Sunday, November 12, 2017

Sunday November 12, 2017


Ladies and Gentlemen



A cold bright Remembrance Day in Midland. A very large turnout of residents for Saturday’s ceremony at the Cenotaph to honour our fallen soldiers, vetrans and our men and women in uniform. We Will Remember Them.



The Week Ahead



An unusual Monday the 13th as we will have both a General Committee and a Council meeting.  At 7:00 pm at Town Hall is a short General Committee dealing with two items:

-       Further review by Council of the recently adopted policies on financial reserves and internal loans

-       Proposal for how we will protect and invest the proceeds from the sale of the MPUC

This will be followed by a special meeting of Council.  The meeting will have an “in camera” portion to deal with a matter of litigation.  Then the open session considers:

-       Request by Bourgeois Motors for clearing part of their property at 290 Cranston

-       Request for an assessment of our Town roads as part to our asset management program

The special Council meeting is being held due to timing deadlines for the agenda items.





On Tuesday the 14th County Council takes place at 9:00 am in Midhurst. The major item on the County agenda is further consideration of the 2018 budget. County Council is trying to direct a tax levy increase of 1% for next year. At 7:00 pm you are invited to the Third Annual Culture Midland Awards at the Midland Cultural Centre.  This event celebrates the individuals and groups from throughout North Simcoe who contribute to making our community a vibrant and culturally-rich place to live and visit.  Tickets are free of charge and available through the MCC box office or online at http://midlandculturalcentre.com/ .  In addition to the awards presentation, the Children’s Community Choir and Good Morning Apocalypse will be performing.



A quieter Wednesday with the next Service Delivery Review meeting taking place at 2:00 pm.



And then a busy Friday November 17. At 9:00 am Waypoint hosts an all-day area meeting of HealthLinks partners to discuss better cooperation in dealing with those who are the greatest users of our healthcare system.  At noon please join the Salvation Army as they launch their 2017 Christmas Kettle Campaign at the Great Canadian Superstore.



From 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm our Midland Library hosts a fascinating evening with “Brews and Bots”. Yes, they have invited competitive teams of robot designers to the Library to take part in a robot battle. Barnstormer Brewery will also be there to provide some of their special beverages. The event has a small cover charge and is open to those 19 and over. All proceeds go to the proposed Midland Library Makerspace project.  And at 8:00 pm Huronia Players launches its fall season with the production “Drawer Boy” at MCC.




Week - End



Saturday November 18



-       All day - The Great Ontario Curling Bonspiel, part of our Canada 150 celebration, takes place at the Midland Curling Club

-       9:00 am to 2:00 pm - Candy Cane Bazaar at the Midland Legion Branch 80 – all the festive treats you can imagine will be available





Council Issues Update



OPP



The transfer documents have been filed with the Ontario Civilian Police Commission (OCPC).  They will be reviewing our request primarily to ensure that the OPP can provide appropriate policing for Midland and to see that all members of the MPS have been fairly treated in the process.  Hopefully they will have finished their deliberations in time to allow the transfer of officers for the next OPP training cycle, scheduled for February 2018.



MPUC



Council has started the process of considering how to best mange the $22M proceeds from the sale of our MPUC asset. Based on input from the recent public meeting, staff has prepared a report that proposes to treat the funds in three separate baskets.

-       $1.5M to be used to gradually wean the Town off of the MPUC dividend that has been used to fund operations

-       $10.5M to set up a legacy fund with the principal protected in perpetuity

-       $10M (approximately) to be used as a Community-Wide Investment Fund. These funds could be “borrowed” for Council approved projects and them repaid to the Fund over time



                                                                *****



About 70,000 people in Simcoe Muskoka struggle to put food on the table every year. Our local food banks are again gearing up for seasonal food drives to help address urgent food needs.  But food drives are not enough.  We need policies that address the root of the problem - to ensure that everyone has the resources to feed themselves and their families today, next week and next year. These policies may include:

-       Social assistance rates that cover real living costs

-       Good jobs with regular hours and benefits, ensuring a basic income



With this in mind, the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit (SMDHU) has launched a second phase of the “No money for food is ... Cent$less” campaign. Aside from continuing with awareness raising about food insecurity, it advocates for income-based policy solutions. SMDHU has created new tools and resources, including a downloadable package, available on our website to encourage people to take action and advocate - not just donate - during the holiday food drive season. The campaign was developed in partnership with many food banks across our area as well as a small advisory group of people with lived experience.







Gord McKay





The Year for Getting It Done - 2017

                                                                                              


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