Councillor Joe Mihevc

Ward 21 E-News Community Update

November 10, 2011

Dear Neighbour,

The recent warm spell makes it hard to believe that it is already November. I hope everyone had a happy Hallowe'en!

As I write this, I am watching City workers prepare the Nathan Phillips Square ice rink and decorate the huge Holiday Tree just outside my office window (to be 'lit' at the Cavalcade of Lights on November 26 at 7:00 pm). At the same time, shops along St. Clair, Spadina and Eglinton are gearing up for the holiday season with colourful window displays and seasonal treats being offered at local cafes. There are also a good number of community craft fairs to look forward to in the upcoming weeks!

At City Hall, however, talks about cuts continue. We have dealt with this kind of budget shortfall before – without having to resort to so many cuts to services. With our garbage collection service having been awarded to GFL, Toronto Community Housing Corp. preparing to sell more than 700 homes, our Toronto Public Library facing serious cuts to service, and assets such as Toronto Hydro being considered for various levels of privatization, there is a great need to think creatively.

In the coming weeks, there will be several opportunities for you to get involved. Toronto Parks is hosting a series of public consultations to discuss its official plan. Heritage Toronto is inviting all those interested to participate in a Town Hall Meeting. Toronto Hydro is also preparing to host various Town Hall Meetings. On November 26 we will have a "Budget 2012 Have your Say" public consultation here in Ward 21 to discuss proposed cuts to our Library. Also, a chapter of "Stop the Cuts" has been established in the St.Clair/Bathurst area.

From the streets to our parks, City staff have been working hard in our neighbourhood! The newly constructed Allen Rd on-ramp at Eglinton Ave is getting rave reviews from drivers, local residents and business owners alike! I have been working on this project for 3 years and am thrilled to see the wonderful results. Previously congested Eglinton Ave is now moving smoothly and quietly. Neighbouring residential streets are no longer hosting commuter traffic and there is even a bicycle lane to help cars and bikes safely negotiate their route.

Community groups, working on projects in our parks, have worked closely with City staff to get new bulbs and shrubs donated and planted, and new playgrounds designed. Thank you City staff for keeping up the good work you do!

With our creative juices flowing as we think about the approaching holiday season, I encourage you to share your thoughts on City services with friends and family, especially those who live in different Wards.

I hope to see you at one of the many great events in our community this November!

WHAT'S INSIDE:

1. Say No to Cuts to Library Services

2. New Eglinton / Allen Rd. On-Ramp!

3. Development at St. Clair Ave. W. and Bathurst

4. Getting Creative with Budgets

5. Toronto Parks Plan Consultation

6. Two Town Hall Meetings

7. Sign-Up for WBCA's E-Newsletter

8. Let's Beat the Flu – Free Shots

9. Neighbourhood Stop the Cuts Group

10. Spadina Museum Salon-Style Speakers Series

11. Growing for Green Update

12. Fundraising for Suydam

13. St. Michael's College School's Dreamtheatre

14. Financial Literacy Workshops for Women 55+

15. Thinking About Space

16. The Toronto Star's Transportation Issues Page

17. Take the Plunge!

FULL DETAILS:

1. Saying No to Cuts to Library Services

   Like many of you, I believe the TPL is an important part of our community. Mayor Ford's demand for a 10% cut from TPL's operating budget will have a negative impact on our well used and much appreciated library system.

    

   On October 17, the Toronto Library Board voted on and passed a set of "efficiencies" that amounted to $9.7 million, achieving a little over half the target budget reduction amount of $17 million. These efficiencies include things like electronic check-out. Since they do not impact on service, they are something I can accept. Further service cuts totalling $7.3 million (4.3% of the target amount) were deferred by the Library Board and are still on the table. It is these cuts that will see shortened hours or cuts to branches. These cuts must be vigorously opposed.

    

   In Ward 21, the Davenport branch would not see any changes to hours of operation (currently at 40 hours/week). However, both the Forest Hill branch and the Wychwood branch would face a loss of 6 hours/week, each moving from their current 62 hours/week to 56 hours/week. In total, the system is facing 19,444 cut hours.

