Day: December 11, 2009

Indoor BMX and Skateboard park in Milton?

Mike Cluett

This is an interesting idea. 

Last weekend, I went down to Burlington to take part in an open house for a skateboard school with Anthony.  You see, hes a beginner in the “sk8ter” world and I thought it would be fun to go.  When we got there, the place was full of kids doing their tricks under the watchful eyes of the schools trainers.  While Anthony was ripping it up (is that really a term…I dont know.  Im just a DAD whos trying to be hip and “kewl”) I had a chance to talk with the schools owner Jody Eagan (Skateboard and Inline Skate School) and I asked him if there was a chance he would expand to Milton.

He’s tried on a number of occasions, unsuccessfully, to get something done in Milton.  There are a number of parents in Milton, who like myself, will be taking their kids to this school to help teach them the basics of skateboarding, and how to do it safely.

As many of the parents in town wonder…what WILL my kid do when he/she gets bigger.  There seems to be very little for kids in their teens to do in this growing town.  Some people have suggested bowling alley’s which are very expensive to start up and trends showing participation in the sport beginning to dwindle.  What will our teenagers do?  Hang out at the movie theatre?  Thats good for maybe one day a week.  What of the other 6?

This type of park is exactly what Milton needs to give kids a place to go, learn a sport like skateboarding and BMX’ing, and hang out with friends in a supervised environment.

Email miltonindoorpark@hotmail.com and show your support!

In today’s Champion there is an article about exactly this. 

Support for indoor park hits promising heights

Steve LeBlanc, Canadian Champion Staff
December 11, 2009

It was an afternoon of chills and thrills.

The latter centred around a burgeoning bid to bring an indoor freestyle BMX/skateboard park to town, an idea that’s quickly gained plenty of excitement from local youth.

Amidst sub-zero temperatures, dozens of youngsters and teens took to the outdoor facility beside Memorial Arena Sunday as Kim Hadfield — who’s spearheading the private endeavour — publicly announced her plan.

The park may not be a full-fledged go just yet, but seems to be much more than just a mother’s pipe dream, based on the ground swell of support received since Hadfield’s Facebook page ‘Who wants an indoor skateboard/bmx facility in Milton, Ontario?’ went up a few short weeks ago.

“My three kids all ride and I was getting sick of taking them to C. J.’s (in Etobicoke),” explained the longtime Miltonian, who owns and operates the Brookville Equine Centre (horse farm). “They (kids) put the idea out there of getting an indoor park built in Milton, but to be honest I really had no idea what to expect when I first put it out there.”

Within a few days the Facebook page had been visited by roughly 150 BMX and skateboarding enthusiasts, while the number of area youths rallying around the proposal is now approaching 600.

“I’m super stoked on this idea. Yeah, I’m in for any kind of help needed for building or anything if it’s needed,” posted one supporter.

Said another, “That would be so sick if we could (get indoor park built in town).”

Even more encouraging is the fact that Hadfield already has some financial backing for her prospective park.

Among those that have made preliminary commitments to the project are Toronto-based Want Beverages, which pledges 15 cents of every dollar made to helping build and maintain these types of youth facilities.

The Hadfield-Want relationship was forged through fellow Miltonian Bryden Tait, who now works for the company after recently selling Main Street’s Gearhead.

“We’re all for this project,” stressed Tait, who brought an ample supply of Want drinks for riders and boarders Sunday. “There’s definitely a big need for this in Milton.”

Echoing those sentiments was Campbellville’s Paul Berger, a 27-year-old pro BMXer who’s agreed to help Hadfield design the park.

“There’s not many (parks) around and it’s something this town really needs,” said Berger, who along with fellow adult rider Kevin McLean will lend his expertise to the project.

Tentatively eyeing a warehouse facility along Lawson Road (near Wal-Mart) as a suitable location for the estimated 20,000-square-foot park, Hadfield has also gained some financial support from Focus Skateboards and FigJam Apparel Inc.

Her ultimate vision for the facility which she hopes to open sometime in 2010 — is for it to be a multi-purpose youth drop-in centre that would be partially funded by a nominal user fee for riders and boarders.

“Hopefully sponsorship will pay for most or all of the construction and then I’ll just have to worry about the overhead,” she said, adding, “Even when the weather’s nice there’s some parents who don’t want their kids coming here (outdoor facility) after the armed robbery we had here this past summer. We need somewhere that our children can go and be safe.”

