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A8 G > THE OAKVILLE BEAVER Wednesday November 29, 2000 O A K V IL L E 8 4 5 -6 6 0 1 C o u n c il & S t a n d in g C o m m it t e e Monday, December4,2000 Inaugural Council Meeting Council C ham b ers 7:30 p.m. M e e t in g s KQEW gridlock could be gone in four years ^ but only if Province comes through with cash By Ire n e G e n tle SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER Monday, December 11,2000 Community Services Committee 7:30 p.m. - Oakville Room Administrative Services Comm. 7:30 p.m. - Bronte Room Tuesday, December 12,2000 Planning & Development Council Council C ham b ers 7:30 p.m. Monday, January 8,2001 Council Meeting Council C ha m b ers 7:30 p.m. C ouncil & C ommittee T ouchtone P hone L ine 815-5959 A s se ssm e n t 2000 U pdated A sse ssm e n t V a l u e s fo r A ll O n ta r io P r o pe r t ie s General Information Sessions Extended Business Hours TOWN OF OAKVILLE The Ontario Property Assessment Corporation (OPAC) will be holding General Information Sessions and extending its regular business hours to answer questions about reassessment. You are invited to attend a General Information Session on: DECEMBER 5*, 6* AND 7* 2000 AT THE MUNICIPAL OFFICE COUNCIL CHAMBERS 1225 TRAFALGAR RD., OAKVILLE ON FROM 7:30 p.m. TO 9:00 p.m. For those who are not able to attend these sessions, the local assessment office is located at 6745 CENTURY AVE. SUITE 1, MISSISSAUGA ON TEL. # 905-813-9930 OR 1-800-387-5909 The office will remain open until 6:00 p.m. from NOVEMBER 22 to NOVEMBER 24, 2000, and from NOVEMBER 28 to DECEMBER 8, 2000. (The office will close at 4:00 p.m. on November 27, 2000.) Assessment information is also available by calling OPAC's information line toll-free 1-866-296-OPAC (6722) Monday to Friday 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. and Saturday 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., or visit OPAC's website at www.opac.on.ca. OPAC is a not-for-profit corporation established to provide fair and accurate property assessments for all properties in Ontario. OPAC establishes assessed values under the authority of the Assessment Act, and the Ontario Property Assessment Corporation Act. An Oakville stretch of the gridlocked Queen Elizabeth Way (QEW) could be untied in four years, but only if Provincial funding is locked in first. Preliminary design work is now underway on the mainly logjammed QEW just east of Third Line to 1 km east of Trafalgar Road, Halton's plan ning and public works committee heard last week. "The number one problem is clearly traffic congestion," acknowledged Paul Hudspith, a senior project manager with URS Cole Sherman, the company contracted by the Ministry of Transportation (MTO) to do the design work. "And we also have to consider safe ty and operational improvements." The intent is to widen the highway from six to eight lanes of traffic. The current median would also be widened to 7.7 metres. Acceleration lanes would be increased, and retaining walls built to reduce any impact on nearby property values. But a design difficulty comes in the form of a bridge over Sixteen Mile Creek near Kerr Street, which can't accommodate the widened highway as it is. Three options have been put on the table. They include twinning the current bridge with a new structure on the north side, which would displace about 15 homes currently on the site. Placing it to the south, which is the second option, would displace about 17 burials in the St. Mary's Cemetery. The final alternative is to widen the bridge equally on the north and south sides, which could lead to structural durability issues. Currently, none of the three options is favored, said Hudspith. "We don't have a technical pre ferred alternative yet," he told the com mittee. "That'll be something coming in the next few months." Despite all the design work, there's no guarantee the project will get off the ground quickly, or at all. "We're at the very early stage of the planning process," said Karen Law of the MTO. "We're aiming for comple tion of a detailed plan by summer 2002. But that's a best case scenario." A two-year construction phase means the project wouldn't likely wrap up until 2004 or 2005. And that, said Law, is only if the funding is in place. That led Halton Chair Joyce Savoline to wonder why work was being done now on a project that isn't good to go. "What's the point of going through all this if the funding isn't fairly secured?" she asked. But if the cash isn't exactly in hand, the ministry has still made a commit ment to' improving traffic, said Law. "The sincerity and intent is there," she said. "What it takes is to go through the process." And that means keeping at the min istry to ensure nothing changes, said Savoline. "That's good information to have," she said. "We'll make sure a fire is kept under their feet on that. The money has to go where the mouth is." Halton seniors face 8-year wait for assisted housing units B y Ir e n e G e n tle SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER 1225 TRAFALGAR ROAD · OAKVILLE, ON TAR IO · L6J 5A6 LO O KG R E A TFO RM H O LID A Y S You've tried everything... but you're still having trouble losing those unwanted pounds! If losing weight is your priority, Herbal Magic can make it happen! Our unique "No Hunger" weight loss plan allows you to lose weight without giving up all the foods you love. It's safe & effective!! Single seniors are among the hardest hit in Halton's afford able housing crunch. And renters are finding it tougher to make ends meet than homeowners. Those are the results from a recent