Unless there is really poopy weather for a significant stretch of time – the Pier will open during Sound Of Music.

 

Craig Stevens, Project Manager for the city on the construction of the Brant Street poses in front of the node that will rise 4 metres from the deck of the pier and have a 12 metre beacon on top. Stevens, who oversaw the construction of the Performing Arts Centre believes the pier will be ready to be opened during the Sound of Music Festival – IF the weather cooperates.

By Pepper Parr

BURLINGTON, ON. February 19, 2013  In the cold winter weather we don’t get out as often which means we don’t get to the waterfront and we don’t get to see the work that is getting done to have THE  pier ready for an official opening during the Sound of Music Festival which is about four months away.

The only impediment now is weather.  And that so far has been a really doozy up and down situation.  In October the schedule lost eleven day: “eleven days in October” exclaimed Craig Steven’s, the city’s man on the project.

November was good as was December with basically nothing lost but January was not as good –there were five days lost and so far in February they have lost four days.  “In January: said Stevens, ”we had temperatures that ranged from + 16 to -27. It’s all but impossible to plan – but plan they do and they go forward as well.

Early stage construction of the four metre high node that will sit atop the pier deck and have a 12 metre beacon sitting on top. The beacon is at this point purely decorative – it was to house the wind turbine that the city backed out of last year.

The first part of the node is in place.  They are now putting the re bar in and getting ready to pour concrete around the base of a structure that will rise four metres and have a beacon atop it that will rise 12 metres for a total height of 16 metres.  It will be quite something to see when it is completed.

The beacon part of the node is being fabricated now at a shop in Kitchener where it will go through a final quality control check and be shipped to Burlington and put in place.

The node will have stairs that wind around the side leading to the observation deck.

Brad Cassidy, the Graham Infrastructure guy who is the man you have to get past if you want to get out on the pier stands with one of the balustrades that will line the pier. The bottom piece of aluminum that will be coated with Burlington blue powder is a rubbing streak with the top piece the actual top of the rail. The balustrades will be bolted to the deck and have steel wire cable strands running through the holes drilled in the balustrade. There will be 200 of the things on the pier.

The feature that will make that pier safe for everyone is the balustrades that will be quite high and be made of galvanized steel which will give them a silver-grey look and aluminum rail and rubbing streak that will be painted with a powder that will be adhered to the surface and done in what construction people in this city like to call Burlington blue.

They will have cable strung through several levels preventing anyone from falling over the side.  There will be more than 200 of these stanchions placed around the pier.  Falling over just won’t be possible – jumping over – well that’s another matter.  Bets are being placed on which high school gets to make that claim to fame first.

The balustrades – what most people call the railings have gone through several modifications which raised the question: why design decisions at this point; which brought the response: “We’ve never gotten this far before”, said Stevens, and indeed after more than six years of work and close to $20 million tax dollars spent – this is as far as construction of the pier has ever gotten.

It is as cold as it looks out on the pier on a windy winter day.  The last of the concrete forming work is being done around the node that will have a stairway winding up the side leading to a deck four metres above the pier platform.

The node that is now being put together will have a large beacon placed on top of it.  That beacon was to be part of the support for the win turbine that got trashed by city council when no one appeared to be able to figure out where the power to light up the pier at night was going to come from or how it would be paid for.  A major opportunity to save serious dollars over the life of the pier and to make an important environmental statement was lost.

What we used to call the mini-beach on the west shore side of the pier is not so mini anymore. If this thing keeps growing many Burlingtonians just might get the boat dock they thought was going to be part of the pier.

At the base of the pier, in close to the shore,  the mini-beach grows a little more each month.  While the lake water level is low right now, once the construction trestle is taken out there might be accumulation of more sand.  The city might actually get a boat dock without having to spend a ton of money.

Meanwhile on the legal front the Examination for Discovery process continues.  Henry Schilthuis and Sons Ltd., the contractor who is suing the city, and who is in return being sued by the city,  has been examined and the Director of engineering for Burlington has gone through part of his Examination.  Those proceedings have been adjourned until the week of the 25th of February.

If the temperature out on the pier is cold – the temperature in the Examination for Discovery room is not quite frozen but certainly very frosty.  Some painful discoveries are being made.


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Brennan, Dykes and Proctor awarded Jubilee medals for community service.

By Staff

BURLINGTON, ON.  February 19, 2013  Three new recipients of the Jubilee medal will be recognized at city Council this evening.  The commemorative medal was created to mark the 2012 celebrations of the 60th anniversary of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s accession to the Throne as Queen of Canada.

The Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal is a tangible way for Canada to honour Her Majesty for her service to this country. At the same time, it serves to honour significant contributions and achievements by Canadians.

The following will receive their medals this evening:

Officer Cadet David Anthony Brennan

Officer Cadet David Brennan was nominated for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal by Captain Philip Harris, Commanding Officer at the Burlington Army Cadets for his exemplary record as a volunteer and dedication to Canada as an active member of the Burlington Army Cadets.

Officer Cadet Brennan is a tireless volunteer within the Cadet program and has inspired and motivated both his peers and subordinates within the program. For over five years he has volunteered his time towards the Royal Canadian Army Cadet program, serving as captain on five local cadet teams, including flag party, shooting team, rifle drill team, orienting team and the drill team.

Officer Cadet Brennan has given many hours to working alongside younger cadets to help them overcome a number of issues that young people often struggle with such as bullying, stage fright, and academic challenges.

In addition, Officer Cadet Brennan has volunteered hundreds of hours towards our local Legion, assisting in selling poppies, hosting diners for the veterans, and working on a number of fundraising activities.

Officer Cadet Brennan is a natural leader who also demonstrates his pride and commitment to community and Country. He has recently been sworn into the military with the rank of Officer Cadet and is planning a military career with the Canadian Armed Forces. This past September, Officer Cadet Brennan was selected to participate as one of a limited number of Canadians in an international paratrooper exchange program, representing the Canadian Forces Airborne and the Royal Canadian Army Cadets, after completing his Canadian Forces basic Parachutist course in 2011.

Officer Cadet Brennan also recently earned his Gold Duke of Edinburgh award. He is a student at McMaster University, studying history.

Mr. Thomas Dykes

Thomas Dykes was nominated for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal by Andrew Irwin, former president of the Toronto Branch of the Naval Officers Association of Canada for the positive impact he has had working with youth at the local, regional, national and international level and for his efforts promoting awareness of Canada’s Naval History.

Thomas Dykes is a retired history teacher and now an Educational Assistant at T.A. Blakelock High School

Mr. Dykes developed and designed a unique multi-discipline teacher resource on the Royal Canadian Navy’s role in World War II. This initiative involved coordinating the direct input of the Canadian, British and German naval veterans, with active support from the history departments in four high schools, both in Canada and England. Through this work, The Battle of the Atlantic initiative became inter-disciplinary, cross-graded, multi-generational, national and international.

Recently, an electronic version of this resource has been placed on The Historica-Dominion Institute, making it available to thousands of educators around the world. This project has been so well received that Mr. Dykes has been invited to present it to the prestigious Naval History Conference to be held in England this spring.

Mr. Dykes also developed the Canadian Navy Centennial National Essay Contest with a great team of Blakelock teachers and he has been providing Burlington students the opportunity to write and be published in The Burlington Post’s Youth column since 1983. In additional, Mr. Dykes designed the Police Ethnic And Cultural Education Youth Leadership Program (PEACE).

Dr. William Procter

Dr. William Procter was nominated for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal by his daughter, Susan Procter for his dedication to the practice of medicine, his commitment to his patients, and his leadership in the community.

Dr. Procter, has been a family physician in Burlington for 50 years. Dr. Procter was practicing medicine in Burlington before the Joseph Brant Memorial Hospital was built and was instrumental in having the hospital constructed for the city. Dr. Procter was one of the first members of the medical staff.

During his lifetime, Dr. Procter has made and continues to make significant contributions to his profession as a mentor to medical students, a respected peer to his colleagues, and as a trusted doctor to both his patients and his community.

Dr. Procter has received the Certificate of Recognition for his ‘exemplary contribution to family medicine’ from the Ontario College of Family Physicians and has also been honoured with the Physicians Care Award by the Ontario Medical Association.

Dr. Procter has been active in hospital leadership, participating in and chairing many committees and heading the Department of Family Medicine.

Dr. Procter has been involved in a number of community activities including the role of ‘clown’ in the Burlington Santa Clause Parade, the role of sponsor for one of our local t-ball teams, the role of patron for Opera Hamilton, and is also an elder and long-standing member of Knox Presbyterian.

