the HERALD Wednesday January Council Briefs Glen Williams heritage question still unresolved Hills Council remained uncommitted Monday on the issue of funding a project to have Glen Williams converted into a Heritage Representing the Local Ar chitectural Conservation Advisory Committee Eric Con nelly told councillors the group needs on top of its usual grant of to start the Heritage District project project involves taking an in- of the heritage homes and other buildings located in Glen Williams with the intention of creating a heritage district designation within the hamlet He pointed out many Glen Williams residents have expressed interest in the idea for the past three years However Mr Connelly warned interest may wane if the project isnt started relatively soon Councillors agreed they would give the request utmost con sideration but added they couldnt make any decision until the matter was dealt with by the town budget committee As part of the LACAC presen tation group member Steven Foster informed council members an inventory of all homes and other buildings in the rural area pre dating has been taken This historical information will go a long way in reinforcing the Towns identity he said Driveway approved Acton residents Michael and Mary Lou Dillon learned Monday they will be able to keep their shaped driveway Unaware of the towns bylaws the Dillons illegally built the driveway outside their house on the Fourth Line The driveway contravenes the towns bylaws because it has two entrances instead of one Acknowledging the couple was unaware of the towns bylaws at the time of construction council decided the second entrance could remain as long as it was only used to exit the property The fact the fourth Line is scheduled to be reconstrcted in the future also influenced councils decision Two driveway entrances are not allowed in the area for traffic safety reasons However staff told council once the reconstruction project is com pleted these safety hazards will be eliminated Possible road closures After hearing from several local residents Monday speaking for and against the possible closure of several unused town roads council directed staff to write a report on the validity of closing the roads The roads in question include Dublin Line from Lot to Lot 15 Third Line from Sideroad 15 to two kilometres south of Sideroad 22 Sideroad west of fourth Line and Third Line south of Sideroad 15 Safety hazard Warning its only a matter of time before a pedestrian or motorist travelling through Hungry Hollow on is killed Georgetown resident George Farrow asked council Monday to improve the roads condition Mr requested council build a temporary walkway through Hungry Hollow for pedestrians to use Town Engineer Bob Austin told council a walkway is being con templated however the estimated cost is twice the amount the town has available for the project GO stop jeopardized Acton could be losing its GO Transit stop councillors learned Monday Acton Councillor Rick Bonnette told council he has heard GO Tran sit is considering the Ac ton GO station as a cost- cutting measure However he emphasized no decision has been made as yet To fight the possible cut ser vice council directed Mayor Hydro Briefs Battle looms with feds Halton Hills Hydro refuses to give up its fight against the federal government to have electrical power exempted from the Goods and Services Tax With local hydro commissioner Bill Smith leading the way the commission hopes to meet with the federal ministers of Finance and Energy in an attempt to persuade the government to exempt elec trical power from the GST Before approaching the federal government on the GST issue the commission decided Friday to seek support from the 311 other provin cial utilities and the Municipal Electrical Association MEA The is a lobby group com prised of the provinces utilites which normally represents the interests before the federal and provincial governments In defense of the lobbying action plan Commissioner Smith said Ontario residents and par ticularly those on fixed incomes cannot meet the spiralling in flationary hydro costs plus the ad ded gouging of the GST As proof the GST is hurting local residents Commissioner Smith pointed out someone who uses kilowatt hours of power this year will pay in GST alone He continued by saying in view of the predicted surplus from the GST in the federal govern ment must take a humane un derstanding leadership position in realizing the Canadian tax burden id exempt the GST from electrical er acknowledging that is it an essential service While Hills Hydro Com missioners maintain electrical power is an essential service similar to water and basic food items the federal government has always said it is not an essential service or item The commission also decided Friday to go up against the provin ce in attempt to have the spiralling cost of hydro electrical power brought under control Commissioner Smith attributed the per cent Ontario Hydro jump in the price of power and the expected double digit increases ex- Bill Smith for 1993 and 1994 as a major reason for the unbearable financial burden weighing on many On- Hydro Writeoffs Hills Hydro Commission has all but written off in un paid customer utility hills for said utility General Manager Gerry Trudell during Fridays commission meeting Mr Trudell attributes the unpaid bills mainly to the recession Another reason however is the fact that utility staff wasnt on top of chasing after unpaid water bills said Mr Trudell The local utility bills customers for electrical power and water use While may seem like a lot of money to lose Mr said he originally projected ap proximately would have had to be written Off in unpaid bills for 1991 This worst case scenario didnt arise explained Mr Trudell because the utility used a collection agency to track down those who didnt pay their bills Although the has been written off the commission will continue to employ a collection agency in an attempt to collect the unpaid bills said Mr Hydro rate increase Its official Electricity rates for Hills residents will jump per cent this year over 1991 The increase was made public at Fridays Hills Hydro Com mission meeting However the increase doesnt come as a surprise since this is the figure the local commission sub mitted late last year to Ontario hydro for final approval Ontario Hydro approval is required for any increase to local rates The jump in rates reflects the in creased cost in purchasing elec trical power from Ontario Hydro The crown corporation increased the price of power by 119 per cent for this year Miller to write the province to protest the idea Acton has only had GO service for the past 15 months Councillors expressed disbelief that GO Transit could spend a large sum of money to establish the ser vice only to eliminate it 15 months later Bonnette also noted cutting back transit service flies in the face of the provinces push for people to use public transit over cars to protect the environment Calling the rounds Jackie McCarthy of Georgetown was the round dance leader for the Hawaii at Home square dancing event hosted by the Pine Valley Squares Saturday night at Cedarvale Community Centre Herald Photo The Board of Education is committed to preparing todays students for tomorrows challenges If you have a child who will be 5 years old by December 31 1992 then now is the time to take action on Kindergarten Registration Theres a public elementary school nearby with caring people waiting to help you and your child with this important step To make registration easy please make sure that you bring a verification of your childs date of birth and proof of school North Centre KINDERGARTEN REGISTRATION support to your neighbourhood school Were ready to become a partner with you in the education of your child Registration has already started and we encourage you to register your child by March 30 J If theres anything you need to sr know were happy to help Just call your local school principal or the Education Centre in your area Were looking forward to working with you East Centre Dave Coons CfulroftlMBOSrd West Centre 6398832 Bob Williams Director Education and