Tuesday, February 27, 2007

Tuesday February 27, 2007

The February 23rd edition of the Mirror carried the headline that Penetanguishene intends to set its Town tax rate at 2.6%. This creates an interesting backdrop for the Midland budget discussion set to take place on March 8th. Speaking of your tax bill, some of the numbers are in:
- the County/Waste portion (just over 20% of your bill) will increase by a little more than 4.75% this year
- the Education portion (just under 20%) will have an increase of 0%
- the remaining 60%, the Town of Midland has to decide
The first two numbers give us a 1% tax increase so far.

A group of Councillors and staff met for our Active Transportation Committee kick-off meeting. I was surprised that there were no citizens in attendance. The Town is going to advertise for additional committee members but we need all of you to get your ideas into the mix.

And the date for the next Snowmobile Committee meeting is looking like the latter part of March. The Town is trying to get some of the Committee members onto snowmobiles so they can see things first hand. Should be interesting.


Gord McKay
Feb 27, 2007

Monday, February 19, 2007

Monday February 19, 2007

The snow is definitely getting deep out there – 2 to 3 feet in most places. Saw some guys “para-boarding” (using a steer-able kite to pull a snowboarder over the ice) out on the bay this week. Looked like fun but still haven’t figured how they get back home from the other side of the bay?

The deep snow prevented many of the residents of Aberdeen from getting to their “super” mailbox this week. Art Yung (President of the Tiffin Homeowners) took the matter in hand and contacted the Town and Canada Post. He quickly found out there was some disagreement between the two parties on who is responsible for snow clearance for the mailboxes. While the matter has yet to be fully resolved, folks have pulled together to get the mail delivered. Jerry Jones stepped up and plowed out all the accumulated snow this past Saturday. Thank you Jerry! Doug Baker has agreed that the Town will keep the snow plowed for the rest of the winter. The plan is that before next winter the Town and Canada Post will decide who plows the snow or if the boxes need to be relocated.

A couple of committee notes to pass along:

1) the Active Transportation Committee will have its start-up meeting tonight, Monday February 19, at 5pm at the Town offices. This Committee will deal with how the citizens of Midland can get more physically active and make Midland a healthier place to live.

2) the Snowmobile Committee has not announced the date of its next meeting but we should know this week.

3) the next Budget Meeting is March 8th, 6pm at the Town Office. This meeting will summarize many of the budget changes and likely discuss this year’s tax rate.

If you can participate in any of these meetings, it would be great to see you there.


Gord McKay
Feb 19, 2007

Sunday, February 11, 2007

Sunday Fenruary 11, 2007

A third of the way through February and the days are getting longer and the snow deeper. My thanks to the folks who are making sure our streets are plowed through this non-stop snow.

Last Monday saw our first Snowmobile Committee meeting, ably chaired by Councillor Jeffery. Approximately 20 visitors were there, many wanting to get right into the issues. This organizing meeting gave standing to the snowmobile association (Georgian Bay Snowriders) and the Tiffin homeowners. The Committee also intends to request input from other groups. The date of the next meeting has yet to be determined. Snowmobiling has a long history in our area and I hope these meetings will help build a safe long term trail solution in our community.

The next Town budget meeting has been moved to March 8th at 6pm. At the present time Town staff is using the direction set by Council at the last public budget meeting to refine the draft budget. I hope to get our final tax rate down to no more than 2%, especially given the recent economic statistics from the TD Bank.
- CPI for 2006 for Ontario - 1.8% (indexed pensions)
- mean hourly wage increase for 2006 for Ontario - 1.6% (workers)

Yesterday I received a number of calls from homeowners upset about the ice blocking their driveways from the recent plowing. My wife and I grabbed shovels and went to see. We met a spry WWII vet and over a cup of coffee he told us of his amazing exploits in Normandy. We have a great community here. Get out and enjoy it.

Sunday, February 4, 2007

Ladies and Gentlemen

The snow is getting deep outside - and cold. Our Midland Out of the Cold program has just had to invoke its second cold weather emergency. This will open up Knox church during the day for the homeless.

The Town Planning Advisory Committee is scheduled for this Wednesday February 7 at 7pm at Town Hall. There is a full agenda. Items to be discussed that may be of particular interest to you are:
- draft plan conditions for the Tiffin Harbour Marina Condominium and the Bayport developments
- zoning by-law discussion to consider a commercial plaza on the south-west corner of Yonge and William.

And a reminder, the first snowmobile Committee meeting is this Monday the 5th at 5pm at the NSSRC.

Gord McKay
Feb 5 2007