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877 5213- FOBERT Real Estate Inc EXCELLENCE AWARD IN CUSTOMER RELATIONS- Cm ii Pi I Home Newspaper of Halton Hills Established 866 WEDNESDAY JANUARY Citizens group criticizes decision Asks council to sell Stevens land By CHRIS AAGAARD Herald Writer A citizens group maintains the town acted outside its powers when It bought a 30nere property in Georgetown with plans to use part of it for residential a report presented to town council Monday night the group also suggests the town may have paid too much for the Stevens property off Maple Avenue Council endorsed an agreement to purchase the land last October and must pay WOO by the end of March when the land deal closes As council was going ahead with the purch ase a citizens group formed drafting a calling on residents to condemn the purch- agreement The 1793 signature asks council to divest Itself of the Stevens property and to shelve any plans it has to use the land as the site for a new municipal centre OPPOSITION The group on spokesman Norm Elliott said is not an attempt to crucify council but to under line what were later described as gruitles in the process which led to the Ste vens property Monday night was the first time council had Features Albert Netherlands native began collecting trash from fellow rural neigh bora In 1H1 Now his fleet of trucks numbers eight See Page All Entertainment Evening courses begin at Ccdarvale cotl age New fights at John Elliott Theatre thanks to Productions See Page AM Sports The Sunny Acres midgets came within a whisker of It an at the annual tournament Also gave their Swedish a Sport Page Bt for alt the details Town Club room being redecorated at Legion See Page AS Firefighters busier in 1083 Fire damage to Hal ton Hills In 1983 was almost two times greater than the previous year There were 335 fire calls and a total 1 110 in damage for to the end of November Over the same 11 month period In 19B2 there was and firefighters were dispatched 303 times Fires have caused three fatalities In Hal ton Kills in and two in 1963 But firefighters were injured last year compared to three the year Free of smoke seen the committee a report and It will be at least four weeks Feb before council comments A response to the points made by the clti group will be draf ted by town staff work tog with the building committee which looked at a number of proper lies before favoring the Stevens estate Council received our report in the manner intended Mr Elliott told The Herald later It took it as a re sponsible document We the body of the brief Monday night Written by citizens group member David Page the report builds an argument from a section of the province Municipal Act commenting There Is no authority for a muni to develop land and sell it duals or to than Prepared over a two- month period the group report al challenges the GOO price tag the town eventually agreed lo pay for the properly Among the documents dealing with the property search the group received appro I reports One says the cost of the land should be about but was later revised apparently con sidering the properly lack of sewer and water services to a WOO figure IIIOll PRICE A more ret en 1 appro sal placed ihe cost of land at Thats too high the citizens group says because it considers the moat intensive use of he property a municipal centre plus B7 resident READY FOR 1984 There was ranch praise and thanks heaped on the was elected deputy diitrlct chief Bob tills firefighters Sunday afternoon at their annual meeting In the Paul and Larry Brassard were elected captains and Bob Meads Georgetown firths on Maple Avenue The meeting also elected Rick and Gord Cash were chosen lieutenants Brace Lewis as Georgetown district chief or his third year Don Job opportunities improve Unemployment insurance recipients down 20 per cent Even with a brand new air cleaner the antismoking campaign at council meetings continues Council Jan meeting will for the first time in years be free of smoke thanks to a nonsmoking resolution passed Monday night in recognition of nonsmoking week In Hslton Hills Jan 22 councillors agreed to kick the habit for one night anyway Comparing notes Niagara Falls dldn follow the example of Hills when they lost their mayor their council opted for a byelection Wayne Thomas the may on resigned with two years remaining In his term The mayoralty election for Niagara Falls population will be held Feb Visit to McDonalds The Georgetown Newcomers Club will meet Tuesday Jan nation for a look behind the scenes Meet us at McDonalds Babysitting avail able at the Further info call Christian fellowship Don t miss Hills Christian Women Fellowship a dessert and coffee meeting Tuesday Jan at St Georges Anglican Church Hall at 1 is Learn about choosing and using perfume Be entertained by the music of Evelyn Miller and be uplifted by the way God helped Evelyn Rutledge through times of tragedy Cost Is Babysitting Is available at the church Cell for reservations Bicentennial members Plans for he town a participation In the province celebration next year are being coordinated by a fivemember committee of council The group is headed by John McDonald and Includes Marilyn Serjeantson Pete Norton Rick Bonnette and Mayor Miller Hospital directors Three councillors have been named to the Georgetown and District Memorial Hospitals board of directors They are Councillors John McDonald Marilyn and Phil Carney PHILCARNFY public would benefits But Coun Phil Carney argued that the Stevens land agreement was not made outside the pow of council and that the public would enjoy benefits from the deal In a presentation last September by former mayor Pete It was proposed that the town would use about eight acres of the site for the municipal complex selling most of the remaining land Tor residential develop A portion would be retained by the town for a roadway Into the adjacent hospital property and a connect parkland link with Georgetown Fair grounds According to the proposal revenue from the sole of lots for residential development will help pay for the municipal complex The citizens group estimates that the cost of municipal ex will be at least million When that figure was challenged by Coun Carney Mr lota The building committee envisioned only Si residential pro perties he amount of land he own bought The group maintains that the property agent for the Stevens estate was will to sell own only he portion about seven acres which the town would need for a