By Pepper Parr
 BURLINGTON, ON June 21, 2011 – John Taylor was not having a good evening. He had spent more than three hours talking about snow removal at a city council committee meeting on a day when the temperature was, in what he would call, the mid 80’s. His demeanor during the afternoon session was typical John Taylor – he asked probing questions and reminded staff members of things about snow removal they had forgotten about. Taylor is a fixture in the Council chamber.
But in the evening session we got to see a much different councillor. Taylor was ticked, and this is not a man one wants to trifle with. Late last week council members were given a report from a consultant the city had hired to give them data on what they called TZ’s – traffic zones, No one managed to define what a traffic zone was and for a short while it didn’t appear to really matter.
 John Taylor, the most senior member of Burlington city council is usually a jolly fellow with a quick smile, can also be very pensive and reflective. He was not flashing any smiles at a Community Development Committee meeting last Monday. Then a more detailed consultants report was put on the table. It’s purpose was to explain to council members what the city actually had in the way of employment land inventory. Now this get’s just a little complex.
There is land in the city that is zoned for buildings that people will work in and there is land that is zoned for houses people will live in. Developers make more money on houses people live in so they look for ways to have their land zoned for housing.
Burlington has a couple of developers who happen to own a lot of land. The Molinaro Group is one and Paletta International is another. The Paletta’s bought some land many years ago and have been holding it and waiting for an opportunity to develop the land and reap the return on their investment. Land that factories and office building are built on is called “employment lands” and that is what the Community Development Committee of Council focused on Monday evening. How much do we have and is it enough to meet future needs
Developers usually hire planning consultants to take their case before city council and Monday night was no different. Ed Fothergill, a fully qualified planner licensed to practice in Ontario, has in the past represented numerous developers. He is a very effective presenter who usually finds a way to be the last person to speak. He never demands, he is always open to discuss things and seldom wavers from what his client has sent him to council to do. The developers get good value for the fees they pay Ed Fothergill.
He was delegating to advise Council that land they had shown as development land was in fact not really development land but property that was not yet determined and the developer wanted to keep it that way. They wanted to keep all their options open with a distinct preference for housing development. Fair enough.
 Taylor can remember a time when Dundas was the outer edge of development for Burlington. Then, he will tell you, the 407 came along and that moved the boundary out just a bit more and Taylor feels that the much discussed Niagara GTA highway that the province wants to push through the escarpment would be the end of rural Burlington. To add to his woes, Taylor feels developers want to exploit some data that consultants have put forward that suggests the city has more than enough in the employment lands inventory. Taylor isn’t buying it and he is totally ticked. Then another consultant made a delegation. This fellow had been hired by the city to do a two phase report on just what existed in the way of development lands in the city. The reason for wanting this information was so that the city could ensure there was enough land for the factories or office buildings to go up that would ensure Burlington could create the jobs it had to create to meet the provinces Places to Grow program.
Now here is where it gets interesting. While we’ve not had a chance to fully evaluate the report – we’ll get that to you in a couple of days – what became quickly evident was that Burlington has more than enough land in the “employment lands” category to meet the long term needs.
That was all the developers needed to hear. The developers were now prepared to argue that ‘if there is more than enough land to meet the longer term needs of the commercial market, then release some of the land we own that is classified as development land, and let us develop houses on that property’. You see, housing development is a lot more profitable than office and manufacturing development.
And John Taylor wanted none of that. He wasn’t buying the developers arguments and he wanted to be darn sure that the city was never at a point where the land needed to create the jobs the city has to create is not available
Taylor harrumphed for a good part of the meeting and after listening to the consultants asked that Council committee go into Closed Session to attempt to figure out what the city should do. That’s when everyone is asked to leave the Council Chamber while the committee discusses things in private. One never knows what they say – there is usually a direction for the lawyers to do something but even what they are asked to do is confidential. We’ve had this beef with the city’s legal department before.
The planner the city had hired was careful to qualify his remarks and while he did say there appeared to be enough employment land to meet needs out to 2031 – he advised that the city needed to be very careful about how it used the employment land inventory it did have.
 Paletta International, a company with large land holdings in Burlington and the developer of some of the larger housing developments constantly tangles with the city over land use issues Angelo Paletta is on the left. But Taylor could see the writing on the wall and he happens to have a very good memory. He knew exactly what the developers were going to do next and it didn’t surprise him one but that there were representatives from two developers making delegations. When the first, Ed Fothergill, had completed his remarks Taylor said aloud: “The games have begun.” He knew exactly where this was going and he didn’t like the direction one bit.
Burlington has been kind to its developers but for Taylor losing precious employment lands would put the city at a serious long term risk. That’s what the city’s planning consultant was saying but the developers weren’t listening – they heard that there was more than enough development land in the inventory and they wanted some of it released for housing.
The games have indeed begun. We have more for you later in the week on this one.
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By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON June 20, 2011 It was a somber Sunday morning service as Pastor Mike Pawelke preached the final service at the Eaglesfield Campus of Compass Point Bible Church in Burlington.
What began as the Brant Bible church is now just a faded sign hidden amongst trees that have grown around it. The congregation of the Eaglesfield Road church will move to Kerns road and worship there.
The church, built by a group who were market gardener’s and decided they wanted to build a church which they called Brant Street Bible Church, grew to the point where they needed a bigger location and purchased a piece of property at Eaglesfield and Dundas. “There was a time when the place was packed”, said Tom Warner. “We had three services and the parking lot was always full.” Today the Eaglesfield location is still a healthy church with an established congregation that holds a traditional service. Doug Agnew is the Pastor at what is now known as the Eaglesfield campus of Compass Point Bible Church.
Park Avenue Bible Church was another small Burlington church that grew and moved to a location on Kerns Road where a mammoth structure was built. Complications occurred with the Pastor at the time and the Park Avenue congregation entered into a strategic ministry partnership with Brant Bible Church to create Compass Point Bible Church.
 A mammoth structure that dominates the skyline and has three levels of parking with a large sanctuary that includes two television cameras that broadcast the service. Costs of repair a roof and accumulated debt plus operating expenses resulted in the consolidation of two congregations into the one building.
The Kerns Road structure is a very large with extensive facilities and is one of the mega churches that became popular in the United States. Pastor Pawelke has always been a proponent of the mega church which fairly describes the Kerns Road campus of Compass Point. It is a mammoth building with a very, very large sanctuary that has two television cameras set up within the sanctuary to capture and broadcast the service which is available on line.
Pawelke is a very strong pastor with a staff that gets close to 12 people and three congregations that have a combined operating budget in excess of $1 million. The third is an outreach church is a distressed part of Hamilton on Ellis Street.
Each of the churches is a separate legal entity that have banded together to offer services as the Compass Point Bible Church. The organizational structure is a little confusing to outsiders and a difficult one to finance and administer for insiders. The financial difficulties began to overwhelm and some drastic steps were necessary.
