MiltonSearch.com would like to extend thanks to one of our readers for alerting us to this minor Milton news story — but an interesting one nonetheless.

Between 6 – 6:15am yesterday morning (May 27), one of our readers noticed a car stopped with its hazard lights on in the northbound left lane on Thompson Rd. at Nipissing just south of the overpass on the way to the Milton GO Station.

Upon driving by in the right lane, our reader noticed a deer of all things, lying on the road directly in front of the stopped car. We have to assume that the deer was in fact unfortunately hit by this motorist or another.

This of course happens all the time on rural roads and highways, but it is a little surprising to hear that deer would be trying to cross a wide, busy stretch of road in this developed area of town.

Or is it?

We’re all accustomed to rabbits, mice, voles, raccoons and the like creeping around our streets as they’re pushed out of their habitat by Milton’s aggressive development into Halton’s rural areas. There are also deer in these parts and apparently they’re living closer than we think.

The lesson in all of this: Milton’s expansion isn’t slowing down, but as drivers we can. Take a little extra care on Milton’s major routes early in the morning and late at night. Granted, deer are quick and unpredictable, making them almost unavoidable when driving — but be alert nonetheless.

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As of this past week, there is now another candidate for Milton Ward 7 — local resident Paul Virdo.

Here is the announcement from Paul’s website:

Local businessperson Paul Virdo has now declared his candidacy for Ward 7 Town Councillor in the upcoming 2010 municipal election.

“Residents deserve real local representation and, as a Ward 7 resident, I am delighted to place myself forward to serve my community,” said Virdo, a 32 year-old insurance advisor with over 7 years experience in the broader public sector. “Ward 7 will benefit from an experienced voice that lives and breathes in the community they serve,” added Virdo, who hopes to bring his knowledge of public sector issues to Milton Town Hall.

“As a fast-growing town, Milton can learn from the challenges other built-up communities have had when it comes to planning and infrastructure,” said Virdo. “By having an honest continuous conversation with residents, we can ensure that our town grows in line with our community’s needs.”

Paul Virdo will be conducting a listening tour and is encouraging his neighbours to participate in developing a Ward 7 community platform. “I am committed to ensure my neighbours are engaged in discussing the issues that will define our community in the years to come,” added Virdo, who believes in the core principle of keeping taxes low by having growth pay for itself, by attracting business investment to increase the employer tax base and bring jobs to Milton, and by ensuring senior levels of government contribute a fair share of service and infrastructure funding.

“I look forward to a healthy and positive debate with the other candidates about the issues that matter most to our community.”

MiltonSearch.com congratulates Paul on his decision to run for council and would like to wish him all the best on his campaign. As we’ve said before, it’s going to be an intriguing 7 months and it’s great to see so many people passionate about the future of our growing town and looking to get involved in helping to shape it.

For more information, visit Paul Virdo’s official website.

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GO Transit has announced that yet again during a recession, they plan to raise fares by 5% in 2010.

As he was a year ago, Milton resident Andrew Salmons is all over GO Transit’s recent announcement that they will yet again raise fares by 5% for 2010.

I’d have to agree with Mr. Salmons on this one. During not only a recession, but a supposed environmental crisis — not to mention the traffic issues faced daily by GTA commuters — this is absolutely the wrong decision by GO.

I realize GO is continuing to make improvements and additions to their service, but it’s wrong to hit riders with this increase, especially with so many experiencing either wage freezes or taking pay cuts in the past year thanks to the state of the world economy.

In my mind, it would make sense for GO to keep costs down as much as possible so that taking transit becomes a ‘no-brainer’ for commuters. There would probably be an increase in ridership which would fund planned improvements and growth. And if funding falls a little short, well, the government seems to be more than willing to throw around stimulus money these days… Wouldn’t appeasing the huge number of GO commuters be seen as ‘low hanging fruit’ by the Provincial Government?

Are you a user of GO Transit? If so, we would encourage you to do your part by signing the online petition we received from Andrew Salmons via email.

Will this change anything? More than likely not, but I think it’s important for GO to see where it’s riders stand on this announcement and also read your comments and suggestions.

From Andrew Salmons:

GO Transit has done it again! They are increasing your monthly pass rate by 5% again this year, on top of the 5% increase last year. That is a 10% increase in just 2 years, while annual inflation is 1.2% as of December 2009, and was 1.3% as of March 2009.

To put the latest 5% increase in perspective:

A rider traveling from Milton to Union will now pay $272 per month from $260 in 2009, $250 in 2008, and $246 in 2007. 8.8% increase since March 2008.

