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New Look to the Blog

Mike Cluett

Trying some new things every now and then so if it looks like somethings been changed….youre right! It has. Let me know what you think. I’ll be trying to make it look a bit better so it might change some more over the next little while.

Im trying to incorporate this blog into my website so it will be easier to go to www.mikecluett.ca instead of this blog. As with everything…a work in progress.

Speaking of a work in progress, the Amazing Race is coming up next month as well. It looks like the teams are now set in place and they wont be accepting any new applicants…BUT we will need lots of people to come out and cheer the teams on.

This race has been many months in the making, and its going to be a fitting end to the 150th Anniversary celebrations. Go to www.milton.ca and click on the 150th logo for more information.

As well, one of the top rated schools (Hawthorne Village Public School) will be having its “WELCOME BACK FUN FAIR” on September 29th starting at 11am. Theres going to be tons of stuff going on so even if you dont have kids in the school…come on by.

Changes

Mike Cluett

Well its been sometime since Ive put fingers to keys to come up with something. Over the past summer as Im sure many of you experienced, its been quite busy and its hard to find the time to do anything other than summer time activities, prepare and plan for school and get into the “summer’s over” mentality.

This summer has been an exciting one for me. My first attempt at coaching was a success. Just a couple of weeks ago we had an end of season party by the splash pad near Guardian Angels school and Team Chudleighs drank pop, ate pizza and talked about our great season and all the fun we had.

My goals for the team were simple yet still a challenge. The first goal was obviously to have fun. No one gets into sports when they are kids to NOT have fun, and I wanted to make sure that at the end of every practice and every game each one of my teammates had fun. The second goal was to give them a bit more knowledge on the game of soccer. With the help of my assistant coach Gary Hans, we acomplished that in spades. Each one of the kids came out with a bit more knowledge and love for the sport and if it wasnt for Gary and his help, it would have been much harder for me to do….again “THANK YOU” Gary. I’d coach with you anytime.

It was a bit emotional during that party as each one of the kids came up and thanked me for the fun season and they hoped I’d be their coach next year…that was the best gift of all. I created my own trophy by taking our game ball from the season and got each one of them to sign it. Its something I’ll be keeping for a very long time…and for sure, If all goes well, I’ll be back next season to coach (if theyll have me)

As for Milton and the happenings politically its been rather slow. There were some major changes to user fees in town and more will be coming on the impact of those increases in a coming post.

The summer was good to us and I hope the fall is just as good … if not better. The chill of fall was in the air over the weekend and soon the leaves will be turning as we all begin to look forward to an autumn of changes. The ride never seems to end.

One more game to go

Mike Cluett

Last night was the second last game for this years soccer season and will soon close the book on my debut as a soccer coach. Its been an interesting and challenging few months but something I know I’ll look back on as one of the most fun and rewarding times in my life.

Initially I was pretty unsure of what I was doing, never having coached any sports in the past. Ive played on many teams in a number of sports like hockey and the odd softball league but to have 12 little ones looking to you on a regular basis for help and encouragement…that was a challenge.

At the beginning of the season I had a few goals. One was to help further teach the kids the game of soccer. Most of them had played at least 2 summers worth of the game but there are a couple on the team that are complete rookies to the sport. There’s obviously an importance to keeping your positions and looking at different options while the game is going on.

One of the other goals I had was to make sure that by the end of the game, each one of Team Chudleighs had a good time and had fun. I think both goals have been accomplished big time.

I wouldn’t have been able to do the job I did without the help of the parents on the team. In other years I noticed there were some parents who just showed up, watched the game and then went home. This year was totally different. The parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles were part of the team. Every week they were there … cheering on the kids … encouraging them to do well … applauding at every great offensive and defensive move. It was amazing.

