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Main Street PARTY Part 2

Mike Cluett

I can’t believe its been a year already. Last year around this time, we were in the midst of Milton’s 150th anniversary celebrations and the summertime was kicked off by a massive street party in downtown Milton.

Here we go again, as the old saying goes. This year is different because the 150th master committee isnt in charge. The event was so successful last year, the town of Milton, who has partnered up with the local DBIA, had decided to make it an annual event.

Being a part of the master committee that was involved in creating such an event, and then seeing it grow to become an yearly party is humbling to say the least. The master committee and untold numbers of volunteers made it a highly successful party and this year looks to be just as good, if not better.

The party gets started this coming Saturday. There’s a Facebook group if you’re interested in knowing more about the events. Local bands will be playing all day long so come out and support MILTON talent. Forget Canadian Idol folks…the real talent is here in Milton.

There are a few bands Im looking forward to checking out including Plan B and The Randalls as well.

Make sure you’re there for the Party of the Year in Milton. Here’s a link to the list of bands that will be playing…something for everyone!

See you there!

New Additions

Mike Cluett

It has been sometime, yet again, where I have been a tad busy to update the blog and let people in on whats going on in the Cluett family.  The reason why I have been so busy is that we welcomed a new addition to the family a couple of weeks ago. 

Namely our new daughter Miranda.

She was born at Women’s College Hospital in Toronto, weighing in at 6 lbs and 10 oz’s.  Both Pat and Miranda are doing very well and we are all enjoying this new foray in to parenthood.  My biggest worry about being a father of a new born is “will I remember how to do all of this again?”

The answer is yes, of course you remember it.  Its just like riding a bike, but the tires are a bit flatter and you move a little slower, especially after 7 years.

This time around was a lot less stressfull than the first time, partly due to the fact we knew what to expect this time.  It was a scheduled section at the hospital on April 30th and we both remarked as we casually walked into the entrance that it was much different than the last time.  With Anthony we were ushered into the lobby of the hospital in a speeding taxi cab in the middle of the night.

Anthony’s being a complete star about everything and has fallen in love with his little sister from the moment he laid eyes on her.  His FIRST reaction however was a bit concerning.  My mother, who is in for a visit from Newfoundland and Anthony were staying at the Delta Chelsea Hotel on the day of the birth so that they can come visit when Pat was sent to her hospital room.

So after she was resting in the recovery room, I made my way out to the lobby to make my designated 4,209 calls to everyone who wanted to know when it happened.  I also had my blackberry with me so I could send some emails and update Facebook with comments, and the official birth announcement but I was too scared to use it in front of the nurses.  I called the hotel room and both my mom and Anthony picked up the phone at the same time.  “You have a little sister!” I told Anthony and after a slight pause he says “OH MAN” and hangs up the phone!  NOT the reaction I was lookign for.

We made our way to the hospital from the hotel a couple of blocks away and from the moment he laid eyes on her, he was hooked.  THAT was the reaction I was looking for.  Hes been a stellar big brother so far but he only has one condition that he doesnt change ANY diapers.  OK…. for now!

Pat and I are adjusting well to the late night feedings and the interupted sleep patterns and crying babies and smelly diapers…and we wouldnt change it for the world.  Yes, it is like riding a bike, with the tires a tad flatter in my case.  Where did I put that bike pump?

 

Are you worried?

Mike Cluett

I had an opportunity to talk with a friend today that I havent spoken with for some time. Getting passed the usual questions about how are you and the family etc he asked what I did. “I sell leasing!” I replied.

You would have to have your head under a rock for the past several months not to realize our economy is going through some “interesting times” as the old saying goes. Especially in this industry.

I started working for a leasing company back in November of 2006. It was a smaller outfit, just getting started in the equipment leasing industry as a funder. They hired an aggressive sales staff (yours truly included) and we made our way out into the field…feet in the street. For a few months things were going quite well. New vendors were being signed up and deals were getting booked. The company was beginning to grow in leaps and bounds as the staff total ballooned from 10 core employees to close to 30 in a short time.