Dr. Procter has been described as kind, compassionate, dedicated, thoughtful, knowledgeable, general, reassuring and supportive. A friend and mentor, and a much-loved father.


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Longest serving council member in city’s history to be given the Queen’s Jubilee medal for his service. Well deserved.

By Pepper Parr

BURLINGTON, ON.  February 18, 2013  He is the longest-serving member of the current city Councillor.  He is certainly the strongest liberal thinker this council has and is the most passionate member of this council as well.

John Taylor was first elected in 1988, he was actually acclaimed, and has been representing the interests of Ward 3 which includes since Brant Hills, Mountainside, Kilbride and rural communities west of Walker’s Line.  His eighth term on City Council began in December 2010.

John Taylor, has served on city council longer than any other individual.

John Taylor’s official biography will tell you all about the things he has done – and it is impressive – but working at it for 25 years ,what else should we expect.

We wanted to dig a little deeper and tell you about the John Taylor that you don’t see every day.  The man who knows more about the city than any other council member and frequently wears his heart on his sleeve.

John has lived in Brant Hills for the past 37 years along with his wife Kathie and their son Ian who has recently moved to develop his professional career in finance.

His “official”  biog tells of his 24 years of management experience in the private sector where he gained extensive and diversified skills in both the packaged consumer goods and pharmaceutical industries. He also holds an honours degree in Chemistry from the University of British Columbia.

That chemistry degree was evident when the public relations people from Enbridge Pipeline were in town recently trying to convince the 85 people in a city hall conference room that there was no problem reversing the flow of a pipeline that runs through John’s Ward.  John knew enough chemistry to ask some rather pointed questions to which he really didn’t get answers.

John Taylor strongly believes that municipal government works best through the active involvement and participation of the city’s residents.

When John holds a community meeting it is more like a club meeting.  The first event at which I watched him interact with his residents he was at a table with four other people playing a game that involved checkers.  People would drop by, sit down and chat about an issue and then move on.

John Taylor sitting at the side of the room while a loyal constituent, John Timmins takes in the meeting.

On another occasion, in Lowville when the changes to the park were being discussed, John sat at the side of the room and people came over to talk to him.  He seldom goes to the front of the room to take the microphone – unless the public is talking about putting a highway through the Escarpment and then John Taylor is front and center.

John Taylor won’t always be with us – and there doesn’t appear to be anyone that will carry the torch as high and as consistently as he has.

As City and Regional Councillor for Ward 3, John is committed to continuing work in partnership with residents to build on past successes and tackle the urban and rural challenges facing Burlington and Halton this term.  such as:

The city’s media release points out the John continues to fight for a more affordable multi-year financial and organizational plan that will result in no more than a 3% annual City tax increase.  That one is going to be a challenge for John – but he has some ideas up his sleeve that will get put before his fellow council members later this month.  John will want to move more funds into infrastructure repair – which is more than $10 million short.  One does need to point out that John was on Council for the past 25 years when the shortfall took place.

Taylor in full campaign mode greeting a voter.

Our Burlington has a good photo file for John Taylor but we wanted pictures from his early years in politics and maybe even some of John with a full head of hair.   There are pictures of John in a suit canvassing door to door.

Kathie adds that “John had always been interested in politics and this seemed like a great fit for him. He is definitely a committed individual and the opportunity to serve the community was just up his alley. It gave John an interest outside of work and as it was considered a part-time position, it would not impact the family dramatically. We  had no idea what we were getting into!” She nevertheless  welcomed the idea of John becoming involved in Municipal politics.

“When John first ran for public office there were two Councillors per ward – one at the City level and one at the Regional level. John took over a position for the City. One Council meeting and a few reports to read was my understanding. Boy was I wrong!”

Joan Little, who sat on Council with Walter Mulkewich and was once his campaign manager, now writes a by-weekly column for the Spectator, didn’t know John Taylor all that well but will tell you “that he faithfully attended every council meeting in the months before the municipal election in 1988  – took it all in, the way he does now. I just remember John being very informed.”

When Nelson Aggregates bought the land shown in the small orange rectangle it was John Taylor alerted the community to what this could mean to north Burlington.  That was the first step of a seven-year fight to have the application for a quarrying permit turned down.

\"It was John,\" explained Joan Little, \"that told a rural meeting in 2002 that Nelson had bought the land across the road, from the quarry they were operating and waking them up.  I also recall him spearheading the Mid-Pen fight right from the time the province (I think Mike Harris himself) made a presentation in the Niagara area, and that’s been his baby ever since.”

The city’s media release says Taylor “has been described as the hardest working member of Council since his election 25 years ago. He is passionate about fiscal responsibility and has a broad perspective of his responsibilities, devoting as much time to Regional issues as he does to City concerns. He has been a strong voice for Burlington at the Region and has frequently bridged gaps between the two.”

The people at the Burlington Art Centre will tell you of the ideas he brings to Board meetings over there.  John at one point thought the Art Centre might be moved to the parking lot on Elizabeth Street that was once going to be the home of the McMaster University DeGroote School of Business.

John does manage to get some time for himself and his wife.  He once came close to apologizing to council for being away on a cruise with his wife and asked if a matter that was on a future agenda could be moved until he got back.

John manages his files – how shall I put this, in his own unique way.  Paper work has never been his strong point – but details seldom gets past him.  He has been around long enough to know where the strengths are at city hall and where the level of accountability could be stronger.

If there was ever any doubt as to his political affiliation the smile Taylor wears as he sits at a desk in a replica of John George Diefenbaker’s office answers that question.

He is also the best link the city has between our city hall and the Regional offices.  Not a strong player at the provincial level – and one is never quite sure which side of the political spectrum John favors, he will go where he has to go to get what he wants.  For John Taylor it is all about Burlington – he is just an actor in a production he wants to see go on forever.

Taylor joined a Council that was led by Roly Bird. Joyce Savoline was a member of that Council as was and Walter Mulkewich, who went on to become Mayor.

Mulkewich says he “first met John Taylor when he was a citizen activist lobbying myself and City Council on the subject of then controversial subject of market value assessment in the mid nineteen eighties.  As a citizen activist he was knowledgeable, tenacious and committed to evidence based research.

“John brought those characteristics to his work as an elected Councillor for the past twenty-five years.  Most significantly, he carried into his role as a member and leader on Council,  his citizen roots, a strong sense of community,  a belief in fairness, and an ability to frame specific issues within a larger picture of where the city needs to go to continue to maintain an excellent quality of life for its citizens.”

Those who work with John will tell you of his approach to problems.  When the Bethany Residence had some problems – John was there; when the owner of the Phanton House in Kilbride had some problems, John was there.  When the fight to prevent Nelson Aggregates from getting an additional permit to quarry land in the Escarpment was really tough, John was there.

You will frequently see John meeting with someone who heads up a community group and slipping a cheque into their hands.

When the politicians want to do something John feels is fundamentally wrong council solidarity get tossed.  There was one occasion when Burlington’s city council wanted to go into a closes session to discuss a city salary matter and John said that if they did he was going to leave the council chamber and stand in the atrium of city hall and tell anyone who would listen, what council wanted to talk about in private.

The city’s solicitor recently wanted council to go into closed session to talk about (wait for it) the pier and John said he wouldn’t go along with that one – not until the report with the numbers in it was in his hands.

John reads the reports he is given and scoots around city hall to talk to staff and dig a little deeper.  He’s been doing this for 25 years and staff knows  he has done his homework.

John can be impish at times.  He can also be very impatient as well.  When Ward 2 Councillor Meed Ward once called for a recorded vote on five – might have been six – matters, Taylor who sits beside her,  rolled his eyes and stood up each time to vote against her motion.

While John was a true believer when it came to getting the hospital upgraded he wasn’t about to just turn over $60 million to the hospital.  In the early stages of the negotiations John argued strongly against the city putting up the money that was going to pay for a parking garage.  John wanted a bit more than that for $60 million.

There he stands, in the center, with members of the British Peerage, Lord and Lady Acton on the left and Regional Chair Gary Carr on the right.  They all got along just fine.

While Region likes to believe Burlington has an agricultural base John fully understands what there is north of Dundas.  He was part of a Regional tour more than a year ago during which he met the fifth Lord Acton.  Burlington seldom sees members of the British peerage in the city – but there he stood.  John Acton, a pig farmer who got along with those farmers on the tour, that is until Acton told the farmers that he loved all the pigs he had – about a dozen – and he knew the names of every one of them.  The room immediately saw a different farmer in front of them.

