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Lot levy bylaw illegal states Town solicitor GeorgetownActon Wednesday Dec 15 The Town lot levies bylaw is illegal in the opt of Town tor Fred He made the statement In a letter to Halton Hills council Monday night and pointed out that municipalities rely upon the developer signing an agreement to make a voluntary contribution for services before the development starts The lawyer advice was sought when Al who has laid the foundations for an link homes at Pennington and Mountainview asked council to waive the lot levies since the land was part of the Delrex agreement and on which compensation had already been paid to the Town signed an agreement December in order to obtain foundation permits saying he would abide by the decision of local and regional council on whether tot levies are applicable in this case told council Monday night in open coun after a request for an session was rejected that he signed the agreement so he could start before the end of the year so buyers could qualify for the provincial and federal grants He said he was asking for the lot levies to be waived and building permits issued He emphasized the lawyer stated the levies are not valid The clerk administrator explained the zoning allows any type of housing He stated in recog of the fact the land was originally three lots and now with link homes becomes six houses he recommended lot levies be paid only on three lots Asked what had been paid to the Town earlier under the Delrex agreement the clerk strator said it was part of payment in lieu of trial land Councillor Pam Sheldon aruged there would nowbesixfamiliesinsteadoflheoriginal three so felt lot levies on three lots would be fair Pilutti In reply claimed the Town solicitor must have been aware the was for six homes when he said the lot levy bylaw is not valid He contended he was wrongfully refused a permit and pointed out under the zoning he could have bull I a 16 unit apartment building Asked by Councillor Phil Carney why the bylaw is invalid solicitor stated there must be authority to support a bylaw and there is no latlon to support lot levies so the bylaw is invalid on this piece of lard or not Mayor Pete asked if he felt there is a need for lot levies so new growth docs not throw a load on existing taxpayers Pilutti agreed adding he had never argued over lot levies before but if a bylaw is illegal it s legal He said by signing the agreement saying he gave up his rights to legal recourse to obtain the foundation permit he had given up some of his fundamental rights In reply to a question from Councillor Dave Whiting Pilutti said rive of the houses have been sold to young couples with children despite no advertising and only foundations in It because of the price and quality of the homes If you pose the lot levies I cannot pass it on since the price has been set it will come out of my pocket Whiting in putting forward a motion to waive the lot levies stressed the need for housing such as this and suggested local municipalities should waive the lot levies on all middle income homes to spur building and leave rental accommodation available Councillor Serjeantson contended most communities charge lot levies and they don t have the authority either She charged the agreement wasn t any good money has been spent fixing up sewers and dram age and claimed there was no parkland in the area She said they had gone through putting foundations in at the end of the year and it still there Carney supported the waiving of the lot levies saying his stance was based on the lawyer ad vice He urged council to take a hard look at the economic situation in the country He said to go ahead with the foundation on Hall Road referred contended every person coming in to the Town means extra costs and suggested lot levies only cover a portion He said be was willing to have the clause stating would not challenge In court taken out of the agreement I feel levies on three lots is appropriate The mayor admitted the solicitor says the bylaw is not valid but emphasized the levies are based on a policy which is later covered in an agree ment Whiting commented at the region in the in tcrcst of developing Jobs in lot levies was waived for Shell Oil but we can t give our own people a break I don see how as the mayor of this town you can suggest we go against the law It states here the bylaw is invalid He questioned how much money has been raised in lot levies and how much has been used for hard services We may have been doing something illegal Sheldon said she was uneasy with a situation where signed an agreement giving up his legal rights to challenge It not fair as a rest dent and taxpayer Only Councillors Rick Phil Carney Tom Hill and Dave Whiting favored waiving the lot levies on three lots so the motion was defeated The MO acre estate of the late Mr and Mrs Stewart Bennett left to Her Majesty the Queen through the Ontario Heritage Foundation has been wkfel heralded a gift to the public These photos taken by Jennifer Bare when the interviewed the Bennetts In depict the beauh of the Bennett estate The landntelsitlllbelngconsldered Board teachers apart in negotiations The board of education and negotiators for its 1 100 secondary school teachers are about four per cent apart in salary negotiations said a board spokesman superintendent of employee vices said the teacher s demand is for an 11 per cent hike while the board is offering about seven However all of the demands of the teachers in eluding those built In from previous settlements would mean a cost increase of about per cent to the board he added TheboardandteacherslstmetDec It was the only meeting between the two sides during the IS day grace period prior to the factfinders report be coming public President of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation district Joe Har wood said the board agreed