Then the brakes hit. Back in August as many avid readers of the financial newspapers know, the asset backed commercial paper industry took a nose dive into the sewers. Strong companies like Coventree took a huge hit and their stock price plummeted from a 52 week high of $ 16.30 to currently $ 2.50 per share.

Funding lines dried up faster than a glass of water in the desert and we were left with nothing really. The company tried its best over the coming months to secure some more funding, all the while selling off leases to other companies to make sure the lights stayed on. Needless to say, it didnt work and this young upstart of a company closed its doors officially in January of this year. Many of the staff have found other jobs, mainly in the leasing industry and we still keep in touch.

One of the things ive been asked is, why stay in it. Asset backed commercial paper still is in flux and other financial institutions are going through some massive changes. Recently GE purchased several divisions of Citifinancial and even one of the biggy’s in the industry CIT has now drained its $7.3 billion credit line. Why stay in it?

From a business sense, the leasing industry is going to go though more ups and downs over the next year or so but I think it offers up an opportunity for growth. With many of our current and potential customers trying to make plans over this tumultuous period of time, conserving cash will be paramount. Many people feel that during a recession (yes the ugly dreaded R word) is the perfect time for expansion and growth. While others close up their doors or scale back what they do in their business, others can reach out to grab more market share. To do this you can do a few things. Tap into your reserves and make acquisitions. But with uncertainty in our economy, do you really want to drain your savings in the hope something might work out? Other options include going to your bank to extend or use your credit lines.

This can be a lengthly process and with the tightening of the money supply by many of the big financial institutions, it will be a tall order to get more credit from your banks. Many of the major banks in Canada have been hit, whalopped, or just smacked around by the sub prime credit mess in the US and will be a little apprehensive to increase the credit lines of companies.

Leasing looks to be a very viable option for many companies looking to expand, get more equipment and prepare to take more market share. Now depending on what your product is, leasing might not be the right thing for you. If you sell individual widgets it wont be the right course of action to offer leasing to your customers to help you sell. If youre a company whos looking to increase the amount of equipment used to produce your widgets, then this can be looked at.

If youre a company looking to offer their customers another option to purchase your equipment, than leasing is something that you need to look at. The benefits to customers are great as they can acquire your equipment, conserve their capital and improve their cash flow. Payments are fixed over a period of time so you can properly budget out payments and also potentially take advantage of some tax benefits that come with leasing.

A company properly positioned in this “interesting” market can take advantage of these opportunities and thats why I think theres definitely room for growth. Thats why I guess I stay in the leasing business.

Needless to say the few months are going to be “interesting” to say the least but it keeps you on your toes. No one can say for certain whats going to happen with the asset backed commercial paper market in the next 6 months. More companies can fall, more can be sold and many more will be in limbo. Theres the impending real estate bubble burst in real estate that might throw a monkey wrench into the mix. Some out there are talking about impeding doom in that market, some others are taking a wait and see.

Theres just so much going on in the financial industry, how CAN you leave? Its fun when the market stumbles a bit. Thats it, Im done. My “leasing commercial” is done. In case you need to know more, you can check out HERE for more information.

WLU coming to Milton?

Mike Cluett

I was able to take sometime tonight to attend a Milton Town Council meeting and as the old saying goes….

Breaking news!!!!

Milton CAO Mario Belvedere is making a presentation to council about the proposed education village in Milton. During his report he made official that Wilfred Laurier University has entered into a memorandum of understanding to work on bringing a campus to Milton.

The proposed site would be on Tremaine Road south of Derry Road and north of Britannia on the west side.

There’s still a lot of work to be done to get this rolling more but it’s the first step to bringing a university to our town.

More to come.

Also, here’s a link to the story in The Record  and in today’s Milton Canadian Champion.

Halton Region Police Services is outlining some of the benchmark statistics in the region of Halton and more specifically in the Town of Milton.

Many of the major stats have shown a decline in Milton like the number of violent crimes, robberies and incidents of impaired driving remaining the same.

Also included in the report is new technology (like photo radar) for residential streets that will send an occurrence report to the registered owner of the vehicle.

Again, more to come.