John Taylor stood beside the man whose forbearer, the first Lord Acton who in 1887 gave us the phrase: “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men.”.  When you talk about Burlington – you have to talk about John Taylor – and the power he had – he didn’t allow an ounce of it to corrupt him in any way whatsoever.

We are fortunate to have him.

Councillor Rick Craven on the left recomended John Taylor for the Jubilee medal. The two of them are the city’s strongest committee chairs.

Councillor Rick Craven put John Taylor’s name forward.  Other medal recipients are: Thomas Dykes, Dr. William Charles Procter and Officer Cadet David Brennan.


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Five adults, three youths scooped up by police in a coordinated three location raid discovered during undercover work.

REVISED

By Staff

BURLINGTON, ON.  February 17, 2013  Investigators with the Halton Regional Police Service Integrated Drug, Gun & Gang Unit began an undercover operation in January that has led to the arrest of eight Burlington residents.  Officers acting in an undercover capacity purchased cocaine, crack cocaine, cannabis marijuana and illegal prescription drugs (Oxycodone and Tylenol 3) from several drug traffickers.

Last Friday, the 15th,  members of the Integrated Drug, Gun and Gang Unit, Strategic Support Teams and the Tactical Response Unit executed three Controlled Drugs and Substances Act search warrants at residences within the City of Burlington.

Police seized approximately three pounds of cannabis marijuana, 14 grams of cocaine and Canadian currency as offence related property.

Three persons under the age of 18 years have been charged with trafficking a controlled substance and possession of a controlled substance. One person under the age of 18 years is currently outstanding on charges of trafficking a controlled substance.

Further investigation led to the following two individuals being released unconditionally.  They are not facing any criminal charges in relation to this matter:   Grant KENNEDY and  Andrew MORETUZO

The following persons have been charged;

Brian NAPPER (34 years) – trafficking a controlled substance, possession for the purpose of trafficking a controlled substance and breach of probation. NAPPER was held for a bail hearing.

Robert LODER (31 years) – trafficking a controlled substance and possession for the purpose of trafficking a controlled substance.

Melanie DALEJA (32 years) – possession of a controlled substance.

A group that large indicates there is a thriving drug business in the community – are our high schools a market for these drugs?

Anyone with information related to guns, drugs or other criminal activity within Halton Region, are encouraged to contact the Halton Regional Police Service at 905-878-5511 or contact Crime Stoppers at 1 800 222-TIPS(8477), through the web at www.haltoncrimestoppers.com or by texting “Tip201” with your message to 274637(crimes).

 

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Forty years of continuous service to a camera club that went on to become a Guild and part of the Burlington Art Centre.

By Jim Hamilton and Frank Myers

BURLINGTON, ON  February 18, 2013  In the spring of 1973, Bill Warren joined a new camera club being started in Burlington. The group,  named the Latow Camera Club, met once a month in the general meeting room on the second floor of the Burlington Mall.  Latow was understood to be a native word meaning ‘beam of light’.

Latow Photographers Guild President Tom Stephens congratulates Bill Warren on 40 years of continuous and outstanding service.

That was forty years ago and Bill Warren is still an active member – 40 years of continuous membership is quite an accomplishment.  However, Bill has not just been a passive member of the club; he has been a very active and key member of the Latow Photographers Guild for that whole time.

Over the years, Bill has mentored many Latow members.  He has served in executive and committee positions and was President for two separate terms.  Due to his love of black and white printing, the darkroom has been one of Bill’s favourites.  He has either obtained donations or built much of the equipment in those facilities and he has looked after its maintenance for years.

It was Bill’s idea to hold an annual photography seminar, an event that has made the Latow Photographers Guild known not only in Ontario but in New York and Quebec. He has served as its Chairman and did practically everything from obtaining speakers to almost single-handedly managing the event for many years.

It is this annual event that continues to fund much of the photographic equipment enjoyed at Latow today.

Bill was recognized a few years ago for some of his service to the community and participation in photography by being voted as Burlington’s Art Person of the Year.  However, Latow had never really officially honoured Bill to the extent he deserves, so it was felt that Bill’s fortieth year of continuous participation and service in the club was the right time.

In the back row from left to right:  David Craig – President 1976 – 79, Bill Shotton – President 1996 – 97,  Johan Wigt – President 1985 – 86,   Peter Young – President 2001 – 02, Joh Friedrich – President – 2005 – 07,  Tom Stephens – President 2011 – 13,  David Gruggen – President 1986 – 88,  Arnold Koopman – President 1973 – 74,  Jim Hamilton – President 1988 – 90,  Toni Browning – President 2002 – 04 & 2009 – 11,  Brian Hickey (never has been President but “old-time” member).  In the front row middle:  Bill Warren – President 1979 – 81 & 1992 – 94 

At Latow’s  monthly general meeting recently , the club made a presentation to Bill and announced the naming of the Burlington Art Centre’s darkroom and finishing room area “The W.J. (Bill) Warren Darkroom and Finishing Room”. Fifteen former Presidents attended to share in the occasion to honour Bill’s contributions.

Latow President Tom Stephens says, “There is no one who has been more giving of his time or has promoted Latow to a greater extent over the years than Bill Warren.  We’re very pleased that he continues to volunteer for many duties in service of Latow, even today.” In typically modest fashion, Bill replies that he feels he is the one who benefits from volunteering because he derives so much pleasure from it.


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Jubilee medals to be handed out by Mayor Goldring at Council meeting next week.

By Pepper Parr

BURLINGTON, ON.  February 15, 2013  Four Burlington residents will be awarded Queen Elizabeth II  Jubilee medals at a city council meeting on Tuesday, February 19th.

City Councillor John Taylor along with Thomas Dykes, Dr. William Charles Procter and Officer Cadet David Brennan will be given the medals by Mayor Rick Goldring who learned recently that as Mayor he could recommend people for the medal.

The front and back of the Jubilee medal that will be awarded to four Burlington residents at a city council meeting next Tuesday.

A new commemorative medal has been created to mark the 2012 celebrations of the 60th anniversary of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II accession to the Throne. The Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal will be a tangible way for Canada to honour Her Majesty for her service to this country. At the same time, it will serve to honour contributions and achievements made by Canadians, who represent the full breadth of our society.

During the year of celebrations, 60,000 deserving Canadians will be recognized. The inaugural presentation ceremony of the Diamond Jubilee Medal will take place in 2012.

The Chancellery of  Honours, as part of the Office of the Secretary to the Governor General, will administer the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal program.

Eligibility criteria

Eligible candidates must have met the following criteria: · have made significant contributions to Canada or to a particular province, territory, region or community within Canada, or for an outstanding achievement abroad that has brought great credit to Canada;  be citizens or permanent residents of Canada;  be alive on February 6, 2012. The award can be made posthumously, as long as the candidate was alive on that date.

Burlington’s 58 winners are among 2,000 recipients from Ontario and 60,000 from across Canada.

 

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Halton educational assistant arrested for possession of child pornography.

By Staff

BURLINGTON, ON. February 15th, 2013  A Burlington man , employed by the Halton Catholic District School Board, faces a charge of Possession of Child Pornography following an investigation by the Halton Regional Police Service – Internet Child Exploitation Unit.

On February 14, 2013, Gary O’Brien, 64 yrs, was arrested at his residence and held for a bail hearing scheduled for today at Milton Provincial Court.

The accused is an Educational Assistant at Notre Dame Catholic School in Burlington and has been suspended from his duties by the Halton Catholic District School Board.

The Halton Regional Police Service is committed to the thorough investigation of child exploitation incidents.  Any person with relevant information on this or any related matter is encouraged to contact the Internet Child Exploitation Unit at 905 825-4747 x8984, Crime Stoppers at 1 800 222-TIPS(8477), through the web at www.haltoncrimestoppers.com or by texting “Tip201” with your message to 274637(crimes).

 

 

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Ward 4 Councillor risks it all for his constituents – will he live to do that again?

By Pepper Parr

BURLINGTON, ON.  February 13, 2014  The public continually asks for leadership from its politicians.  Be bold they will say – but don’t ask for too much of our money.

Be transparent and keep me informed they will demand.  Hear what I am saying and give me what I want and understand that my viewpoint is the one that matters to me.

The poor politician is stuck in the middle of all these demands and often finds that he/she can’t satisfy anyone.  The objective for a politician is to find that delicate middle ground that keeps all the natives happy and keeps the politician in office without being totally bland and looking indecisive.