to meet hoping to prove its position prior to the release of the fact finding report I believe the board Is stalling and showing a lack of good faith and discontent grows with the sens that the employee is held in contempt he- said Deteriorating morale will show up in en for extracurricular activities on the part of teachers However Mr had no comment on whether this could lead to a work cam in January Mr sees the board most recent offer as an improvement in total dollars but involving less to certain teachers Although there was movement by both sides Mr Harwood Is convinced the teachers are nearer to the settlement than the board Chief negotiator for the teachers Ron Harris said the teachers demand is for 10 per cent Since the provincial government wage guide lines have not been passed into law the teachers don feci bound to keep their demand under nine per cent However the teachers would be not to accept nine per cent if offered by the board along with the factfinder recommendations said Mr Harris These would include Incremental gains in staff working conditions and fringe benefits he said Factfinder Doug Belch in his report suggested that the board Improve lower the pupil teacher ration tilling money that might have gone to salaries in the absence of provincial restraint legislation He said that appeared able to allot more money in education based on average in the region Previous agreement with the board had made provision for the addition of teachers this year However the teachers want an additional teachers to keep pace with the accelerated decline in pupil teacher ratio in other boards said Mr Harris is proportionately 129 teachers behind thcTorontoboardand46behlndPecl he added Along with concern over the pupil teacher ratio the teachers wish to get a maximum class size commitment in the contract Currently the board uses 35perclass as a said Mr Hams The teachers are Interested in a figure lower than he said Mr Harris said the board is meeting a crunch in T demands now because it moved slowly In the past However Mr Stoness said the board is adding staff at a greater rate than nil other boards except maybe Toronto Chairman of the Halton board Auger said there seems to be a has settlement In the fact finder report It is interesting hat the factfinder sees Halton as able to pay more for education despite layoffs and cutbacks around he said The teachers see the board offer as possibly averaging seven per cent across the board but they re disappointed at the hike given teachers In thelowerlevelsofthegridsaidMr Harris Offers for those below maximum range from zero to five per cent excluding annual increment he said Local trustees Historic designation remains on town hall on committees Rookie trustee to the Board of Education Dick has been appointed to the finance committee of that board In addition has also been placed on the staff board com library and awards committee of the board and the leg and finance committees of Association of Large School Boards of Ontario Acton trustee Arlene Bruce will sit on the committees of salary News and CEDSS Bruce has also been appointed to the Salary and Collective Agreement committee of ALSBO Georgetown repre sentative Betty Fisher vice chairman of the board is sitting on finance community schools and research advisory committees As vice chairman she also has many other duties on the board arid is very active on Dog control up per capita The Animal Control Service in Town has been given up by George but Joe Kir- ley who has been employed there for several yean will now operate the service for the Town The Town will in crease its pay mem to Kirtey 10 certs per capita fromSlJSto However Kirtey will receive a on dog ticence tales only from tags be sells directly Previously he received commission on all dog tag sales wherever they were said in a letter to council he did not have the staff to do an adequate job selling tags The Town Bylaw En Officer and Licensing Officer will new be responsible for the sale of dog licences ami hire parttime help on a commission basis to do so The price of dog tags will remain as they are Continued Page 1 Key persons and politicians in the community were interviewed Graham said he discovered additional meeting space In Acton was not required His office received petitions both pro and con he said Hills clerk administrator Ker Richard son also outlined the continuing saga of the town hall issue He told the Board there was a concern from council that the hall was going to create a financial burden on the taxpayers The building was eventually put up for sale and an offer of SI came from George Elliott and Ted Tyler on behalf of the Restoration Committee After renovations took place the town could then buy back the hall again for SI The offer was re jected on a recorded vote of A tie vote automatically loses Recently council acquired two small lots one block from downtown which are being made into a parking lot Testifying on behalf of the Restoration Commit tec Dr Elliott a professor at University gave a brief history of the town of Acton and how the town hall figured into the community there was great stir the building of the halt Just like today But eventually it was built in at six per centinterest Storey resigned over the issue Until 1973 with the inception of regional govern ment council meetings were held at the Willow St location The neighboring firefighters said they needed more parking so council decided to tear the build down to make way for 10 cars A stormy pro test and a petition with names on it resulted in council changing their minds at that time A committee was formed headed by Elliott to look into the hall a restoration Some in donations was received right Dr Elliott said This money will be re turned in the event the building is demolished be said However monies acquired through fund raising events Actano sale at etc will not be