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taxate is 48 down two mills the georgetown herald twbve pages geokgetown ont wednesday april lph 19s8 first section no third reading yet con bylaw ratepayers petition for vote 582 darex homes looming as a more controversial problem than any which has faced a georgetown council in the past quarter century and possibly in the town s entire history the question of allowing the erection of 582 new homes in delrex occupied the entire three hours of monday s council meeting council advanced one step closer to signing an agreement with the development firm which would guarantee georgetown a 40 per cent industrial assessment on the released building land for the next three years with two readings of a bylaw which would allow an agreement to be signed the by law must be read a third time before tt becomes law and no action was taken at the meet ing to finalize the transaction and no motion presented in this re gard a week ago a 54 vote of coun cil instructed the town solicitor to prepare a bylaw amendment to the 1954 towndelrex agreement which precluded residential build wg outside the limits of the for mer h craig reid farm unless an assessment ratio of 40 in dustnal and commercial was main tained at present industry pays some 27 of the towns taxes and the delrex firm has admitted that the picture has changed radically and there is no present possibility of carrying out the terms of the 1954 agreement in order to keep operating and with hopes that the future may bring a change for the better the delrex firm recent ly offered a guarantee that the in dustnal ratio would be maintain ed if a 582 house portion of land is released for building the firm would commit itself to guarantee ing the town 147000 over the next three years over and above the normal tax revenue on nooses which would be built which is estimated at 221000 the 147- 000 would represent the extra taxes to the town which would accrue were 40 of the new build ing to be industrial if no indus try were to locate in the next three years delrex would pay this in yearly instalments if in dustry did come the share it would pay would be deducted from the delrex payments the matter has been hanging fire since last june when the del rex firm presented a brief asking for the land release discussed several times the request came to a vote at the march 17th conn cil meeting and was turned down by a 6 3 vote subsequently the firm contacted council and a meeting was arranged on march 26th between company represen tatives and council meeting as a committeeof thewhole from this discussion came the new delrex offer presented at the april 2nd meeting leading to councils ac- tion on april 9th to have a by j law amendment and an agreement prepared j standing room only has been the rule at the last three council meetings and mondays crowd overflowed into the municipal building hallway and the adjoin ing committee room as curious ratepayers gathered to hear the deliberations there were over a hundred spectators and several ratepayers took the opportunity to speak and express their views before council entered its deliber ations among these were john henley 40 bairstow crescent who presen ted a lengthy list of questions and suggested council get independent financial and legal opinion before making any decision mr henley said be was not making a definite objection to the plan but just wants assurance that the right thing is being done attendance at the mng showed that towns people have opinions be said mr henley opined that the zoning by law should become effective be fore any more homes are built that subdivision roads should reach a certain standard before the town accepts them and that delrex should foot capital costtojmrdro extension to serve the proposed new part of the subdivision if the water granted peraus- for use of septic tanks l ml c taw wflttng auditor which he said warned that the towns borrowing power is near the limit harrison wood 28 bairstow crescent read a letter from his wife complaining of a school situ ation which sees staggered classes now and a continuance of this were mass building to go ahead mrs wood objected to a state ment at the last meeting by cr sbes that the school board has the responsibility of education and said it is eerjones job to sec that the town has adequate schooling i ra not against building but i want time to consider it i don t see delrex offering to build a school he said then added a complaint about subdivision roads which he terms disgraceful r c warren 40 hewson cresc introduced himself as president of the swanek ratepayers and said he represented that group in ask trig council not to give the by law the required three readings that night he asked if