Jack Dennison who has been around the horse shoe at city hall for many years has recently shown some – well he will call it leadership – but his significant other may have a different phrase.

Here is a man who puts it all on the line when it comes to keeping his constituents informed. The significant other with him in this picture might not see his Valentine’s Day plans quite the way he does.

Jack Dennison holds meetings for his constituents frequently and always hold a budget meeting where he explains the objective, give his point of view and at times gets into heated discussions with those that show up.

The events usually take place in the meeting room that has a fire-place. Jack puts out a couple of bowls of popcorn and maybe coffee. Dennison doesn’t go the coffee and loads of cookies and sweets on the table.

This year – well let’s let Jack Dennison tell his own story.

It has been my tradition as Ward 4 Councillor to hold a yearly budget information session for Ward 4 residents.  It is important for me when sitting at the Council table as your Ward 4 representative to have heard from my constituents their comments about matters – in this case, the proposed budget.  My yearly Ward 4 budget information meeting also provides residents the opportunity to meet and ask questions directly to the city’s Finance staff.

Timing of my Ward 4 meeting is of the utmost importance, as I schedule the meeting following staff information budget sessions (for Council), and prior to the Council meeting where the budget is approved.  This year, I am unfortunately in a predicament where the only evening available between the staff information budget session and the Council meeting is on the Thursday, February 14th.  I am of the opinion to proceed with the February 14th date with an early 6:30 pm start time enabling attendees to still have time to celebrate Valentine’s Day following the meeting.

Is she going to wait at home on Valentine’s Day while Jack talks to his constituents about tax increases?

Now that is a bold and decisive stand – pretty sure Jack didn’t run this one in front of the significant other.   I won’t be their.  I’m not the fearless journalist I would have to be, to go to a meeting on Valentine’s Day.  It’s roses, good wine and  triple Brie cheese for me and the Misses.  Let me know how it goes and if you’re limping on the 15th – well then we will know won’t we?

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Standing room only if you are delegating at city council: so much for accommodating the aging population.

By Pepper Parr

BURLINGTON, ON  February 11, 2013 The late Jane Irwin tweaked city council’s nose during the meeting she attended last Monday evening, before she died the following Thursday, when she remarked,  pointedly, that  council members and staff sit in comfortable seats while delegations have to stand.

Many of the delegations use a walker to get to council meetings and need their canes to get to the podium.  They are given ten minutes to speak and then remain to answer questions.  For some that is not a comfortable physical experience.

This delegation left her cane on the table where she could make use of it if needed.  A chair to sit on would have been appreciated.  Our Council chamber is not geared to people with ambulatory problems.

The City Clerk’s Office say they are looking to have a chair available for people to sit at but that means getting a table they can sit at as well – and right now there isn’t anything in place where a speaker can sit, have access to a microphone and a place to put their notes.

Our Council Chamber has a wee bit of a shabby look to it, a sort of retro-fifties feel and a sense of it being a “tired room”.  The “optics” are terrible.  For a city what wants to attract those high-tech companies and their well-paying jobs what we have in the way of a council chamber is a bit of an embarrassment.

To add to the visual presentation one must add a comment of the sound system.  When the city manager is meeting with council he sits inside the horse show where the microphone he has to use is of such poor quality it is often close to impossible to hear what he is saying – and with this city manager you want to listen very carefully.

Burlington talks of its aging population.  It talks of its engaged citizens but then does very little to make them comfortable at council meetings.

It got to be a little too much for this delegation – she had to take her cane off the table and use it to lean on while she shifted herself from foot to foot. Delegations are made to stand before Council like serfs with their hats in their hands. We need to upgrade our manners.

Cathy Unsworth came to Council last week to talk on a heritage matter that impacted property she owned in the west end of the city.  Before getting into her delegation she commented on being asked by the Clerk’s office if she was going to speak for the staff report or against the staff report.  Ms Unsworth just wanted to talk and didn’t feel she had to say she was for or against something.

She makes a very valid point.  People who choose to address Council need to be treated with more respect. And consideration has to be made for their ambulatory needs.

When a person calls city hall to register as a delegate the Clerk should send them a Briefing paper explaining the rules and procedures that are followed.  Including a letter from the Mayor welcoming the person as a delegation would be a nice touch as well.

There should be paper, pencil, a pitcher with water and paper cups for delegations to use.

Burlington isn’t some little hick town.  We are a city with a population approaching 175,000 people.  Our Council Chamber should reflect both who we are and how we want to be seen.

Time for an upgrade.

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She saw herself as a “loyal opposition” and served her city very, very well. Jane Irwin dead.

By Pepper Parr

BURLINGTON, ON  February 8, 2013  A tireless fighter who saw herself as part of a “loyal opposition” when she spoke to a city council committee Monday of last week – Jane Irwin died Thursday evening.

Jane was a force to contend with who did not go quietly into the night.  Monday evening she addressed a committee of city council and began her talk by telling members of council that while they were sitting in comfortable seats there were delegations who had to shift their cane from side to side and stand as they spoke and answered questions.

Jane Irwin’s husband Richard, gives her an affectionate pat on the arm as she prepares to delegate to a city council committee on why cultural heritage value matters.

Jane was speaking to council about heritage homes; one of the passions of her life.  Her husband Richard reached over and gave her an affection pat on the arm as she rose to speak to the Infrastructure and Development Committee that was considering a report from Heritage Burlington, the city’s Advisory Committee on heritage matters.  They wanted to remove immediately all the homes on the much maligned “B” list, which is part of the city’s Municipal Register of Cultural Heritage Resources.   The B list was part of a Registry the city maintains of homes that are felt to have some historic or cultural value to the city.

Irwin believed the city was getting rid of close to one-third of the properties in the city with significant cultural heritage.

Any home on the B list of the Municipal Register of Cultural Heritage Resources could not be demolished without going through a 60 day waiting period.

Many home owners and several council members felt this wait requirement was a financial encumbrance on what a property owner could get if it were put up for sale.   The real estate community likes to perpetuate that point – that having to wait 60 days would lessen the amount a property would fetch on the open market.  There is no evidence, other than the word of real estate agents who are looking for a listing, that a 60 day wait impacts the value of a property.

The disappearance of the B list would mean close to one-third of the homes that have historic cultural value would be taken off the Registry could then be demolished by anyone who wanted to apply for a permit to do so, and that was why Jane Irwin stood, for what turned out to be the last time, before city council, imploring them to fully understand what they were doing and to perhaps re-think what she fully expected them to do.

“Why is it” asked Jane Irwin, “that the city of Burlington has a reputation for being boring?   A good many interesting people have lived here and a lot of interesting people still live here.”  Burlington’s reputation had not kept up with the change and growth of the city, she maintained.

“Burlington is not the most fascinating, the most interesting place or the most inspiring city on the planet – not even in Halton.  In fact it is called BORINGTON.  Is that news to any of you?”  she asked, while Mayor Goldring sat glumly in his seat.

She spoke passionately, she told city council that Burlington was known as BORINGTON and that the city lacked character and colour. she told them that cultural heritage matter and that without it the city would be “hollowed out”. None of it mattered – they voted to get rid of what Irwin maintained was one-third of the properties in the city and on the Registry, with historical significance,

“There is no question why we are perceived as a bland place, there is nothing special, nothing unique about us – we lack character and have no sense of identity”, she said

“We are not a real place, not a place with any interesting character”, she added.

Irwin said she was reminded of a comment an American author made about the city in California she lived in when she said: “There is no there, there.”

Irwin though that perhaps the author’s home town was too new to have a history but then realized that the history it did have, had probably been hollowed out and that is what Irwin thinks has happened to Burlington.

“Every place on earth has a history, a past, character and a story to tell.  “I’m suggesting” said Irwin “that something comparable has happened to Burlington – our past, our history, has been hollowed out.  Identity for both people and places can be hollowed out”, she added.

Irwin explained that “People lose their sense of identity from the inside when they lose their memories, places lose their identity when their history is lost when their places are lost, when the history turns into amnesia – you’ve heard some examples of that here tonight.”

“The outside characteristics of personal identity are lost when the physical reality of their identity, the quirkiness and the scars of their life are forgotten, either because they were in a witness protection program or they had cosmetic surgery”, explained Irwin.

“Places lose the visible reality of their identity when their historical built structures and streetscapes are erased or replaced. Those of you who have been listening to me will realize that I am talking about what planners call cultural heritage value.

Some think cultural heritage value is an academic term dreamed up by people who do not live in the real world.

