On behalf of Regional Councillor Colin Best and myself, I would like to thank everyone who attended the public session on the velodrome last night.  The turnout was a lot better than many other sessions Ive held and that just goes to show people want information on the future of this endeavour.

We tried our best to provide as much up to date information as possible and answer questions of residents.  There is still some concerns we have and over the next few days I will be diving into the business plan and posting details on my site as I go through it.  Its an important decision to make and we as a council have to be fully informed before we make that decision.

If you would like to review the online version of the report (both links are about 9MB) you can check them out for some light reading

http://www.milton.ca/MeetingDocuments/Council/agendas2012/rpts2012/Milestone%20005-001-12%20Velodrome.pdf

http://www.milton.ca/MeetingDocuments/Council/agendas2012/rpts2012/Milestone%20005-001-12%20Velodrome_%20Part%20II.pdf

Here is a couple of articles from the Milton Canadian Champion courtesy of Christina Commisso & Matthew Van Dongen of the Hamilton Spectator.

Velodrome Concerns Raised

Make Velodrome A Go

Here is some coverage from CHCH News who came out to the Milton Sports Centre.

To say that the potential velodrome is a hot topic in Milton and the surrounding areas would be an understatement to say the least.

Here are just a few items.  This is on top of the dozens of emails that I personally have received and speaking with many of my council colleauges they have recevied a number of them from people in their ward.

MILTON CANADIAN CHAMPION – Have your say on velodrome

There’s still time to have your say on the proposed Pan Am velodrome leading up to town council’s decision on the project Monday.While the deadline for input to the Town on the indoor cycling facility ended Wednesday, an open house has been organized by councillors Colin Best and Mike Cluett this Thursday at the Milton Sports Centre.

The Velodrome Business Plan Open House will be held in Room 3 from 7 to 9 p.m.

At the open house, you’ll be able to find out more about the proposal, get your questions answered and have your concerns and comments heard by councillors in attendance. 

Of course, constituents at any time can contact their councillors about the issue, or write a letter to the editor. But time is running out.We believe it’s just as important for those who support the velodrome proposal to speak up than it is for those against it to make their views known. That way, councillors can better gauge residents’ feelings on the issue.

Town council has a big decision to make next week. Learn all the facts, determine your stance and make your opinion known. 

This is going to be an information/open house to provide Miltonians with information about the soon to be released business plan for the Milton Velodrome.  Its not a “town sanctioned” event but both Colin and I feel its important to get as much information out as possible to provide Miltonians with as much facts as possible and another way to give us what they are thinking as well.

The Town of Milton had a feedback form where Milton residents could send in their input/comments/concerns to be included with the business plan but I wanted to make sure we give people another opportunity for feedback.  I hope that I will see you there on Thursday at 7pm.

In the letters to the editor today, world famous cyclist Curt Harnett expressed his views and support of the Milton Velodrome project for the 2015 PAN AM games.

This next one is from the Hamilton Community News Kevin Werner

Milton prepared to cross finish line

MILTON CANADIAN CHAMPION – Letter to Editor

Location of Milton ideal for velodrome project

Dear Editor:

Growing up, I got involved in the sport of cycling as a way to increase my fitness levels during the summer while I pursued my childhood dream of playing in the NHL.

Ultimately, I ended up choosing cycling over hockey, participated in four Olympic Games (1984, 1988, 1992, 1996) and was fortunate to bring home three Olympic medals as a track (velodrome) cyclist.

I’m excited by the initiative shown by Milton’s town council and very encouraged by the support shown by the local community, in particular Peter Gilgan, for his commitment to the velodrome project. As a town that prides itself on being ‘Right in the Heart of it All’, Milton serves as the ideal location for such a project.

You don’t have to look further than Calgary and its speed skating oval — a legacy from the 1988 Olympic Winter Games — to appreciate what world-class facilities can bring to a community. Once seen as a potential “white elephant,” the Oval continues to provide Calgary with the ability to lay claim to being the development venue for numerous world champions and Olympic medalists; athletes from around the world who train at the Calgary Oval and make Calgary their adopted home. 

What you might not see, however, is the potential that a facility holds in building community spirit. It’s essential to view the Milton velodrome as an integral component of your community; to see it in the same way as you’d see a swimming pool or hockey arena — a place where people gather and celebrate sport, and an asset that helps to fuel the continued growth of Milton. It would be a venue for community activity and fitness, and also would be the place where the seeds for future Pan Am and Olympic champions are sown.  

Curt Harnett, Olympian, GTA

 And others have chimed in about the issue today.  I hope that his concerns will be addressed by our open house on Thursday.

