Ladies and Gentlemen

Our love affair with a precocious spring continues. King Street is already dressed in summer patios and smiles are everywhere. It’s shaping up to be a great year in Midland.

On Monday March 19th the Town will host an important meeting with Bob Morton, Chair of our Local Health Improvement Network (LHIN - the provincially mandated agency that manages healthcare services in our area) Public and private sector representatives will be meeting with Mr. Morton to ask questions about healthcare delivery and future jobs for Midland and area. This meeting is part of our Economic Action Initiative.

Then at 6:00 pm that evening is the first of two meetings at the Town Hall. The first is a closed meeting to discuss labour law and contract negotiations. Then at 8:00 pm is a public meeting where Council will review different ways to dispatch fire personnel and consider the risk/cost benefits.

On Tuesday March 20th starting at 3:45 pm at Brooklea is the Meridian Business Women of the Year Awards. You will need a ticket for this event – dinner included. Then at 7:00 pm a group of your Councillors will be going to Georgian Bay General Hospital for a tour and to take part in a cheque presentation, recognizing Midland’s donation to our hospital.

The Municipal Cultural Planning workshop is scheduled for Wednesday March 21 from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm at the NSSRC. This all day workshop costs $30 which includes a lunch. Please register at: http://midlandmcpiworkshop.eventbrite.ca/

On Thursday March 22nd the mayors of Penetanguishene and Midland meet for “skunkworks” - a regular opportunity to informally discuss issues affecting our two communities. Then at noon at the Penetanguishene Curling Club is the Curl with the Pros luncheon supporting the GBGH Foundation. At 2:00 pm that afternoon it’s the Economic Action Initiative meeting to discuss a number of projects that will bring employers to our community. These include:
- Our new economic development website
- Next steps in our Healthcare strategy development
- Early planning for the Prosperity Summit taking place on September 26th 2012
After that I head over to Barrie for the Barrie Homebuilders Association to tell them why they should be looking at Midland as the place to invest.

Onto the weekend - the Sweetwater Festival at Wye Marsh. Pancakes and fun are available on Saturday and Sunday from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm. If you want to see yours truly flipping pancakes you want to be there on Saturday after 1:00 pm.

March 19-24 is Canada Water Week. - a reminder to conserve our water and think about how we pass along this precious resource to the next generation. The Water Store (1004 King Street) is sponsoring a video of all your ideas to reduce water consumption. If you have a good idea please drop by their store on March 22nd and make your 10 second video – I will. The Water Store will donate $5 to Community Living Huronia for each video idea,


2012 - Midland’s Year of Having Fun – do it.


Gord McKay