150th Kudos

Mike Cluett

150th Group

As many of my blog readers are aware, I was heavily involved in Milton’s 150th Anniversary Celebrations for 2007.  It was an amazing time in my life as I got to learn more about our town and its rich history and we got to celebrate the town and the people who made it what it is today.

I can tell you from personal experience that a lot of work goes into planning these events.  It started back in 2005 during a selection process where a number of Miltonians signed up to volunteer their time and efforts.  We first met with the council committee in charge of organizing the team and after what seemed to be a very grueling interview process, I along with a number of others were chosen to head the master committee.

At our first meeting I was appointed the chair of the committee along with Karin Muller and other volunteers who represented the Town of Milton, Mayor Gord Krantz, Lorrie Ferrante, Janet Davidson and council member Cindy Lunau.  We also had members of the Milton Historical Society come on board which included Bruce Carlin.  It was back then where we came up with the idea for our core events to mark the amazing achievement of 150 years.

The committee came up with 4 main events to be held during the 2007 year which included a Winter Fun Fair at the Thompson arena, a summertime street party, Canada Day celebrations and the finale of the Amazing Race.

Part way during the spring of 2006 I had to step down as Chair of the committee due to some increased responsibilities at my employer, as well as the fact I had launched my municipal campaign for town council in Ward One (which has been outlined here in the blog).  At that point in my life, time was very limited and with the celebration plans underway, I didnt want anything to slip through the cracks.  Karin Muller stepped in as chair and along with her hard work and dedication she continued the efforts that were started and brought the celebrations to a reality.  I of course stayed on as a member of the master committee and with the rest of the group we came up with a year full of highlights.

Some of the highlights for me include the Canada Day Celebrations where we had created the Milton Walk of Fame.  During our several meetings in 2005 and 2006 we wanted something memorable to come from this committee and the idea of honouring the people who made an impact on our town, our province and our country was perfect.  With the Town Hall being expanded to include a more modern facility while maintaining its roots, we devised a walk of fame that would bridge the new part of town hall with the older part.

The deliberations for the first inductees to the Walk of Fame were very long as the number of people who we felt made that kind of an impact on Milton were many.  Even the most knowledgeable people in town didn’t realize a number of people who had roots in Milton who were a big part of our culture.

From artists like Albert Casson , to high profile members of the media like Susan Delacourt and Ernie “Mr Dressup” Coombs, to political leaders like Senator Betty Kennedy, to many noteable names in town like Jim Dills, Chris Hadfield, PL Robertson and professional athletes like Tiger Jeet and Tiger Ali Singh, Bruce Hood, John Toneli, Leon Stickle and others , the names were many.

On a beautiful Canada Day in 2007 hundreds of Mitonians showed up the the fairgrounds and watched as each inductee was introduced and given the honour of being the first people to grace the Walk of Fame.  The speeches were emotional, funny and thought provoking but the main theme of all of them was that they were incredibly proud and honoured for this achievement.

Out of all the events that we organized from the ground up, this to me was the most gratifying.  There were other events of course.

The summertime street party in June that brought out thousands to the downtown core of Milton with games, events, fun times, music and most importantly the opportunity to celebrate this amazing town of Milton and its people.  The weather was perfect and many people called and emailed the town to find out if this was going to be a regular event.

This past budget the Town of Milton allocated funds to preparing for this summers street party, so stay tuned to www.milton.ca for more information on that event.

Selling merchandise

Another great time was the Winter Fun Fair where many people braved the sub zero temperatures to join us for a family skate at the Thompson area.  We were joined by the legendary NHL hockey player Johnny Bower and the Milton Ice Hawks team had a very brief and very cold game outside as well.  Kids were there to enjoy the games and activities in the warmer area and lined up to get their hockey sticks signed by members of the Ice Hawks and Johnny Bower.  We knew then that this was going to be a great year.

And it was.  The final event of the year was the Amazing Race where many teams registered and showed their town spirit in an event that would take them all around downtown Milton.  The teams were, forgive the pun, amazing and very creative.  This event was organized by Karin Muller who replaced her dining room furniture and decor with organizational charts and paper to make sure the event went off without a hitch.  There were untold numbers of hours put into that event and Karin did an incredible job.