MILTON CANADIAN CHAMPION – Letter to Editor

Poll should be done on velodrome issue

Dear Editor:

I’m very pleased the Town asked the people of Milton for input as far as the velodrome is concerned.  

This should be done any time there’s a decision involving large expenditures.

But more time should have been given for the people to respond with their input.

For people who don’t have access to the Internet, a telephone number should have been made available.

The questions about such matters should be in the form a poll or survey asking people yes or no.

Agostino Galioto, Milton

Here are some other links to Letters to the Milton Canadian Champion on the velodrome issue.

Town Leaders Should Tread More Cautiously

Velodrome Would Likely Become White Elephant

More Sense Needed

Velodrome Excellent Opportunity for Town

Last night was the third public information session held by the Region of Halton at the Boyne Community Centre. This is phase 3 of a phase plan that is working at finding out the best solution for Britannia Road to deal with the increased amount of traffic now and until 2021 and beyond.

http://www.halton.ca/cms/one.aspx?portalId=8310&pageId=49605

This is the link to follow for more information.  They said the details of the presentation, the information boards, comments forms etc will be online later today so keep checking.

From the comments I received last night from a very full house of concerned residents is that it was very informative and they were happy with the level of communication they are getting.  Councillor Best, Councillor Barkley and myself were in attendance for the presentation.  Councillor Rick Di Lorenzo was there earlier but had to leave and had an opportunity to ask about roundabouts given that we have been asked by many on the Hawthorne Villager about how they can be implemented.

Roundabouts are in the plans for mainly the intersection of Tremaine Road and Britannia and lights for a majority of the other major intersections.  This is not to say they will be ruled out entirely over the course of the next several years but given the fact Tremaine and Britannia will be a major intersection around the Milton Education Village, it was deemed necessary.

I can see the pros of roundabouts in certain intersections and I understand many think it will keep traffic flowing but given the information I have read, Im not quite convinced they would be a good choice at a lot of intersections.

If you have any questions once the reports go up or any detailed inquiries, please email me mike@mikecluett.ca and I’ll do my best to get the answers.

Thank you to everyone who attended last night and we will do our best to keep everyone in the loop as to whats happening with this very important project.

Your town councillors in approximately one week will begin the process of reviewing the 2012 capital and operating budgets for the Town of Milton.  There will be many things to discuss over the coming weeks from keeping the 1% hospital expansion levy, possible transit funding increases, salary increases, increased parks development, planning for the Main Street underpass, increased operating costs of the Milton Centre for the Arts/Central Library are amongst the topics.

Im sure as the December 12/13 dates for the budget deliberations approach, town councillors eyes will  be bleary with numbers floating in front of their face (and maybe a few cold sweats in the night) but I think we have tried to get more people involved with the budget process this year.

This past summer, myself along with a number of other councillors held a budget information session at Milton Sports Centre to hear from you…not tell you what we think…on what the priorities should be for the coming year and years.

There is another budget information session being held on November 23rd (WEDNESDAY) this week by Regional Councillor Colin Best to review not only the Town of Milton’s information but the Region of Halton as well.  Its also being held at the Milton Sports Centre from 7 to 9pm.  Email colin.best@milton.cato let him know you’re coming.  I have a bit of a conflict that night with another event but Im sure going to try my best to attend.

With that being said, we still need to hear from you.  One big contentious item from last year was the 1% hospital expansion tax levy that was introduced at the budget meeting and voted on with no public consultation.  This was supposed to get the hospital expansion approved by the province.  Several months later, mere days before the official launch of the provincial election campaign, the government made a visit to Milton District Hospital to announce the expansion which is to begin 2015.

Some will try to argue the levy made the difference, but I think the prospect of losing the election had a lot more to do with the announcement than approximately $300,000 in a reserve account.  More can be discussed on that later.

Im asking the residents of ward 6 and of the town of Milton to send myself and your councillor your views on these types of items.  Once the full budget is released to the public, we’ll have a better frame of reference to go by.

I know the levy will be discussed, and as I did last year, I will vote to have it removed from the property tax bill in town and have our wonderful staff in the accounting side of the Town Hall to find us where we can put aside money for the expansion reserve account.  The levy was ill guided then and it remains the same today.  From the comments I received over the last year, I know many of you feel the same way.

So please, send me your comments at mike.cluett@milton.ca or mike@mikecluett.ca or just post them here for everyone to read.

This budget is an ongoing process and we need as much involvement from the community as we can get.  We need to hear from you.

