What it cries out for today is some reaction on both sides of the coin, of the revived interest in Aldershot as a new home for the Ticats. Its location is perfect in terms of visibility, parking and transportation, but it removes this fabled football team from within the confines of the City of Hamilton. (That said, someone pointed out that the Buffalo Bills don’t play within Buffalo-proper.)
I can’t imagine this will be totally free of tax implications or infrastructure costs for the good burghers of Burlington. That said, the positive elements, (new employment opportunities, another attraction for Burlington as an employment mecca, new tax income etc.) may well balance out the negative implications.
It’s an issue with huge ramifications for Burlington at a time when other projects like the Performing Arts Centre and the pier stand out as large tax-consuming items.
I also wouldn’t be surprised if the mere mention of Aldershot as a stadium site is enough to make Hamilton’s council reconsider Confederation Park as a site — just to keep it in “The Hammer.”
Seems to me, Hamilton Mayor Bob Bratina is in a win-win situation: he can blame the whole stadium mess on the previous council and if it goes to Aldershot, Hamilton can focus its heritage funds on other, more appropriate projects that will help that city in its renaissance efforts.
This is the big end-of-2010 story for Burlington!
Site looks great. Nice balance of stories and a light, bright, tight writing style.
Ron Dennis
Editors note” Ron is a drinking buddy and we published a review of his recent book: Adventures in Shroomville: the mystery of Hedgehog Hill, so he might be just a little prejudiced – but we don’t mind.
By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON February 16, 2011 – Kilbride is one of those small rural communities that has a combination of “quaint” feeling and “rural run down” to it. The hub would seem to be the community centre with the local United Church coming in a close second. The most northerly community of Burlington, Kilbride is there, but doesn’t get a lot of attention. That’s about to change.
 - Not everything in Kilbride is picturesque but it was all threatened.
The countryside is splendid and many of the homes are lovely. It is certainly quiet, which is probably the way most people up there like it. But the community is threatened in the short term by possible budget cuts that may impact on the community centre and a fire department that is seriously undermanned. Those problems aside, it is a sleep little community and they don’t need much time to tell you that that is the way they want it to stay, peaceful, quiet and no major roads running through this part of town if you don’t mind.
 - This community was on the front line of the fight against a highway ripping past the community and was ready to protest loudly. Turns out the other side faded away.
A road the province wanted to ram through that part of the city – in about 20 years – galvanized the community and when the plans for the highway were stopped they thought they could be quiet again. Changes in the next Burlington budget may have them marching down Cedar Springs Road and heading for City Hall with hay forks and battle axes over there shoulders.
The community is served by a rather large school, a fire station with a community police station that you reach at night by picking up a telephone outside the building. This is a very low crime community – maybe a house break in from time to time and perhaps some road accidents. The equipment at the fire station is well maintained – it just isn’t very well manned.
 - Equipped but not fully manned.
The requirement is for 40 people to staff the place but there are just 19 and they are all volunteers. Those parts of Burlington south of Dundas get what the fire department officials call 4×4, which is their code for four fireman at a location in four minutes – but that doesn’t happen in Kilbride. Poor fire service, and that doesn’t mean the fireman do a poor job – there just aren’t enough firemen to cover all the shifts. is just one of their problems – the community centre is at about as much risk as any house that might catch fire.
 - Quaintly rural – with a canon to ward off the road surveyors?
As Burlington gets into the nitty gritty of its budget making for the next fiscal year it has to decide where it wants to cut, where it has to cut. The city went through a four year period where the tax increases amounted to 28% during that four year period and the taxpayers got fed up. Newly elected Mayor Rick Goldring told his constituents in his inaugural address that he would strive to keep the increase to 10% during his four year term but Ward 5 Council member Paul Sharman stunned both Council and city hall staff when he said tax increases could and would be held to 0%. He said at the time that the political will was represented by council and that he wanted staff to come back with budget that had a 0% increase.
 - Picturesque and threatened.
And that is what council will struggle with in the weeks ahead. It will get noisy as city staff lays out the options and council members either stand up to their constituents or fold the way Rick Goldring did when he was council member for Ward 5 and his residents almost ran him out of the ward when he voted for having a soccer pitch for the Pan Am games in Sherwood Forest Park
Sharman is something new to this city council. He is bold, a bit on the gruff side but can be amazingly gracious when he chooses. But you never doubt where he is coming from. He wants better value for the money we pay city hall staff and he doesn’t want to pay them as much either. He is proposing that there be no COLA – Cost of Living Allowance, which gives city hall staff an automatic pay increase – annually, based on the CPI, Consumer Price Index.
He is prepared to see merit pay given out but he doesn’t want to have council involved in that process. “We would just determine what the gross amount of the merit pay allocation would be and leave it to the city manager to determine who gets what – based on their performance.” That didn’t appear to go down all that well with senior city hall staff and that policy isn’t a done deal yet.
What will Kilbride lose in terms of services? That won’t be known until the budget is finalized – but it could be a noisy council chamber in the weeks ahead.
 The By law enforcement officer is not going to go along with this kind of grass on the boulevard in front of your house. By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON February 16, 2011 – That Boulevard outside your house may not be your property – but it is about to become your responsibility – and you’re going to have to cut the grass when it starts growing again.
City Council decided this week that you have to cut that grass and if you don’t – the by-law enforcement officer will drop by and he won’t be having a cup of coffee with you. Most people who have a boulevard outside their house already cut that grass – we do, but now we have to cut it.
And you are going to have to cut it short too. If it isn’t cut to about two and a half inches and weeds grow and they show – you may have to pick those weeds as well. But if you cut the grass regularly and keep it short the By-Law enforcement Officer will drive by and smile – and you’ll like the look of the street you live on.
Ward 1 council member Rick Craven smiled when the matter was being discussed at a Community Development Committee. He has a constituent who doesn’t cut the grass – ever – and places a sign on his boulevard saying the grass is “natural” and is not be cut. We can see a problem developing in Aldershot over that one. We all have to play nice and look the same – no room for some oddball look in Burlington.
No word on whether or not the city is going to allow artificial turf on the boulevards.
By Pepper Parr
MILTON, ON February 13, 2011 – It was just a cool way to spend a Sunday afternoon. And it was a great deal as well. For $20. you got two hours of exceptional jazz in a really pleasant renovated barn setting with all the coffee you wanted to drink, several cheese trays and cup cakes – and a beer tasting table and a cash bar. And because this was Valentine Sunday – there were carnations for the women. The event was part of the pretty regular Sunday Jazz program at the Halton Regional Museum.
This is something worth checking out. The location is very nice and the price – almost too good to be true. Led by Polish born, Toronto-based musician Paul Pacanowski we heard many of the old standards as well as an original composition: “Summer Hay Ride” in which you could hear the clip clop of the horses hooves. Nice piece of work.
The Jazz series are part of the Halton Museum Foundation program – well worth looking into.
Public punster puts pages
in the hands of a reviewer.
Ron Dennis recently published his first children’s book and now faces the pen of a fellow scribe. A review of this first effort follows.
Review by Eric Kohanik
The classic literary battle of good vs. evil is not new.
Neither is the embodiment of that theme in a fresh-faced young hero squaring off against a craggy, demonic villain. Nor is it a surprise that distant family ties would somehow be involved in setting the stage for the ultimate showdown.
We see all those elements in Adventures in Shroomville: The Mystery of Hedgehog Hill, a children’s/young adults’ novel penned by former daily journalist Ron Dennis.
