the price is certainly right – free.
By Pepper Parr
August 27, 2015
BURLINGTON, ON
 A former Burlington MPP, George Kerr swam in the Bay to prove is was not totally polluted. And yes there was once a car that could serve as a boat as well. There was a time – maybe 30 years ago when the local MPP had to take a swim in Burlington Bay – Hamilton Harbour to convince people it was not that polluted. That was the best the government could do at the time.
It is different now – the government realizes that they cannot do all that much by themselves but if they involve the public they can be a part of making real and significant change.
Ontario created the Great Lakes Guardian Community Fund grant to help community groups protect, restore and enhance the Great Lakes.
Now in its fourth year, the fund provides a grant of up to $25,000 to not-for-profit organizations, schools, First Nations and Métis communities and other local groups for projects that have a direct environmental benefit to the Great Lakes. Past projects and activities supported by the fund have included:
• Planting trees
• Creating rain gardens
• Restoring wetland habitat
• Controlling invasive species
• Cleaning up beaches or shorelines
• Naturalizing stream banks and shorelines.
Applications will be accepted until October 23, 2015.
To qualify, your project must have a direct environmental benefit and support at least 1 of the 3 goals.
 When Burlington Green gets the opportunity their members turn out in droves to plant seedlings and save as much as they can of the fragile ecosystem in parts of the Beachway Park. Goal 1: protect water quality for human and ecological health
Examples to meet this goal include: strengthening riverbanks to reduce erosion students restoring wetlands to manage stormwater runoff building fences to keep livestock out of waterways helping property owners maintain septic systems.
Goal 2: improve wetlands, beaches and coastal areas. Examples to meet this goal include:
youth planting native grasses to restore sand dunes, rehabilitating coastal wetlands by restoring fish habitats, organizing community events to clean-up shorelines, restoring wetlands using traditional ecological knowledge.
Goal 3: protect habitats and species. Examples to meet this goal include:
Students planting trees to provided shaded habitats along shorelines, creating habitats for wetland wildlife, restoring traditional harvesting areas by planting native species, creating fish spawning beds
This year’s fund will award $1.5 million in total for eligible projects.
 Once seedlings are planted they need care and attention and sometimes water. Since 2012, $4.5 million has been awarded to 221 community-based projects in Great Lakes watershed areas, including the St. Lawrence River Basin and the Ottawa River; more than 11,000 volunteers have helped plant 85,125 trees, release 2,133 fish, create or enhance 643 kilometres of trail and collect 586 bags of garbage.
Ontario’s Great Lakes Basin is home to 40 per cent of Canada’s economic activity and 95 per cent of Ontario’s agricultural land.
If you want more information about the Great Lakes Guardian Community Fund and want to look over the application form CLICK HERE – that will get you to the government web site
By Staff
August 27, 2015
BURLINGTON, ON
Operation Decoy – it’s going to hit Burlington it is a Regional Police traffic safety initiative that utilizes education and enforcement strategies to reduce the speeds of vehicles travelling along roadways in Burlington.
Operation Decoy will create an awareness of a high profile police presence in an area through obvious visual cues. The targeted result is the reduction of speeds and the promotion of safer driving habits.
 With the police office clearly visible – people were still pulled over for speeding. The project will consist of four phases.
1) Speed Sentry equipment will be placed by officers in an identified area to capture traffic volume and speed data for a period of time. The Speed Sentry will display vehicle speed and the posted speed limit. This would be deemed an “education” period for drivers.
2) Placement of a marked police vehicle at the identified location to provide drivers with a highly visible deterrent from speeding as they will not be able to determine if police officers are present or not. The Speed Sentry equipment will remain in place collecting data from this period of the project.
3) Physical police presence at the location with speed enforcement equipment. Vehicles detected speeding will be stopped and issued a Provincial Offences Notice.
4) Remove marked police vehicle from the area leaving only the Speed Sentry to collect data for this portion of the project. Data will be analyzed and if appropriate the area will be revisited within a short period of time to reinforce the speed limits. Areas will be periodically checked for compliance and a repeat of the enforcement will be conducted if deemed necessary.
 Signs are pretty clear. Police still nabbed a number of speeders during an All Hands on Deck which had the Chief of Police out writing up tickets. The two officers shown here were kept busy. Operation Decoy is upping the game with a more detailed program – obviously the police feel more presence is needed. In order to increase safety it is necessary for the public to recognize that speeding is unacceptable and can have catastrophic repercussions. As a result, police are hoping this campaign will remind drivers that as their speeds increase so does the risk of a collision.
Road Watch:
The Halton Regional Police Service is committed to combating dangerous and aggressive driving behaviours that put all road users at risk.
If any citizen would like to report a traffic concern they can do so by visiting our website and making a Road Watch complaint.
ROAD WATCH is a community driven program encouraging anonymous reporting of incidents involving dangerous and/or aggressive driving. This program is an opportunity to bring an aggressive driver to our attention.
Be the extra eyes and ears and learn more here: https://www.haltonpolice.ca/PRC/Pages/ROADWATCH.aspx
 By Staff
August 27, 2015
BURLINGTON, ON
For those in the Shadeland Avenue and Forest Glen Avenue area:
 Let’s put a little flavour into the community – Ciao baby! Traffic flow is going to be restricted to local traffic through to October 2015, for minor reconstruction work.