Recent costs to repair the roof and upgrade the HVAC system at the Kerns Road campus cost the church in excess if $850,000 which was a bit more than the community could handle
The Compass Point Church Board decided that some changes had to be made and they decided to sell the Eaglesfield property and have that congregation meet at Kerns Road for an 11:00 am service while the Kerns Road congregation holds their much more modern service at 9:30 am
A sum has been set aside to upgrade the parking facilities at the Kerns Road campus so that the Eaglesfield choir will have space and allow for easier access to the Kerns Road building for the older population that attended Eaglesfield.
 The Hamilton Korean Presbyterian Church will move its congregation into the Eaglesfield Road church where its youth groups and high school students will have better facilities and a 6:00 am service Compass Point will share the Eaglesfield campus with the Koreans for a period of time and hold events on Tuesday’s and Thursday. The Pastor of the Hamilton Korean Presbyterian Church told the Eaglesfield congregation that there would be some immediate changes when the Korean congregation moved in. The name on the building would change and Korean Pastor told the congregation that there would be a 6:00 am service.
That level of congregational involvement might explain why the Koreans have grown to the point where they needed a bigger location and why Compass Point has to retrench two locations into just the one.
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 BURLINGTON, ON June 18, 2011 – Our friends down the road at the Bay Observer published the following. We couldn’t agree more.
From the Bay Observer, June 15, 2011
There is something wrong with a legal system that prevents opposing sides from coming to a mediated solution once lawsuits have been commenced. A prime example is the Burlington Pier debacle where the city is suing the original pier contractor along with the original project manager and designer of the structure over structural problems that have halted the project.
We now learn that more than two years ago that Walters Group, an internationally-respected structural steel contractor tried to broker a settlement that would have allowed all sides to save some face not to mention money but was rebuffed. A prime reason for the lack of dialogue is the fact that legal action has been commenced and therefore goes the collective wisdom, everybody involved must clam up for fear of prejudicing their case.
This is the kind of advice that Burlington councillors get from lawyers who have no incentive whatever in shortening or ending the litigation. And maybe the advice is sound maybe it is dangerous to try to resolve a dispute after legal action is commenced but if that is the reality; then it needs to be changed. Whether the Walters Group proposal to finish the pier is the right one, is irrelevant. The intent was to try to inject some common sense into a process that seems to be taking on a life of its own, with attendant spiraling costs.
The current Burlington administration has the construction of the Pier back on track and there is every reason to believe that the June 2013 opening date will be met. There will be cost over runs and given the nature of Mayor Rick Goldring, we can expect Council and the citizens of Burlington to be made aware of those costs.
Learning what was spent on legal costs will be like pulling teeth from hens. The legal department in Burlington doesn’t understand and doesn’t want to understand what transparency means. It is not in their interest to tell the taxpayers what was spent to handle the legal problems surrounding the construction of the Pier.
That however may change.
By Staff
 BURLINGTON, ON June 18, 2011 – Friday evening and they strolled by the thousands into Spencer Smith park and took in the sounds – and the sounds were loud, and the applause appreciative and the weather more than accommodating.
 They were raucous, they were outrageous and the crowd loved them. The woman playing the banjo certainly knew how to get the sound she wanted out of the instrument and the Ladies of the Canyon from Montreal knew how to play to the crowd who just loved them. That banjo player convinced a member of the audience to loan her the bubble making toy she had and the musician then proceeded to prance around the stage blowing bubbles everywhere. It was a fun evening.
The Ladies of the Canyon, an all female group out of Montreal, played a version of “The day they drove old Dixie down” that just rocked the crowd.
As the group was bringing their session to an end a three masted “privateer’ slowly slipped into the waterfront and fired a cannon shot. The sharp crack of the cannon brought the crowd to their feet but it appears it was just a warning shot. The ship didn’t drop anchor and they didn’t send anyone ashore. And she didn’t fly any signal flags – and thank goodness, no one ashore flew a white flag.
There is no count yet as to how many pints of beer were served but there didn’t appear to be anyone who had had to many pints. The crowds – and there were crowds, were well behaved
 The Ferris wheel and the other rides gave the Sound of Music Festival a bit of a country fair feel. The view of the grounds and the city at night is quite something from the top of the Ferris wheel.  Some people just stand out in a crowd. The woman in white wasn’t missing a word the Ladies of the Canyon were singing. She didn’t seem to be aware that there were other people in the park. That’s my babe.  The crowds took it all in. They listened quietly and then erupted into applause when a piece was finished. Many people brought their collapsible chairs and settled in for an evening of just fine entertainment that ranged from heavy metal (too loud for me) to nice easy going country and western and even some decent blues.  Few people saw the three masted ‘privateer” slip into the waterfront from behind the yet to be completed Pier. She crept in close to the breakwater then fired a single shot from her cannon and then turned away from the city and slipped back to her home port. Was she from Hamilton? More likely Toronto. Look for your city Council to discuss what the city might need in the way of troops to defend the city. [retweet]
By Pepper Parr
 BURLINGTON, ON, June 17, 2011 – The cheque was in the mail but it was pretty small ($257,000) and represents less than the interest earned on the money the city of Burlington has set aside for the hospital.
Health is a provincial responsibility but this provincial government has let the hospitals know that some of the money needed to keep hospitals operational and able to handle the growing number of people who now need and will need health services in the future as our population ages.
 The JBMH expects to get quite a bit more money from the provincial government which when added to what the city of Burlington has already set aside will result in more parking space and additional operating rooms. Burlington currently has $3,668,88.001 the JBMH reserve fund at the end of December 2010 with an additional $1.2 million going in during 2011 – which will take the total to $4,886,881.00
Last year the city of Burlington did much better than it expected on its investments which resulted in a surplus for the 2010 fiscal year. If the managed to earn as much as 5% on their cash investment (not likely – but w dream can’t we?) the interest Burlington will earn on the funds it has in its reserve fund would be greater than what the province has sent our way.
The money the city has set aside came from: $1.2 million from the 2009 surplus, $1.2 million from 2010 property taxes, $1.2 million from the 2010 surplus and $1.2 million is being levied in 2011 property taxes.
There is a provincial election on the horizon and one of the questions you will want to ask the candidates (Karmel Sakran for the Liberals and it looks like Peggy Russell for the NDP and Brian Heagle who is certainly hoping that his hat is the only one in the ring when the Progressive Conservatives eventually get around to calling a nomination meeting.)
Karmel Sakran has served on a number of hospital boards and committees and is certainly well aware of what the hospital is up against in terms of funding. Would he be an independent enough member of the Legislature to fight his party for the betterment of the community or will he toe the party line?
Joseph Brant Memorial Hospital has had its share of problems in the recent past and it needs to upgrade its facilities and expand the operation.
This measly little amount from the province is being “provided for a variety of structural upgrades” – whatever that means. – as well as “improvements to comply with health and safety standards”. JBMH might choose to invest in barrels of soap to avoid another c-difficile outbreak.
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By Staff
BURLINGTON, ON June 17, 2011 – Holtby and Crosby Streets run south from Caroline down to New Street. They were built about 50 years ago and had never had any re-surfacing or upgrades done and they were in pretty rough shape. Years of complaining and the city finally got around to putting these two streets on the list and work was scheduled for the spring. More than $900,000 was budgeted fir the work.
