WHITBY FREE PRESS, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 21, 1987. PAGE 9 Region buys computer units to smooth traffie flow Regional council has approved a works department recommen- dation to spend-about $230,000 now in order to save $82,000 over the long haul to purchase 100 remote computer control units to help the flow of traffic move smoothly in Durham. In a report to council, works commissioner Bill Twelvetrees said the Region's traffic computer system required the purchase of the 100 RCCUs to meet forecast requirements for the next five years. RCCUs are installed at each traffic signal location to enable communication with the Region's traffic computer located at 105 Consumers Dr. in Whitby. . Twelvetrees said the purchase of 100 units would cover ap- proximately 25 units which are required for the expansion of the computerized traffic control system to Ajax and Pickering, plus normal growth and maintenance requirements for the next five years. He said that by purchasing the 100 now, the total investment in in- ventory would amount to $230,375, to include 85 slaves and 15 masters. To purchase them as required, if they were still being manufactured, Attersley has reservations FROM PAGE 1 ter public transit system, did not investigate Whitby's future transit plans. "Image is also a big thing," says Attersley. He says if the headquarters was located at the Oshawa site it would look on an old smokestack, an old tire shop, the Genosha hotel and a medical building. "From an image standpoint that is just disaster," he said. GERDA SMITH sets up a display inside the Tudor House, a gift shop run by Oshawa Garden Service. Gift shop in Tudor house is year-round It is an unlikely union but one that Oshawa Garden Ser- vice hopes will pay off. The garden service has opened a gift shop to be called the Tudor House. Located at 1615 Dundas St. W., adjacent to one of the two locations of Oshawa Garden Service, the grand opening was held on May 16. "The idea was conceived in the fall of 1986," says Richard Peckman, co-ordinator bet- ween the house and the garden centre. Peckman explained that the centre always had a good response to the gift shop when it opened during the Christ- mas season. So it was decided to go year-round. The English style house has three floors with the bottom two devoted to the gift shop. The top floor is rented out. Peckman explained the house was originally owned by John Brouwer Garden Centre. It was sold to Weall and Cullen who used the house to create miniatures for Cullen Gar- dens. A private owner bought the house in 1987. and Oshawa Garden Service now leases it. "This end of Whitby is going to develop in four or five years. I think this end needed something like this," says Peckman. Shortly after setting up the house, the garden service discovered it could not devote the proper time to running it. So they hired management consultants Cheryl Thiebaud and Susan Grace who run the Kitchen Cupboard in down- town Whitby. Oshawa Garden Service did the landscaping around the house and a pool in the back will be used to display pool furniture in a proper setting. Peckman says the house of- fers two types of gifts. One is furniture, from wicker to wrought iron, brought in from South Carolina. "Around the furniture are bar accessories, small gifts. knick-knacks, bows and wrapping," says Peckman of the second type. The Tudor House is open seven days a week, and plans are in the works to extend the hours during the Christmas season. Peckman says there are also plans for a Christmas display at the house. would cost some $360,000, a figure which did not include the possibility of price escalation. But councillor Linda Dionne of Oshawa opposed the purchase, saying the money could be better spent on things required today, not five years down the road. She said she had been begging to have traf- fie signals installed at many inter- sections including one at Adelaide Ave and Thornton Rd., to no avail. "You could put up six sets of lights with that $230,000," cried Dionne. Other councillors, however, in- cluding John Aker, felt spending the money now was worthwhile. "It would be ludicrous to install traffic lights and not computerize them," hesaid. Twelvetrees said he had discussed the matter with the finance department who had agreed items be withdrawn from the inventory as needed and their cost be charged to the applicable account where the work is hudgeted. Oshawa, Graywood sites both best FROM PAGE 1 decided to engage an outside con- sultant to review the first report made by the Region's chief ad- ministrative officer Don Evans. Evans' report, which recommen- ded Oshawa's offer, was found by Peat Marwick to be thorough but omitting any analysis of the degree to which "key assumptions-affect the relative attractiveness of the alternatives. "In our view, the results of the CAO analysis are not sufficiently conclusive to support a recommen- dation for a particular alter- native," says Peat Marwick. Financially, the Graywood offer at Rossland Rd. E. and Garden has a base cost of $21.9 million, $900,000 less than the Oshawa offer, accor- ding to the consultants. But if Oshawa's $3.3-million claim of par- tial ownership in the current regional headquarters building is included, thé Graywood cost then would be $25.2 million, about $2.4 million moie than Oshawa's offer. The consultants found that Oshawa's offer is mPre accessible by public transit and potentially more efficient since it could incor- porate the social services depar- tment staff who already work in the downtown and yet not affect delivery of service. The Oshawa of- fer also fulfills Region planning policv more fully, states the review. The Graywood offer was found to be more easily accessible by private vehicle. "However, the Whitby location is not as well served by public transit today, and in the foreseeable future is not likely to have public transit service levels as high as the down- town Oshawa location," states Peat Marwick. Oshawa mayor Allan Pilkey says the location of a new headquarters in Oshawa is important not only to the city but to the "concept of regional government itself," par- ticularly since the region is "Oshawa-centred." Public help wanted to get beds FROM PAGE 1 75,000, added the mayor. "We will either have a general hospital or have a chronic con- tinuing care facility. It is now or never in terms of acting on this very important matter." In as Sept. 23 letter to Premier David Peterson, Attersley said it was "unbelievable" Whitby was not allocated the beds. "Mr. Premier. the lack of acute care beds for Whitby General has in fact, raised the question of the viability of Whitby as a total roun- ded community. I urge you to have the matter reconsidered," wrote Attersley. Wallace also told council the 43 acute beds would only respond to Whitby's short term needs. "Our own studies have indicated that there should be an additional 65 to 75 acute care beds by the year 1991-1992," said Wallace. The announcement could also have an effect on the industrial sec- tor of town. Whitby marketing and economie development officer Jeannette Babbington says that during the relocation of companies to Whitby, "their management team places a tremendous priôrity on health care. "As an economic development of- ficer, I assure you our need is not for a nursing home atmosphere," she said. WAC FORMOSTE £AS OTB I 30t PEACHSNJAN POTPOURRI Fre Lovely scented items for pampering Lunens Closet pomanders CHILDREN'S GIFT SECTION . High quauity children's acryi(c dishes " Puppets • Stuffed animais • Wooden toys . Books e Doils Coffee for ail patrons! DESIGNER WREATHS HIGH FASHION IMAGE " Bar Accessories • Firepluce Gifts • Decorative Crystai • Pluemats *High G'oss dcrtn accessores WROUGHT IRON FURNITURE For: • outdoors • Sunrooms • Living rooms ANTIQUES , Side Tables FULL "eLiving'mon'sets AND e Ral top desks SPury cupbards RATTAN ANTIQUE Surst T AND WICKER Bars Swivel rockers REPRODUCTIONS FURNITURE LINE , AND SELECTED ITEMS Sale ends Sunday, Oct. 25,/87 CHOOSE FROM OUR OUTSTANDING SELECTION • Sunroom• aDinette sets whitbybusiness