How does minor reconstruction take more than a month?
Tom Georgiadis at 905-335-7600, ext. 7806 has some of the answers
By Staff
August 26, 2015
BURLINGTON, ON
You might not be able to get a hot dog at Easterbooks on Thursday but you will be able to watch a film crew set up for the shoot they will be doing on Thursday, August 27th at Easterbrooks Restaurant at 694 Spring Gardens Rd.
 The location scouts wanted a place for a television segment that was going back to the past – Easterbrook’s certainly meets that criteria Halton Regional Police Service will manage short road closures of two to five minutes for filming.
Preparation takes place during the day – 7 am to 7 pm
With filming starting at 7 pm am running through to 2 am
Wrap up will be done on Friday, Aug. 28 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The television segment has to do with going back into the past – that helps understand why they chose Easterbrooks,
Pam Brooks, who works at the Spring Garden Road location said the television show is about a time capsule and a bunch of scientists that want to stop a plague that is taking over the world and another bunch of people who don’t want the plague to end.
12 MONKEYS is a character-driven science fiction thriller about one man’s desperate attempt to save mankind using a dangerous and untested method of time travel. The small screen version of 12 MONKEYS will star Aaron Stanford (Nikita), Amanda Schull (Suits), Kirk Acevedo (Fringe) and Noah Bean (Nikita).
A portion of the location filming will be at EASTERBROOKS, mostly exterior scenes with 1 interior scene.
 A blast from the past – the fifties style at Easterbrook’s was just what the television location scouts wanted. “About twenty guys showed up a few weeks ago and looked the place over and decided we were what they wanted” said Brooks.
The production company GEP 12 Monkey Industries is located in Toronto. One of the production crew is a Burlington resident.
Segments of the television show can be found on Youtube.
 By Staff
August 26, 2015
BURLINGTON, ON
At 10:45 pm on Tuesday evening the Halton Regional Police received a report that a pedestrian had been struck by a train.
 This location had a bit of pavement on the path leading to the tracks – that was changed. The location was reported to be in the area of Fairview Street and Walkers Line in the City of Burlington.
Emergency services personnel responded to the scene and located a deceased male on the train tracks.
The Collision Reconstruction Unit attended the scene and determined that the male had been struck by a westbound VIA train, which was traveling from Montreal to Aldershot.
 The fence and a sign were put up – which stopped rail line crossing at this point. All westbound and eastbound train traffic was halted for the investigation. The VIA train involved was released from the scene after approximately two hours.
Police are still working to confirm the identity of the male pedestrian and next-of-kin notification will subsequently follow.
Foul play is not suspected.
Pedestrians continue to risk crossing the railway tracks despite the efforts the city has made to put up barriers.
 By Pepper Parr
August 25, 2015
BURLINGTON, ON
Public health is a service that is provided by the Region. Much of the direction for public health comes from the province with the actual service delivered by the Region to people in the different municipalities.
There were two services that the Gazette used to get information from the Region on – the health of the lake water where there are public beaches and reports on the incidence of West Nile Virus.
To date – there have been no reports from the Region – which would suggest there are no problems with the water and no reports of West Nile.
 That didn’t seem quite right so we put a call into the Region and asked if we had missed something. The Region has six, seven or eight communications specialists – people who prepare information for the public which they send out to media – we write up reports letting people know where it is safe to swim and where the Region is treating vegetation for mosquito infestations – which if you recall is a critical part of the food chain for birds – which gets that virus into the public.
The response we got from the Region was – check the web site – all the information is there for anyone who wants it. Whoa – that’s not quite the way the system is supposed to work.
The Region has the information and they have a mandated responsibility to do everything they can to inform and advise the public.
Someone has taken their hand off the switch at the Regional office.
 By Pepper Parr
August 25, 2015
BURLINGTON, ON
They will be back soon – that magnificent seven that get paid $100,000 + each year for serving as your representative on both city and regional council.
They have been away from the horseshoe at city hall since the middle of July – and except for the Association of Municipalities of Ontario that was held in Niagara Falls – they haven’t had much to do in the way of formal meetings.
Burlington tends to be very quiet at city hall during the summer. The non-union staff at city hall are not that young.
The five year age range of the 129 people who hold leadership positions
2% are 26 to 30 – 3 people
1% are between 31 and 35
9% are between 36 and 40 – 12 people
16% are between 41 and 45 – 21 people
19% are between 46 and 50 – 25 people
32% are between 51 and 55 – 41 people
13% are between 56 and 60 – 17 people
7% are between 61 and 65 – 9 people.
There is a lot of vacation time to be used up.
 City hall leadership briefs the Mayor on an issue during the budget preparation process The other interesting thing is that close to 50% of the leadership will retire within 10 years; something the Human Resources department spends a lot of time thinking about. The pension plan in place for the municipal sector is seen as very good and many choose to retire in the second half of their fifties and try and new career.
