By Mark McGuire and Karl Wulf
April 4th, 2018
BURLINGTON, ON
Mayor Rick Goldring continues to provide a series of updates relevant to the vision of the Mayor’s Millennial Advisory Committee set out by Co-Chairs Mark McGuire and Karl Wulf in November 2017. This allowed committee members with an opportunity to ask questions to better understand how they can contribute to shaping their city.
Mayor Goldring identified the recent delegation by the Mayor’s Millennial Advisory Committee requesting Holiday Transit service as an example of a ‘win’.
Burlington was one of the few municipalities in Ontario that did not offer transit service on the holidays. The Millennial Advisory Committee delegated through a written policy brief to formally identify the gap in transit service.
Effective transit service is a key area that the Mayor’s Millennial Advisory Committee strives to influence, as greater intensification and limited space will mean more cars on Burlington’s streets and roads.
The Millennial Perspective
Mayor Goldring explained the process of influencing council. For the Burlington Millennial perspective to carry weight, it needs to be given early in the process by engaging with relevant stakeholders before community events and workshops that precede the relevant committee and council meetings.
A session of the Mayor’s Millennial Advisory Committee meeting with Burlington MPP Eleanor McMahon
A Vision Greater than Themselves
Mayor Goldring also discussed the importance of civic engagement, especially at early stages of projects within the City of Burlington. This led to a presentation by Co-Chairs Mark and Karl reiterating the three pathways for engagement the Millennial Advisory Committee is taking:
(1) Passive Engagement – Community presence and participation in Workshops;
(2) Reactionary Engagement – Delegating on contemporary topics at City Hall; and
(3) Proactive Engagement – Working with city staff to offer insightful policy critiques.
To increase the effect of the perspective of our generation in Burlington, it is increasingly more important to continue engaging at committee meetings and city workshops, but also to draft thoughtful policy proposals and send them to the proper stakeholders at City Hall.
The strategy is to lead a sustainable and influential committee of millennials in Burlington to build community engagement and provide advice and insights into policy impacting our city. This ties in with the mandate established by Mayor Goldring for the committee, “to lead projects focused on how to keep and attract residents 18-35 in Burlington.”
The Mayor’s Millennial Advisory Committee aims to be pivotal and to be perceived as the “Go To” committee for the City of Burlington to gain valuable insights into what our generation needs to continue to make Burlington the best place to live and work.
Civic Engagement
After discussing what is critical to millennials in Burlington through a collaborative approach with surveys from the Co-Chairs and workshops facilitated by Stephanie Venimore, Business Performance Advisor for the City of Burlington, the Millennial Advisory Committee has identified three key areas of engagement:
Commercial and Residential Development
Transportation
Burlington Culture
The Millennial Advisory Committee has delegated on mixed-use developments and transportation initiatives within the City of Burlington.
On multiple occasions, the Millennial Advisory Committee has provided key insights for important cultural projects, the Museums of Burlington Joseph Brant Museum project being especially important as it represents the cultural heritage of Burlington’s founder, Joseph Brant of the Mohawk.
Want to get involved?
If you are a millennial trying to get involved, then this is a chance for you to speak out on the things you think would attract more millennials to Burlington.
Mayor Rick Goldring making a presentation to his Millennial Advisory Committee.
To apply to be a member of the committee, please email mayor@burlington.ca with the following information.
Name
Age
Primary email address
City of current residence
Social media accounts (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc.)
Profession/Student status
A 500-word (max.) response to the following question: What ideas do you have for Mayor Rick Goldring’s Millennial Advisory Committee that would help meet its mandate of helping Burlington foster and retain millennial-age residents.
The Mayor’s Millennial Advisory Committee was created to develop initiatives and provide input on how to keep and attract residents aged 19 to 36 in Burlington. The Millennial Advisory Committee identifies millennials as people born from 1981 to 1998.
Why get involved?
The City of Burlington has the best reasons to get involved with any Committee or Board:
meet new people
share your talents
develop skills
address a common interest
make a difference in your community
Want more information?
Read the October Update from Term 2 Co-chairs Mark McGuire and Karl Wulf. You can keep up to date on the news from the Mayor’s Millennial Advisory Committee by visiting Burlington.ca/millennials.
For more information about the committee, contact the Office of the Mayor at mayor@burlington.ca
The readership survey will close April 6th
Mark McGuire and Karl Wulf, are the Co-Chairs of the Mayor’s Millennial Advisory Committee. This column first appeared in the Mayor’s Blog
Related articles:
Jim Young on citizenship engagement.
Umm William, you have hit the nail on the head.
I am very happy to hear that the Millennial Advisory Committee has taken on an “effective transit system, as one of their mandates.
It is interesting that Holiday Bus Transit has been asked for by many seniors, Marianne Meed Ward, and BFAST to name a few, and it went nowhere . I have to ask the Mayor why the Millennial Advisory Committee was successful in achieving this when the requests by others fell on deaf ears?
I would suggest that the groups that fight for the rights of seniors align themselves with the Millennial Advisory Committee. This bridge between the ages could prove very successful.
I for one would like to explore this alliance.
Penny, I love the pragmatism in your comment. The city succeeds in pushing forward its agenda through a divide a conquer strategy. Council’s approval of the increased height and density for the downtown, the 23 storey building on Brant, plus selling off public waterfront property was possible because the mayor and council outside of Ward 2 never alerted their constituents these were on the table. They only spoke of them after they had voted.
Only when the different community groups, neighbourhood associations, and citizens committees come together to support each other will Burlington citizens get the accountable and responsible government our community desperately needs.