“I’m really excited about this,” said Hadfield’s 14-year-old daughter, Brooke, the youngest of the family’s riders. “I’ve got a lot of friends who BMX and skateboard so we really need an indoor park here.”

Those wishing to support the project can contact Hadfield at miltonindoorpark@hotmail.com .

Regional Council Salary Increase?

Mike Cluett

Despite the fanfare of having a proposed 0% increase for the Region of Halton, their pay might be going up!

Even though Region of Halton staff has gone through their budget line item by line item finding all the necessary cuts to services and programs to ensure there is a politically favourable 0% increase, they still found an opportunity to have an allowance for their salaries and benefits to go up to 1.5% according to Tim Foran at the Milton Canadian Champion. 

This is what frustrates taxpayers to no end.  2009 hasnt been the greatest year.  Just looking at Milton alone, 3 major employers in the Town of Milton have closed up shop putting hundreds of people out of work.  We have all experienced in some way someone that we know who has lost their job due to the economy.  There are some signs to show we are slowly making our way through this global downturn but we are not out of the woods yet.  Many economists say it will be the middle of 2011 before we get back to “normal” in our ways.

Yet…the public service gets a raise.  As I’ve said in the past many times, I am not against paying someone a fair wage or salary.  Our public officials are probably in the most underpaid/overworked industry in our country.

I hope the elected officials around the table realize what people will think if they approve this increase.  Despite the fact a citizens committee made the recommendation, Regional Council CAN say NO…that will send a message.  That committee can come back and say to increase their pay by 100%, they can still say NO.

Take that increase to salaries for council members and put it to something else, and still end up with their desired 0% increase.

Show some common sense and leadership! 

To see the executive summary of the 2010 Region of Halton budget, go to pages 20 and 22 of the document.  If you’d like to look at the entire budget document for Halton (its a big file) go here.

Tax freeze may not impact raises for Halton staff, councillors

Tim Foran, Metroland West Media Group
December 11, 2009

A zero per cent tax hike budget can be accomplished without freezing wages for Regional employees or council members, according to Halton’s 2010 budget.

The proposed budget, which will go to council for approval this Wednesday, includes money for a possible hike to the salaries and benefits of regional council members of up to 1.5 per cent next year.

That cost-of-living increase, which stems from the recommendations of a civilian committee that reviews council’s compensation, would be about half the average 3.15 per cent salary and benefit increase budgeted for Halton’s own employees.

Compensation for municipal employees makes up a large part of the Region’s proposed $700-million operating budget.

The treasury is budgeting $164 million — more than $1.1 million goes to the 21 regional council members — to cover the cost of wages, benefits, overtime and promotions for its own personnel, a 5.23 per cent increase over this year’s budget.

Approximately half of the Region’s employees, and all of the regional police force, are unionized and the budget includes about 3 per cent increases for their salaries and benefits, based on negotiated collective bargaining agreements and raises given historically.

The City of Toronto, which experienced a strike by its unionized employees this past summer, negotiated just under 2 per cent annual hikes for its staff, excluding police.

Halton Region uses a pay-for-performance system for its non-unionized staff, meaning they generally receive raises in the 0-4 per cent range, according to Treasurer Jane MacCaskill.

The Region has included enough money in its budget to cover about an overall 2 per cent hike for those employees.

Salaries and benefits in the office of Halton’s top bureaucrat, CAO Pat Moyle, are budgeted to rise 8.2 per cent over this year to just under a half-million dollars. The treasurer confirmed much of the $20,000 increase is attributable to the promotion of one of Moyle’s two staff.

As personnel matters are dealt with in private, the salary for Moyle — whose performance is reviewed by a sub-committee of regional councillors — isn’t released until the Province puts out its ‘Sunshine List’ of public service employees making more than $100,000 during the previous year, in the spring.

Moyle earned $250,000 in salary and taxable benefits in 2008.

If the 2010 budget passes, the salaries and benefits for Halton Region’s 20 councillors will have risen an average of 2.4 per cent annually between 2008 and 2010, primarily due to a market adjustment raise they received at the beginning of this year.

Compensation for the current council’s first year in office, in 2007, was approved by the previous council in September 2006. Several of those who approved the compensation were re-elected.

The base salary of a regional councillor before benefits was about $43,000 this year, although they also receive salaries from the lower tier municipalities where they work. The base salary for Halton Regional Chair Gary Carr was about $157,000 in 2009.