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Region may accept $400,000 seulement No hope left for Brooklin sewers The controversial development of Brooklin has been pronounced dead and regional politicians are trying to find the best j way to give it a decent burial. , Members of Durham Regional Council's management commit- tee have asked. for a report from chief ad- ministrative officer Don Evans on the feasibility of accepting a $400,ooo settlement from the developers. That amount is a far cry from the $2.1 million letter of credit given to the region by the developer to ensure the construction of water and sewer services to the hamlet. The original proposal, which took 10 years to approve, was designed to increase Brooklin's population from its current 1,600 to 10,000 over a 10-year period through the construc- tion of over 2,000 residential units. The project was put into even further limbo by the death of Max Tannenbaum, the major shareholder of Tamay Realty, who in partner- ship with First City Development Cor- poration was to under- take the developinent. According to Mayor Bob Attersley, Brooklin will probably never get regional water and sewer services unless another company acquires the land and submits its own development plan. "I don't think there will ever be sewers to Brooklin unless there is development." Tamay and First City were supposed to have carried the estimated $8 million cost of connec- ting Brooklin with the regional sanitary sewer system. However, Attersley would like to see the $400,000 settlement, if accepted, used to im- prove Brooklin's water supply, a move that would ease some of the hamlet's problems. "I would like to see an improved water system," he said ad- ding, "there's no way the region is going to put sewers up there, that's an $8 million project." The mayor, who sits on the management committee, indicated that his collegues would rather arrive at a set- tlement than go to court and fight it out. He also fears that the region may be on shaky legal grounds if that course was taken. "I have the feeling that some regional councillors are prepared to just take $100,000 for our troubles and just forget the whole thing," Attersley said. However, the developers have agreed to fulfill their commit- tment to dedicate the grounds -currently used by the Brooklin Spring Fair as a public park. The town will not be out of pocket because of the decision not to proceed with the project. A final decision on the issue is expected sometime in the next few weeks. No growth may be nixed r Vol. 14, No. 7 Wednesday, February 15, 1984 20 Pages The no growth motion put forward by a Whitby trustee to the Durham Board of Education was referred to its finance committee Monday night. John Buchanan's motion called for the board not to approve any new residential subdivision agreements on the grounds that the Ontario Ministry of Education has indicated that it will defer monies for capital expenditures for at least one year. This will mean that the board will not be able to construct new elementary schools or renovate and improve existing ones as quickly as planned. Buchanan also main- tained that with the current rate of residen- tial growth the board will ehave difficulty providing basic ser- vicing to the existing student population. While Whitby's other representative on the board, Trustee Ian Brown, seems to sym- pathize with the intent of Buchanan's proposal he certainly does not agree with the method. Brown, who is also the board's finance com- mittee chairman, ad- mitted that the board is in a quandry about the ministry's new capital funding policy and has cut $8 million from its elementry school con- struction budget for 1984. The budget originally called for $12 million to be spent this year. Brown also suggested that Buchanan's motion should first have gone to local and regional coun- cils in an effort to get their support on the issue and by not doing so the relationship bet- ween the board and local government could have been damaged. "We have tried to build a sense of co- operation with the municipalities," Brown said, "This motion could have done a lot of damage to that relation- ship." And prohibiting growth is not in the board's best interest, Brown continued. "I don't think we want to stop growth, we want to get more money from the ministry." While Brown was not sure what action will be taken by the finance committee on the motion, he is confident that it will not be sup- ported. Buchanan was not present at the public part of the board's meeting to speak to his motion or defend his ac- tions. Bo-ard taxes to go up 5% The Durham Board of Education's property tax hike will not be as low as those imposed by the town and the region according to Whitby Trustee Ian Brown. Brown, who also ser- ves as chairman of the board's finance com- mittee, declined to put an exact figure on this year's tax increase although he hopes to be able to meet the provin- cial guideline. of five percent. If the five per cent is met, the education por- tion of the tax bill will rise $25 for those residential property owners currently payirlg $1,000 a year in taxes. This will be in ad- dition to the Town of Whitby's increase of $7 and the Region of Durham's projected in- crease of $5. Brown points out that the board's cost for such things as, transpor- tation, utilities and water and sewer are climbing at a substan- tial rate. Also adding to the burden are salaries, wages and benefits. While supervisory and non-affiliated staff have agreed to a 3 per cent hike for this year, negotiations are con- tinuing with teachers' federations and support staff unions. Any wage hikes they win will have to be reflected in this year's budget. Over 85 per cent of the board's budget is spent on salaries, wages and benefits. Brown said it is "not realistic" for the board to bring in taxes hikes similiar to those of the town and region for these reasons. "Our intent is to stick within the 5 per cent," he said. The budget is scheduled to be struck on Mar. 26. I g