A rider traveling from Oakville to Union will now pay $214.50 per month from $205 in 2009, and $195 in 2008. 10% increase since March 2008.

Add your name to petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to (1) reduce GO Transit fares to be inline with inflation since 2007, (2) conduct a complete review GO Transit’s operating expenses and contracts, and (3) develop and implement a strategy for economically sustainable and affordable transit in Ontario.

I ask you for your support and ask you add your name this year’s petition against the fare increase.

Please sign here

Feel free to forward this petition to your friends, co-workers, and family, and your Member of Provincial Parliament.

Thank you for your support!

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Andrew Salmons confirmed today via the Milton Hawthorne Villager Forum, that he has indeed filed his paperwork and is running for Councillor in Milton’s Ward 1.

Hi Everyone,

I’ve decided to run for Councillor for Ward 1 and registered my candidacy. I’ll have a website ready soon to outline my platform, my experience, and ways you can contribute/donate. I promise to listen to my constituents. I’m a big believer in openness, communication, and accountability, and flexibility.

More to come. I would like to thank for those who supported me in my decision to run.

If you have any questions/comments, please post on the forum, or you can PM me, or email me at andrewgsalmons@gmail.com. I am very excited to hear what you have to say and any issues you would like me to address for Ward 1.

Sincerely
Andrew Salmons

And yes, it’s this Andrew Salmons.

Andrew’s posts of late on the Hawthorne Villager Forum seemed to indicate that he would indeed throw his hat into the ring at some point, as he had begun to share some detailed opinions and solutions on some of the current issues facing the Town right now. To anyone who follows or participates regularly on that particular online resource, I don’t think this news really comes as a surprise.

Again, I think it’s great to see people like Mr. Salmons getting involved and showing a passion for our community. It’s becoming clear to me that Milton’s next Council will be it’s most diverse, caring, enthusiastic, engaged and accessible ever.

And as Canada’s fastest growing Municipality continues to rapidly define and shape itself, that is a very good thing.

As always, we encourage everyone to get to know the candidates in your Wards and what they stand for, be informed on the issues that are important to you and make the effort to get out and vote this October!

We also wish Mr. Salmons all the best in his run for office and congratulate him on his desire to run and be actively involved in Milton’s future.

Oh, and just in case you’re curious — here is the map of Milton’s new Ward boundaries for the upcoming 2010 Municipal elections.

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Milton resident and owner/moderator of the popular Hawthorne Villager discussion forums Rick Di Lorenzo, has filed his paperwork and declared his intention to run for Town Council in Ward 7.

Di Lorenzo launched his blog and discussion forums focused on Milton’s new development areas in 2004 and the forums in particular have grown in popularity to the point where its members represent a larger cross-section of Miltonians and capture the issues not only of new homeowners, but the pulse of the town as a whole.

Rick has shown a lot of patience and dedication in maintaining and moderating the forum over the years, and MiltonSearch.com would like to congratulate Rick for deciding to run and wish him good luck in the race. He has said he will post updates to his blog page, hawthornevillager.com.

The Municipal elections take place October 25, 2010 and we encourage everyone to get to know the candidates, their platforms and the important issues which your Ward and the Town of Milton is facing before heading to the polls this Fall.

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2010 has arrived and it looks like the race is on for Milton’s eight Town Council positions spread across it’s recently realigned 8 Wards.

Zeeshan Hamid started things off on January 4th by announcing his intention to run in Ward 8 on the Hawthorne Villager forums as well as his own blog and newly formed campaign page.

From his post January 4th on the Hawthorne Villager Forums:

It should come as no surprise to regular readers of villager that I have decided to enter the race for the Local council for Ward 8.

I am not going to make vague and ambiguous promises. I am not promising to change the world, bring about world peace, end world hunger or to teach every bad driver how to drive. However, I do unconditionally promise to be accessible, transparent and representative (full commitment).

A councillor is supposed to listen to his or her constituents and represent their interests in the Council. Those who know me know that I can do that very well.

I want to improve the quality of our lives, and those of our children (“our” = residents of Milton). You can get highlights on my campaign page (or drill in deeper to get a whole lot of details).

If you support me then perhaps you’ll considering fanning me on facebook to show support and making a little campaign donation. Every bit helps.

Zeeshan Hamid
Ward 8 Candidate for the Local Council

Announcing his candidacy was the worst-kept secret in town to those who regularly read the aforementioned forums, of which Zeeshan is both a frequent and much-appreciated contributor. His blog has become a must-read and you have to commend his passion for the community and for transparency and accountability in government. MiltonSearch.com would like to wish him the best of luck come election time this October 25.