Cultural historic value is what I’ve been talking about; a sense of identity, a sense of something authentic, something real.  It is a part of our experience of everyday life – it is rooted in our common experience.”

“People feel this” maintained Irwin, who went on to explain that while cultural heritage value may not be a term many understand or are comfortable with – “ but it is really the same as quality of life,  which we do understand, advocate and promote.  Heck it’s even in the city’s Strategic Plan

They will feel that, they will experience that and so cultural historic value is what we know as quality of life. – a term that is accepted”.

Jane Irwin, at her very best.

Irwin’s concern was that while there are thousands of people in Burlington who live in the homes that were built in the 1910’s and 1920’s – removing the 350 on the B list has the potential to put those buildings at risk.

There is a limited supply of these buildings and your vote today vote will, if this council votes true to form, will remove 350 properties – one third of our heritage.

“These B properties” explained Irwin, “have not been re-evaluated, none have been re-inspected and we don’t have adequate information on which to make decisions”.  She went on to say that “we are throwing out the babies with the bath water.  People are being told that heritage homes don’t count.”

“Perhaps this is a time-saving exercise – remove these 350 homes from the Registry and you never have to deal with them again.”

“You ignore your staff reports” said Irwin, “you often deride them.”

In the end – it didn’t matter.  Council in committee voted to keep ten properties on the Registry until the end of June when the evaluations are complete and a decision can be made as to what stays on the Registry and what can be removed.

What was certain however was that the B portion of the Registry is now “history”, literally.  Councillor Craven summed it up when he said after six years of bitter, nasty debate, compromises have to be made.  “While I regret losing the B’s” he said, “I am prepared to give them up.”

Council in committee voted to accept the report.

 

 

 

 

 

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What did weather do to you? City hall shut down at 3:00 pm Friday; a lady on our street said she now feels like a Canadian.

By Pepper Parr

BURLINGTON,ON. February 9th, 2013

We kept hearing about it – it was coming.  It was going to be a meet up between an Alberta Clipper and a Texas Low – sounded like a couple of poker players.  The city went to be assured that the roads people were all on stand by with everything that had a plow on it available if it was needed.

When we woke up on Friday morning to bring in the newspaper the street was white and eerily quiet.  Everything covered in a thick blanket of snow that just got thicker as the day wore on.

Many people made it a “snow day” and did their work from home.  Anyone with a snow blower gave it the work out of the year – those guys were in one of the heavens showing the missus what a man could do when he had the right tools.

Everything that had a surface got covered.

The city put out bulletins telling everyone what was open – there were some locations open – and what was closed.

The City of Burlington is providing an update regarding what city buildings are open and closed, how the city is managing snow clearing during the storm, and the status of Burlington Transit operations.

All city-delivered programs, such as swimming lessons, are cancelled today. Buildings that remain open will be available for scheduled user groups to operate their programs and will serve as warming centres.

WHAT IS OPEN: City Hall, Tansley Woods Community Centre, Appleby Ice Centre, Burlington Seniors’ Centre (as a drop-in centre, without formal programming) and Brant Hills Community Centre

WHAT IS CLOSED: Angela Coughlan Pool, Burlington Centennial Pool, Aldershot Pool, Aldershot Arena, Central Arena, Mainway Arena, Skyway Arena, Nelson Arena, Music Centre, Velocity (youth centre), All Burlington Public Library branches, Halton District School Board, Halton District Catholic School Board, Burlington Chamber of Commerce, Tourism Burlington, Mohawk College and McMaster University

The city was in close to full shut down mode

The city put every truck it had out on the streets and did their best to stay ahead of the weather.

SNOW CLEARING: The city controlled overnight accumulations mainly by salting and sanding. When heavier snowfall began at about 5:30 a.m., all city road units were deployed and are now plowing the multi-lane, primary roads.  Once the primary roads are cleared, plows will move into secondary and local roads. See www.burlington.ca/snow for details about snow control and service levels.

BURLINGTON TRANSIT: Buses, including conventional accessible buses, are running about 15 to 20 minutes behind schedule. Burlington Transit Handi-Van service is available for critical medical transport but suspended for all other purposes.

While city hall may have been closed – someone was in there updating the web sites.

For many it was Family Day a week early.  One father blasts away at the snow while the kids run into the  oncoming cloud.

For many it was the weather we all wanted last weekend for the Lowville winter Games and the weather we would have liked next weekend when we have a family day.  Burlingtonians made the best of the weather with all the kids outside working off all that energy.  It was time to tuck in and snuggle down for a movie, hot chocolate and pop corn.

Saturday morning at close to 10:30 am the city put out a media release:

Burlington, Ont.—Feb. 9, 2013—The City of Burlington continues its snow cleanup today and has returned all city buildings to normal operation.

The city plowed primary roads overnight, cleared local roads through the night and plowed sidewalks and parking lots. The clearing of bus stops is ongoing.

The city will clean up turn lanes and on-street parking bays starting today. It will also salt and sand roads, as needed, and continue plowing secondary roads and sidewalks.

“I want to thank residents for their patience as we get travel in the city back to normal,” said Scott Stewart, General Manager of development and infrastructure. “City crews are working diligently to make sure we can all get around safely.”

I don’t for a second believe that Scott Stewart actually said those words – they were put in his mouth by someone with a pen and paper.

The media release went on to say:  For snow clearing updates posted three times daily, visit www.burlington.ca/snow.

The city had made it through all the winter we are probably going to have.  All those over 50 will settle the kids into bed and tell them of the days when this was winter was like all winter.

Meanwhile Dan Lawrie, the Burlington insurance executive we interviewed by telephone Thursday after noon on the progress of the Spiral Stella he was helping to fund, told us, when asked, that the weather in Florida was fine.  “82 and sunny” he said cheerfully. “What’s it like up there?” he asked.  I didn’t want to tell him.

 

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Recognition wasn’t quite good enough – now they will be called Burlington’s BEST. Who will they be this year?

By Staff

BURLINGTON, ON  February 7, 2013  There are some who will tell you that you have a healthy community when there is an arena and a Tim Horton’s close by.  It takes a little more than that to create community – it takes people to organize the events at that arena and people who have things to talk about that matter to the community.

Burlington has, since 1965, recognized and celebrated its community leaders with the Civic Recognition Awards. That hasn’t changed. But the name of these awards is going to change – they will from this year forward be known as Burlington’s Best to better reflect both the diverse nature of the awards and the calibre of the nominees. Also new this year: Heritage Person of the Year award.

Previous Civic Recognition Award winners include M.M. Robinson, Keith Strong, John Boich, Rainer Noack  and the Burlington Teen Tour Band.

The city now turns this initiative over to the community who determine just who the best are.  Anyone can submit a name.  Do you know someone who has made a difference in the community? Someone who has helped make Burlington a better place to live, work and play?  Go on-line, get the forms and send them in.

Nominations are open until March 8, 2013 for the following categories:

•                  Citizen of the Year

•              Junior Citizen of the Year

•              Environmental Award

•              Arts Person of the Year

•              Community Service Award

•              Senior Person of the Year

•              Heritage Person of the Year

The submissions get sent to the city, and anyone can submit a recommendation.  Once the deadline closes March 8th a committee of six people begin their work.  That committee is made up of:

Adam Smith (Chair)

Keith Strong

Bob Chambers

Lauren Jones

Kayla van Zon

Ann Coburn

Recipients of the Recognition Awards last year, from the left were: Michelle Bennett Environment, Sam Kawazoye Community Service, Trevor Copp Arts , Mayor Goldring, Wendy Hager, Citizen of the Year, Dan Taylor Junior Citizen and Jim Frizzle, Senior of the year.

The Best get recognized at a dinner held at the Burlington Convention Centre May 9th.  Tickets are available at city hall anytime after March 1st.

Last year’s Civic Recognition Award recipients went on to continue to make the city we live in a better place

For online nomination forms and for more information, visit www.burlington.ca/best or call Danielle Pitoscia at 905-335-7600, ext. 7375.

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How do we see ourselves – do we like what they are showing us; do we agree with what they are telling us?

By Pepper Parr

BURLINGTON, ON.  February 6th, 2013  So what do we think of ourselves and the way we are served by the different levels of government we pay taxes to?  Is asking these questions a good way to spend tax dollars?  Those are questions you get to ask when you vote next.

This is a listing of what Burlingtonians see as the most appealing aspects of their city.  How much do you agree with these findings?

What are the most important issues for Burlington? They are listed here and shown how what is important to us – relates to how important it is to others. We get to see how we are different. Do you agree with what the charts are telling you?

