Most parents want to be involved in their children’s education and school community. The
province is providing 24 Parents Reaching Out (PRO) grants to school councils in Burlington’s three local school boards to help more parents connect and engage with their children’s learning.
The grants will support projects that help parents respond to important issues in their local communities, such as bullying, student nutrition, literacy and math. They also help address barriers parents may face to participate in their child’s education, such as language and transportation.
The plan includes investing in people’s talents and skills. Burlington MPP Eleanor McMahon says “The Parents Reaching Out grants are important investments to help Burlington parents get more involved in their children’s learning, helping our students succeed and our communities thrive. Each recipient school has identified a project based on their own interests and need. These grants will support projects like family math nights, online safety presentations and health and wellness sessions for parents.”
The province says studies show that when parents are more engaged in their children’s education, students are more likely to earn higher grades, develop better behaviour and social skills, and achieve higher levels of education. The province has provided more than 17,000 PRO grants to school councils.
The following schools in Burlington and the program they will offer received grants that averaged $1000.
Bateman High School among Burlington schools that gets grant for parent involvement
Information Evening for Parents, Canadian Martyrs School Family Fitness, Holy Rosary Separate School Descriptive Feedback Prompts, Lumen Christi Catholic Elementary School Social Media Information Session, Brant Hills Public School We all Belong, Clarksdale Public School Online Safety Presentation, Glenview Public School Parent Technology Initiative, Tom Thomson Public School Everyone Can Succeed in Math with a Growth Mindset!, St. Patrick Separate School Speaker Nights Topics for Parents Chosen by Parents, Bruce T. Lindley Mental Health and Wellness, Dr. Charles Best Public School Family Math Night, Frontenac Public School Parent Engagement Presentations, John T. Tuck Public School Welcoming New Families and Engaging All Families, Lakeshore Public School Engaging Parents, Lester B. Pearson High School Health and Wellness Sessions for Parents, Mohawk Gardens Public School Reducing Stress and Anxiety in our Children, Pauline Johnson Public School Individual Education Plans: Support and Education for Parents, Robert Bateman High School Promoting an Inclusive and Safe School: The Role of Parent Engagement, Rolling Meadows Public School Family Workshop Creating Healthy Schools, Tecumseh Public School
Despite what seemed like a lengthy and potentially controversial agenda, the September 16th meeting of the Halton District School Board went smoothly and relatively quickly. Items covered during the meeting were as follows;
Program Viability Committee
The Halton District School Board initiated a committee to examine program viability in both the English program and the French Immersion program and to make a recommendation to the Board no later than June 2015. The committee will be chaired by the Associate Director and will be composed of the Superintendent of Program, Superintendent of Student Success, System Principal of French Program, System Principal of School Program, Principals of dual track elementary schools, elementary single track English schools, elementary single track French Schools, French Immersion programs in High School, single track English programs in high schools and three trustees who currently sit on the French advisory committee.
A more detailed report on this item will be published later in the week.
Active Transportation
Active Transportation to school and work is defined as human powered transportation such as walking, cycling, wheeling, rolling and using mobility devices. Students and their families and staff who make active transportation a choice, over automobile travel, experience benefits in mental and physical health and well-being, are more prepared to learn and promote community connections.
Burlington school board trustee Andrea Grebenc wants to see more walking to school.
Reducing automobile use around schools by choosing active transportation modes and/or school buses/public transit improves air quality around schools for students, staff and the whole community. Supporting such active and sustainable travel choices reflects the principles of Ontario’s Foundation for a Healthy School.
Trustee Grebnec introduced a motion that will be debated at a future date.
Ontario Ombudsman
Effective September 1, 2015 the Ontario Ombudsman obtains jurisdiction for school boards. We have been asked by the Ombudsman’s office to supply a list of procedures the public can access to regarding challenges to Board procedures. Many of the Board’s procedures have been listed in the survey (transportation, discipline, suspension/expulsion, etc.), all prefaced by the Board’s Process for Public Concerns, attached to this document as an administrative procedure.
Background:
The Ontario Ombudsman under the Ombudsman Act has broad powers that include the ability to assist the public in matter of school boards’ jurisdiction. The general role of the Ombudsman is to respond to complaints and seek to resolve concerns raised by the public. The Ombudsman’s website (www.ombudsman.on.ca) details the breadth and depth of the work performed by that office.
Generally speaking, the Ombudsman will look to refer concerns to existing internal resolutions procedures (discipline appeals, human rights procedures, staff grievances). I believe that is the reason why we have been asked to supply an overview of our various procedures for public and parent concerns. The Ombudsman refers to itself as “an office of last resort”, meaning that other internal mechanisms for disputes should be exercised first. In the case where a complaint cannot be resolved, the Ombudsman determines whether an investigation is warranted and the Board is notified. The Ombudsman then investigates and reports publicly. It should be noted that the decisions of the Ombudsman are not binding and do not overturn decisions of the Board; however, it is my understanding that the wisdom and impartiality of the office is usually acknowledged with a review of the decisions.
Most of the items on the agenda were of the FYI nature and will be summarized in the near future. However, both the program viability committee and active transportation agenda items will be reported in more detail as they have the potential to be controversial and have a profound impact on the community.
Walter Byj has been the Gazette reporter on education for more than a year. He is a long time resident of the city and as a parent has in the past delegated to the school board.
Mayor Golding will take part in the Kick off for a campaign to increase the use of alternate forms of transportation – and less use of cars for short trips.
The process has begun – the attempt to change the culture in the city and leave the car at home and choose active and alternative transportation instead is now a challenge from the office of the Mayor.
Billed as the Think Outside the Car Challenge, it will run from September 15th to – October 30th.
Many of the trips people take in Burlington are within a very short distance and are the ideal distances to cycle, walk or hop on a Burlington Transit bus. These alternative modes of transportation not only promote a healthy lifestyle but also save money on the cost of gas, parking and have very little impact on our air quality.”
To participate in the challenge:
1. Ask a friend or family member to take a photo or video of you using alternative transportation when you would have normally taken your vehicle. Share on social media using #ThinkOutsidetheCar. 2. Challenge three friends, family members or co-workers to choose alternative transportation instead of using their vehicle. 3. Be part of the change.
Campaign Kickoff Event
On Tuesday, September 15th , students at M.M. Robinson High School will be part of the kickoff event.
Burlington MPP Eleanor McMahon has been a strong Share the Road advocate – she now wants people to make more use of bikes and public transit.
Eleanor McMahon, MPP Burlington and Danijel Ozimkovic, Transportation Technologist at the City of Burlington will be talking part in the event.
“Travelling by car is very popular in Burlington,” said Vito Tolone, acting director of transportation at the City of Burlington. “Ninety per cent of all trips within our city are made with an automobile. If we are going to reduce traffic congestion and create a greener city, the entire community needs to work together and consider other forms of transportation.”
The headline said: Ontario Committed to Maintaining Roads and Bridges
The rest of the story was about vehicle licence fee increases that come into effect September 1, 2015 in order to help maintain Ontario’s road safety, support key services and improve crucial transportation infrastructure.
Fees for driver licences, renewals, replacements and commercial permits are among those increasing.
These changes support the recommendations of the Commission on the Reform of Ontario’s Public Services to cover the rising costs of maintaining provincial roads, bridges and highways, enhance cost recovery for the delivery of driver and vehicle licensing services, and to support quality public services Ontarians rely on every day.
Here’s the damage to your wallet – not all that bad.
The Ontario government has committed over $19 billion since 2003 to design, repair and expand provincial highways and bridges across Ontario. There are about 12.1 million vehicles registered in Ontario.
Ontario is making the largest infrastructure investment in the province’s history — more than $130 billion over 10 years – which will support more than 110,000 jobs per year on average, with projects such as roads, bridges, transit systems, schools and hospitals.
They will be back soon – that magnificent seven that get paid $100,000 + each year for serving as your representative on both city and regional council.
They have been away from the horseshoe at city hall since the middle of July – and except for the Association of Municipalities of Ontario that was held in Niagara Falls – they haven’t had much to do in the way of formal meetings.
Burlington tends to be very quiet at city hall during the summer. The non-union staff at city hall are not that young.
The five year age range of the 129 people who hold leadership positions
2% are 26 to 30 – 3 people 1% are between 31 and 35 9% are between 36 and 40 – 12 people 16% are between 41 and 45 – 21 people 19% are between 46 and 50 – 25 people 32% are between 51 and 55 – 41 people 13% are between 56 and 60 – 17 people 7% are between 61 and 65 – 9 people.
There is a lot of vacation time to be used up.
City hall leadership briefs the Mayor on an issue during the budget preparation process
The other interesting thing is that close to 50% of the leadership will retire within 10 years; something the Human Resources department spends a lot of time thinking about. The pension plan in place for the municipal sector is seen as very good and many choose to retire in the second half of their fifties and try and new career.
As the members of Council drift back into the city and begin looking at their agendas and gearing up for the fall session – which for them begin September when they do two days of meetings at Regional Council where they will look at the Transportation Service 2014 Progress Report; do an On-Site Visit to Verify Potential Threats to Halton Regional Municipal Water Supply; consider changes to Waste Collection Area Boundaries and a look at the Conservation Authorities Act which is being reviewed.
When Council adjourned in July for the summer break there was no holding of hands and singing Cumbia. The period of time from when all seven members were re-elected last October to the July break was as fractious as this reporter has seen – even in the days when Cam Jackson was Mayor.
Differences of opinion are part of serving the public but the nastiness with which these people treat each other is shameful. On December 18th this Council treated John Taylor, a member of Council with 26 years of experience, terribly. Earlier in that December 18th meeting Taylor was given an long term service award – within a few hours he was basically stripped of committee memberships that he not only deserved but that were dear to his heart.
A few weeks later he came close to having to beg for financial support for Community Development Halton which they needed to cover them until a grant application was approved.
Car Free Sunday started as an event to convince people to get out of their cars and walk, bike or use public transit – it became a party put on at public expense for ward Councillors to entertain their constituents – at $10,000 a pop.
Earlier in the session members of Council approved the spending of $10,000 for Car Free Sundays for both wards four and five and ward six. Mayor Goldring commented at the time that the events looked more like politicking than they did occasions when the public got to learn why everyone needed to make less use of their cars. His Worship was right – the events have become political boondoggles; hopefully they won’t be in the 2015 budget.
Councillor Marianne Meed Ward is concerned with the way reports get to Council members and she wondered aloud if two much of the meeting management was in the hands of the Clerk’s Office when it perhaps should be in the hands of the members of Council.
Meed Ward wants to see more “quickly to action” on the part of this council. We are collecting a lot of data but we don’t seem to be getting all that much done. Our growth hinges on creating jobs in this city. While the city does not actually create the jobs is can create the environment and ensure that the services needed are in place.
That means a city hall bureaucracy that serves the needs of people doing business in the city and with the city. We hear of those situations where things don’t work – the complaints, like gossip make the rounds quickly. The good news tends to take a little longer – but there is some good news.
The public got to see information that was not secret but seldom had they had an opportunity to see a lot of data put before them and then be able to discuss some ideas with developers.
A number of months ago Meed Ward held several workshops to which she invited the public and those developers who were prepared to sit down and talk specifics about a project they were developing. Meed Ward will complete her write up, pull together all the data and put it in a format that is uiseful to the public. There will be a final public meeting and then everything gets passed on to planning staff who may issue a report on what they heard. staff played a large part in the public meetings – they were as interested as Meed Ward was in what the developers had to say and what the public wanted built in their city.