As the members of Council drift back into the city and begin looking at their agendas and gearing up for the fall session – which for them begin September when they do two days of meetings at Regional Council where they will look at the Transportation Service 2014 Progress Report; do an On-Site Visit to Verify Potential Threats to Halton Regional Municipal Water Supply; consider changes to Waste Collection Area Boundaries and a look at the Conservation Authorities Act which is being reviewed.
When Council adjourned in July for the summer break there was no holding of hands and singing Cumbia. The period of time from when all seven members were re-elected last October to the July break was as fractious as this reporter has seen – even in the days when Cam Jackson was Mayor.
Differences of opinion are part of serving the public but the nastiness with which these people treat each other is shameful. On December 18th this Council treated John Taylor, a member of Council with 26 years of experience, terribly. Earlier in that December 18th meeting Taylor was given an long term service award – within a few hours he was basically stripped of committee memberships that he not only deserved but that were dear to his heart.
A few weeks later he came close to having to beg for financial support for Community Development Halton which they needed to cover them until a grant application was approved.
 Car Free Sunday started as an event to convince people to get out of their cars and walk, bike or use public transit – it became a party put on at public expense for ward Councillors to entertain their constituents – at $10,000 a pop. Earlier in the session members of Council approved the spending of $10,000 for Car Free Sundays for both wards four and five and ward six. Mayor Goldring commented at the time that the events looked more like politicking than they did occasions when the public got to learn why everyone needed to make less use of their cars. His Worship was right – the events have become political boondoggles; hopefully they won’t be in the 2015 budget.
Councillor Marianne Meed Ward is concerned with the way reports get to Council members and she wondered aloud if two much of the meeting management was in the hands of the Clerk’s Office when it perhaps should be in the hands of the members of Council.
Meed Ward wants to see more “quickly to action” on the part of this council. We are collecting a lot of data but we don’t seem to be getting all that much done. Our growth hinges on creating jobs in this city. While the city does not actually create the jobs is can create the environment and ensure that the services needed are in place.
That means a city hall bureaucracy that serves the needs of people doing business in the city and with the city. We hear of those situations where things don’t work – the complaints, like gossip make the rounds quickly. The good news tends to take a little longer – but there is some good news.
 The public got to see information that was not secret but seldom had they had an opportunity to see a lot of data put before them and then be able to discuss some ideas with developers. A number of months ago Meed Ward held several workshops to which she invited the public and those developers who were prepared to sit down and talk specifics about a project they were developing. Meed Ward will complete her write up, pull together all the data and put it in a format that is uiseful to the public. There will be a final public meeting and then everything gets passed on to planning staff who may issue a report on what they heard. staff played a large part in the public meetings – they were as interested as Meed Ward was in what the developers had to say and what the public wanted built in their city.
On balance they were a very worthwhile effort. The final report, which Meed Ward hopes has an impact on the Official Plan Review.
Meed Ward is concerned about the Ontario Municipal Board hearing on the ADI Group development that has been unveiled for the bottom of Martha at Lakeshore Road. Many feel the proposed structure just doesn’t fit and the staff report the city put out made that point quite clearly.
Unfortunately, city council never got to the point where they were able to vote on the staff report which makes whatever case the city has just that much weaker.
ADI filed their appeal to the OMB on the 180th day after they had submitted their proposal. Everyone knew what ADI was going to do – that is the way they do business and what they did was perfectly legal. It is situations like this that bother Meed Ward and many people in the city.
Council she argues is not in charge – we are following – not leading. For Meed Ward the Martha – Lakeshore Road development is a game changer. Meed Ward puts it this way: “There is something wrong with our issues management process” and she wants to see changes made. “We are handcuffed with the current process” she said.
 Standing up and being counted – Councillor Meed Ward has asked for more recorded votes than any other member of Council. Knowing what your elected member is doing for you is an essential part of the democratic process. City council meets next on the 14th of September.
 By Staff
August 25, 2015
BURLINGTON, ON
An interesting piece of news drifted in over the news wire. The Burlington Economic Development Corporation wants to be one of the top five cities in Canada for start-ups and innovation.
Now there is something that is bold, direct and the results of the effort are measureable.
The Burlington Economic Development Corporation (BEDC) has entered into a partnership with Ontario Centres of Excellence (OCE) to support Ontario start-ups through their career accelerator, FreshInsights Consulting.
That seems like several layers of bureaucracy but Frank McKeown, BEDC’s Executive Director explains that the partnership is rooted in OCE’s SmartStart Seed Fund, a program that offers young entrepreneurs in Ontario the opportunity to access seed funding and skills training to grow their companies. In addition to the grant, successful SmartStart applicants are awarded $5,000 to spend on training or consulting services.
 Mayor Rick Goldring The BEDC will be involved in that training – which they will deliver through FreshInsights Consulting, a corporation formed by the city – the early thinking apparently came out of the office of the Mayor – and has been housed within BEDC.
The $5000 grant emerging entrepreneurs will be given will get spent with FreshInsights – meaning that organization has some revenue –that gives that win-win-win phrase a whole new dimension, doesn’t it?
Most people know there are clusters of young people out there with what on the surface look like great ideas. Most of them need a good dose of number crunching to determine if the ideas have some sustainability to them.
As one of OCE’s official training partners, FreshInsights Consulting has become one of the most sought after training partners. During the most recent application approval process, more than ten SmartStart companies opted to spend their grant dollars on consulting services with FreshInsights – that ten worked out to 40% of the applications – not bad when seen in terms of market share.
