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Stevens land purchase municipal complex issue Town getting into development grey area to province Reed As part of his continuing investigation of planned Ha lion Hills purchase of the Stevens propcrlv Hal ton Burlington MPP Julian Heed has written to Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Claude Bennett seeking a statement In releasing his letter to Bennett this week Reed also wrote this newspaper noting the answers office has been getting from the Ministry would tend to see this area of municipal i lies becoming in volved in development as a area I believe that a statement on paper from the minister would make most interesting reading or both the Ha on and concerned Reed wrote Following is the text of his letter to Bennett Recent cunts in the Town Hal ton Hills regarding the proposal to purchase land for a future municipal complex has raised the question of whether this kind of action the town has proposed is in wine contravention of the municipal act brier presented to council last outlines the concerns more concisely than I could possibly put into this letter and I therefore enclose a copy for vow information The subjects in quest on of course are twofold namely tin into the Burlington Julian Reed bus of land development by a and the utilization of lot levies Are there any presidents for this kind of action in other municipalities in the province Has the question of he legalities lot levies themselves been settled Your answers to these questions would help to guide both the citizens who have raised them and the council who I am sure want to do the right thing legality A citizens groups brief to council tail week has raised a of questions about the legality of the Town buying the whole Stevens property on Maple Ave in Georgetown Reed was on band for the presentation at the request of members of the citizens group and pledged afterwards to use his position as the area to try and gel more answers for the public The citizens group suggested that while it Is perfectly legal for council to buy land for a future municipal complex it may be another matter entirely to buy more land than the Town requires Baying mare than need Numerous Town reports have shown the amount of land required for a municipal complex would be seven or eight acres but Halton Hills has offered WOO for about acres The deal closes the end of March The Municipal Act slates that a municipality can buy more land than it needs if by purchasing the entire parcel it gets the land at a more reasonable price and on terms more advantageous to the municipality The citizens question if this Is in fact the case A letter from Robert Long more Developments received by council September 1983 states the vendor is now willing to discuss selling the Town just the portion It needs for the complex One councillor advised the group that it true the vendor would have sold a smaller portion instead of the whole property but wanted However a number of other councillors both those who voted for and against thepurchase nothing about this offer to sell less land and there ore no written public records of the Town pursuing buying just seven acres discussing the price or making an offer The citizens also questioned some council lors saying they voting for a municipal complex but just a land purchase since if they don t intend to build a complex in the future the Town has no legal right to buy the land Binding future councils Is the council also binding future councils to spending on complex if it Isnt built before the end or this term the citizens brief asked They noted the Town shouldnt be getting into the development business and land speculation by planning to sell off the excess Stevens property for housing to raise money They noted the Town only allowed to be involved in land banking for industrial land and residential development for low Income subsidized bousing in conjunction with the province Lot levies que Honed Another concern brought up by the citizens and being pursued by Reed is the Town practise for several years now of putting lot levies in a reserve fund for the land purchase and municipal complex Lot levies the brief maintained should only be used to cover additional cost to the polity which Is created by the subdivision This hasnt been done and the citizens ask who then paid for the additional load created by these Did the resi dents of the new lots get the services which they paid for Hospital land not Town problem seepage Who did Nkholl work and Why need more space when staff Is smaller turn lo plus draft plan for development of Sevens land from August lftsz see page REAL ESTATE GUELPH STREET GEORGETOWN 8770173 A COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER GEORGETOWN CMC TRUCKS ST GEORGETOWN 8770149 One Hundred and Ninth Year Issue ACTON ONTARIO WEDNESDAY JANUARY 18 Pages Thirty Cent Cou Acton needs its own ambulance Acton should have its own ambulance four members of Hills council were told Friday afternoon at Acton council drop In said it about time Acton had one ambulance or its own one Trial goes somewhere other George town Hospital Mayor Miller Councillors Jake Dave Whiting and Ross Knechtel agreed it a subject which should be raised at the Region though they held out little hope of Acton getting its own ambulance Thirty five years ago Acton had its own private ambulance service yet lodaypcoplc must wait to minutes sometimes for an ambulance from Georgetown observed suggested that counting the rounding area Acton has a population of about people and much centres have ambulance service so this community should have its own ambulance too He asked if the reason people are taken to Georgetown instead of as requested by many using the service was because of pressure on ambulance from higher to bring business to Georgetown a so that facility wont fail Vone of the