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FRIDAY, MARCH 3, 2000 - From page 1 ment wants, and some of the options that Scugog may follow. It was then fol- lowed by an "open mike" session where citizens | could state their views. { And while it may have been subtle, one message came up several times from different public speakers: Scugog seems to be working well as a A municipality; it's debt- free, has seen miniscule tax hikes in the last eight years, a trimmed-down yet highly accessible and \ polite municipal staff, conscientious and accessi- ble elected officials, and perhaps most important | of all, a high quality of life for residents who take pride in their community | and show that pride | through high levels of vol- | unteerism in everything i from minor sports to the | two fair boards. One speaker, who told the meeting he moved ; here about a year ago from Unionville to escape "traffic congestion and bad air", called Scugog a | "great place to live." "My problem is, what's the problem? Why is there any need to change any- thing?" he asked. Mayor Moffatt said the impetus for municipal | PORT PERRY "WEEKEND STAR" Council considers several amalgamation scenarios change is coming from Queen's Park, where "some people think we need fixing." He reminded the audience as well that last June the Conservative government of Mike Harris under 50,000 people; was returned to office with 0 adding Clarington to a healthy majority, includ- the Scugog-Brock- ing several seats in Uxbridge mix for a com- Durham Region. bined population of over Queen's Park has told 100,000; or the municipalities it wants a splitting areas of a series of changes over Scugog off with Ward 4 the next 18-24 months to (Cartwright) joining create fewer municipali- Victoria County, for exam- ties and improved deliv- ple, or Ward | (old Reach) ery of municipal services, joining Uxbridge and the with less bureaucracy and rest merging with Oshawa- clearer lines of responsi- Whitby-Ajax-Pickering bility. south of the Ridges. Those at the meeting Several of these were also given a list of options were rejected by potential options that those present Monday Scugog may pursue over evening, especially any the next 18 to 24 months. notion of becoming part of These include: a new "mega city" centred Q retaining the status in Oshawa, or worse, quo; Toronto. And the politi- Q becoming part of a cians made it clear that new city of Durham made the status quo is not an up of most or all of the cur- ~~ option either. rent member municipali- The option that ties of Durham Region; seemed to garner the Q merging Scugog with most support was for an outside jurisdiction some kind of merger or such as Victoria County to partnership with Uxbridge the northeast; and Brock, which now a forming: a municipal share many common traits partnership with with Scugog that could be Uxbridge, our neighbour deemed a community of to the west; interests. Q partnering with Brock Indeed, a fact sheet Township to the north; Q partnering with both Uxbridge and Brock Township to create a new municipality with a com- bined population of just handed out at Monday's meeting by township staff show many similarities between the three north- em townships. Each now has seven elected council- lors, about 35 full time employees, between 305 and 400 km of local roads, similar numbers of works depots and arenas, and close to the same area in sq. km. (Scugog 467, Uxbridge 416 and Brock 418) Current population totals show Scugog with 19,746, Uxbridge at 15,882 and Brock with 12,400. Officials from the three townships held informal meetings last month to discuss merger and amal- gamation issues. Regional Councillor Gadsden told the meeting that in exploring options for a future amalgamation, it will be crucial to match the "community values" that are held so dear by so many of Scugog's resi- dents. They include pre- serving our small-town lifestyle; a farm-based economy; controlled resi- dential growth; a sense of freedom; high level of vol- unteerism; pride in the downtown shops and ser- vices, and concerns for the environment. And more than one time. They urged local politicians to stand firm against forced amalgama- speaker stressed that any future merger or amalga- mation for Scugog must avoid those sprawling tion, and one resident areas south of the Oak called on Durham MPP Ridges Moraine, John O'Toole to resign if described as a kind of nat- ural buffer between the rural north and the rapidly his government comes up with a plan that is unac- ceptable to the people of urbanizing south. Scugog. Some residents By June 2001, Scugog expressed fears that will submit a report to Queen's Park, and a final report six months later with the new "municipal creature" in place for the elections in November 2003. politicians at Queen's Park have already plotted the future of Durham Region, and that local efforts to come up with alternative options are a waste of LAV Ee IT TS ALITA e Home Making Supplies e Gift Certificates Over 100 Beer Bivins | Wine Cooler Kits inoka - Hard Lemoneide Gebers) Lemonade... 159 Casimir St., ola dl of=14daV http://beer portperry.com » email: beer@portperry.com CUP TT rT A aa a a aaa amt EE a nn---- i Saladin i ie rp ee in, oD i a | i -- ta DUNN'S in the OSHAWA WIN 1} SA F 'CENTRE Sale Ends Sun, Mar. 12th BRAND NAME a CY Ol Led nim 0 ve! TOYOTA MERCHANDISE ©) YN | 1/2 PRICE MENSWEAR. 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