FreshInsights will be working through the balance of 2015 to provide these start-ups with market research and business plan development.
 “The opportunity to work with more start-ups through SmartStart is a fantastic opportunity for FreshInsights,” said Claire Morrison, Program Director at FreshInsights Consulting. “We are working with such a diverse range of companies, including retail, food and beverage, software and technology industries. Not only does the partnership allow us to support even more recent graduates through our unique consulting model, we also get to support so many talented entrepreneurs who are choosing to grow their business in Ontario.”
What no one is saying is that by being involved in these emerging corporations Burlington is in a position to help them make the city home – we get first dibs at these young people.
McKeown added that, “The partnership between OCE and the BEDC operated career accelerator, FreshInsights, is only going to help Burlington get closer to achieving its goal of becoming one of the top five cities in Canada for startups and innovation. It is a step in the right direction for creating an innovation space that fosters collaboration, mentorship, and business growth right here in Burlington.”
 Frank McKeown, former Chief of Staff to Mayor Rick Goldring and now the Executive Director of the BEDC has taken on the direction of an interesting training program. Developed under the BEDC in 2011, FreshInsights Consulting was established as a way to retain top talent working in Burlington, while providing professional, cost-effective consulting services in market research, strategic marketing, and business planning to local companies. The program has seen more than 25 recent graduates through the program, and they plan to continue expanding their client base across Southern Ontario.
Learn more about FreshInsights Consulting at www.freshinsightsconsulting.ca and BEDC at www.bedc.ca. You can also follow them on Twitter @FreshInsigtsCo and @BurlingtonEcDev.
This is a good news story – let’s see where they are in a year.
 By Pepper Parr
August 24, 2015
BURLINGTON, ON
City council has decided that the completion of the Official Plan Review (OPR) will not get done until the Strategic Plan has been completed – the rub with that decision is that at the rate the Strategic Plan is going it may not be seen until sometime in 2016.
Council has some critical issues it must make decisions on – the budget has to get done, there are some key hiring decisions to be made and the significant seven that lead the city have to decide if they are going to manage to get along any better now that they have all had a vacation. Don’t bet on the latter.
The Committee of the Whole, which is the Standing Committee that is shepherding the Strategic Plan to its completion, isn’t going to meet until sometime in the middle of October – and the amount of data that the consultants hired to help with the creation of the plan are going to dump on the table could choke a horse.
The amount of research is staggering. We will get into that in a paragraph or two – what is disturbing is that when Council approved the research assignment the man charged with the responsibility of bringing jobs to the city wasn’t in the room.
 Frank McKeown, on the left explains a concept to Councillor Paul Sharman during the creation of the Strategic Plan in 2011. Frank McKeown, executive director of the Burlington Economic Development Corporation, (EDC) didn’t learn of the meeting date until a few days before it was to take place and he didn’t have a copy of the agenda – he had no idea how much research work the city had asked for. A lot of what was being asked for had already been done by McKeon and his organization.
McKeown intends to eventually scrub the data he has collected and post it on the EDC web site for anyone to see and use. Any self-respecting economic development department would do that. Quite why Burlington has hired someone to ask all these questions boggles the mind a bit – don’t we already have that information?
The left pocket clearly wasn’t talking to the right pocket – odd because everyone at city hall knows who McKeown is and have a high regard for the quality of his thinking and the manner in which he closes files and gets things done.
McKeown was the Mayor’s Chief of Staff for two years. He threw in that towel when he found that city hall wasn’t the kind of place where a lot of real work got done. Not because of the people doing the work – it was a leadership issue for McKeown – there wasn’t all that much of it.
There are several who are asking if all this work being done to put a Strategic Plan in place makes any sense. Ward 1 Councillor Rick Craven thinks that what was created in 2011 is just fine – he’d go with that – but his view apparently isn’t shared by the rest of council.
 Councillors Meed Ward and Taylor tend to ask a lot of questions and are open to making the process more open. Taylor once threatened to walk out of Council and talk publicly about a report the majority of Council wanted to keep confidential. Councillor Meed Ward finds herself asking if the Strategic Plan needs just a refresh or does the city need a full reboot on what they created in 2011.
The ward two councilor was in an auto accident and was not able to take part in a number of standing committee meetings – including two that were critical – the first look at the draft of a Master Transportation Plan and the meeting at which the KPMG Strategic Plan assignment was threshed out and agreed upon.
The auto accident resulted in some serious concussion damage from which Meed Ward says she is recovering nicely and expects to be in fine form when Council resumes its work in September.
The research assignment sets out five major hypothesis: one labelled Economic, then 2 – Land Use Planning and the Built Environment, 3 – Demographics, Growth and Health, 4 – City Operations, Governance and Powers and 5 – Culture
A Primary hypothesis is examined along with several subsidiary hypothesis and the question the researchers would focus on. There were some pretty heavy duty questions asked.
Two concerns jump out: why is this level of work being done at this stage – should have been done at least six months ago – and when you look at the questions one is moved to ask: Don’t we already know the answers to these questions.
