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

No decision yet if Kingham will fight region charge for new sewers Hie question of whether phase one and two Kingham owners will have to pay a local charge for the new region sewer system installed for that area in remains up In the air After a public meeting with regional staff October of 1383 officials of Condominium Corporations and and Councillor Dave Whiting got together and decided to seek legal advice regarding owners fighting the local improvement charge charge amounts to for each town house unit In phase one and KM for each unit in phase two of Kingham ting said in an interview this week that three months after first starting to delve into this matter the owners lawyer Ron Webb of Brampton is still wait ing for important paperwork from the region before deciding if they li appeal the local improvement charge to the Ontario Mun Board The regional councillor who is also a resident said the region t filed with the cither so it can collect the money The delay in important documentation being turned over to Webb by the region may just be a communications problem or it may be a problem caused by the region changing the lawyer handling the case on their behalf Whiting explained However since new regional chairman Peter has been apprised of Webb need to have the paperwork before deciding how to proceed Whiting said he expects the needed information will now be forthcoming soon When the region first passed the bylaw for the work and set up the local improvement It was botched up so council had to pass a new local improvement bylaw last fall The bylaw must be approved by OMB which been done yet and the resi dents can appeal the charge then A new sewage system was needed for that area of Kingham because it was a private sewage system approved by the former Town of Acton but never taken over by Acton When the region took over water and sewers in 1974 it take over the private system There were a lot of problems with the private sewage system and finally the region agreed to Install a new system but only as a local improvement project which the residents would pay for as an extra charge on their taxes Residents went along with the deal as their only way of solving the mesa Bow ever they felt it was unfair that they should have to pay for another sewage system since they d already paid for one system which was approved by government but proved quite inadequate in the purchase price of their homes Another Inequity was that when sewage surcharge was part of tax bills they still bad to pay it even though they were paying to maintain their own sewage system If residents wind up having to pay the local Improvement charge each unit owner can pay the charge in one lump sum or spread it over years of tax bills If they opt for the installment plan then they must pay llper cent interest This works out to a year Regional chairman Peter Pomeroy Is paying the difference to have larger car than the one regional council decided It would rent for Its leader See on page The chairman t the only one at region getting a raise regional councillor will be receiving a maximum five per cent rabe this year Salary hike for Pomeroy It is officio Regional Chairman Pete Pomeroy will now make an annual salary of for his regional duties That is up from the paid to his predecessor Jack who was a part lime an Pomeroy has com mi ted himself to fulltime attention to his poll l office A survey of pay schedule for regional chairmen In Ontario indicated that llalton had the only parttime chair man previous to and paid the lowest salary for that position The pay for regional councillors In 1984 will be increased by five per cent or the Consumer price Index whichever is less The increase for councillors will bring their to about per This is the first pay increase for elected officials iince 1981 because the last council voted to forego an increase as an example of restraint The highest paid chairman in Ontario is in Ottawa Car at a salary of per year with full benefits and a chauffeured car ii flFAl ESTATE US I ID REALTOR 170 STREET GEORGETOWN 8770173 A METROLAND COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER GEORGETOWN BUICK CMC TRUCKS ST GEORGETOWN 8774149 One Hundred and Ninth Year ACTON ONTARIO WEDNESDAY JANUARY 19cM 32 Pages Thirty Cents Stevens land deal- complex issue Citizens numerous purchase questions are referred to staff With a lull In the storms works crews took advantage on the break to talk about the busing problems they free daring the winter clear away some of those big snowbanks around own Mayor Rati especially one as severe as this one hat been so far Also on page Miller discusses the snow service Issue In an article page while there a story dealing with councillors praise of bow the staff has school board members Bruce Dkk llowltl and Betty Fisher bandied the disaster Question Town gettin into development business Does council have right to buy more land than needed for complex Council can buy land for a municipal com pkx It can even buy more land than it needs but only If by purchasing the extra land the municipality Is getting a better deal Hills councillors were told Monday night The citizens group probing the MOO Stevens land purchase and municipal com issues raised a number of questions in its IB page report about council legal right to buy the whole acres They also questioned use of all lot levies to build up municipal complex reserve fund council getting involved in the development business and some councillors trying to say they haven t in effect voted to build a complex but only to buy some land note the Town buy the land in their view of the Municipal Act if it wasnt going to be used for Town purposes but there is nothing to indicate the whole parcel will be used for a municipal complex In fact all reports they ve seen state the whole parcel won be used for municipal complex The report continued that the Municipal Act allows the Town to buy more land than It needs only if by purchasing the excess pro too it gets the property at a more reasonable price and on terms more to the municipality However they questioned If theTown was getting a better deal by acquiring nearly acres instead of Just the seven or eight acres reports have indicated the Town will need for the complex Portion offered The report notes a letter from Robert Developments received by Kills September 1983 Indicates the vendor Stevens was now willing to discuss selling to the Town only the portion it required Assuming that the Town can identify bow much would that parcel have cost and at what terras could It have been purchased This information we understand has been presented to Council but the Municipal Act only permits purchasing excess land under certain conditions where Council is satisfied that the purchase la at a more reasonable price and terms more ad vantaacous One councillor has advised us that the vendor was willing to Bell the quantity of land which the Town required but wanted per acre But we have spoken to a number of councillors both those who voted for and against the purchase who have said they have no knowledge of any discussions or writings concerning purchasing only seven acres and what It would cost When was this alleged offer to sell seven acres at per acre made They also asked If the Town ever made a written