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1986 YEA.R. IN RVIEW Downtown Whitby-has been a domfinant element of the news through the past year - flot as a single'storyý but, as many interrelated stories ail of which hae comibinêid> to change thWeý nature-, f "the core area -of Whtby.- Eal nteyear, the ,Prospeta dld not look blt. The . Whitby Theatre had coe following years of struggle and numerous other shops remained ernpty. At'the corner of Mary and Brock, Dr. Butt's new Whitby clinic - gènerally regarded.as "'an6ther box".- ad just been' finished and around the c orner on, Byron St , Plans for a multi-storey con- domhinlum were stili in the works. However,' the Down- town Business Im- provement Area (BIA) had big plans and early in the year they voted to more than triple their budget to. allow for a more aggressive marketinig program and for the fuil-timie 1em- ployment of *their manager, , Georgina Phillips. Not long after, the board decided to, seek participation in Heritage Canada's Main Street Prograni. In June, their acceptance into the program was announced, one of only three Main Street com- munities in the provin- ce; the officiai kick-off ceremonies- took place in September. The Main Streetinprogram wil bring int play the ex- perience of heritage Canada in revitalizing the old commercial communities across Canada. Developing parallel to Main Street was the ac- ceptance that the future of the downtown lay in the enhancenient of its historic character and the need' for joint promotion., Two special shopping SEE PAGE 12 f >..Vol. 16, No. 52 Tuesday, Dec. 30, 1986 20 Pages IROQUOIS PARK EXPANSION Year's biggest controversy A LOOK BACK Iroquois Park .P. 1,4 Bluegrass P Lynde House - P. 394 Decom .P. 1,4 Mayor's view .P. i Councillor'sviews ».P. 18 Columns m P@.4e5 Probably one of the more controversial Issues that hit thie pages of thepapers in Whitby, W i 1986 was the'expan- sion of Iroquois Park. The controversy sparked a split in Whlt- by council, *prompted protest and adver- tisementa fiom residen- ta, of the, town, and,. at one point, had Mayor Blob Attersley threatenmng to resign. It began in February when a report on the ex- pansion came before the Town's operation com- mittee. At. that meeting the Mayor, and councillor Marcel Brunelle, then committee chairman voted in favor of a $6.2- million renovation to the recreational complex at Henry and Victoria St. The expansion would have included a new arena, a physical fitness area with a track and four squash courts, -a multi-purpose room and repairs to the pool. The other two comn- mittee members, coun- chllora Gerry Emm and Ross Batten, opposed the major expansion, voting instead for a limited $2.6-millon ex- pansion. This ex pansion would. see a second arena, swimmlng pool and administration of- fiee repairs. That meeting set the tone for the events wihich were to follow. The split, in council became- even more Mayoi bac ki By MIKE JOHNSTON For Mayor Bob Atter- sley, 1986 has been the busiest year in Whitby since he took over the chair in December of 1980. Congestion of traffic continued to be *a problem in 1986, he says. But Attersley ad- ds there wiIl soon be relief with the extension of Manning Rd. from Thickson to Anderson. According to the mayor, Manning may extend as far as Garrard Rd. and then meet- up with Adelaide St. in Oshawa. Another'street exten- sion that will help traffic congestion will be the extension of Consumers .Dr. to Brock St., says the mayoir. -' One extension that did occur in 1986 that pleased the mayor was the widening , 0f Thickson Rd. to four evident when just one week later, by a vote of 4-3, council shot . down the $6.2-million expan- sion. The vote triggred r Attersie- on a busy BOB ATTERSLEY Council members review page 18 lanes. He also says downfown rejuvenation was a high point of the hxowls of anger from many of the 250 people who packed council chambers that night. "'I think it's a <SEE PAGE 19 y looks, r year past year. He points to developments such as Pearson Lanes and Steve Wagner's boutiques as just.,two examp!es of the rebirth in downtowîi. Controversy over the expansion of Iroquois Park was the'low point of '86 for Attersley. "That took a lot out of council. But we have mended the fences and got back as a tearn again," says the mayor. He adds that if any one issue of '86 could be done.again, it would be Iroquois Park. "There was misunderstanding by the public and coun- cil, a lot of accusations and innuendos. We could have done it a bit dlfferently." Apart from that con- troversy, the mayor deems 1986 as "a good year in general." SEE PAGE 18 I MAUREEN SAMUEL places the first prize award among the christmas mice that made up the window display of the olde silver thimble quilt shoppe, winnr of the decorating eontest for downtown businesses. IZun. ners-up were Celebration to Go Inc. and Bowman & Gib- son Ltd. Free Press photo RE VIE W Pub lic o utÇry against Decorn One issuethat brought together many residents of Whitby in protest was an application - by, Deconi Medical Waste Systenis, mc. ,to build a' waste transfer station in town. From thle outset, reaidents >puiled ;ogether in an atter.ipt to stop the company froni building the station, which would be capable of handling 50 tons of pathological waste per day. The province has yet to decide on the ap- plication. - >> The eventa leading to an, environental assessment board hearing on'the proposai began in 1985 when Decom made the proposai to Whitby coundil. At a meeting behind closed doors, council approved the- ap- plication in principle. 1During an interview with The Free Press, councillor Ross Batten, whu then chaired the administrative commit- tee which-had given ap- proval in principle, the- application on March 18, 1985, said it was not council's intent to hide anything from the public. When the application became public later that year, 'council shot it down after much public, outcry. When Decom later requested an environ- mental assessment board hearing on the application, the fight was on. The board could overrule council's decision. The first group, of citizens to mount an of- fensive was the Corridor Area Ratepayers Association. In early February, they began a campaign which included the cir- culation of a petition and distribution of flyers bearing, the headline 'Whitby Human Bomb Decom.' The first round of hearings got underway Feb. 26. Whitby solicitor David Sims received approval froni SEE PAGE 19 .f4 ~ ' ~ ' ' ' .4' . .. ... ... ... ... ... ... ... A renewedfaith in downtown area