council consulted a firm of experts about the desirabi lity of extensive house building what the opinion was and what it had cost storm sewers have been promised in his subdivision he said but have not yet been in stalled as an individual i was hurt to read in the paper that a coun cil member thought every time i spoke i was shooing away a po tential industrialist if so why did fie vote for a motion to bring more people because the 7000 here now aren t going to move awa said mr warren i believe those remarks are directed at me and i have no in tention of retracting what i said last week answered cr sykes i vc lived in georgetown over 40 j cars and in the past three ears i ve heard more derogatory remarks passed on mam st about the towns financial position by people who dont know what theyre talking about than i have in the previous forty cr sykes said people should take time to examine things be fore they begin making wild state ments which hurt the town pub licity wise speaking briefly for the delrex firm general manager harold ban- stow said he would like to point out that the 1954 agreement has not been broken and that land presently being built on was un conditionally released by that agreement the amendment be ing asked would be of mutual benefit to town and company he said and council could not be ac cused of making a hasty decision for it has been under discussian since last june mrs joseph lupton 50 byron st said that ladies in her neigh bourhood over the garden wall had asked her to stress the school situation and where money is to come from to build a new school whiie the town would get tax mon ey from detrex proposal it would have the same advantage of an in dustry locating she said because an industry would provide work for the residents too bernard cassell windsor road presented a petition which he aid had been signed by 08 of the people ap asking that the detrex p be put to a vote of the ra sid har- die 4 shelley st endorsed mr cassttts mniarii saying us peo ple of 1 contacted bad signed ing to the public if mr bairstow would agree to coma and explain what building of 5x homes will entail for the town he stressed that the ratepayers group is non partisan and interested only in the meeting as an informative one a similar petition containing 162 signatures was presented by sid orr 4 market st a former councillor who reported that only three people of those he had ap proached did not sign it never in my 17 years in town have i seen residents so aroused or incensed about a matter mr orr said he asked how good a delrex guarantee is when they had guaranteed a 4060 ratio and had brought only one small plant to town of which only four of the employees live in georgetown the original delrex agreement had never been published in the her aid he said and he doubts if ten citizens have ever seen the agree- mnt the zoning b law was publish ed word for word however as if anybody cared he continued we save chicken rjouse during grass fire fironun had to battk a jrav fire that raid out of control for two hours liuriij when paper from an incinerator bihind tht vanan asocial3 plant on kmr road ignited thl dr riv in an adjoining fa id aultd bj a stiff breezi flamis spread rapid lo to the lower paper mill and wen not brought under control until it had burned all the waj back to the old coal chutes on the cnr siding several apple trees were damag ed in the fire and only the alert action of the firemen prevented a large chickep4fuse from being razed the call was turned in at about 2pm on monday firemen had little trouble in dousim grass tire which had been started by children playing in a field behind the geo barber property in the cloverdale subdivision no damage resulted from the blaze which started at ab out 4 45 p m know who does the zoning around here if the project goes through it is mr orrs opinion that there will be an addition of a million and a half dollars to the town debt and interest alone will amount to 9qj00 a year he pointed out that it takes 100 a year to educate a child and if there are two children in a home taxes just cover education cost donl take it too hard if your taxes go up 90 in the next few years if this project goes through- he warned introducing himself as one of abe towns newer residents doug jas meades 72 rexway dr said georgetown has no corner on the school problem and it is common in any growing community our council has only been in office for four months and there seems to be a terrific amount of criticism if you havent faith in them why did you vote them in he asked ml what council continued on page 6 ambulance service makes plans for new vehicle the meeting of- the volunteer ambulance scnict on april 6th discussed the reception of the new ambulance and