You may already have had a peek at Shroomville. The Hamilton Spectator and other newspapers serialized chapters of the fantasy novel earlier this year as part of the Newspapers in Education program to help cultivate young readers.
Shroomville follows the saga of young Marshall Shroom, a kid who seems destined to tread in the footsteps of his dad as Town Constable of Shroomville, an unorthodox little village nestled deep in a boreal forest. On his 13th birthday, young Mars gets the telepathic call to follow his destiny, so he sets out to track down and rescue his missing father and best friend, a young girl named Portia Bella.
The clever adventure has twists, but Dennis refrains from making his tale too complex. This is a quick and easy read, tailored to stimulate and stretch the imaginations of the young and young-at-heart. And its quirky slate of characters will likely evoke more than a passing chuckle along the way with their assorted, pun-filled names.
Adventures in Shroomville: The Mystery of Hedgehog Hill, by Ron Dennis (Manor House Publishing; $14.95 CDN / $12.95 US) Available at Chapters/Indigo on Brant Street in Burlington.
Rob is left scratching his head
And then uttered a classical Canadian phrase eh?
By Rob MacLellan and Mike Harris
We just love it when there is dialogue – people exchanging views and asking questions.
Rob, my neighbour who has a great big snow blower, so we are buddies if you know what I mean. Rob tells people he hails from Cape Breton (hope he doesn’t put that on his resume) sent me this:
From Rob:
I thought this might interest you given your the attention paid to politics and political figures on your website. I recently sent a message to Burlington MP Mike Wallace and have attached it along with his reply below.
Kind of makes you scratch your head and think a bit. Personally, I cannot see how a cut in personal taxes would save the average Canadian family enough to not mortgage their futures.
Here is what` Rob sent Mike Wallace, his Member of Parliament:
Hello Mike,
I recently received a mailer from your office and I wanted comment on it. This particular mailer has a focus on families with respect to taxes and such.
I am sure you are probably quite aware of the costs of raising a family, it seems the bills never seem to end. Two of the more substantial costs coming from child care, and saving for post secondary education.
I view myself as one of the lucky ones who doesn’t feel the pinch too badly with respect to these costs, but it always leaves me to wonder about those who may have a more difficult time making ends meet.
Let’s focus on child care as I think it would likely be the most universal issue to young families.
Assuming the “Average Canadian” household income is ~ $70,000, say $35,000 per spouse. If the average tax rate is approximately 19%, so approximate Net family income each year is $56,700. Breaking it down even further, gives a family $1,090 each week to spend. I know there are tax experts out there who would curse such a rough calculation, but I would hope I am still fairly close to the mark here.
For this example I will use a family with two (2) children, who are at daycare age.
Now if we factor in the $2,400 / year Universal Child Care Benefit, or $1,944 after 19% tax, it gives a family an extra $37 per week.
So, assuming $1,127 / week take home pay for an average Cdn. family. Where does that money need to go?
Household Costs (avg. per week):
– $490.00 Child Care(example taken from Woodlands Childcare centre here in Burlington)
– $30.00 Hydro
– $26.00 Union Gas
– $30.00 Telephone / Television / Internet
– $150.00 Grocery
– $242.00 Mortgage (assuming $200,000 mortgage, 3.99%, 25 years, weekly payment)
– $50.00 Property Tax
– $40.00 Insurance (home / auto[1])
– $50.00 Gas (for auto)
—————————-
$1,108.00 Average
That leaves $19 per week to cover miscellaneous expenses (clothing, furniture, car payments, home/auto repair, life insurance, etc.), spending money (entertainment), savings (Vacation, RRSP, RESP), etc. I don’t know about you, but I know I spend a fair deal more than $19/week on miscellaneous type expenses.
The single largest cost based on my calculations is Child Care. I know my estimates are raw and debatable, but I suspect they are not far from what families are paying.
I have a hard time seeing how Canadians will be to live day-to-day and make ends meet, let alone be able to save for their future (i.e. retirement), and the future of their children (i.e. post secondary).
My question is this. If the above information is even close to accurate, would you want to live like the “Average Canadian”?
I welcome your feedback.
Here is what Rob got back from his Member of Parliament.
Hello Mr. MacLellan
First, I would like to thank you for taking the time and effort to write a detailed response to my recent mailer. I will not dispute your numbers. The issue the mailer addressed was that families faced a higher family tax burden prior to us taking office. The tax burden was about $3000.00 more for a family of four. This is not to say the job is done, but we have been reducing federal taxes for individuals and families. Tax freedom day now comes weeks earlier in the year than under previous governments.
This may not be enough, but we will continue to find ways to cut personal taxes.
Rob is still scratching his head over this one.
Ask your kid – if s/he knows – s/he is a genius.
By Staff
What does 2 128 look like and what do you call the things?
It’s an undecillion and when the internet cuts over to a new, and necessary, list of addresses, they will be able to issue 340 undecillion of the things.
That number looks like this:
340,282,366,920,938,463,463,374,607,431,768,211,456
If you think your kid is a genius ask him what an undecillion is – if the kid knows – it’s a genius and your troubles have just begun.
If the kid is just normal it will explain what an internet address is and why you use the things. Have a high school student ask the math teacher what an undecillion is – shold pick up an A for that one.
Now you’re smarter than you were yesterday.
Right now, the Nelson quarry file is one of the most important public proceedings in Canada. Isabelle and Sarah Harmer and their group Protecting Escarpment Rural Land are part of a hearing that could protect the Niagara Escarpment. Read on to learn the truth of such public hearings: They are only won with the support of friends – friends who help bear the financial burden of a professional hearing, friends who donate their time and energy to attend the hearing or spread the word.
Isabelle Harmer just may be the nicest woman in the world.
She is kind and warm, the type of person who makes you feel cared for when you’ve only just met her. Isabelle has seen a lot in her eighty-ish years. She’s sharp, a quick and accurate judge of character. In the last decade alone, this trailblazer has helped to found or promote an impressive list of volunteer programs to protect her community*.
Sarah, her daughter, is a rival for the title of world’s nicest woman. Sarah Harmer is a popular and highly-respected musician; she, like her mother, is a committed environmental advocate. Sarah has created songs about the Harmers’ backyard: the Niagara Escarpment. She has back-packed its trails, performed for crowds in out-of-the-way halls, and spread word of the Escarpment on cross-Canada tours.
“It’s hard to say exactly when I became involved in the Niagara Escarpment, and in PERL. About 20 or 30 years ago, this society in Ontario decided that the Niagara Escarpment was an ancient and vital ecosystem. Because it’s difficult terrain — it’s difficult and steep — historically it was difficult to develop. Now, some of the remaining old-growth forest is still there, along with hundreds of creeks and tributaries,” says Sarah.
The Harmer farm
The Harmer family property lays atop the Niagara Escarpment. It’s a 100-acre farm full of hay and trees, close to wetlands that nurture the threatened Jefferson Salamander.
The Harmer family farm also sits close to a large quarry operated by Nelson Aggregate. Nelson’s quarry is nearly sixty years old, has helped build much of the Greater Toronto Area, and the company is about to run out of rock. It is hoping the Province of Ontario will issue it a new license to blast out a new massive quarry across the road from the old one.
Concerned about the impacts Nelson’s new quarry would have on precious Escarpment water and wildlife, Isabelle and Sarah teamed up to stop the project:
“A few years ago, my mother and me and some neighbours made fliers and stuffed mailboxes. Then we had a meeting at the church, and about 100 people came out,” Sarah told The Tyee in 2005.