Quality of life: In Burlington the polling sample said they put us at 95% if you include Excellent and Good.  Other large and small communities don’t see themselves quite the same way.  You just KNOW that this bit of information will replace the very tired and worn – Second best city in the country to live in.

Most important thing the government does for you?  There are too many in the “Other” and “Don’t know” categories – suggests the people who pay for the government we have aren’t all that thrilled with what they are getting.

For now – look at the questions and the answers.  A well-respected Canadian company that has been doing public opinion polling for some time did a poll of Ontario communities both large and small and medium too – asking the same questions of a sample that was just under 400 people.

Experience with city staff.  Rankings in that “going the extra mile” could be a lot higher; other than that Burlington isn’t that different from the others.

Local government spending – this is where you want your tax dollars spent.  Roads are what it is all about – with transit at least being recognized.

Use of government services:  People are using the services government provides and they are talking to staff that don’t go the extra mile.  What does that tell us?

Are we getting value for our tax dollars?

If push comes to shove; did you want the city to increase taxes to pay for the services you are getting or would you rather they cut the services.  Mayor Goldring interprets this to mean that half of us would accept a tax increase and half us would not.  Tough call.

If the city found it had to cut services – this is the list they are likely to work from – it suggests the arts would take the biggest hit.

They broke out the individual results for Burlington and for the princely sum of $10,000 you get to learn what we think of ourselves.

Burlington is where we live but the Region provides very essential services: Garbage pick up, water, sewage and police services as well as social services. The Niagara GTA highway would not have been stopped in its tracks – at least for the time being were it not for solid support from the Region

City Manager Jeff Fielding sees that data as an important part of the process of engaging the community.

The results are interesting.

This is YOUR Burlington – do you see it the way the public opinion poll gauges it to be?

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Close to 250 people bring in their personal artifacts that might become part of Burlington’s recoded history .

By Pepper Parr

BURLINGTON, ON  February 6, 2013  They came to be part of the city’s history.  They brought big items, small items, personal items and significant items.  Everything they brought was photographed, recorded and then pressed into clay from which artist Peter Powning would make a casting out of bronze and place in the Spiral Stella that would sit outside the Performing Arts Centre at the intersection of Locust and Elgin Streets.

The fascinated eyes of children – these two are totally focused on what artist Peter Powning is doing with an artifact they brought in as part of the cultural mulch event held at the Burlington Art Centre.  Artifacts were collected to become part of the Spiral Stella that will be erected in front of the Performing Arts centre in July.

Close to 250 people brought in their “stuff” . Don Graves, a local artist, who happened to be at the Burlington Art Centre last Saturday hosting his first solo exhibit had his wife take his walking cane to have a clay impression made.

Jonathan Smith,  Curator of the Permanent Collection at the Burlington Arts centre,  brought in a pocket watch with a fob engraved with the words St. Andrews College, 1929 in cursive type.  That kind of craftsmanship isn’t seen anymore.

Melanie Booth on the left hands over her Olympic Bronze medal which she won as part of the Women’s soccer team.  Jeremy Freiburger, on the right,  chief cheese at CoBalt Connects, the company that manages Burlington’s public art program registers the medal which was later pressed into clay to make the impression from which a bronze casting will be made.

The stunner for some was Melanie Booth’s Olympic Bronze medal that brought out a very small faux pas from Powning, who to be fair was seeing a lot of artifacts and didn’t realize he had an Olympic medal in his hands.

He asked Ms Booth: “What’s the story behind this” as he arranged a slab of clay to make the impression.  Powning hadn’t read the words on the medal, he was trying to figure out which side he would make the impression from but when Ms Booth said “it’s my Olympic bronze medal given to the Canadian woman’s soccer team” Powning’s head shot up when he replied – “really!”

This is an example, called a maquette, of the type of sculpture Peter Prowning will be doing for Burlington.  Each sculpture he does is significantly different.  The bands wrapped around the first nine feet of the 16 foot sculpture will hold the bronze casting being made from the clay impressions done this past week in Burlington.  It will be a very impressive piece of public art

The way the gold medal for soccer was lost is something few Canadians think much about now.  If it ends up as part of the Spiral Stella it will become part of the visual history of the city.

Powning was holding what he called a “cultural mulch.  An event that had him looking at everything he was given, nothing was turned away if he could make an impression in clay, and at the same time thinking about how each piece might be used.

The bronze castings would be worked into the sculpture which will tell part of Burlington’s cultural past.

One man brought an old, rusted pair of roller skates, the kind you had to strap onto your shoes.

Dan Lawrie, the man who felt there should be some art outside the Performing Arts Centre put his money where his mind had gone and funded a portion of the cost of the sculpture.  Lawrie who paints when he isn’t working had impressions made from some of his art implements.

With 240 impressions made into the slabs of clay Powning now takes everything back to his studio in New Brunswick and begins the process of casting the bronze pieces that will be part of the first nine feet of the 16 foot sculpture.

He will be doing all the forge work at his studio in New Brunswick and shipping the work to Burlington where it will be installed – which will get a little tricky.  With art there are no firm time lines – not quite like making a pie and knowing that it needs 35 minutes in the oven at 425 degrees.

Some excavation work has to be done at the front of the Performing Arts centre to get the base in place. There is a pipeline right underneath that has to be dealt with.  The pipeline people will be on hand to make sure someone doesn’t bite into that line.

And then there is a wedding scheduled to take place at the Performing Arts Centre at that time.  The bride is not going to want to walk down the “aisle” to the sound of a jack hammer.

But it will all come together and sometime during the second half of July the sculpture will be in place and we can expect groups of people to gather at the site for years to come.  One wonders what the Tourism people will do to promote the sculpture.

Johnathan Smith, Curator of the Permanent Collection at the Burlington Art Centre brings in a pocket watch with a fob that has a 1929 inscription on it. Peter Powning presses the fob into clay from which her will later make a bronze casting that will become part of the Spiral Stella that will be erected outside the Performing Arts Centre

Burlington has done some exceptionally good work with sculpture.  There is the magnificent naval memorial at Spencer Smith Park where the bronze casting is more traditional.  Then there are the orchids which are a delight – just in the wrong place – a point that Councillor Taylor commented on at a recent council meeting.  At some point this city just might do the “orchids” justice and put them in a location where they can be both appreciated an enjoyed.  Stuck at the entrance to a railway grade separation is close to the stupidest things the art people in this city have ever done.  Why didn’t someone stand up when that decision was being made and ask: “Are you kidding?”  But we didn’t – we will get there.

A local videographer, Bob Fleck, has been following Peter Powning around and we can expect to see a bit of film at some point.

CoBalt Connects, the organization that manages the city’s cultural plan has been talking to students at Mohawk and McMaster about the idea of doing a three-dimensional video on the sculpture that would allow people to look at the detail and spot artifacts that they contributed.  Good idea.

We are seeing a different approach to how we create, display and promote the arts in this city.  The long-term cultural plan will address some of the concerns local artists have about not being included or taken seriously.  Progress.

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Police seize weapons at Halton Region home.

By Pepper Parr

BURLINGTON, ON.  February 6. 2013   We live in a society that has some very violent people. The Halton Regional Police Service Integrated Drug, Gun & Gang Unit received information recently that a handgun was being stored within a residence on Sixth Line in the Town of Oakville.

Viscous devices meant to hurt people seized during a police search of a Halton region home.

Members of the Integrated Drug Gun and Gang Unit, with the assistance of Oakville uniformed officers, executed a Criminal Code search warrant at the residence. During the search, a number of prohibited weapons were seized including the following:

•              Gabilondo .22 calibre semi automatic handgun

•              49 rounds of ammunition

•              3 Shuriken

•              A Morning Star

•              2 sets of Bladed Brass Knuckles

The resident at 6th Line was released unconditionally due to a number of medical issues. The investigation of the seized weapons is continuing.

Anyone with information related to guns, drugs or other criminal activity within Halton Region, are encouraged to contact the Halton Regional Police Service at 905-878-5511 or contact Crime Stoppers at 1 800 222-TIPS(8477), through the web at www.haltoncrimestoppers.com or by texting “Tip201” with your message to 274637(crimes).

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Council doesn’t seem to want to record how they vote at committee level; not their smartest decision this year.

By Pepper Parr

BURLINGTON, ON.  February 5, 2013   In a review of the Procedural bylaw, a document that sets out how members of city council are to behave, a Staff report revealed that council members don’t want to have how they vote on matters at the committee level recorded.