On balance they were a very worthwhile effort. The final report, which Meed Ward hopes has an impact on the Official Plan Review.
Meed Ward is concerned about the Ontario Municipal Board hearing on the ADI Group development that has been unveiled for the bottom of Martha at Lakeshore Road. Many feel the proposed structure just doesn’t fit and the staff report the city put out made that point quite clearly.
Unfortunately, city council never got to the point where they were able to vote on the staff report which makes whatever case the city has just that much weaker.
ADI filed their appeal to the OMB on the 180th day after they had submitted their proposal. Everyone knew what ADI was going to do – that is the way they do business and what they did was perfectly legal. It is situations like this that bother Meed Ward and many people in the city.
Council she argues is not in charge – we are following – not leading. For Meed Ward the Martha – Lakeshore Road development is a game changer. Meed Ward puts it this way: “There is something wrong with our issues management process” and she wants to see changes made. “We are handcuffed with the current process” she said.
Standing up and being counted – Councillor Meed Ward has asked for more recorded votes than any other member of Council. Knowing what your elected member is doing for you is an essential part of the democratic process.
When the Arts and Cultural Collective of Burlington was created it was unique and became the place to go to if you wanted to know what was happening in the arts community which had become of age in this city. Their Facebook page became a source of information that pulled the community together – and it worked
The Arts Collective had a presence – they were making a difference – now their Facebook page is being used to sell high end sun glasses and Point of Sale equipment for restaurants.
It was refreshing – they kept the membership limited – at one point you had to be referred by an existing member to get on the list. They were effective – they convinced the city to take another look at how artists were going to be treated with their contributions to the new web site – the city wanted to use picture – not pay for them and not even give a photo credit. That got changed.
The Cultural Action Plan that was researched by Jeremy Freiburger and his team over at the Cobalt Connection was a strong starting point. The Arts Collective liked what they saw but they wanted more involvement in the detail part of the cultural plans and also in the roll out in whatever was decided upon. They also wanted the final Culture Plan to include an Arts Council that would make grants available to artists.
A couple of months ago they began talking about how many members they had – and the size of the list became more important that the quality of the content.
The younger, feistier set knew what they needed – they had done their homework – their challenge was to find their voice and make it hard.
It was a moderated information source – which meant that messages that weren’t appropriate did not get posted. The person doing the moderation must have been asleep at the switch the past couple of months – there have been advertisements for high end sun glasses and then something for travel and now someone wants to sell a Point of Sale cash register system. “Perfect for any restaurant or retail business, …” using the Collective site as the advertising vehicle
This isn’t what the Collective was created to do. When it got off the ground a couple of years ago there was all kinds of really positive energy and they came up with very good ideas. They took possession of the agenda and pushed city hall to add resources to the cultural file.
They wanted to see culture moved out of the jock mentality many people saw dominating the Parks and Recreation department and they wanted to see more dollars put into the cultural field.
The province then got into the Cultural business with the promotion of Culture Week that was a decently done during its first year.
Civic square buzzed during Culture week last year – with the increased involvement on the part of the cultural manager Angela Paparizo we may see even more activity.
There are apparently all kinds of plans for Culture Week this year but there hasn’t been much coming out of city hall yet – the individual artists are promoting the events they have taking place – there is a Ping Pong and Poetry event that will take place at the new HiVe now located on Guelph Line. Local artist Margaret Lindsay Halton is running that event.
The organizational structure of the Arts Collective has always been a little undefined – personalities and ego began to take up too much space and the purpose began to get lost.
There is still time for the Arts Collective to recover – but they don’t take too much time doing it. They could and should play an important role.
There is still some very good energy within the citizen side of the arts. The Guilds at the Art Gallery of Burlington are becoming more active – management over there is expecting the guilds to be more visible and they are living up to the expectation.
Retiring Executive Director of the Performing Arts Centre Brian McCurdy stabilized the Centre – losing him is going to hurt for awhile. A new leader will need some time to get a sense as to how the Centre and the city work. In this photograph McCurdy is briefing the Mayor on parts of his thinking
The No Vacancy people will be putting on their third event in September – this time on Old Lakeshore Road basically outside Emma’s. September 17th from 7 pm to midnight.
Last year they recorded 3500 + visitors. This year the event will be called SuperNova and they think they will double last year’s attendance. They have put on the event for two years with nowhere near the funding available to Culture Week and have in the past produced much stronger more vital programs. This year, for the first time they got some funding from the city – courtesy of Councillor Marianne Meed Ward who advocated for the small grant they got.
One of the hurdles that few people see coming is the wallop the Gazette thinks the taxpayers are going to face when the real costs of the flood are going to have on the 2016 budget. Reports that have been given to Council point out a number of close to pressing amounts that are going to have to be spent real soon.
It is going to amount to millions with an expected new line on the tax bill for the management of storm water.
The cultural file just might take a hit – more money is going to have to go into infrastructure; council has been told that transit needs a lot more attention, especially when looked at through an intensification lens and the city is still salting away money to pay for our share of the hospital redevelopment.
Some tough work ahead of this Council – which is going to be difficult because all the members of this Council don’t sing from the same page in the hymnal.
The Region’s A team headed for Niagara Falls and met with provincial ministers and their aids to explain the problems they are having with the provincially mandated growth targets set out in the Provincial Places to Grow Act.
Regional Chair Carr tasting honey on a farm tour. Few realize just how big and diverse the Region actually is – the Chair covers all of it.
Chair, Gary Carr and members of Regional and Local Councils were at the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) annual conference to discuss the critical issues facing the Region.
“We continue to emphasize to Provincial leaders the pressing need to find solutions to ensure the Region can meet provincial growth targets,” said Gary Carr, Halton’s Regional Chair. “Halton is mandated to grow to 780,000 by the year 2031, which means the Region needs long-term funding and legislative tools to ensure that taxpayers are not responsible for the financial impacts of growth.”
The population growth is very aggressive. Much of it took place in Milton – Burlington is going to have to absorb a significant portion of the 278,000 people we have to take in.
The Region currently uses the figure 500,000 when it talks about the size of the population it serves to grow by an additional 280,000 people in 16 years is aggressive to say the least.
What Burlington needs to know is how many of that more than a quarter of a million people are we going to have to take make room for and where in the city will they live?
This is where the Region gets its money: Where will the revenue growth come from – user fess, property taxes and development charges – they are all part of your wallet.
What are we going to have to provide in terms of services and how do we upgrade the transit service we have to move people around the city because there is no room for additional road capacity.
Chair Carr, Regional along with the mayors of Burlington, Town of Halton Hills, Town of Milton, and the Town of Oakville and a number of Regional and local Councillors met with several Provincial leaders:
Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, Ted McMeekin, to discuss the need to create affordable housing solutions and conformity with Provincial growth legislation;
Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care, MPP Indira Naidoo-Harris, to discuss funding for public health programs, ambulance off-loading delays, enhancements to the Central Ambulance Communications Centre (CACC) and community mental health services;
Minister of Education, Liz Sandals, to discuss the need for long-term funding to support new schools;
Minister of Transportation, Steven Del Duca, to discuss Halton’s community infrastructure needs including GO train service in the Town of Milton and Town of Halton Hills;
Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry and Burlington MPP, Eleanor McMahon, to discuss Conservation Authority funding and aggregate resources legislation;
Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services, Yasir Naqvi, to discuss the upcoming review of the Police Services Act;
Attorney General, Madeleine Meilleur, to discuss Halton’s immediate need for a new courthouse in the Town of Milton; and
Minister of the Environment and Climate Change, Glen Murray, to discuss waste management legislation and adapting and responding to climate change.
Municipal leaders argue that they deliver most of the services that citizens want yet get the smallest amount from taxpayers. They want a bigger slice of the pie – or better yet – a bigger pie.
Several of the meetings related to near critical needs; the Court House in Milton is a mess; long term care is heading for crisis if something isn’t done and affordable housing needs very serious attention.
Transportation and transit are going to gobble up millions and the damage from the August 2014 storm is but a sign of things to come. No one knows yet just how much it is going to cost to upgrade and in some places perhaps have to rebuild the waste and storm water system we have in place.
Halton is fortunate in that it has a Regional chair with experience at Queen’s Park and the resources within his own administration to advocate with strength and authority.
The Region continues to advocate to both the Provincial and Federal governments as part of the Region’s Advocating for a Strong Halton campaign.
The Region wants changes to the Development Charges Act, there is draft legislation now being debated at Queen’s Park. The province wants development charges that support the recovery and collection of growth related costs to ensure that Halton’s taxpayers do not bear the financial impacts of growth.
What those development charges do however is increase the cost of new housing which for Burlington are high as it is.
Part one of a two part feature on the development potential for the city
Each city council, at the beginning of its term, meets for a number of weeks and hammers out a Strategic Plan.
That Plan sets out what the city council wants to get done during the four years they are going to serve the citizens.
There is very little in previous Strategic Plans worth remembering, except for the plan approved in 2011. For the most part they were a collection of pictures and motherhood statements.
I had the opportunity to look at six or seven previous Strategic Plans – something I doubt the majority of the current Council bothered to do. Councillors Taylor and Dennison were at the table when those documents were approved.
The Strategic Plan approved by the previous council, which was made up of the same people we have in place now, was a very impressive departure from anything done before.
Both Council and staff worked very hard – sometimes at cross purposes – to produce a document that served the city well. There were some very moving occasions when we got to hear how Councillors felt about the city they were leading.
In the closing session Councillor Jack Dennison spoke very emotionally about the need to ensure that the downtown core was given the attention and the resources needed to grow and become a large part of the focus for Burlington.
We also got to see some of the character traits from some of the Council members that were disturbing then and disruptive now.
The city was fortunate to have an excellent facilitator who not only led the group but educated several of them on what works and the way Strategic Plan development gets done.
Perhaps hoping to build on what was achieved the last time around Council set out to craft the Strategic Plan for this term of office. It is not going very well.
It may well be 2016 before the Strategic Plan is approved. will it be as good as what this Council did in 2011?
The city hired KPMG to direct them in the creation of the Strategic Plan for the current term but did not manage to get the same facilitator.
There is now a team in place that is going to do tonnes of research and bring back a large handful of options. Unfortunately,
Georgina Black did a superb job of getting a new city council through the creation of a significantly different Strategic Plan. Councillor John Taylor loved every minute of it.
Burlington wasn’t able to get Georgina Black back – she was the facilitator who did such fine work with council in 2011. Much of the work that KPMG is going to do was already being done by Frank McKeown, the Executive Director of the Economic Development Corporation. McKeon wasn’t able to attend the meeting at which all the research work KPMG is going to do was discussed.
McKeown explains that he wasn’t told of the meeting until two days before it took place and that he was already committed to be elsewhere.
McKeown adds that he had not seen the agenda. When it was brought to his attention – I think we heard him gulp. McKeown will resolve that problem and will have the needed discussions with KPMG.
The creation of the 2014 – 2018 Strategic Plan is not off to a very good start. Council will not meet on this matter until the second half of October. They will have been in office for a year by that time
There are going to be some very sticky Governance issues that do not look as if a reasonable resolution is going to be found. Despite the comments made regularly by Mayor Goldring – his is a very fractious council that is deeply divided on some critical issues.
The amount of time, attention and financial resources to be given to community based initiatives will be limited by budget constraints due in no small measure by the cost of the 2014 flood.