Its been a busy day for a number of reasons. I was at the announcement today along with several of our town councillors, MPP Ted Chudleigh, Liberal candidates Indiria Naidoo Harris, Friends of Milton Hospital, doctors and nurses, and staff and volunteers. Quite emotional. I had to leave because we had a medical emergency with our cat Chester. He was in a fight on the weekend and developed a massive infection which burst today and my son called in a panic. (Chesters had his surgery and is doing ok, we’ll be picking him up soon)

I put together a few thoughts, and once things settle down at home, I’ll post more…and probably add more people to thank so I dont leave anyone out.

EDIT:  As Colin Best reminded me on the Hawthorne Villager I forgot someone important.  Regional Chair Gary Carr has also played a very strong role in getting meetings scheduled with cabinet ministers during the recent AMO Conference in London and also bringing up Milton’s needs at every possible opportunity.  Thank you Gary!!!

Here is the video from today courtesy of Brian Best (thanks for the vid…it was a historic day in Milton and I’m glad it was captured)

Today was a great day for Milton with the announcement of the hospital expansion earlier today. Many thanks to a LOT of people.

To the doctors and nurses and volunteers and staff of Milton Hospital…thank you. You were the ones under the gun over the last several years and despite everything seemingly against you, you have ALL done an amazing job.

The tears of joy I witnessed from the staff at MDH said it all.

To John Oliver and Alan Halls THANK YOU for your leadership and persistence in this matter. Everyone at Halton Healthcare Services has been a strong advocate for Milton and our needs and you have lead the charge.

To Friends of Milton Hospital, THANK YOU. Over 36,000 signatures were collected and presented to the government to let them know, THIS was the issue in town.

To my fellow council members, THANK YOU. Everytime we had the ear of a provincial minister of govt, we brought the Milton Hospital expansion to their attention. Theres a reason why Minister Deb Matthews mentioned our persistence.

To my colleagues on the Grow Milton Hospital campaign, THANK YOU! We helped in keeping the pressure up and we saw the end result in mind. Todays announcement was a result of a lot of people and the residents of Milton…THANK YOU.

There is also MPP Ted Chudleigh to thank for his years of work on this with the provincial government. John Oliver made mention in his speech of Ted’s efforts on raising awareness over the last several years, and while colourful at times, his passion for Halton residents in Milton was unwaivering. THANK YOU Ted!

Now the hard work begins. We WILL do this together and with everyones support from all sides … the job will get done.

Next week will be my first AMO (Associations of Municipalities of Ontario)Conference.  Its going to be held in London this year and goes from Sunday August 21st to Wednesday the 24th.

The conference is designed for municipal leaders from all over the province to meet and discuss issues and share knowledge and resources to help come up with solutions to problems.  There’s going to be roughly 1600 politicians running around London (sounds scary doesn’t it ) for those days and I’m personally looking forward to a number of events that will be happening over the course of the conference.

Most importantly to me is some of the meetings that have been scheduled with provincial representatives by Regional Chair Gary Carr and ministers in the Province of Ontario.  I along with other Milton & Halton councillors will be attending these meetings.  This will provide us with an opportunity to speak directly with those ministers, mainly the Minister of Health Deb Matthews and Minister of Infrastructure Bob Chiarelli.  If those names sound familiar, you must have been reading my blog on a regular basis. 

These ministers are two of the key decision makers when it comes to getting a green light for the Milton Hospital expansion.  There have been meetings in the past, of course with no firm date or timeframe given to us, but hopefully we can ”twist their arms” slightly in getting something done.  It is no secret in Milton that the expansion of the Milton District Hospital is “THE” issue in town.  

Week after week, organization after organization holds events in support of MDHF and the importance of supporting our local hospital.  Thousands of dollars has been raised for the foundation and even more will come with future events.

Regional Councillor Colin Best wrote a letter to the ministers via the Milton Canadian Champion recently outlining our concerns once again with the lack of detail in their latest “capital project projections”

If there is one issue that everyone in Milton can unite behind its the hospital.  We as elected officials in Milton have to keep up the pressure.  Its been well documented on my site about the efforts of the  Friends of Milton Hospital a few years ago and most recently the Grow Milton Hospital campaign and the numbers of signatures that have been collected and delivered to the Province of Ontario letting our voices be heard that we need that expansion to start now.

Unofficially the Town of Milton is over 90,000 in population with 100,000 in our sights.  The hospital continues to be under intense pressure to be able to deliver the health care services that Milton needs.  Beds are in short number, the nurses and doctors are doing their best but without the facilities needed to serve a growing population, it runs the risk of a disaster happening.

I’m hoping at this meeting, myself along with other Milton and Halton councillors can convince these provincial ministers (it IS a provincial election year mind you) to get off the fence and approve the expansion of Milton’s hospital.   There will also be opportunities to speak with the provincial party leaders as well during this conference (Dalton Mcguinty, Tim Hudak, Andrea Horvath) and rest assure I will be “badgering” them as well over the course of the four days.