the outfitting uf sime the film and talk b constable ted scott which will be shown on april 24th at 8 00 pm in wrigglesworth school was dis cussed eight new volunteers were re corded as follows walter thomp son ken reuses al zeravlev george redfern ken mccosh harold scckington gerald rusk and logan macdonald anyone wishing to volunteer is asked to call ed hall tr 73273 eugene green tr 73989 or har old gilmer tr 72590 on thurs day march 20th rev morgan mc farlane and rev alex calder were on call for the ministerial asso ciation on friday march 21st a call was made to st josephs hos pital guelph showboat minstrels sr0 crowd 3 nights playing to packed houses the rotary showboat minstrels brought their music and fun to wrigglesworth school auditorium last week the third annual show was bn a par with previous years and was hugely enjoyed the jokes were topical itber ally sprinkled with names of local residents a parody used the tune enjoy yourself to lampoon the local political scene and a runn ing sg about town solicitor geo hewson brought all the jokes one could think about lawyers the show was produced and directed by ern hyde and ralph ursel john inglis and john van winssen bandied lighting -bob- barber designed the scenery ken neth r harrison was choral di rector and mrs bernard cassell who danced a specialty number directed choreography john ord was interlocutor four of last years end men repeated their roles ern hyde george glassford dick shearly and bill hamiltdo with newcomers walter pope and bill raycroft joining them back to perform in sing ing roles were roberta hawes and mrs charlie day with sandra sproulc joining the cast this year vickn ii dancirs win pitkanin nics and six stalwart georgettes brought down the house withtheir dancing antics john gunn jack muckart bob burns ray mc broom ernie pearcc and bud bis hop the how had its own orchestra comprising bill carr keith bar bcr archie kerr ed pctirs len wilson s ncwstead and ralph ursel 1 hi jioi alii i uhust sm iir jki s pi o idid strong musical background for tin show unlink d i mrs kdlph urstl mr jim burns mrs ene green mrs stan o con nor mrs ern hyde mrs bill ra croft mrs george grahb mrs vern mctullongh mrs dirk van i lecuwen mrs thomas brown gene grim tom forgrave tom brown lonl andrews vern mc i cullough vic batu and jim burns what council did council sets 1958 budget last night games night successful event businesswomen the business and professional women s club held their annual games night on monday even mg in the legion auditorium tbir ty tables of games were in play euchre canasta bridge scrabble hearts practically any game you can think of was in process each table had an individual table prize for their own particular game mrs arthur suddaby the president welcomed the guests and expressed the thanks of the club for their support draw tickets had been sold for the aid of uncef united nations childrens emergency fund on vouchers of 50 25 and 10 the winners of this draw were gordon halhtt 11 gibbons place the 50 mrs archie galbraith oakville 25 and mrs martin cummins of john st the 10 voucher lucky ticket holders were mrs edna korzack miss isobel thomp son mr c belleghcm mrs w hamilton streetsvillc mrs rene martin mrs r c mcdermolt mrs maccusworth mrs enckson mrs jack run ham miss jessie leavitt mrs uod marks mrs kivin cauli mrs william hjde mrs a s wilson a l milkr mis i matthias mrs hujh 1 indsa mis nancy archer mrs d i whiu mrs 1 eshe slreelsville mrs walter biehn mrs helen robinson mrs peter drintirs mrs l w dann mrs richard milkr mis- nora hranstz mr richard miller mrs dorolhv burn- mrs chane buhn cho ley mr jack millir strcetsille mrs clarence buck mrs john pat terson 17 orchard blvd was the commir fo- the night miss jean ruddill main street north was the convener for the refreshments which were served at the conclus ion of the draw miss isabel dob- son designed and prepared the at tractive programs toronto man leaves two georgetown sons two local men suffered a family bereavement when their father died suddenly in toronto thurs- day morning ebcnezer george meades 75 was a native of the city and a re tired employee of the rolph clark stone lithographing firm he succumbed to a heart attack which he suffered at his home 280 flojd ave east york the pre vious week mr and mrs meades had celebrated their 55th wedding anniversary hi liavcs his wife kdlth hlrn foster and thirteen children rev george e meades rector of st paul s anglican church bethany douglas 72 rexway dr and jack co mclntyre crescent georgetown edwin gordon ernest mrs g moasc mrs j barr and frank of toronto donald of london al pert of cobourg melville and harold of trenton he also leaves 32 grandchildren and five great grandchildren funeral service