By Staff

Burlington, ON September 2, 2011 The house was empty and that was all two suspects needed to break into a Burlington home and steal jewellery valued ay more than $11,000.

The homeowners appear to have some kind of internal security system because police have the following description:

Suspect #1 is described as a male, Asian descent, 35 years old, 5’4 ” tall , 160 lbs, with dark spiked hair. He was wearing a red and white plaid long sleeve shirt and blue jeans.

Suspect #2 is described as a male, East Indian decent, 6’tall, 150 lbs, with short dark brown hair. He was wearing blue jeans.

A dark blue passenger van was observed parked in the driveway at the time of the break and enter.

The break-in took place sometime between 9 am and 5 pm on August 8^th when the front door of a Pine meadow Drive home was forced open. Once inside, the suspect(s) ransacked the second level master bedroom and removed several 22 k yellow gold jewellery sets valued at $11,500.

Sounds like an inside job to us.

Anyone with information on this or any other crime is asked to call 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).

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By Pepper Parr

BURLINGTON, ON August 29, 2011 – The city publicly opened four tender bids for the completion of the Brant Street Pier last Friday. Here is what the bids said:

BOT Construction Group (Oakville)- wants $10,503,350.00 to complete the pier. The “thanks but no thanks” letter should have been in the mail the same day.

Graham Infrastructure (Mississauga) a JV – $6,429,700.00 – that JV means it’s a joint venture with several different groups involved – that will require a much closer look on the part of the team reviewing the bids. This one however is the lowest number.

Rankin Construction, St. Catharines wants $6,714,234.00 to complete the pier.;

Zenith Contracting wants $6,703,160.00 to complete the pier.

Now some might look askance at those numbers and point out that the three in the $6 million range are above the $5.8 million council allocated for the job – and so Council should do what they said they would do if the bids were too high – take the pier down and return all the grant money the city was given.

But those numbers aren’t as high as they appear to be. Here’s why.

The bids had to include 13% HST – so the price you see INCLUDES the HST – and while you may not have known this – municipalities pay just 1.76% HST.

So let’s look at those numbers again. We will exclude the greedy little outfit in Oakville that wanted $10.5 million and focus on the three that came in at just over $6 million and do the same calculation for each one.

Here is the calculation.

We take out 13% of the price in the bid and then add back in 1.76% of the new number.

And that gets us the following

Graham    $5,692,290.57 or $107,709.43 under the allocated amount.

Rankin        $5,944,191.93 or $144,191.93 over the allocated amount.

Zenith        $5,934,387.99 or $134,387.99 over the allocated amount

On a. purely price basis these are very good numbers for the city. But then so were the Harm Schilthuis and Sons Ltd numbers during the first bidding round – remember, they were the lowest bidder back then. So the lowest price isn’t necessarily the best price. Burlington certainly now knows that.

The city changed its mind about the use of the trestle that belonged to a sub-contractor of HSS, the original contractor hired to build the pier.

When the bids came in for the original contract to build the pier current Director of Engineering, Tom Eichenbaum said the contractors that submitted bids were not given much more than a cursory review. The city didn’t make that mistake this time. The city hired Morrison Hershfield  to prepare a tender for a new contractor to complete the Brant Street Pier and also bought in project management firm METTKO in April 2011. Procurement consultant Cassels Brock was hired to help prepare a tender package.

There was a bit of a kafuffle over the uses of the trestle that belonged to a sub-contractor who just wanted to be paid or at least get his trestle back. That mater got messy but the Mayor stepped in and that problem got put to bed.

The funds to pay for what the city now calls “phase two” of the pier construction will come from the city’s capital purpose reserve fund

The plans that were included in the tender had significant changes that might create some legal problems for the city but that’s a different kettle of fish that will get dealt with later – and you just know that it will come back to bite us.

What one wonders is why the city didn’t give the public all the details – this is a good news story folks. But based on the news release the city put out, every one of the bidders was over the allocated amount of $5.8 million.

