The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

Business area opposed to plaza at No 7 Churchill The Acton business com is opposed to the proposed showing plaza at Highway 7 and Churchill at this time Henry Stachyra chairman of the Acton Business Improvement Area board of Directors outlined the views of the business people in a brief to Halton Kills planning board Wednesday night and asked that there be no more commercial zoning until present commercial land is fully utilized The information will be submitted to the planner to be included in his report to planning board concerning the commercial develop ment Mr Stachyra read the following presentation Proposed at Churchill Road and Highway This brief Is a Joint effort of the six members of the Board of Management and I submit that It accurately represents the view of the entire Acton Business Community Our aim Is the revitaliiation and develop ment of the central core of Acton Our ultimate goal is the development of a healthy and viable business com In Acton as a whole we realise that eventually a commercial development outside of the central core will be desirable and Indeed necessary It la our con tention however that this situation has not yet arrived nor is it likely to present itself In the near future Previous studies indicate that the population growth in Acton will not warrant commercial expansion on the outskirts at least until 1S66 I refer to the Official Plan of the Acton Planning Area by Project Planning Associates Ltd of IMS Tils study foresees the population of by and it recom mends that the area east of Churchill Road be designated as Commercial Highway and be used for such establishments as are dependent upon the travelling public motels service stations etc In 1969 the same firm pre pared the Conceptual Plan for the Town of Acton on the subject of the long range development concept It states Assuming a growth rate of per year for the next years which is quite high the town will reach only some persons by 1979 The Concept does not suggest that new urban development should be spread into all parts at once Instead it should be guided in accordance with a carefully designed staging programme It may be argued that these studies are outdated However their estimates of population growth have proven to be quite accurate and It follows that their other recommendations be taken seriously The most recent and up- todate study which was commissioned by us and prepared by Anthrogram Ltd in July 1B77 provides a detailed analysis of Actons commercial potential and makes recommendations regarding future develop ment Excerpts from this study have been provided for your perusal On the basis of theoretical requirements and on Comparison of six other communities it is evident that Acton now has sufficient commercial space to serve the community adequately This study also recommends Improvement of the present retail faculties and adjust of the retail mix to improve some services and provide those which are not now available It further speaks of population growth by only 800 people up to 1961 More rapid growth is envisioned in ensuing years but It la followed by a caution that the commercial ex panslon on the outskirts not be permitted until sufficient residential growth has been accomplished I would like to assure this committee and the Council that we of the BIA have every intention to rectify the deficiencies in our retail facilities which may now exist This altitude is evident from the work which we have done In one short year of our existence Our promotion and schemes are well under way Many inside store renovations have taken place and at this very moment major store front renovations and coordinated decor are being undertaken Also the reconstruction of the Dills building now In progress It will provide five new stores We welcome this kind of development In the Acton Central Business District It should also be pointed out that there plenty of com zoned and com mercial holding land still available within this area It Is our contention that this area should be well developed before any commercial growth on the outskirts be permitted We therefore ask that this committee recommend to the council that no further commercial zoning be per mitted until presently zoned commercial space has been fully utilized In our view the proposed commercial development in Acton East would be pre mature and against toe best Interest of the Acton Central Business District AND the community as a whole Mr also sub mitted some of the study of the downtown business com which shows the retail floor space within downtown Acton Is adequate if not somewhat excessive for the current population Were Acton a regional centre and not so heavily influenced by Guelph Oak Peel end Toronto markets a relatively high ration of retail space per capita would be Justified the report states However the role of downtown Acton is now that of a community facility and as such the down town business community is best served by Improving the present complement of stores and adjusting the current retail mix rather than ex pending the retail area a whole Accepting that Acton was projected to grow by only BOO people between 1B7S and 1961 this situation will not likely change within the five year scope of this study In view of the above It is suggested to limit the opportunity for commercial expansion and to consolidate commercial development onto the principal com streets The relatively low com area per capita for Oakville and Newmarket is likely indicative of the rapid growth that these com muni ties have experienced As In other growing com munitles notably