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Purchase could spark PARC in southwest Oakville 9 · Thursday, January 28, 2010 OAKVILLE BEAVER · www.oakvillebeaver.com W e s t m e d i a Metroland Metroland g r o u p Continued from page 1 or April," said Steven Parfeniuk, superintendent of business services with the HDSB at Wednesday's board meeting. "If we do purchase the site, then we've got some time as a board to ask ourselves if we want to go through a PARC (Program and Accommodation Review Committee) process." Southwest Oakville is struggling with dwindling attendance numbers in some of its English elementary schools in the area. There are currently about 400 total excess spaces in several southwest Oakville public elementary schools, according to board staff. If a proposed 504-student elementary school was built on the site, and run as an English single-track school, it would only be about 75 per cent full. This would increase to 86 per cent utilization once full-day junior kindergarten and senior kindergarten is implemented. The new school would draw students from other public schools, hurting enrolment numbers at Eastview and Gladys Speers public schools, in particular. However, Ecole Pine Grove, a French immersion school in the area, is bursting at the seams with close to 650 students and four portables, according to board staff. Therefore, if a new school was built as a dual-track centre, it would help alleviate some pressure from Pine Grove. But the addition of a new school in the area would likely mean a PARC process. Oakville parents and the HDSB already have a rocky past with PARCs, with very controversial review processes taking place in north and southeast Oakville in the past few years. Don Vrooman, Oakville Wards 1 and 2 trustee for the affected area, said a PARC is likely going to happen whether the board purchases the land or not. The sooner a PARC is done, the better, he added. "The expectation is that we are going to have to do something in the community in the next few years," he said. "My view is that the changes in west Oakville are going to lead us to a PARC anyway.... I think we are going to have to look at this area one way or the other. I don't want to delay five years, then five (more) years and have what happened in the southeast (Oakville) and end up with the same kind of acrimonious process that we just experienced." The current recommendation on the table would close the door to any future build of the school and allow the development of the land for residential housing. However, if the board purchases the land, it would give trustees time to hold on to it and decide if it wants to build down the road. To view the recommendation, go online to www.hdsb.ca, click on the Boardroom & Trustees Link, then go to the Board and Agendas link. The report is on page 72 of the Jan. 20, 2010 board agenda. www.oavillebeaver.com Oakville Generating Station View of proposed Oakville Generating Station from Royal Windsor Drive Environmental Review Report Public Review TransCanada is continuing its work to build, own and operate the Oakville Generating Station, a 900-megawatt high efficiency combined cycle natural gas-fuelled electricity generating station on an industrial site on the south side of Royal Windsor Drive just east of the South Service Road, in Oakville. The facility is part of Ontario's plan to supply clean, reliable energy to homes and businesses in Oakville and the south-west GTA, while allowing for the closing of Ontario's coal-fired electrical plants. TransCanada has completed a draft Environmental Review Report and supporting technical documents for the Project. The report will be made available for public review from January 26 to February 26, 2010. Copies of the report and supporting technical documents will be available electronically at www.transcanada.com/oakville and can also be reviewed at the following locations: TransCanada looks forward to receiving any comments you may have on the draft Environmental Review Report during this review period. Please send all comments to: Christine Cinnamon TransCanada Oakville Generating Station 8th Floor, 55 Yonge Street Toronto, ON M5E 1J4 Telephone: 1.866.317.9887 Fax: 905.764.9386 E-mail: oakville@transcanada.com TransCanada is committed to engaging with area residents, community organizations, and interested parties throughout the development of this project. Results of stakeholder feedback and comments on the draft Environmental Review Report become a key part of the Final Environmental Review Report and are integral to the approval process. The Final Environmental Review Report will be released in the coming months and will be available for public review and comment for a 75-day period. We will inform you of its availability when it is released. Details will be advertised shortly regarding a public Open House to present information about the facility, summarize the key points in the draft Environmental Review Report, and answer any questions. Clearview Library 1148 Winston Churchill Blvd. Oakville 905.815.2033 Iroquois Ridge Library 1051 Glenashton Dr. Oakville 905.338.4247 White Oaks Library 1070 McCraney St. East Oakville 905.815.2038 Central Oakville Library 120 Navy Street Oakville 905.815.2042 Clarkson Branch Library 2475 Truscott Dr. Mississauga 905.615.4840 Oakville Town Hall 1225 Trafalgar Road Oakville 905.845.6601 Copies of the draft Environmental Review Report will also be available with some community organizations. Please contact TransCanada for further details.