 Getting in and out of the driveway when the street is under construction is a challenge. Holtby residents struggle with this one. And now the work is getting done. And the good people of Holtby are basically landlocked. They can’t get their cars into the driveways and walking down the street is a bit of a challenge. But they will soon have a nice new shiny road. Your tax dollars are at work.
For those on Crosby Street – you’re next.
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By Staff
BURLINGTON, ON June 17, 2011 – It was that time of year again – the Burlington Teen Tour Band was going to be on the streets, the weather was going to be great the whole weekend and the local merchants would do very well.
It is Sound of Music time, evening at Spencer Smith Park, hordes of people nut for some reason it doesn’t seem crowded. The kids are out with the cell phones texting away. The parents are out with the little ones strolling along the lakefront.
Three stages, a Ferris wheel and a beer garden or two sprinkled around and all the pizza you would ever want to buy. AND there is someone selling one of the goofiest head bands and set of teeth that glow in the dark – think long term and Halloween. Or think about how you are going to say no to the kids who will absolutely have to have one of the things.
The crews were on the site on Thursday setting up tents and getting booths ready. And then the crowds came – you will never see as many teenagers in one place in this city.
And there wasn’t a politician in site – blessed relief.
More of the same for the next three days. Enjoy it.
 Getting the tents set up and the stages with all their sound equipment in place took a couple of days – and a lot of hard work. Swinging that mallet was not easy – and he never missed the stake in the ground – not once.
 Spencer Smith became a bit of a parking lot while crews set up – but the traffic was gone when the music began to flow from the speakers. Lots of overtime getting things set up?
 It was time to relax and stretch out and just be yourself. The friend here wasn’t sure if she wanted to be in the picture or not – we captured her, while her friend was oblivious to it all.  The show had begun – opening night and people by the hundreds stretched out on the lawn and just relaxed and let the music float towards them.
 There will be a time – in 2013 based on the current schedule, when the Pier will be open and there will perhaps be a sound set out at the end. Today the best we can do is give you a view of the crews out along the front of Spencer Smith park setting up and delivering equipment.  These two woman are obviously Sound of Music pro’s. They came fully equipped and settled in for the evening.
 The entrance to the four day Sound of Music Festival – a free concert due to the generosity of a number of corporations. Tim Hortons is the biggest donours as well as the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation. A handful of Tim Bits and a lottery ticket – is there anything more Ontario than that? Cogeco Cable and Hyundai are also major supporters. Not one bank on the list though. [retweet]
By Staff
 BURLINGTON, ON June 17, 2011 – She was Vice-Chair of the Halton District School Board and served on that Board for ten years and has decided that it was time for a move up the political food chain. Queen’s Park was her choice with Peggy Russell today officially announced her intention to seek the nomination for the New Democratic Party in Burlington for the Ontario General Election this fall. Good luck!
Russell said she will make hospital funding her number one priority followed by will be to secure provincial support for Joseph Brant Memorial Hospital followed by concerns about development and intensification in the community. “McGuinty has forced growth upon Burlington” said Russell, “and has not provided the necessary supports for that growth. I plan to be a strong advocate to secure Provincial funding for the infrastructure needed to support growth in Burlington.”
 Long time Burlington community activist Peggy Russell is answering the call again – this time she wants to sit at Queen’s Park. Her vote count in the municipal election was more than respectable; question now is can her leader, Andrea Horwath, provide enough in the way of coat tails for Russell to ride into office on. Russell also cites what she calls the growing centralization of decision making at Queen’s Park as another reason for her decision to run for Provincial office. She provides two specific examples.
“The McGuinty Liberals took a heavy handed approach to planning in our region in their push for a new highway through Rural Burlington,” said Russell. “Both the McGuinty Liberals and Hudak Tories have failed to listen to Burlington residents who are overwhelmingly opposed to a new highway over the Niagara Escarpment.”
Another example of the Province dictating to communities in Ontario is in Education. Russell said, “As a Halton District School Board trustee I fought against Bill 177. This bill limits the ability of trustees to address the concerns of our community. As the MPP for Burlington I will fight to ensure that our community has a greater say in the education of our children.”
Russell and the NDP will also work to make life more affordable for families. This includes removing the provincial portion of the HST off of hydro and home heating, making gas prices predictable for consumers, and by eliminating ambulance fees.
Russell is a member of Shaping Burlington, the successor organization set up to follow through and advocate for the recommendations in the original Shape Burlington report.
She is currently a member of the Burlington Transit Advisory Committee and Poverty Free Halton as well as being involved in fund raising for the United Way via Burlington’s Amazing RACE. She has received numerous awards including being named the Halton Woman of the Year.
Russell was also a candidate for municipal office in the 2010 civic election when she ran in Ward 5 and earned a more than respectable number of votes. Had the field been smaller (there were seven candidates) Russell may well have come out the winner.
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By Staff
 BURLINGTON, ON June 16, 2010 Halton Regional Police Service are investigating a break and enter to a local bakery in Burlington.
Sometime overnight on May 8th, unknown suspect(s) pried open the rear door to gain entry into Cupid’s Gourmet Cupcakes located at 3450 Dundas St. Once inside, the suspect(s) removed an undisclosed amount of cash from the register.
The real question is – did they take any cup cakes?
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)
And if you happen to see some people that you are suspicious of – with upset tummies – maybe?
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By Pepper Parr
 BURLINGTON, ON June 15, 2011 – Alton, a neighbourhood in the upper east part of the remaining developable lands in Burlington where a number of construction projects are underway, was the site of a sod turning ceremony with Mayor Rick Goldring and the Ward council member for that part of town, Blair Lancaster on hand to dig a little dirt.
 Construction crews can now get onto the sit and begin shaoing it as a soccer field and a play area with plenty of shade trees and parking. The site that construction crews were finally able to get to into now that the sun is drying up the fields will be home to a soccer field a playing field with plenty of parking spaces and some housing along one edge.
The street leading into the soccer field, Palladium Way is separated by a stretch of employment lands, that have yet to be developed, and the 407 on the north with the project itself east off Walkers Line and north of Dundas. Residents in the area have been waiting for the soccer fields to get built and if the weather holds those fields should be accessible well before the kids are back in school.
 Always making a fashion statement – the pink boots Councillor Lancaster wears on a construction site turn an eye just as well as the tiara did. These “ceremonial events” are pretty hum drum but if you pay attention there is usually something that can be picked up for what the politicians call the “photo op”. In this situation the photographer from “another news source that get published in Burlington” wanted to frame people in front of a large crane. Here is their intrepid photographer in action.
Becky Ellis, a city landscaping technician was on hand to show the Mayor and the Council member around the site which has houses within a very short distance allowing parents to wander over to the park and playfield where there children are.
What was missed and so typical of what Councilor Lancaster does(she does have a sense of fashion) were the pink construction boots she wore on the site.
The neighbour hood is going through significant growth – a storey we will tell you about later in the month.