Now of course “it ain’t over until the fat lady sings” but the fat lady has a song sheet in her hands and she can read music – so Mayor Rick Goldring may have more than hit the nail on head when he said he looked forward to the opening of the Sound of Music Festival in 2013 taking place on the Pier with the Burlington Teen Tour Band marching out onto the deck playing a rousing piece of marching music.

Of the seven contractors that had been pre-qualified to submit a bid – just four actually submitted a document. There was at least one on that list that is seen as the best in the business and quite why they didn’t submit a bit makes one wonder.

Scott Stewart, General Manager Community Services Department, leads the staff group that has stick handled this project to the point where the city now has at least three bids that on the surface look pretty good. The details will get a thorough scouring from Stewart who is a no nonsense kind of guy. He came to Burlington from Hamilton.

The bids are now in the hands of a group that consists of at least Scott Stewart, General Manager Community Services; city engineer Tom Eichenbaum and Craig Stevens, Project Manager, Corporate Strategic Initiatives This group will review the bids and look at any of the provisional items that are in the document and then rank them and take their report and recommendation to the Community Development Committee on September 14th.

Everyone that counts within city hall will have had numerous discussions on which contractor the city should go with and the decision will probably have been made, at least in the minds of most, before the committee meets. There will of course be debate and discussion and there might be some surprises from any delegations that register to speak – but on balance – it looks as if the city has moved one more significant step towards getting the construction of the pier back on track.

A city hall source who was not authorized to speak said the bids were “good news with 3 very close and within expectation”.

Why did we expect them all to be over the allocated amount of $5.8 million ?

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By Staff

The Halton District School Board is the lead on the new Alton community complex that is scheduled to open sometime in 2013 (before the Pier?). A contract to construct the multi use facility at the intersection of Tim Dobbie Drive and Dundas Street was awarded today to Bondfield Construction of Concord, Ontario.

The joint facility will cost approximately $40.2 million, to be shared by each of the partners – City of Burlington, Burlington Public Library, and the Halton District School Board. Site preparation will begin immediately, with the official groundbreaking anticipated for September 2011.  The architect for the project is Svedas Architect Inc. of Burlington.

“We look forward to working with our partners to bring this unique facility to completion, and to offering families a state-of-the art high school in north Burlington,” says David Euale, Director of Education for the Halton District School Board.  

Representatives from the school board, Burlington Public Library and City of Burlington signed a three-party agreement August 17 at Burlington City Hall to move forward with the project with completion scheduled for fall 2013.

The last major development in Burlington is under construction in the Dundas and Appleby Line area and will include an integrated high school, library and community centre.

The facility, located at Dundas St and Tim Dobbie Way, includes a high school built to accommodate 1,200 students, a recreation complex, and a shared library which will be used by the public and the high school. A joint construction team that includes the City of Burlington, the Burlington Public Library and the Halton District School Board will manage the project.  Construction began on the adjoining Norton Park in spring 2011 where a skate board rink is being constructed.                                                                                 

The Alton Project will include a 147,069 square-foot (13,663 square-metre) school, an 11,840 aggregate square-foot (1,100 aggregate square-metre) joint integrated library and a 53,886 square-foot (5,006 square-metre) community centre. A common entrance, parking and other shared areas will connect these buildings.

“Families in Burlington will benefit from the expansion of library service to the Alton community while benefiting from having a high school and community centre close by,” adds Library Board President, Carrie Brooks-Joiner.

This shared Alton facility will include four competition-sized double gyms, a three-storey high school with a 200-seat auditorium, and a shared 11,840 square-foot (1,110 square metre) integrated library which will be used by the public and the high school, with flexible classroom and public meeting space.

In partnership with Burlington Hydro, the complex will support a rooftop solar system, which will feed energy back into the city’s power grid system.

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By Pepper Parr

This is the first of a series of interviews on the three candidates running in the provincial election taking place October 6^th. Each candidate was asked the same questions.

Along with their answers are the impressions and insights gained from the time spent with each candidate. Some we had met before the interview – others were new to us.