PERL’s vision
Their group’s name, PERL, stands for Protecting Escarpment Rural Land. It has a broad vision of celebrating and protecting the Niagara Escarpment, and more committed volunteers have come aboard to help out.
Right now, PERL’s intervention on the Nelson quarry file is one of the most important public proceedings in Canada. PERL’s initial concern – protecting 200 acres of rural land from the Nelson quarry expansion – is the focus of a hearing before a combined panel of Ontario Municipal Board and Environmental Review Tribunal members that promises to stretch on for many, many months.
A hearing of this length is an incredible commitment. Any individual or organization participating in a hearing is represented by counsel, but they need to have a team in the room to fully participate. When your team is a nonprofit organization, volunteers and generous consultants have to do more than their fair share of the legwork. PERL volunteers are attending the hearing virtually every day to listen to evidence, identify issues for cross-examination, and prepare for their own team’s testimony.
Local government agencies such as City of Burlington, Halton Region, Conservation Halton, and the Niagara Escarpment Commission are on PERL’s side. They are full participants in the hearing, bringing witnesses and leading cross-examination. That makes it easier for PERL, but not easy.
PERL’s challenge
PERL’s costs for expert evidence will be in the tens of thousands of dollars. (When Lake Ontario Waterkeeper was preparing for our appeal of the Lafarge Alternative Fuels file, our expenses reached about $200,000 before the appeal even began.)
To raise funds, PERL needs public support. The group has an individual giving program called “Adopt-a-Jeff”. Artist Stewart Jones has made 100 prints available for $250, with proceeds to PERL. Lake Ontario Waterkeeper is directing every text-to-give donation we receive between now and February 6th to help pay for evidence on water issues (Text “Drink” to 45678).
No hearing outcome is ever guaranteed. You never know what the final decision will be. The value of a hearing is the decision of the independent adjudicators, the people who hear all the evidence and weigh it fairly. Public intervenors (like PERL) are there to assist those decision-makers, to ensure that they are given all the evidence, the best evidence, and the community context to make a wise and informed decision.
The truth is, hearings are won by friends: friends who help bear the financial burden of a professional hearing, friends who donate their time and energy to attend the hearing or spread the word. You cannot win a fair legal hearing because of your friends, but without them you will always lose.
Both Isabelle and Sarah have put their heart and soul into protecting Mount Nemo. They have dedicated money, proceeds from album sales, time, energy, care and thought to their cause … all in the name of water and plants and the squishy-looking Jefferson Salamander.
If they win, future families who stomp around in Mount Nemo’s wetlands, poke at frog eggs, and breathe the quiet plateau air can thank Isabelle and Sarah and all those who are the first ones to say “yes” when the world needs their help.
That future is possible. PERL has science on its side. It has local government on its side. It has Canada’s ecological and cultural heritage on its side. All that PERL and Isabelle and Sarah need now is plenty of friends, friends who will come to the aid of two of the nicest people in the world.
More information
Lake Ontario Waterkeeper live-blogs weekly from the Nelson hearing. PERL’s Facebook Page carries regular updates as well. Please visit our pages to follow the hearing and share your comments.
(* Isabelle Harmer’s other projects include Citizens Opposed to Paving the Escarpment, Coalition of the Niagara Escarpment, Canadian Federation of University Women of Burlington, and SHARE Agriculture Foundation.)
When Sarah Harmer chose to record her last album, All of Our Names, in her own home near Kingston, Ontario, it wasn’t because the commercial recording studio was all booked up.
Harmer admits she tends to “write songs and bits of songs at home and about home.” The wood stove crackles in one of the songs on the album, and she says “both the sounds and the sentiments of her house seeped in.”
Harmer grew up in rural Ontario, and doesn’t think much of recent developments in the Niagara Escarpment, to name one of her environmental concerns. No naïve granola, Harmer has spearheaded an “I Love the Escarpment Tour” and a group called PERL.
But even though she says she finds the natural environment endlessly fascinating, she avows she never sets out to have this theme or any other theme in her songs. “It’s just what ends up. I start with something special or interesting, and it’s kind of random what ends up on paper. So much is about what’s in someone’s life. The little moments.”
Harmer spoke to The Tyee by phone. “I love Vancouver,” she says of her pending performances at the Vancouver Folk Music Festival. “And it’s at Jericho, which I have great memories of – I had an all-night bonfire there several years ago.” She’ll also be heading to Salt Spring Island and Tofino for concerts and for a little recreation after that.
Below, excerpted from our conversation, are her quotes.
On her origins – the church and the botanists
“I grew up on a farm just outside of Burlington, Ontario. It’s where my parents still live.
“I also grew up singing in the church choir. That’s where I learned to sing and harmonize. When I was eight and belting out classics like ‘Will Your Anchor Hold,’ I didn’t feel all that spiritual about them then. And I don’t practice any organized religion now, but I do think that’s filtered in somehow.
“Then there’s the fact that, genetically, my mom was a schoolteacher and she had six kids. She had aspirations to be a minister.
“I do think that music is part of the service industry. And spirituality is about being in service to other people and the natural world. I think it’s apparent that I’ve become more spiritual in the last five or 10 years, but mostly it’s just that I’ve grown up a little bit. And I’ve spent a lot of time outside.
“Which reminds me of something my friend told me: that nature and imagination are two of the world’s oldest friends. They do go hand in hand.
“Lately, I’ve been hanging out with a lot of biologists and botanists to do some environmental monitoring, mostly behind my parent’s land. And I’ve had some interesting conversations about reverence and some about straight-up science. But I really can’t separate the two. So many things are fascinating in the natural world that there’s a kind of inherent respect.”
On PERL-ly thoughts
“It’s hard to say exactly when I became involved in the Niagara Escarpment, and in PERL About 20 or 30 years ago, this society in Ontario decided that the Niagara Escarpment was an ancient and vital ecosystem. Because it’s difficult terrain — it’s difficult and steep — historically it was difficult to develop. Now, some of the remaining old-growth forest is still there, along with hundreds of creeks and tributaries. And the corridor is protected. But there’s one loophole – for the aggregate industry. They’re still allowed to operate.
“But if you have to prioritize between where to get gravel and where to protect species at risk, it’s an obvious priority. So PERL came into being just to protect 200 acres of grasslands.
“It’s got just about every button you could possibly push. We need to protect agricultural soil, habitat, old growth forest. Everything we’re talking about worldwide is going on here.
“A few years ago, my mother and me and some neighbours made fliers and stuffed mailboxes. Then we had a meeting at the church, and about 100 people came out.”
On singin’ the ‘Escarpment Blues’
“I guess I wrote ‘Escarpment Blues’ to tell the story. I just started kind of singing it in my backyard. I started it then I thought ‘Oh, I guess that’s a song,’ then I kind of put it away. For me, usually the melody is a given. It just happens. It’s just there. It’s subconscious. I usually have to labour over the words.
“A few weeks later, I finished it, and recorded it. My record label generously manufactured it and gave all the profits to PERL. It’s been awesome to put music to work.
“The Escarpment Tour wrapped up in June, but Andy Keen got the whole thing on video, so he’s going to make it into a documentary. He shot our shows and the hiking and rock climbing. So he’s cutting it. And I’m also going into the studio with an acoustic band to capture what we were doing on this tour and record an album Ideally, we’ll have a simultaneous release. So we’ll keep doing it.”
