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Page 2, Whitby Free Press, Wednesday, March 10, 1993 ..... ............ Montessori operator send bld to w.Lihhold levy By Mike Kowalski OWners of a private school in downtown Whit y are claiming harassment from a Town officiai for attempting to withhold part of their property taxes. Kathleen N ateuhara and Linda Comello, operators of the Montessori Schoel of Whitby, have demanded an apology from Mayor Tom Ed wards for com - ments allegediy made by the officiai. The women dlaim the person, an empioyee of the Town s trea- sur department, threatened te "close down" the school if they did not pay all of their 1992 taxes. Natsuhara and Comello had objected te paying a special levy on their municipal tax bill for being iocated in the downtown core. Their Býyron St. S. schooi falls withia the boundaries of Whitby's Downtown Business Improvement Area(DBIA). he DBIA was formed in 1978 to foster business b y such means as advertising and romotionai campaigns to attract shoppers and improving the downtewn's phyesicai appearance. Membership is mandatory and members are assessed a levy based oa such factors as square footage, parking area and general tax assessment. But Natsuhara and Comello BUYING OR SELLING? For service and resuits ask for LILIAN NORTH sales rep Fo RE/MAX Summit Realty (1991) Ltd. 668-3800 686-5865 li Mcmbcr of Oshawa & Toronto Boards sNORTH AMERICAN PAYMENT PLAN FUJLL SERVICE MOVING EVERYWHERE 0 PROFESSIONAL PACKING *FULL REPLACEMENT COVERAGE OVERSEAS CRATING a OFFICE RELOCATIONS PALLETIZED STORAGE sPROPAC CONTAINER SERVICE *ELECTRONICS HANDLING SPECIALISTS 1 i AMoving Systems Bus: Oshawa (416) 728-1603 say DBJA activities and pro- motions do not benefit them. So Iast year they refused to pa~y their $1,200 DB Ievy. "We wrote a letter to the Town saying we didn't feel we should be part of the BIA and left it that," said Comello. The women did not know how their letter would be received but were not prepared for what fol- Iowed. They were cantacted by trea- sury offliciai Lyna Pike and told that if the levy was not p aid, "she wouid send the bailiff down and padlock the door," said Com- ello. "I wish we couid have taped the conversation, we were appal- led by it," she said. Further discussions and cor- respondence between the women and Town officiais transpired before they reiuctantly agreed to pay the ievy. 'Had we not felt threatened that we would have been closed down we would not have paid it,» said Natsuhara. "We feel a great deai of Press- ure has been put on us,' she said. The women wrote Edwards expecting an apology, but have yet te receive one, Natsuhara said. Pike wouid not comment on the matter. "I have no comment,» she told The Free Press. "I can't discuss an individuai account with you," said Pike. Edwards said the women's complaints were directed to Town adîninistrator Bill Wallace for investigation. "It's a disciplinary matter, he's the first person to take appro- piriate action (if required)," said Edwards. However, Edwards is "con- fident" the incident was simply a misunderstanding. "My view is the lady is not an easy person to deal with, There might have been a misunder- standing over what was said," hie added. Natsuhara said the women "feel like we're being harrassed" since they expressed teir objec- tion. "We're not disturbers, but fair is fair, we just want to do our New commercial areas FROM PAGE)1 deveiopment to serve that popu- lation," said Short. Turning to Mitchell's other concern, Short said that as Whitby's "urban community" moves north, Brock-Taunton is a "logicai location" to establish as a central commercial area. Councillor Ross Batten, plan- ning committee chair, agreed with Short's explanation. However, Batten pointed out that the Brock-Taunton designa- tion involves a transfer of floor spaoe from the Rossland Rd.- Garden St. area. Durham Region's proposed offliciai plan designates Rossland- Garden for 1.076 million sq. ft. but Whitby officiais feel this is, too high, said Batten. Instead, Whitby wants Dur- ham to reduce the Rossland- Garden area to 600,000 sq. ft., he said. "We're not creating new spaoe outside what we have now, we're just moving it around a little," said Batten. "We didn't want it concentra- ted at Rossiand and Garden." Following the meeting, Batten said neither Brookiin nor down- town Whitby wili suifer from council's decision. Despite Mitchell's concera about opening up land on Brook- lin's periphery to deveiopment, Batten said it wouid "happen anyway" as the hamiet grows. But Batten stressed that "it wiil neyer be designed to take away fromn the centrai area.» The same is aiso true about the impact of Brock-Taunton on downtown Whitby, Batten said. "There's no intention to have the downtown as just novelty shops. It will be a viable com- mercial centre," he promised. HIST6'RICAL FEATURE in the Whitby Free Press i .Wlat building, stopped the spread cf a d sastrous f ire in downtown Whitby in 1857 and why? 2.What item was named atter the Town of Whitby during the Second World War? 3.Where did the oak tree in front cf the Whitby Public Library corne f rom and why is t a special tree? 4.What house was the birthplace of Hamar Viscount Greenwood, Whitby's most famous son? Answers on Page 5 This feature provided by GOOD VALUE! Cosy starter home. 3 bdrms., very clean, super lot, in excellent e location, original owner. Asking $128.900. r DESIRABLE AREA' INCREDIBLE DECOR! fi istbasmefli. 2 bdm, seçsodirungroamlorflIa fg n fl"ikiden i"on x and mre~s Askw'g Si551.900 auidry. bads of tpgradmS Lslod a $227.700 ,DaII Rosemary Brown at 433-2121 "We don't need a BIA. We do our own advertising, we run our own business." Comeilo said that like most downtown businesses, they had always paid the DBIA levy with- out giving it too much thought. When she inquired about the l.evy -- isted as 'locais' on the tax bill «I was told we could g et a barrel of flowers in front o f our Place," said Comello. "If we could use the $1,200 ourselves you would see a lot of beautification around this build- intr." Natsuhara said that if the DBIA's mandate is to "improve" the downtown, "Why is only $400 going o the look of the down- (Last week DBIA members approved a 1993 budget of $155,974 of which $400 is listed for beautification.) "WVhere'sthe rest of it going?" she asked. If downtown businesses cannot opt out of the DBIA Natsuhara suggests that the ftunding for- mula be changed. "It shouldn't be based on square footage but how much benefit you get from the organi- zation," she said. Natsuhara also objeets to the levy being tacked onto the year's final tax instalîment. "If we're forced to do this it should be spread over the year. It's very unfair the way it's done.» L ASK ME ABOUT 7;25i% MORTGAGES! i P--lý' P-Il Lacj Arcwtecturj Com*ýaÉ;ý Advieorg Co-.ittet 1