There are those in the community who describe Our Burlington as a news source with a “Liberal” slant. Not true. As the publisher of Our Burlington my responsibility is to the community. On balance I personally tend to vote Liberal but have voted for other parties. John Robarts was a great Premier and Bill Davis did a really good job as well. One’s political party is a philosophical choice but my view is that you look for the best person to represent your community. We started this series with Karmel Sakran, the Liberal candidate, and now Peggy Russell, the NDP candidate. Next we will publish our interview with Jane McKenna, the Progressive Conservative candidate. The intention is to follow up with the candidates as the election progresses.

BURLINGTON, ON August 20, 2011 – It doesn’t take long to realize you are talking to a women who has strong views and little difficulty in making them known. Peggy Russell, the NDP candidate for the Burlington seat in the provincial legislature, served as a school board trustee for ten years and ended that career because she felt her work was done, is now clearly ready to begin working for the people of Burlington again.

NDP candidate in the forthcoming provincial election Peggy Russell has her team in place and her issues clearly laid out and is taking them to whoever will lend her an ear.

For Russell – the three key issues are: The infrastructure first, saving the Escarpment second – and “can I get back to you on the third one”? This interview took place before the provincial government announced it had approved the upgrading of the Joseph Brant hospital but that announcement wasn’t taking any wind out of the Russell sails.

In a statement made after the funding of the hospital was announced Russell said “… the Liberal Plan to finance the hospital expansion and modernization through a private financing scheme. While the full details of what is planned have not been released, the Liberal government has indicated that it will continue with the P3 model of funding that they have renamed AFP (Alternative Financing Plan). Given the significant cost overruns and service reductions that have happened under this model, first adopted by Mike Harris”, Russell says the community has good reason to be concerned.”

If you don’t have you family delivering flyers and knocking on doors then you really don’t have a campaign team. NDP candidate Peggy Russell poses with part of team.

For Russell the hospital is all about community and Russell’s focus is very much on community. She feels both the former Mike Harris Progressive Conservative government and the current Dalton McGuinty Liberal government failed Burlington by letting the hospital deteriorate to the point where it was not a very good hospital, but a place very much in need of an upgrade and the province wasn’t putting the funds needed to get the hospital back to the point where it met the needs of the community.

“We have people being taken out of the Region for health care” and for Russell that is “just not acceptable”. The announcement that the hospital will be upgraded pleases Russell but she is not going to stop beating on this “until I see shovels in the ground”.

Infrastructure for Russell is putting in place the services people need to live their lives in dignity and with food and shelter they can afford and hydro bills that don’t strip their purses and wallets of the money for those small discretionary things that give life some depth and meaning.

Russell doesn’t really trust government, yet she wants to be part of one – she wants to be part of a government that will put the people in communities first. People come before budgets Russell will tell you, and while that sounds good – services can’t be delivered without some balance between tax revenue and money spent on services for people.

Russell will argue, very strongly, that better administration and paying attention to the little things before they get out of hand and become big things, is the route to go and she believes that the New Democrats can bring that kind of government to the province. She makes no comment on Bob Rae’s NDP attempt to govern Ontario.

Russell was born in Quebec, moved to Ontario where she raised her three children who were schooled in the city. She worked as a Clerk for an Administrative judge and saw first hand the cases involving young people in conflict with the law who inevitably came from broken homes. They would get “processed” and then eventually released but because they had no marketable skills they would come into conflict with the legal system once again. It was a revolving door that is very expensive to maintain, says Russell. There has to be a better way and she certainly doesn’t think having provincial jail inmates cleaning trash out of highway road sides is the solution.

During her ten years as a school board trustee Russell served as the vice chair and negotiated seven of nine contracts signed.

Russell is rock solid on her opposition to any kind of highway going through the Escarpment.

Issue number two for Russell is the Escarpment and she makes the point that the issue over the Escarpment seems to be about transportation – which is fine with Russell but she adds that people are confusing the transportation of goods and the transportation of people. “We need to look at those two things differently” she said. Russell seems to be saying that getting a tractor trailer load of steel into Toronto isn’t worth destroying the Escarpment and North Burlington. The problem she adds is that if there is ever a highway put through the northern part of the city, the developers will want to build between that new highway and the 407/Hwy 5 road line – and if that happens “you can kiss the Burlington we know goodbye”.

