Ladies
and Gentlemen
And I am back….
I hope you had a great summer – a chance for good times
with family, friends and just taking time to enjoy this wonderful place we all love
as Midland.
To say it was a quiet summer would be misleading. Some of
the things that you may have participated in or missed over the last two months:
-
The Martels have wrapped up their touring career
with a set of final concerts
-
The Metis Nation of Ontario’s 400 delegates
had a great time visiting Midland including a paddle in the Bay
-
Cruise ships Pearl Mist and St, Laurent have made
5 visits to our Town
-
The Ontario 55-plus summer games showcased
the best Midland has to offer to over 200 visitors
-
First place – Midland’s newly
minted “Best Maple Butter Tart beer” came first at the Muskoka craft brewers
contest. The winner will be coming soon
to an LCBO outlet near you
-
The Hwy 12 - Jones Road intersection is almost
open (still)
-
Mountainview Mall is under new ownership and
expecting redevelopment in 2016
-
The Hanson development on Highway 12 has over1,000
pre-registrations
-
The recent provincial by-election sees the
leader of the loyal opposition as our own MPP
-
Staff is deep into the 2016 budget
process. Look for the first public meetings
later this month
-
Midland now allows (with permit) small
backyard fires
-
Marina Park (building next to Bayport) has been
sold. The Town is in discussions with the new owners to get this project
completed
-
Downtown Health Centre (part of Edgehill
Park) will go to Council for a final decision
on Sept 28
-
Environmental work continues on the Midland
Bay Landing site. Still awaiting the draft design.
*****
The all-star series, a Day in the Life, continues at the
MCC this Tuesday at 7:30 pm, September 8th. Fred Hacker
will be speaking with Adam Dixon, a celebrated para-athlete who hails from our
area. As a youngster, Adam loved hockey. Then,
when he was 10, he was diagnosed with Ewing's sarcoma. leading to the removal
of his right tibia. While Adam's
dream of playing “stand up hockey” was shattered, he began playing
sledge hockey at the age of 11 and, by the time he was 17, he was invited to
try out for Canada's national team. He starred on the bronze winning Canadian Paralympic sledge hockey team
in Sochi in 2014. Fred invites you to learn
more about a truly inspiring young man.
On Wednesday September 9th at 6:30 pm at Town
Hall you are invited to a Special Meeting of Council addressing two important topics.
The first will be about our Library, where Council will hear about the Library
Board’s intentions for new services they are considering for Midland.
The second topic of the night is a panel discussion on how
different Local Distribution Companies (LDC – like our MPUC) are handling changes
in the energy sector. This panel has
come about due to Council’s interest in looking at different business arrangements
for our own LDC. The panel will feature speakers from municipalities/utilities
that have experienced recent sale/mergers, including:
Mr. Chris Litschko, President of Lakeland (a
similar sized LDC)
Ms. Lynn Strachan, Board Member Powerstream (
provides power to Penetanguishene)
Mr. Steve Zorbas, former CFO Town of Richmond
Hill - PowerStream
Mayor Tony Van Bynen,
Newmarket - Newmarket Tay Hydro (provides power to Tay)
The panel will discuss first-hand experiences about the
pros and cons of sale/merger and what Midland power users could expect if
Council chose to pursue one of those options. The discussion should also help us
understand:
-
The risks in the energy sector for small LDCs
given the government’s push for consolidation (MPUC with some 6,500 customers is
a very small LDC)
-
The challenges and risks to a small LDC in
keeping up with changes in technology including off-grid power generation
-
The Ontario Energy Board’s role in setting our
hydro rates and realizing that some 80% of your hydro bill is a provincial pass
through over which the LDC has no control
-
What to look for in choosing a partner for pursuing
your LDC’s business objectives
Thursday the 10th starts at 8:00 am with a
breakfast at Lakehead University, hosted to recognize the County of Simcoe’s
support for Lakehead. At 7:00 pm that evening at Penetanguishene Town Hall is a
meeting to hear more about the joint transit system that will be shortly
linking Midland and Penetanguishene.
Weekend
Saturday
-
15th annual Pow Wow at Ste Marie
starting at noon
Sunday
-
Pow Wow continues at Ste Marie starting at
noon
*****
Many
of you will have fond memories of recently retired OPP Constable Dave Hobson.
Far from being “retired” Davey is still sending me safety notices. Please see the attached and stay safe.
Gord
McKay
Be
part of Midland’s Year of Bold Action - 2015
No comments:
Post a Comment