I know there’s one week left but I really wouldn’t have got this far without the help of one parent in particular. Gary Hans (Sunju’s dad and former soccer coach himself) volunteered to help out when my assistant coach had to back out because of work related complications. His strong dedication to the sport has helped inspire me to do better. His enthusiasm was and is contagious and the kids are better soccer players for his teaching. Thanks Gary.

I also have to thank my wife Pat for her help in all this. People have made comments like “wow, you’re really organized!” and that’s only due to Pat’s help. When practices had to be cancelled due to pouring down rain or other things that came up, she was the one who made the phone calls to all the parents. Thanks Pat.

And finally I have to thank the kids on the team. Each one of them has done their very best and whatever the score was of any of the games they always reminded me why they got involved in this…to have fun. Everyone one of the kids on the team has improved so much over the summer and hopefully both Gary and I can take some credit in helping them with their skills. They may have learned things from us but believe me, Ive learned a lot from them as well. They are the greatest bunch of kids Ive seen in a long time. So to Nathan, Anthony, Jordan, Lawson, Matthew, Sunju, Ethan, Jessika, Madison, Syndey, Nicholas, Katie and Kyle…THANKS!!!

Team Chudlieghs will always rock!

So we have only one more practice before the last game and the skills competition. The skills day is a chance for all the players to showcase what they have learned throughout the years and to get their trophies and see all their friends in one place.

I’m asked quite a bit if I’ll do this again next year…and despite the challenges of scheduling practices, following up with parents, getting things ready, making phone calls etc… I think I’ll be back (if they’ll have me of course) for next year. Its been a great summer of soccer and I look forward to many more.

Milton’s Ivory Tower

Mike Cluett
For those of you who havent seen the news, the Town of Milton is making it known we have some coveted land available for a post secondary institution…almost like a first come first serve.

The town has been talking about this for some time now. Its been in the works for months and they’re finally moving on the pitch. If Milton could scoop a university/college campus for the town it would be a major coup. Mississauga was/is trying for the same thing.

There is a shortage of spaces available at post secondary schools in Ontario and with getting rid of Grade 13, it only got worse with more students looking for a place to go. Its a huge piece of land and giving it away might sound like the wrong thing but the long term goals outweigh the short term.

Where its located, it can provide a huge boost…especially with young people…shopping in town. Its really close to downtown Milton which can only benefit from the additional people. Traffic of course would increase and we have to make sure the towns ready for it and plan in advance. We would have to look closely at locations in Oakville by Sheridan College and the traffic impacts there. The town would have to look at how commuters will be getting to the campus, for instance GO train or GO bus. If so, we would have to start now working on a deal with the province to provide sufficient GO bus/train service to Milton, well before the ground is broken on the campus.

You can also play devils advocate and say with bringing in more students you will increase the need for “affordable housing” IE apartments and it would also increase the demand for basement apartments. Its something I don’t think the town has an official by law on and it in turn would have to be looked at. Not everyone who would be attending this campus location would be from the area. With it getting harder and harder for students to get into high demand university programs, a good college system will be needed to catch the overflow and provide a high quality program to keep up with the needs of business and technology in the future.

And thats just the tip of the iceberg. Many questions need to be asked, studied and answered. When you make a decision like this you have to look at the long term impact…5, 10 and 15 years in the future. Its something the Town of Milton hasn’t done very well in the past and I hope that will change in the coming months/years to come.

I think, if its planned correctly, a college or university campus located in Milton can be a good thing. Only if they use common sense in making those plans. We can only hope.

Here’s the article.

Milton covets its own ivory tower TheStar.com – Education – Milton covets its own ivory tower

Fastest-growing town in Canada offers free land in bid to lure a university or college campus

August 01, 2007

Louise Brown
Education Reporter

Free to a good campus: A chunk of Canada’s new boom town.

Bustling Milton may have the fastest-growing population in the country and a business boom to match, but there’s one thing it hasn’t got that it wants very badly.

A wing of the ivory tower.