In Burlington everything that gets approved by city council first goes to as Standing Committee.  At that level the debate is often quite vigorous and citizens can delegate and speak for up to ten minutes.  Delegating is a simple matter.  

Delegations are heard and council members can and often do ask questions.  Some citizens come to meetings very well prepared and they get into a healthy question and answer session with council members.

When the delegations are completed Council members will ask questions of staff.

This significant seven, the ones that determine what you are going to get in the way of services and how much you will be taxed don’t want to take the time to allow for recorded votes at the council committee level. But you’re going to give them a pay raise this year.

After that council members are free to make comments.  At any point in this process any member of council can move the report, which means they get to vote on what they want to do with the document.

The document that is being moved usually has a recommendation attached to it.  Council members can make amendments, they can amend each other’s amendment (which gets funny at times because they get lost in their own paper work) and eventually they vote on what they want to do as a committee.

And that for media is where the problem crops up – these votes at the committee level are not formally recorded.  Those of us at the media table often can’t tell who voted for or against a report.  Each council member has their own unique way of indicating to the chair that they are for or against something.

That’s not what the democracy we are teaching in high schools is about – and we are teaching high school students what democracy is about aren’t we?

Here is the way this was explained in the Staff Report:

“With respect to recorded voting at standing committee meetings, members of Council

on the review team expressed differing viewpoints. Acknowledging that

recommendations from committee are intended to be a preliminary position on a matter,

it was felt that recording a member’s vote at that stage of deliberation could inhibit a

member from changing his or her position later at Council should new information

become available. It was also noted that recorded voting would slow the transaction of

business at committee meetings. As the review team did not have consensus on the

matter, a recommendation on recorded voting is not included within this report and

would require direction from Council. Nonetheless, the sentiment of the review team

was that if recorded votes were to be permitted at Committee, these would be restricted

to the main motions (and main motions as amended) but would not be applied to

amendments themselves or any secondary motions tabled.                        

That has to be some of the limpest explanation you are likely to read about this Council.

Recording a vote at committee level could inhibit a member from changing their position at Council: it certainly didn’t stop the Mayor from changing his position on the Lakeshore bike issue.

There is nothing wrong with changing ones vote.  New information becomes available or there is a flood of pressure – remember these men and woman are politicians and they have to be re-elected if they are to keep their jobs.

The report got even sillier when it said recorded votes would slow the transaction of business – that’s a hoot.  The report did suggest members of council could be more obvious in how they vote – and in the last few days they have been putting their hands up a little higher.

When the matter came up for discussion at the committee level the only member who spoke to the report was Ward 2 Councillor Meed Ward who regretted that the report did not call for recorded votes.  No one else said a word; something to keep in mind next election.  We’ll remind you.

The upshot of it all was:

Without a consensus from Councillors polled, the procedural by-law review committee has not proposed a revision to the procedural by-law at this time on the use of recorded votes at standing committee.

Council did spend a lot of time on a public opinion survey that told us, again, how wonderful we are.  We paid $10,000 for the report.

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Less than twenty people show up at the BAC for first peek at the 2013 city spending plan. City manager lays out the options.

By Pepper Parr

BURLINGTON, ON.  February 5, 2013  Budget time for the city.  This is going to be a tough one for Burlington to get through.  The amount of money coming in is lower and the amount that different boards want to spend is higher and the city has some core decisions to make on what lines of business it wants to be in and what it might be able to get out of.

In a survey the city had done recently, (cost – $10,000) Burlington tax payers were said to be satisfied with most things and were compared to other medium and large organizations.

These charts compare satisfaction levels in Burlington with other Ontario large and medium size municipalities.

Each year the city invites the public to a presentation of the budget and asks those attending to take part in an exercise  that gives the room instant answers to questions asked.  Each participant is given a little device – sort of like a TV remote – which they use to indicate what they think about the questions asked.  The results are tabulated immediately. This process gives the city a first look at how the public – make that taxpayers – are reacting to the spending plans.

The audience this year was considerably smaller than that of last year when the fireman showed up in force – that show of force was almost intimidating.  There were about 40 people in the room at the Burlington Art Centre this year – of which 19 were public and 18 city hall staff or politicians.

Hopefully when the library opens in Alton Village next year the city will hold an event in the northern part of Burlington; those people have been left out of the loop for far too long.

This is where the money raised is being spent.  The amounts shown are for every $100,ooo of property assessment.  If your property is assessed at $300,000 multiply the numbers shown by 3.

With so few people taking part,  it was not easy to see a tend except for comments on the funding increase the Burlington Performing Arts Centre has asked for this year – and projected out for the next three years as well.  One citizen wanted a referendum held to decide if the place should be kept; a little too late for that question.

Burlington’s historical tax rates with Consumer Price Index shown as well as tax increases for other urban municipalities.

Transit was also an issue for some people. What was evident again this year was how quickly staff would dig out the specifics on a spending question a member of the public might have and how pointed most of the questions were.  Most people had “their” agenda and they spoke to that.

This is the dirty one. It shows the estimated renewal requirement for 10 years along with the 10 year budget – we are short by 60% + and if not caught up we will have to rebuild roads completely at a very significant cost.

Local boards want an additional $1.4 million.  The Economic Development Corporation wants $1 million.  Transit spending that was pulled from the 2012 budget shows up in 2013

This is where the money comes from.

This is the time line the city will work to for completion of the 2013 budget.  If they don’t make the schedule – not to worry – the treasurer has authority to mail out a tax bill.

 

 

The city is undergoing a very significant change in the way it manages itself.   Three new concepts are in the process of being introduced:

Results Based Accountability, a process that will measure outcomes and better manage performance.

Business Process Management, which is a much tighter look at evaluating the capacity the city has to improve on the services it delivers.

Service Based Budgeting, which defines the services being delivered and matching the value of those services to the budget the city chooses to live within.

The condition of our roads wasn’t a question but it was certainly an issue from the city’s point of view.  Last year $1.2 million was spent on a procedure called “shave and pave” that extends the life of a road considerably – delaying a very costly re-build.  Burlington expects its roads to last 50 years before they have to be completely re-built.  The amount to be used on road repair for 2013 was set at $2 million

The city collects money for the Board of Education and for the Region, which includes the cost of the police force.  Of every dollar the city collects – 60 cents gets passed along to others.

The public meeting was preceded by a city council meeting where City Manager Jeff Fielding outlined the issues as he saw them and added that he is going to have to recast the capital budget and would rather have produced a two-year forecast rather than the traditional 10 year capital forecast.

Burlington is moving to an “asset management” approach to the facilities they have.  They will use an approach called “life cycle costing” as they city moves into a stage where residential tax revenue will stall and commercial tax revenues will undergo a reduction until the city gets a better grip on how its employments lands can be better utilized.

The capital budget proposed amounts to $551 million and covers roadways, storm water management, facilities and buildings, parks and open space, parking, fleet vehicles, information technology and corporate initiatives.

Fielding explained to Council that he was going to be able to hold the tax increase at 1.85%, which he thought was pretty good given the challenges the city faces.  Where Fielding was gulping was with the growth items that would add 4.5% to the tax hike – an amount Councillor Meed Ward saw as “untenable” and no one else wanted to get attached to either.  Mayor Goldring did say at that meeting that 6.5% was not on but that there was going to be something more than the just over 2% last year.

The budget process got a little bumpy as well this time around.  Fielding thought part of his job was to comment on the budgets submitted by the local boards (Library, Museum, Art Centre, Performing Art Centre and the Economic Development Corporation) and was brought to heel by the Library Board when they objected to his comments on the way they were staffing for the new Library in Alton Village.

Fielding wants a “governance” discussion that will clarify his role.  He told the Council he serves that “we do have to have a governance discussion…the boards represent you at arm’s length. They have more power than I have as a civic administrator.  You gave them that authority to run the service and you look to those boards for the advice you need.  They did that.”

“You saw the push back from the library when we even asked if they could find the staff they need for the new Alton Village library from within their current staffing compliment.  You saw that they were offended.

Fielding wants Council to decide if he is to have anything to do with the budgets the boards produce.  He’s in a bit of a bind; he has no oversight but he has to find the money they ask for.  “If you change your minds and want me to do that work and review their growth items then you need to make that clear to me and also make it clear to the boards.”  We have a bit of a turf struggle going on here.  The city manager should win this one.