It also came as no surprise later in the day when on the same venue, current Local and Regional Councillor Colin Best announced his intention to throw his hat back into the ring in 2010.

I want to let everyone on the hawthornevillager know that I have registered my candidacy for re-election and filed my nomination papers for the office of Local & Regional Councillor in the new ward 2,3,4,5 north of Derry road.

I congratulate all those who have registered today and encourage all Milton residents to become involved in this first election with eight local wards and two new regional wards.

Will be posting further information on my campaign and position on issues through my web site and blog at www.colinbest.ca.

Looking forward to talking with all the residents in the ward during the campaign and working for all the residents of Milton.

Colin Best
Local & regional councillor
Milton/Halton
www.colinbest.ca

Again, Colin is constantly connected to the community as a whole through his website and the local forums and has been über-responsive to all kinds of requests for information and updates on all things Milton for years now.

And just today, while perusing the world of Twitter, we stumbled across Jennifer Smith’s Twitter page.

On January 4th she posted the following:

is deciding whether to submit my nomination papers today, or wait a few weeks and keep ‘em guessing #miltonvote

Followed up yesterday by confirming her intentions:

just submitted my nomination papers. I am officially a candidate for Milton Town Councillor, Ward 2! #miltonvote

Smith’s blog Sprawlville: The quest for sustainability in Canada’s Fastest Growing Town is another essential read and we wish her luck as well in her campaign for office in 2010.

And so it begins. The next 10 months should be interesting in Milton with some fresh blood vying for a spot on our Local Council and no shortage of hot button topics in and around town. We’ll do our part to try to bring awareness of some of the issues facing Milton and how some of the candidates plan to tackle things.

As is has been over the past several years, we’re in a very important time in the history of this town we all call home. It’s time for everyone to get more involved so we can shape Milton’s future together.

After a poor voter turnout for the Municipal Elections in 2006, I think we can agree that the most important thing we can all do is educate ourselves, get to know the candidates and get out and vote come October!

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From MiltonSearch.com:

Earlier this week, Local and Regional Councillor Colin Best posted an update on the Hawthorne Villager forums on the possible acceleration of a project critical those living in the new Milton developments west of the hospital.

That particular area of the town has and continues to grow and expand rapidly. Trains on the north-south CN railway tracks just west of Milton District Hospital frequently stop traffic in both directions along Derry Road, not only simply inconveniencing residents, but also delaying emergency response services to that new development — ambulances and fire trucks being the obvious ones.

Thanks to the response of Milton residents, Colin’s request to accelerate the underpass project was included in the 2010 budget presentation. Hawthorne Village Escarpment resident Zeeshan Hamid should also be commended for his efforts. Hamid posted a petition on his personal website to assist in bringing awareness to this issue in an attempt to accelerate the project and 273 residents sent emails through his site to the town.

Both Colin and Zeeshan should be commended for their efforts on this critical issue to thousands of new Milton residents.

From Colin Best:

Just wanted to let everyone know that thanks to the hundreds of emails sent by Milton residents and hawthornevillager members, my request to accelerate this project has been included in the 2010 budget presentation which was presented today to bring forward the engineering and design work to be tender ready from 2014 to 2010 at a cost of $ 2.4 million with the construction work which takes about 18 months to complete from 2016 to 2012 at a cost of $ 20.6 million.

Regional council will be considering all the budget submissions and recommendations over the next three weeks and have final approval at the Regional Council on Wednesday Decemeber 16th.

You can see the details of the staff recommendations at www.halton.ca and in Friday’s Champion.

Council also today finalized some of the details of the engineering work for the widening of Tremaine Road to Main St. W. to start that process in early 2010 and the completion of the widening of Derry road from Bronte to Tremaine Road and the detour around the CN line within the next few months to allow the underpass construction to start.

Chair Carr and the public works staff have been working closely with the Town and I to bring this project forward due to the growth of the Harrison and Scott neighbourhoods and increased traffic along Derry road.

The Town will be announcing its staff recommendations next week and I will be posting more information on both budgets in the near future.

Colin Best
Local & Regional councillor
Member of the Halton Budget Review Committee
www.colinbest.ca

From Zeeshan Hamid:

Thanks Colin!

273 people sent e-mails via my website. Wow, I did not expect more than a few dozen hits honestly.

@csb101 – design etc. in 2010. Construction in 2012. One caveat is that 2010 budget is what’s coming up for approval in 3 weeks … 2012 is technically still at the mercy of the next council.

I will take the petition down from my website when the budget is approved (Dec 16th).This petition was a huge motivation behind setting up the site (my blog was initially hosted at blogspot). The site will feel so empty without it.