As for the Liberal promise not to build the road, Russell raises an eyebrow and notes that “the Environmental Assessment hasn’t been stopped, has it?” “We can”, she goes on to say” “and should be looking for ways to use electricity to move people”.

When asked about the values that drive her she responded with “community” then “family”.. “If you are truly part of a community then you must contribute to the growth and welfare of that community. You get out what you put into it. You work to make it a better place, it is like being part of a larger family.

Each of the candidates was asked which comes first: the policy of their political party or the views of the community. Russell responded with: “The community, they elected me, I serve them. My job is to make sure this community’s voice is heard.”

When Russell met with NDP leader Andrea Horwath she says she made it clear to the party leader just where she stood on a number of issues. Russell is very good at making her point very clear. This is not a woman who minces her words. During our interview, the back and forth of questions and answers and follow up questions, Peggy reached out and touched my wrist and with a deep penetrating look said: “Pepper, you’re pulling my chain.” Peggy Russell does not like being taken off topic.

The Escarpment was major for Russell and the hospital right in there with it. No problems for Horwath on either of those. These two women would probably twin in terms of their thinking

Russell says that the politicians job is to be tough on the issues, not tough on the people. Her experience with the damage done to the province’s educational system when the Mike Harris Progressive Conservative government slashed and burned by closing schools and totally trashing the trustee system we had in place. Russell is very blunt in telling you that the province is still recovering from the Harris damage. “We lost close to two generations of students through high school drop out because of that government.”

Russell explains that whenever there was a problem with Queen’s Park “we would drive into Toronto and meet with the appropriate people one on one. It didn’t matter what it was – we would drive in and make our case. There wasn’t one school closed in Burlington on my watch” claims Russell.

Former Burlington Mayor Walter Mulkewich held a fund raising BBQ for NDP candidate Peggy Russell then gave a rousing speech that reminded one of the days Mulkewich was running for office.

For Russell being open to every idea possible before you make a decision is critical. “I don’t know everything. When I am asked to make a decision or to develop a policy I need to know what people think – and in order to know what they think I have to listen. I have to make myself available. There were many times when I didn’t know how I was going to vote on an issue at the school board. I certainly understood the question but I didn’t have the answers and so I taught myself to listen. I was prepared to be swayed, I think that’s important. I was certainly assertive in my quest for information.

During the course of the interview Russell suddenly blurted out: My third issue is affordability – and then she launched into how critical it is for things to be affordable to people.

Affordability: Many of our seniors are in trouble. They want to be able to stay in their homes and maintain the dignity they had when they were younger and more active.

Russell sees caring for the elderly as one of our biggest concerns and with the massive shift in the demographics of the province about to take place, her comments are important if she is going to sit in the provincial legislature and speak for Burlington.

Russell tells her troops what they have ahead of them during a fund raising BBQ.

Russell says “we have to change what we are paying people who are providing care. It’s not about budgets, its about people. True, but the programs have to be paid for and that means balancing a budget. The province is currently so broke that it has to go to the private sector and have someone build the hospital that then gets leased back to the province.

The chances of the New Democrats forming a government in Ontario are slim to non-existent. Does that mean electing Peggy Russell is a mistake? The current member of the Legislature really hasn’t done all that much for the city. Should Peggy Russell convince enough of the voters in this city to vote for her – one thing is certain – she will speak loudly and I suspect very effectively for Burlington.

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By Staff

BURLINGTON, ON August 18^th, 2011 Halton Regional Police Service are getting reports from homeowners about people they have seen lurking in their back yards. The Regional police are investigating a number of these reports.

One of the more recent reports came in on August 16^th, at 2:20 am from a Maple Crossing homeowner who heard a noise coming from her backyard. The homeowner peered into the backyard from her window and observed a silhouette. The suspect saw the homeowner and fled the area.

Earlier in the day, a male suspect was observed in the area peeking into the patio door of another resident.

Halton Regional Police remind homeowners to lock their backyard gates and to be mindful of not leaving windows unlocked especially during the hot summer months.

Tough to do for those who do not have air conditioning. Crime can be prevented and lessened through vigilance and caution. If there something that you see that you think is suspicious – call the police. Your suspicion is what the police can work from – don’t hesitate to call.

