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PORT PERRY STAR -- Tuesday, October 21, 1986 -- 15 Published Brooklin Port Perry Star Company Limited P.O. Box 567, Brooklin, Ont. LOB 1C0O . Serving Brooklin and Area ROXANNE REVELER News & Features Editor Phone 655-3637 or 985-7383 since 1983 Now who could resist buying one of those shiny red apples, particularly when it is for such a good cause? Scout Ojay Thompson, left, of Baldwin Street and Cub Ryan Greenwood of Town re-vamps fee structure to use Brooklin Community Centre The Parks and Recreation Department has altered their fee structure for renting Brooklin Com- munity Centre in an effort to - recognize the valuable work of volunteer adult and youth groups and organizations. According to deputy director Barry O'Niell, the fee schedule af- fords local groups and individuals "the opportunity and distinction of using the municipal hall at a prefer- red rate." In order to accomplish this, the parks and recreation department Help the Brooklin Spring Fair Hear ye, hear ye... Attention ladies of Brooklin and the surrounding area. Ladies interested in helping to plan and work in the ladies' section of the 1987 Brooklin Spring Fair are asked to call Audrey Young at 655-3534. This is an excellent opportunity to get involved with the community through one of its oldest institu- tions...the Spring Fair, which is traditionally held on the first weekend in June each year. has overhauled their whole system of rentals in the six permanent areas they rent out throughout the town. It was found there were many areas of discrepancy needing atten- tion. Formerly, community seniors and youth groups paid for permits in some halls and not in others. It was also found that non-residents used the halls at the same cost as residential tax payers and volunteer non-profit community organizations This is no longer the case. The town was given authorization by council at the last regular meeting to impose a 20 percent surcharge on the cost levied to non-residents. It also provided for the eventual 20 percent reduction for recognized volunteer community groups. This will be achieved by a graduated in- crease in residential and non- residential fees until a 20 percent differential is obtained. The department has also made provisions for youth groups, such as Brownies, by earmarking locations where meetings and programs can occur at a very nominal rate com- pared to the base residential rate. Getting down to the nitty-gritty The 1986 rate for renting the upper hall at Brooklin Community Centre during 1986 was $100 for everyone. In 1987, the charge for residents will be $105, a five percent increase. The cost to non-residents will be $125, for adult community organizations, $100 (no increase over this year) and for youth community organizations a mere $50 from Sunday through WR AR Thickson Road had plenty of customers in the downtown Brooklin area last Saturday as they of- fered apples for Scout Apple Day. Thursday. The mid-week rental rates for the lower hall are markedly reduced. The rate this year was set at $90. In the new year, residents will pay $50, non-residents $60, adult community organizations $40 and youth com- munity organizations $20. But some groups will get an even better break. If they are regular tenants of the building and sign a permit stating they will use the facility for a minimum of once a week, or twice a month, over a six month period, they will receive a 20 percent reduction in the establish- ed community rates to a minimum cost of $2 per hour during the mid- week period. Fridays, Saturdays and New Years is not available to them. The new fee structure was roughly based on the initiative in 1983 in Whitby's arenas and pool of giving local residents first preference. Staff are also anticipating that the surcharge for non-residents using town halls may discourage non- residents from over-booking popular banquet facilities such as Heydonshore Pavillion which cur- rently is booked by approximately 45 percent non-residents. O'Niell stated the department's recommendation has taken into con- sideration how other municipal departments are operating and has formulated what it believes to be a consistent and fair way of doing business with all parties using town facilities. Heavy traffic in Brooklin, Whitby to be studied A traffic operations study with respect to the movement of heavy truck traffic on Baldwin Street, Brock Street and Thickson Road will begin next month, or December at the latest, according to North Ward Councillor Ross Batten. At the last meeting of Whitby Council, members paved the way for the start of the study and also ap- proved a recommendation by the public works department that the Ministry of Transport and Com- munications (MTC) be requested to give financial assistance for the study. Public Works Director Dick Kuwahara explained MTC would not be able to complete such a study now as they use part-time Univer- sity students, who would not be available until next summer. He stated if Whitby decided to proceed with the study in 1986, they would have to hire their own engineering consultant. But he added that no matter who completed the study, MTC, or a private consultant, the estimated cost figure of $20,000 would remain the same. Batten stated this $20,000 price tag would be shared equally by the Town and province. He anticipates the study should begin either in late November of early December as a consultant has not yet been chosen. Accounting for an early starting date, the study should be ready by the beginning of 1987. Due to complaints from several businesses and residents on Baldwin Street in Brooklin, and Brock Street in Whitby, (both streets are part of Highway 12) concerning the ex- cessive number of heavy trucks us- ing the artery, a meeting was set up in August between representatives of Whitby, the Region of Durham and MTC. After considerable debate, it was decided a Truck Origin and Destination Survey would be desirable to determine ex- actly what percentage of trucks could be diverted from the downtown areas of both communities. Such a study is deemed im- perative before council deals with the possibility of diverting through truck traffic from Highway 12 onto Thickson Road. To do this, the rating of both arteries would have to be changed. Highway 12, from the start of Thickson, just north of Brooklin to Highway 401, would have to be reclassified as a regional road (possibly Hwy. 12 B), and Thickson, which is now a regional road, would be upgraded and serve as the continuation of Highway 12, thereby becoming a provincial highway. It is for this reason that a Technical Co-ordinating Commit- tee, consisting of representatives of MTC, Region of Durham and Town of Whitby has been set up. The changing of the two arteries would involve all three sections of government. But MTC feels any changes of the roads' status would also bring com- plaints from residents of Thickson Road, who might not like the addi- tional truck traffic, and also from commercial enterprises who rely on the truck trade for their business. Regional Councillor Gerry Emm, who is chairman of the public works department at both the regional and municipal level, stated the truck traffic through the built-up areas of Highway 12 has been a problem for a 'long time" adding that MTC had many ways to fund projects once the necessary study was done. "The study has to be done so we can get things moving," said Emm. "We have to get started on it and resolve the problem soon." Whitby Hydro. earlier. the meter. Businessman fined for gas, electricity theft A well-known Whitby businessman has been fined $2,500 for steal- ing gas and electricity through illegal connections in his store. Joseph Ottenbrite, 59, of White Oaks Court, pleaded guilty in Whitby district court to two counts of theft from Consumers Gas and Judge Patrick LeSage fined Ottenbrite $1,250 on each count, and ordered him to pay $500 to each utility in restitution. The illegal hook-ups were discovered as a result of a routine in- spection of Ottenbrite's Mens Wear Shop on Brock Street South in Whitby by the fire department in February 1984, court was told. The fire department alerted Consumers Gas who subsequently found a space heater in the rear of the store that was connected to a gas supply line in the basement supposedly shut off two years A following inspection showed Ottenbrite had also operated an electric heater from a line that ran from the fuse box, by-passing Officials from Whitby Hydro compared Ottenbrite's past utility bills and ascertained he had been obtaining unmetered electricity for about two years. A similar comparison by Consumers Gas in- dicated the gas hook-up had been in place for about a year. a