was held in pl barnabas anglican church on saturday morning with interment following in resthaven memorial gardens bill girdwood hero in rescue bill girdwood former owner of girdwood hardware on guelph street and now living in pheomx arizona for the past year had a er thrilling and satisfying ex penence reccntlj he and mrs girdwood who is the daughter of mrs elizabeth mccrae 26 market street had taken their son to a park for a birthday picnic on the side of a canal when the heard a great commotion and discover ed that a young girl had fallen into the canal which was- a swirl ling torrent after the many rains the girl who it was later discov ercd to be thirteen was swept more than 660 feet in the canal before mr girdwood who had jumped in the water further down the waterway could reach her another man who had also tried to save the girl was swept down to the sluicegates himself and had to be pulled out i fair board met at presidents home directors of the esquesing ag ricultural society which sponsors georgetown fall fair met at the home of the 1058 president wil fnd bird on thursday evening it was a meeting of both the la dies and men s section and miss charlotte mcculiough chaired the ladies meeting in the absence of the president mrs mac alexander after about 30 jears as trcas urer of the board p w cleaves resignation was accepted and tre vor williams the present secre- tir was appointed secretary treasurer of the board the appointment of a scctftiti vice president was not made at j the annual meeting in januarx ind darfield mcgilvray was elect ed to fill this position i various items pertaining the 1 fair were discussed one being the possibility of erecting a new and 1 mitre up lolatc f nn at thi park for cattle ties the ladies report ed another successful cooking school and plans were made for the annual district no 5 meeting to be held this year in george town sometime in late october pr early november social a personal mrs harold stoddart belh and dale of trenton spent the holida week with his parents mr and mrs j c sloddart 17 arietta st local builders laeet visitors from england a group of english builders and their wives were entertained at- tea on monday by mr and mrs rex heslop at their home in town the group members of the southern counties federation of building trades employers are making an extensive tour of can ada and the states and were in toronto that day j mr heslop who is 1st vice president of the national house builders associ ation arranged the g visit which was jointly spo by the local buqdets tn an onctal wile nine by mayor jack assstrong was replied to by c a dtewttt ibmiwmcib lea- dsr at the group ike which travelled by bus had a tour of the delrex subdivision while here prior to leavhig for buffalo that evening members of the party included mr and mrs drewitt mr and mrs s h bunage hassocks sus sex mr and mrs d e drew nev milton hants mr s r gerdes carfax horsham mr and mrs l a- g hawkes seven- oaks kent mr and mrs w stir- land chichester sussex mr and mrs g stone folkestone kent mr and mrs w j stringer cbaj- font sl peter bucks mr and mrs a whaley mr woking sur rey and mr b g partyjsetenoaks eanl the easter bunny visits norvat brownies the last meeting before the easter holidays of the first nor- val pack was an easter party the brownies al made easter baskets and had high 4wpes that the fas ter bunny would 611 them before the meeting was over it was also a special day for lynda shea as she received her golden bar for the ceremony lynda wore a cape of gold and was taken into the fairy ring through an arch of brownies by tawny she was lead to a cushion of gold to kneel before brown owl the brown owl tapped her on each shoulder with a golden sword and named her sir lynda- knight of the golden bar and then pinned on her golden bar badge she was then given the grand howl by the pack the brownies then entertained with poems songs and riddles to the enjoyment of all before the brownies left for home to start the easter- holiday h was dis covered that the easter bunny bad coma and ailed all of their bas kets ballinaiad man was i city linotype operator william e hilts of 468 st clem ents avenue toronto died sud- i denly at his home on thursday i april 10th at the age of sixty five mr hilts bom in the bal lmafad district the son of ira hilts and martha ann beswick hilts received his early education in the blue mountain school after his marriage to olive liddy in dundas on march 22nd 1922 they moved to toronto where he was employed by the t eaton company in their print ing departments he was a mason and a member of the united church predeceased by his parents se veral ears ago and one brother george of gimh manitoba who died last year he is survived by his wife