Anyone with information on this or any other crime is asked to call 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).

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By Staff

A pair of thieves, one male, one female are approaching seniors in retail stores and super market parking lots saying they are looking for the hospital and have a map in their hands.

Halton Regional Police Service detectives are urging seniors to be cautious if they are approached by a man and woman in their mid-30s to early 40s claiming to be lost and looking for the hospital.

The suspects are targeting elderly patrons of grocery and retail stores, and distracting their victims by asking them to point out directions on a map which they place over the victim’s wallet or purse, thereby giving the  thieves an opportunity to steal the property unobserved.

The female suspect is described as Caucasian, in her mid 30s to 40s, slim build, between 5’7 and 5’8″ tall with long dark hair and a European accent.  The male suspect is described as Caucasian, in his mid 30s to 40s, approximately 5’6 to 5’8″ tall with dark hair and a European accent.

Constable Wendy Moraghan of the Halton Regional Police Service works with seniors in their communities within the Halton Region listening to concerns they have and explaining a problem they should be cautious about.

Detectives have determined that the suspects have targeted at least six different victims since August 6, 2011. The pair appear to be operating primarily in the Oakville and Burlington areas, and targeting seniors who are shopping alone. They have approached victims both inside the retail location and outside in the parking lot just prior to the victim departing.

“Unfortunately, this is another variation of a crime targeting our elderly population under the guise of someone in distress and asking the senior for help – in this case, needing directions to the hospital,” said Cst. Wendy Moraghan, Elder Services Coordinator. “Seniors can help police by being extremely cautious when approached by a stranger asking for assistance.  Direct them to a store clerk instead, and ensure your personal property is protected and in your sight at all times.”

Constable Moraghan has worked with seniors groups explaining how they need to be both cautious and observant.

The Halton Regional Police Service Regional Fraud Unit is continuing its investigation into this case and are seeking the public’s assistance in identifying these individuals. If you or an elderly relative has fallen prey to this scenario, or if you have any information related to the investigation please contact Detective Brad Murray at (905) 825-4747 Ext 8982 or by calling Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).

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By Pepper Parr

BURLINGTON, ON August 17^th, 2010 Some things go smooth as silk and others – well there is just bump after bump. The date for the opening of the tenders for the completion of construction of the Brant Street Pier has been moved back to August 24^th.. It might get pushed back a little further. A total of five addendums have been issued by the city. An addendum is a document that sets out a question a contractor has asked and the answer the city has given. The rules of the tender approach to getting the best price is that every gets all the information that is handed out.

The trestle is a vital piece of equipment needed to complete construction of the Pier. The one shown above would have to be re-tested to insure that it is safe for us before any construction equipment can be placed on it. No one is taking any chances on safety with this project. Owners of the trestle don’t want to pay for testing – city says then remove it.

As things stand now – the bids have to be in the hands of the city Engineering department no later than 2:00 pm on Wednesday the 24^th and will be opened 15 minutes later in Room 247.

As has been pointed out before the number that gets read out at the public opening is the price the contractor says they are willing to complete the construction of the Pier for – however, more often than not there are conditions and small adjustments and comments made by the contractors and what appears to be the lowest price at first glance turns out not to be the lowest upon review and inspection. This is why the engineering department will take away the bids and review and analyze and then take them to the appropriate Council committee where they will be debated and get voted upon and then passed along to full Council where they get voted on and – after that – we have a deal.

Everyone at Engineering can’t wait until the envelopes with the numbers are opened. That there are delays in the opening tenders date is a sign that the contractors are asking a lot of questions – one of which might be – is there a trestle we can use?

The following constructions firms picked up tender packages – a 40 page document with a roll of drawings and a bunch of forms that had to be filled in: ConCrete USL Limited; Toronto Zenith Contracting Limited; Belor Construction Ltd; Rankin Construction Inc.; Bot Construction; PCL Construction Canada Inc. and Graham Infrastructure. According the city staff all the construction firms are still in the game.

There are some top ranked firms in the list. The city has indicated that it has $5.8 million left in the piggy bank for this project, which lets the contractors know that the city is serious, but that there is a limit as to what they are prepared to pay out to have the project finished.