The KPMG approach argues that 1 – Trade-offs shape strategy, 2 – Strategy involves choosing among incompatible alternatives, each of which is attractive, 3 – Failure to choose puts the organization in a situation of becoming “stuck in the middle” and 4 – Straddling problems stymie the success of a clear strategy.
 The city hired consultants to take a deep (which means expensive) look into five areas: The economy; Land Use Planning and the |Built environment, demographics and Growth, City operations, governance and Powers and Culture. The KPMG approach to problem solving includes:
1. Focus analysis around key hypotheses
2. Triangulate around difficult problems to identify the right strategic levers
3. Keep analytical priorities aligned with key hypotheses
4. Manage precision of analysis to account for economies of effort.
Here is the Economic: Principal Hypothesis: The City of Burlington can transform its economy.
Q: What are the principal economic trends of the City of Burlington?
Q: What are the principal economic trends in the region?
Q: What are the relative economic attributes of the City of Burlington?
Q: What are the key policy levers that can be deployed and the materiality of their effect on economic outcomes?
Subsidiary Hypothesis: The City of Burlington can repatriate jobs and careers to within the City boundaries.
Q: What is the geography of employment for residents of the city?
Q: What is the current labor force composition of the city?
Q: What are the policy levers that can change the location of careers and jobs in the context of the regional economy?
Subsidiary Hypothesis: The City of Burlington can create more good paying jobs for Burlington youth
Q: What are the policy levers that can promote jobs and careers that keep younger residents in the City of Burlington?
Q: What is the current employment profile of ‘youth’ in the City of Burlington?
Q: What is the job trajectory for GTA youth over the short, medium and long-term?
 It was about 15 months ago that rural Burlington began the discussion about what it wanted to be. Some things were clear – others not as clear. The early draft of a vision got put on a huge board and for the most part the community liked the look of what they had said to each other. Will this kind of data find its way into the hands of the consultants helping the city work up its Strategic Plan. Subsidiary Hypothesis: The City of Burlington can promote and integrate the rural economy within its boundaries.
Q: What are the current characteristics of the rural economy?
Q: What is the likely trajectory of the rural economy in this region in the short, medium and long-term.
Q: What are the key regional institutions that could play a role in developing the City’s regional rural economy?
Q: What are the key policy levers the can affect the rural economy?
Subsidiary Hypothesis: The City of Burlington can help create an “innovation economy”
Q: How have other municipal jurisdictions created the conditions for an innovation based economy?
Q: What are the key characteristics of an innovation based economy?
Q: What are the policy levers that Burlington can deploy to create such an economy?
Principle hypothesis: City Operations, Governance and Powers:
The City of Burlington can reform is governance, operations and increase its powers to better implement its strategic vision,
Q: What are the key areas where the City of Burlington does not have the appropriate discretion to implement policies?
Q: How does, and in which areas does provincial policy constrain the City of Burlington?
Q: How does relationship with neighboring municipalities enhance or constrain the City’s ability to deliver services for its population?
Subsidiary Hypothesis: The City can deliver services in a more efficient and effective manner.
Q: What are the current challenges of service delivery?
Q: What are the different models that could be used to administer the city and deliver services more effectively?
 A rapt audience listened to an overview of a city budget. What they did was listen to what the city had already decided to do. Is there a better way to involve the public. Subsidiary Hypothesis: The City can incorporate its citizen’s into decision making and program delivery in a more effective manner.
Q: How have other jurisdictions incorporated citizens better into government decision making and policy delivery?
Subsidiary hypothesis: The city can increase its financial capacity to deliver services invest in infrastructure or cut taxes
Q: How much of the City of Burlington’s spending is discretionary in the short, medium and long-term?
Q: What is the revenue mix of the City over the short, medium and long-term?
Q: What are the current revenue levers?
Q: Are there innovative ways to fund, finance and deliver services being deployed in other jurisdictions that could be used by the City?
Subsidiary Hypothesis: The City can find innovative ways to fund, finance and deliver infrastructure.
Q: What are the infrastructure challenge that are not matched with the correct infrastructure financing, funding, delivery and maintenance tools?
Q: What are the key infrastructure needs that are not being addressed in the short, medium and long-term?
Q: The current provincial planning regime is impeding economic growth in the province?
Q: Value can be unlocked from municipal assets to fund strategic priorities?
 A lot of research has been done on how to make culture a more vital part of the community. Research not withstanding there are still some really stupid cultural decisions being made. Principal Hypothesis: Culture – The City of Burlington can develop cultural institutions and attractions that enhance the quality of life of its citizens.
Q: What are the current cultural institutions and their level of popularity?
Q: What are the current and nascent cultural endowments of the City?
Q: What are the mechanisms through which the City can support and grow an impactful cultural community?
There are three other areas that were to be given the KPMG research treatment. McKeown will be meeting with that crew in February – expect to see some changes.
McKeown should have been in the room for that June meeting. Who slipped up on telling him about the meeting?
