Page 8, Whitby Free Press, Wednesday, March 3,I1993 whitby business Lasco wins Hibernia project contract B Mike Kowalski A .Kitby firm has won a multi-million dollar contract to produce steel for the Hibernia oil mega-project. e-Steel Lasco, together with Stelco McMaster Ltd. of Contre- coeur, Quebec, were recently awarded contracts in excess of $30 million. lTe two companies will supply approximately 80,000 metric tonnes of steel for the $5.2-billion development off the coast of Newfoundland. The reinforcing steel will be used in constructing the massive gravity base structure that will support the drilling platform. erry Newman, Co-Steel Lasco vice-president of'sales, said the Whitby firm has already begun shipping steel that will be used in the project. Although Newman would not disclose the value of Co-Steel Lasco's contract, he did say the local plant will supply about 50 per cent (40,000 metric tonnes) of the steel required. Newman did not ex pect an increase in the company's work- force as a result of the contract. "We've been running at 100 per cent and will stay at 100 per cent," he said. Almost 700 people are cur- rently employed at the Hopkins St. factory. Ontario ridin MP Rene Soe- tens congratu iated Co-Steel Lasco on its successful bid. "This is an example of a Cana- dian firm that competed inter- nationally for a major contract and won," said Soetens in a prepared statement. "It is also a positive example of the government's action to help the Canadian economy," he said. "When Canadians ask what the govenment is doing to sti- mulate the economy we can point to Hibernia as an example.» Soetens noted that Hibernia officials have indicated that 75 per cent of the prject's steel reinforcing contracts have come from Canadian sources. "This illustrates that when povernment and industry work m tandem, they create jobs,» he added. ByMikeKowalski A proposed expansion of a meat processing plant in Myrtle Station has local homeowners concerned. Residents are worried that a virtual doubling in size of the Kurz Foods plant will affect not only their lifestyles but possibly their health. They .say foul odours already emanate from the Baldwin St. facility and effluent has been leaking from the plant's septie tanks. About a dozen residents of the north Whitby hamlet appeared before Town council's planning and development committee Monday. Owner Karl-Heinz Kurz has filed a rezoning application which seeks to enlarge his 10,764-sq. ft. plant to 24,722 sq. ft. According to a planning department report, the expan- sion will be done in two phases. The first phase is to comply with an Agriculture Canada request that a separate room for curing salami be provided. In order to comply with the federal regulations, a 6,045-sq. ft. addition is required. The second phase, comprised of 4,387 sq. ft. will allow for expansion of the plant's packag- ing and shippingroom . Although almost everyone who spoke Monday praised the Kurz family as good neighbours and did not want to hinder their business, all had reservations about the proposal. John Smithson who operates a business near the Kurz plant, said the major complaint in- volves a recurring odour. "It's quite a problem "he said. While not absolutely certain, Smithson said the odour appears to emanate from the Kurz septic tank. Smithson's comments were supported by a letter from Rae Stone, owner of an apartment building located south of the Kurz property. "This smell is so bad that my tenants claim they cannot sit outside in good weather,» Stone writes. Stone states that in order to correct "bad" water problems in the building's well, he replaced his own septic tank. "It has helped but on occasion we still get a ad report," he states. Stone believes "drain-off" from the Kurz septic system which is 150-200 ft. fromhis well, could be the cause. Stone also notes that a "foul- smelling liquid with an oily film" occasionally runs down a ditch alongside nearby Mud Lake Rd. "1 ~hate to think what this mightbe," he adds. Bb Rennie of Baldwin St. said this will be the second expansion of the plant. (In 1988, council approved a 2,084-sq. ft. addition to the ori- ginal 7,266-sq. ft. building.) "Every four years they appear to be getting bigger," said En- nie. "I'm concerned about what's happening underground, the im- pact on our wells. Tom McTeague of Baldwin St. said he has lived in the area for six years. "Mr. Kurz is a good neighbour there's no problem there," said McTeague. "But in '88 they doubled the spaoe, now they're doubling it again. Will this lead to further expansion or is this the end of it? he asked. While he is not worried about Kurz' intentions, McTeague said a future owner might try to operate a "chicken processing plant" and he demanded a guarantee that this will not hap- pen. Councillor Dennis Fox asked what measures have been taken to control the odour problem. Councillor Ross Batten com- mittee chair, said botfi the Ontario Ministry of Environment and Durham Region health department have inspected the site. "They recommended the effluent be hauled away as it's being done now, but I don't know if