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The popular Hawthorne Villager forums are glowing red hot this week as many soon-to-be residents of brand new Mattamy-built homes received their much-anticipated letters from Mattamy announcing details of exactly how much they would have to pay in increased Halton Region development charges. Now that the posts are flying fast and furious, the magic number seems to be $7888.00 no matter the size or price of the home currently under construction.

The full, ongoing discussion can be found here.

The general feeling is that of rage at this point, and I really feel for the new homeowners who have been hit by this unexpected charge. Fortunately for some, they had lawyers with enough foresight or knowledge of the new homebuying process that they had their contracts amended to cap the amount at $1000 — but for most, it’s a huge extra cost out of the blue — money they either don’t have, or were planning to use for their downpayments, upgrades, new appliances or renovations after moving in.

Initially, I looked at Mattamy with my conspiracy theory hat on: they’re taking great pleasure in passing along this increased development charge to their customers — get everyone incensed enough to protest this increase, so maybe it goes away and possibly they increase their profits. Whatever the case, any charge the Region hits them with, you know they’re just passing it down to the customer. It’s what any business would do.

The Region of Halton has also posted a Q&A on their website here, which was an interesting read:

Information for Purchasers of New Mattamy Homes in Milton

Q: Mattamy says they are requiring me to pay about $8,000 before closing to cover a new tax / levy / development charge that has been imposed by Halton. Is that true?

• No. This cost did not come about due to a new tax, development charge, or levy.
• It did not come about due to an increase in an existing tax, development charge or levy.
• The amount Mattamy Homes is referring to relates to a financial contribution that Mattamy agreed, in 2007 and 2008, to make to Halton Region in two installments to pay for key infrastructure to support growth.
• The amount payable under the agreement is the responsibility of the Mattamy Homes, who now appears to be trying to pass these costs on to you.

Q: This came as a surprise to me. Why am I only hearing about this now?

• Halton Region was not aware that Mattamy Homes did not communicate with you about the amount of the costs before now.
• The industry and Halton began discussions about this subject in 2007.
• The amount of the per unit payment that developers were going to have to make as a contribution was estimated and disclosed publicly in November 2008.
• Mattamy Homes has known these costs would be payable since 2007, and have known the magnitude of how much it would be since October 2008.
• There were over 22 meetings and a full consultative process.
• Mattamy Homes participated fully in the process.

Q: Does Mattamy Homes have the right to pass these charges on to me?

• Mattamy Homes agreed to pay for the costs of new infrastructure under the agreement that they made with Halton.
• Whether or not they can now pass that cost on to you is a contractual matter between you and Mattamy Homes.
• Given that the sum arises from a “payment under an agreement”, and not from a tax, levy or a development charge, you might ask your solicitor if this charge can be appropriately passed on to you under the terms of your agreement of purchase and sale and if the amount under the agreement was fully disclosed to you after November 2008 when the amount of the contribution was estimated and disclosed publicly.

Q: Why did Halton seek contributions from Mattamy Homes and other developers?

• The contributions arise from the long-standing Council approved policy that existing Halton taxpayers should not pay for the costs of growth.
• Halton’s Financial and Implementation Plan determines the actual costs of infrastructure, like roads, water and waste water services, and assigns those costs to each new unit.
• This policy is essential to the long term financial sustainability of Halton.

Q: Can you simply drop the charge or lower it or not apply it to us?

• No, we cannot do that. Halton’s Financial and Implementation Plan for the 2008/2009 Allocation Program is essential to the long term viability of the Region.
• Without it, Halton would face a significant shortfall and burden present and future taxpayers.
• The Plan applies to all new units being constructed in Halton, so there is no ability to make exceptions.

Q: But I can’t afford to pay it. What am I supposed to do?

• The fee is payable by Mattamy Homes.
• It appears they have tried to pass them on to you.

From the Region’s perspective, they’ve charged Mattamy and it sounds like they feel Mattamy shouldn’t pass this on. As stated above, what did they think Mattamy was going to do? Absorb this cost? At $8000 per home, you don’t need to be a math wiz to figure out that’s a big dollar figure we’re talking about. The Region sure sounds like they’re making Mattamy out to be the bad guy on this one….

Some think Mattamy should at least have let their customers know about this charge sooner — however, they themselves apparently only found out about what the exact charge would be in April 2009 according to the Region.

Apparently on September 30th, the Region of Halton will sit down and review a proposal from the builders which may or may not reduce or eliminate this fee.

Grab the popcorn, this one’s going to get interesting.

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