councillors had ever heard of such a notion and discounted the theory reported he shad occasion to call the ambulance a few times in the past few ears and had to practically threaten litigation to be taken lo Hospital instead of Georgetown Hospital He also checked the ambulance service out with local physicians and found they report that if re in an accident and don have family with able to say you should be taken to Guclph til instead of Georgetown Hospital re taken to Georgetown the scene said the victim should go to Guclph but the still went to Georgetown McPhail emphasized he blaming the occasional slowness of getting am bulances here and the problem of being take to Georgetown instead of Guclph on the volunteer attendants Ambulance service is spread too thinly around here so gets bad service he charged This I the first time has raised this concern He recalled going to both Miller and Councillor Pam Sheldon about the problem a couple of years ago but he never got an answer Miller acknowledged the concern which he has never heard raised by anyone else in Acton and area had slipped his mind and suggested that one reason was upset was that he and Sheldon hadnt followed up on his request Councillor Dave Whiting said an am study was done for the region and a central dispatch system based in Missis Is coming in the future Currently Whiting understood the policy is that a person can request to be taken to Hospital and the request will be followed An ambulance can also be dispatched to Acton from not Just from Georgetown he said Whiting said he wasn t aware of the kinds of problems McPhail was talking about for Acton people wanting to be taken to Guelph Hospital Ambulance service is a provincial con cern that level of government has the control Knechtel observed That was true but there was still no reason why Hills council lead the drive to get ambulance service for and request one retorted Whiting said since he sits on social vices committee at the region and the region deals with the province on hospitals and ambulances he raise the issue at that level of government The councillors all agreed it would be faster for a direct roach at the region rather than Halter Hills sending a resolution to regional When the subject is raised at region councillors should go armed with materials to help make the case for an Won ambulance McPhail urged Knechtel said a request Tor an Acton ambulance from Hills would be rejected by the province the region would have a better chance of seeing its request If a person is in an accident they should be taken to the best hospital in the area and that would be not George town Whiting declared being taken to Georgetown Instead of Guelph could present real problems since more serious cases are sent from George town to Brampton and that Just that much further away from home Acton is too small for three or four am Kuiken said However McPhail said if the community bad one ambulance Continued on page Jennifer Koprowiki and Wendy Graham foreground took advant age of the cold snowy weather and slipped down the embankment beside the Acton Cftlient Band Hall Sleep Eddie Sleep and Christine Graham background toon lowed their playmates Photo by MARK HOLMES Fewer out of work The employment picture in Hills has improved somewhat over last year according to an official of the Canada Employment Centre in Georgetown which also serves Acton and area Lust year at this time there were 2 134 people registered with the office and 1 people on unemployment benefits This year there are people registered for work and collecting benefits We had more seasonal layoffs last year and I think that accounts for the said Lillian Branch Manageroflha Canada employment Centre While nationally youth unemployment lops 20 per cent Halton Hills and area youth don account for the highest percentage of unemployment in the area she said We find the highest percentage amongst the age group to 44 said that while those aged 16 to are not the largest group of unemployed In the area the years they have been the most active when it comes to looking for work through the employment centre They appear to be more eager to get work she said She suggested this was probably because hey have established less financial security than older people and have the least amount of Job seniority to fall back on when awaiting recall from layoff Big winner of Wear in drug store contest accepts the key to Pharmacy Mrs Dunn woo toe Gaardiaa According to Bill the owner of the local Guardian Drug franchise Acton Pharmacy It the first time since he opened a pharmacy In Acton 17 years ago that he has ever seen big prize won locally in the various contests held each year The contest ran only Ontario said Yundt and it sponsored by Guardian Drags which is a of Drug Trad Company limited from Toronto Mrs Dunn said she filled out an entry form for the contest last summer and picked up her car Wednesday said the doesnt know shall keep the car or not tot It is nice driving around to the bl hatch back Thanks to a Guardian Drugs Get Away Give Away contest lost summer a lucky Acton resident Is driving around town in a brand new car Audrey Dunn said she was really last November when she received a phone call telling her she was the winner of a 1984 Chevy Chevette Mrs Dunn who Is married and has two children and six said her husband was just as as she was because it was the first major prize thearea residents have We won little things like door prizes before but this Is the first time weve woo anything really big said Mrs Dunn Inside has pasted a bylaw he borrowing of becomes necessary Seepages there a gap Library Board and Hare on P The hall baa received ferf2W Details or page What Mad ear Peter drive was the abject at great debate at reglea last week MareoepageBl See the treat el Newsauriim fiery Mac a Sheriff December was far service hi The Ml was el he article