    

   TPL staff and I will be hosting a Public Consultation Meeting at the Forest Hill branch on November 16, at 7:00 pm. This will be Ward 21's opportunity to learn about what is going on and share ideas and concerns. Please plan to attend this event so that we can mobilize to save our libraries.

    

   Also, there will be a survey available online at the TPL website. Hard copies of the survey will become available at neighbourhood branches.

    

2. New Eglinton / Allen Rd On-Ramp

   I am happy to report on the near completion of the new Eglinton / Allen Rd on-ramp. This improvement is being happily welcomed by the community. The line-up to enter the Allen moves much faster and the bottle neck is cleared! Businesses are happy as improved access to the Allen has lead to a quieter street, with fewer horns blaring and less aggressive driving.

   Thank you to the City's Transportation Services for putting together such a well planned project and executing it with such care and in a timely fashion. Well done!

   

    

3. St. Clair Ave West and Bathurst Development

   Many have noticed that the sales office for the development being planned for the south east corner of St. Clair Ave W and Bathurst is up and running. An application has been made to construct a 25-storey building. However, this is just the start of the process.

   We certainly encourage public engagement in the development process. In the near future, City planners and I will be hosting community consultations.

   Once scheduled, the community will be given notice of public consultation meetings.

    

4. Getting Creative With Budgets

   With the release of the 2012 Budget around the corner, I think it is important to note that we are not in a new crisis. We've been here before and, in recent years, City Council has dealt with budget shortfalls with more creative balancing strategies that do not depend on drastic cuts to services or the selling of city assets. We must find other revenue sources.

   

5. Toronto Parks Plan Consultation

   This fall, Parks, Forestry and Recreation Division will implement the Parks Plan Consultation Strategy. From now until December 16, 2011, the Parks Plan survey will be posted on-line at

   toronto.ca/parks/parksplan.

   Hard copies of the survey will be available upon request through Toronto 311.

   A public consultation session for Toronto East York will be held on November 24, 2011 from 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm at the Wellesley Community Centre at 495 Sherbourne St.

   

    

6. Town Hall Meetings: Official Plan Review Focusing on Heritage and Hydro

   The Planning Department and Toronto Hydro will be hosting a series of Town Hall Meetings.

   The Planning Department meeting will focus on doing a full examination and updating of the City Official Plan's Heritage policies with the assistance of a team of consultants and a Citizen's Heritage Advisory Committee. The Heritage Town Hall runs from 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm in Room 308/309 at Metro Hall, 55 John Street on Thursday, December 1, 2011. For more information, click here.

   The goal of the Toronto Hydro Town Hall Meeting is to provide customers with information on its ongoing capital works projects. It will be an opportunity for you to speak to staff directly on a variety of issues. The Meeting will take place on November 15 at City Hall. For more information, click here.

   

    

7. Sign Up for WBCA's E-Newsletter

   The Wychwood Barns Community Association has launched an e-newsletter to keep the community connected with happenings at Artscape Wychwood Barns.

   I encourage you to sign up at

   www.wychwoodbarnscommunity.ca

   

    

8. Let's Beat the Flu – Free Shots

   Toronto Public Health is offering free flu shots at locations across Toronto, including City Hall, Metro Hall and civic centres.

   For more details visit:  toronto.ca/health/flu/pdf/flu_schedule_2011.pdf

   

    

9. St. Clair / Bathurst Stop the Cuts Committee

   Many of the people who live or work in this area rely on daycare centres, TCHC housing, recreation and health-care centres, parks, libraries, TTC, and social services. Currently there are several Stop the Cuts Committees in neighbourhoods around Toronto. Now the St. Clair / Bathurst area has one! For more information on how to get involved please contact: stclair.stopthecuts@gmail.com

    

10. Spadina Museum Salon Style Speakers Series

    This series explores the controversies of the 1920s and '30s – and how those issues still resonate today. Inspired by the salon style of idea exchange and debate, each two-hour interactive talk will be led by subject experts who, with audience participation, will analyze the past, critique the present and challenge the future.

