The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

PAGE 2, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 29, 1986 WHITBY FREE PRESS BIA board wants to At a meeting next Wednesday night, members of the Whitby Downtown Business Improvement Area will have to decide whether they want to move ahead and face "the realities'of the 1980's" or continue as a skeletal organization with a marginal capacity to do anything to improve the lot of merchants in the downtown core, accor- ding to BIA board chairman Ed Buffett. And if members elect to take that big step fôrward, they are going to have to match their committment with a considerable infusion of cash. "There are 183 BIA's in this province and every one of them is out there looking to attract new business and major development into their downtown," said Mr. Buffett this week. "There are only so many dollars to be had out there and you've got to be competitive. Right now, with the budget we've got, we're just not in a position to compete with most of these BIA's." The Whitby BIA budget in 1985 was $20,000 which compares very poorly with BIA's of comparable mem- bership according to Mr. Buffett. Oakville, with a BIA membership of 300, had a budget of $156,000 last year. Sar- nia, with 230 members, had a budget of $102,000. In fact the average levy paid annually by BIA members in Ontario is $300, said Mr. Buffett, while Whitby's average levy last year was $59.52. When that is broken down into mon- thly payments, more than 75 percent of the Whitby members pay less than $6. The numbers, accor- ding to Mr. Buffett, speak for themselves. Once the BIA makes its $11,000 annual paymen- ts on government loans, it has only $9,000 left to pay for the services of BIA manager Georgina Phillips and tackle the many problems that the membership feels should be addressed. Mrs. Phillips' current salary amounts to little more than a token gesture, according to FROM PG. 1 triple' Mr. Buffett and,a honours plan graduate she c command somel more than the $2 Mr. Buffett and board have prop she be paid in 1986. The proposed bu for 1986 is in the n bourhood of $60,000î in addition tor Phillips salary, w pay for a permanen budget- as a fice' (Mrs. Phillips ining presently works out of could Mr. Buffett's offices at thing Buffett Taylor and 0,000 Associates) a his professionally produced C osed information package which Mr. Buffett idget describes as "a must" eigh- to attract new retail and, businesses and down- Mrs. town development as ould well as other Mtrof- SEE PGs 12 CLOCA increase justified- Drumm claimed to a fourth term authority's other as CLOCA chairman. responsibilities which "I think we can justify include flood plain this increase to the management, conser- region. The region vation and wetlands keeps saying management, said Mr. recreational lands are Drumm. important to them and "It's important work. these lands have to be We're trying to preserve maintained," said Mr. these lands and water- Drumm. ways for future On top of maintaining generations," said Mr. recreational lands such Drumm. as the Heber Down Con- Whitby councillor Joe servation Area north of Bugelli, who sits on the Whitby, CLOCA staff CLOCA executive with must also attend to the Mr. Drumm, admitted the budget would be a "hard pill to swallow" for regional councillors, some of whom have already suggested tax hikes may be in order this year to cover cuts in the region's provincial grants and the extensive catch-up work that must be done on many regional services. "We may have some difficulty at the region but hopefully the budget will be approved. There's been a lot of thought and a lot of work put into this budget. A sub- committee has been studying staffing for the last six or seven months and these new em- ployees are something we've needed for a long time,"said Mr. Bugelli. The region is being asked to contribute $980,000 to CLOCA's budget for 1986, up from $653,000 last year and an increase of more than 50 percent. CLOCA is asking the province for $713;250, up 11.7 percent over last year's request. The remainder of the budget will be covered by CLOCA's internally generated revenues, said Mr. Campbell. Durham Region is ex- pected to complete it's 1986 budget within the next two months. Final funding approvals from the province are not an- ticipated until sometime after that. orridor apers By MARY MCEACHERN Call 725-8967 with Items for this column. CANADA POST Friday, Jan. 31, Whitby Municipal Building, 7 p.m. This could be a very important meeting for anyone who is presently not receiving daily mail delivery to your door. A meeting is scheduled with Mayor Bob Attersley, M.P. Scott Fennell and the Whitby Junior Chamber of Commerce, along with three officials from Canada Post. The first half hour will be a brief presentation from Canada Post and immediately following an open forum where residents may present their concerns and questions. All questions must be written down and handed to the Chairman by the Junior Chamber Officials, who will read the question aloud and hopefully an an- swer will be forthcoming from the post office of- ficials. Do plan to attend, you might just find out when to expect daily postal delivery to your home. DURHAM WEST P.C. ASSOCIATION Dance - Durham West P.C. Assoc. presents "Heartbeats" in the Ontario Room, Ajax Com- munity Centre on Saturday, FEb. 15 from 8 p.m. un- til l a.m. Dance to the sounds of Jimmy Devine, The Mad D.J. Midnight buffet by Mainly Cheese, Ajax. Door prizes. Tickets are $12 a person and may be purchased from Jerry Muskaluk at 668-2816. DR. ROBERT THORNTON PUBLIC SCHOOL Skating Party - Mrs. Delaney's and Mrs. Bryant's four kindergarten classes, along with the grade 8 students enjoyed a skating party at Iroquois Park Arena last week. This was a most remarkable ex- perience for both groups, as the grade 8 children were so encouraging and helpful to the little ones. After the afternoon work-out, the children enjoyed hot chocolate and cookies in the Dr. Robt. Thornton gym. A rewarding experience for teachers and students alike. WESTMINSTER UNITED CHURCH Oshawa Presbytery Men's Rally - Saturday, Feb. 8. Registration 6 p.m. Roast beef dinner 6:30 p.m. - $7. Speaker Jack Arthur, President National A.O.T.S. Contact Walter Campbell for reservations at 725-0798. Choir Practice - Thursday at 7:30 p.m. Please call 725-8967 with news items for this column. The key to'86. We invite you to test drive a new Volkswagen soon. OWASCO VOLKSWAGEN INC. 1425 Dundas St. E., WhItby Whltby: 668.9383 Toronto: 683-3234, 361-1128, Ajax: 683-3235 AN "I CARE" and OML SERVICE AWARD WINNER Hwy 2 DunasftE. Oshawa I OWASCOI I "'a'40 , Hvvv,