olive liddy and a daugh ter mrs william tew audrey of drdcn and her son and daughter aenn and david one brother and four sisters also are left mrs william kentner boissivian manitoba mrs joseph allan erin miss beatrice hilts ballin afad mrs robert warne acton and henry of ballinafad the chapel of morley s bed ford funeral home 150 eglinton avenue was filled with many friends and business associates and floral tributes expressing the esteem of his many friends ser vice was held at 1 30 on monday in lhchapel with interment in york cemetery pallbearers were friends and associates georgetown will have a 2mill reduction in tax rate this year a budget adopted last night by council calls for a 48 mill rate for residential properties and for in dustrial and commercial taxpayers 51 mills home owners continue to benefit this year from a 3mih provincial grant which accounts for the two rates while receiving majority coun cil approval the budget met with criticism from two councillors ern hyde and john elliott cr hyde argued for retention of last years rate terming the 48 nulls a ted herring which is gobbling up a 1867 surplus and claiming the town would be bor rowing money fur major expendi tures which could better be col lected by an extra tax levy jfe suggested the rate stay the same and the extra money be used to lnstal swanek storm sewers de layed because funds cannot be borrowed for this project cr elliott said the auditor bad recommended a 5014 mill rate and that the town establish a 1 mill reserve fund and was in clined to take this advice if you want to tell ratepayers you want to put two nulls aside for them you can but not me said mayor armstrong i think people can save their own money instead of having council do it for them the mayor said it is councils responsibility to levy taxes for the reasonable operation of the town and to pass on savings when pos sible ive always tried to give rate payers the advantage wherever possible said finance chairman mcgilvray in presenting the bud get mr mcgilvray said that longterm projects should not be paid from current taxes fur new residents as they move to town should bear a share of expense for improvements they enjoy while other councillors express ed agreement with this philosophy cr hyde gave a lengthy argument on having a payasyougo policy as much as possible in the long run he claimed the tax rate suf fers when debentures are issued debt charges are the largest item in th budget he said and council had been told last year by a bond firm representative that george town must not borrow more money or issue more debentures 1 11 oppose the swanek storm sewer or any other if it means borrowing money said cr hyde disagreeing cr sykes said it was because per capita debt is too high that the bond firm bad given this advice and that if the delrex housing project goes through this will decrease as he can see no major expenditures entailed other than a new school what about another policeman possibly another police cruiser a full tune fire brigade increased cost of garbage collection said cr hyde if we sharpened our pencils we might be able to pare two more nulls off the new tax rate said reeve sargent pointing oat that revenue estimates are con servative and that 14700 is al lowed in the budget for contin gencies mayor armstrong complimented cr mcgilvray on doing a fine job as finance chairman a post be has held for the past nine years the budget he said is a sensible one and there is a good possibili ty that this year the town might end the year again with a surplus like last year of some 17000 engagements mr and mrs mel adams of acton formerly of guelph an nounce the engagement of their daughter barbara mae to william elwyn archie service son of mr and mrs w h service of milton the wedding will take place in st georges anglican church georgetown on saturday may the thud at twothirty oclock accident on river drive neither drhcr was injured last sunday afternoon when cars colli ded on river drive at about 4 45 p m the drivers involved in the mishap were don ross of 47 nor ton crescent and jean elizabeth fines of shelburne damage was estimated at appro ximately 400 by cat ted scott who investigated jha accident important information at tuesdays council meeting motion ware passed that th p agra which would allow delrex to build 582 new h ml 1954 ment ba poutshad in this is sue of the heram after mondays meeting it was realized that a majority of council wished to inform the public as fully as possible about all details of the proposed agreement and a copy was secured by the herald and set in type it appears on page 6v unfortunately space lim itations did not allow inclusion of the 1954 agreement this week tt will appear la the april ord her ald ediuoa