Peter Smith of Bermingham wants his trestle back – the city says he can have it – they want him to get it out of the construction site by the end of September. One of those careful what you ask for situations?

The trestle is one of the issues that now has to be worked out. The thing may no longer be certified to take the load that would be put on it once heavy equipment is brought in. The owner of the trestle is getting a little antsy about being paid and is putting the squeeze on the people who appear to be paying the bills. HSS got more than $4 million from the city – they are the ones who should be paying that Bermingham Construction invoices.)

The present tender calls for the removal of the existing trestle by the new contractor.

While it has been a bumpy road the Mayor has consistently said he will see this project through but that he is not going to pay both an arm and a leg to get the Pier built. $5.8 million – but you know it is going to creep a bit higher than that.

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By Pepper Parr

BURLINGTON, ON August 16, 2011 The federal government announced today that the ships at sea, which have been until now known as the Maritime Command, will now again be referred to as the Royal Canadian Navy and the air force would be known as the Royal Canadian Air Force.

They were always the Royal Canadian Navy. The government just forgot to use the words for the last 45 years.

In 1968 then Minister of Defense Paul Hellyer, took away the Royal reference as part of his drive to integrate the three armed forces.

Now perhaps they will fly the white ensign and get things back to where they were before the politicians got silly.

Finally, some common sense and a respect for tradition and history has returned to the country. Hopefully they will serve us a double ration of rum today.

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By Pepper Parr

BURLINGTON, ON August 15^th, 2011 – Elections are fascinating events. People talk about who is going to run for public office and who is ahead and why this person should hold office and why this person shouldn’t.

We organize our elections around political parties whose members decide who their candidate will be. The political party that wins the most seats forms the government. We’ve been doing it that was since Confederation. However, one does not have to belong to a political party to run for public office. A person can deice to run as an independent and not be attached to a political party. There is an honourable tradition of independents in this country – and Burlington just might produce the next independent to sit in the provincial legislature.

Casey Cosgrove – running as an independent?

It all seemed to start with some chatter on the internet between Casey Cosgrove, Lawrence Winterburn and Brian Heagle. Here is the way the Facebook chatter went.

Casey Cosgrove had made a comment about the way the provincial election was going and Brian Heagle, 2009 Citizen of the Year, candidate for Ward 4 in the last municipal election and a candidate for the Progressive Conservative nomination before he withdrew replied:

Heagle wrote: “Casey, I didn’t realize you spoke Daltonese – and in several languages!. The decision to “green light” redevelopment is opportunistic, but not just for Liberals with their vote-getting timing. It’s the chance for Burlington voters to elect an MPP who understands and will support the community for such a vitally important concern – regardless of political orientation, or who may want to “kill the deal”. Voters need to look closely at the individual, not so much their Party, in this case. We will need a true local champion with integrity, smarts and tenacity to keep the “green light” on after October 6.”

Cosgrove, who was a candidate in Ward 5 in the 2006 election and came a very respectable second (480 votes behind Rick Goldring who won and went on to challenge Mayor Cam Jackson in 2010 and won at that level as well.) Cosgrove is the director of the Canadian Centre for Financial Literacy (CCFL), which is a division of the national charitable organization and also teaches at Guelph University, Casey responded: “..now you’ve got me thinking of running as an independent in October. gosh, just when things were quieting down around here..”

Lawrence Winterburn then jumped in with:

“Paying wealthy people to put up solar panels, increasing taxes in the middle of a recession-(no Ontario isn’t even close to back where we were-regardless of propaganda-), Trading good paying jobs for part time retail sounds like a progressive plan. Ontario has great leadership presently…. of course I have a 60 IQ and I am blind from starvation…but yes, re-elect Dalton. Casey–you will notice this is a non- partisan comment, any party is fine with me too, I just want somebody with benevolence, intellect and honorable intent.”

Heagle came back with:

“Casey, I believe Lawrence may have just provided your campaign for MPP with a great slogan: “Cosgrove – The Benevolent Independent”.”

