Residents offering input on budget

December 1, 2016 · 0 Comments

By Bill Rea
The Town asked for public input on the 29017 budget, and there were people who obliged.
The Town hosted four coffee sessions with Mayor Alan Thompson and local councillors, as well as an open house session last Wednesday.
From what has been reported so far, there is a lot of support for Thompson’s efforts to bring high-speed internet to the area.
There is also a lot of support for investing $425,000 on the collection and materials at Caledon Public Library.
“People are still possessive about books,” Library CEO Colleen Lipp observed.
There were also a lot of comments about facilities in Bolton at the session held at Caledon Seniors’ Centre.
There were some people commenting on the state of the centre, as well as remarks about the level of service at Albion-Bolton Community Centre (ABCC).
One woman complained about the aging arena at ABCC, and Councillor Rob Mezzapelli observed the Town is restricted in what it can do because the land belongs to the Albion and Bolton Agricultural Society.
One woman called for more residential development in Bolton to support the local business community.
Councillor Jennifer Innis told her the population growth numbers for Caledon are set by the province and Peel Region, with the Town’s Official stipulating where it goes. Councillor Annette Groves added the Region will be making a decision next week, but she added there are sure to be appeals.
“That’s part of the delay that we’ve had,” she said, adding it takes a long time to resolve the appeals.
There were also comments about the difficulty some, including young people, have in accessing facilities, like those in Caledon East, unless there’s someone to drive them.
It’s also hard for young people to find part-time work because things are so spread out in town.
Thompson said there’s a transportation study looking at that, adding the town is working with Brampton Transit.
He also addressed the need for affordable housing.
“I don’t know how my kids today can afford to buy a house here,” he remarked.