    All events take place at Spadina Museum: Historic House and Gardens, 285 Spadina Rd.

    For more information, click here.

    

     

11. Growing for Green Update – Sprucing Up the Pollinator Garden

    On Sunday, October 23, 2011, a group of dedicated volunteers pitched in to do a Fall planting in the pollinator garden at Ben Nobleman Community Orchard.

    They planted 120 daffodils that were kindly donated by Toronto Parks and Trees Foundation as part of the Better Urban Landscapes with Bulbs (BULBS) program, a partnership between Toronto Parks and Trees Foundation and Take BAC, which beautifies public parks and green spaces with spring flowering bulbs. Special thanks go out to Claudia Fazzari, at the Parks, Forestry & Recreation department of Urban Forestry, for her help in organizing the bulbs on our behalf. 


    On top of that very generous donation, they also received a number of shade plants from City Parks & Recreation thanks to Diane Tomlin. Growing for Green thanks Ms. Tomlin for purchasing the plants on their behalf.

    It was a wonderfully productive day!

    Be sure to get on Growing for Green's orchard e-mail list by signing up at communityorchard-subscribe@mylists.ca

    

    Volunteers Elena, Lynn, Debra, Zsusanna, and Sherry in front of the transformed pollinator garden on a stewardship Sunday

     

12. Fundraising at Suydam Park

    The Campaign to Rebuild the Forest Hill Village Park, focusing on Suydam Park, is still underway. They are selling bricks to raise money to augment the City's budget for this project. The bricks will be engraved and installed in the park.

    For more information on how to get involved check out the website at RebuildOurPark.tumblr.com

    

     

13. St. Michael's College Dreamtheatre Production of GYPSY

    Dreamtheatre Productions is a new theatre company on the Toronto Arts scene.  Established last year, it is committed to enhancing the arts in the Toronto community especially through the Alumni Association of my high school, St. Michael’s College School.

    Dreamtheatre's upcoming production of GYPSY, a well-known Broadway Musical is hailed by some critics as the greatest show ever written for Broadway.

    If you would like to sponsor the production, please contact Marty Story at martystory@rogers.com

    

     

14. Financial Literacy Workshops for Women 55+

    The National Initiative for the Care of the Elderly (NICE), has launched a new suite of national financial and legal tools along with workshops designed to improve the financial literacy of older low income unattached and immigrant women in Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal. For more information, click here.

     

15. Thinking about Space

    Car, Bike or Bus! A resident shared these two thought provoking graphics with me, and now I want to share them with you.

    

    

    The same 40 people (1) in their cars, (2) seated at car spacing, (3) seated at bus passenger spacing, (4) as pedestrians and bicyclists. Photo credit: Phil Sheffield, Tampa Tribune

     

16. The Toronto Star's Transportation Issues Page

    The Toronto Star has a webpage dedicated to transportation issues. You might be interested in checking it out! Follow the link.

    Some specific stories to read are The day Toronto stops: True gridlock is around the corner, Can higher taxes curb gridlock, Pay now or Pay later, Support for Congestion Charge, The need for political champions, HOT lane story, Story on parking payback, Germany's incentive program, and Fords subway to crawl stop by stop.

     

17. Take the Plunge!

    A few years ago, the community launched a campaign to keep the Winona Dr. Senior Public School pool open for use by the community. Currently, St. Alban's Boys and Girls club is running swim programs at the Winona pool from 4 pm – 9 pm on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday. As cooler weather limits outdoor activities in the city, jump in the pool!

    The winter schedule will be released on November 15th.

    For more information, visit www.stalbansclub.ca

    

Should you have any questions about the events listed here or wish to share events of your own, do not hesitate to contact my office at 416-392-0208 or email councillor_mihevc@toronto.ca.

Sincerely,

Councillor Joe Mihevc

Ward 21, St. Paul's West