I say all of this because on April 5th at the Granite Ridge Golf Club, the Milton Chamber of Commerce Community Awards Gala will be honouring Miltons volunteers and businesses in one night.  In the coveted Presidents Award, 3 integral members of the committee will be honoured.  Karin Muller and Bruce Carlin from the Milton Historical Society will receive the 2007 Presidents Award for their leadership on the 150th Master Committee.

Karin “took the ball” as the old saying goes and ran with it to help create an incredible celebration to mark a very significant part of Miltons history.  They deserve it for all their hard work.  Congratulations!

Federal Budget Benefits Municipalities

Mike Cluett

A couple of days ago, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty released his third budget. This is something unheard of for a minority government being able to have this many budgets without being defeated. In many cases, they’re doing a good job and while most Canadians don’t want an election, they seem comfortable with our MP’s in this minority situation.

Some of the big highlights for towns and cities are as follows:

  • Strengthening Public Transit

    Public transit plays an important role in easing traffic congestion in urban areas and contributing to cleaner air and lower greenhouse gas emissions. In Budget 2006, the Government set aside $1.3 billion in support of public transit infrastructure and introduced a new tax credit for public transit passes.

    Budget 2008 sets aside up to $500 million in 2007–08 to be paid into a third-party trust, allocated on a provincial-territorial per capita basis, for public transit infrastructure. Funding will be paid into the trust, once legislation has been passed, for only those beneficiaries that have made public commitments before March 31, 2008 to undertake investments in public transit. The beneficiaries of the trust will have the flexibility to draw down the funding as they require over the next two years. They are encouraged to report publicly on the expenditures financed and outcomes achieved.

    The trust will be used for specific projects of capital infrastructure such as rapid transit, rail, transit buses, and high occupancy vehicle and bicycle lanes.

This means more federal money will be available to municipalities to invest in public transit improvements. What the GTA desperately needs is a seemless transit system that will allow a Milton resident who works in Brampton or Hamilton to be able to take a bus from here to there with minimal difficulty. As it stands right now, that person would have to drive.

  • Permanent Gas Tax Fund

    The Government recognizes the need for long-term funding for infrastructure to help drive economic growth and productivity, to achieve our environmental goals, and to build strong, competitive communities.

    To this end, in Budget 2007 the Government announced the historic seven-year $33-billion Building Canada Plan. More than half of this investment under the plan will flow to municipalities. For example, municipalities can access the $8.8-billion Building Canada Fund and benefit from the increase from 57.14 per cent to 100 per cent in the rebate of the Goods and Services Tax they pay.

    The largest component of the Building Canada plan is the Gas Tax Fund, which provides municipalities with funding for priorities such as public transit, water and wastewater infrastructure, and local roads. Under the plan, the Gas Tax Fund will grow and reach $2 billion by 2009–10 and stay at that level through 2013–14.

    In response to ongoing requests for stable, long-term funding, the Government announces that the Gas Tax Fund will be extended at $2 billion per year beyond 2013–14 and become a permanent measure. This will allow all municipalities, both large and small, to better plan and finance their long-term infrastructure needs. A permanent $2-billion-per-year Gas Tax Fund will help put in place the world-class infrastructure Canada needs.

With Milton being the fastest growing municipality in Canada, this should benefit us as we wait patiently (or impatiently as it may be) for our roads to be developed to accommodate its growing numbers. The town of Milton is now over 70,000 and counting and we need the Region of Halton to keep up with the growth and ensure minimal delays while widening roads in the area like this summers plan for Derry Road to Trafalgar. The Region of Halton and the Town of Milton cannot keep relying on Mattamy Homes to bail them out.

These are just a couple of items that I pulled from the budget. All in all, it is a pretty sound plan for the coming years. Using a good portion of the surplus to pay down the national debt, make these kinds of investments and reductions in taxes like the GST cut, it looks like Canada can weather some of the impact of the US economy with minimal effects.

Thanks for reading and feel free to comment here or send me an email at mike@mikecluett.ca