in those that serve a dormitory role population increases have brought shopping centre development and a reorientation of shopping to suburban malls or shopping facilities close to the work place Although Acton Is not scheduled to experience rapid growth to 1B61 the ensuing five years will likely see more rapid development m the eastern sections of the community contributing approximately 7000 persons to the population Accom panying such growth will be shopping centre develop ment projected at this time to be approximately square feet In total Recognizing the current complement of retail space In the downtown and the impact of such a facility upon the local market it is suggested that the new facility now be allowed to exceed the size currently projected and that It not be constructed until the new reslentlal development is completion One Hundred and Third Year No ACTON ONTARIO WEDNESDAY Pages Fifteen Centt Mayor raps rural roads councillors rap mayor After tearing a atrip off town staff for the dis graceful condition of some rural roads Mayor Tom Hill found himself under attack from Halton Hills works com mlttee at last Tuesday meeting Hill told committee he had recently driven the Eighth Line between and 25 Side- roads and described the road s condition a bloody disgrace He said if he was resident on the road he wouldn t pay one copper of taxes this year Hill said the weather has been Tine lately so the poor condition rural roads are now in cant be blamed on thawing frost or anything else He said he was forced to agree with Coun clllor Pat Patterson who says rural roads were in much better before 1974 when Hills was bom Chairman Pot said he was sick of people talking about pre- Ha lion Hills days and saying things were belter He wondered how anyone could remember what shape a road was In five years ago He admitted some roads are in bad Hill NEW HIGH SCHOOL principal Wallace Watkins ruts already been getting to know his new post even though the announcement of his transfer from Burlington just came last week Wallace Watkins is new principal Board wants parents paying for vandalism Wallace G has been named principal of Acton high school effective September 1 He replaces Dean Fink who has been promoted to the position of area superintendent for Oak vllle Mr has had years experience In education He has taught in England Dover and Man chester District High School Burlington Central High School and Lord Elgin High School Since 1974 he has been a viceprincipal at M Robinson High School Burlington Mr holds a B A Honors Degree In English Literature from Leicester University and a Diploma of Education from Birmingham University He is a well known and articulate speaker at many workshops and conferences throughout Ontario Part of the new principal s philosophy of education Is embodied in what he has coined a structured multipIlUcy By this he means that education ought to meet the Incredible diversity of human needs by providing In school program a carefully structured diversity of concept and teaching mechanism For him a school must stand for academic excellence and academic excellence is structure He married and the father of three children Mr Watkins resides In Burlington His hobbles ore judo farming and sailing Halton Board of Education would like to be able to force parents to pay for the vandal ism caused by their children Thursday trustees voted to support a resolution from the Kent County Board of Education calling for legislation change to force to be respons ible for their children vandalism The Kent resolution noted vandalism Is a costly and growing problem for school boards throughout the It would appear that there Is no liability on parents for damaged by Juveniles even though apprehended and Special section Check todays paper for a special Insert from the Hills recreation department detailing different courses events and activities available to this summer Be sure to keep your copy for future reference proven guilty unless one is able to prove that the parents were negligent and knew or ought to have known that the children were likely to cause or create the damage the Kent resolution states The Kent board asked other boards to support their plea to the Ontario Solicitor Generals office for latfon to permit the responsibility for the acts of children to rest with Acton Esquesina Trustee Bert Hlnton called Tor to support Kent staling that parents should be responsible for the acta of their children H in ton predicted a legislation change would likely reduce vandalism Superintendent of Business and Finance Bruee said the board can legally force any parents to pay for their child s vandalism but nine times out of 10 he Continued on Page Boys leg broken in carbike crash A Storey Drive youth Is resting in satisfactory con dition at Guelph General Hospital after the bike he was riding and a car collided on Churchill Road North near Peel Street Monday evening Michael Russian of Storey suffered a break to his left thigh bone He also suffered a large to the back of his head according to hospital authorities Tuesday Michael years old Both Michael and the car driven by Richard Near of Churchill Road North were southbound when the mishap occurred Regional Police estimate damage to the Near car at and to the bike at Peel Regional Ambulance took Michael to Hospital Interjecting bloody right but t think they were any better under Esqueslng McKenzie said the town works staff is getting roads In shape as quickly as time and the town budget will allow and municipal employees can be everywhere and control everything including the weather The town staff is doing a Job on