stouffville suntribune thursday sept 15 2005 5 newspaper barred from brainstorming sessions last minute decision closes meetings by hannelore volpe staff writer the stouffville suntribune was barred from a town initiat ed brainstorming session friday and saturday that was held to find ways to bolster the downtown in previous interviews with the mayor and town staff no mention was made that the meetings would be closed to the media on friday members voted to have the meeting which included a walkabout in the downtown area open to the public councillor harry bowes said- but that evening mayor sue sherban phoned resident fred robbins asking him not to attend the next day at saturdays meeting the mayor announced the session would be private however resident dave probert and two other citizens who came by latcham hall near the end of the meeting were never told to leave after consulting with mem bers the mayor decided to bar the media so ideas could flow freely without worry that com ments would be recorded it was councils oversight in not clarifying this decision mrs sherban said everything will eventually be made public and public input will be sought she added representatives from local organizations and interest groups met to discuss how the downtown could be improved invited parties included the whitchurch- stouffville chamber of commerce the stouffville business improvement area bia the whitchurchstouffville eco nomic development advisory committee and the towns her itage advisory committee as well as three members of the public downtown property owners and two young people you have to get rid of the fourstorey height bylaw and put condos downtown according to mr bowes discussion centred on better parking and better traffic flow as well as haying a movie the atre and performing arts cen tre in town a good point made by the representative from the economic advisory committee was there should be more housing in the down town core mr bowes said you have to get rid of the fourstorey height bylaw and put condos downtown mr bowes said that is the only way you will get people down there eric button chairperson of the stouffville business improvement area bia was nt willing to give specifics of the meetings noting it is a work in progress there should not be any discussion outside of it he said the brainstorming ses sions were a wonderful exer cise with participants putting in a lot of time and effort mr button said new ideas new concepts and a new way of looking at the downtown that we have not done in the past came out of the meetings the mayor added it was a very positive group town treasurer administra tor nick kristoffy noted tim ing is always important at some point you stop talking and actually do something once a plan is established money will be put in the 2006 capital budget for improve ments mr kristoffy said jay meiliunas chairperson of the board of the whitchurchstouffville chamber of commerce was impressed to see how well the groups worked together he too was unable to provide details one important element coming out of the meetings however was changes would benefit whitchurchstouffville residents first rather than tourists or visitors bia manager ruth leblanc was impressed by the towns assets which are often taken for granted such as the 56 acres of parkland in downtown stouffville mm inserts for thurs sept 15 2005 canadian tire terry auld giant tiger john cowan peter colozza herbal magic sobeys markville furniture mattress haven the bridge iga longos sears shoppers drug mart dominion loblaws ap price chopper zellers the bay pier 1 1mports marks work wearhouse walmart home depot future shop staplesbusiness depot food basics sport mart party packagers mdg home outfitters michaels hyzels bad boy warehouse sale best buy action inventory tribune no cm defow resurs hie we do to find out more about how to reach your target market and get the same great response from your oyer distributions as these customers call us today 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ecpnomist sufitriburie discover th e beauty of the york regional forest at the york region fall forest festival saturday september 17 2005 1000 am to 200 pm york regional forest eldred king woodlands 16232 hwy 48 approximately 2 km north of regional road 15 aurora road enjoy a horse drawn wagon ride and along the way meet members of the regional forest advisory team landowners will receive insight from the york environmental stewardship council about private woodlot stewardship on guided walks at 11 am and 1 pm a 6 km guided hike guided by a member of the oak ridges moraine trail association 1100 to approximately 1230 dog sledding exhibit and much more we hope to see you soon in your regional forest for more information contact sandra malcic regional greening coordinator at 9058304444 ext 5274 ajju green its in our nature 9 w i s want a great new look lean on garaga discover the north hatley door the latest in chic 905 6426606 -garaga- ffatdfrti first choice overhead doors kevin micks 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