It’s offering a $3.5 million parcel of land by the main drag, just steps from the GO Train station, free to the first college or university to bite.

The timing couldn’t be better, after Toronto university presidents warned this week a surprise surge in enrolment could bring 40,000 more students to GTA colleges and universities in the next 15 years – sparking talk of a possible new GTA campus.

“The way we’re growing – and the way the GTA is growing – this could be the most sensible location for a new campus,” said Mario Belvedere, Milton’s chief administrative officer, who calls the two-hectare site of the old Pigment and Chemical paint factory “a dynamite, gorgeous location.”

“We want a post-secondary institution to balance out our residential and industrial growth – we’ve got a disproportionate number of kids here and in a few years they’ll need somewhere to go for higher education,” said Belvedere.

Milton topped the charts in the latest Census by roughly doubling the number of children under 14 in just five years, making it a young town that will put pressure on the school system, he said. It opened two more schools last year and has another two ready to open this fall.

These students will be part of the boom that puts pressure on all GTA universities, as well as community colleges such as George Brown College, which face the same space crunch as enrolments climb.

The U of T already has satellite campuses in Mississauga and Scarborough. McMaster University in Hamilton plans to open a campus in Burlington. Sheridan College in Oakville has a satellite campus in Brampton. The University of Guelph has a joint campus with Humber College in Etobicoke.

Still, Milton needs its own campus, says Belvedere.

“But we realized just wishing for a university or college to come here is not enough; we need to attract their attention.”

The town acquired the land through a partnership with the Royal Bank. Officials are contacting all Ontario colleges and universities to pitch the free land. The offer expires in December 2008.

It has even posted a sign that proclaims with confidence, if few details: Future Home of Post-Secondary Institution.

“Free land!” says Belvedere. “Is that amazing or what?”

Humber College plans to open a satellite campus in 2009 in Orangeville.

Look whats coming now

Mike Cluett

Town council was told recently by the budget department of Milton that an 8 per cent increase in taxes for 2008 and a further increase of 5 per cent in 2009 will be needed in order to sustain existing service levels.

8 %? Thats not a small increase now is it? Back in 2007 taxes only went up a minimal 2% but that was just before a municipal election. We are now close to a year into the term and this comes up for discussion.

This would mean an approximate increase of $55 for residential taxpayers and $ 46 for rural taxpayers based on $300,000 value of the home. Thats just to keep things where they are now.

The town of Milton recently spent over a million dollars on new transit buses for the town. The question is do we really need them now. The quick answer is yes, but not right now. We could have maintained our transit system with the current buses acquired from the Town of Oakville.
Transit in this town is quite the issue. Some believe we need it and some say, why bother. The only hard part of this is finding out how much its being used. If it is, then it can be justified. If not (and I’m leaning towards the latter) then we can take some time, analyze ridership numbers and make those decisions later. BUT, its a done deal. Now if we didnt buy those buses, could they have come back with a smaller increase in taxes? Quite possible. But we’ll never know.

Over the course of the next few months there will be some public meetings on budget matters, and thats where Milton residents can have their say. Now, we get to see if pre-election promises match post-election actions.

In a statement I found most shocking, Councillor Jan Mowbray of ward 3 stated it would be a waste of time to ask town staff do a report for a zero increase budget. Doing what we can to save taxpayers dollars is never a “waste of time.” Thankfully her motion was defeated and town staff will look at what they can to reduce the impact.

What’s required of us? Communication. It may be summer and at this point dealing with summer vacations, soccer practices, barbq’s, and preparing our kids for school next year might be in the forefront of our minds, but we need to let our elected representatives know what you’re thinking. Phone, fax or email your councillors to let them know what priorities they should have. If the tax increases go through, we have no one to blame but ourselves.

In all reality, the tax increase might not be as high as 8 % because the town staff always asks for more and then its negotiated down to a more reasonable level. Thats just negotiations. But still, one year after a tax increase we’re hit with the possibility of even more money coming out of our pockets is hard to take.

