Media Release: Hamilton Weighing Amazon Bid

Hamilton Weighing Amazon Bid

Statement by Mayor Fred Eisenberger

Friday, Sept 8, 2017, Hamilton, ON - Amazon has announced plans to establish a second company headquarters in North America. It is seeking proposals from local and state/provincial governments. The benefits in terms of jobs and economic development are self-evident and unprecedented.

The City of Hamilton has obtained Amazon’s Request for Proposals document and has established a team to analyze the criteria with a view to responding with a Hamilton proposal. We are already fielding offers of help from local external stakeholders. In addition, my office has been in contact with the provincial government to indicate our interest.

Although detailed analysis is required, a quick read indicates that Hamilton meets many of the criteria that Amazon has established, including location in a large metropolitan area, proximity to mass transit and rail, proximity to major arterial roads, and proximity to an international airport.

In addition, Hamilton has many additional advantages such as proximity to the U.S. border, world-class educational and medical sectors, and very attractive lifestyle attributes including restaurants, culture, and access to natural areas. 

We are acting quickly as Amazon has established a tight timeline with a deadline of October 19 to receive submissions. I will keep Council and the public updated as work progresses.

Media Release: Ian Thompson Announces his Intentions to Run in Ward 11

Ian Thompson Announces His Intentions To Run In October 2018 For The Ward 11 City Council Seat

WINONA - September 12, 2017 – Over the past several months Ian Thompson has been approached by a number of people inquiring if he has ever thought about running for public office. After many conversations with his family, friends and neighbours, and considerable deliberations with community organizations, community leaders and residents, Ian has come to learn that there is a growing appetite for change with the representation at City Hall. Today, Ian Thompson is announcing that on May 1st he will register as a candidate to run in the October 2018 Municipal Election in Ward 11 (Winona, Rural Upper Stoney Creek, Binbrook, Mount Hope).

“Neighbourhoods throughout Ward 11 are and continue to be under-serviced. Increase in vehicle

Media Release: Concession Street BIA is wrapping its summer series of SIDEWALK SOUNDS

This Friday the Concession Street BIA is wrapping its summer series of SIDEWALK SOUNDS - this Friday September 15, 2017.

A 3rd Friday of the Month Music Series from May to September. LIVE MUSIC PERFORMERS set to start at 6pm to 9pm.

SIDEWALK SOUNDS 2nd annual music series is inspired by the James N. Art Crawl and Concession St.’s traditional Streetfest

The Concession Street BIA is working in partnership with the Hamilton Music Guild’s MUSIC IN THE CITY to provide a high caliber music crawl within our business district (Upper Wentworth to East 33rd)

There are 6 outdoor music stations that run from 6pm to 9pm. Sidewalk Sounds creates an atmosphere for the Hamilton community to enjoy the sounds of local Hamilton musicians while

Media Release: City of Hamilton sells Hamilton Technology Centre to Clearcable

City of Hamilton sells Hamilton Technology Centre to Clearcable in a win-win deal

HAMILTON, ON – The City of Hamilton announced today that it has reached an agreement with Clearcable to acquire the Hamilton Technology Centre (HTC). It’s a win-win business transaction for both the City of Hamilton and Clearcable.

HTC was established in 1993 as a small business incubator. Given the age of the building, the facility requires immediate capital improvements and has on-going operating costs. As the City invests and supports many small business programs, the property was declared surplus by Council on February 22, 2017.

“Clearcable will adopt the original vision of HTC by applying their own expertise contacts within this industry, and continue to foster the development of emerging technology companies such as theirs,” said Mayor Fred Eisenberger. “We see Clearcable as a business and community leader in supporting Hamilton’s technology sector.”

Clearcable is a Hamilton-based, specialized telecommunications technical consulting firm focused on the needs of broadband service providers and rural municipalities. In operation since 2004, they have been tenant at HTC since April 2016. The company is experiencing sizable growth in their operations since moving to the facility. The company was looking for opportunity to expand in the development and incubation process in the technology sector. This real estate purchase of HTC allows this to occur.

“This acquisition will help us realize our vision of a private technology innovation centre,” said Rob McCann, President and Founder of Clearcable. “As a business operator with close ties to Hamilton, both personally and professionally, I look forward to an opportunity to invest in Hamilton’s success.”

Clearcable Networks is a leader within the technology sector and is active with the Intelligent Communities Forum. McCann was named the Canadian Independent Telephone Association’s 2016 Supplier of the Year.

Ward 15 Councillor, Judi Partridge was pleased with the Clearcable acquisition as it will ensure the incubator concept to support new businesses in Flamborough will continue.

“This is an exceptional example of the way we leverage the private sector to support entrepreneurship. Our business community is the backbone of our city and we strive to support it through many different channels,” says Ward 15 Councillor, Judi Partridge.

Clearcable plans to make changes to accommodate a portion of space for co-working as well as accelerator spaces, where entrepreneurs can work individually or together.Capital improvements to the facility are in the plan and well as supporting the ongoing operating costs.

Eisenberger Vs. Trump Round 1

It is uncertain whether U.S. President Donald Trump will show up to this fight (he has shown that he will sometimes engage via twitter with American Mayors) but Hamilton Mayor Fred Eisenberger seems to have thrown caution to the wind with the tweet shown to the left.

Rather than focus on the President's comments regarding NAFTA, Mayor Eisenberger takes a broad swipe at Trump's presidency. While there is no doubt that Mr. Trump and his presidency is rich in controversy, it is questionable whether the Mayor's swipe was a smart or appropriate thing to do.

What is your view? Do you think Mayor Eisenberger's comments were appropriate and called for?  Do you believe the tweet will be noticed and responded to by Mr. Trump?

With Clr. Whitehead - on LRT

Clr. Terry Whitehead

We checked in with Ward 8 Councillor and friend of The Hamiltonian, Terry Whitehead on LRT. Enjoy our chat with the Clr.

1. With the addition of Eastgate Square as a destination, how comfortable are you with LRT as it is currently being envisioned. Has the Eastgate addition and perhaps other adjustments made, moved you significantly from a place of extreme concern to a new perspective on the matter?

My role as a councillor is to ensure that we understand the risks, the consequences and mitigate those issues as much as practical when making decisions. The LRT system moving from McMaster to the Queenston traffic circle was the worst case scenario for a comprehensive transit system. With no North/South connectivity this plan was not consistent with the city endorsed plan and would have put taxpayers of this community at great financial risk. When we were dealing with the EA report at council I knew that the vote would be tight. In good conscience I could not allow the LRT plan in its incomplete design, pass or be supported. I chose to leverage the original plan to Eastgate which provided a greater level of connectivity in our transportation plan. It would increase possible success, but for sure would mitigate the higher risk plan that was in play. I still have misgivings. I believe the uplift argument is overinflated especially when the Canadian Urban Institute indicated that after all is said and done we’re still only looking at only a 1% assessment increase and this projection was made before the Scott Park lands became a non-tax generating revenue property. Ridership is sitting at 444 passengers at peak hour in peak direction. The growth projections for Hamilton have not been met for the last 10 years and I doubt they will be met for the next 10 years therefore these numbers should not be relied on for ridership projections on ridership, uplift, and the operating and maintenance costs. As a metaphor, I believe that this is a plan tantamount to us buying a size 10 shoe when we’re only a size 2; knowing that someday we will grow into it.

Unfortunately so many things can change in that time frame and the costs will still be borne by the