Some exceptional work has been done within the cultural sphere – the city now has two new people running major cultural institutions. Robert Steven is running the Art Gallery of Burlington and Susan Haines will take over the running of the Performing Arts Centre in September. Hopefully the Centre Board has retained retiring Executive Director Brian McCurdy to serve as a consultant for three to six months to oversee the transition.
The Performing Arts Centre had gotten itself to the point where it was finally stable financially and the program being offered was working. Community groups were now a real part of the program offerings. There is every reason to believe that Haines can continue the work McCurdy did and eventually grow her board to the point where she can put her own stamp on the place.
The concept might have merit but there is no way this kind of an installation is going to work on a single lane road that is the main entrance to the hospital once the redevelopment has been done. Lakeshore Road has to be widened for the hospital traffic.
The Museums have their work cut out for them but it doesn’t look as if they are going to draw on the city for financial support. There is however, some very hard thinking to be done on just what happens to the Joseph Brant Museum. The plans on the drawing board are just not going to work – someone needs to have the courage within the Museum Board to look at the facts and the changes that are going to take place on Lakeshore Road when the hospital re-development is done.
Ireland House on the other hand is a gem; it offers some exceptionally good programming.
Development: what does the city want and where does it want any development to take place – and what kind of development as well.
Waterdown Road is being widened – a precursor to some significant development. The Aldershot GO station was named a transportation/development hub – the developers may get their shovels in the ground and have walls up before the city arrives at some decisions.
There is all kinds of development taking place in Aldershot – there is some dissension amongst the more active citizens and the council member does need to learn to listen a little better. Understanding who he represents would be a useful contribution Rick Craven could make to the quality of civic government in this city.
Councillor Meed Ward continues with her, unique for Burlington, approach to involving the people she represents.
There are two areas of development that can re-shape the kind of downtown core Burlington is going to have – both are in her ward.
Before going into any detail on those two opportunities – the culture at city hall needs a closer look.
There are departments that work exceptionally well – finance is perhaps the best run shop at city hall. The team if focused and well led. They were given the task of revamping the way budgets were prepared and presented to the public and told to make personal accountability part of the way city hall does business.
Scott Stewart and former city manager Jeff Fielding – they were quite a tag team for as long as it lasted. Fielding always let you know what was in the works – the new city manager has yet to reveal a management style.
Then city manager Jeff Fielding challenged the finance department to bring about the change – then he departed for greener pastures and became the city manager in Calgary to the work that gets done.
The finance department did deliver; unfortunately there isn’t a champion on city council to ensure that the work done is continued and that staff get the direction they need.
A significant cultural change is taking place within the planning department; the hiring process for the new city planner is at the short short list. That decision may have already been made.
This is a critical choice – the department is in the middle of completing a much delayed Official Plan Review; we may not see that document until the end of the year.
A rapt audience listened to an overview of the 2014 budget. What they have yet to have explained to them is the desperate situation the city will be in ten years from now if something isn’t done in the next few years to figure out how we are going to pay for the maintenance of the roads we have. Add in the cost of the 2014 flood and the city has a whopper of a budget to explain.
Public engagement is a sorry mess – few remember the recommendations that came out of the Shape Burlington report that every member of this council heartily endorsed and then forgot about. There are reports of an initiative the city will announce in the fall that is neighbourhood oriented – it will be interesting to see the details.
The current city manager doesn’t seem to have all that much appetite for real public engagement, the communications department is asking the public what they think about City Talk, a magazine format distributed to every household, that does more for the members of city council than anyone else.
Council members love the thing; the communications department spend endless hours making revisions and the public for the most part doesn’t know it exists. There is a savings opportunity there.
They are now off for six weeks – except for a three day municipal conference in August the magnificent seven that lead this city of ours will be taking it easy.
During their last city council they came close to making absolute fools of themselves over a code of conduct that we doubt will be followed – and if it is – it will be used to continue the petty games we saw at the Wednesday night council meeting.
After what the Mayor called a “sloppy, messy” debate council put back in a section of the Code that had been taken out at a meeting May 12th.
There was all kinds of fulminating about principles and professionalism and the need to work as a team which isn’t what your Council did Wednesday evening.
After some discussion between Councillors Craven and Sharman in the foyer outside the Council Chamber, Councillor Sharman returned to his seat, said a few words to Councillor Lancaster and the meeting began.
Councillor Sharman tends to advise Councillor Lancaster on issues and directions.
Councillor Lancaster introduced a motion, seconded by Councillor Sharman to replace wording in the Code of Conduct that had been taken out at that May 12th meeting.
No one had seen the motion until it was introduced – not the Clerk or the Mayor. All the chatter about professionalism and respect for each other got blown out the window.
There is precious little respect between Councillors Craven and Sharman for Councillor Meed Ward. Councillor Lancaster tends to go along with whatever Sharman suggests.
The issue was about whether or not a council members can involve themselves in matters that are outside their wards.
The Gazette will report on that part of the meeting in another piece.
The final vote was to refer the revised Code of Conduct to the city manager where it will get debated under the Governance section of the strategic Plan. One of the problems is that Strategic Plan meetings are for the most part not recorded or broadcast on the city’s web site.
They now have a Code of Conduct – will it make any difference as to how they behave with one another? Don’t expect any changes – the behaviour for most of these men and women is deeply rooted.
The Gazette will report on that part of the meeting in another piece.
Council goes into Closed Session to hear what city solicitor has to say.
Council went into a closed session to talk with the city solicitor about the latest move on the part of the ADI Development Group and the 28 storey project they want to build at Martha and Lakeshore Road. We have no idea what they talked about but the length of the closed session suggests that it was complex.
Earlier in the week the Ontario Municipal Board Commissioner who will be hearing the ADI application set a date for in March for the hearing.
The OMB meeting on Monday was, we are advised, a meeting to set out what the issues are and to narrow the focus – to determine just what it is ADI is asking the OMB to do.
It is going to take some really fine lawyering to prevent this 28 storey structure from going up at the corner of Martha and Lakeshore. OMB hearing expected to take place in March of 2016
The Gazette was not able to attend that meeting but our colleague Joan Little, a former city and regional Councillor and a columnist for the Hamilton Spectator, said she didn’t hear any discussion that had to do with the narrowing of the issues.
These preliminary meetings are held to get some sense as to how much time the Municipal Board should allocate for the hearing. The one looks like it is going to be long and contentious.
ADI has hired Weir & Foulds, a Toronto firm with an exceptionally strong pedigree – these guys don’t take any prisoners. Based on the two occasions the Gazette listened to one of their lawyer’s the city has its work cut out for it.
New Court House for Provincial Offenses gets the go-ahead.
There was more – the construction of a court house on Palladium Way at Walkers Line is now a go. The intention is to have a court house built that will hear Provincial Offenses only.
At least two more years for this Provincial Offenses Court House.
Citizens in the Alton Community were concerned with people being tried for criminal offenses being in the area. Provincial Offenses are things like Highway Traffic Act cases; charges laid against people who have been charged with a provincial law offense. They aren’t going to see men and woman in handcuffs and shackles being led into that court house.
While the province is responsible for running the courts in which criminal cases are heard – the building that is being planned will not hear that kind of case
Council approved the issuing of a Request for proposals (RFP) to private sector investors/developers inviting them to purchase or lease the site the city owns and build the court house.
Transit issues got a very small mention – there are going to be talks with Oakville transit to look into what might be done to get some public transit to the court house.
City Manager James Ridge did say that there was some public education needed and that there would be public consultations in September.
The Court House to be built is expected to serve the needs of Region foe the next 25 years. The intention is to have the court house ready for occupancy in January of 2018.
Citizens of the city are finally getting used to the idea of sharing their opinions – at least on questions that matter to them – and if there is a question that matters to people in this city it is – parking
Between April 24 and May 7, 2015, more than 1040 residents completed the online questions about parking and sharing their comments.
The public input has been incorporated into a staff report that will be presented to the Development and Infrastructure Committee on Monday, Sept. 14, 2015 and the Burlington City Council meeting on Monday, Sept. 28, 2015.
What did the public have to say about parking in this city? Interesting responses – looks like paid overnight parking is going to take place in the eastern side of the city.
Here are the result of the questionnaire:
The public opinion survey response on the question of on street parking and whether or not it should be paid for and if so how much got the highest response ever for an Insight survey.
The parking survey response by ward – tells us where the problems are.
A third of the households are more than two car families – are these transit opportunities?
Most people seem to be able to park there cars in their driveways – so what’s the problem?
For the 238 out of the 1048 who completed the survey people – they seem to be evenly divided on where cars should be parked if they don’t fit into the driveway.
Slightly more than half will accept the idea of permit parking.
If there is on-street parking at night – most know when they want it to take place
This questions appears to have allowed people to choose more than one option – needs follow up
The city was taking no chances on being misunderstood – pictures showing just what each definition meant were provided.
Now for the crunch question: How much would you pay to park on the street ?
Reactions shift when the price changes – even though the changes are minimal.
The 60% of the people who responded to the pricing questions were split on whether or not they were reasonable. Expect some noisy delegations on this question when it gets to Council
A no cost option was seen as unreasonable by some – interesting.
What was really clear was this: people do not want to pay for parking if they are not actually on the street.
When it is in their best interests, city hall knows how to move.
CUPE Local 44 (outside and arena/outdoor pool operators) completed their ratification vote at 3:00 pm on Thursday July 2nd – at 3:48 pm the city issued a media release saying they were pleased to announce that both the members of CUPE Local 44 (outside and arena/outdoor pool operators) and City Council have ratified a three-year collective agreement, which runs from July 1, 2014, to June 30, 2017.
There were no mention of the details of the settlement agreement.
What the Gazette found a little confusing was how the city could accept an agreement without it being ratified by the union.
Access to meetings and critical documents is not what the public thinks it is.
That was easy – the city held a special council meeting – it didn’t advise the media of the Special Council meeting at which they were briefed on the tentative agreement that was awaiting ratification. They apparently said that if the union ratified the agreement that was tentative at that point – then it was understood that the city had agreed.
That sounded a little slick but Roy Male, the Executive Director or Human Resources emailed the Gazette saying: “We did this to be proactive to speed up the approval process to remove any uncertainty in the public’s mind about the services which may have been affected.”
Fine – but the city didn’t issue a statement after that June 30th meeting which media didn’t attend because they were not advised.
To be fair the city does put a notice of meetings in the mail slot each media has however most of us don’t trot over to city hall to see if there is any mail every couple of hours.
When the Mayor wants to call a Special Meeting of Council there is a rigid procedure he has to follow. That procedure should include an electronic noticed to the media. Given that the Mayor has a full time media person in his office he can’t say he isn’t aware of how media works.
The Mayor doesn’t talk to the Gazette anymore. A number of months the Mayor decided he didn’t like what we were saying about him and decided he wasn’t going to return our phone calls. We didn’t know this was the position the Mayor had taken until we asked why phone calls were not being returned.
That is when he told the Gazette we were not fair or balanced.
We have never had the Mayor tell us precisely what it is we were saying that was not fair and balanced.
Milton Mayor Krantz explains to Conservation Halton how the media works.
A few weeks ago the Gazette was in Milton covering a Conservation Halton awards event and met with Gord Krantz, Mayor of Milton, who commented to John Vice, chair of the Conservation Board that he never worried about what the media said about him – he worried when the media stopped saying anything about him. Krantz has been Mayor of Milton for 25 years. Burlington’s Mayor should spend a little more time with Gord Krantz when they cross paths at Regional Council.