Sarah Harmer is playing at the Vancouver Folk Music Festival on Saturday, July 15th at 5:30pm on stage four.
Vanessa Richmond is the culture editor for The Tyee.
Stewart Jones
Mount Nemo
Printed on Archival Bamboo paper
20″ x 20″
Civic Recognition Award nominations
due no later than Tuesday, March 1st
By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON – The City of Burlington is now accepting nominations for its annual Civic Recognition Awards. The deadline for nominations is March 1, 2011. If you know a volunteer who has played a role in making the community a better place to live, work or play, then consider submitting their name for this honour. The forms to nominate someone are here: Click
“The annual Civic Recognition Awards give us the opportunity to recognize individuals who have left a significant mark on our city through their volunteerism and contributions to making Burlington a great place to live,” said Mayor Rick Goldring. “It’s so important that we show our gratitude to these remarkable people for going above and beyond to make a positive impact in our community.”
Nominations can be made in one of these six award categories:
- Citizen of the Year
- Junior Citizen of the Year
- Senior Person of the Year
- Arts Person of the Year
- The Community Service Award
- The Environmental Award
The awards program started in 1965 when different service groups in the city had awards they were giving and the thinking was that this event would be better run by the city. Alan Smith is the citizen member chair of the committee (the vice chair position is open). He is supported by Deb Coughlin, Manager of Council Services in the city Clerks department. The committee receives the nominations and passes on a set of recommendations to city council.
The winners will be honoured at a special awards evening on Thursday, May 26, 2011 at the Burlington Convention Centre. Tickets are $30. each and are available from the city 905-335-7600, ext. 7493 or visit www.burlington.ca/civicrecognition
Each of the award levels has its own history which we have set out below.
- Citizen of the Year – Sponsored by Service Clubs of Burlington: Aldershot Lions, Central Lions, Optimists, Royal Canadian Naval Association, The Rotary Clubs of Burlington: Burlington, Burlington Central, Burlington Lakeshore, Burlington North
- Junior Citizen of the Year – Sponsored by B’Nai Brith
- Senior Person of the Year – Sponsored by the Heritage Place Retirement Community
- Environmental Award – Sponsored by the Rotary Clubs of Burlington: Burlington, Burlington Central, Burlington Lakeshore, Burlington North
- Community Service Award – Sponsored by Cogeco Cable Inc.
- Arts Person of the Year The K. W. Irmisch Arts Award – sponsored by the Irmisch Family.
Pause and think about someone you have read about or heard about who has served the community in an outstanding way and nominate them.
BURLINGTON, ON February 12, 2011
The tap got turned off due to an inappropriate and rash decision. The result of that decision, which we didn’t make, meant that the “newspaper on a web site” was ‘unavailable’. We all do dumb things at different points in our lives.
It is going to take a few days to get everything re-installed but for the time being – here we are – back again with full control of our system.
While we were away, The Pier mess inched forward a bit, the Mayor did some traveling, those soccer Moms are working things out and the Waterfront Advisory Committee held another meeting which we were unable to cover. We have a story on the Kilbride community that is near completion and want to tell you about an absolutely magnificent example of citizen participation and engagement that we watched take place. We will update you on all this and more when we can get back to where we were before the …uh…incident.
Provinces caves in and abandons plans for a cross the Escarpment highway.
By Staff
BURLINGTON, ON February 9, 2011 – The people won a BIG one yesterday when the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing met with Burlington Mayor Rick Goldring and Regional Chair Garry Carr and agreed that the request to the two levels of government to include a highway through the Escarpment was being abandoned.
In a press release the city said: “Concerned citizens, Halton Region and the City of Burlington applaud the province’s decision to abandon a controversial proposed transportation corridor slated to travel across a rural stretch of the Niagara Escarpment.
After a recent meeting between Burlington Mayor Rick Goldring, Halton Regional Chair Gary Carr and the provincial minister of municipal affairs and housing, Rick Bartolucci, the province announced that the proposed route would no longer appear on the regional official plan.
“I know my colleagues on council join me in saying that the City of Burlington will benefit from the progress being made at the provincial level to understand that the environmentally sensitive Niagara Escarpment is not a suitable location for a new highway,” Mayor Goldring said. “I want to acknowledge the stellar work of Councillors Blair Lancaster and John Taylor in partnering with the community, bringing together groups from different organizations to share one voice that has the support of the City of Burlington.”
The following groups made up the ground level troops that were putting pressure on the provincial government to drop the proposed plan.
Citizens Opposed to Paving the Escarpment (COPE), Oakvillegreen Conservation Association, Lowville Area Residents Association (LARA), BurlingtonGreen , Coalition of the Niagara Escarpment (CONE), Protecting Escarpment Rural Lands (PERL) and the Cedar Springs Community.
They should collectively plan a celebration party. They did a great job
Insurance company tells city to take a hike,
Decides not to honour the bond city bought.
By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON February 8, 2011 – Well we knew the meeting was not going to have any good news. Now we know how bad the news is and the Mayor deserves credit for telling his constituents what is happening. The next question is – now what?
And, to do that, the members of Council will go behind closed doors and jabber amongst themselves and city hall staff – looking at the options and determining what the next step could be or should be.
The city’s press release said: The City of Burlington received notice on Feb. 7 from Zurich Insurance Co., the bonding company for the contractor originally hired to build the Brant Street Pier, that Zurich has denied Burlington’s claim under the bond to help complete the long-delayed project.
That’s a tough one. The city surely thought when the bond was put in place they were covered. Turns out they aren’t covered. No details on why the claim was denied. All that “might” come out at the Council meeting which will follow the committee meeting.
Give Mayor Goldring credit for getting the news out as soon as he got it. Keep up the good habit Your Worship.
Do you remember the first
person you sent a valentine to ?
By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON February 7, 2011 – For all you lovers out there – it is going to be Valentines Day this time next week. What are you going to do to make the love of your life remember how much you care? Mine suggested I do the vacuuming.
 Do you remember who you gave that valentine to? Every wonder what other people do? Some surprising statistics came out of the United States this morning. How do they compare with what the folks in Burlington do?
According to an Actions Survey, the average person will spend $116.21 on traditional Valentine’s Day merchandise this year, up 11% over last year’s $103.00. Down there they are expected to spend $15.7 billion.
Adults 25-34 will spend an average of $189.97, compared to the $60.22 adults 65+ will spend. How come us old timers spend so little – perhaps the flame is deeper rather than brighter?
Men will spend the most on Valentine’s Day gifts, at $158.71 each, twice as much as the average woman. Ladies – you might want to look at that number.
Even family pets will benefit more this year, with the average person spending $5.04 on their furry friends, up from $3.27 last year. Consumers will also spend an average of $6.30 on friends, $4.97 on classmates and teachers, and $3.41 on co-workers.
While greeting cards will be the most popular gift option, with 52.1% of consumers buying, jewelry is expected to be a big hit as well with 17.3% planning on buying something sparkly, up from 15.5% last year.
Our Performing Arts Centre goes
on stage before Council with budget.
By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON Jan 31st, 2011 – Will they be throwing roses on the stage when the Burlington Performing Arts Centre (BPAC)budget gets debated by city council later this month? Council members will get a copy of the budget this Friday afternoon and, based on some of the comments made at previous council meetings, the plans may be in for a rough ride.
Ward 3 council member John Taylor was a little antsy last week when he complained about not knowing what the budget was going to look like and how much the deficit was going to amount to for the first year of operation.
