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THURSDAY, JANUARY 20, 2005 Council fields re By FRANCES NIBLOCK The New Tanner They came to the Town's budget committee cap in hand, bolstered by past accomplishments, touting future plans and asking for cash. : On Monday, the budget committee -- all council- lors and the mayor -- heard eight delegations make pitches for municipal money to help pay for everything from a compost toilet to youth centres and sidewalk improvements. Some of the requests are included "above the line" in the draft bud- get, meaning staff feel they should be funded, but some, like the request from the Friends of Fairy Lake, are "below the line" and not proposed by staff for funding this year. In her appeal for $50,000 for water quality study, Friends of Fairy Lake co- founder Betsy Cornwell said that five years after Council endorsed the Pros- pect Park Master Plan to guide long-term develop- ment of the park, nothing has happened. "To date, the municipal response has been reactive with negative results for park users. Weed harvest- ing was dropped from the budget and never re- stored," Cornwell said, noting Council suspend- ed boat rentals this past summer because of safety concerns with excessive weed growth and high bacteria levels which led to the closure of the Boat- house Beach. : Cornwell mistakenly said the request for $50,000 was in the draft budget, but it is the first item on the list of projects outside of the funding guidelines. Jill Dwyer, project co- ordinator for the Halton Natural Areas Inventory project thanked council- lors for the $13,500 they Thoughtful gesture Last week, I drove to the Tim Hortons drive-thru, searching through my wal- let to be sure I had enough change to buy my tea. I took no notice of the car in front of me, only that it was a small grey vehicle occupied by two people. As I approached the pick up window, the server handed me my tea and smiled. "No need to pay." she said, "Those people in the car in front paid for your tea and said to say 'God Bless You'. She added, "They do this oc- casionally." More letters Such a small, thought- ful gesture from absolute strangers! I hope these caring people read this because I would like to thank them and to let them know that, as I don't know who they are and can't repay the favour, I will "pay it forward". Maybe YOU will be the one to get a free Tim Hortons from me soon! Fiona Thibideau BERKSHIRE INVESTMENT GROUP ING. BERKSHIRE INSURANCE SERVICES ING, Call to Discuss: Your RRSP Needs VV ee Daniel Varanelli CFP, CGA Financial Advisor Certified Financial Planner Your Insurance Needs A No Obligation review of your current portfolio RRSP Loans Available Evening & Weekend Appointments Available 273 Queen Street, Acton, Ontario L7J 1P8 519-853-4855 THE NEW TANNER BUDGET COMMITTEE HEARS 8 DELEGATES approved last year to help study and map significant habitats, and hopes the $10,000 included in this year's draft budget will be approved for the final year of the project. Ruth Kuchinad briefed councillors on the work at the Willow Park Ecology Centre, which has a pro- posed budget of $11,600 this year. Not included in the proposed funding is $10,00 for a compost toilet for the Centre. Acton resident David Burland, president of the board of Halton Hills Community Service and Information (HHCSI), asked councillors for a minimum of $12,000 to help fund youth centres in Acton and Georgetown, which have annual operat- ing costs of $125,000 and do not receive on-going government funding. "This gesture of support is intended to be a key building block ...in our total fund- quests for Town dollars raising efforts," Burland said, thanking councillors for the $5,000 in funding they received last year. Devon Place subdivision resident Dawn Kostashuk appealed to the budget committee to speed up development of the Ren- nie Street park in their neighbourhood by using $52,000 the Town has in development charges and approving another $8,000. : This would allow de- velopment of the junior playground portion of the park, but the senior playground, soccer field, lighting, benches and walk- ways would have to wait another three to five years. During review of the parks . and recreation capital bud- get, staff was asked how they 3 determine which parks they recommend for funding. Cemetery and parks manager Warren Harris said they look at the num- ber of building permits that have been issued in a neighbourhood and the population of an area. He noted there are at least five other parks proj- ects waiting for approval. Georgetown Councillor Bryan Lewis said it is hard to understand how staff could recommend spend- ing money to plant trees in the Dominion Gardens Park when there is no park at all in the Devon Place subdivision. Councillors agreed to hold all of their park devel- opment questions until the budget debates resumed on Tuesday. corner. www.curvesinternational.com Everyone makes resolutions. At Curves, you keep them. This year, find out how over 4 million women who thought they couldn't get fit have discovered they can. At Curves, you can too. Our fun, simple workouts take just 30 minutes, three times a week. 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