returned The town hall is one of the last remaining public buildings in Acton according to resea con ducted by Alice Mr Moffatt of and Duncan Architects in Toronto noted the town hall should be pre served To follow the Klelnfeldt report and gut the Inside would be a great shame it should be pre served Doug Freud of the Restoration Committee and a consulting general contractor said a number of elements in the renovating could be deferred a couple of years He suggested the service clubs could help out and may be a room each contended that while there are no obvious uses now for the building once fixes up people will want to meet there Hills Councillor Ross Knechlel said that the three Acton councillors consistently supported the restoration now Acton is part of a larger community it is important that the long history of Acton be preserved Knechtel said he was very impressed with the dedication the mem bers of the Restoration Committee have shown Ted Tyler of the Committee outlined the fund raising projects In the first year of Acta no was raised He blames the poor economy and the uncertainty of the hall future with the But the group is ready to go ahead with year three with a revamped cheaper draw A three day is also planned for next August and a special New Year Party in the renovated hall next year is scheduled We are searching for ways to raise money and we found a fairy princess in the form of Govern of Canada he said referring to a make work grant which was approved Just hours before the healing Tyler noted the community banded together to build the scout hall the band hall the curling club and the indoor pool All arc used continually he pointed out The Acton town hall is one of few remaining such buildings in Ontario and should preserved says J J Talman a professor of History at the University of Ontario Dr had explained that be was not asked by anyone to at tend the hearing but was Just Interested In the fate of the hall after reading about It in the Gttte and Mail He used to live in this area he said Art Gordon said he was speaking for a number of people in Acton who did not want taxpayers money spent on the restoration He wondered where the people were when the old post office was demolished and said the old Stone School is worth saving much more than the town hall Merlin told the Board he moved to Acton in April because of the community spirit To tear down the town hall would be that social fibre of the community You rip down the town hall and you rip down Acton he said Mayor Peter Pomeroy said the town hall was ex important in the keeping of Acton especially since the inception of regional government Pomeroy noted that the vote to repeal the designating by law was very close and he felt this was an indication that the council wanted to put in to prospective the costs the town would have to bear Seminar for unemployed professionals Georgetown uniquehe a qualified engineer who is unem ployed and t believe he will get a job in the near future unless there is a dramatic in crease In new develop ments Us pretty bleak said the Mary St real dent who It presently living at borne with bis parents But I keep away looking forajob There are over 1000 unemployed engineers in Ontario according to engineer Bob Waller son who lives in Georgetown And he says there are more unemployed profess today than 1930 Managing Your Career Change is the seminar he has on December IS in aid of these profess who are finding it difficult to get job Dis cussed at the seminar will be proper resumes and employment ad vice Painting stolen at Region A original painting was stolen from under the noses of regional at the inaugural ceremonies Wednesday afternoon artist John Van Hart expressed dismay at a security system that would allow someone to lift a painting off the wall at a regional function He removed the rest of his paintings Friday afternoon for fear more theft It not like something you can slip into your pocket said Van Hart could understand if it had happened in a shopping mall but In a build like this I have exhibited my paintings all over the world and this is the first time It has happ ened When the region agreed to display Van Hart paintings during the month or December they asked him to a waiver absolving the region of any responsibilities How can I blame the region if 1 signed the form asked Van der Hart It was quite clear but didn realize the security that anyone could walk in and steal something The inaugural wis packed with prominent peo ple In the w Police Chief James Harding being one of the guests Asked what he thought chances for recovery of ihcpalntingwere Van Hart said nil I think hey could sell it at auctions or to a collector he claimed explaining he thought the theft was by two people who knew what they were doing he said The stolen painting was not the most expensive painting in the exhibit They would hove quite a time taking It off by themselves he claimed adding it could be done by one person but was more likely done by two people After the was discovered according to Van Hart was search through the offices to check it t a Jokewilh an open bar some people a few loo Varlcy said later he checked because it could have been a joke but also because of malicious purposes The artist discourages any artist who wants to display his work In the building If it happens to me then it could happen to anyone he said Van Hart recently had a stiow in Hills at Hide House In Acton Painting found The It painting stolen from the region has been recm and is back In tfac hands of artist John Van Hart He was called by someone who said they had the painting and would return it to him Sunday evening Halton Regional police are continuing to inves tigate the theft and suspicions surrounding the mysterious way the painting disappeared con tinue to arise police Sergeant Paul Williamson will say only that the investigation it continuing