The BPAC is an arms length organization, run by a 13 person Board that sets out policy and a staff that runs the place which is scheduled to open this fall. The city’s role in the operation is to pick up whatever the deficit amounts to – and there will be a deficit the first couple of years.
Former Chair, and now Past Chair, Keith Strong advises that the deficit will be much less than a million dollars but many suspect it will be higher because there hasn’t been all that much in the way of financial information from the BPAC people.
To date, the BPAC has held a number of open houses which let people see how the construction has proceeded. Strong points out that the place is “on time and on budget” – something he adds that Burlington hasn’t seen in some time.
Taylor wanted to know what acts and performers have been booked and how much had been spent. Staff assured Taylor that all would be revealed when the budget and business plan are presented. Taylor wasn’t satisfied. “Events have to be booked well in advance” said Taylor at a recent meeting – “so they must know what we are going to see in the fall.” Staff couldn’t add much in the way of information other than to say that the report was “in the works”
Once can’t expect Taylor to be throwing roses on the stage for the BPAC Board’s premier performance before council. Taylor has never been a big fan of the centre and points to failure after failure of this type of organization. HECFI in Hamilton is going broke he will tell you and most opf the smaller theatre groups in Burlington don’t like what’ve heard of the cost structure to use the new building. The fact is that few Executive Directors of new performance Centre’s last much more than a year and a half, but that doesn’t seem to have phased Brenda Heatherington who is beavering away at getting the building completed and planning for the first six months or so of performances. This is a woman who wears a construction helmet and velvet gloves at the same time.
The completion of the building is, as Strong says “on budget and on time” and one wonders why the Board isn’t being given credit that that achievement – no small feat in Burlington.
Alan Pearson, chair for the current year is pretty aggressive with his comments and he doesn’t have a lot of time for the ‘nay sayers’. “The train has left the station on this issue” says Pearson. It is too late for people to carp about whether or not this is a good thing for Burlington, he adds, sounding like a guy who believes everything is under control. “We are planning a soft opening with a series of low key events that will give the community time to get used to the facility” explains Pearson. So, it looks as if there isn’t going to be a big budget, boffo event that will cost a fortune and be foisted on a community that is still getting used to the idea that we have a performing arts centre.
Strong says talking about the specifics of performances now is premature. There s a lot to get done and the public will know all about what is planned when it is appropriate. Well, it is ‘show business’ and I guess we have to leave it to the people behind the curtains do develop the buzz and create the hype that will result in sold out performances.
This is a new step for Burlington and except for the small kafuffle over which brick to use on the outside of the building – there haven’t been any problems. We have an Executive Director who has the experience needed to make the place work and a fund raising team that has done exceptionally well with more than $10 million raised to date. Denise Walker has taken over the fund raising effort for the final drive. Strong explains that fund raising expenses, which are minimal, get paid with the interest earned on the funds raised and held by the city. Nothing financially flabby about this organization. Lean and driven so far. But Strong grouses that the city pays a miserable 1% – you get the sense that if her were managing the money the return would be a little fatter.
The Board is a pretty hard driving bunch of people. They meet once a month at 8 am. With two Council members on the Board Rick Craven, Ward 1 and the Mayor, and one senior city staff member, Steve Zorbas, former city treasurer (so he will know how to count the jelly beans) and now Acting General Manager Infrastructure and Development plus ten other people drawn from the community – the public interest is certainly well represented.
The Budget and the attendant documents get known on February 14th – Valentine’s Day. Pearson should perhaps bring chocolates.
It was a quick one and there was nothing
memorable about it. Why did it take place?
By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON January 31, 2011 – You’re Council met Monday evening. It was a short meeting that started with the singing of the National anthem to the scratchiest sound track you have ever heard. The city may be on a cost containment kick but this is ridiculous. To add to the embarrassment, just about everyone in the council chamber snickered and we broadcast that live over the internet. It was not one of our finer moments.
Mayor Goldring advised his audience that Council met on nine occasions for a total of 28 hours in committee meetings prior to the actual council meeting – which is where everything gets wrapped up before Council gets a sort of last kick at the can. Some of those meetings were brutal – what the Mayor didn’t tell you was that Council went into closed session for a few of the meetings. They tell you that the lawyers say this is what they have to do. Yeah right.
All the stuff that gets done at the Committee level and them up to full council where, Monday night they zipped through it all in 38 minutes flat and that included a five minute delegation on the Freeman Station – yes it is still with us and there is the faintest of hopes that it will actually be saved. Those who want to keep it are dogged in their pursuit.
What Council was doing was receiving all the reports from the committees, accepting them, which meant accepting the results of the committee work – but you don’t have a clue as to what is in the reports. And boy – do they ever flip through the pages – zing, zing and then zingo. All done with what amounts to indecent haste and certain to really turn off anyone stupid enough to have stayed on the Cogeco Cable channel for what can only be described as an unfortunate performance. We came out looking so “bush league”.
If you didn’t know any better you would think they had something to hide – but they don’t. There was a lot of hard work done but you get no sense of what it was. The Mayor had an opportunity to lean into the camera a bit and explain what your council was doing on your behalf. A missed opportunity. They still haven’t figured out what the words ‘transparent’ and ‘accountable’ really mean.
United Way approaches final stretch.
One small hurdle and we are there.
By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON January 27, 2011 – There are some things that just have to get done – every day. Some things are seasonal others maybe once in a lifetime. The dishes, every day; the garbage, once a week and the United Way Fund – once a year. And it is that time of year again.
Running the Burlington United Way campaign is a mammoth task. It requires all the skills needed to run a large corporation and then men and woman who do that job take time away from busy professional and personal lives to make the phone calls, attend the events, plan the strategy and get the money into the bank so that it can be distributed to those agencies in the community that take care of those who, for any number of reasons, cannot take care of themselves.
We have agencies in place to spot these problems and who can take the necessary action but they cost money. The people who do this work have to be paid; rent and electricity for the offices they work in has to be paid for – it all costs money. Organizations like the United Way do the hard grunt work to pull those funds into the coffers and put it where it will meet the most pressing needs in the community.
The current United Way campaign is in the final stretch to raise $2.15 million that will get distributed to 44 agencies in the community. The campaign is just $300,000 shy of reaching that total. Dig a little deeper today and make this happen. We are out of the recession for the most part – we’ve got the money, let’s share it.
These fund raising events don’t just happen. They require hours and hours of meetings and phone calls. The team that is making those phone calls this year is made up of
Rick Bashista, Campaign Vice Chair & Insurance Sector Rep
John Flasch Insurance Agency Inc.
Kathy Brown, Health & Social Services Division Chair
Director, Client Services, Central West Community Care Access Centre
John Chisholm, Accounting Sector Rep
Partner, SB Partners
Dr. Nicole Ciraolo, Chiropractor Sector Rep, Canadian Laser & Pain Therapy
Jamie Edwards, Leadership Chair. JM Edwards Associates Inc.
Tom Irvine, Credit Union Sector Rep. Branch Manager, First Ontario Credit Union
Anthony Koleoso, Commercial Sector Rep. Regional Manager, Business Development, Speedy Glass
Ruth Lee, Banking Sector Rep. TD Canada Trust
Roman Martiuk, Business Division Chair. City Manager, City of Burlington
Tim Miron, GenNext. Manager, Durward Jones Barkwell & Company LLP Chartered Accountants
Nancy Morley, Finance & Advisory Division Chair. District Vice President, Burlington District
Jeremy W. Okolisan, Engineering Sector Rep. Vice President, Byrne Engineering Inc.