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By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON June 14, 2011 – It was a lesson in municipal civics that George Bikas of Drewlo Developments isn’t likely to forget. He got his throat slit at a Council meeting but didn’t know he had been injured until the Mayor explained that the process was and what the result was for the developer.
Few people fully understand the City Council process and think that when Council meets all kinds of decisions get made – and that part is true – BUT the discussion and the back and forth between staff and Council members and any member of the public wanting to make a delegation takes place at the committee level and for Drewlo Developments that happened on May 30th.
The decision made at the committee level is more of a recommendation than a cast in stone decision. Council can either accept the committee decision or debate it if they wish, but they usually end up doing so with out the benefit of input from staff on hand.
A Council meeting is just that – a meeting of the Council with just the city manager and the Clerk in attendance unless someone asks for other staff people to attend.
 Large five building apartment complex on Plains Road, a problem since its inception, may get shut down over a difference of opinion about the construction of a fifth entrance/exit to the underground garage. Thus George Bikas, Manager, Land Development for Drewlo Holdings appeared before Council to delegate with the objective of trying to convince council NOT to un-delegate the site plan Drewlo was working under.
Some background: Drewlo is developing a five unit apartment complex on Plains Road and the issue at hand was the elimination of a fifth entrance to the massive parking garage beneath the five building complex. The first two buildings are operational with three and four under construction And the developer hoping to also develop the fifth building. That won’t be happening any time soon..
When a development has been approved and the appropriate by-laws and zoning changes made the process of monitoring the actual development is “delegated” from council to the Planning department. The city says “we have approved it” you, the Planning department, make sure the developer does what he is supposed to do.
Planning then oversees the development work issues the building permits required at various stages of the construction. Drewlo happens to have a poor reputation wit not only the residents in the immediate area and with the local council member but with the planning department as well.
A number of months ago the planners noticed that a fifth entrance down into the underground garage had been eliminated. The developer now says it was an honest mistake but they also said they had no intention of rectifying their “mistake” The planner, Bruce Krushelnicki who know a major problem when he sees one appeared before Council and asked that the supervising of the site plans be passed back to the appropriate committee – in other words “un-delegated”. He could see this going to the Ontario Municipal Board and he wanted to be sure the city had all its documents in order. The city listened to the planner at the Committee level and agreed there that this project should be un-delegated and at Council last night – the full Council concurred at the site is now in the hands of the committee, which is a very awkward place for a developer to be.
The city had “chopped off the developers head” but he didn’t know what had happened. His objective was to convince Council that this was just a minor oversight that really wasn’t that important and that one fewer garage entranced/exists wasn’t going to make that much difference and that in two weeks they would have a traffic study supporting their position. Council didn’t buy it.
Robert Cooper, representing the residents in the area spoke forcefully for his neighbours at the committee level and was on the list to speak again at the Council meeting but declined to say anything. He could see where things were going and was quite content with putting a stop to the developers arbitrary behavior.
Bikas, representing the developer said that work on the construction site could come to a halt and the developer could move on to a different construction site and that if they sought an OMB hearing that could delay things for as much as a year – which seemed to be just fine with this Council.
 Garage entrance exit problems may bring construction of the project to a halt. Flout the rules and mess around with the planning department and you get your knuckles wrapped. The solution for Drewlo is to find a way to get that fifth entrance/exit in place fast.
The planners are now putting together a detailed report which will be given to the committee that has responsibility for the site and its development. That report gets written in language that Bruce Krushelnicki calls “bullet proof” because he fully expects his staff to have to defend the position his office took in deciding to ask a Council committee to take it off his hands.
The extent of the extremely poor working relationship between the developer and the residents was set out in correspondence the Ward councillor released in which he asked for meetings with the developer to try and resolve the differences. The developers chose not to take advantage of the office of the ward councillor Rick Craven. Construction on the site may soon come to a halt.
Residents now have some leverage over the development. The developer will produce a traffic study which the residents want to see done by the city and not a company chosen by the developer.
The planners report and its recommendations will come to a Council committee in a couple of weeks. Will the Planning department heed the shift in thinking being seen at Council and involve the residents in the discussions that could produce a solution or will the residents have to wait for an OMB hearing and make their case at that level.
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By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON June 13, 2011 – The Mayor spent three days in Portland, Oregon last week and came back with a briefcase full of literature and a notebook filled with thoughts and ideas to follow up on.
“Portland is a much more different city than Burlington but I wanted to meet people there because they have a transit system that works and works well and they have an approach to solving their problems that made a lot of sense to me’, was his opening comment during our interview..
 Burlington Mayor Rock Goldring with Portland Mayor Sam Adams. Like minds meeting each other. Goldring met with the Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability and with the Mayor of that city as well as the Portland Bureau of Transportation later in the same day. He also met with the Neighborhood Involvement groups and then with Portland’s BEST Business Centre (our BEDC) and then First Stop Portland
“They have their share of challenges” said Goldring “but what impressed me was the way they solve their problems – and he added “they run that city with a Council of five members.”
There was one statistic that really threw Goldring and that was their election turn out. In the United States voters first register, sort of the way we get our names on the voters list except that in Ontario the names of property owners are placed on the list automatically.
In Portland there is no list that is automatically created. Your name is on the voters list because you did something to put it there. In Portland – 80% of those whose names are on that voters list turn out to vote. Goldring came close to drooling when he quoted that statistic.
 It isn’t exactly the view of Burlington from the Skyway bridge. Tgis is downtown Portland Oregon where our Mayor went to exchange views and approacheds to developing a sustainable city. What worked most for the Mayor was the way the Portland city administration and the elected Council in Portland managed to put a “different lenses” on things that came up for discussion. “They consistently look at things differently. When a problem crops up they go out of their way to look at it differently – they would put a different lens on their camera and try to see things differently and not get trapped in older, less successful ways of resolving problems.”
Portland has 95 neighbourhoods that are very well organized, explained the Mayor. “The city is a very ‘grass roots’ community with the neighbourhoods organized into seven coalitions that are strong forces within the community and are not only heard at Council but listened to as well. The neighbourhoods are engaged.”
Portland has 2 million transit passengers that use a system that has all the technology in place to tell people when the next bus is coming – real time. There is no traffic congestion in Portland. There is a fare free zone in the downtown core. Their downtown is vibrant with a Pioneer Square that is heavily programmed by the city with an amphitheatre and a speakers corner. They have bike lanes as well as lanes for people who use roller blades.
Portland is a sustainable city which is a large part of the reason the Mayor stopped off for three days on his way back from a short vacation and a family wedding in Vancouver.
“Portland does not have the challenge that Burlington faces – which is the need to retrofit suburbia’ explained Goldring. “That city is made up of clearly defined neighbourhoods that live up to the 20 minute rule – getting to whatever you need in 20 minutes. It is also a much more diverse community 26.9% of the population is described as diverse – Burlington has some distance to go on that level.
Portland wasn’t always a healthy city. In the 70’s their downtown core was decaying badly and the neighbourhoods were not as clearly defined and didn’t have as much of a voice at city hall. Portland is a city with basically three parts. S solid downtown core with healthy neighbourhoods on either side of a river that cuts through the city. But ti works because they changed the way the approached their problems.