the roads McKenzie declared Hill said staff could at least graders on the road so the lg bumps are gone and people can drive them once again He said on some roads work has been done but on others nothing has been done Councillor Peter Pomeroy said the mayor should talk to staff and ask them when work will be done Instead of criticizing staff publicly suggested the mayor might have found out the roads he is concerned about will be worked on within a few days He said staff should be given a chance to comment before the mayor tears a strip off them Hill countered the staff should know what shape the roads are in and he wasnt looking for explanations He wanted action said he couldnt approve of anyone even the mayor making statements like that when they haven even checked with the staff His comment was made as Hill left the council chambers to attend flnanceadmlnls committee Engineer Robert Austin said one reason the Eighth Line t been graded was because part of it is to be paved Councillor Mike Armstrong joked the town better grade the paved portion of the road THE MUG WAS OFFICIALLY opened last Wednesday by Bill and Pauline Leslie while Mark Beaton looked on Certificates of appreciation presented to those who helped See page B10 Need more volunteers for Meals on Wheels A meeting Is being held at the Community Services centre tonight Wednesday Mayan to set up the Meals on Wheels program for the summer There were four cancellations last week from drivers and runners and more volunteers are urgently needed Reliable Taxi which has picked up the meals at Halton Manor at no charge will not be doing the trips to Milton during the summer Don had volunteered to add the job of bringing the meals to the regular job of taking Acton children to TinkerbeU Nursery each week day However TinkerbeU closes for this Bummer Organizer Terry Grubbe deeply appreciates the work of the volunteers and t at all dismayed some arc leaving It been a long hard winter she said And they done their bit However they must be replaced She had a couple of spare names of teachers who would help but these names have been misplaced in the moving of her office and recon struct ion the last two weeks She would love to hear from those teachers again Perhaps other teachers too would consider helping with Meals on Wheels during their holidays she thinks Mrs stresses that volunteers do not need to have a car and drive Each car must also have a runner the person who takes the meals Into the recipient A person may volunteer for as little as one day a month or as often as a couple of times a week A minimum of 10 people a week is needed Lately a routine has been devised which sees the same teams out the first and third weeks of the month The number of meals has Just gone up again and the maximum can be 15 a day The meals are ready for pickup at the Manor any time after a and can be delivered from the any time between and 1 million price tag Sewage plant addition formally opened Wed Cutting the ribbon un veiling the plaque and han ding over keys all symbolized the formal opening of the million dollar addition to Actons sewage treatment plant last Wednesday The Honourable George R Minister of the En vlronment did the honors at the opening assisted by Halton Hills mayor Tom Hill region chairman Rlc Morrow and Jack chairman of the public works committee Ernie of general contractor Varatnae Con struction Co Ltd Toronto presented the keys to R Anderson of V Anderson WIDE VIEW OF the expanded water treatment plant which opened here last Wednesday The plant at the south end of Churchill Road South was opened by Ontario Environment Minister George McCague The opening of the expanded plant which cost lust less than was the high point of the Halton Regional works department tour AssoclatedLtd Toronto who in turn gave them to region chairman Rlc Morrow Also speaking to the group assembled in the bright sun shine were Julian Reed and a G Pat McKenzie The short speeches duly given everyone wandered the stages of oner guided by booklets which described the proces ses at the plant Ted Curtis Is the chief operator here with Gord Williams and Doug Andrews the operators Mayor Tom Hill In his remarks pointed out that the million dollar expansion allow Acton to have more commercial and Industrial development I hope to see Acton grow and prosper and the money has not been spent uselessly he said Minister of the Environ ment Mr McCague reviewed what Inflation has done to such projects Acton has had three plant expansions each contributing about the same increase in gallonage The first plant was built In 1061 at a cost of the first ad dition was built in 1970 at a cost of and the second addition In 1978 at about a million dollars He also referred to his hopes for growth employment and The region takes over the operation of the plants in July he said That pleases us Jack chairman of the public works com said that ironically Acton which lost some of its Identity had the first plant opening in the region Others are duo before long at Burlington Milton and Oak vlUe We ve come a long way and Acton deserves being first he said We couldnt help industry as much as we would have liked he mentioned had hoped to have its sewage Included In the plant expansion but has not been accommodated The industry the towns largest by far has its own sewage disposal system Councillor Pat McKenzie recalled that in Acton commissioned V Anderson Associates to pre pare a fiveyear plan This plan has fulfilled almost all his recommendations and thats gratifying There Is a small flow In the Black Creek so this plant has to turn out the best effluent In Continued on page