Ladies and Gentlemen
Happy Canada Day and hello summer. As has been my
tradition, News from the Town will take a break over the next two months,
coming back in September. That does not mean that Midland shuts down for the
summer, as you will see, but just my way of giving you more time to simply
enjoy the season with family and friends.
I have changed today’s newsletter format a bit to help
you find things. I may also send you a
special bulletin from time to time if required.
So grab your sun screen and BBQ tongs - - now get out
there and have fun.
Special
Activities
Council meetings should continue to take place on the
fourth Monday of the month at 7:00 pm. The July General Committee meeting is
cancelled (at this time) while the July Planning meeting (July 4th)
is on. Both General Committee and Planning meetings will occur over the summer at
the call of the Chair so please check the Town calendar for meeting dates at http://www.midland.ca/Pages/meetingagenda.aspx
This summer we have a cavalcade of movies for you. The
Town and the BIA will be hosting movies under the stars starting at dusk at the 509 Bay Street parking lot. The line-up:
·
July 4 - Jumanji
·
July 18 - Coco
·
August 1 - Avengers
·
August 15 - The Muppets
·
August 18 - Tragically Hip Concert
·
August 29 - Star
Wars – the Last Jedi
·
October 13 – Hotel Transylvania
And our
Library is also screening free summer movies for you at their location at
6:30pm. The movies are:
·
July 12 - Mamma Mia!
·
July 26 - The Greatest Showman
·
August 9 - Black Panther
·
August 23 - Ready Player
One
The Town and Rotary are organizing some fabulous summer
entertainments for you.
·
Dockside Tuesday – Every Tuesday evening at
Midland Town Dock
·
Music in the Park – Every Sunday evening at
the Rotary stage in Little Lake Park
·
Cruise Ship Celebration - All day, each day we have the Pearl Mist at
the Town Dock
For further details on all these activities please see
our Town website at http://www.midland.ca/quick-links/community-events-calendar
Midland Public Library has many summer programs for all
ages. Please check out their activities at http://www.midlandlibrary.com/events/
And let’s not overlook our MCC and their sizzling summer
entertainment. No hints but you will be impressed by their summer line-up.
Check out upcoming attractions regularly at http://midlandculturalcentre.com/
The
Month Ahead - July
July 2 (week of)
- The last yard waste pick-up of the spring season. Don’t miss it
July 6, 7 and 8 – Midland’s
free Garage Sale Permit Weekend. Your entrepreneurial chance to clean out the
garage without paying the Town fee
July 7 - 1st
Annual Sandy Mason & Friends Lawn Bowling Charity Day at the Midland Lawn Bowling Club. All
proceeds to Hospice Huronia
July 8
– Performance Boat Poker Run from the Town Dock
July 12
to 14 - Festival du Loup in Lafontaine
July 14 - Downtown Midland Road Basketball Game at the 509 Bay Street
Parking Lot from 2:00 pm to 3:00 pm. FREE pizza from Papa's
Pizza Mama's Chicken. FREE water from www.ShopMidland.com
July 16 to 23
- One of the most iconic airplanes from World War II, the B-25 Mitchell “Maid
in the Shade,” will make a stop at Lake Simcoe Regional Airport as part of its
Summer Flying Legends of Victory Tour. Open to the
public on Monday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 2:00 to 6:00 pm and on Tuesday through Thursday from 9:00 am to 6:00 p.m.
Reservations to fly on the bomber are required and can be booked by visiting http://bit.ly/FLOVTBarrieON
July 21
– Tiny Community BBQ at Perkinsfeild Park
July 20 to 22 – Feast
Fest returns to Midland – all day party
July 24 – The
Artrepreneur Expo at 6:30 pm at MCC. This event celebrates up and coming local
artists who have completed their 13 week Artrepreneur program
July 27 – Wye
Marsh Gardeners celebrate their 30th year of wildflower gardening at
the Wye Marsh from 1:00 to 4:00 pm
July 27 – Last
day to register to run in the fall municipal election. The registration closes at
2:00 pm today
July 27 to 28 – All
Things Canadian Festival takes place in Penetanguishene
July 31 - PRIDE flag
raising at Town Hall at noon
The
Month Ahead - August
August 4 - Blood
donor clinic from 2:00pm to 7:00pm at the NSSRC. Hope to
see you when I am there from 10:00 to 11:00 am
August 4
– Pirates of the Bay Festival at HHP, Discovery Harbour
August 12
- Balm Beach Family Fun Day at Balm Beach
August 17 to18 – TugFest
in Midland Harbour
August 18 – The 5th
Annual Georgian Bay Pops raising funds for the CT scanner at Georgian Bay General Hospital. Hosted at the private home of Helen and Frank
Morneau, 120 West Shore Drive, Thunder Beach. Music to
be performed by “Slocan Ramblers”. Contact
Shelly at 705-526-GIVE (4483) or email at prices@gbgh.on.ca.
August 25 - Cycle
Camelot Bike for Cancer Support starting from the Penetanguishene Curling
Club http://cyclecamelot.com/
Council
Issues Update
Downtown Safety
The Community Safety
Task Force will wrap up the problem definition phase of the project in August
and make specific recommendations for short term actions, as well as identify
the longer term challenges that will need further study. If Council approves the longer term study may
start this fall.
Midland Bay Landing
The Board for the new MBL Development Corporation will
form over the summer. New Board members should be announced at one of the
summer Council meetings. The Board will
then meet and prepare a plan of action for developing our major waterfront
project.
MPUC
While the MPUC sale has been agreed by all parties, we
still need the final OEB approval. The OEB has been very quiet over the last
few months, likely related to the recent election. No problems have been
identified so we expect to receive final approval shortly.
Downtown Health Clinic
Construction on the building will continue throughout the
summer. The opening is still (optimistically) set for December but the betting
says early 2019.
Official
Plan Review
After
a recent presentation to Council of the draft Plan, the process will go dormant
through the civic election period. Late this year the new Council will restart
the process by sending the draft to County for their approval. Sometime in 2019 we should have an updated
Official Plan.
Economic
Development
The
recent Economic Development Corporation of North Simcoe http://www.edcns.ca/ Prosperity Summit told the continuing good
news of our growing manufacturing and healthcare sectors. Over 7,000 people in
North Simcoe are employed in these two sectors. The challenge now is finding
more good employees. In fact I have just received the following request from a
local employer, Baytech:
“Baytech Plastics is looking for
summer students and permanent full-time staff to work shifts at our two Midland
plants. Pay is $14/hour (under review) and benefits for full-time staff after 3
months. If you know of anyone who might be interested they can email me or call
me at 705-528-4027.”
Please
pass this along if you know of anyone who might be interested.
The
new Seasons on Little Lake project plans to start 50 new homes by this fall;
the new GBDSS should be ready for students by year’s end: the Jarlette Healthcare
facility is underway (currently delayed a bit due to a government slowdown)
plus new apartment buildings and many new homes are under construction. Yes
Midland, it is happening.
*****
Before I let you go to summer please remember we have a
civic election this October. Our future, especially the next four years, will
depend upon whom we vote to guide the Town. If you or someone you know has the
desire to help us forge our future, please get your name registered for the
ballot by July 27 at 2:00 pm http://www.midland.ca/Pages/Election.aspx
I can’t stress enough the importance of good municipal
leadership.
Now enjoy your summer.
Gord McKay
The
Year for Forging Our Future - 2018