There was a statement in one of the Portland publications that seemed to sum up everything the Mayor brought back from his visit. Expect him to read this out frequently as he goes about the city talking to different groups.
The remarks were made by a member of one of Portland’s city commissioner’s and an announced candidate for Mayor of Portland in their 2012 election. “Other cities build landmarks to put their city on the map, Portland builds them to make life better for those who live in the city. Other cities use transit primarily to alleviate traffic congestion. Portland uses transit primarily to support neighbourhood street life.”
Had Burlington decided that landmarks didn’t do much for a city in the late 90’s, we might not have the mess that exists along the waterfront. The structure that has been approved at the bottom of Elizabeth at Lakeshore, that is now stalled because the developer hasn’t found the right hotel partner yet, was to be the “landmark” that would put the city on the map.
At a Waterfront Advisory meeting last week, committee member Michael O’Sullivan passed around a copy of a 1994 – yes 1994, seventeen years ago, newspaper article of a development that was going to transform that part of the city. So far they haven’t even begun to dig the hole in the ground. All we have is a motel that is a disgrace to look at and probably needs a visit from the health department.
Staff` at city hall talked of a Mayor who had returned from Portland “buzzed and really pumped up” over what he had seen and heard. Expect to hear more form him.
“I basically ran out of time. There were other people I would have liked to have met with but – I had to get back to Burlington.”
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By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON June 14, 2011 – There is an awfully cocksure crowd calling the shots within the Burlington Provincial Progressive Conservative Association – they’re taking their time in setting a nomination date and the one declared candidate is beginning to chomp at the bit.
Brian Heagle who has been a candidate since January sent out a letter to everyone he had an email address for asking them to join him in his drive to win the seat for the provincial Progressive Conservatives. In his letter there are a couple of digs. “A candidate” declares Heagle, “must be committed, without hesitation” and given that no one has come forward seeking the nomination Heagle suggests that there really isn’t much in the way of commitment. That’s the kind of suggestion a good lawyer would put forward.
 There was a time when the late John Boich was certain he had a winner in Brian Heagle but Brian wasn’t sure he could win as a Liberal and when Joyce Savoline, the sitting member, announced she was not going to run, Heagle changed his political stripes. In this photo, the Boich, on the far right, looks fondly at his protégé. Something is holding up the decision to set a nomination date. If they are waiting for another candidate to come out of the blue – that would be a Tory blue – Heagle is suggesting there isn’t much commitment from a person who sits on the sidelines this long.
Are the provincial Progressive Conservatives so certain of their electoral base in Burlington that they can run with whoever comes along. The last thing a political party wants to do is take their members for granted.
The issue of course is that there is just a little too much red in the Heagle’s pedigree and the party would rather wait and see if someone a little more to their liking comes along.
That someone wasn’t Rene Papin nor was it Brad Reaume. Both withdrew as nominees and not because they felt Heagle was unbeatable. Papin because he was asked to withdraw and Reaume for reasons that aren’t clear to many people.
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By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON June 13, 2011 It was a particularly graceless s remark, made by a Council member filling in as deputy for the Mayor while he was out of town meeting with officials in Portland Oregon.
When the Mayor is away a member of Council serves as the deputy for the Mayor. Last week Ward 2 Councillor Marianne Meed Ward was filling in for Mayor Goldring at a Senior Citizens event that had an official from the Bank of Canada teaching seniors how to detect counterfeit money.
Meed Ward arrived a bit early and mingled with people she recognized and “worked the room”. The afternoon meeting was brought to order and Meed Ward approached the lectern to say a few words – which she did. She explained that the Mayor could not be with them that afternoon – but didn’t say a word as to why the Mayor was not able to be on hand. She left the distinct impression that the Mayor didn’t have time for this group when there was an opportunity for Meed Ward to say a few words about where the Mayor was and what he was doing.
 Meed Ward works the room and listens to the qualms and concerns of a senior citizen. She could have referred to the messages the Mayor had sent to Facebook friends, which Mayor Goldring sent every day he was away and which Meed Ward logs into at least once every day and leaves a message of her own. She is the most effusive Facebook user on Council.
There was an opportunity for this Council member to tell the room of senior citizens where the Mayor was, what he was doing and how his trip to Portland could impact the lives they lived.
But Meed Ward chose to let the opportunity pass. More than one Council member has commented on the difficulty they have with Meed Ward and her tendency to carve out her own path through the jungle of municipal affairs. She is the boldest member of this Council and has brought about, and no doubt will continue to bring about, good changes. Her work on getting the Planning department to come up with better scheduling of community meetings so that citizens have enough time to consider development reports and the fuss she made over the Section 37 agreements the city gets into are all more than applaudable.
But grace and a sense of sharing the load with her fellow Council members has so far eluded Marianne Meed Ward. Her inability, so far, to engage her fellow Council members is regrettable.
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By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON June 9, 2010 – It was a Celebration and all the people who do business in this town were on hand to recognize a member of their community who got out of high school because he cut a deal with his principal and went to create a trucking company with a name everyone recognizes –”If it’s on time it’s a Fluke” and a whistle that is blown in more than 100 countries around the world.
This was Ron Foxcroft’s night and he reveled in every minute of it and said Thank You to those who helped him get to where he is as often as he mentioned the Fox40.
 Mayor Rick Goldring and his wife lead the procession into the convention hall followed by Ron Foxcroft, 2011 Entrepreneur of the Year and his wife Marie. The room was packed: 572+ people were in the room to honour Foxcroft as the Burlington Entrepreneur of the Year and install him in the Burlington Entrepreneurial Hall of fame.
All the movers and shakers were on hand. Members of Council, former Lt Governor Lincoln Alexander, who is looking pretty good. Can Jackson made one of his first public appearances since the election and was in fine form.
Connie Smith – The CHCH Good News Girl – who let everyone know she was a graduate of Nelson High, MC’d the event. Mark Cohon, Commissioner of the Canadian Football League was on hand and Angelo Mosca made the evening a true sports evening.
Marie, wife of the guest of honour was there along with their three sons.
A piper brought the dignitaries into the hall and Connie Smith even got some in the audience to toast the Queen. Thought that went out in the 50’s but then maybe Connie is a 50’s kind of gal.
Everyone in the room had a Fox40 whistle beside their cutlery. You can imagine what kind of an evening it was.
Someone should tell Foxcroft that the 500 whistles given away don’t counts as sales; he has a tendency to stretch a number just a wee bit.
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By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON June 9, 2011 – You can take the boy out of the country but you can’t take the country out of the boy, which is part of the reason Ron Foxcroft will be recognized as the Burlington Entrepreneur of the Year Thursday evening. Foxcroft tells people he lives in Aldershot – it’s where he parks his Mercedes at night.
Foxcroft will join Michael Lee Chin, Harry Voortman, Mark Chamberlain, Michael deGroote Sr., Ron Joyce and Murray Hogarth, previously recognized entrepreneurs who built their organizations from a small idea into a substantial organizations that employ hundreds of people.
