HawthorneVillager.com

Thanks Colin.
While the high school is certainly on my radar, the elementary crisis is my focus at the moment. I am praying that Mattamy can help us out of this mess.

The Board knows the number of kids that are here and what's coming. They claim either no funds, no property or that the property is held up in OMB.

Hi everyone
Agree with the powells statements. Check out the Planning & Administration Committe agenda for this Monday Sept. 17th item #3 staff report for consideration PD-068-07 recommends draft approval of 399 more homes in the Escarpment area phase 2-4 with no comments from either Board!

This is the area south and east of the hangar with a mix of house styles which include two school sites (which could be turned into medium density residential if the school boards do not want the sites!)

Will be raising a number of issues regarding this and other proposals on Monday night. If you are interested in attending the meeting starts at 7.30 pm. in the Council Chambers at the Town Hall. Parking is available at the newly paved parking lot on the north side of Mary Street behind the Post Office.

Colin Best
colin.best@milton.ca

I was at a meeting tonight with our Trustee, Superintendent and HDSB planning dept. I mentioned what you have been telling us Colin about Mattamy's proposal to switch the site for #4 and all denied knowing anything about it.
I'm pretty sure that the planning dept. knew, but was not willing to comment.
I told our trustee of this thread so hopefully she will join the discussion.

There is an account here called MiltonSchoolTrustee that was created on September 10th. I can't confirm if it is a real trustee or not, other than the email address appears to be a valid one at hdsb.ca

This issue should be raised and raised again and again with the candidates here in town as it seems unacceptable to me (as it does to everyone else as well). I know that, as a teacher in the Peel Board, I will be bringing the issue up with our local candidates and also asking them why I need to consider getting special consideration to take my daughter to school in Peel in the future (she's only two now) because A) we don't have enough schools in Halton and B) they are majorly overcrowded. That's what I feel Ill have to do now, at least at this point. Hope I'm not sounding too harsh.

The old Trustee Mr Tate used to come on and answer questions. Too bad it was just before the election and an obvious vote grab! did not work.

if the new trustee if watching, your input would be valued, this site could be a great communication tool for you as it appears to be for Colin Best. Watch what you type though! you will be called on anything someone does not want to hear but I guess that goes with the job!

Matt

I would assume that the other user was Paul Tate since it was prior to the election.
We need to hear from Mattamy that they do in fact have property to switch and are willing to do it.
Colin has the property that is held up in OMB actually been purchased by the board or is that part of what the hold up is? I know there is a dispute about it, but who actually owns it now and what is the dispute over?

Hi daycaremom
The school site on the Shellrock west of Philbrook Drive has not closed and is still in the draft plan stage, to the best of my knowledge. Unfortunately the dispute is still on and no quick end in sight.

Will be meeting with top Mattamy officials on Tuesday and hopefully get some answers. Check out the rezoning sign on Thompson Road south of the church it clearly states a school site which the Halton Board could certainly build in a short time as the site is graded with services nearby.

The new catholic elementary school on Tupper Ave. east of Thompson has a large paved area behind the school ready for portables to handle any increase in student population before they need their next school site.

Will let everyone know as soon as possible.
Colin Best
colin.best@milton.ca

I don't understand this. If the property has not closed, then the HDSB does not own it so why would they not jump on the chance to obtain the new site Mattamy is supposedly offering?
If neither the HDSB or Mattamy own it, who does? Who is the dispute between? Does the Town own it?

i'm confused as to why the school board would not know about mattamy rezoning land for an atlernate site... so i walk down thompson and took a picture of the sign (i think i was causing some traffic problems slowing down every time to examine it ) and compared it to the site plan we were given a year ago... by the town planning commitee with regards to the neighbour hood park.

original plan:



rezoning sign:



could it be that the reason the public school board doesn't know about the rezoning is that the site is planned for a catholic school? and since they just completed one for this year, they may be a couple of years away from building another.

could i be reading these site plan wrong? i want a new school to be built ASAP, but i'm feely pretty pessimisic.

Colin - as for the OMB dispute over the original site.. is there any venue for parents/residents to pressure the courts to speed up the case. from what i know, they really drag these things out.

thanks again for all your help!

Thanks Bernadette.
I don't really care where the exact location is, it just needs to be built in that area. I want to know exactly who is responsible for this dispute so that we can start putting pressure in the right place.
I have a feeling that the Town is one of the parties involved. I am waiting for Colin to confirm or deny.

When we moved here, our youngest children were sent to EW Foster school. They stayed there for two years and then were moved to Chris Hadfield when it opened. We asked if our kids (from HV) could remain at Foster until Hawthorne Village was built. We were told no, because they needed the school to open full to justify building it. Hadfield went up to 1200 students before we left there to go to Hawthorne. We are starting our third year at Hawthorne with close to 1100 kids.

The same thing is going to happen with anyone living within the boundaries of the fourth school. Currently, those students are being directed to Sam Sherratt as a holding school. With the current plan, the fifth school will be built next and it will become the holding school for the students in #4 boundaries. If #4 ever gets built, those same students will then be moved back to their home school.

daycaremom & JASMIN - i'm with ya. this dispute over the land should be settled one way or another so we can get a school built. i clicked around on the OMB site and this is the case that looked most like it could be the one we are speaking of:

http://www.omb.gov.on.ca/e-decisions/pl ... 231998.pdf

looks like its the School boards & Mattamy (et al) against the Shellrock Dev, & the Town & Region, and there has been no activity on the case since June 06 just my laymans interpretations....

the board claims to have the money from the ministry.. so it's rediculus the the Municipalities would hold it up. and if it's Mattamy's develpoment money that's in question... we can give them a push too.

the contact at OMB is:
Michael Barnycz, Hearings Coordinator (416) 326-3007
maybe he can shead some light...

The board does have the money, but they are going to use it to build #5 if this doesn't get straightened out soon.
Thanks for the info Bernadette. I will definitely be calling that guy!
I doubt it is Mattamy that is holding it up. They want the school built too. They are not going to sell as many houses once people find out there is no room for their kids to go to school. Unless Mattamy has another agenda. They may want to change what they build around the school. Changing the school location would give them the opportunity to do that. It wouldn't hurt them either to say they not only fix Milton's roads, but they solve the school crisis as well.