Mike Pautler, Halton Catholic District School Board Sector Rep. Halton Catholic District School Board
Joe Popkey, GenNext. Sales Director, Golden Horseshoe, RBC Royal Bank, RBC Life Insurance Company
Barry Powel, Manufacturing Sector Rep. Accounting Manager, Umicore AutoCat
Judy Pryde, Community Agency Sector Rep. Executive Director, Community Living Burlington
Jeff Shannon, Investment Sector Rep. Division Director, Investors Group Financial Services Inc.
Ken Zukiwski, Investment Sector Rep. Certified Financial Planner, Certified Senior Advisor, Investors Group Financial Services Inc.
The team is led by Karmel Sachran, a Burlington lawyer who is also Member of the Board of Governors of Joseph Brant Memorial Hospital (2006 – present), Chair of their Human Resource and Compensation Committee, Member of the Executive Committee, Board Representative on the Hospital Foundation Steering Committee for the Capital Re-Development Project (with fundraising target of $120 Million)
Karmel holds two annual fundraisers for local charities: the Wills & Powers of Attorney Event and an annual Canada 5 km run / 1 km walk event. In 2008 he formed the Magnificent 7, a group of seven individuals that trained to run a half marathon, raising money for local children in need and affiliated with the YMCA and Children’s Aid Society.
In 2009 Karmel helped with the formation of FAB Foundation, “Fit – Active – Beautiful” a program designed to help disadvantaged girls gain self-confidence and discipline in learning how to train and run 5 km.
Karmel has been a member of the Rotary Club of Burlington and was the 2008 recipient of Rotarian of the Year award and the recipient of Paul Harris Fellowship Award twice.
Karmel was a Founding Board Member of The Carpenter Hospice in Burlington. He was involved from concept, design, construction, operation and governance. The hospice serves an average of 100 individuals and their families every year without cost to them and has an annual operating budget of $1.8 million.
A member of the Board of the Halton County Law Association Karmel was called to the Bar in 1995 and is a member in good standing with the Law Society of Upper Canada. He founded Roseland Law Chambers comprised of 7 sole practitioners.
Whew !– where does this guy find the time to get all this done and run a very successful law practice as well?
The gift came from his Father, who was born in Nazareth, Palestine where he grew up and taught school for a short period of time and then was trained as a land surveyor by the British when they had a mandate to rule Palestine.
One of his Father’s jobs in the Middle Eats was to survey the northern part of Galilee during the Israeli rule where he eventually reported to the Assistant Deputy Minister of Lands. We tell you all this to make the point that Karmel’s Father held a very responsible position in the Middle East but gave up what he had there and immigrated to Canada with his wife and children because he wanted then to be raised and live in a free country.
Norm Sakran foresaw the turmoil that today racks the Middle East. He wanted better for his children and so they came to Canada where the Father ran into that question which faces so many immigrants: Do you have any Canadian experience? Norm decided he would become a grocer and operated the Ontario Variety on Ontario Street, which is still in business, now run by Karmel’s brother.
Karmel brings that “child of an immigrant” to everything he does. He understands how fortunate we are in Canada and works to share what he is able to earn and lives each day grateful that he is here. He is a philanthropist by heart and works to inspire others on the duty of giving and caring for their community.
This week Karmel Sachran needs your help to get that last $300,00 into the bank so that his community can take care of those who cannot today take care of themselves.
Ward 4 candidate Brian Heagle
may have changed colours.
By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON January 27, 2011 – Those who live and breath local politics have noticed that Brian Heagle, a candidate in Ward 4 last October, has listed Tim Hudak as an interest on his Facebook page. Hudak is the leader of the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party and is heating things up with speeches saying “jobs trump the environment” and that the Niagara GTA road planned for some future date will result in more jobs for the region.
With a provincial election scheduled for the fall and consistent rumours that current
Burlington MPP Joyce Savoline will not run again – the seat is available and many feel Heagle is interested in running for it. Former Mayor Cam Jackson is also rumored to be “interested”.
Both the Halton and the Burlington provincial seats are at risk – with the environment in the northern part of Burlington a big, big issue. Joyce Savoline and Ted Chudleigh both showed up at the citizens meeting that was held when the plans for a road right smack through the Mt. Nemo community came to light.
Small community groups have been meeting since that 800 plus attendees meeting at the Mainway area took place in January. If the road that appeared on the maps that were available ever sees the light of day, it will rip around Mt. Nemo and probably have to roll over a large number of north Burlington homes. Burlington would never be the same.
The Conservation Halton offices on Britannia Road appears to be right in the middle of the planners thinking. What an irony that would be.
The Tories of course will have a candidate – know one knows who it is going to be, but the sense is that Heagle is looking it over. And he is packing his belongings for a move back into Ward 4, where he and his wife Ria grew up together. Perhaps Heagle is doing some forward planning for another run at the municipal ward? Probably not, the provincial level seems to be more to his liking. Heagle did have a chance to take the Liberal nomination. He had talks with very senior people at Queen’s Park but something didn’t work out and so the red jacket gets put away and the tailor measures Heagle up for a blue one.
No word on what the Liberals or the New Democrats and the Greens have planned. The Liberals have lost their very energetic John Boich who chose to step down recently as President of the Burlington Provincial Liberal Association, while he copes with serious personal medical matters.
We will be following this all more closely in the weeks and months ahead.
City Third party agreements for
domes at Sherwood being reviewed.
By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON January 27, 2011 – Ward 5 Council member Paul Sharman said today that the file with all the relevant documents related to the third party agreements the city has with the Burlington Youth Soccer Club is one his desk.
“My interest is to ensure that the public interest is being adequately met and that the use to which the facility is put ensures that the soccer community gets to use the space.”
There are Frisbee events, kick boxing and other alternative uses said Sharman and “at this point I have no idea what is happening in terms of revenue generation at the location”. Sharman intends to review the complete file and based on what he learns he will then determine if any further action should be taken.
“…soccer community has to understand it needs to be fully transparent if it wants to retain public confidence.”
The Burlington Women’s Recreational Soccer League appeared before a council committee recently and complained they were not getting the time slots they felt they were entitled to and a noisy debate took place in our comments section. The picture was a little muddied when the Burlington Soccer League failed to fully clarify their role in the arrangement in place for the payment and use of the second dome.
No one was suggesting there was anything wrong being done but council members certainly wanted to know what the facts were but the soccer community appears to want to keep the noses of the council members out of what it feels is their business.
The parks used for soccer and the domes that allow year round schedules are public property and the soccer community has to understand it needs to be fully transparent if it wants to retain public confidence. More than 7,000 young people play soccer in this city and the Burlington Youth Soccer Club deserves credit for the admirable job done by its volunteer board. Staff however may have let that Board down.
Sharman is a non-nonsense businessman who has a knack for getting to the bottom of things. The facilities that bought the problem to the council chamber are in his ward. We will report in full on his findings.
Mayor gives his city a B+
on its financial score card.
By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON January 22, 2011 – It was the “be at event” for the week and more than 400 business people bought tickets for the State of the City address by the Mayor and hosted by the Burlington Chamber of Commerce. Those who attended described the room as “a happy place”. Mayor Rick Goldring told the audience who he was and what he was going to do.
The event, usually held in October of each year, was moved permanently to January. The theme the Mayor chose for this his first address at a Chamber event was “Building an affordable, inclusive and complete City that works together.”