affordable housing sur vey, mailed randomly to 23,000 Halton households. Of those that were returned, about 67% were filled out by homeowners, with the remainder returned by renters, the Region's health and social services committee heard Tuesday. The survey found that more than 13,000 households in Halton are spending more than 30% of their gross income on shelter. Of those, about 11,000 are low-income renters earning less than $30,000. Struggling most are seniors, single parents with children and the working poor, reported Gwen Maloney, director of the Halton Non-Profit Housing Corporation Division. "Thousands of households are at risk of losing their hous ing because of unaffordability or inadequacy," she. said. "And very little new, affordable housing is being built." To meet the need, Maloney believes 14,500 units of assist ed housing will be required over the next decade. Today, about 5,000 households are headed by seniors earn ing less than $30,000 per year. But there are only 1,790 assisted units for seniors, carrying a wait list of about eight years. Also, the survey revealed that about 6,700 low-income sin gles are spending more than 30% of their incomes on shelter. Of those, a whopping 73% are seniors. But there's currently just 214 assisted housing units set aside for singles. Also, more than 3,000 single parent households with children have incomes of under $30,000, but a three-year waiting list is the norm for the 1,900 assisted units available to them. The answer, said Maloney, is for senior levels of govern ment to step up to the plate and help encourage assisted housing. At the Regional level, staff and councillors should ensure all available programs are maximized, while encouraging private and public sector partnerships. Finding affordable shelter for residents is a must, said Oakville Mayor Ann Mulvale. "This is not peculiar to Halton at all," she said. "We, I believe, have an absolute housing crisis." Governments need to make the link between productivi ty and adequate housing for all income brackets, added Mulvale. I t s N o t W in te r A n ym o re... IN M Y L IV IN G S TO N FU R !" CRIME STOPPERS Call 825-TIPS or 1-800-668-5151 BOOK YOUR FR EE CONSULTATION NOW! ·Special price excludes product & enrollment fee -rap?. THE GIFT OF HEALTH Herbs, vitamins Gift packs made to order For the finest selection o f leathers, light-weight shearlings, fabulous furs and cashmeres visit us in ou r brand new Burlington location on Branl Street Choose from street-casual to updated classics in jackets, shawls, capes and outerwear coats. W e also customdesign garments for lhal unique look. Computers stolen following break-in Police in Oakville are investigating a break, enter and theft that occurred at Access Document Conversions, on Oct. 27th, on Wyecroft Road. The break-in occurred at approxi mately 3 am. Thieves gained entry by smashing the glass of the front door. The target of the thieves were com puter systems. The suspects made away with 3 CPU's, 1 laser printer, and 1 monitor. This offence may be related with several other computer thefts that have occurred in the surrounding Oakville area. Do you know who committed this offence? If you have any information about this break, enter and theft, or any other computer theft, Crime Stoppers wants to hear from you. If you have any information that leads to an arrest in this or any other matter, you may be eligible for a cash reward. You need not give your name when you tell us your information and you will remain anonymous. Crime Stoppers does not subscribe to the tele phone call display feature. Call 1-800222-T1PS or 825-TIPS (825-8477). 20% OFF any gift pack Expires Dec. 6/00 | 446 Brant Street, Burlington 528-1177 · 634-9243 4694532 : 1395 Abbey wood Rd. O AK VILLE (In the Bruno's Fine Foods plaza) 637-6019 175 Plains Rd. E. B U R U \G T O \ (next to La ftm inique) United Vtey of Oakville Way to Go PROCOR! The Oakville Beaver joins United Way of Oakville in saluting Procor Limited for surpassing its fundraising goal in the 2 0 0 0 United Way Campaign Flying debris on QEW sends man to hospital An errant piece of debris on the QEW damaged three vehicles Sunday night and sent one man to hospital. According to the OPP's Burlington Detachment, the chain reaction started around 2:50 p.m. in the left westbound lane of the QEW at the Ford plant when a 1996 Eagle driven by a Mississauga driver struck a large piece of metal debris. This collision sent the debris into the middle lane where it hit a 1998 Chevrolet driven by a Newmarket dri ver. Both vehicles sustained minor dam age. The debris then struck a 2000 Kia dri ven by a Hamilton man and actually penetrated the right side of the wind shield and hit a 33-year-old male passen ger. The man was taken to OakvilleTrafalgar Memorial Hospital with mod erate injuries. Another passenger, an 11year old boy, was not hurt. Any witnesses to the incident are asked to contact Const. M. Bryan at 6812511. Through one-on-one canvassing, offering an employee incentive and joint management/union support, Procor increased employee contri butions by 179%! Congratulations to Danielle Eakins, Lori Pytel, Kerry Ecker and the United Way canvassers for a job well done. United Way of Oakville would also like to thank Procor for its continued corporate support of UW print materials, which goes a long way in keeping our costs down. Thank you for providing HELP & HOPE Procor. To learn how your company can play a role in helping to achieve United Way of Oakville's $2.7 million campaign goal, please call us at (9 0 5 ) 845-5571 This message is courtesy of The Oakville Beaver