Burlington is not a media friendly town. City managers tend to set the tone on what comes out of city hall; each council members decides what they want in the way of a relationship with media. Some council members have particularly thin skins and don’t handle criticism all that well.
But we digress.
According to union negotiators the pressing issue for them was benefits for those workers who were over the age of 65. While the collective agreement that was in place called for the city to pay the same benefits to all employees the union was not aware that they weren’t being paid because there were no members over the age of 65.
The Outside workers ratified their agreement – union negotiators will not say if the benefits issue was resolved; they added that they do not have any workers over the age of 65.
The transit union does have workers over the age of 65 who are not getting the same benefit package as those who are under 65.
The union maintains that they were not aware that union members were being treated differently – it wasn’t until they began getting complaints from union members over 65 that the problem came to their attention.
Apparently the city instructed their benefits provider not to give the same benefits to everyone.
It is clear that there isn’t a collaborative working arrangement between the union and the city’s human resources department.
It will be interesting to see if the transit works ratify the agreement.
Another confusing point; both unions are CUPE (Canadian Union of Public Employees) members. Why would one union – Local 44 ratify the agreement before the Local 2723 – the transit union if the matter of benefits mattered to both?
We thought solidarity was the glue that gave the union its clout.
Splash pads are guaranteed to be open for the summer – gives the kids a place to play and keep the heat off the members of council
In its media release the city said: “ Thanks to the co-operation of CUPE and our employees, it is business as usual for city services that include outdoor pools, summer ice use, all sports fields and all outdoor maintenance services.”
At the closed council meeting of June 30th the city passed a Bylaw # 71-2015 to confirm the proceedings of Special Council at its meeting held Tuesday, June 30, 2015, being read a first, second and third time.
Fine – what did the Bylaw say: Can’t tell you – it wasn’t published and you can’t get it instantly online. Here is what the city says about Access to Bylaws
“The City of Burlington provides online versions of bylaws for information and reference purposes only. Posted documents are not consolidated with all possible amending and repealing bylaws: users refer to these online documents at their own risk. For the greatest level of accuracy and reliability, please obtain a certified copy of a bylaw and its applicable amending bylaws from the Clerks department: contact Service Burlington at 905-335-7600, or email records@burlington.ca.”
This is not the mark of an open, transparent government.
We talk about the jewels that make this city what it is – that Escarpment to the north of the city and that glistening lake that is there for us to watch and appreciate every day.
Those two magnificent geographic features were given to us- our task now is to enjoy that gift and serve as good stewards and ensure that what we have our grandchildren’s grandchildren will also be able to enjoy.
There are people who pay more attention to the environment that most of us – for them it is a passion and they spend countless hours just helping take care of what we have.
Turtle clan longhouse at Crawford Lake.
The Conservation Authority, formed after Hurricane Hazel did some very serious flooding in 1954 when more than 90 people in Toronto lost their lives as a result of the flooding. .
There are a number of Conservation Authorities across the problem – Conservation Halton looks after what we have. They are both a regulatory agency that comments on all development that relates to the lake and the creeks and the land on the Escarpment and the operators of a number of recreational and entertainment locations including Crawford Lake.
They play a critical role that is seldom seen and rarely appreciated. Each year they hold an awards night to recognize those who have done more – made an effort and made a difference. They held their 33rd annual Conservation Halton Awards on Tuesday at the Milton Centre for the Arts. The awards are presented to people and organizations that make outstanding contributions to conservation in the Halton watershed, which includes Halton, Peel, Hamilton and Puslinch.
Every person, group, or school, in the various awards categories (except for the Parks Volunteer Award) are nominated from the community. The 2015 award recipients are as follows:
Citizen:Bethlehem Sahlu; Citizen (Youth) Simone Mantel, Aldershot District High School; Community Toronto Bruce Trail Club; Education (Group or School) Trailhead – Bronte Creek Project; Education (Individual) Nick Bertrand and Kerry Sagar, Halton District School Board; Media / Blogger, Tourism Burlington; Parks Volunteer Kirsten Phillip, Mountsberg Raptor Centre and Chuck Sweet, Kelso / Glen Eden; Stewardship Andrew and Marites Lee, Milton Field and Stream Rescue Team; Ralph Sherwood Honour Roll Keith Bird, Oakville
More than 150 guests and dignitaries attended the awards ceremony. In addition to the award recipients, Watershed Stewards in the Halton Watershed Stewardship Program were recognized, as well as local schools and childcare centres that participated in the Stream of Dreams education program.
2015 Conservation Halton Awards Recipients
Bethlehem Sahlu – Citizen
Bethlehem Sahlu has led three local food initiatives in Oakville. She is the coordinator of two community gardens, Share Land Share Life Community Garden (which is on privately owned land, Owner Mr. Armin Gottschling) and Clear View Community Garden. She also led a Green Your Mind Green Your Plate Presentation Series.
Share Land Share Life Community Garden and Clear View Community Garden were started as joint initiatives between Conservation Halton and FutureWatch EDEP as part of the Natural Connections Program aimed at connecting new and diverse communities in Halton to their natural surroundings, promoting food sustainability, healthy eating and Community engagement. (ODEC) Oakville’s Diverse Environmental Club Program is also a partner on Clear View.
Green Your Mind Green Your Plate is an interactive presentation with the objective to give people who are new in the area an overview of the local food market, to emphasize the importance of eating healthy and locally, and introduce them to the basic concepts of food sustainability. Bethlehem enjoys sharing her passion and knowledge about food sustainability and she believes Environmental Education is the key to success in all the community initiative she has been involved in. Bethlehem has inspired people that change is possible and it starts from the community we live in!
Simone Mantel – an Aldershot residnent
Simone Mantel of Aldershot High School in Burlington – Citizen (Youth)
Simone has been a true Environmental Champion for Aldershot School and the City of Burlington. She has been actively involved in her four years as a high school student, serving as President of the Aldershot School Environment Club and is a Graduate of the ECO Studies Program. Simone organized a community environmental film screening to raise funds for a school habitat restoration project. She also participated and planned invasive species removals at Aldershot School and Royal Botanical Gardens, and also organized school clean-up events for Earth Day.
Simone is involved in the community as well. She is an active member of Burlington Green, and worked to save trumpeter swan habitat at LaSalle Park Marina. She is a Burlington Transit Youth Ambassador for Aldershot School and organized several transportation-related campaigns. She also facilitated the ECO Rangers Environmental Leadership Program at RBG (grade 6 and 7 students).
Due to Simone’s dedication and commitment to the environment, Aldershot school and community, as well as the City of Burlington, have seen significant improvements in the awareness of environmental issues and improvement and protection of natural areas.
Toronto Bruce Trail Club – Community
Members of the Toronto Bruce Trail Club undertook the cleanup of downed trees and branches following the ice storm in December 2013 to reopen the Bruce Trail for hikers. Their clean-up efforts on the Main Bruce Trail in Halton Region involved more than 150 volunteers, who contributed over 600 hours and the cleanup was so extensive it took two years to fully complete.
The Toronto Bruce Trail Club encompasses the northern section of the Bruce Trail in Conservation Halton’s Watershed, this includes Crawford Lake, Hilton Falls, Kelso and Rattlesnake Point Conservation Areas.
Toronto Bruce Trail Club work parties cleared approximately 70% of the Main Trail from January to June 2014. The Bruce Trail and Conservation Halton has been extremely fortunate to have so many dedicated and interested volunteers show up so many times to get cold and dirty, and work very hard to clean up and maintain the trail for others to enjoy.
Trailhead – Bronte Creek Project – Education (Group or School)
Trailhead is a one semester environmental leadership program for 20 grade 10 students. The Trailhead class is made up of students selected from all Halton public and Catholic schools who have applied to be part of this unique and often transformative program.
Students spend every day at Sidrabene, which is located in a rural area, for the five-month high school semester. These facilities allow BCP students to have a mix of outdoor activities and indoor classroom lessons. Trailhead students teach grade 4 elementary students a one-day program called Novice Earthkeepers, where they practice and teach environmental stewardship. For the past three years, Trailhead students have participated at the Halton Forest Festival for Conservation Halton teaching grade 6 and 7 students about the importance of our local forests and the plants and animals that live within them.
Trailhead students explore current environmental issues and human impact, and discover their own relationship with nature. Hands-on learning is at the core of the program, allowing students to experience the curriculum while also learning about different career paths. The semester also involves an Adventure Trip canoeing in Algonquin Park. The program truly is a one of a kind experience for students, led by passionate and knowledgeable staff.
Nick Bertrand and Kelly Sager of the Halton District School Board couldn’t keep away from their cell phones as they tweeted their award to everyone they knew
Nick Bertrand and Kerry Sagar from HDSB – Education (Individual)
Kerry Sagar is an Instructional Program Leader with the School Programs Department at Halton District School Board. She has been involved in Environmental and Sustainability initiatives throughout her career with a special emphasis on Social Justice, Equity and Inclusion, and First Nations, Métis, and Inuit perspectives.
Kerry has been instrumental in developing invaluable resources, as well as developing and presenting countless professional learning experiences to elementary and secondary HDSB teachers, administrators, and superintendents. Her longstanding work with environmental leadership teams at the board level has included the development of inquiry-based learning projects which are directly connected to care and protection of the environment, and include a deeper understanding of the underlying social and equity issues.
Nick Bertrand is also an Instructional Program Leader with the School Programs Department at the Halton District School Board. After a teaching career at White Oaks Secondary School, He joined the School Programs Department three years ago.
Nick has had phenomenal success in working directly to support the Ontario EcoSchools program with secondary schools. Nick Co-chairs the system level Eco Team, HELP (Halton Eco Leadership Partners), and the multiple community partner Outdoor Experiential Education Advisory Team. One of his major accomplishments has been the successful implementation of First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Education at both the elementary and secondary level; his connections with local First Nations and other community partners has enabled him to provide powerful support to schools in integrating First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Education, Environmental Education, and Outdoor Experiential Education.
Linda Cvetanovic, blogger extraordinaire with Tourism Burlington was recognized
Tourism Burlington – Media / Blogger
Tourism Burlington consistently supports Conservation Halton’s recreational, educational, and environmental initiatives on their online account. They furiously share tweets about events at Halton Parks, like Maple Town or Endangered Species Weekend. By doing so, Tourism Burlington captivates the online community in regard to outdoor education and our environmental efforts. Not only does Tourism Burlington engage with Conservation Halton, but they also collaborate with other groups to promote and educate others about nature in Burlington. With over 8,000 followers on Twitter, Tourism Burlington is an industry leader in Tourism for online media.
Tourism Burlington tweets and retweets Conservation Halton’s content whether it is a blog about a baby barn owl, or a Facebook link about Endangered Species Weekend at Mountsberg.
Kirsten Phillip, Mountsberg Raptor Centre – Parks Volunteer
Kirsten volunteers at the Mountsberg Raptor Centre every Friday. She is always pleasant and excited to be at Mountsberg and is a joy for the staff to work with. She happily does whatever task is asked of her and has become a master at cleaning the flight cages. Staff don’t quite know how she does it, but Kirsten gets the Turkey Vulture flight cleaner than anyone – even the staff.
When asked to do a spring cleaning on a Wildlife Walkway pen, she remarked at the end of the day that it was her most fun day yet of volunteering! Kirsten has gone above and beyond the duties of a regular volunteer.