it's solving all the problems," said Batten. Architect Joe Steinhagen told committee that larger storage tanks will be installed on the property, however the effluent wili stil have to be taken away every day. Councillor Marcel Brunelle said he would tend to support the application. "But after hearing the neigh- bours speak, it's obvious there is a need to include in the expan- sion a solution to this problem," said Brunelle. The application will be circula- ted for further public and government agency comment before coming back to committee with a recommendation from the planning department. In last week's edition, a photo of Whitby Chamber of Commerce past president Trevor Bardens was wrongly substituted for one of Jim Ellis, current president, in a column by Ellis. The Free Press wishes to apo- logize for the errer. OGS LANDSCAPE Do-It Centre lands. Thé Thickson 'Rd. N. business employees Louise Thibert (left) and Anna received first prize in their category, the Trevor-Wilson receive a certificate for their first time a Canadian garden centre has role in designing a spring bulb display last earned an award. Making the presentation fall that was recognized by the Inter- is Bob LeRue of the international centre. national Flower Bulb Centre in the Nether- Photo by Peter Tomblin, Whitby Free Press Major retail centres approved FROM PAGE 1 said. While marketing studies pre- pared in support of the proposal indicate local businesses could lose anywhere from four to nine per cent of sales to the newco- mers, Fox said this should not sway council's thinking. "Whether it's in Whitby, Osh- awa or Ajax, the impact on Whitby business will be the same, he said. "To refuse it on that basis is wrong." While he supported the pro- posal, M.yor Tom Edwards noted'that the Whitby Downtown Business Improvement Area objects to the project because of its potential impact on local mer- chants. But Invar spokesman Susan Rogers told committee that area businesses should not be wor- ried. Price Club and Aikenhead's customers will come from an area much larger than Whitby, she said. "It will be a regional draw, they won't directly compete with retail establishments in down- town Whitby,»said Rogers. "The impact will be minimal because of the nature of the businesses," she said. "After having been to Aiken- head's in Scarborough I know there's nothing that downtown businesses have to be concerned about," said Edwards. In fact, Edwards is "confident" Whitby merchants will benefit from a "spin-off" effect from the warehouses. Councillor John Dolstra said he had also been concerned about the impact on local busi- ness, but will support the appli- cation. "These are new jobs and it will keep dollars in Whitby," said Dolstra. He said Price Club and Aiken- head's will contribute $2.2 mil- lion in taxes to the municipality over a 20-year period. Councillors Marcel Brunelle and Ross Batten both referred to Rogers' opening remark that it has been one year since Invar's application was filed. "It needed that length of time in order to do the research that will allow it to stand up to the scrutiny that this is the best site," said Brunelle. Batten, committee chair, con- ceded the process may have taken longer than anticipated, but the additional time was worth it. "The traffic and marketing stu- dies show clearly that this is the best location," said Batten. «It's good for Whitby, it's some- thing we'll be proud of for years to come." The committee's unanimous recommendation goes to council next week. Although there have been no formal objections to Invar's plans, Rogers told reporters fol- lowing the meeting it may yet happen. She said the major grocery store chains have opposed every Price Club built or proposed in Ontario. "We're exepcting it to happen here,» said Rogers. "There hasn't been anything yet, but we're not ruling it out, she said. Rogers said the six Price Club centres now operating in Ontario are not in direct competition with grocery stores. "You can't go to the Price Club and get a head of lettuce, you have to get four," she said. Price Clubs also have a limited selection of any one item to choose from, Rogers said. "They don't have the variety, basic you only get the one kind," sUesaid. "It's not the same kind of shopping experience, you go there for different reasons." 'Work force at meeting 'Workforce Analysis and Data Availability' will be discussed at a meeting in Oshawa on Tues- da March 9. e meeting will be held by the Durham Region Employment Equity Network, for human resource professionals and employment equity practitioners. The meetingwillbe held at the Holiday Inn, from 11:45 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tickets are $25. For registration call Elizabeth McArthur at 721-2000, ext. 409. Due to an editing error, there was an incorrect figure in Derek Dutka's' column abut 'Spousal RRSPs'in last week's edition. It should have been stated that a person earning more than $30,000 when making a spousal RRSP contribution would have received a 40 per cent tax rebate, ndt 49 per cent as stated. Concerns over Kurz Foods plant expansion