Cosgrove wasn’t going to let that stand and came back with:

“I don’t use words I can’t define. I don’t like independent, I prefer interdependent. Brian, I have a couple hundred ‘engage, listen, lead’ signs that have been rotting behind the shed for 6 years – I may just use those. I also have 2 old Heagle signs back there if you want them :)”

The dialogue then took a surprising twist when Casey wrote:

“Brian, I will credit you and one other friend-Chris K, for getting me worked up enough that I may just do this. so tired of all three leaders…just cleared it with Bryna.. Looks like one more kick at the can for me :). Larry – I know you will join my team!”

Later in the day Cosgrove goes public – sort of ands says:

Musing today about a run in the fall election as an independent (interdependent). Not sure I could sit under a banner of any of the three party leaders at this point, so why not just run under my own ‘Burlington ‘ banner? Am I joking? Not really. Bryna just smiled, gave me that ‘uh,oh, I see that look in your eyes’ glance….hmmm, decisions, decisions.. 🙂

In a message sent to us from Cosgrove he said: “I clearly don’t mind people knowing I’m frustrated enough to be thinking about this, but I wanted you to know I will spend the next couple weeks at the cottage with the family before even considering jumping in. Just wanted to be up front with you.

Cosgrove seems to have said he could be an independent candidate and go after the Burlington seat at Queen’s Park. Wow, this social media does make things happen. We may not use the media the way the thugs in London use it and we may not use it to take to the streets the way they did in Cairo – but seeing it used to bring another candidate to the surface. Amazing, truly amazing.

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By Pepper Parr

BURLINGTON, ON August 12, 2011 — It was a unique idea – why not put a school, a library and a community sports complex all in one place and attached to each other ? And why not do it in a brand new community. Do you think it would work?

Burlington is in the process of finding out if three organizations that are in place to serve the public can adjust their operating procedures enough to be able to work together. Cindy Mercanti, Manager Recreation Services for the city of Burlington speaks glowing of the process and how well it has worked so far.

Getting this project to the point where shovels will begin to dig into the ground had to work its way through reams of paper – and you know what that means: lawyers. There were so many lawyers on this file that they had to hire a law firm to write the definitive agreement to ensure that no one party favoured themselves. Nancy Shea Nicol advised a city council committee that herding the lawyers was not quite as difficult as herding cats and that except for some concerns with the drafting of the operating agreement – it went pretty well.

Organizationally it was quite a challenge but fair minded people with willing hearts put together a collection of committees and got on with the job of making it happen.

The last major housing development in Burlington is well underway. Occupancy should begin late in the year.

At this point, August of 2011, construction on the skate board park is well underway and should be opening sometime in the fall. Off in the background of where the skate board rink is being built one can see the frames of new houses going up and construction vehicles running up and down Tim Dobbie Drive, the street that dissects the location which is immediately north of Dundas and west of Walkers line.

The Skate Board park and playing fields will be to the east of Tim Dobbie Drive with the combined library, community sports centre and the school will be on the west side along with additional playing fields. The North Burlington Skate Park is being built as part of the Norton Park development. It is targeted to be complete mid-October, 2011.

Manager Recreational Services for the city of Burlington, stands in front of the transit being used by engineers as they work on the construction of the skate board rink that is part of the Norton development across the street from the high school, library, community centre complex. The only thing not on the site (yet?) is a Tim Hortons.

The Alton community was the last large greenfield residential construction project for Burlington on land that had been zoned for housing. At some point in the not too distant future some of the lands that are designated employment lands may get re-designated and become available for housing but at the moment Alton is the last big one – and big it is.

The city of Burlington, who are not the lead on this project, insisted that all the agreements be in place, signed and approved by the various boards involved before any tenders were awarded.

The community site is on the eastern side of Tim Dobbie Drive north of Dundas. A sports fields and a skate board rink are on the east side. Rink is expected to open in September.

The lead on the construction side of the project is the Halton District School Board. The project was tendered and the best bid came in from Bondfield Construction at a cost of just over $40 million. Burlington’s piece of that cost is $13.9 million. The bid is good until August 17^th – the same day that the city will open bids from construction companies for the completion of the Brant Street Pier. If all these project get completed on time 2013 is going to be a ‘gang busters’ year for Burlington. We may not be able to live with all that success. Shovels are expected to go into the ground for the community centre part in September. The project has yet to be given a name. Please not another politician, there is a veteran who got passed over just awhile ago – maybe time to remember him?