On her own time and with her own resources, she developed two matching card games to be used by visitors at the park and these games will be incorporated into the summer Raptor Camp activities this year. She has also started to join Mountsberg staff on offsite presentations and is a great representative of Conservation Halton both offsite and at the park. All of the Raptor Centre staff looks forward to Fridays, when they get to share their day with Kirsten.
Chuck Sweet – Parks Volunteer
During the winter months Chuck is a volunteer patroller at Glen Eden and during the summer months Chuck is a volunteer trail ambassador at Kelso.
Chuck performs at least 140 hours of volunteering per winter helping injured skiers and snowboarders. He is an inspiration to many of our volunteer patrollers through his attendance, commitment, and dedication.
Chuck is an exceptional communicator as a trail ambassador in regards to safety and offering direction. Chuck was seriously injured while on duty as a ski patroller during the 2013-14 season. He returned this season and fulfilled his responsibilities well beyond our expectations. His peers nominated Chuck as Patroller of the year at the end of the 2014-15 season.
Andrew and Marites Lee – Stewardship
Andrew and Marites were two stand-out participants of Conservation Halton’s 2014 Healthy Neighbourshed homeowner workshop program. At each week’s session, they were eager to learn and were inspired and motivated to implement a low impact landscaping project on their property.
Not only did they add to the community of the workshop series by asking questions and discussing topics with fellow participants, they took the projects they learned about home. Andrew and Marites completely revamped their backyard to incorporate low impact development principles. These include: a permeable walkway, native plants and a rain barrel.
Their efforts and enthusiasm are not only helping divert our watershed’s urban run-off, they are acting as environmental stewards to their children and their community by showing what can be done on a homeowner’s property can be both beautiful and environmentally friendly. Andrew and Marites have also demonstrated that even if you live in a suburban subdivision, you still can have a positive impact on your local environment.
David Hulsman of the Field and Stream Rescue
Jeff Stock – Field and Stream Rescuer
Field and Stream Rescue Team – Stewardship
The Field and Stream Rescue Team is a not for profit group that works in Hamilton and Halton. They are 100 per cent volunteer based with a board of eight members and a project planning team of about the same. Their mission is to “Revitalize urban areas by restoring and rehabilitating watercourses, forests and natural areas through community education and hands on activities.”
They accomplish their mission by leading 15 to 20 volunteer workdays per year. Workdays include a variety of projects types such as invasive plant management, garbage cleanups and tree, shrub and wildflower plantings.
A niche that they have filled in Conservation Halton’s area is to clean up the nearly impossible. They rig up a system of pullies and cart garbage out of deep forested ravines that has likely been there for fifty plus years. One of their greatest achievements of late was a two day cleanup of an old dumping site in Bronte Creek Provincial Park. Tires, fridge, freezer and more were hauled out of the Bronte Creek floodplain and up a 150 foot ravine.
Keith Bird – Ralph Sherwood Honour Roll Award
Keith Bird recently served as Vice Chair of Conservation Halton and was a member of the Conservation Halton Foundation Board from 2011 to 2015. Keith served 37 years on the Conservation Halton Board, serving since 1974, except for two years when he was on the Conservation Halton Foundation Board.
During Keith’s time, the Foundation completed the Mountsberg Shrike Project breeding facility, the Deer Clan longhouse which was constructed at Crawford Lake Conservation Area, and the Foundation provided ongoing support for the Halton Children’s Water Festival and the Halton Forest Festival.
During Keith’s yeas on the Conservation Halton board there were a number of improvements at the conservation areas highlighted by the opening of the Crawford Lake Iroquoian Village and the building of the Kelly New Pavilion at Mountsberg. In addition there have been upgrades at Glen Eden to the chairlifts and snowmaking and a new pedestrian bridge built over the railway tracks to accommodate the growing demand. Another park improvement during Keith’s time was the opening of the Brock Harris Lookout at Mount Nemo.
Proudly displayed on the gate of rural homes – some in urban areas as well.
Halton Watershed Stewardship (HWSP) Program Award Recipients
The Halton Watershed Stewardship Program award recipients are members of a group of more than 310 landowners voluntarily protecting over 12,800 acres of land, which includes over 7,800 acres of natural land, and over 160 kilometres of stream. It is important to remember that by simply enjoying these natural heritage features as they are, and conserving them for future generations, Watershed Stewards are making a significant contribution to the health of the environment, which leads to a healthy society.
Each year Watershed Stewardship Technicians assist landowners who are looking for advice and recommendations regarding activities they can undertake to restore woodlands, wetlands, meadows, and streams. The following landowners were recognized at this year’s award as Watershed Stewards:
• Alba DiCenso and Brian Hutchison in the Bronte Creek Watershed
• The City of Hamilton for Courtcliffe Park in the Bronte Creek Watershed
• Wayne Terryberry, who is the first recipient of the new Cootes to Escarpment EcoPark System dedicated Stewardship award
These Streams of Dreams are hand painted by students and affixed to school yard fences – a graphic and fun way to teach young students about the environment.
Stream of Dreams 2015
The mission of the Stream of Dreams Program is to educate communities about their watersheds, rivers and streams, while dazzling them with the charm of community art. Since its launch in 2006, Conservation Halton staff has delivered the program to 32,422 participants at 83 schools, as well as many community events, installing these magnificent murals across the watershed.
The teachers and parent volunteers at the participating Stream of Dreams schools put countless hours of work into each project to prepare their fish to be painted by the children and then install their murals on a fence at the school. Conservation Halton staff deliver the program with the message of protecting the fish and other wildlife who live in our community streams. The following schools participated over the past year:
• Balaclava, Freelton
• Bruce T. Lindley, Burlington
• Glenburnie, Oakville
• Hawthorne Village, Milton
• Our Lady of Fatima, Milton
• Palermo, Oakville
• Pilgrim Wood, Oakville
• Pine Grove, Oakville
• P.L. Robertson, Milton
• St. Mildred’s Lightbourn, Oakville
Gateway to the Millcroft community where average resale price was just under$1 million
A few interesting observations – 15 of the 197 May sales in Burlington were over a million dollars as compared to 6 sales over a million same period last year.
Average days on market for those 6 sales was 64 days. Average days on market for the 15 sales this year was 22. Equally as interesting, there were only 3 sales under $400,000.
Hot spots in May were in the Orchard as usual, Roseland – particularly in the transitioning areas, Headon Forest – strong sales but slightly longer days on market. Homes in this neighborhood are a little more difficult to evaluate. If they are fully renovated, they are selling for very similar prices to homes in the Orchard.
The attraction being that you get a 50×100 foot lot as opposed to 36×85 in the Orchard. Average price paid for a house in Millcroft in May was $991,700 – sold in under 20 days and for 99% of the asking price!
At March 31, 2015 the total balances of all the reserve funds amounted to $146.0 million, which is $2.8 million lower than the corresponding figure of $148.8 million at March 31, 2014.
Of the total Reserves and Reserve Funds $38.7 million is committed for various projects leaving an uncommitted balance of $107.3 million. The commitments represent expenditures approved by Council in previous years’ capital budgets or funds held for specific future purposes.
The following chart provides an historical perspective of uncommitted reserve and reserve fund balances as at March 31:
Reserve and Reserve Fund Uncommitted Balances as at March 31
Municipalities in Ontario are not permitted to run a deficit – should that happen the province would send in its bean counters and the city would be under trusteeship.
What the city works to avoid is creating and maintaining reserve funds that are drawn on when needed.
There are literally dozens of reserve funds and its pretty easy to move money from one to the other. There is the story told about some Canadian Open golf tournament tickets that got paid for out of a reserve fund – that somehow didn’t really clear city council. That was a different time and a different era.
The city creates a budget to cover operating expenses, salaries and paper clips and on occasion that operating budget ends up with a surplus – which the finance now calls a “positive variance”. In Burlington that surplus ranges above and blow a million – except for the year when it ballooned to more than $9 million – heads eventually rolled for that one.
Set out below are various reserve funds the city has and what the balances are:
Half a million in the piggy bank for “Growth Studies” is kind of handy. Transit doesn’t have any wiggle room – the vast majority of their reserve is committed. Some technology has been bought but has yet to be installed. They might manage to do that work when the drivers are off the job should they decide to go on strike.
Six million in as contingency fund; another $5 million in the tax rate stabilization fund; $2 million in the Employe accident reserve – no wonder city council spends so much time in closed session on outstanding litigation matters. That much money in reserve makes it almost worth suing the city – they can afford it.
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As of March 31, 2015 the operating budget shows a favourable variance of $800,568 with a year end projected favourable variance of $122,285
The Year end projection does not include the provision from the Severe Weather Reserve Fund.
Staff will continue to monitor and update the year-end projections as part of the 2015 Budget review currently underway.
They are different in Aldershot – a little rougher at the edges; less pretence to these people. They can be pretty outspoken and they don’t shirk from asking direct questions.
This is where the ADI Development Masonry Court is going to be located – bounded by the GO station lines, Waterdown Road, Masonry Court and the GO station parking lot.
About 40 people from the community met at the West Aldershot United church to learn more about the ADI Group development on Masonry road where a 324 housing units project is in the negotiation stage with the city planning department.
There are to be 200 stacked townhouses’ 64 standard town houses and 60 back-to-back townhouses. No basements but parking underneath the structures.
There was not going to be any commercial space in the townhouse part of the project – which they are calling phase 1. The property is zoned for mixed use, residential, commercial and recreational.
The ADI approach appears to be as much residential as they can get – there is a demand for housing across the GTA that cannot be met – Burlington offers a safe, pleasant community to live in and the GO train is almost at your door step – it can whisk you into Toronto in well under an hour. What more could you ask for?
Ward 1 Councillor Rick Craven took the audience through an overview of the project and explained the role it would play in the larger development of west Aldershot.
The longer term growth plans for Burlington are hinged on the mobility hub concept – Aldershot is the first to see real development in a planned hub location. Planners admit the project is a little ahead of their thinking.
Burlington has created a concept they call mobility hubs – places where different forms of traffic meet up – with either GO train stations or Burlington transit stations forming the centre of each.
While just in the planning – thinking it through stage – the plan is for the Aldershot GO station, the Burlington GO station, the Appleby GO station and the John Street bus terminal to be designated as mobility hubs.
The plan, the hope is perhaps more correct, is that the city can attract corporations that want to build office space that is close to a GO station which will include apartments or condo units and retail on the lower levels.
The thinkers at city hall refer frequently to “start ups” and incubators where those high tech, high paying jobs come to life and there is a complete community where people can live, work and play. The thinking is that there could be sport facilities built right into the project.
Burlington is not there yet – the city has not managed to find developers who will go that distance with them.
The conversation on this type of growth is, at this point, one way: the planners and the politicians are talking to the public – they’ve not yet begun to engage them and looked for their ideas and thoughts on development.
If what the Gazette heard at the West Plains United Church Wednesday night reflect the people of Aldershot – they would be well advised to listen to these people – there was a lot of wisdom in that room.
The planner on the file Kyle Plas took the audience through the basics – he too explained the larger picture.
The townhouse project, on the right, which is phase 1 of the Masonry Court project didn’t do much for community residents who listened to what the developers planner had to say about the project. Phase 2 is on the left – and is about five years into the future.
The audience learned that the property which is south 0f 403 and immediately east of Waterdown Road has been empty for about then years; that there are no heritage issues with the property and that there was no need for an Environmental Assessment – although one resident later asked if anything was going to be done about the air quality, the result of stone and asphalt crushing from the King Paving operation on the immediate west side of Waterdown Road.
