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nit HERALD Wednesday September 1MPage How to find the local BI A By MARGARET VINT Manager Georgetown I A This article is intended as a response to Mrs Dawn Li letter to the editor Sept as well as information for the entire community Not having spoken with Mrs I do not know who she contacted or where she attempted to locate an address for the downtown business association Although the term downtown business association is frequently used in reference to businesses in the downtown core there is no business association However there is a Business Improvement Area I A The Business Improvement Area in any Ontario town is an area designated as such by its municipal council upon the enact of a municipal bylaw All businesses located within the of a business improvement area are subject to a B I A levy in addition to business tax A board of management for the business area is responsible for the administration of the B I A levy which is used toward beaut if ication maintenance and promotion of the area Because the I A is located that portion of the town referred to as Downtown Georgetown b local residents it listed under Downtown Business Improve ment in both the white and mellow ages of the Bell Telephone Book The Halton Kills Chamber Directory and Community Information Guide The Locator As well it is on file with The Hills Tourism Committee The Regional Municipality of Halton The Town of Hills alton fills Chamber of Commerce both local newspapers The B I A telephone number is Among many I too will miss Whimsy s having watched it outgrow three premises But we can only respect the decision of its owner Sandi Connor to lLave the long hours of the retailer in favour of longer hours with family Over the last two years ore than businesses have chosen to locate within the business im area e Travel David Dew masseur Up Up and Away Steven Foster lawyer The Final Touch and The Milne Centre Just beyond the B I A boundaries but in the genera vicinity others have located eg My Generation and Starret and CA It is good to see this growth since it brings more jobs and more people into the area More people means a need for more parking I have been in formed that plans are being made for a parking study of the town In the past five years I have had numerous conversations about all types of parking areas within the business improvement area with councillors business owners employees and members of the public some of whom were visitors from Streetsville Brampton Guelph and Oakville among other towns Following is what I heard Off street free parking areas behind the buildings on the east side of Mam Street South behind the Legion and behind the Downtown Professional Centre Visitors were pleased to find free parkin downtown Local residents agreed that prefer to park as close as to where arc doing business Off street metered parking lots Church Street and Wesley an Street where all meters have a lour hour lime limit and the cost is cents for four hours The com from local restdents were quite varied here and ranged from pet rd of the meters to if the cist doubled is st cheap park Those opposed to the meters when asked if would these lots if parking was free were divided a if t find anything closer to where thev go ng c bably not who wants to walk that far On street one hour meters Main Street South Mill Street and Market Street I acknowledge that there are those who are opposed to the on street meters owever considering the number of people coming into the arei each and know that not all have an opinion t mposs lo curatelv assess for or on street meters It is understanding that tin meters were installed for some very reasons to en courage area employees business owners and residents to use off street parking lots make on street parking available for those coming into the area to do quick chores eg pick up or drop off an item and to keep a flow of traffic The board of management for the B I A has asked that serious consideration be given to its recommendation passed along to town staff after the July board meeting that the onehour parking time limit be increased to two hours for all on street meters I know from personal ex penence that feeling of frustration most of you have when you return to your car and find a parking ticket on the windshield You know your meter expired at say minutes past the hour You look at your watch which reads minutes past the hour You say to yourself I m only three minutes over and she gave me a ticket owever please remember that she had no way of knowing at what time the meter expired and whether three minutes or three hours overdue she has the responsibility of issuing tickets for parking violations We do know at what time the meter will expire and it is our to en sure that it does not expire using that space While shopping in the area I have seen people park it meters note the meter had ex still I am in The lau enforce iff hive he of tickets for a parking at ions throughout the town just expired meters in spates reserved r the hand and fire routes It is not a pleasant yb and one I sure that not many of us would choose to or But has to it I congratulate the girls for the manner which thev handle STEVEN C FOSTER BALLB BARRISTER SOLICITOR 37 MAIN ST SOUTH GEORGETOWN ONT 4168734961 fax OFFICE MAGIC FOR ALL YOUR OFFICE STATIONERY NEEDS Guelph St 877 Co CHARTERED ACCOUNTANT Phone Mam Street South Georgetown Ontario those rare occasions when verbally abused having personally witness edone It disturbs me greatly when hear of such comments as I II never shop downtown again usually having been made upon the receipt of a parking ticket In to keeping the area pleasant and attractive the business owners do their very best to pro vide the community with a wide variety of goods and services Along with their staff they com a very concerned and very caring group of people to which you will always be very important people Do you really want to penalize such a group of people A group often called upon for soon and donations Or are you just angry because you receiv a parking ticket at one of the meters Could you have prevented that ticket Think about it Please feel free to send vour comments about the business m provement area Georgetown Central Business Improvement Area the official name for the I A P Box 191 Halton Pills Ontario JY5 hanJ them in to any business the I A for passing along tome Discuss taxes with your MP Garth Turner Two public meetings have been scheduled by Peel HP Garth Tumer to hear submissions on the federal governments pro posed nine per cent Goods and Ser vices Tax A meeting has been set for Georgetown on Sept at 7 m at the Hills Cultural Centre A meeting is also scheduled for Bolton on Sept 26 The Halton Peel Tax Committee headed by Caledon resident Colin MacKinnon and comprised of a number of area residents will be making a submission within a few weeks to the House of Commons finance committee when it holds hearings into the GST As part of the background for that submis sion the meetings in Georgetown and Bolton will be held to garner public input Mr Tumer said in a Sept 11 press release The two meetings are in addition to the seven town hall meetings held by Mr Tumer in recent weeks all of which concentrated heavily on the tax proposal and govern spending Mr Turner is also publishing a Taxpayer s Guide to the Goods Services Tax Communication Inc CT tCjIUlOT PRIORITY MEANS CUT hold button indicator 265 Guelph Street Georgetown Ontario 3310 SUMMER MondayFriday am f Ufa JUL 530 pm CLOSED FAX PROTECTOR Protect your machine of modem torn on both the phono andpowWhnm input and output jacks to provide a 1 I and three protected AC power outlets The unit amply pkios into any standard electrical 22210210 ea QUALITY FAX GUARANTEED PAPER SIZE 8 10011 12- It 8 12- ft ft SPECIAL HIM WHEN YOU BUY ROLLS tolls lot machines cau lor lo In la roil pot cation AFFORDABLE FAX contrast adjusted to best match the and up to TransmisaO is seconds in at Iransm ssion from remote mm Activity Report on alt Has a built telephone number dialer lax 32 number auto dialer or phone Slack up pages lor transmission Sue SHARP 1H80 214500 3486itlrSUt4