muni complex Repre sentatives of the group say they talked to coun cillors who said they knew nothing of any proposal to buy smaller chunk of the property the authority of the town buy land using a reserve fund built from lots levies Lot levies help pay servicing costs of new homes but he group asks If hey were held in reserve were lax payers partially paying for residential develop ment the objectivity of of Long more Developments Ltd Mr Nicholl was commissioned by counc Continued on psge Al Herald staff writer During the last three months Job In Halton Hills have increased about SO per cent over last year Canada Employment Centre branch for Hills ton Hughston said It looks like there Is some recovery In the business sector They re hiring more she said And we didn have as many companies close down for the Christmas ays or have layoffs whereas last year hey did Mrs numbers on unemployment insuran went down 20 per cent in December compared to last December INSURANCE There are 1 people on unemployment Hills for December 1DB3 In Dec ember 19G2 here ware 1566 As for those reg ster as looking for work there were people in December and 134 In December 1982 The numbers arc almost the same for the two Mrs Hut ha Ion said here Is about the some percentage of new jobs coming up in Alton as In Georgetown taking Into account that Acton is smaller fewer employ ere The In Job may be due to an expansion the En Centre Apr 1 1981 when George town staff from The Insurance component has brought out the staff in employment unction Staff were transferred from the Brampton of Ice to take Georgetown unemploy insurance claims The office James Street Now It located In the Co building on Maun la Road and Street The Ontario unem picture according to Statistics Canada shows a per cent decline since November down to per cent in mid Decern 40 per cent reduction Vandalism down during pilot project According to statistics released Friday vanda 11am in Hills during the last three months of 1903 has been reduced by per cent compared to figures for the same three months In 1982 In October 19B3 reg police initialed a program in which any child under 10 found loitering in a public place not accompanied by a parent or a person appointed by their parent after 10 would be taken home In conjunction with the loitering program Constable and safety officer Rod Beaumont have been talking to students in the area and distributing an educatl package Hallowe en in Hills and Milton record Three injured in car collision per cent less vandalism than year before In Acton over the three month period studied there was a 2 per cent reduction In vandalism while in Georgetown there was a 3 per cent reduction in vandalism in 19BJ For Hills and Milton there was HI less damage than the three month period a year before which total Loss and damage figures have shown a decline In the time pen od studied down from 252 in 1902 to 130 in 1983 Two areas that are still concerns to the police are Robert Little Public School in Acton and Delrex Blvd in Georgetown The Robert Little area Is more secluded and accessible than other parts of own and offenders have found it an attractive place vandalize a school but extra patrols have been On Delrex and some sides tree Is the primary problem Is with vandals stripping mirrors and breaking lights on parked cars but extra patrols have been stepped up to tackle the problem Constables Rod Beau mont and Bob will continue monitor the program until the summer when they will make a presentation to the chief of police James Harding Continued on page AT Former mayor to make presentation A 19year old Milton man suffered minor injuries and two Georgetown men suffered minimal inju ries in a twocar colli sion Saturday at Halton regional police reported there was damage In the accident at 10 and Fourth Line A driver southbound on Fourth Line applied his brakes as he approach ed the intersection and lid approximately seven meters Into the front end of a passing vehicle Michael Dwayne Jackson le both of Georgetown and Andrew Schlcht of Milton were treated and released from Mil Ion District Hospital after being brought there by ambulance After reviewing the findings of a citizens group which looked into towns recent pur chase or the Stevens property Pete expects to make pre of his own before town council Mr was mayor of Hills when council looked at several properties as candidate sites for a proposed municipal centre and when it agreed to pay for the Stevens proper last fall The group has done a very fair Job of Its presentation Mr said Ha added ho believes that the town acted within Its powers when It acquired the land because sale of lots will return the towns initial investment plus additional revenue which could be put aside for a municipal centre The town is not ing Into the business Mr said explain ing thai whatever the town keep for its own use will be sold to business interests who will be responsible for developing the proper Ways of servicing the land providing It with sewer and water mains still have to be explored Mr said He will have to make his presentation as a private Hills resident Mr stepped down as mayor In November to run successfully for he regional chairman s Job Report has two options Trying o get rid of the Stevens estate may be easier said than done A report filed by a citizens group urges council to repeal a bylaw agreeing pay For the property by the end of March Georgetown lawyer David Page a member of the group and the report writer said that council may face a lawsuit from the proper ty vendor for withdraw Ing from the deal But he argued that by buying he land with plans to use part of it for residential develop he town was acting ultra vires outside of its municipal court would compel the town to complete an agreement made beyond the town authority as outlined in the province Municip al Act An earlier suggestion one which appeared on petitions circulated by the citizens group said council should resell the land for Group spokesman Norm Elliott old The Herald that the town may have trouble sell the property because he believes the town paid too much for it in the first place Lotto feverPage SPORTSMANSHIP Georgetown minor midget forward Mike Teetiel right presented Munksund goal tender with a commemorative rap hockey Jersey after Thursday night international exhibition hockey game at GordonAlcottArena Teetielhadreasonlosmlle Georgetown victory For more details and pictures of the game see the Herald photo by Gerry Timbers