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l R EE P RE S ' Whitby-ites welcome Longueuil visitors for annual TwinniEw Larry Rt f aWhitby exemplified the feelings of Edwards, gives a smite of approval. About 55 traditionally non-political, both Coun. Edwards theparticipntsofi theanual Whitby/Longuecil Longueuil residents visited Whitby for a week- and Mayor Jim Gartshore stressed their desires A - t endof activities including visits to Whitby Arts for a united Candaan teih -.- - . 1__j - r.,tiii;it nn hlrin some smatl way help to Twinning weekend, by giving a ugiu ani" • greet Jean Verdy (face hidden) of Longueuil, Quebec.Whitby Clerk-Administrator Bil Wallace, co-organizer of the weekend with Coun. Tom the Iroquoi-sPark, Whitby Yacht Club, and a bar-b-q organized by Whitby firefighters at at Fantasyland Park. Although the weekend is Downtowns future to be decided Wednesday One eek from today at 7:30 p.m. in the municipal building, the future of down- town Whitby may be decided for at least the next two years. The town has called a public meeting to try to bring together what appear to be two factions in the downtown area, one which wants to proceed with the bylaw which will designate the downtown as an improve- ment area, and one which presented council with a petition opposing the bylaw. If a consensus is not reached to proceed with the third and final reading of the bylaw, the downtown improvement funding under this bylaw would be unavail- able for two years under a provincial statute ruling, says Mayor Jim Gartshore. The emergence of the petition, clairming to repre- sent 50 per cent of the downtown businessmen and more than $600,00 worth of assessment, ocurred after the deadline for 'objections had passed, but unless thei two sides can get together, the petition has enough power to prevent the passing of the improvement bylaw. The petition has divided the downtown businessmen into two opposing factions. One merchant referred to it as 'the good guys against the bad guys,' meaning that those who want improvement are the good guys and those who oppose it are the bad guys. Bob Catton, chairman of the downtown committee, and one of those merchants who wants the bylaw passed, says he has received about half a dozen phone calls supporting his position, since the petition was filed with council. They have been from people telling him 'don't give up and 'keep on plugging,' he said. One of these calls was from a former town councillor. As yet, Mr. Catton has not called a meeting of those supporting the bylaw, as he wants to hear what proposas the petitioners have for the downtown. They didn't have any at the time the petition was presented July 25, he said, and he hopes to hear what they want at the meeting on Aug. 17. 'We really don't know what we're up against,' he said, 'We've got to do some- thing or we won't have any Whitby left; it's as plain as that. The trend is back to downtown shopping, but if we don't do something we won't get it (the increase in business). You've got to promote,' he says. Doug Davidson, the chartered accountant who presented the petition to council was unavailable for comment last week, but he has gone on record as saying that he is 'fed up with the irresponsibility of council. Heconsiders the council bas wasted a lot of money on reports, notices'uvna. meetingsregarding rejuvena- tion of the downtown. He questions the town's financial ability to spend the1 $30,000 provided annually in the bylaw wisely, but Mayor Jim Gartshore points out thati downtown improvement board of management and not the council will have jurisdiction over how the money is spent. Those merchants who are in favor of the ijpprovement bylaw are wondering why1 those opposed did noti announce their intentions at the public meetings held on the bylaw, and are asking why they objected at such a late date. Those opposed, say they don't understand the bylaw, they don't know the bound- aries of the improvement area, they don't trust the town council to handle the money properly, or they think the portion -of the money they have to pay is too much. There are also varying views on how the $30,000 would be raised by a levy based on the assessment of the various businesses in the downtown. Next Wednesday's meeting is an attemp to heal the Sklar stili Six hundred employees at Sklar Furniture have returned to a regular work week, but may have to return to a four- day weektby the end of August if the company's sales do not improve. Four months ago, the company introduced a four- day week for most production employees to avoid wide- spread layoffs. By early July it appeared that as many as 150 workers migit lose their jobs as the national furniture business sagged severely. A recent furniture show in Montreal resulted in several orders~ for Sklar split wich seemis uo o u-r oping in downtown Whitby. No one really seems to know what proposals will be put forward by either side, and until that meeting the future development of downtown Whitby rer.ains in limbo. sees red products, but only enoughi to support a five-day week through the middle of August. Sklar reported a first quarter loss of $381,000 this year and has closed three Ontario plants to streamline operations. At the end of June, Meridian Furniture, a Toronto subsidiary was closed and its production transferred to Whitby. According to John Prober, Sklar's personnel director, the loss of Meridian cut Sklar's overhead costs significantly but brought no substantial work increases at the Whitby plant. -1.+ L'm Free Press Photo by Mike Burgess_ ivvirifillig vvvulu achieve that end.