The property, which the ADI Group is believed to have purchased from Paletta International, is divided into two parcels – the one closest to the GO station is where the residential housing will be built. There will be a road running in between the two parcels.
The second parcel which will front on Waterdown road will be developed with apartment buildings that were described as being six storey’s high. Defined as the second stage of the project – it is about five years into the future.
The development will have 105 residences per hectare – the rules allow between 51 and 185 units per hectare – “so we are not maxed out” said the ADI planner.
Ruth Victor, the planner speaking for the ADI group, gave their side of the story. She was pretty direct – the project meets all the rules and except for some minor concerns – this thing was a go.
There would be pathways from the townhouses to the GO station.
This is not a pretty picture – Aldershot residents wanted to see something a little more imaginative and livable.
There was space tucked in where the stacked townhouses are going to be located for what the ADI planner called amenities – she didn’t say much more than that.
Roz Minaji with the city planning department made comments which suggested ADI was going to have to come up with quite a bit more than some space for amenities. The city is going to want some dedicated park space.
ADI is apparently looking for a reduction in the parking requirement – the thinking being that the people who choose to live in the community will not need cars – they will use the GO train to get to work. One member of the audience pointed out that with no grocery store in the community – it is impossible to live there without a car of some sort.
This is not a rental housing development – these homes are being sold. The audience wanted some sense of the price range and, try as they might, they were not able to get any sort of number from the ADI representatives. “You must have some idea” piped in one woman in the audience. If the ADI representatives had any idea – they weren’t sharing it with the audience.
The developers rendering and layout for the stacked townhouses – no one in the audience who listened to the presentation was impressed with what they were shown.
The audience asked if ADI would comment on the kinds of people they hoped to attract and maybe something about their income ranges – were these going to be very expensive high end units with all the whistles and bells or were these going to be quick and dirty profit grabs? The ADI people didn’t say.
They did say that the projects they have built are quality buildings. They have only completed one project – the second project has not started construction yet – there may be some minor OMB issues related to the paying of services access.
To their credit the completed project Mod’rn on Guelph Line is a very nice looking, compact four storey condo. The Gazette is in the process of arranging a tour of the completed site that is reported to be 90% sold.
The ADI Group has done some excellent design work. Here their Link project, which has yet to start construction is shown. Edgy and progressive and new for Burlington – it is an example of interesting design in a fabulous location.
The Mod’rn on Guelph Line that is now complete except for some landscaping – exceptional design – some of the best done in Burlington. Shows they can do it – if they want to. The Masonry Court design comes nowhere near this quality level.
The Mod’rn is superb design – they have won well deserved awards for this project which had very few incidents during the construction.
Their second project – The Link on Dundas at Sutton on the west side of the city along the edge of Bronte Creek, has the potential to be a fine project. The design is a little edgy – certainly not what Burlington is used to seeing, but for people who want something different and imaginative The Link will be just fine – the location is superb and there are good schools in the area with all the hopping one could possibly want minutes away.
There is a third project – planned for the intersection of Martha and Lakeshore Road that didn’t get as much as a mention. In a related article we report on the ADI projects.
Ruth Victor, the ADI planner, didn’t show pictures of the quality construction they have done or the quality design – she sold her client short
Victor’s approach seemed to be that ADI was working well within the rules – and that they are doing – and so the project should go forward – even if you don’t think all that much about our design. Was that just Victor’s personal style or was she reflecting the ADI viewpoint?
The people in the audience wanted to see something more livable. “It’s not terribly creative” was the comment a woman pretty close to it not already retired. They wanted to see more variety, we want something that is more liveable; the park is way too small.
“You have been far too coy with your answers to our price questions” commented another woman. “I think you should show more respect for the people you are speaking to” she added.
“How is this project going to embrace the community” asked another person.
The project is moving forward – one hopes the planning department heard the concerns of the community and that they are reflected when the discussions resume with ADI.
It’s all about the environment – global warming, flooding and much different weather patterns than we are used to – there is a lot of talk; the fifth State of the Environment Report (SOER) for Burlington, prepared by the Sustainable Development Committee was presented to a Council Standing Committee earlier this week. SOERs have been presented to council in 1998, 2004, 2007 and 2011.
Does sustainability mean ensuring the Escarpment is never touched?
The purpose of the document is to provide information on the state and health of Burlington’s environment and to make recommendations for improving it.
The SOER identifies eleven themes, and reported on:
Why it was measured What was measured – indicators What was found – indicator values and trends What is happening to address the issue
The 2015 document points to progress is being made in certain areas of the city related to environmental sustainability:
The Cootes to Escarpment Land Strategy and Park System has partnered various levels of government, agencies, utilities, and non-government organizations to preserve and expand natural areas and engage the community on the value of these lands. The system is one of the most biologically rich areas in Canada with more than 1,580 documented species and habitat for more than 50 species at risk.
Under Places to Grow and with a firm urban and rural boundary, the city will continue to transform from a suburban community to a more urban built environment that should support a sustainable transportation network.
Support for urban agriculture and local food opportunities, such as community gardens, continues to grow.
Halton Region continues to experience success in reducing the waste diversion rate by expanding programs for local residents.
Greenhouse gas emissions from the community and city operations are decreasing.
Water efficiency efforts appear to be working as water consumption on a per capita basis appears to be decreasing (for low rise residential development). However, it is acknowledged that there are challenges facing the city and partner agencies going forward:
The uncertainty of the impacts of climate change, not just with local infrastructure, but with health, food security, the natural environment, among others. A regional adapation strategy should be considered.
The automobile is still the preferred mobility option in Burlington and changing the modal split in favour of other sustainable modes like transit, walking and cycling will require ongoing support in these areas.
The urban forest is under threat by invasive species and urban development, making the Urban Forest Master Plan an important resource.
The Sustainable Development Committee recently prioritized their top ten recommendations in the SOER:
The use to which we put the land we have – who gets to make those decisions?
LAND USE PLANNING: 1. That the city focuses on future land planning opportunities for mobility hubs, with design principles supporting energy efficient and smart development with a sustainable transportation network.
Regional Chair Gary Carr tasting honey while on an agricultural tour.
RURAL LANDS & AGRICULTURE 2. That the city expand the position and responsibilities of the Community Garden Coordinator from seasonal part time to support the local food movement in Burlington, by encouraging local food production and distribution, and supporting urban and rural agricultural programs.
TRANSPORTATION: 3. That the city undertake Transportation Modal Split surveys on a more consistent basis than the Transportation Tomorrow Survey. It is recommended that this survey include questions to detail why residents of Burlington choose their preferred mode of transportation and what steps need to be taken to encourage residents to rely on more sustainable transportation options.
ENERGY: 4. That the city continue the implementation of the Community Energy Plan with a focus on fuel and cost savings, by switching from gasoline vehicles to electric/hybrid vehicles, investigating opportunities for local sustainable generation (e.g. district and renewable energy), improving efficiency, increasing community engagement and improving the built form.
Water – it can work for us and it can work against us. Either way it is a resource to be managed so that it can sustain the community.
WATER: 5. That the city implement repairs and actions to mitigate future flooding impacts based on the results of the current study being carried out by the City of Burlington, Region of Halton and Conservation Halton in a cost effective manner. The study should include an update of the design standards for the stormwater system considering climate change impacts. That the city follow the principles (e.g. electrical boxes above flood level) required by Alberta when remediation is being carried out on residences, etc. (particularly where residences have been flooded repeatedly).
6. That the city request a geotechnical report through the development review process to ensure the proper design is applied when building construction takes place near or below the water table, particularly in low lying areas where the water table level is near the surface. Ensure the Ontario Building Code requirements are implemented, such as waterproofing of the foundation walls and measures to mitigate a reduction in the bearing capacity of the soil.
7. That the city, in partnership with Conservation Halton as appropriate, undertake a series of pilot projects on city properties using Low Impact Development stormwater management techniques to treat stormwater runoff at its source rather than conveying it through the traditional stormwater infrastructure.
CLIMATE CHANGE: 8. That the city ensure community resiliency by working with regional partners including Halton Region, Conservation Halton and the local municipalities to develop a climate change adaptation strategy.
SUSTAINABLE BUILDINGS & DEVELOPMENT: 9. That the city implement green building standards to require builders to include sustainable building measures in their projects.
10. That the city continue to undertake a training program for city staff who deal with planning applications and building permits to obtain LEED accreditation and to make use of the LEED Neighbourhood checklist developed by the SDC.
The Sustainability Advisory Committee is made up of volunteers who have taken on a mammoth task. At times the city has asked them for comments they weren’t able to provide; with these periodic reports the city gets solid data but then struggles to leverage the data and inform the public.
Tires pulled out of creeks by clean up crews – the tires got dumped there by people who should know better.
Burlingtonians are particularly willing to pitch in and do what needs to be done to make the difference. Thousands turn out for the Green Up – Clean up event; hundreds trooped to the Beachway to plant trees. The task now is to get the message out – which is easier said than done. The Sustainable Development Committee plans to make their report available within the community. Copies will be distributed to the Burlington Public Libraries and local senior elementary and secondary schools as a resource document. An electronic version will be provided on the city’s website. The Committee will promote the on-line link to the SOER to minimize the number of printed copies.
It is going to take more than dropping copies off at the library and at schools to get the depth and breadth of just what sustainability is all about. On that score the committee gets a low C grade – great stuff but it has to go much further than a presentation to council and being put in the libraries.
It comes back to that leadership issue – doesn’t it?
If you had a ticket to this Live Auction – you were at the right place; the Art Gallery of Burlington was all a ‘buzz’.
Paris and the Belle Epoch was the theme for the 2015 Art Gallery of Burlington Live Auction. The Eiffel Tower seemed d appropriate
The guests eagerly arrived at this much anticipated event held by The Art Gallery of Burlington. The reception was advertised to begin at 6:30 p.m. but that did not keep the eager AGB supporters and art lovers from showing up at 6:00 p.m. Upon my arrival I quickly felt the high energy of the evening. The theme was La Belle Epoc or ‘Moulin Rouge’- the party days of Paris in the 1800s. The Burlington Student Performers were dressed in their Paris costumes and entertained the crowd.
I chatted with Robert Steven, President & CEO with The Art Gallery of Burlington. Robert was the first person to greet the art enthusiasts who poured into The Art Gallery of Burlington to take part in the festivities. Robert was proud to let me know; they had reached record ticket sales this year. He also mentioned the Live Auction raises funds for Exhibitions and Programs held at The Art Gallery of Burlington.
I spoke with Cheryl Goldring, Chair of the Live Auction at the Art Gallery of Burlington. She was very attentive to everyone as they approached to congratulate her on the success of the event. Cheryl was very excited that this year the sponsorships doubled and they also added new Sponsors to their roster. Cheryl started a new program called ‘Friends of AGB’. Each member pays $1,000 to join which supports the Art Gallery of Burlington. Cheryl was super excited and thrilled with the outcome and support from the community.
AGB volunteer Dee Goodings hands out bidding numbers while CEO Robert Steven watches the count.
This year the Live Auction took on a fresh new look and it was a success! I heard someone say “They sure outdid themselves this year.” That is when I sought out the Event Coordinator, Cheryl Soderlund, who was instrumental in adding a ‘fresh face’ to the 37th Annual Live Auction. This was after all the 1st Annual Live Auction under the new name the Art Gallery of Burlington.