 By Pepper Parr
August 24th, 2015
BURLINGTON, ON
When the Arts and Cultural Collective of Burlington was created it was unique and became the place to go to if you wanted to know what was happening in the arts community which had become of age in this city. Their Facebook page became a source of information that pulled the community together – and it worked
 The Arts Collective had a presence – they were making a difference – now their Facebook page is being used to sell high end sun glasses and Point of Sale equipment for restaurants. It was refreshing – they kept the membership limited – at one point you had to be referred by an existing member to get on the list. They were effective – they convinced the city to take another look at how artists were going to be treated with their contributions to the new web site – the city wanted to use picture – not pay for them and not even give a photo credit. That got changed.
The Cultural Action Plan that was researched by Jeremy Freiburger and his team over at the Cobalt Connection was a strong starting point. The Arts Collective liked what they saw but they wanted more involvement in the detail part of the cultural plans and also in the roll out in whatever was decided upon. They also wanted the final Culture Plan to include an Arts Council that would make grants available to artists.
A couple of months ago they began talking about how many members they had – and the size of the list became more important that the quality of the content.
 The younger, feistier set knew what they needed – they had done their homework – their challenge was to find their voice and make it hard. It was a moderated information source – which meant that messages that weren’t appropriate did not get posted. The person doing the moderation must have been asleep at the switch the past couple of months – there have been advertisements for high end sun glasses and then something for travel and now someone wants to sell a Point of Sale cash register system. “Perfect for any restaurant or retail business, …” using the Collective site as the advertising vehicle
This isn’t what the Collective was created to do. When it got off the ground a couple of years ago there was all kinds of really positive energy and they came up with very good ideas. They took possession of the agenda and pushed city hall to add resources to the cultural file.
They wanted to see culture moved out of the jock mentality many people saw dominating the Parks and Recreation department and they wanted to see more dollars put into the cultural field.
The province then got into the Cultural business with the promotion of Culture Week that was a decently done during its first year.
 Civic square buzzed during Culture week last year – with the increased involvement on the part of the cultural manager Angela Paparizo we may see even more activity. There are apparently all kinds of plans for Culture Week this year but there hasn’t been much coming out of city hall yet – the individual artists are promoting the events they have taking place – there is a Ping Pong and Poetry event that will take place at the new HiVe now located on Guelph Line. Local artist Margaret Lindsay Halton is running that event.
The organizational structure of the Arts Collective has always been a little undefined – personalities and ego began to take up too much space and the purpose began to get lost.
There is still time for the Arts Collective to recover – but they don’t take too much time doing it. They could and should play an important role.
There is still some very good energy within the citizen side of the arts. The Guilds at the Art Gallery of Burlington are becoming more active – management over there is expecting the guilds to be more visible and they are living up to the expectation.
 Retiring Executive Director of the Performing Arts Centre Brian McCurdy stabilized the Centre – losing him is going to hurt for awhile. A new leader will need some time to get a sense as to how the Centre and the city work. In this photograph McCurdy is briefing the Mayor on parts of his thinking The No Vacancy people will be putting on their third event in September – this time on Old Lakeshore Road basically outside Emma’s. September 17th from 7 pm to midnight.
Last year they recorded 3500 + visitors. This year the event will be called SuperNova and they think they will double last year’s attendance. They have put on the event for two years with nowhere near the funding available to Culture Week and have in the past produced much stronger more vital programs. This year, for the first time they got some funding from the city – courtesy of Councillor Marianne Meed Ward who advocated for the small grant they got.
One of the hurdles that few people see coming is the wallop the Gazette thinks the taxpayers are going to face when the real costs of the flood are going to have on the 2016 budget. Reports that have been given to Council point out a number of close to pressing amounts that are going to have to be spent real soon.
It is going to amount to millions with an expected new line on the tax bill for the management of storm water.
The cultural file just might take a hit – more money is going to have to go into infrastructure; council has been told that transit needs a lot more attention, especially when looked at through an intensification lens and the city is still salting away money to pay for our share of the hospital redevelopment.
Some tough work ahead of this Council – which is going to be difficult because all the members of this Council don’t sing from the same page in the hymnal.
 By Staff
August 24, 2015
BURLINGTON, ON
The Alzheimer’s Society of Hamilton and Halton in partnership with JBH will be holding monthly information sessions at Joseph Brant Hospital aimed at family caregivers learning to cope with the people who suffer from Alzheimer disease.
To register for a session please call (905) 632-3737 ext. 5689. Sessions will take place on the last Tuesday of every month, excluding May and December – in the Gordon Room of the main hospital building from 4:00 – 5:00pm.
 By Staff
August 24, 2015
BURLINGTON, ON
The Redevelopment and Expansion of the Joseph Brant Hospital is the biggest redevelopment that Burlington has ever seen. So big that is got a line all of its own on your tax bill – the taxpayers are putting up $60 million to get the hospital built.
The new hospital will be completed in two distinct phases, with an estimated completion date of 2018.
 When completed the orientation for the hospital will have the main entrance on Lakeshore Road facing the lake. The road is being raised by as much as a full metre in places to accommodate the changes. Phase One is complete. The Halton McMaster Family Health Centre is open and already welcoming patients! Construction still continues on the new parking facility and the administration offices of JBH.
Highlights of our new building include: Halton McMaster Family Health Centre – the Burlington Family Health Team are operating clinics within the centre; Teaching classrooms for McMaster Residents as part of the McMaster University Department of Family Medicine; Administration offices for Joseph Brant Hospital and Joseph Brant Hospital Foundation.
