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Should be doing more, Edwards says Town not meg The long awaited municipal housing statement was presen- ted for the first time Monday night to Whitby Town Council's ad- ministrative commit- tee. The report, authorized by planning director Bob Short, calls for the construction of 305 assisted housing units between now and 1987. These units would provide geared to in- come housing for senior citizens and familles as well as homes that could be purchased on rented by persons in the lower income brackets. The.report also calls for the town to establish a housing production targets for the next four years. Short recom- mends that a total of 700 units brought on stream, the vast rnajority of which should be single family detached dwellings. Lower priorities have been placed on townhouse and apar- tment construction. Should the private sector not provide a suf- ficient quantity of assisted housing, the town should consider establishing a Whitby Municipal Non-Profit Housing Corporation. The report has a cautious supporter in Regional Councillor Tom Edwards who said that not enough is being done to provide adequate housing for senior citizens and families with lower in- comes. "I feel there is a need for this type of housing," Edwards said. "We don't have enough of it in the com- munity. "We're beginning to look after the senior citizens and to provide them with affordable housing," he added. "But we don't have enough for lower in- come families." Although he feels that a municipal housing corporation should be a project of Durham Regional Council, he does not believe that if the town undertakes that it will be a great loss to the local tax- payer. "At worst, the com- munity would be struck with 7½ per cent of the operating loss," Ed- wards claimed, adding, "I think the obvious thing is that it should be done on a region-wide basis." He pointed out the Township of Brock already has its own housing corporation. "If a rural community such as Brock Township can satisfy this social lack, thmen surely the Town of Whitby can," eting he said. "There is a need and it's not being met." The councillor is also confident that the people of Whitby would rather undertake this kind of project rather than having a resurgen- ce of slum housing. "I feel the community has an obligation and I am confident that the people in our com- munity would rather have this than have bousing needs people living in slums." Edwards also pointed out that over the past 15 years or so, the town has done a lot of work -in clearing up slum-type housing. Council should also develop a group home policy the report adds suggesting that the first one should be placed on the grounds of the Whit- by Psychiatric Hospital. This outpatient facility should be'used only for residents of the Town of Whitby and patients from other communities should be sent home. Edwards appears to agree with this. "We have an obligation to look after the people who come from Whitby but we don't have an obligation to care for people from other communities, that is thier responsibility, failing that, the Gover- nment of Ontario should be responsible." The other major recommendation in the report is a study should be done to determine whether or not there is a need for emergency housing facilities in the region. Council, he said, should ask the Region of Durham to undertake the study. The committee has tabled the report for four weeks. 14, No. 8 Wednesday, February 22, 1984 24 Before his impending retirement 'Kunetsky sees fund goalreached The Dr. J.O. Ruddy General Hospita] Building Fund has finally reached its goal of $350,000. Most of the credit must go to John Kunet- sky who will retire as Ruddy's administrator in a few weeks after il years of service. Meeting the cam- paign's goal is quite an accomplishment for Kunetsky who will probably not be ad- ministrator when the long vacant second floor is re-opened as a much needed chronic care facility.' The campaign tops off a 30-year career in hospital administration for Kunetsky. Although he lives in Oshawa, Kunetsky is very much a part of Whitby as a member of both the Whitby Rotary Club and Whitby Curling Club. "Although I don't live here, I've always associated myself with Whitby," he says adding that when he and his wife first moved to the area they. intended to live in the town but could not find a suitable home. Retirement will mean a chance to pursue his hobbies which include golf, curling, photography and the new home computer he received from his six children as a retirement present. "The last year has been a particularly busy one for me," the Canora, Sask. native says adding that many of his interests have fallen by the wayside in an effort to get the building fund toits goal. i Naturally, he feels reaching that magic $350,000 figure has been the high point of his tenure at Ruddy. Conversely, the On- tario Ministry Of Health's decision to close that same floor several years ago was the low point of his local career. "We were disappoin- ted in having part of the hospital closed for a number of years," Kunetsky said, "and having to lay-off about 25 employees was a most unsatisfying ex- perience, and that's put- ting it mildly." But that is all behind the hospital now and he sees Ruddy's role ex- panding and growing with the Town of Whitby itself. "I'd like to see the hospital grow and ex- pand, of course," he says, "and already the demands for its service are increasing." One of Ruddy's pressing needs is for greater out-patient facilities and programs. Kunetsky points out that the out-patient caseload -has been increasing by 10 per cent a year for the past several years. "In time, I expect that there will be a need for more active care beds, and maybe even an ob- stetric unit, if there is sufficient demand." Babies are currently delivered at either Oshawa and the Ajax- Pickering General Hospital. When Ruddy was first built, it was equipped with an ob- stretrical unit iut it was never opened. Kunetsky also sees Rnddy's role as having