I spoke with Cheryl who was very humble. According to Cheryl, the Live Auction would not have been successful without the commitment of her ‘35 Volunteer Force’. Volunteers consisted of; Greeters, Art Carriers, Live Auction Clerks and Packing Room Attendants – who all wore white gloves; how classy. Her goal was for everyone to enjoy the art, walk about and participate in the ‘Party in Paris’ theme. The event was set up as follows; in one room there was the Silent Auction and in the larger room the Live Auction, and down the hall, the 200 for $200 room.
The Live Auction bidding is about to begin – the room has a bit of a buzz to it.
It was evident Cheryl’s vision became a success. As I congratulated Cheryl for a job well done; she suggested I speak with Kim Varian, who was instrumental in pulling together the logistics for the Live Auction event. I spoke briefly with Kim, who together with the Art Committee worked tirelessly to broaden the event.
There is no question the Art Gallery of Burlington ‘pulled out all the stops’ this year. I spoke with Catherine Brady who has been with the Art Gallery since 1998 as part of their Committee. She too was very proud at how the Live Auction event transpired this year.
First decision they made was to move the event from February to June. Second decision was to add the 200 for $200 Art Sale. In this room there were 200 pieces of art for sale for $200 each. The Art pieces were comprised by local artists including; Victoria Pearce, Deborah Pearce and Claudette Losier, to name a few.
By 7:30 pm the smooth shift took place as the crowd transitioned from the small Silent Auction room to the large Live Auction. The crowd began their seating preference. The seriousness came through as everyone held onto their bidding numbers. By 7:45 p.m. there was not an empty chair in the room in anticipation of the Live Auction.
Denis Longchamp, Chief Curator with The Art Gallery of Burlington looks over some of the 200 pieces that were on sale for $200 each – a new part of the AGB’s fundraising program this year.
At 8:00 p.m. Robert Steven opened up the Live Auction. He thanked everyone for being a part of the Live Auction and explained to them how the funds raised were being distributed. I had a chance to chat with Denis Longchamp, Chief Curator with the Art Gallery of Burlington. He was very excited and proud of the Live Auction. Denis was quick to point out that the success of the event was made possible by the attendance at this event and the support from the community. He was looking forward to the results of the Live Auction.
In the municipal world the vision gets some attention – it is the pot holes and the snow clearance that crate all the squawking.
How has Burlington done in the eyes of the 771 people who were polled by Forum Research in February – 771 interviews was seen as statistically valid – on the quality of the services city hall delivers?
In this part two of a series on the polling that was done we set out what Forum Research learned. The results of the research will guide the |Strategic Plan deliberations that are taking place now.
How satisfied were residents with the services provided overall? When respondents were asked to rate their satisfaction with services overall, the large majority said they were ‘very’ or ‘somewhat’ satisfied (47% and 42%, respectively). Compared historically to 2008 and 2011, there was a small movement of respondents from being somewhat satisfied to being somewhat dissatisfied. Respondents who were ‘somewhat satisfied’ decreased 6% since 2008 and 4% since 2011; at the same time, respondents who were ‘somewhat dissatisfied’ increased by 4% since 2008 and 2011. Despite this small increase, satisfaction with services in Burlington overall remains strong.
Satisfaction with Public Safety Services
Forum Research began to drill down into some of the responses and asked how people felt about specific services.
Respondents were asked to rate their satisfaction with various Public Safety Services by indicating either excellent, good, fair, poor, or very poor. Looking at top 2 box responses (excellent/good), the highest satisfaction ratings were recorded for fire protection services (95%), and emergency management (83%).
Satisfaction with Maintenance Services
Respondents were asked to rate their satisfaction with various maintenance services offered by the City of Burlington. Looking at top two box responses (excellent/good), the highest satisfaction ratings were recorded for parks and open space maintenance (90%), cemetery maintenance (88%), and tree management (78%). Lowest satisfaction was recorded for surface water drainage, i.e. flood erosion protection for properties and structures (57%).
Satisfaction with Roads and Transportation Services
Looking at top 2 box responses (excellent/poor) for roads and transportation services, the highest ratings were recorded for roads and structures, i.e. design and construction (69%), as well as traffic operations management, i.e. traffic signals and crossing guards (63%). Lowest satisfaction ratings were recorded for transportation and network planning (52%), as well as transit services (55%).
Satisfaction with Leisure Facilities, Programs and Events
When respondents were asked about their satisfaction with leisure facilities, programs and events offered by the City of Burlington, a strong majority of respondents rated all items as ‘excellent’ or ‘good’. However, the highest level of satisfaction was recorded for parks, open spaces and sports fields (90%).
Design and Building Services
When it comes to services related to design and building in the City of Burlington, 84% of respondents said parks and open green space, i.e. design and development was ‘excellent’ or ‘good’ (32% and 52%, respectively). Looking at top two box responses (excellent/good), the majority of respondents were also satisfied with community design and development review (66%) as well as building code permits and inspection (63%).
Satisfaction with Emergency and Disaster Assistance
It was important to measure how much confidence residents have in the ability of City of Burlington to provide effective assistance in the event of a major emergency or disaster. The majority of respondents (60%) said they were ‘somewhat confident’ and 29% said they were ‘very confident’. Worth noting is that 1 in 10 respondents said they were ‘not at all confident’.
Feedback to Improve Resident Confidence in Emergency Preparedness
When respondents were asked what the City could do to make them feel more confident in the event of a major emergency or disaster, the largest proportion of respondents said to communicate the disaster preparedness plan to the public (22%). Other top mentions included: educate the public on what to do in the event of an emergency or disaster (11%), as well as communicate / raise public awareness more generally (9%).
City Communication and Support for Emergency Preparedness
Respondents were asked whether or not the City of Burlington is encouraging and supporting emergency and disaster preparedness within the community. The majority (61%) said it is, while 23% said the City it is not.
Top Priorities amongst Respondents
Respondents were asked to rate on a scale of 1 to 10 (1=low priority, 10=high priority), how much of a priority various issues are for the City to focus its attention on. Items that were of highest priority (rated 8, 9 or 10), were: community safety (76%), commitment to infrastructure (76%), healthy community (73%), sound financial practices (69%), as well as parks and community open/green spaces (69%). More attention most members wanted to admit was asked for on open, transparent and accountable civic government.
As the city gets into detail and specifics on the Strategic Plan that will guide their efforts for the next three years expect those that are colour coded red to get a lot of attention.
It was a smart move, it brought to the public forum a concern that is very real and was done in a way that the concerns came from the people who had them and not from the people who thought they had a solution.
Ward 2 Councillor Marianne Meed Ward held a public meeting, the first of four, to learn from people and developers what they wanted. Her focus was the downtown core but the approach could be applied to any ward in the city.
It was a full active room with citizens and planners exchanging views – citizen participation at its very best. The city needs more of this kind of meeting.
“What if…developers, businesses and residents could work together to build our downtown – finding common ground instead of fighting? asked Meed Ward.
Meed Ward works from the premise that people have a right to determine what gets built in their neighbourhood and that the views of the public are as important as the views of the developer who owns the property and the planners that determine if a property meets the Official Plan and the zoning – and more importantly if an application for a change to the Official Plan or the zoning is beneficial to the community.
Many Burlingtonians don’t understand why an Official Plan can be changed – they want the Plan cast in stone. Burlington’s Director of Planning explains again and again that there isn’t an Official Plan in existence that can foresee all the ideas and opportunities that innovative developers can come up with.
About 125 people showed up for the Workshop including the following developers. A few who said they would attend didn’t show up. It was an impressive list.
Robert Molinaro, The Molinaro Group – attended Sam DiSanto, The Molinaro Group – attended Matt Jaecklein, Mayrose-Tycon Group – attended Albert Faccenda, Coral Gable Homes – attended Andrew and Donna Haid, Welwyn Interests – attended along with their architect Jonathan King and planner David Capper. Dr. Michael Shih, Emshih Developments – attended Ken Dakin on behalf of Vrankor Group (Darko Vranich) – attended Nick Carnicelli, Carriage Gate Homes – attended Jeff Paikin, New Horizon Homes – did not make it Saud & Tariq Adi, Adi Developments – did not make it.
Nick Carnacelli, the developer of the Bentley getting closer to the point of putting a shovel in the ground makes a point at the Workshop
Maurice Desrochers and Dr. Michael Shie look as if they are putting together a deal – it was more an exchange of views.
Note that Paletta International, the largest landowner in the city, didn’t plan on attending and didn’t have anyone in the room. The Reimer’s were not in the room nor was there anyone from Hopewell, the people who own the land on the North Service Road that IKEA had hoped to build on.
The first event ran for a full two hours and if the conversations at the different tables are any indication – there were a lot of opinions floating around.
Before the participants got down to what Meed Ward called the “table work” Andrea Smith, Manager of Policy and Research for Burlington set out the policy framework within which development in the downtown core takes place.
The working premise for the evening was:
How we got here Existing policies Scope of OP/Zoning review What do we want to achieve
Meed Ward set the current situation which she defined as the city wanting to keep the existing farm land- which is basically everything north of Dundas Highway 407.
She said cutting back on the infrastructure that has to be built will reduce taxes but to do that the city needs to get better use out of the infrastructure it already has in place
Meed Ward talks of a more walkable city with much more mixed use – which is an attempt to do something other than repeat the urban sprawl that is expensive to maintain and doesn’t do much for really healthy communities.
There are always personal agendas when politicians meet with the public. Meed Ward was letting the city see the kind of leadership she would provide were she to get to wear the Chain of Office that Mayors’ wear.
Andrea smith, Manager Police and Research and the planner shepherding the Official Plan review
Andrea Smith, Manager of Policy and Research – the person heading up the review of the existing Official Plan, put a graphic up on the screen that showed where development is currently taking place. Few had seen this document before.
There is a lot more development approved in Burlington than most people realize.
There are three big project at different stages of development: Paradigm, Bridgewater and the Bentley – all approved and at different stages of development.
While there are few construction cranes on the Burlington horizon now these three project will keep the construction trades busy for the next five years.
Does the market have the capacity to absorb the number of units that will be built? The developers have those number in closely guarded reports – what do the planners know about what market demand for accommodation in the city?
During a Committee of the Whole meeting recently, Director of Planning Bruce Krushelnicki pointed out that the city doesn’t have any demographic talent at city hall – without it he suggested there is some flying in the dark being done.
The three projects that are in various stages of development cater to radically different markets. The people who buy into the Paradigm are not the same people who will be buying into Bridgewater.
Matt Jaecklein, Mayrose-Tycon Group listens quietly to a city planner. Jaecklein was a patient developer who first got approval for what is now the Bridgewater development back in 1985.
As for the hotel that will be part of the Bridgewater development on the south side of Lakeshore – well that was going to be open for the Pan AM Games which kick off in the middle of June.
Planner Smith then put up a graphic of the parking lots the city owns – they want to unlock the value of that land and get buildings up. Where will cars park? The city is hoping there will be fewer cars in a future Burlington. Does it make economic sense to put up large structures and dig down for parking spaces?
The city has parking lots throughout the downtown core. They will do more for the city’s finances if there were buildings on the land rather than cars. Getting to the point where something can be gotten to the point where there are shovels in the ground is WHAT
Is it possible to grow the residential community in the downtown core and create the jobs in the community that people can walk to or use public transit as the prime mode of transportation?
Planner Smith set out the provincial and regional policy initiatives that Burlington has to comply with and just where the city has wiggle room and where it can do very little.
There are also individual property rights that have to be respected – look at the battle taking place in the Beachway to get a sense of how those situations make for complex problems and then there are infrastructure realities that have to be dealt with.