The new parking facility with over 820 spaces
Phase Two: The new seven-storey patient tower will be built on the existing parking lot at the back of the existing hospital and will be connected to the parking facility by a foot bridge. The main highlights of the second phase of the project include:
A new Emergency Department
172 acute inpatient beds
9 new Operating Rooms and a new post-anaesthetic care unit
An expanded Diagnostic Imaging department and associated services
Expanded medical, surgical and outpatient services
An expanded cancer clinic
An expanded Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and renovated Special Care Nursery – level 2 Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU)
An expanded and modernized laboratory
70 percent of the rooms across the hospital are single-patient rooms.
 The new entrance to the hospital will be on Lakeshore Road facing the lake with the parking garage yards away on the west side. There will be a walking bridge from the garage to the second level of the hospital. The hospital is being much more proactive with the information they are making available. They have installed a camera that lets you pop in and see what is being done on the construction site – live. Interesting to watch.
There is a video of the project overall – a little on the long side but if you want a full sense of what they are setting out to do and you have three minutes you don’t know what to do with – click to see the project – no popcorn.
Video of the project
The construction cam
By Staff
August 22, 2015
BURLINGTON, ON
The Jenn Street pedestrian bridge, connecting Norton Park and Jenn Street will closed starting Tuesday, Aug. 25 through to Thursday, Aug. 27 for work to replace the surface of the bridge.
The bridge is expected to reopen on Friday, Aug. 28, 2015.
By Pepper Parr
August 21, 2015
BURLINGTON, ON
The Region’s A team headed for Niagara Falls and met with provincial ministers and their aids to explain the problems they are having with the provincially mandated growth targets set out in the Provincial Places to Grow Act.
 Regional Chair Carr tasting honey on a farm tour. Few realize just how big and diverse the Region actually is – the Chair covers all of it. Chair, Gary Carr and members of Regional and Local Councils were at the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) annual conference to discuss the critical issues facing the Region.
“We continue to emphasize to Provincial leaders the pressing need to find solutions to ensure the Region can meet provincial growth targets,” said Gary Carr, Halton’s Regional Chair. “Halton is mandated to grow to 780,000 by the year 2031, which means the Region needs long-term funding and legislative tools to ensure that taxpayers are not responsible for the financial impacts of growth.”
 The population growth is very aggressive. Much of it took place in Milton – Burlington is going to have to absorb a significant portion of the 278,000 people we have to take in. The Region currently uses the figure 500,000 when it talks about the size of the population it serves to grow by an additional 280,000 people in 16 years is aggressive to say the least.
What Burlington needs to know is how many of that more than a quarter of a million people are we going to have to take make room for and where in the city will they live?
 This is where the Region gets its money: Where will the revenue growth come from – user fess, property taxes and development charges – they are all part of your wallet. What are we going to have to provide in terms of services and how do we upgrade the transit service we have to move people around the city because there is no room for additional road capacity.
Chair Carr, Regional along with the mayors of Burlington, Town of Halton Hills, Town of Milton, and the Town of Oakville and a number of Regional and local Councillors met with several Provincial leaders:
Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, Ted McMeekin, to discuss the need to create affordable housing solutions and conformity with Provincial growth legislation;
Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care, MPP Indira Naidoo-Harris, to discuss funding for public health programs, ambulance off-loading delays, enhancements to the Central Ambulance Communications Centre (CACC) and community mental health services;
Minister of Education, Liz Sandals, to discuss the need for long-term funding to support new schools;
Minister of Transportation, Steven Del Duca, to discuss Halton’s community infrastructure needs including GO train service in the Town of Milton and Town of Halton Hills;
Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry and Burlington MPP, Eleanor McMahon, to discuss Conservation Authority funding and aggregate resources legislation;
Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services, Yasir Naqvi, to discuss the upcoming review of the Police Services Act;
Attorney General, Madeleine Meilleur, to discuss Halton’s immediate need for a new courthouse in the Town of Milton; and
Minister of the Environment and Climate Change, Glen Murray, to discuss waste management legislation and adapting and responding to climate change.
 Municipal leaders argue that they deliver most of the services that citizens want yet get the smallest amount from taxpayers. They want a bigger slice of the pie – or better yet – a bigger pie. Several of the meetings related to near critical needs; the Court House in Milton is a mess; long term care is heading for crisis if something isn’t done and affordable housing needs very serious attention.
Transportation and transit are going to gobble up millions and the damage from the August 2014 storm is but a sign of things to come. No one knows yet just how much it is going to cost to upgrade and in some places perhaps have to rebuild the waste and storm water system we have in place.
Halton is fortunate in that it has a Regional chair with experience at Queen’s Park and the resources within his own administration to advocate with strength and authority.
The Region continues to advocate to both the Provincial and Federal governments as part of the Region’s Advocating for a Strong Halton campaign.
The Region wants changes to the Development Charges Act, there is draft legislation now being debated at Queen’s Park. The province wants development charges that support the recovery and collection of growth related costs to ensure that Halton’s taxpayers do not bear the financial impacts of growth.
What those development charges do however is increase the cost of new housing which for Burlington are high as it is.
