6 Friday, January 4, 2019 brooklintowncrier.com North Ward Councillor - By Steve Lee New Committee Structure I hope everyone had a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year! I am looking forward to the new council getting right to work. Here's an update on a few items in the works now that we've had our inauguration and I've been sworn in as North Ward Councillor. I've been working at addressing issues and concerns brought up by residents as well as attending various events. There are a few things I draw your attention to. The first, as Regional Councillor Mulcahy wrote about in a previous edition, are the council goals. We have unanimously adopted these to better guide us and align with what we hope to achieve the next four years. This is a very good step and a great start for council. We can all work together to make Brooklin and Whitby even better. The second item is that we sent out a survey on the option of allowing retail cannabis stores in Whitby and Brooklin or choosing to opt out and not allow the province to allow them in Whitby. I hope you took the opportunity to give your input. If you have any comments I would be happy to hear them as we need as much public input on this as possible so as to make the best decision for you. Finally, Council has approved a new committee structure, which will see dedicated nights for public meetings and will give each Council member a chance to participate fully in all meetings. The new structure, approved at a Special Council Meeting held on Tuesday, December 11, will see individual Operations and Planning and Development Committee meetings replaced with Committee of the Whole meetings. The first meeting will be Committee of the Whole on Monday, January 7, 2019, with the meeting cycle continuing thereafter as follows: Week 1 - Public meeting Week 2 - Committee of the Whole meeting Week 3 - Committee of the Whole meeting Week 4 - Council meeting This new structure will allow all Members of Council to vote in both Committee of the Whole and Council Meetings. As well, dedicated evenings for public meetings will also help streamline the process through which the community can provide input. The new schedule significantly increases the number of opportunities for Town staff to bring forward reports for Council's consideration. This structure should help expedite approvals and reduce the wait time at meetings for both residents and business partners. The 2019 schedule of public and committee meetings is available online on the town's website, whitby.ca. Group 74's October Halloween event Boo!Fest raised over $1800 for Hearth Place's paediatric cancer support program. Some money raised also went towards Christmas turkey dinners and other support for local needy families. In the photo, left to right: Patricia Evans, Deborah Poray, Amanda Grant (from Hearth Place), Deena Misale and Catherine Schuck. Group 74 encourages Brooklin area women who want to really make a difference in the community to join them in these efforts. Interested in speaking at the Whitby Council meeting? Individuals who would like to speak to an item on the agenda, must register with the Town Clerk by 10 a.m. on the day of the meeting. Delegation Request Forms are available at www.whitby.ca/delegation and should be submitted to clerk@whitby.ca. This agenda item concerns Brooklin: 5.7 Planning and Development Department Report, PL 1-19 Re: Bill 139 - Two-Year Moratorium on Applications to Amend a Secondary Plan Recommendation: That, upon final approval of OPA 108, any requests to submit an application to amend the Brooklin Community Secondary Plan be considered by Council on an individual basis, notwithstanding the two-year moratorium provided for under the Planning Act.