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WIIITBY FREE PRESS, WEDNESDAY, JULY 3, 1985, PAGE 5 "I have sworn upon the altar of God eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man." - Thomas Jefferson THE a CIROW'S NEST by Michael Knell The future of downtown Whtby has been a prominent local issue for some years now. There lias been muc discussion, study and debate on the future of the downtown core and what should be done to make it once again, a vibrant and vital part of the community. Most people who are close to the downtown scene can point to several pressing problems that inhibit the commercial viability of the core. One, as we al know, la parking. Well, steps are currently being taken to try and correct that problem. But the downtown core has several other pressing problems. During a recent conversation with Ed Buffett, the chairman of the Whitby Downtown Improvement Area Board, I discovered that these problems are of a greater magnitude than I had previously suspected. Ed noted that after many years in the dole-drums, Oshawa once again has a vibrant downtown core. And the reason for this is obvious. Oshawa has at least three major employers located in the downtown area: the City of Oshawa itself, the Ontario Ministry of Revenue and the federal government. Lying on the boundaries of the core are other major employers such as General Motors of Canada and Bell Canada. This means simply this. There are always people downtown. People who work at these establishments eat in the restaurants, shop in the stores and buy other services downtown because they are conveniently at hand. But Whitby doesn't have a major employer downtown. The last major em- ployer in the core was the Town of Whitby itself. But when the Municipal Building was moved to its current position on Rossland Rd. that source of people was lost. Ed noted that people needing to pay their taxes or conduct other business with the town don't even have to go through the core to get to the town hall. Now, I'm not suggesting that we bring the Municipal Building back into the downtown core. What I am suggesting is that a major effort be undertaken to attract a new major employer to the downtown core. I wonder, for example, if G.M. could have been persuaded to locate their new computer complex somewhere downtown instead of in one of the local malls. While I'm glad that those jobs and that assessment found its way here to Whitby, did we miss a diamond opportunity to give the downtown core a shot-in-the-arm? Ed also noted that some downtown improvement area boards conduct active promotion campaigns to attract business to their area. He told me of one board that determines what kinds of business operations are present and what kinds are needed. If, for example, their downtown needs a men's clothing store, then they wil attempt to persuade Harry Rosen or some other habadasher to come to their area. This is also a capital idea. The downtown merchants already know what they've got. Now, they can go and attract new business that compliments what is already there. That sort of a program could not do anything but make the downtown more attractive to local consumers. However, Ed sadly admits that these sorts of ideas face one major problem before than can be contemplated, let alone implemented. The board's budget simply won't accommodate these plans. While the board's budget was doubled to $20,O0a year in 1984, half of it is already committed to repaying the loan the town and the board received as part of the Commercial Improvement Area Program of the provincial government. Over the next few years over $500,000 will be spent enhancing and improving the local streetscape. But most of the money needed for the project is in the form of a loan that must be paid back. That leaves only $10,000 which was the board's budget prior te 1984. Ed points out that on $10,000 little can be done in terms of attracting new business and new consumers to the downtown core. Ed also points out that many communities of similar size to Whitby have downtown boards whose budget is over $100,000 a year. If our board had that kind of budget, Ed (and I) are confident that all kinds of great things could be done. Ed also noted that Whitby is a growing community. Every year more and more people move here. These people are not fully aware of the downtown core and what it has to offer. These people must be reached, they must be persuaded to become part of the community. But newspaper ads, flyers, brochures and other promotion tools cost money. Money the board doesn't have. I've worked in downtown Whitby for almost six years. During that time I've detected cynicism and skepticism on the part of many downtown merchants. Quite frankly, some of them believe that because they were here yesterday means they'll be here tomorrow. But in today's highly