 By Staff
August 21, 2015
BURLINGTON, ON
The Halton Regional Police are looking for a fugitive who has skipped bail three times – when they catch him – and they will – does a Judge give him bail again? Probably because it costs too much to keep these people in a jail
On week 18 of the Fugitive Friday program the police are looking for Matthew PARSONS
 Matthew Parsons – skipped out on his bail three times – police want him in custody. Each Friday the police ask the public for help finding people who have chosen to evade the police and the court system and continue to live out in our communities while having a warrant for their arrest in place.
The police share “Fugitive Friday” information on their website and through social media – Twitter @HRPSBurl and @HaltonPolice.
The 3 District, Burlington Offender Management Unit is searching for Matthew PARSONS, 30 years old, of Burlington, ON.
It is alleged:
– In November of 2014 the accused attempted to steal various items from a store in Burlington
– The accused was stopped by store security outside when he attempted to flee with the stolen items
– The accused was detained until police arrived and continued the arrest
– During the arrest the accused was found to be in possession of Crystal Methamphetamines
– The accused failed to attend court in February and was arrested again and held for bail
– The accused was later released on a Recognizance and was to attend court in July, which he failed to do and a warrant was issued for his arrest
He is now wanted by Halton Regional Police Service for:
Theft under $5000 x 2
Possession of Schedule III x 2
Fail to Re-Attend Court
Fail to Appear Court x 3
PARSONS is described as 5’9”, 190lbs, blue eyes and brown hair. PARSONS has a tattoo of an “Aquarius” symbol on his left arm. PARSONS is known to frequent Burlington and the surrounding areas.
Anyone who may have witnessed this male or has information that would assist investigators in identifying him are encouraged to contact D/C Bulbrook – Burlington Criminal Investigations Bureau – Offender Management Team at 905-825-4747 Ext. 2346 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS), or through the web at www.haltoncrimestoppers.com, or by texting “Tip201” with your message to 274637 (crimes).
By Staff
August 21, 2015
BURLINGTON, ON
Two of Halton Region’s popular fall waste diversion events are fast approaching.
The fall Compost Giveaway event will take place on Saturday, September 12 from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Halton Waste Management Site (HWMS) located at 5400 Regional Road 25 in Milton.
 Regional Councillors showing off the larger size blue boxes. The Region is very proactive with its waste diversion programs. The Region is also hosting the two remaining Special Waste Drop-off Days on Saturday, September 19 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Sheridan College in Oakville and on Saturday, October 24 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Mohawk Raceway in Campbellville.
Compost Giveaway Event
During the one-day, fall Compost Giveaway event, Halton Region will offer compost to residents free of charge. Residents are reminded to bring their own bags or containers (maximum seven garbage bags or equivalent per household) and a shovel in order to bag their own compost.
Residents attending this event are encouraged to bring a non-perishable food item or cash donation, which will be distributed to Halton area food banks.
 Composting – best way to get a garden to really produce – and this time it is free. During the spring Compost Giveaway in May, 3,610 residents picked up approximately 1500 tonnes of compost created from all of the leaves, brush, tree and garden trimmings collected curbside and dropped off at the HWMS.
Residents also donated $7,878 and 3,640 kilograms of food to local food banks as part of the event. Visit halton.ca/compost for more information.
Special Waste Drop-off Days
To make the recycling of electronic and household hazardous waste more convenient for residents, Halton Region holds seven Special Waste Drop-off Days throughout the year, free of charge. Almost two thousand Halton residents dropped off electronic or household hazardous waste during Special Waste Drop-off Days earlier this year.
At this year’s two remaining special waste events on September 19 and October 24, residents are welcome to drop off acceptable items such as: pesticides, paint, motor oil, antifreeze, propane tanks, computers, stereos, TVs and DVD players.
Residents who are unable to attend the Special Waste Drop-off Days may drop off acceptable hazardous waste (20 litres per trip, no commercial materials) and electronic items, free of charge at the HWMS, 5400 Regional Road 25, Milton, Monday to Saturday between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.
Special Waste Drop-off Days are for Halton residents only. No commercial waste is accepted.
For more information on the upcoming waste diversion events and a complete list of acceptable and unacceptable hazardous items, contact Halton Region by dialing 311 or 905-825-6000, toll free 1-866-422-5866 or visit halton.ca/waste.
By Staff
August 20, 2015
BURLINGTON, ON
The City of Burlington has installed an Electric Vehicle (EV) charging station in the parking garage at 414 Locust St. in downtown Burlington – the first EV charging station in a municipal parking lot in the city.
 “Electric vehicles significantly reduce carbon pollution and help to improve local air quality,” said Burlington Mayor Rick Goldring. “The new charging station supports the City of Burlington’s commitment to sustainability and delivers on one of the actions outlined in the city’s Community Energy Plan.”
Located on floor 1A of the parking garage, the recharging station allows electric vehicle owners to recharge their cars in a central downtown location. Two electric vehicles can be charged at one time.
The EV charging station is part of the Community Energy program that was endorsed by city council some time ago and developed with community groups, agencies and businesses.
The plan is an holistic view of how energy is used, conserved, generated and distributed with a focus on how community partners can work together to improve and integrate community energy systems.
|
|
