Fair site objections are resolved at OMB hearing A FLAG CRISIS A Whitby Public Utilities Commission cherry picker came to the rescue Friday when a tattered Ontario flag stuck at the top of its pole at the municipal building. It took only à few seconds for the PUC men to unhook the reluctant flag, and the caretaker for the municipal building brought it safely to the ground. "It's all in a day's work," said the PUC men, who usually have to deal with live wires rather than flag runners. Free Press Photo by Brian Winter Bus rides from north to swimming pool proposed The Operations committee during a meeting Jan. 22 asked the Director of Recreation, Wayne DeVeau to make. a check on bus service for the northern part of Whitby. He was asked to check and see what the costs are and also What type of buses would be available. The Committee wanted the information by Wednesday Jan. 24 in order to place the information before the Finance Committee for dis- cussion. The bus service is to be made available; if the Finance Committee agrees to put it before Council. It is a recommendation which has not been dealt with as yet due to the cancellation of the Budget meeting last Wednesday as a result of the extremely bad weather con- ditions. Some of the aspects to be looked into are the price of the bus service and the use of it, how many people will use the bus service from Ashburn, Myrtle and Brooklin area for expedi- tions down to and from the Iroquois Park Arena and Pool facilities. The members of the Operations Committec and Mayor Jim Gartshore wanted to know when such a bus service might start. as they expressed the hope that such a service may help to put some money into the recreation department façil- ities that are available to the people of Whitby. The hope is that such a bus service will bring the people in the Brooklin-Ashburn area to Iroquois Park in an effort to get more people to swim in the pool and use the facili- ties. The proposed service would be available on Satur- days only for the time being for the use of school children and adults to transport them to Iroquois Park. The discussion on the Bellwood Drive reconstruc- tion was not lengthy at the Operations Committee meeting last week. There is a further discussion on this project coming up in the Capital Budget, Chairman Gerry Emm pointed out. The move to have the project put over to the budget meeting was passed. It has been recommended by the Public Works Depart- ment that the contractor for the Forster D)evelopmens subdivision be given the authority to proceed with the construction of the sid.ewalks on both sides of Bellwood Drive, from Thickson Road south to the east limit of this subdivision. The cost of the sidewalks would be approxi- mately $10,000 with the monies being taken out of the development levies. Last October Council approved the reconstruction of Bellwood Drive to urban standards. The report Retirees club being formed The Kiwanis Club of Whitby and Sydenham, OshaWa, are forming a Kiwanis Club for retired business and professional men in Whitby. The new club will meet weekly and engage in an extensive program of com- munity service and will 'njoy thefellkwship that is a major aspcét of Kiwanis. The retirees type of club, pioneered for all of Canada by the Sydenham Club of Oshawa, has proven to be an asset to the community and a major contributor to active community service. Interested retired- men should contact the following for. complete information: Brick Evans, 315 King Street, Whitby, 668-2241, or the Whitby or Sydenham Kiwanis Clubs. pointed out that most of the work has been completed and that sodding, the only work outstanding, will be undertaken during the Spring of 1979. The sidewalks and the final course of asphalt were not included in this work at that time. The report stated that, "the Developers of the Whitby Town Estates Sub. division will be constructing sidewalks on both sides of Bellwood Drive further east in the near future. It is therefore essential that sidewalks on this section of Bellwood Drive should be constructed before the sod- ding of the boulevards." It also pointed out that the final course of asphalt could. be applied after some dev- elopment has taken place on Bellwood Drive further east in the Whitby Town Estates Subdivision. The Works Department anticipate that this will not be earlier than 1980. "There is the possibility of an agriculture Fair, under the sponsorship of the South Ontario Agricultural Society on the new fair site this summer", Planning Director Kevin Tunney said, at the conclusion of a brief Ontario Municipal Board Hearing on Thursday. The Solicitors for the five families objecting to the proposed site for thé South Ontario Agricultural Fair, the South Ontario Agricul- tural Society and the Town of Whitby had met on several occassions and came to an agreement. The three Solici- tors presented the agree- ment of Settlement Minutes to the Ontario 'Municipal Board presiding in the Whitby Council Chambers. In the - Minutes of Settlement it was agreed that the amended zoning by-law which was passed by the Council in the Autumn of 1977 would be presented to the Whitby Town Council. It will be presented for an- amendmientwhich woïld restrict the use of the pro- perty for a fair grounds for only 14 days within a cal- endar year. Planning Director Tunney pointed out that this amend- ment clause is included in the zoning by-law "as a safeguard element to the zoning, which had been already contemplated and agreed upon in the signing of the site plan agreement" in September 1976. The amended by-law is to be passed by Council, then forwarded to the Ontario Municipal Board for appro- val without further hearings, the OMB Chairmen ruled on Thursday. As Mr. Tunney pointed out, if the final OMB approval is received early enough there is the possibility that the South Ontario Agricultural. Society will be holding its fair on the new fair site location south east of Brooklin. The 67-acre site is located west of Garrard Road and south of Winchester Street. .The Agricultural Society has operated the Oshawa Fair for more than 50 years at the Alexandra Park site in 'Oshawa but outgrew the facilities in 1974. Also the society encoun- tered parking problems and the joviality of the Fair was too noisy for the nearby Oshawa General Hospital. Since 1974 the Agricultural Society has been trying to find a new home for their Annual Fair. The Society presented a plan for a new Agricultural Showplace to be called the Durham Region Place, ini September 1976 to the Whitby Town Council. There are five families living adja- cent to -this 67-acre site who objected to the proposed fair Bellwood Drive construction deferred site on the grounds of the need for rezoning. During 1978 Whitby Plan- ning Director Tunney tried to resolve the differences between the Fair Board and the residents but there seemed to be a barrier. As a result, the Planning Staff recommended that the only way to reduce the barrier and resolve the dispute was to have an Ontario Municipal Board Hearing. The proposed Fair Site near Garrard Road in the southeast section of Brooklin conforms with the Official Plans of the Town of Whitby and the Region of Durham as being an Open Space area. The residents of the area pointed out that the site was zoned 26 years ago as an Agricultural zone. In zoning the areas Agri- cultural the Whitby Town- ship Councif also made pro- vision that an Agricultural Fair coulkibe held on lands zoned. Agricultural; as the Agricultural Fair became a display pilace for the produce of the farms and the type of machinery the farmers could and would use for the production of the farm products. Hospital steam plant ready by March Construction of the new steam plant at the Dr. J.O: Ruddy hospital is proceeding on schedule and ishould be completed by the middle of March says Hospital Admin- istrator John Kunetsky. The walls have been built and workers are preparing to put on the roof. This will be followed by the pouring of a concrete floor and the installation of two boilers and other equipment, he said. The cost of the steam plant, • which will provide heat to the hospital and steam for sterilizing instru- ments and washing dishes and carts is $205,000, of which two thirds is being paid by the Ontario Ministry of Health and one thrid by the hospital. The plant will replace an old distribution system from the Whitby Psychiatric Hos- pital which is ini need of 1epairs. The need for major repairs and the lack of assurance that the psychia- tric hospital would always supply steam, casued the Dr. Ruddy Hospital board to decide to construct their own steam plant. El\ im%-ý E ýs . s