The Mayor’s Message

The Clear Bag Program is underway with the end goal of extending the life of our landfill.  Eventually clear bags that contain large amounts of recyclable blue box material will be left at the residence.  For the first few weeks, as a courtesty and to assist in this process, the municipality has opted to have a volunteer follow the truck in order to help residents who may not understand what goes in the clear bag/blue box.  This information is not intended to be shared with any outside parties and the specific contents of your garbage is kept confidential other than general terms such as paper, cans, wet waste etc.  This co-opoerative program is specifically designed only to help those in our community adapt to blue boxing our waste and to improve our community into the future.

We met at a business development conference in Guelph a while ago.

As we chatted I marveled at the gumption to seek the Walkerton Mayor’s office after the water tragedy.

While the original events in Walkerton were tragic, I must say that I enjoyed ‘Province Wide’ last Sunday.

What a marvelous Phoenix like success story and what amazing co-operation among your self and the other two guests.

You should all feel very proud of Walkerton- 10 Years Later.

Regards.

Peter

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Peter Kastner

President,

Vestigo Corporation

Hope you are enjoying all the sunshine this spring, although for some the lack of rain is beginning to be a concern. Let’s cross our fingers and pray for our share of precipitation for the sake of the farmers who are invested in cash crops.

A direct benefit of the weak winter and early spring is the dust free streets. The Brockton Works Dept. has been fastidiously sweeping the remnants of sand as well as the debris from the tree trimming and removal just recently completed. Their effort should inspire all of us to be proud of our community and help maintain the current pristine appearance.

Eelanor MacEwen and the staff at Brucelea Haven hold an annual Memorial event for the residents who passed on the previous year. Again this year’s ceremony was extremely tasteful and touching. They should be recognized for all they do to prepare and host this commemorative event for the families who lost loved ones.

The 10 year recognition of the local water tragedy will take place in segmented fashion. On May 16^th there will be commemorative event at Well #5 at 2 p.m. On June 1^st at  Walkerton District there will be a youth day entitled Waves of Opportunity referring to a wide range of employment possibilities in the water industry. Students from the region will be invited.

For those who ordered rain barrels or for those who would like to purchase one on Saturday May 15^th, make your way to the MTO building between 9-1. The price of $35.00 is very reasonable and you can promote water conservation by taking advantage of the very low cost.

On Saturday June 5^th from 9-1 there will be an E-Waste drop off at the MTO building for those old TVs or other electronic equipment. There will be NO CHARGE. You will have an opportunity to donate to the Walkerton to Haiti Fund on site.

Our annual arts recognition was, once again, very eye catching and extremely ear pleasing. The Juried Art Show attracted its usual splendid array of local artwork. While the Rotary Music Festival displayed the amazing local music talent we have become accustomed to for so many years. Thanks to all of the participants and the generous assembly of volunteers that facilitate these very worthy, albeit time consuming events.

Photo shows Mayor Bagnato presenting cash prize to one of the winners in the category of photography. Brockton Council has donated $1,800.00 annually as an incentive. This year 77 artists particiapated. Walkerton Library basement will display the art until May 1st.

Questions? Concerns? Bagnato@brockton.ca , www.themayorsmessage.com , 519-377-0706

Remember to keep our community beautiful.

That’s all until June.

The Saugeen Mobility & Regional Transit Corporation is funded by several municipalities and overseen by the Ministry of Transportation whose funds are used for Capital Expenditures.

S.M.A.R.T. primarily services seniors and people with disabilities, many on fixed income at or below the poverty line. The need for medication transport and social outings to this ever growing demographic prompted the creation of this service some 30 years ago.

Brockton, West Grey, Hanover and Arran Elderslie formed the new Corporation last year. Already they have grown to include the Municipality of Kincardine and are presently in discussion with several other interested parties.
The Board is made up of Mayors of the joint Municipalities.

The long wait for the hum of spring is finally here. That humming I referred to is the sound of construction. Buildings and bridges being erected be they residential family dwellings, seniors’ accommodations, Police quarters, Nagg’s Bridge, etc.

Those sweet sounds will be most welcome. Construction equates to growth of assessment, greater tax base, attraction of further growth, (hotel) (?)

and a positive future outlook. All are part and parcel of a successful, sustainable community. Feel good stories such as ours could not happen without the collaboration of local developers, entrepreneurs and volunteers, as well as all levels of Government.

 The struggle for success has been an arduous one, but the lessons learned should not be regretted or forgotten.

One of the shining examples of a marvelous local building is the Walkerton Clean Water Centre. This eight million dollar internationally acclaimed learning and research institute is a must see for everyone. This magnificent edifice was built over a two year period, with the final outcome masterminded by CEO Dr. Saad Jasim. There will be an open house coming in the next few months. I will keep you posted. You should not miss the opportunity to be guided through this shining jewel of an asset. The importance and prominence of this learning centre will become more and more magnified as safe drinking water resources dwindle throughout the world. Premier McGuinty’s recent throne speech alluded to the current and future world water industry, which sits at 4.5 billion dollars annually and will continue to grow exponentially. Our Walkerton Clean Water Centre is poised to play a major role in supplying knowledge and expertise in this lucrative industry.

The Juried Art Show is set to go from April 21^st until May 1^st.This is another spectacle you should not miss. Check this publication or the Brockton website for visiting hours. You will be amazed at the local artistic talent!

 For those of you who expressed concerns about Municipal taxes, your points were well taken. Council responded with a one percent tax increase…..we’re listening!! Much credit goes to the staff and department heads that made it an easier process by recognizing the current economic state and honouring my request to come in with minimal or no increase at all within their respective departments.

The public meeting centred on the clear garbage bag program took place last Wednesday. Many interesting questions were brought forward. Most were answered there and the rest will be related to everyone via flyer in the near future. There were roughly 85 people in attendance. The Brockton website will also be posting updates to respond to the various concerns that were not addressed at the meeting. Thanks to all who attended and proved, once again, that the more people involved in brainstorming a new initiative, the better chance that potential problems and confusion can be avoided and that proactive efforts will prevent unnecessary reactive ‘ fixes’.

Most experts agree that anything with your name on it should be shredded and placed in the recyclables as a security precaution. For those of you who are worried about privacy, if you use a garbage pail, animals can’t tear it open and the only ones who should be looking at your garbage are those collecting it.

Remember we are extending the life of a very expensive landfill with this program. Thank you for helping to reduce waste and foster the greater good for Brockton.

Blue Box Update
AMO’s response to the draft Blue Box Program Plan (BBPP) revisions emphasizes the need to go beyond the proposed focus on recycling, and to also deal with reduction of material. AMO is also raising concerns that the BBPP proposed to extend the Continuous Improvement Fund (CIF) without the benefit of prior negotiations between the industry and municipalities. Analysis of the CIF projects has been requested and is underway. It will be available to the AMO Waste Task Force for deliberations and recommendations in the coming weeks. The decision on the CIF is expected at the board meeting in June.

http://www.am920.ca/program_schedule.php?area=show&show_id=35
Click the Thursday March 25, 2010 tab from the Brian Allen Show to discuss topics including Taxes, Clear Bags & Court Security Costs in Brockton. Left click to highlight the link, Right Click and cut and paste the above tag into the browser bar. For further information on the Landfill - Also see the post 2010/03/09 Landfill Extending the Use.

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/politics/2010/03/24/ricks.hc.debate.becomes.uncivl.cnn?iref=allsearch

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