The Mayor of Burlington is an “inclusive man”. He is almost too decent. He is patient, listens, sometime far too long to all sides. He is, most of the time, content to be in the background and is always prepared to give way for someone else. He doesn’t have to seize the agenda and he doesn’t seem to have to let people know that he is in charge. That is not to say he is a pushover – he’s just decent and polite. As he said in his address –“Expect me to be honest, direct, clear and enthusiastic. A Mayor that values gaining and maintaining your trust and confidence. What you see is what you get.” That is who you elected to office.
He is also prepared to admit that he was wrong or made a mistake – sometimes that honesty makes him look a little simple – and he isn’t simple. “I speak honestly and directly”, said the Mayor. “I haven’t yet learned the art of the non-answer.”
Mayor Goldring leads a Council that hasn’t fully gelled yet. He has three new members and they are fitting in well enough and learning the ropes, each at their own rate and each developing competencies of their own. He is proud to work with them and he adjusts to their styles and approach to the job.
Goldring wanted to leave his audience of business people with four things to remember:
His vision of Burlington as a place that is affordable, inclusive and complete and that he will lead by listening and learning from others and wherever possible build consensus. He emphasized that the challenge ahead was to balances our wants, our needs and our ability to pay.
He said the Pan Am/Ticat Aldershot stadium discussions provided him with great on the job training. That experience also brought from staff the view that Burlington was not big enough to handle a of project of that size.
Current State of the City
“As you all know in this room, we have all just come through a global recession, “ said the Mayor. “Canada has weathered the storm very well. While Ontario has experienced challenges especially in the manufacturing sector and Burlington has experienced some of this, we have come through the recession in good shape.”
The Mayor reported that local unemployment rate peaked in 2009 at 9.2% and is now reported at 7.6%. The Burlington Economic Development Corporation (BEDC) reports that we have added 852 new jobs in Burlington, up from 577 in 2009. We remain prosperous. What wasn’t reported or commented upon was the amount of land that is identified as “employment lands” in the official plan and what the Mayor would like to do longer term to attract the high paying jobs that the city wants. No mention was made of what is going to happen in the near term with the Maple Leaf processing plant on Harvester Road. There are a significant number of jobs that will disappear when that plant closes down and it will eventually close down.
“The Burlington Performing Arts Centre is on time and on budget”, said the Mayor and “will be open in the fall of this year. This is a significant addition to the cultural fabric of the whole city and will provide significant positive impact to the continuing development of our downtown.” Our Mayor could have expanded on how he and his council propose to handle the deficits that are part of the agreement with the arms length non-profit corporation that runs the BPAC with a volunteer Board. Council has yet to receive either a Budget for the year we are now into or a longer term business plan.
“Individuals and corporations” reported the Mayor, “have contributed over $10.3 million toward the capital cost of the facility. The facility is governed by an independent board composed of a broad cross section of people including entrepreneurs, business owners, executives, as well as people with experience in the arts.”
The Mayor said: “Yes, there has been capital spending, however because of the recession, much of the spending was at costs lower than originally budgeted.” “Federal and provincial stimulus dollars”, he added, “have helped this City and province manage through the recession. In total, the City received some $22.4 million in Senior Government Funding through various stimulus programs. This stimulus funding provided for among others:
The new Transit Operations Centre was badly needed but not as badly needed as a transit policy. This city still hasn’t decided what level of transit service it wants to provide the public. There are some that talk in terms of a “one bus” transit system. Burlington Transit ridership increased by 5.4% in 2010 and the introduction of low floor fully accessible buses has dramatically improved accessibility.
City Finances
The Mayor felt it appropriate to also speak to the financial status of the City itself. “Based on my education and experience I’d give us a B+”, said the Mayor. That’s a fair mark but there have to be some comments in the margin of the report card saying that we are only managing to get 68% of our roads up to the standard we set out and that we are about to go into a phase were close to more than half our roads are at the point where they need significant work to be kept up to standard and we do not have a reserve to do that work. And it is substantial.
“Taxes”, said the Mayor, “ are comparable with other communities. Our balance sheet has a little more debt than I would like to see”, he added, “and we have seen a moderate deterioration in asset maintenance spending.” It would have helped if the Mayor had set out just what the debt is and what the city has in the way of reserves in its various reserve funds. His audience was made up of sophisticated, financially informed people, who understand a balance sheet and have very close relationships with profit and loss statements.
In order for a society to function it has to be informed and there was a wonderful opportunity for this Mayor to fully inform his audience. He missed that opportunity. It was fine to say how much he respected the Chamber of Commerce as an organization he had served on – he could have should have shown that respect by laying out all the facts. He has nothing to hide.
“The City”, said the Mayor, “has $2.0 billion in fair market value assets. Roads and facilities are the bulk of the assets. We need to spend about 2% per year of fair market value just to protect and maintain these assets. We have not been doing that.” This was one of his better important bits of information and his audience understands what he is up against.
“Municipal councils throughout Canada have similar challenges and” the Mayor advised, “we have to juggle priorities and balance the need for infrastructure renewal, with additional services and other community needs.” Here our Mayor could have and should have expanded and set out some of the options he is looking at. Where might the cuts be made? It would have been interesting and certainly novel had the Mayor asked his audience what level they thought the cuts should be made at.
The Mayor also said: “Over the last four years the City portion of property taxes increased by 29%. I have set a target of 10% over the next four years and I want to keep this number a priority in our civic agenda”. He expanded a bit on his 10% in four years objective. He had an opportunity to mention that his council member with the best financial smarts was advocating a 0% increase. The Mayor could have put that in context and commented on its likelihood. Opportunity missed. The room was filled with people who wanted to listen and confirm the sense that this Mayor is a good guy; decent, responsible and not someone who is going to try and snow you. When he makes a mistake, which he will, this Mayor is going to tell you and take responsibility for his mistakes. It doesn’t get better than that.
“First”, said the Mayor, “ we need to set targets that are meaningful and achievable and I believe that this target is both. Second, I believe that it is time to review our services and operating structure. Our operating structure has been relatively static for 15 plus years and the City has changed in culture, size, demographics, development profile and needs. He went on to say: “It is my observation that despite the tax rate increases that we have experienced, council continues to ask staff to do more with less and this cannot continue. We need to take a different approach.”
“Thirdly”, he pointed out, “the City has to think long term about its human resources. Over the next four years we have a number of staff retiring. If we want the right people, the City should be an attractive place to work and build a career. It is in all our best interests.”
“Fourth, I believe that the City has to review its processes and its use of technology and communications tools to be more productive and more effective.” Kind of a bread and butter statement – one of those “non-answers’ perhaps?
“Lastly”, said the Mayor, “I want to restore a culture at the City of Burlington where Council, Staff and Community are working together to fulfill the long term vision of the city.” Well there is some work to be done at the Council/Staff relationship, which we will report on elsewhere. Where this Mayor is dead on is the need for community to work with him to manage some of the stickier problems. While the Mayor didn’t challenge the business community to work with him, the Chamber and its members need to support this man and the work he is doing. He can’t do it all by himself. Rick Goldring will listen – talk to him.
I believe that our circumstances call for a focused, collaborative and measured approach with the objective being an updated City Hall operation which deals with 21st century issues using 21st century technology, people and processes and which demonstrates the ability to operate within a sustainable economic plan. Another one of those non-answers ?