At a July Council committee meeting council members were brought up to date and advised how well the project was going. The only hiccup was mention of a budget shortfall. There no panic, but at the time the HDSB was still shy close to $1.7 million for their part of the project.

The Burlington Library, The Halton District School Board and the City of Burlington are all part of this unique arrangement with Burlington Hydro in the mix as well. They are installing the solar panels that will be on the roofs collecting sunshine and pumping that energy back into the electricity grid.

Architects rendering of what the three part complex will look like. A high school, a community centre and a library are all linked together into a single complex. Construction is scheduled to start in September.

So – what’s the big deal about this project. To most people it would make sense to have a library, a school and a community sports complex all in one place. The students could use the library, which would be part of the complex and evening sports events could use the gymnasium facilities that are part of the school. Common sense was written all over the idea. The stumbling blocks were at the organization level, where the operating cultures are quite different.

A high school principal runs one kind of organization and has obligations that must be met under the Education Act while the Chief Librarian runs a significantly different origination which is, yet again, quite a bit different that a community centre. Parks and recreation has a totally different culture and operating procedures. Each had to be identified and understood by all the parties involved and then adjusted enough to be able to work together seamlessly. Getting them all pulling together at the same time and in the same direction was much easier said than done. But in Burlington – it looks as if it is going to get done.

The people behind this are thinking well outside the box are not just linking up a couple of buildings. Heating and air-conditioning – vital – but did there have to be three separate systems? Why not just the one – sure but then how do you figure out how much each participant pays when the hydro bill comes in and who gets the benefit of those solar panels on the roof ?

Are you getting the sense that there were a lot of committee meetings going on. You betcha there were. And the lawyers were in their big time. First there was an all party Joint Development Agreement that set out the sharing of the design ands construction costs. Care to guess how many drafts that went through?

The project came together when Leo DeLoyde, GM Development and Infrastructure, asked then newcomer Scott Stewart if he would talk to the people at Parks and Recreation to see if anything could be done

This project however is planned as much more than a collection of organizations coming together to benefit from synergies and scale and the cost savings that come from a larger project. The group involved the Burlington Tourism office which was the first signal that something quite a bit bigger is planned.

Once the building is open and operational the layout above give you a sense of what will exist and how all the parts are linked together. One wonders where the hallway monitors at the high school will end their rounds. Maybe no monitors?

The city wants to create a centre where provincial level sports events can take place and Burlington is being positioned as the community that has it all. The focus is going to be on floor sports: basketball, badminton and volleyball are the original focus. Meetings have already been held with the provincial sports organizations and while there are no events scheduled for the facility yet – those 32 foot ceilings and four courts all in one large space with up to date change rooms and a large venue – will certainly put Burlington on the map for the provincial level sports community. Burlington Tourism will finally have something to sell – I mean Spencer smith Park can only take you so far.

While having a flashy new facility with all the whistles and bells will certainly draw flies, it has to work as a single entity – and that is where the magic in this initiative exists.

There was a Steering Committee, a Construction Team as well as an Operational Team, and various sub-teams. The Steering Committee has representatives from all three organizations and is overseeing the project and the development of the various agreements. The Construction Team deals with all aspects of construction and has representatives from all organizations as well as the architect.

Cindy Mercanti stands before the bill board that shows what is about to be built on the site north of Dundas and West of Walkers Line. Major change for that part of Burlington.

The Operational Team assisted the Construction Team with detailed design and has led in the development of the operating model and operations and maintenance agreement.  Similar to the Construction Team, representatives from all three organizations participate.  And there are sub-teams all over the place from the three organizations. As Cindy Mercanti explained it: “This was a very collaborative process” The city team included Parks and Recreation, Roads and Parks Maintenance and Community Strategic Initiatives

The three groups of people from three significantly different organizations made this happen. Let us return and tell you who they are and how they managed to make it all come together and work – so far.

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