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Backyard Touch HOURS: Mon. - Fri. 10 am - 6 pm; Sat. 10 am - 5 pm, Sun. 11 am - 3 pm (FORMERLY BEACHCOMBER) 318 Guelph Street Georgetown 905.873.8835 HYDROPOOL SELF-CLEANING SALT WATER HOT TUBS Fall Promo w/hot tub purchase Cover lifter 6 extra jets Matching steps Hot tub monitor Over $1000 value Only $299 Offer ends Sept. 24/07 SAVE $1000 ON NEW HOT TUBS Sin cla ir De lre x Mountainview To Acton To Brampton Hwy. 7 (Guelph St.) BEACHCOMBERBackyard Touch Tubs starting at $3499 Independent & Free Press, Wednesday, September 12, 2007 3 coming as quickly as expected. As well, Halton Region says in order for more devel- opment to occur improvements must be made to both communities water purifica- tion and wastewater plants. All will require a huge cash outlay. There is a growing uncertainty in the minds of senior management with respect to the timelines for those projects ... and the pace of growth is now uncertain in light of the servicing questions before the munici- pality and the region right now, said Planning Director Bruce MacLean. Without the certainty of the water, theres no certainty of development revenues com- ing to Town coffers. In DeSousas worst-case scenario during his presentation, the predicted DCs, which has been the basis of the Towns capital fore- cast (2009-2016), would be cut in half. That amounts to close to $29 million in DCs that had been expected to help pay for roads, fire services, recreation and parks and library facilities. DeSousa said without the DCs to help fund new facilities, the Town would have to rely on depleting reserves, go into debt or raise taxes. DeSousa will report back to council after the two fire stations are tendered on a financial amount that could be available in the short-term to pay for immedi- ate improvements to library and Cultural Centre. Clearly as has been indicated this evening there is a level of dis- appointment, said Jay Jackson, chair of the Halton Hills Library Board in an interview after the meeting. But on the positive side, were elated that plans are still in a go-ahead fashion; the clarity is when. He said the boards next step would seek clarification on timelines and the short-term and long-term improvements. Theres nothing wrong with delay if its based on sound rationale, he said. I didnt hear a definite there is no more water in Halton Hills. There are some maybes and what ifs. So clearly Town staff have done their due diligence by cautioning council about maybes down the road, so Im just concerned were delaying on maybes and not for certain. Theres nothing new about a water short- age in this Town, said Jackson, a longtime resident. This Town is growing. Brampton is coming in from the east and Milton coming from the south and those communities have found water sources (Big Pipe water from Lake Ontario) and maybe this town is coming to that juncture. Several councillors strived to assure the packed public gallery that this project would not remain locked in an architects drawer. Were all disappointed we cant just move forward tomorrow, ...but we are still fully committed to these projects, said Ward 4 Councillor John Duncan, who added that the Town would also be looking at other financial alternatives such as private funding and fundraising. Its important we understand that this is a slowing down. Its a process of finding more money without going into debt, putting more burdens on our ratepayers. ... There is light at the end of the tunnel and its not an ongoing train. We dont want anyone going away thinking this is a dead project, agreed Ward 4 Councillor Bob Inglis, who had only learned just that morning about the water situation. He suggested there was a silver lining in the news: time to allow the arts groups to contribute more design comments on the John Elliott Theatre part of the reno- vation and time to find suitable alternative space during the time when the Centre is closed for renovation. Unaware of the pending change of plans, Georgetown Little Theatre and Globe Musical Productions made a presentation at the special meeting. The groups are worried about the financial impact on their already cash-strapped groups should the John Elliott Theatre be closed during construction. They asked the Town to seek a suitable alterna- tive. In a letter to council, Cultural Centre neighbour Barry Timleck upset about pro- posed windows and a third storey overlook- ing his backyard, threatened a lawsuit, unless the Town bought his property. Architect John Knox, in his presentation, said the windows will be made of glass block and the third storey, which is built within the original roofline, would be set back from the edge. The cows were mooing, the derby cars smash- ing and the chainsaws roaring this past weekend as the 161st annual Georgetown Fall Fair took over the Fairgrounds. The event, hosted by the Georgetown Agricultural Society, featured a mixture of new and traditional attractions like horse and cattle shows, local entertainers, a midway and a lum- berjack show. Approximately 6,000 people were expected to attend the fair this year, although John Nurse says some people may have stayed away because of the wild weather. On Friday we had some rain what farmers call a shirt-wetter, said Nurse, the president of the agricultural society. The wind was enough to scare you. We thought the tents were going to blow away! Fortunately, all the tents remained safely attached to the ground and Saturday dawned warm and sunny. The fair closed on Sunday under cloudy skies and chilly temperatures. Despite the crazy weather, people came from far and wide to check out the attractions at this years fair. Mike Blued, a former Georgetown resident who now lives in Alberta, came to the fair with his nephew, Marshall. The two enjoyed the fair for very different reasons. The best part for me was hanging out with my nephew, said Mike. Eight-year-old Marshall Blued had other ideas. I like the bumper cars and the bouncy castle, he said. The midway proved to be popular with the younger crowd. The rides were my favourite, said Megan Tuck, 10. I liked the Himalaya and the Avalanche. The adults, on the other hand, seemed to like the agricultural exhibits and demonstrations the most. I really like the cows, said Noreen Krupica, who came from Toronto to attend the fair. I liked the milking demonstration and learning about the different types of milk. Although the midway and the agricultural exhibits are big attractions at the fair, Nurse says the biggest draw is always Saturday nights demo- lition derby. For the last six years, Mandy Gerbrandt has come to the fair on Saturday night to catch the derby. She wouldnt even let her own wedding shower get in the way of her tradition. This year, she and a group of friends came straight from her luau-themed bridal shower, still dressed in plastic grass skirts and cloth leis, to watch the derby. We like seeing the cars crash, said Julie Pennycook, one of the wedding shower atten- dees. The newest adrenaline-filled attraction at this years fair was the West Coast Lumberjack Show, which featured four lumberjacks using axes, chainsaws and toe picks to compete against each other in events like tree climbing, log rolling and axe throwing. We took a big chance hiring the lumberjack competition, said Nurse. It was the most expen- sive act for us. We didnt know if it would bring enough people to the fair to pay for it. It seems like the agricultural societys gamble paid off. It was great, said Doug Faubert. Its some- thing different. In between the lumberjack show, the demoli- tion derby and the midway, Nurse says he hopes that people got to see the exhibits and competi- tions. That is the goal of the Georgetown Fall Fair: to bring agricultural awareness to an urban environment. We mingle the stuff we want them to see with fun stuff, like the demo derby, he said with a laugh. Its like Mary Poppins: a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down. Georgetown fair draws 6,000 Lack of water puts $11.5M library expansion project on the shelf Continued from pg. 1 JAY JACKSON Above: Brianna Nixon leads six- month-old Rosalea Wispers Jay in the Conformation Junior Calf class. Left: Makayla Goudie of Acton enjoys the swing rider on the mid- way. Below: Davis Newman, 3, of Rockwood found the fall fair can mean for a tiring day. Photos by Jon Borgstrom ANDREA LEFEBVRE Special to The IFP