 Millions sold in more than 100 countries. The Fox40, a Canadian product that dominates its market worldwide – made in Canada as well. The now near legendary tale of the 1984 pre-Olympic basket ball game in Sao Paulo Brazil when the pea in the whistle he was using as referee got stuck and he wasn’t able to make a call and the fans rioted. Foxcroft, who makes decisions as fast as you can turn a dime, resolved to make a whistle without a pea in it and found a designer who would take on the task. Three years and $150,000 later ( which he didn’t have at the time) and there were two prototypes. Chuck Sheppard stuck with him and today that whistle is sold in more than 100 countries. They manufacture 40,000 of the whistles in a day
When the prototypes were ready Foxcroft and his wife Marie, who counts the cash for the company, traveled across the country to sell the whistle. Two months later – and zappo, not a single sale. “Marie told me I had the two most expensive whistles in the world – $75,000 apiece.
 Foxcroft is no fool though – he knew the whistle was what the sports community needed and decided to catch the ear of the guys who would actually use the thing and attended a convention of sports referees – slipped into the hallway at two in the morning and walked around just blowing the whistle. Angry faces popped out of doors and Foxcroft had there attention and sales bean rolling in. There was no looking back after that stunt and today the whistled is used by not only sports people but by the US Coast Guard and numerous other organizations. You see the things in small water craft everywhere – legally every boat on the water is supposed to have a whistle.
It has become the whistle of choice for the world’s pro-sports leagues and minor league officials alike. Why is it called the Fox40? “I was 40 years old when the whistle was made.”
It is used by the NHL, NBA, NFL, CFL, NCAA, FIFA, and FINA. Because its effectiveness is not altered by water, it has been endorsed by the U.S. Coast Guard, Royal Life Saving Society of Canada, American Red Cross, NATO forces, and many more organizations.
Being a basketball referee was a full time job for Ron and that allowed him to get into other businesses without needing to take an income from the companies he was building. But serving as a basketball referee meant 35 years of being away from home far too many Saturday nights. You pay a price for that kind of thing.
He bought Fluke Transportation from the Fluke brothers (actually he conned them into selling to him because he knew they wanted out of the business) and because he didn’t have any money they took back a mortgage on the rolling stock, which at the time was three trucks. He guaranteed Bobbie Fluke a job for life and was now in the transportation business where he drove the tractors, loaded the trucks and made sales calls.
Foxcroft bought the rolling stock and also bought the name of the company which he turned into one of the best known corporate logos in the business: If it’s on time, it’s a Fluke. The best sale Foxcroft ever made was on the telephone on the Friday of a holiday weekend. The caller needed 30 trucks at a location Tuesday morning, explained Foxcroft, and wondered if I had any equipment. “I asked how many trucks they needed and they said 30 and I said where do you want them.” Foxcroft didn’t have 30 trucks but he had chutzpah and he had friends in the trucking business. That call from Proctor and Gamble 30 years ago paid off – they are still a client today.
Shortly after he bought the truck fleet from Newman Steel – again with no money. “Benny Newman wanted out of the trucking business so I bought his 20 trucks and he gave me a contract to cart steel for him. The revenue from the steel hauling covered the mortgage payments.” A classical Foxcroft purchase. What made it work was his commitment to never fail and his drive to keep his customers.
Foxcroft does client relationships like few others. The art of the deal – not the slick deal but the kind of deal where the solutions aren’t all that obvious. And THAT may be why Foxcroft is gong to be honoured Thursday evening because it was Christmas Eve of 2010 that Foxcroft called together a group of people to talk about the Hamilton Tiger Cats moving to Aldershot. Foxcroft knew all the players and he was prepared to not only referee but have some skin in the game as well. Time was of the essence and so the Christmas Eve call was made and the Paletta’s, our newly minted Burlington Mayor Rick Goldring and the people from the Tiger Cats gathered “right in this room – Pat Paletta sat right there”, said Foxcroft as he slapped his hand on the small boardroom table “and we ironed out the basics.”
There was a lot of skepticism about the deal at the time and the deadlines didn’t help but the idea that a massive sports complex could have been built doesn’t look as far fetched today when we see an NHL team going to Winnipeg and even the league mumbles about a second team in the GTA market. Foxcroft will tell you that it was a missed opportunity and that the decision to stay in Hamilton was a dumb business decision.
 He might be impulsive but he knows what he’s doing when he lines up a shot. Foxcroft’s entry into the world of business and his ability to get faced to face with the people that run the Fortune 500 companies comes through his being a basketball referee. No one wanted him to referee anything but they did want tickets to games and that Foxcroft was able to deliver on
This is a guy who failed high school and went on to buy a business with a couple of dimes in his pocket. He is one of those self made entrepreneurs who learned to let people who know what their doing run a company – he doesn’t have to micro-manage today but you kind of know when it “hits the fan” Foxcroft is one of the first people in the room cleaning up
Foxcroft proudly tells you that the whistle was invented in Canada and is made in Canada and then asks: “How many companies can you name that dominate their field world wide, not many” he tells you. But the Fox40 dominates its field. Having a patent on the product sort of keeps others away.
Getting to where he is today was not an easy road. A driven man who knew he was on to something good – Foxcroft couldn’t keep his hands off the trucking company and he micro managed like crazy until he realized there was a problem and that it was him.
That was the day he began to very difficult transition that many entrepreneurs fail to get through –letting the dream go and allowing others with different skills take the helm. Foxcroft made the transition. He learned to hire people who “were smarter than I am and then give them the room to do what they were trained to do.”
Foxcroft was the first, last and only Canadian to referee in the National College Athletic Association (NCAA). They don’t give out work permits for Canadians anymore he tells you. What he doesn’t tell people is that in 1999 he was inducted into the Canadian Basketball Hall of Fame.
Foxcroft learned that people do take advantage. “Some people mistake fairness as weakness. Good relationships, or even great relationships, can turn sour, and you must provide for it in your plans. I am very cautious, but not to the detriment of a good deal. I learned that I was a very impatient person that needed to learn not to be impulsive.”
 He can sink a ball and he can chase a ball. And if you’d like to see how he does it – pay him a visit at his Stoney Creek office where he will play a quick game with you on the small court on the ground floor. The Foxcroft group of companies use all the technology that is available to modern business organizations. “We can track everything, we know what has been sold and we know our costs down to the dime – that all part of doing business but what I regret” said Foxcroft “is that we are losing the art of communicating. Email is fine but it isn’t communicating. We need to put more emphasis on people to people communications skills.”
And that is what you can expect to hear from Ron Foxcroft when he stands before his peers at the Burlington Convention Centre and gets placed into the Burlington Entrepreneur Hall of Fame. “This ain’t about me” Foxcroft will tell you; “this is an evening to tell young entrepreneurs never to give up on the dream and to be who you are while you build great corporations.”
Today Foxcroft is still impulsive – but cautiously impulsive. He will jump into an idea if he thinks it has a chance – if an attempt to bring the Tiger Cats to Aldershot wasn’t impulsive then nothing is. He runs Foxcroft International, the whistle business from an office in Stoney creek; Foxcroft Capital is run out of an office in east Burlington and Fluke Transportation out of an office in Hamilton.
