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The Oakville Beaver. Wednesday July 23, 2003 -A3 Oakville has most dentists in Halton (Continued from page A1) " Higher access to care might not be so easy in Milton and Halton Hills." he said, noting it's "a cause for concern." He said there could be transportation barriers that make it difficult to get to a dentist. For example, there is limited bus service in Milton and none in Halton Hills. Dr. Hawkins also said the location of dentists in the two municipalities could be a hindrance. Perhaps some families living in the rural areas may not have access to a vehicle or bus to get to a dentist's office that isn't within reasonable walking dis tance, he said. There are 18 dentists in Milton. 27 in Halton Hills. 112 in Oakville and 91 in Burlington. The Region has established a number of financial assistance programs for fami lies in need that don't have appropriate dental coverage. They include a program for kids 14 years of age under called C1NOT (children in need of treatment). Funding is split 50-50 between the Region and the Province and a family must apply and qualify for subsidy. For more information about the pro grams. call the health department at (905) 826-60IX). Meanwhile, the Region isn't sure when it will have ready its report detailing whether Milton's well water should be fluoridated and the process required to do it. "A timeline hasn't been established." Dr. Hawkins said. Water fluoridation wasn't part of the recent screening report's findings. A report released by the health department last October showed a link between a higher prevalence of tooth decay among kids in Milton on average the highest in Halton - and non-fluoridated water. Some 33.000 Milton residents are on well-based systems that aren't fluoridated. In the mid-70s there was a referendum that asked residents if they wanted their water fluoridated and the majority said no. All sides working towards settlement (Continued from page A1) opportunities for redevelopment, intensification and revitalization in existing urban areas south of Dundas Street. Oakvillegreen argued the town need not expand its current urban development base in the north because oppor tunities exist south of Dundas Street to rezone existing employ ment/retail land for higher densi ty mixed use development. Motions Filed by Halton Region and others contended that the issues of intensification and revitalization have already been incorporated in the June 1999 Regional Plan Amendment 8 (ROPA8). The formal hearing - the start of which was already delayed from May 26 - was actually slat ed to commence July 14. but a one-week adjournment was allowed by O'Brien so that all parties could discuss issues fur ther. During Monday's start of the hearing at the Galaxy Club. Mattamy Development Co. lawyer Roger Beaman explained that ail parties agreed to another postponement, but he would not divulge anything further. "I simply urge the Board to allow the adjournment and let these discussions proceed." he asked O'Brien. Town of Oakville solicitor Julia Ryan confirmed that she. Oakvillegreen. Clear the Air Coalition and others do have a settlement in the works. "We have worked very hard over the past two weeks to bring this to fruition." she said. Ryan said she will report to the Board on Friday whether or not a settlement has been reached or if more time is needed. If a deal is done, she said it could be taken to Oakville Town Council on July 28 and the Board informed on July 30. Ryan was adamant that all parties remain " under pressure" to find solutions this week. If talks break down this week, the hearing would resume July 30. O'Brien also agreed with Ryan that if a settlement is not reached by noon on Aug. 1 at the absolute latest, the formal hearing would commence on Aug. 6. If an agreement is secured, however, Ryan said Town Council could hear the matter Aug. 5. O'Brien then officially adjourned the hearing until Aug. 6 but left the door open to recon vene it before then. He then urged all parties to include all relevant stakeholders in this week's talks. If there is a settlement that requires modifications to OPA 198. O'Brien continued, the hear ing will be reconvened so that the public can hear what these changes are and offer input. "People should stay tuned." he said. More than a dozen Parties have standing at the hearing. In addition to Oakvillegreen. Clear the Air and the Town, they include Residents' Association North of Dundas (RAND). Halton Region, the Halton Region Conservation Authority. 