I dont know about you but Im tired of being told its “ONLY going to be another X amount of dollars.” It seems we’re told that every time theres an increase. My response is, it its ONLY going to be that amount, then find the savings or stop spending money. This council has prided itself on being a pay as you go council. We’ll soon see.

Here is the link to the Champion story by Stephanie Hounsell.

Town’s taxes could jump up 8% in 2008

Budget process begins

Stephanie Hounsell
Published on Jul 20, 2007

Residents can expect to pay anywhere up to eight per cent more in taxes next year, and will now play the waiting game as the Town’s 2008 budget process begins.

A budget call report — which outlines what the anticipated tax increase will be for the next year and sets directions for staff in preparing the budget — went before council Monday night.

Town director of corporate services and treasurer Linda Leeds told council a 9.36 per cent tax hike would be necessary next year to maintain existing service levels as well as a five per cent increase in 2009.

But council directed staff to prepare packages showing what the operating budget would look like at a maximum of an eight per cent increase ($55.67 more for urban residents and $45.97 more for rural based on a $300,000 assessment), as well as with no tax increase, a three per cent tax hike ($20.88 more for urban residents and $17.24 more for rural) and a five per cent increase (urban, $34.79 and rural, $28.73).

To get down to a zero per cent increase, staff would have to look at reductions in various services, Leeds told council.

Amongst the items driving up the 2008 operating budget are staff wages, new debt payments, the cost of inflation and a decrease in funding from provincial grants.

Ward 3 councillor Jan Mowbray said it’s a waste of Town staff’s time to have to crunch the numbers for a zero per cent increase.

“It seems like it’s a ridiculous exercise to put staff through,” Mowbray said.

She put forward a motion to that effect, but it failed.

Council also approved a recommendation that the $738,000 funding received from the Region of Halton for 2007 GTA Pooling be included as a funding source in preparing the capital budget.

At this point, it’s expected budget packages will go out to the budget committee by November 26, and the committee will meet for deliberations December 11.

Final council approval of the budget could be given December 17.

Stephanie Hounsell can be reached at sthiessen@miltoncanadianchampion.com.

Team Chudlieghs Pull Off a Victory

Mike Cluett

As the dark clouds loomed overhead and the threat of more rain was seen on the horizon our team prepared for its game against Milton Chrysler at Kinsmen park.

Last weeks game was called off due to lightning and it looked like we might suffer the same result but the clouds began to break as the game started. Madison took to the net for one of her first times in goal and looked ready to go.

The game played on and as I was running up and down the field with our team barking out commands, I noticed our team was ready. Matthew was highlighting his skills making sure he kept the ball in the field and running quickly up the field. Nicholas and Ethan were great on defense and as the other team tried to make it towards our net, they quickly kicked the ball away and gave our team another chance.

Sunju showed grit as he made amazing improvements with running the ball and making sure he stayed open in front of the net. The goalie for Milton Chrysler (I didnt get her name off the game sheet) did an amazing job stopping hard shots from Katie, Nathan, Matthew and Sunju.

At half time we were only down by one goal and Madison made her way from the net up to the front. Anthony showed risk taking abilities in the second half by diving out into the crowd to get the ball. A few of his saves made some of the parents (including myself) gasp in the hope he didnt get hurt, but he made the key saves when they were needed.

Jordan and Madison did another great job on defense and kept our team in the game. Matthew scored a couple of quick goals on key passes from Ethan and Nicholas that was the deciding factor.

Both teams played a very spirited game and each time I called out and asked if they were having fun, both Milton Chrysler and Team Chudleighs screamed out “YAAAAAAAAA!”

As a coach, Im quite proud of the team. Not for the win, although it was a good game, but for the fact theyve learned and are now applying the things both Gary and I have taught them about positioning and passing the ball. They improve with every game and I feel guilty that Im probably having more fun then they are.