offer to buy just seven acres The citizens presentation also asks why the Town needed to buy land for a municipal complex when a number of councillors stated that they were not voting for a Town Hall but merely voting to purchase a piece of property When is there going to be a new ration building erected on this Stevens site Will it be erected in the term of this and If not has the council com milled a future council to expending money We ask this because the reports proceed on the basis that sale and develop ment proceed rather quickly Should the approval of the Ontario Municipal Board be had for this bylaw If future Councils are committed Fear blocks The councils building committee broke the Stevens land Into four separate blocks One block would be for the municipal com while another chunk would be for an institutional use No Institutional use has been publicly suggested On September 13 and as contained In the report of the building committee then mayor Peter suggested that this site could be used for condominium apartments One questions the municipal purpose being here A third part of the Stevens site Isnt suit able for any building and possible use as park space was suggested They noted one could make the argument that a valid exercise of the municipal power is being used in acquiring this particular portion of land though itis of some interest that no value has ever been placed on and It pears to be a parcel the Town Is acquiring only because it has to In order to get the whole parcel Land valuations from two separate firms follow the assumption made by the building committee in its reports that part of the Stevens land be used for housing develop in the fourth block on the site is the development and resale of those lands which helps justify purchasing the Stevens pro and Justifying the price But we suggest that there Is do authority for a municipality to develop land and to sell it to individuals or to developers They noted the Town has the power to deal with land assembly and land develop ment for Industrial use or for subsidised low cost housing However the building committee never referred to any of the housing development on the Steven pro as being subsidized low cost bousing in cooperation with the province Not only do they not think the Town has the authority to acquire land for hooting Coo tinned on Hills council was asked Monday night to repeal the bylaw authorizing the Stevens landpurchaseandDotcomplefethe transaction which is to close at the end of March The request came from the citizens group probing the property purchase and pal complex Issue when they presented a page report to council Monday night The report raises numerous questions council legal rights to buy more land than it needs for the complex council getting involved in the development business the appraisals done on the and the space needs study and other points See other stories in today paper and next week also There were over taxpayers in the for the presentation Council dldn t follow the request but at the suggestion of Councillors Mike Arm strong and Dave Whiting who both complimented the group on their report their entire presentation and many were referred to staff for a report and the building committee will also examine the staff response Staff has been given until February to report back to council They expect the staff report to answer the many new questions about the deal Armstrong said obviously council t in a position to repeal the bylaw Monday night but conceded he was sure ihe citizens had raised a number of questions council felt were new He also said there were some inadequacies in the citizens report Dr Alex who made remarks fol lowing the written group report read by Georgetown lawyer Dave Page of the group Norm Elliott made opening remarks dealing with how the citizens group came into being in October said many people feel the issue has been shield from the public There was a draft plan for development of ihe Stevens land in the Town possession in August of yet nothing about the Issue was presented to the voters before the November election There was only one meeting ever when the public was invited to offer Input and then council moved to make an offer on the pro- pertythesame night noted He sold taxpayers arc saying the Town cant afford a complex they don Ihink it s needed Ihere are more important things like roads for the Town to spend money on council be in the development business there already too much govern etc Even though people don t like signing l the citizens group It was time council took a second look at the land purchase and municipal complex issue he added The petition preamble asked that coun cease any planning or contemplation of a municipal complex that it sell the Stevens land for and that if the need could be proven for more space renovations to the Trafalgar Rd site an addition would be cep table Indicated the wording of the petition wosn t the best it could be but then it was done when the citizens investigation began t be changed later when they had more information Councillor Marilyn noted she d seen another preamble and Furness admitted he d added quite a few statements to a petition at the Georgetown Medical Cen tre which were his personal observations He d urged people to help stop the complex warning now was the time to say no to a ContinuedonpageZ MPP will probe further land purchase questions Inside todays Free Press Tbe appeal for later- Lattery fever has swept Peace Camp was to Acton Tarnlapagc be yesterday baft the date was ckasged to Reg hurt Jest a tank hes a See page Free Press Mark Halton Burlington MPP Julian Reed expects to meet with Ministry of Housing and Municipal Affairs officials this week to discuss questions raised by the citizens group investigating the Stevens land purchase Reed said he felt two important questions were raised by the citizens which he will pursuefurtherwiththeprovlnce He pointed to the question of if the Town should be buy more land than it needs for a municipal complex and selling off some of the property for housing development as one area of con Another question raised by the citizens In their brief whether lot levy monies should be going towards a municipal complex instead of for services benefiting those who bought the lots the levies were paid on Is another area where provincial input Is needed be said The said another aspect of the report which was very Interesting though It doesnl Involve the province la the numerous questions dealing with what in formation bound based Its derisions on Was there enough information and com Information gathered for council to properly act on Reed admitted he been asked to attend the meeting by citizens making pre stntaipp sod was also on hand as a tax payer and citizen of He said be was impressed with the pre and valid Questions have been J talis Reed He predicted it may require a previous Judge decision or even a new one to settle the legal questions raised by the citizens about the Stevens land purchase I must participate where I can where matters pertain to provincial legislation 111 be more Informed than the lawyer and clti tens who made the presentation by the end of the week be vowed He said he hopes to have some answers for the public by the end of the week This Is a darned Important situation and the citizens have raised some awfully