3170497 Canada Inc.. Belmont Properties Inc./Bressa Devel opments Inc., Green Ginger Development. Mattamy Devel opment Co.. Ontario Realty Corporation. Osmington Inc.. Star Oak Developments Limited and Trinison Management Corporation. Included among the partici pants at the hearing are 13 groups or associations, ranging from the City of Burlington to the South Peel Naturalists' Club, plus more than 60 individuals. Chantal Ayotte · Special to the Oakville Beaver CULTURE CLASH: Nineteen-year-old bagpipe player James Sawyer was the centre of atten tion for a group of young skateboarders at Midnight Madness in dow ntown Oakville, Friday. Sawyer has been a fam iliar busker in downtown Oakville this summer where he plays his bag pipes to raise money for university this fall. Future of Lifecare facility uncertain (Continued from page A1) Two elderly men died shortly after the transfer, which was conducted on short notice during the middle of an ice storm. But there are now a number of unanswered questions about what will happen to the facility once it is shut down by the health ministry'. It's expected that the Oakv ille Lifecare Centre will be turned over to Ernst & Young Inc.. the trustee for the Royal Crest Lifecare Group bankniptcy. Ernst & Young's task is to find a buyer for the 17 Royal Crest properties, preferably as a package deal. It's likely that the Oakville Lifecare Centre will be returned to Ernst & Young as a vacant building, and it's also possible that there will be no nursing bed licences attached to the facility. If so. that would seriously decrease the value of an asset that the trustee is attempting to sell, and make it difficult for Ernst & Young to maximize the financial return to Royal Crest's creditors. For a prospective buyer, the 'value of a nursing home has lit tle to do with the land and the building itself. Instead, the value comes from the ongoing revenue stream that is generated by occu pied nursing beds. Typically in Ontario, about 90 per cent of a nursing home's revenue comes from govern ment funding and just 10 per cent comes from co-payments made by residents themselves. National Trust Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Bank of Nova Scotia, holds a $ 17-million mortgage on the Oakville Lifecare Centre, and the mortgage is insured by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation. That means Scotiabank can expect to recoup the $17 million it's owed, regardless of what the sale price might be for Oakville Lifecare Centre when it is even tually sold. It also means that CM HC could attempt to have any short fall covered by the health min istry. arguing that the ministry's decision to close the facility and strip away the licences dimin ished the value of the asset. One preliminary estimate suggests that an empty Oakville Lifecare Centre with no nursing bed licences could be worth roughly $5 million. That would leave a $12 mil lion shortfall that the Ministry of Health could be forced to pick up. A spokesman for C M H C in Ottawa said that it was prema ture to speculate on what might happen if there's a shortfall after the sale of the Oakville Lifecare Centre. " Have we gone down that road yet? No. we haven't." said C M H C spokesman Peter De Barros. " But it's clear that we have a responsibility to recover as much of our funds as possible on behalf of those who pay insur ance." Ernst & Young has made inquiries to the health ministry in search of answers about the Oakville property but so far. none have been provided. "W e are seeking clarification from the MOHLTC as to the effect of the closure of the Oakville Lifecare Centre and believe that it would be improp er to discuss this matter further or to speculate in any manner with regards to the future use or disposition of the property." said Kevin Brennan, senior vicepresident with Emst & Young. The Ontario health ministry did not respond to questions about the future of the Oakville Lifecare Centre and its nursing bed licences. The ministry did indicate to The Spectator that finding new homes for current Oakville Lifecare Centre residents is con sidered a lop priority. "The ministry is taking all appropriate steps to ensure that the residents continue to receive the care they require as well as helping them with their place ments in other long-term care facilities of their choice." said Tanya Cholakov, a spokesperson for the health ministry. -- Torstar News Service -- JO S H U A CREEK T R A D IN G -- F U R N IT U R E & H O M E DECO R C U S TO M IZ E Y O U R D IN IN G SUITE!'! Birch Dining Suites Tables + 6 chairs on Sale M atching C hair & A Half Hundreds of Fabrics to choose from m i SPEERS R O A D 1029 SPEERS RO AD ,O AKVILLE MADE IN CANADA (Spiers Rd. & 4 t h Line beside T im H o k t o n s ) M on. - W ed. 10-6. Thum 6 fw. 10-8. Sat. 10-6. 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