If you have any comments or questions you would like me to pass on to the Health Minister and Minister of Infrastructure, please email me mike@mikecluett.ca and I will ask them directly when we meet with them.

Photo courtesy of Jennifer Smith via Twitter

Last night was the first of hopefully many budget input sessions that myself, Rick Di Lorenzo, Zeeshan Hamid and Sharon Barkley put on for residents in wards 1, 6, 7 & 8. 

We were also lucky enough to have fellow councillor Rick Malboeuf and Region Councillor Colin Best attend as well.  That’s 6 sets of ears listening to peoples input on important issues that Milton faces in this years budget talks.

As I mentioned when we started the meeting opportunities for residents to provide input to town councillors have come few and far between in the past.  The last session I remember happening in this format was back on a rainy night in November of 2009 held by Colin Best. 

Last nights session was nothing short of great.  As we were ending the discussion between people continued…which is awesome. I hated to cut it off at that point.

There were a number of topics discussed from Fire, Transit, Parks, Roads, Taxes etc that we could have a full town hall meeting on its own but we were limited to only 2 hours.

Thanks to everyone who came and for those who didn’t come who sent me and other councillors feedback that we will incorporate into a report we will send to staff. These comments and concerns will be included in the budget discussions for the 2012 year and I cant thank you enough for having your say.

I know I’d like to have another one sometime soon as we get closer to November and items from other departments come out in reports and garner more discussion. The only difficulty I see is that the provincial election is gearing up and I don’t want this to fall by the wayside (plus I’ll be going around bugging party leaders with my GROW MILTON HOSPITAL signs )

Thanks to my colleagues who came out to answer questions, get involved in discussions and helped make it truly a team effort last night.

As reported on her Twitter account, Christina Commisso @C_Commisso (who is one of the reporters for the Milton Canadian Champion) sent out a message yesterday saying that the Minister of Infrastructure Bob Chiraelli responded to the article “Councillors Disappointed with Infrastructure Plan“

You can read my response to the article here in my post called “Hey Bob! Read OUR Lips“

Call me a cynic, but I’m not expecting a full time line report from the Minister but hopefully we will get a clearer idea of when any possible expansion of Milton District Hospital will happen.  Its not that it should happen, its that it HAS to happen.  Miltonians deserve an answer or at least a timeline of when things will begin to move forward.

Milton Council needs to have answers.  There are a lot of issues financially that we are facing with our 2012 budget about hospital expansion reserve accounts and other projects that need help from the province that we need to address and we at the town and the Region of Halton have done our work…we just need the province to take some action.

Regional Councillor Colin Best has also expressed his frustration about the plan.  The Region has been working on getting ROPA 39 approved (something the province requires) so we can continue with the long range planning and with the province and if its not approved it can put the town and the region in a difficult position at the provincial level.  At our last council meeting the measure passed…just barely.  Again, we are doing what we can to send a message to the province that we need them to step up to the plate.

I’ll update the blog later on today when we get a chance to read his response.  Cross your fingers folks.

Here is an article from Christina Commisso from the Milton Canadian Champion about last Monday nights Community Services Standing Committee Meeting.

Farmer fears race will hurt business

Plans for Milton to host the premier race during June’s Canadian Road Cycling Championships are in jeopardy, following opposition from a local strawberry farm.Saturday, June 25 is the date elite riders are to take to Milton streets for grueling 157 and 180-km races that could very well determine which Canadians will be heading to the 2012 Summer Games. Among these cyclists will be Canada’s golden girl Clara Hughes, a two-sport Olympic medalist.

June 25 is also one of the busiest days for business for Springridge Farm on Bell School Line.

With road closures planned for throughout the day and a route that runs on Bell School Line — Springridge’s home for more than 50 years — owner John Hughes is worried the race will have serious implications on his business.

During Monday’s community services meeting, Hughes asked the committee to say no to the race.  “This is not a charity race, but an elite race with talk of the Olympics down the road for some. For Springridge, the strawberry season is our Olympic season.”

Hughes said the hundreds of bikes that will hit Milton streets combined with the 1,000 to 1,800 cars and anywhere between 3,000 and 5,000 strawberry pickers expected to make their way to the family-owned farm don’t make for a good mix.

“The liability exposure for all concerned is huge,” said Hughes, pointing to the poor visibility issues and crumbling infrastructure on Bell School Line.

Race Director Craig Fagan of Midweek Cycling said scrapping the Milton event all together will be “disastrously difficult.” 