“As we move forward together we have some key challenges: Burlington is now growing more slowly than any other community in the GTA and will see less revenue as a result. We will have to approach City operations and services in a different way. Burlington’s demographics are changing and is expected to soon have 20% of its population at retirement age or older. Has the business community factored this fact into its longer term plans”. The Mayor might think in terms of a Symposium to look at just what it means to have one fifth of the population in the retired column.
Among the questions such a symposium might ask are:
- How do we live within our means with slower growth and a changing demographic profile?
- How do we re-align the City’s services to meet the needs and priorities of the community?
- How do we keep a motivated professional staff in place at the City and deal with the costs?
- How do we support and grow our local economy to maintain our quality of life?
All very good and relevant questions. The Mayor and his city hall staff cannot come up with these answers on their own. They need input from the people who do business in this city.
“We have”, said the Mayor, “an excellent Downtown / Waterfront Plan which was developed with extensive public consultation and included input from over 1400 citizens.”
“I plan to revisit it through a public symposium, and update it to ensure it continues to reflect a 10-20 year community vision.”
The Pier: The new Council has spent 14 hours in briefings on this issue (How many in his audience cringed when they thought of the size of the legal bill for all this. The problem is not one this Mayor brought about – he’s the poor guy who has to clean up a mess left by others. He needs support on this one.) and is united in our resolve to complete this project. We will fix this as quickly and as cost effectively as possible.
A Vision of Burlington: “So it’s fair to ask, what is my Vision of the City, and how will we achieve it together?”
“I feel we should continue to strive to make Burlington an affordable, inclusive, complete community. Affordable so new families can move here and seniors can stay in their community. Inclusive and complete communities offer an attractive quality of life. It’s time to take a regional view of the place we call home. Let’s appreciate and embrace the amenities, services and facilities next door as part of our unique Quality of Life.
“McMaster, a university ranked in the top one percent of comprehensive universities globally is a 10 minute drive away and we have easy access to Mohawk and Sheridan Colleges. We have an emerging technology centre in Kitchener-Waterloo an hour away with one of the most successful technology companies in the world. We also have a world recognized wine district in Niagara. And Burlington sits in the epicenter of all these amenities and attractions.”
Strung together these really don’t amount to a vision – more a description of the environmental, geographic setting we exist within. All true, but they don’t constitute a vision
“So what”, asked the Mayor. “will Burlington look like 25 years from now?”
Imagine:
– A city of about 193,000 nestled on the lake with an escarpment and a rural backyard.
– A city with a strong local economy which allows more people to work close to home.
– A public transportation network which connects Burlington with the GTHA and allows us all to move around better and preserve the environment.
– Increased access to lifelong learning opportunities so that our community can compete and thrive in a global economy.
– An inclusive community which provides for youth and seniors and is a tolerant and cultural oasis in the region.
– A beautiful and well-maintained city with unique and diverse neighbourhoods that are pedestrian and cycle friendly.
– A community that values and achieves sustainability through clearly defined ecological and environmental practices.
I don’t think this is what is imagined – but more a what the public expects.
To achieve this Vision I’m proposing a five-step action plan.
- “We need a New Strategic Planning process for the community. Council will be defining a very different process that will provide all citizens a variety of opportunities to provide input into the future of our city. The result will be a more meaningful and measurable civic strategic plan.”
- “I am proposing to start a new relationship with our community stakeholders with the Mayor’s Community Roundtable. We will have our first conversation next week. The 25 or so Community leaders attending represent a broad cross section of the community through their members, congregations and participants.”
- “I will be introducing a series of lectures leading up to our next Official Plan review to inspire Burlington to look at ways of changing and improving our quality of life.”
- “We need to support efforts of the BEDC and the Chamber and others to bring new business to our community and to help existing businesses be successful. Burlington needs to be open for Business including not-for-profit, co-ops and other forms of emerging social entrepreneurship.”
This one has all those upside buzz words but they ring a little on the hollow side when we read that city hall staff thought the proposed Aldershot Stadium, that had us all worked up for a few days was too big an undertaking for this city. Does the city council and the city staff really have an entrepreneurial spirit
- We will create a 4 year financial plan to maintain a manageable level of taxation and live within our means while delivering the services the community wants and this plan will be sustainable in the long term.
This, this Mayor will do. He is responsible.
“In summary, we live in a prosperous caring community blessed with a tremendous natural environment. We have the opportunity to live an urban, suburban or a rural lifestyle. We have the infrastructure and the services needed to provide for the community and most importantly we have a community of citizens that show their commitment every day to our city and the people that live in it. Our opportunities are many and it is up to all of us to build our community to care for those around us. I have complete confidence that we can do this together.”
That last paragraph is what our Mayor is all about. We don’t know yet if he can handle a crisis. We don’t know yet how deep the vision is, there wasn’t much that was exciting about it and perhaps that is the way his citizens want it. This time next year is a better opportunity to review his performance. Nothing dramatic yet, and there may never be anything stellar about his term of office. The city didn’t vote FOR Rick Goldring – they voted AGAINST the other guy. Goldring came in with a clean slate and so far has kept it that way.
City looking into artificial grass
in residential front yards.
BURLINGTON, ON –January 22, 2011 – Some Burlington property owners have expressed interest in installing artificial grass in residential front yards which at this point is not permitted. A Zoning by-law would have to be changed and City staff is currently gathering information that will form a report to city council this spring. The report will focus on the use of artificial grass in residential areas.
The City would like to hear from the public on this and will be holding an open house at City Hall on Wednesday January 26, 2011, 6:30 to 8:30pm, Room 247. If you can’t attend you can send written comments to Dave Marriott, Burlington Planning and Building Department by email: marriottd@burlington.ca
Margaret Lindsay Holton, a well known area artist, is pretty clear about where she stands on artificial turf. “I am opposed to fake grass. Period. “
Allright Margaret, tell us how you really feel. “Here are a few choice ‘highlighted’ objections: Plastic grass is a manufactured product. It is not produced anywhere in Canada.
“Few manufacturers supply MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheets), and those that do ‘fudge’ the unknowns for example, the bonding materials, and the substrate.
The largest producer of fake grass is now China. Most of the polyethylene ‘yarn’ (ie. ‘grass blade’) comes from Dubai. It is not even remotely ‘native’ to this region and thus no complete environmental or health assessment has ever been done vis a vis our climate that addresses this product’s ‘breakdown’ rate.”
“It goes to landfill when ‘expired’ after, generally, 5-10 years. Natural lawn does not.
Artificial turf is ‘permanently ‘green so does not ‘grow/evolve’ during the seasons.
It needs to be fenced-in to prevent wandering critter urine from ‘staining’ the synthetic colour.”
“The ‘thatch’ used in residential fake grass to add ‘realism’ will be increasingly incorporated into bird’s nests and other ‘habitats’ by wildlife. Is this a ‘good thing’?
Equally, the small granular ‘rubber infill’ used to maintain the ‘perpendicular shafts’ of fake grass is ‘loose’, so will move on the soles of feet into ‘non fake grass’ terrain, and wash out during rains into the eco-system and into the water supply. Is that good?
It gets hot, often in excess of 60-80 degrees of the ambient temperature, thus contributing to global warming and a permanent non-biodegradable ‘footprint.”
It is highly flammable and when inflamed it is toxic. Is City prepared to deal with this?
Ms Holton is a constant defender of the environment and is giving every who wants to put artificial turf on the fields at New City Park the hardest of times. Mess with the environment and you are up against Margaret Lindsay Holton. Step carefully.
Ms Holton is also an accomplished artist – try the Burlington Art Centre when she is exhibiting and Google to see some of her work.
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