5 | O akville B eaver | T hursday,D ecem ber 3,2020 insidehalton.com Ying Yang Chartered Professional Accountant Member of Canadian Tax Foundation (647) 989-1276 Oakville Office: (289) 291-3924 Toronto Offiffice: (647) 255-8049 yy@yangaccounting.ca For an affordable solution to your Business and Individual tax difficulties … Make an Appointment Today for a Free Confidential Consultation CRACRACRACRA PPPPrroblobleems?ms? Individual, Corporati &on & Trust Payrayroll, HST includiudingng Overseas & O& Offffshorshore Tax Issueax Issues Yang Tang Tang Tang ax Resolsolution Thank you Oakville for voting for me, Dr. Lori Bouchard, ND as #1 Naturopath! Offering Immune support, and telemedicine support to keep you healthy and strong 2486 Old Bronte Rd. #107 905-842-6654 | www.insidehealthclinic.com Oakville Mayor Rob Bur- ton has announced that the town will explore options to keep local parkland follow- ing a provincial decision to declare property surplus. The Parkway, which is lo- cated near the Ninth Line and Upper Middle Road in- tersection, is owned by the province but has been leased to the Town of Oak- ville since 1958. That lease does not ex- pire until 2034. The town, in turn, has subleased the northeast cor- ner of the site to a local rug- by club. Even so, the future of the property is uncertain with the province recently de- claring the land surplus. "I have told the province the town has no interest in giving up its lease on the lands and is interested in maintaining its use of the land," said Burton. "When the process per- mits, I will be asking council to take the necessary steps to keep our use of the lands as parkland for trails and for rugby playing fields on Ninth Line. A significant part of the land is protected Joshua Creek valley lands." Burton noted that prior to any sale, the province will conduct heritage, archeo- logical and environmental assessments at the site. Town staff have con- firmed the north end of the site is the location of the for- mer Oakville Ninth Line Landfill. They said that landfill was closed in the early 1960s and later buried. It is currently being man- aged and monitored by the Region of Halton on behalf of the town. Some residents have voiced concerns about the environmental and health implications of that landfill being disturbed through de- velopment. Town staff said private contractors have been on the site this year conducting due diligence work. They also noted that the province may not decide to proceed with selling the land if they find an issue with the property. Burton noted that if and when the province does de- cide to proceed with a sale, certain government agen- cies -- the federal govern- ment, municipalities, school boards, public colleges and universities, eligible Indige- nous communities, and eli- gible not-for-profit corpora- tions (in that order) -- get a chance to express interest in acquiring the property for a public use. The town has expressed interest in preserving its op- tions to purchase the land. Burton said if no deal can be worked out with any of the previously mentioned groups, the province can ex- pose the property to the open market. "Expressing interest does not commit the town or the province to complete a pur- chase and sale of the proper- ty but means the town will be eligible to have discus- sions with the province to see if a direct deal can be agreed upon," said Burton. Town staff said council will receive a report after the province finishes its due dil- igence and confirms it is willing to sell the property to the town. At that point, the town expects to have a better idea of the potential purchase price, and council can de- cide how to proceed. NEWS TOWN EXPLORING OPTIONS TO KEEP PARKLAND DECLARED SURPLUS BY PROVINCE DAVID LEA dlea@metroland.com The Parkway. Infrastructure Ontario photo.