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Vol. 126 No. 26 PORT PERRY, ONTARIO - WEDNESDAY, MAY 20, 1992 44 Pages Flea market idea angers merchants By Kelly Lown Port Perry Star A number of local merchants are not impressed with the pro- posed flea market for the old Johnson Controls plant just south of Port Perry. Stephanie Kasperski, owner of Gramma Grunts, is the spokesman for the area mer- chants who are opposed to the whole concept. She told the Port Perry Star that the flow of traffic is one of the merchants' main concern.s "The flea market will be open on Saturdays and Sundays. In Port Perry those are our busiest days," she said. With the proposed Sunday shopping law close to becoming reality any town will be able to open their store's doors. In the past this is a concept that has been restricted to tourist towns like Port Perry. "Customers will be spread out already if Sunday shopping is allowed, and the flea market would only spread the custom- ersouteven further," she said. Mrs. Kasperski began con- tacting local merchants last week and as of Tuesday morn- ing she told the Port Perry Star of the 50 shop owners she spoke with, five were neutral to the flea market concept and the re- mainder were opposed. Some local store owners, even though opposed to the market, said if the market goes through they may have to set up a booth tobe able to makeit, she added. Most of the area merchants have the same concerns. They are afraid they will not be able to compete with the market's wholesale prices. "No one 1s untouchable," Mrs. Kasperski said. Flea markets have vendors from all areas sell- ing a number of items that will be at a reduced price. "There is no way local store owners can compete (with a wholesaler's price)," she said. Mrs. Kasperski also points out it is not just the gift shops that need to worry, but all store owners. "Flea markets are not like they used to be, it is no long- er a place that people try to sell their junk. It is one big discount mall," she said. Flea markets now sell tools, lumber, paint, wallpaper, plants and jewelry. There are also refreshments available. It touches all the merchants, she said. Mrs. Kasperski said because the vendors do not have hun- dreds of dollars to pay in rent each month they can sell their wares at alower cost. People are just going to come into town to find a bargain, she said. "It is the wrong time, during a recession, to bring this in," she added. Mrs. Kasperski added that she sees nothing wrong with flea markets, but not in Port Perry. "Port Perry has a nice reputa- tion. We don't want to be known as a flea market town, like Stouffville," she said. Many of the comments from merchants were the same. They told Mrs. Kasperski they are here year round to support local sports teams and organizations and if the stores go out of busi- ness who will be supporting these groups, Mrs. Kasperski said. Employees of these local stores are also worried about the flea market, she said. Many said their hours have already been cut due to the economic times and are afraid they will be Turnto Page 3 Convention Hooking A Challenge!! It's township against township on May 27 as Scugog and Uxbridge Townships will compete to see who is the fittest of the fit on ParticipACTION Day. Mayors Howard Hall and Gerri-Lynn O'Connor, as well as Scugog Ward 3 councillor Ken Gadsden are urging residents of their respective townships to get out and exercise on May 27 for 15 minutes. The township that has the least amount of participants must fly the other township's flag for one week. facility a great asset Hall wants waterfront hotel complex By Scott Anderson Port Perry Star Scugog Mayor Howard Hall has adream. That dream is to convert a portion of Port Perry's water- front into a convention centre where functions can enjoy the Lake Scugog waterfront. Mayor Hall says the ideal place would be on the Conway property at Highway 7A and Water Street. Mayor Hall says he has been actively pursuing the idea with a number of developers in the area, but has been unable to get any firm offers due to the poor economic times. He says a major hotel chainisinterested in man- aging the facility ifit is built. "My scheme is to try to get somebody that will accept the fact that there is a great tourist potential on the lake," he said. Mayor Hall points to the year round opportunities that the lake offers including fishing, swimming, boating, ice fishing and snowmobiling. It is the mayor's feeling that although these factors draw people to the area, it is not enough. He believes a conven- tion facility would be a great help to the community. "That's what we need to get the community going," he says. Mayor Hall envisions a major hotel with a number of banquet facilities, recreational facilities and shops. He believes thatonce thisisin place it will draw more people to the area, away from the Toronto area. Scugog 18 the ideal place as it 1s less than one hour from downtown Toronto. "I think it would be fantastic," he says. Both Mayor Hall and Dur- ham Region's Commissioner of Economic Development Pat Olive has been pursuing this idea for some time. Although he has not given up on attracting industry to the area, the mayor believes the township does not have much of a chance attracting industry to the area until its services such as sewer and water are expand- ed. He says they are limited to in- dustries that do not require sewers or water. "I'm not giving up on indus- try. I'm just realistic enough to realize that until expanded sew- age capacity is available, we can't offer serviced land."