“This is by far the most prestigious event. It is what determines who is going to be selected to represent Canada at the Olympics.”   He said Appleby Line is the circuit’s “key climb.”

“That’s what really sets the national champion apart. The women will be climbing that hill eight times and it really determines who’s the strongest.”

He added that riders from as far as Quebec have been spending their weekends in Milton to train for the race. The event is considered a primer for the Canadian Olympic qualifier.

Currently, the women’s race (nine circuits) is set for 10 a.m. to noon and the men’s race (14 circuits) from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.

The route begins at Rattlesnake Point, travels northbound on Appleby Line, east on No. 14 Side Road, south on Bell School Line, and west on Britannia Road.

Fagan said about 5,000 racers and spectators will descend on Milton to watch the race. With major artillery roads being closed to traffic on and off throughout the day, the committee said traffic snarls are certain. 

During the meeting, Councillor Colin Best suggested the race times be changed — the women’s 2.5-hour race in the early morning and the men’s 4.5-hour race in the evening.  “I have no problem with riders starting at 7 a.m. or earlier if that’s what we need to do to get things done,” said Fagan.

However, he added that four hours of prep time would be needed prior to each race, which could cause noise concerns for neighbours.

Insp. Ivan L’Ortye of Halton police, who’s coordinating police during the paid-duty event, said traffic will be moving in the same direction of the race with left turns on the circuit prohibited.

“The underlying theme is we don’t want to mix cyclists and cars. We want this to be well-choreographed,” he said. “Obviously I think there will be significant delays, but we don’t feel it’s safe to have northbound traffic on the course.”

Mayor Gord Krantz asked Fagan about possibly compensating Springridge for the potential loss of business due to the race.

However, Fagan pointed out that with events of this scale, in many cases municipalities pay for the event to come to town.

“These events tend to turn around and deliver. In Halton, that will be one-point-something million dollars coming back to the community, which we don’t get a piece of. We haven’t asked the municipality for any financial aid.”

The committee delayed voting on the cycling championships until Town staff work with organizers and Springridge to determine if a new time for the race is possible. The report will have to go council for approval before the June 25 race is permitted. 

So with the committee’s decision to delay the vote, it will provide the parties involved with the opportunity to come to a compromise with the start time to accommodate Springridge Farms regular business hours.  As John Hughes stated, that day is the farms busiest day in revenue terms and it would have a severe hit on their business.

I hope that they can come to a resolution, but still there is no doubt the traffic issues will be intense.  Other concerns brought up at the meeting by Councillor Lunau was the condition of the road.  Bell School Line hasn’t undergone a major repair since the last race in 2007.  The race organizer assured council that these are “semi-pro’s” and they know how to handle themselves on rougher terrain.  With cyclists flying down the road at speeds of “80-90 km/hr” the risk is still there for a disaster to happen.

Another issue that came up was the fact local residents were not informed of the race route during the planning stages of the event.  One area resident spoke up during the meeting letting their concerns be known and as far as I know, they plan on speaking again when the report comes before committee.

How should these “world class” races be planned in the future?  Should their routes be approved by the local municipality before they are advertised around the world?  As Mr Fagan said, people from all over will “descend” upon Milton to practice for the race, which will bring in revenue for the town.  Whether this race goes through or not, I would make a suggestion to the race organizers to pay closer attention to the local residents and possibly submit their race plans/routes BEFORE they begin their advertising campaigns.  This way it wont look like the municipality is backed into a corner to approve a race mere weeks before it begins.

I will await the updated report on negotiations and council will make its decision at that point.

Earlier today Minister of Labour and MP for Halton Lisa Raitt made an announcement at the Milton Centre for the Arts about the success of Canada’s Economic Action Plan in creating jobs for Milton.  Surrounded by members of town staff, Mr. Rob Mackay who is the manager of the Arts Centre/Library, councillors such as myself and Reg. Councillor Colin Best, we heard of the many successes for both Milton and the Halton area.

Using the backdrop of the almost completed Milton Arts Centre she announced that thousands of jobs have been created in our area from the Milton Sports Centre and Arts Centre and more to come once the work has been completed.  Mayor Gord Krantz in his trademark work boots thanked the Minister and all levels of governement for working with the Town to ensure the completion of these projects.

The Invest in the Arts fundraising campaign is nearing the end and will be expected to announce that its hit (or maybe even surpassed) its fundraising goal of $2.2 million dollars and there will be more to come from that I assure you.

There was an opportunity to do a quick check on the status of the project and they are assured it will be completed on its original deadline of March 31st and not need the extention as much.

Many thanks for Minister Raitt for attending today for what Mayor Krantz likes to call “good news stories”.