 Ask Foxcroft why he still pushes and why he even bothered to get into business and he will tell you openly: “It was hunger and fear.” The days of fear and hunger are gone but for Foxcroft it’s the challenge and “I’m having fun. The day I stop having fun, someone else will be at this desk”. Sounds like a pretty good exit strategy but don’t expect that to happen tomorrow.
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By Staff
BURLINGTON, ON June 7, 2011 – Give a kid a camera and you just never know what they will click away at.
Our Mayor got himself and his Missus a few days of R&R and set aside a few days for a stop over in Portland Oregon, – on his own dime by the way.
 Mayor Goldring appears to like the look of those LRT cars used in Portland. Would he run the things from the Burlington Mall to the Mapleview Mall? He is meeting with some of the pooh bahs in Portland and as they showed him around town he just clicked away. Here is what he thought we would be interested.
Transit has been an issue with city council and will become much more so as we go forward – even though some of the Mayor’s colleagues are
not on the same page as he is when it comes to who uses the transit we have, our Mayor wants us to know he is a very progressive thinker and popped us a picture of the rapid transit in Portland.
While Portland is fine city Burlington can most certainly hold its own. The mayor snapped a picture of a garden in Portland – pales in comparison to our Royal Botanical Gardens.
 This Portland Park is small potatoes when compared with out RBG.
 Well it might go somewhere on Brant Street – I suppose but we could import totem polls that would be more authentic.
And the street art in Portland ? Well, the Mayor should have snapped his Blackberry into over drive and flashed the pictures of our bicycle stands. We are miles ahead of those guys.
Our Mayor will learn a lot and we hope that he uses his time with those folks in Portland to let them know that Burlington is doing.
Amongst the pictures was one of the Rogers Centre in Vancouver. Did the Mayor score a pair of hockey tickets and manage to take in the game. That would have been a feat. We await his return to get the lowdown on our Mayor’s first venture outside the province. Tickets to a Stanley Cup game, we are impressed.
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By Staff
Burlington, ON June 6, 2011— Do you like taking photos? Do you think Burlington is a great place to live, work, and play? Show us what makes Burlington great with your photos.
The city wants every idea anyone has about what it should look like in the next 20 to 25 years and is currently working up a strategic plan to get us through the next three and a half years of that long term vision.
Residents have been a bit less than forthcoming with ideas – other than the same old, same old from places like the Chamber of Commerce. So they are going to try a slightly different angle and ask people to send in photographs of what they think their city should look like. Have you taken picture that equals the thousand words that sum up what Burlington is to you? Send it in.
As part of the development of the city’s new strategic plan, Burlington, Our Future, the city is inviting you to take photos demonstrating your vision for Burlington – now and in the future. This strategic plan will be used by city council as it makes decisions that will shape our city over the next four years. By submitting an entry, your photos may be used in an online photo gallery or in the city’s various publications.
Anyone living or working in Burlington may submit their photo(s). Submissions will be accepted until Thursday, June 30, 2011.
When making a submission to the What Makes Burlington Great? Online Photo Gallery please include: a photo, a completed Photo Gallery Submission Form with your name and e-mail address as well as a title for and a description of your photo.
Please visit www.burlington.ca/ourfuture, for more information on the What Makes Burlington Great? Online Photo Gallery.
There is a photograph that speaks to us at Our Burlington. As you drive north on Guelph Line – and you’re coming over the hump that crosses the QEW you can see it on the horizon. Get to Guelph Line and Palmer Drive and there it is in all its glory – this massive Canadian flag flying outside the Fortino’s store.
For us – it doesn’t get better than this. We’re going to submit this picture. What have you got?
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By Pepper Parr
 BURLINGTON, ON June 7, 2011 – We all know there is going to be a provincial election October 6th. We all know that Joyce Savoline is going to ride off into her sunset and enjoy retirement.
We know too that Rene Papin chose to fall on his sword and withdraw as a candidate seeking the nomination from the Provincial Progressive Conservative Constituency Association and by now everyone knows that Brian Heagle is out there shaking hands and talking to anyone who even looks like a Conservative, which for Heagle is a bit of a challenge because he has so many friends who fully expected him to be the Liberal candidate in the provincial election.
 He said he was interested but changed his mind and withdrew his name. Even had signs made up  Papin really wanted the nomination but the party apparently didn’t want him and he reluctantly withdrew.
The provincial legislature has shut down until the election results come in the evening of the 6th of October and we now have the party leaders running hither and yon across the province casting aspersions on one another. Of the 103 constituencies in Ontario the Progressive Conservatives have nominated in all but 12 – Burlington, thought to be a riding that could be won by a dog with a blue ribbon tied around its neck, is one of the dozen that has not yet nominated.
 Brian Heagle wants the nomination but the party isn’t at all sure they want him The Association clearly isn’t all that keen on Heagle, who will tell you he doesn’t know why they nomination meeting hasn’t been held, but it isn’t his job to call the meeting. All Heagle wants to do is know when the event is going to be held and show up to make his pitch to the full membership.
The Progressive Conservatives don’t have all that much in the way of a campaign organization in place – so whoever wins the nomination is going to have to pull together a new team and then get out on the street.
The Premier, he being Dalton McGuinty, pulled a bit of a fast one, when he shut down the legislature a day earlier than anyone expected thus taking away the opportunity Tim Hudak, the leader of the opposition had of making any last minute statements in the legislature.
Progressive Conservatives have always done wonderfully well in Burlington provincially. George Kerr served as the provincial member from 1963 to 1985 and was followed by Can Jackson who served from 1985 to 1999. Both men left the provincial government under a bit of a cloud. Kerr for making a telephone call to a Crown Prosecutor and Jackson who was basically asked to leave the Cabinet.
Kerr had two run ins with ethical matters. During the first of the two he temporarily resigned from cabinet on February 21, 1975, after allegations that he had solicited and received money from a man involved in a harbour scandal in Hamilton. Kerr protested his innocence, but argued that he could not function as the province’s Solicitor-General while the matter was unresolved. A subsequent investigation found no grounds to warrant charges against Kerr, and he was briefly returned to cabinet before leaving again on July 18, of the same year.
 Election ploys were different in ’75 (but then so were the cars) Kerr took to the waters of Burlington Bay to prove how safe they were for swimming. He resigned a second time as Solicitor-General after he made a telephone call to an assistant crown attorney on behalf of a constituent who was facing trial for driving while his license was suspended. The call quickly became public and Kerr resigned from cabinet on Sept. 9, 1978.
Burlington was forgiving and Kerr was re-elected in the 1981 provincial election, and served as a government backbencher for the next four years. He retired from the legislature in 1985.
Kerr’s problems with ethical issues didn’t stop Cam Jackson from going after the provincial seat which he won handily in 1985 and held every year through to 1999 when he left provincial politics very suddenly after being asked to leave Cabinet. The paparazzi staked out Jackson’s home for several days when he went to ground and wasn’t seen for three weeks.