competitive economy - that just ain't so. Past success doesn't gurantee future success. If the downtown core is to regain the promince it had 10, 20 or even 30 years ago it has got to face the marketing realities of the 1980's. They have to take stock of themselves, honestly admit to their failings and then try to overcome them. But individual merchants, acting independantly won't succeed 100 per cent. The downtown merchants have to learn a lesson from the shopping malls. They have got to work together and co-operatively for the good and prosperity of all. The downtown board needs a full-time staff to promote its aims and represent its interests. The downtown board needs a budget that will enable it to compete with other commercial interests. The attitude downtown is changing. But the committment hasn't been made. Every town needs its downtown. It's part of its character - part of what makes it unique. If it is to be preserved, it has to be progressive. The status quo will bring sure death. There are too many opportunities to be lost. Let's hope they find a way to act. WITH OUR FEET UP By Bill Swan Singer's mother shares dream Almost two months ago now I wrote about the Palleske brothers, Antony and Loring and their band Maelstrom. They were then rehearsing for their concert at the Oshawa Civic Auditorium. That concert took place Saturday night. This is the way of bringing you up te date. I had originally hoped to attend the Maelstrom concert. Not that I am a Heavy Metai fan -- I'm tee old by 30 years fer that -- but in the uine of jour- naiistic duty I could go anywhere. The truth, though, sits more prosaically. Having oncetbeen young and fula of dreas, I maintain an interest in people ful ef either youth or dreams and especialiy those full of both. For many adults, the tag Heavy Metal conjures images of long hair, unbridled sex, drugs, and music just too loud for the ears to com- prehend. Unfortunately, many young music fans have similar images. But behind the scenes it ain't quite that way. In my earlier column I was really searching for the driving force behind Maelstrom. What power keeps young guys practicing, hour after hour, week after week, pouring their own money into equipment' It isn't the money: Saturday's concert in Oshawa was the third for the group since they won the Battie of Rancis last year in Oshawa. That success last year won them the opportunity to play a three-night stand at the Genosha Hotel (Main Street) and a good introduction to how dit- ficult the entertainment industry can be. They gave up their fee for that appearance just to pay for the sound equipment. Stardom doesn't come cheaply. Saturday nîglit at the Civîc Auditorium Maelstrom appeared thirdon the three-band billaf- ter Quantum and Equinox, two other local bands. Since I was unable to attend the performance. I can give you only second-hand vîews of the evening. (And you can look elsewhere for music reviews, anyway.) Musically, the show went off reasonably well. Maelstrom captivated part of crowd, although a minor distraction part way through the concért drained off a few handfuls of the crowd. New stage gimmicks -- torches to light the Gothic Caste set bult last springagoriginally for the Ander- son concert -- taught a lesson in chemistry. Next time, Loring says, they'll use propane for the tor- ches; they had to use fire extinguishers to put out the fire this time. "The crowd was really good," Loring told me. "This is the first time we've headlined an arena concert, and our act came together quite well. We also tried a few new things. That seemed to go over quite well. especially with the people right up by the stage." The negative things Loring mentions as learning experiences: the sound system, provided by Light- ning Sound and Lighting of Oshawa, had no rehear- salgwith the band. With any of today's rock bands, the sound mixing controls the show. Mixing had in- struments clobbering each other, and once or twice the band missed half a beat. Thanks to hours of practice each week they were able to recover. "And there wasn't enough publicity," Loring ad- ded. Estimates of the crowd vary frum 600-700 from one source to 300 from another. Drop any of those figures into a barn of an arena capable of holding 5,000 and somehow one can miss some of the am- biance of a rock concert. AIl in ail, the band members felt their performan- ces to be tighter than previously. A drum solo by Antony Palleske stirred the crowd. Sean Roberts, on lead guitar, put on quite a show with his guitar solo, including some classics thrown in on his mother's Ovation guitar. And Loring, on base guitar, gave an impressive solo -- not exactly Heavy Metal stuff, but one can't afford to stand still in this industry. Your eyes did not deceive you, by the way, when you thought I said Sean played on his mother's CONT'D ON PG. 26