There are pipelines that run underground through the city that limit what can be done with some properties – the pipeline that runs alongside the Performing Arts Centre and cross two of the city owned parking lots – can’t dig too close to those pipes.
City Council approved what is called an Urban Growth Centre – this was where the growth was going to take place and the rules for that growth were established.
The Urban growth center is where city council, through its official plan has determined where the city’s commercial development will take place
The Planners created precincts which are boundaries that define parts of the city and then applied zoning for each precinct.
All these issues have to get dealt with within the boundaries the Official Plan has created. In the last Official Plan review the city created a number of what they called “precincts” and applied very specific zoning to those parts of the city to protect what was already in place and to allow for any ideas that a developer might come along with.
Tom Muir, tends to focus more on Aldershot issues – seldom fails to have an opinion on how the city can grow itself in a reasonable manner and still retain its core values.
As the graphics shows there are a number of precincts – names given to different parts of the city with zoning attached to each, Burlington has two residential precincts on either side of Brant Street; the St. Luke’s precinct on the west and the Emerald precinct on the east. The residents of each fight just as fiercely as those in Roseland to ensure that their neighbourhood does not undergo radical change.
The idea of a 28 storey tower on the edge of a residential neighbourhood that has some commercial and professional space in the area has some people frothing at the mouth and also feeling helpless now that the development has gone to the Ontario Municipal Board because the city faield to do anything in the 180 day window they had to respond to the application. Quite why city council didn’t get a chance to pronounce on the application is another story.
The Wellington precinct south of the downtown core has a number of high rise buildings stuffed into the neighbourhood. When they were approved the thinking was that the residents would spend and there would be decent commercial development – maybe even a super market.
Robert Molinaro explains a point to people participating in the Workshop. The Molinaro’s built several of the condominium high rise buildings along Lakeshore Road and are now developing along Maple Avenue.
The residents in those towers saw life differently – they head south in the winter.
Does anyone know how well the butcher at the corner of Brant and |Lakeshore Road is doing?
The Old Lakeshore precinct is a bit of a mess and a major lost opportunity for the city. It has three sub-sections within the precinct that isn’t much more than a couple of blocks in size.
Two groups were formed and asked to think along the lines of a number of themes:
Parking; heritage; office/retail; compatibility; design; trees; benches; affordability; transit & traffic; height; density; public art; sustainable buildings; jobs and festivals and events.
This is the Burlington we have. what do we want t do with what we have – and who gets to make that decision anyway?
The conversation was at times electric and the room at the Lions Hall certainly had a real buzz to it most of the evening.
Too early to tell what came out of the event. All we know at this point is that there will be another; don’t miss the next one.
The second meeting will take place at the Performing Arts Centre on May 27th where Meed Ward hopes to apply the principles in place to two specific sites:
Brant/Ghent Lakeshore/Burlington
The third community Workshop will take place June 10, 2015, at the Burlington Lion’s Club Hall where Meed Ward hopes she will be able to present areas where there is a consensus and possible draft recommendations.
While some parts of the Halton region are experiencing high growth spurts, others have remained stable. In one part of the Region, schools need to be built to accommodate the growing population while others areas face shrinking school populations. This is the case for a number of areas in established geographical areas of Burlington.
For elementary schools, Burlington has 10 areas that are identified by an ERA -Elementary Review Area – (remember the acronym – it gets used frequently) number and capacity is measured by OTG – on the ground – (same with this one) seats that do not include portables. Each of these areas has their unique situations.
ERA 100 (Aldershot and Tyandaga) is in western Burlington and is represented by Aldershot Elementary, Glenview King’s Road and Maplehurst, the utilization of the totality of the schools is in the 63% to 68% range and will remain so for the next 10 years. Aldershot Elementary is currently at 46% and will continue at that rate for the next 10 years while King’s Road will decline from 66% in 2014 to 52% by 2024.Maplehurst is currently at 71% while Glenview stands at 93% for the current year.
The enrolment should be somewhat consistent for the next 10 years with a potential uptick for Glenview pending the development of the northern Aldershot community north of the QEW.
Central High School enrollment is expected to increase
ERA 101(Downtown) covers the downtown core of Burlington and includes Burlington Central, Central Lakeshore and Tom Thomson schools The overall utilization rate is currently 91% and should remain in that area for the next 10 years. The number is highly influenced by Tom Thomson which in reality is overcapacity as it has 10 portables (mainly due to French Immersion) and will continue their use for the next 10 years. Burlington Central is at 65% currently and is projected to increase to 73% by 2024. Central is at 84% and projected to fall to 72% by 2024. Lakeshore should grow from its current 63% to 73% in 2024.
Tecumseh is in an area where several schools have gone beyond their built capacity.
ERA 102 (Roseland and Shoreacres) is bound by Guelph Line to the west, Appleby to the east with the QEW to the north and the lake to the south. It includes John Tuck, Pauline Johnson, Ryerson and Tecumseh. This area has a utilization rate of 88% which will drop to 77% in the following 10 years. Both Tuck (134%) and Pauline Johnson (117%) are over overcapacity and currently rely on portables to accommodate students. By 2024, Tuck is projected at 107% and Pauline Johnson at 110%. Ryerson currently is at 49% and is expected to grow to 53% by 2024. Much of this growth will come from phasing in the gifted program from Charles R. Beaudoin. Tecumseh will drop from the current 57% capacity to 51% by 2024.
It should be noted that there are no French immersion classes in this area as the students attend either Tom Thomson or Pineland.
Enrollment at Mohawk is expected to decline going forward.
ERA 103 (Appleby) covers the area between Appleby line and Burloak with the QEW to the north and the lake at the south. There are three schools in this area, Frontenac, Mohawk Gardens and Pineland and has an overall utilization rate of 78% which will remain steady to 2024. Mohawk has a rate of 71% but this is expected to drop to 63% by 2024. Frontenac, at 56% is expected to grow to 76% by 2024. This will mainly be due to Pineland becoming a French Immersion school with the English stream moving in some part to Frontenac or Mohawk. Pineland, at 111% is well over capacity and has six portable to cover the overflow. As the transition to a French Immersion school only continues, the utilization rate will slowly decrease to 88% by 2024.
ERA 104 & 105 (Brant Hills, Headon and Tyandaga) is bounded by Dundas to the north and Upper Middle to the south with Walker’s Line being the eastern boundary. The four schools in this area are Brant Hills, Bruce T. Lindley, CH Norton and Paul A. Fisher and have a current utilization rate of 87% which will decline to 76% by 2024. Brant Hills has the lowest utilization rate at 59% and is projected to drop to 57% in 2024. Bruce T. Lindley is healthy at 93% and will remain stable for the next 10 years and is projected to be 89% in 2024. C.H. Norton is healthy at 91% but will slide to 73% in 2024, while Paul A. Fisher is currently at and will remain in the low 60 percentile for the next 10 years.
ERA 106 (Mountainview and Palmer) holds four schools with highway 407 on the west, Walkers on the east with Upper Middle on the north and the QEW to the south. The utilization rate for this area is 87% and should fall to 76% by 2024. Although each school currently has a strong utilization number, they will each experience decreasing numbers in the upcoming years as follows;
Clarksdale – 94% to 77% (2024)
Dr. Charles Best – 92% to 84% (2024)
Rolling Meadows – 78% to 68% (2024)
Sir E. Macmillan – 96% to 77% (2024)
ERA 107 (Millcroft) has two schools, (Charles R. Beaudoin and Florence Meares) and is between Walkers Line and Appleby and Dundas to the north and the QEW to the south. This area is currently at 105%, but is expected to drop to 86% by 2024. Charle R. Deaudoin will drop from its current 114% to 80% in 2024 while Florence Meares will drop from 95% to 91% during the same time period.
ERA 108 (Orchard) contains three schools (Alexander’s, John William Boich and Orchard Park) and lies between Appleby and Bronte and Dundas to the north and the QEW to the south. This area is currently at 115% of OTG and will slowly decline to 93% by 2024. Both J.W. Boich and Orchard Park are over utilized and will continue until 2024. Alexanders, which is currently at 119% is expected to drop to 70% by 2024.
The public school in Alton is already beyond capacity; Hayden High School is now operating with all the high school grades.
ERA 109 (Alton) has one school, Alton Village, and is bound by the 407 to the north, Dundas to the south and Walkers to the west and Tremaine to the east. This school is over utilized at 124% and this could rise to 153% by 2024.
ERA 110 (Rural Burlington) has one school also, Kilbride, and has a current OTG of 77% which will drop to 73% by 2024.
These numbers reflect a bleak future for some of the elementary schools in Burlington. Forecasting is not an exact science, but unless Burlington has a major change in its population makeup Burlington might be looking at some consolidation.
By Staff
The plan includes investing in people’s talents and skills. Burlington MPP Eleanor McMahon says “The Parents Reaching Out grants are important investments to help Burlington parents get more involved in their children’s learning, helping our students succeed and our communities thrive. Each recipient school has identified a project based on their own interests and need. These grants will support projects like family math nights, online safety presentations and health and wellness sessions for parents.”
The union maintains that they were not aware that union members were being treated differently – it wasn’t until they began getting complaints from union members over 65 that the problem came to their attention.
The attraction being that you get a 50×100 foot lot as opposed to 36×85 in the Orchard. Average price paid for a house in Millcroft in May was $991,700 – sold in under 20 days and for 99% of the asking price!
As of March 31, 2015 the operating budget shows a favourable variance of $800,568 with a year end projected favourable variance of $122,285
When respondents were asked to rate their satisfaction with services overall, the large majority said they were ‘very’ or ‘somewhat’ satisfied (47% and 42%, respectively). Compared historically to 2008 and 2011, there was a small movement of respondents from being somewhat satisfied to being somewhat dissatisfied. Respondents who were ‘somewhat satisfied’ decreased 6% since 2008 and 4% since 2011; at the same time, respondents who were ‘somewhat dissatisfied’ increased by 4% since 2008 and 2011. Despite this small increase, satisfaction with services in Burlington overall remains strong.
Respondents were asked to rate their satisfaction with various Public Safety Services by indicating either excellent, good, fair, poor, or very poor. Looking at top 2 box responses (excellent/good), the highest satisfaction ratings were recorded for fire protection services (95%), and emergency management (83%).
Respondents were asked to rate their satisfaction with various maintenance services offered by the City of Burlington. Looking at top two box responses (excellent/good), the highest satisfaction ratings were recorded for parks and open space maintenance (90%), cemetery maintenance (88%), and tree management (78%). Lowest satisfaction was recorded for surface water drainage, i.e. flood erosion protection for properties and structures (57%).
Looking at top 2 box responses (excellent/poor) for roads and transportation services, the highest ratings were recorded for roads and structures, i.e. design and construction (69%), as well as traffic operations management, i.e. traffic signals and crossing guards (63%). Lowest satisfaction ratings were recorded for transportation and network planning (52%), as well as transit services (55%).
When respondents were asked about their satisfaction with leisure facilities, programs and events offered by the City of Burlington, a strong majority of respondents rated all items as ‘excellent’ or ‘good’. However, the highest level of satisfaction was recorded for parks, open spaces and sports fields (90%).
When it comes to services related to design and building in the City of Burlington, 84% of respondents said parks and open green space, i.e. design and development was ‘excellent’ or ‘good’ (32% and 52%, respectively). Looking at top two box responses (excellent/good), the majority of respondents were also satisfied with community design and development review (66%) as well as building code permits and inspection (63%).