This is the third budget this council has delivered and it will be significantly different from the last two.  The Burlington Performing Arts Centre wants an additional $225,000.  The Economic Development Corporation wants close to $1 million to restructure.  The Museums came in with a different story and announced that they had raised close to $85,000 in grants and didn’t appear to need any financial help.  They do want $7,000 plus to convert a part-time curatorial position to full-time.  The Burlington Arts Centre wants a  $125,000 addition to their base funding in 2013 and the same amount in 2014 plus $45,00 to align their compensation with provincial regulations. Sound of Music is asking for $37,000 more.

The Burlington Performing Arts Centre needs a $225,000 touch up as well.  All these “asks” add up to $4.5 million which will add more than 4% to the tax rate.

Meed Ward isn’t on for this even though most of the people with their hand out are within her ward.  She talked of the “lived” experience her constituents have to live with where they are asked to “reduce spending by 2% to 5%” while Burlington has put in place an across the board 2% for the boards.

Councillor Craven, who can fume almost as well as Councillor’s Taylor and Craven, said he agreed with Taylor about the need to look at the budget numbers but disagreed with Taylor on where the changes have to take place.  Craven says the cuts have to be made by Council and that “we can’t continue to push this onto our staff. “It’s about leadership”, he said.

The focus for 2013 is going to be infrastructure and the hospital levy.  The others are going to have to learn how to cut corners.  The Performing Arts people are probably going to be told to use their reserve to cover the 2012 short-fall.

The Burlington Economic Development Corporation might take the biggest hit.  “I don’t know” said city manager Fielding, “if the Economic Development Corporation has a future going forward.”  That’s code for – polish the resumes fellow, the gig is over.  Fielding said this is “something her has to look at.”

 

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Things are getting a little hurried at city hall; legal department is scurrying around to get reports into the hand of Councillors.

By Pepper Parr

BURLINGTON, ON  February 4th, 2013  A confidential report on the pier being built at the foot of Brant Street was scheduled for a meeting of the Budget and Corporate Services Committee tomorrow.

The Development and Infrastructure Committee meeting for the first time in its new format was advised this afternoon that the confidential report in the pier would be discussed at the evening portion of the Infrastructure and Development committee – which got the ire of Councillor John Taylor going – he didn’t want to go into a closed session of council to discuss a report that he has not yet read.

Usually an easy man to get along with – but grumpy, grumpy, grumpy when reports are not ready for him to read and review. John Taylor does nothing on the fly – legal department is going to have to smooth his ruffled feathers.

Councillor Taylor can get touchy at times with sudden changes.  While he groused city solicit Nancy Shea Nicol took him aside and explained that she would not be giving the a report because there were “some financials” that were not complete but that she would be giving a verbal report that would be followed up by the full document.

OK – but what’s the rush?  The report wasn’t due until Tuesday – tomorrow.  Is there something going on out there that the public has not been told about?

You bet your bippy there is.  The city is has entered the discovery process that has each of the parties in the dispute asking each other questions based on the documentation that has been provided.

That’s when the full story comes into focus and that is when lawyers ask themselves – is this something we should try to settle now or is this something we are solid on so we will go to trial?

The reason for the hurrying

and scurrying is that someone wants to talk settlement.

The reason for the hurrying and scurrying is that someone wants to talk settlement.  Who – that would be guessing.  Who has the most to lose?   The city is in the middle of all this – battling both Harm Schilthuis and Sons Ltd. and AECOM for the princely sum of $7.5 million.  If they lose council members will have a lot of explaining to do – not something you want to get into when you are into the second half of their term of office.

Having spent a princely sum on legal fees to date the city has to be looking at any offer to settle that might have been made.

Last week the city disclosed that it had spent $2.1 million on fighting the Nelson Aggregate application for an additional permit to quarry on the Mt. Nemo plateau.  That was a good fight that took many, many months of hearings.  The cost of the legal stuff on the pier will make the Nelson hearings look like chump change.

Next week, Henry Schilthuis undergoes discovery as does the city’s Director of Engineering Tom Eichenbaum.  Ir is interesting to note that neither Phil Kelly or Tim Commisso are part of the discovery process – both were key players and on the city’s payroll when the problems with the toppling crane and the concrete pour that failed took place.

It’s getting interesting down at city hall.  Different Councillors are beginning to talk casually about where the developer is wrong and that the city has a solid case.

Stay tuned.

As for the actual construction of the pier – that’s going great.  There is every reason to expect the thing to open officially during the Sound of Music festivities in June of this year.  The contractor (one of four who bid on the pier)

Early morning view of the pier in September.  Some time was lost in October due to weather but November and December weather was decent enough to get some work done.  Rails and the node that will have the tower with the observation deck in place are now into fabrication.

who won the tender with a bid of  $6,429.700 is on time – on budget wouldn’t apply to this job because of the nifty way the city has handled the amount that was saved when the wind turbine got thrown under the bus at a Council meeting.

 

 

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Heritage month gets off to a lively start; library filled with exhibits, re-enactors all over the place..

By Staff

BURLINGTON, ON.  February 3, 2013   The provincial government encourages municipalities to promote and preserve both the Cultural and Built Heritage of the Province through the promotion, education and support of heritage conservation projects through public and private agencies and organizations.

This reenactor explained to a very attentive boys what it must have been like to have fought in the war of 1812 that the province will continue to celebrate in 2013.

Burlington, the city that has struggled for years on how it wanted to preserve its heritage housing got into the game with the decision to highlight, and recognize the work being done by different groups to further education and promotion of Heritage by way of displays, seminars and presentations to promote Heritage both Cultural and Built Heritage in Burlington.

With bullets flying all over the place during battle, medical services were desperately needed.  This reenactor delighted in telling his audience how teeth were pulled and legs cut off.

They got off on the right foot on Saturday  at the Burlington Central Public Library by hosting the Heritage Fair, a free day of seminars, interactive displays for children, poster contest and exhibits by local heritage organizations.

As we wind our way through the month of February there will be a Burlington Built Heritage Award that will recognize property owners who contributed to the preservation of our built heritage for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations.

Unfortunately, one of the very best “built heritage” examples is a home owned by a member of  Heritage Burlington, the city’s Citizens Advisory Committee on matters of heritage, and that may disqualify her from receiving an award.  The Advisort committee report to city Council through the Development and Infrastructure Committee and are the best example the city has of a well-organized and focused Advisory Committee.  Burlington has had problems with some of its advisory committees in the past.  City council decided to sunset one and another asked to be sunset.

The Transit Advisory committee has undergone a significant re-organization and it doing very well.

Period costume always brings out a story.  A woman here explains part of the life lived by women during the province’s the war of 1812.

The city is currently looking for volunteers to serve on several of its Advisory Committees.  If you have experience and sincerely want to work collaboratively and can leave your personal agenda at home – this is something you might want to look into.  You work hard, you have to do your homework as well but it is satisfying and personally rewarding work.

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Male chooses to expose himself to women in underground garages. Police believe they are looking for just the one suspect.

By Staff

BURLINGTON, ON  February 2, 2013  Police are investigating two separate incidents that had a  male exposing  himself to women in Aldershot.  I don’t know about you but that was both disgusting and stupid.

The suspect police are looking for lurks in underground garages and exposes himself to women.  He assaults those who challenge him verbally.  The photo above was captured on a surveillance system and is of a person the police want to meet with.

Very late on January 29th 2013, a male approached a female in the underground parking lot of an apartment building at 695 Surrey Lane Burlington. The male exposed his genitals to the female and then walked away without any further incident.

The suspect is described as male white, 20-30 years old, approximately 5’8″ with a slim build.  He was wearing a black hooded sweatshirt, light coloured track pants and black and white running or skateboarding shoes.

There was no other detail given to the police.

On January 31st 2013 at approximately 3:00 am,  a male approached a female in a townhouse complex at 699 Marley Road. The male exposed his genitals to the woman who verbally expressed her disgust at his behaviour. The male then assaulted the woman by punching her in the face. He then fled the area on foot.

This suspect is described as male white, 20-25 years old, approximately 5’10” with a slim build. He was wearing a black bomber style jacket, blue baggy jeans and white running or basketball type shoes.

Police investigators believe they are looking for just one suspect.

Investigators are requesting public assistance in identifying a male party who was observed in the underground parking lot of 695 Surrey close to the time of the first incident on January 29th. A surveillance photo of this individual is attached to this release.

Anyone who can provide information pertaining to either one of these incidents is asked to call the Burlington Criminal Investigations Bureau at 905-825 4747 ext. 2315.  Alternatively any pertinent information can be forwarded to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477), through the web at www.haltoncrimestoppers.com or by texting “Tip201” with your message to 274637 (crimes).

 

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