 Always mercurial Jackson was a winner at the provincial level. His luck didn’t hold out second time around at the municipal level. Jackson has always been a bit of mercurial candidate for the citizens of Burlington. Never lost an election but came uncomfortably close when he won by just 605 votes in 1987, then rose from those ashes to take more than 70% of the popular vote in 1995.
He was forced to resign on October 2, 2002 due to a controversy over his practice of billing the government for steak dinners and hotel stays. Jackson did not appear in public for weeks and there was speculation that he would not run for re-election. Jackson was fully exonerated of all allegations before the next election, and did retain his riding in the 2003 election (albeit with a greatly reduced majority) while dozens of other Tory MPPs lost their seats.
His first loss, while running for a second term as Mayor of Burlington was very hard; Jackson came in third behind two former members of city Council who chose to run against him after just the one term as Mayor.
Colourful backgrounds, is it something in the water we draw from the lake ?
Joyce Savoline ran a clean office but wasn’t seen as someone who did all that much for the city. She was reputed to be less than moved by the current Leader of the Opposition, Tim Hudak and chose to announce her plans to retire well in advance and give the party plenty of time to find a strong candidate. Savoline didn’t do all that well against Marianne Meed Ward in 2007. Meed Ward, running as a Liberal, lost the election but not by that much – 19,693 to Savoline’s 21,517 votes.
That closer than usual result for the provincial Liberals in 2007 has led them to believe they have a shot at winning the seat this time around.
For a very short period of time there were two candidates for the Liberal nomination but that got pared down to one with Karmel Sakran now out there campaigning. The Liberals have had a bit of a jump on the PC’s, but they don’t appear to be putting that small advantage to much use. They have yet to name a campaign organizer but at least they have a candidate who just might be enough of a conservative to make the difference.
As for the Progressive Conservatives – So far they’ve not even managed to call a nomination meeting. Trouble in paradise?
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By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON June 6, 2011 Finally, the Waterfront Advisory Committee has done something, and something useful we might add.
Access being a part of their operational name – it was useful to wonder just how much access the average citizen has to the lake at end of road allowances owned by the city. Easy answer to that one – city owns the road allowance so you can walk down that allowance to the lakefront – you’d think. Well not so fast.
Me and the missus was out for a walk the other evening – picked up an ice cream that we didn’t really need and now had to walk it off. Strolling along the lake front and we cane across a spot that was really lovely spot and were about to walk down to the water’s edge and the missus says we can’t go there – it’s private property. I didn’t think it was private property but the missus did and so we just gazed and walked on.
Which raised the question in my mind – where can you walk to the waters edge? The Waterfront Access and Protection Advisory Committee has asked the same question and they prevailed upon Bob Peachey, Manager of Parks and Open Spaces for some guidance. Peachey made a presentation to the Advisory group and that set three members of the committee, Graham Richards, Brian Jones and Les Armstrong, out on a field trip. Some interesting results. Do read on.
 Appleby road allowance lets citizens enjoy the view. At Appleby Line they found a nicely set bench with a good view out over the lake. A trash container and street lighting made it a safe place to relax as dusk turns to darkness on a summer evening. The trio thought some signage “Window on the Lake” that one sees along North Shore Road would have been helpful.
The Walkers line road allowance, while not quite as nice as Appleby Line is was still a place you could sit and relax.
 Walkers Line road allowance gives people access to the lakes edge When the trio got to Fruitland Road the situation wasn’t as good – and there was the suggestion that a property owner might be encroaching on the public land. Won’t know for sure until the construction is completed but right now the contractors are using the right of way to store construction material and the guard rail to be installed is sitting on the ground. No problem with that – contractors need a little leeway from time to time.
Lakeland Crescent was just as nice as Walkers and Appleby Line. But that for the trio was where the good news ended. Set out below is the map Peachey used as part of his February presentation to the Waterfront Advisory Committee showing city property between Nelson Park and Green Street.
There is a sneaky situation at the bottom of St. Paul Street where a large boulder with a street number leaves the impression it is private property. The trio points out that the “road allowance at St. Paul has been completely taken over by the home owner at the end of the street”. They go on to say that: “The home owner has installed a large rock in the very middle of the right of way which would certainly curtail the public from venturing on to what is perceived to be private property.” The missus and me certainly saw it that way when we were out on our walk.
 How would you see that boulder blocking the way? Would YOU walk to the lake's edge.  We didn't, which is what the property owners wanted us to do. City is being asked to clarify the encroachment policy.
It gets even worse at Water Street. According to the trio the home owner has blocked access to the Water Street parcel from St. Paul Street. Can we expect the people responsible for Open Spaces to rectify this one? What will the city’s legal department have to say? We will keep you posted?
Market Street leaves quite a bit to be desired as well. The trio says that “the end of Market Street is not quite as bad as St. Paul but, there are no facilities pr encouragement to entice the public to this property. A city map indicated that there should be access to the Water Street parcel from the end of Market Street. This has been completely blocked by the home owners fencing.
Allview Avenue is an opportunity waiting to be developed. The installation of a couple of benches and trash containers will make this a nice spot for a rest.
 End of Allview Avenue road allowance offers a great view over the lake. Time for some benches.
The road end at Stillwater Crescent is an interesting situation. The road allowance is barricaded before it turns right into North Shore – means no one can walk along to the actual waterfront.
The Road allowance at the end of King Road was an interesting one for the trio. As the trio walked down the right of way on King Road to the Bay the home owner challenged the committee as to what they were doing on his private property. The trio, Graham Richards, Brian Jones and Les Armstrong indicated they thought it was public land, a road allowance at which point, according to the trio, the home owner changed his story and said he leased the right of way from the city. The trio reports that 616 North Shore Road does indeed have a long term lease on the road allowance.” How did he get that?
 Home owner at 616 North Shore Road first claims he owns the property then fesses up and says he has a long term lease.
Belhaven Crescent right of way although not marked is well known and used by local people as a link to the waterfront trail along the edge of LaSalle Park.
Powder Magazine Road has no facilities with weeds the completely cut off the view of the water.. Get benches in place before someone comes asking for a long term lease.
Other than inviting former Toronto Mayor David Crombie to a meeting at which he actually fired up the committee, this is the first really solid result to come out of the Waterfront Advisory. Let’s see what they do with the information they came back with. The least should be a report to the appropriate city council committee with some strong recommendations. Good work guys.
No more long term leases for one and as the trio suggest: “Clarify the policy on encroachment”. Do we have a council member who just might be a little out of line in terms of encroachment?
Are we looking at a situation where people who can afford waterfront property deliberately encroach on city owned road allowances while the city turns a blind eye and lets people of means take advantage of their connections at city hall?
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BURLINGTON, ON June 21, 2011 – John Taylor was not having a good evening. He had spent more than three hours talking about snow removal at a city council committee meeting on a day when the temperature was, in what he would call, the mid 80’s. His demeanor during the afternoon session was typical John Taylor – he asked probing questions and reminded staff members of things about snow removal they had forgotten about. Taylor is a fixture in the Council chamber.
