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'Catholic board looks at oItions By Howard Mozel SPECIAL TO THE CHAMPION Now that the Halton Catholic District School Board has rejected participa- tion in the Halton Regional Campus Project, its faced with a new decision - where to go from here. Last week, trustees wres- tled with related issues involving the future of the Catholic Education Centre on Drury Lane in Burlington, as well as satel- lite administration facilities scattered across Halton. Some are failing and all are so spread out as to impede the efficient running of the board so, according to senior staff, something must be done. After much discussion, trustees asked staff to forego investigating four available options and focus on con- structing a new building at a location more central to the region. Trustees also gave staff the green light to proceed with looking into leasing new 'Port-a-Pacs' - essen- tially glorified portable class- roms used for temporary office space - to address imminent health and safety issues in an existing Port-a- Pac at the Catholic Education Centre, as well as overcrowding there. As far as the future of the centre as a whole is con- cerned, the October 2005 Central Administration Accommodation Study Report concluded that the needs of the centre and satel- lite offices are "critical, such that they must be addressed now. Senior staff recom- mends that a new Catholic Education Centre facility must be actively pursued at this time to avoid serious functional, financial and operational issues to the board." At the time, trustees were asked to consider five options, one of which was the Halton Regional Campus. The others includ- ed minimal renovation and expansion of the existing Drury Lane site; full renova- The Canadian Champion, Friday, July 14, 2006 - AS imur i1evW L1iFi tion of Drury Lane; con- struction of a new building at Drury and Fairview Street; and a new building at a new central location. When the campus plan was shot down, four options remained but last week it was clear that trustees weren't interested in half- measures. Burlington Trustee Bob Van de Vrande got the ball rolling by saying he wouldn't support renovations, but pushed instead for a new building, either on Drury Lane or at a more central site. Oakville Trustee Alice Anne LeMay agreed, but went one step further and said she would only support a central location. Oakville Trustee Ed Viana also said renovations are out of the question. "Any money we spend on this site (Drury) is a waste," he said. Exactly where "central" Halton is located is open to interpretation. Board Chair AI Bailey said Regional Road 25 and Dundas Street would be central to the regions population while Education Director Lou Piovesan said, geographically speaking, Regional Road 25 and Derry Road marks the middle of Halton. Once that's settled, this just leaves the thorny ques- tion of where the money will corne from to pay for the new building. Bailey went so far as to abstain from voting, saying he can't vote for something for which there's no government funding. Several other trustees - including Van de Vrande and Milton's Rev. David Wilhelm - also questioned the money aspect of the plan, prompting Superintendent of Facility Management Services Giacomo Corbacio to state that "the numbers are good." Staff, however, will report back on all finan- cial implications this fall. As for the short term future of the Catholic Education Centre, Corbacio told the board that mould found on the exterior walls of the existing leaky Port-a- Pac has been "contained for the time being" but will soon become a health and safety issue for staff. Even if the campus plan went through or whether a new building is constructed in the future, something must be done, he said. This, Corbacio explained, is necessary not only for the well-being of board staff, but also to avoid any potential fines and charges by the Ministry of Labour. As a resuit, trustees voted to reject expensive remedia- tion work and have staff investigate replacing one existing Port-a-Pac with a leased one with a buy-out option, plus a second Port-a- Pac to relieve overcrowding for Special Education and Curriculum staff at Drury Lane. Corbacio - who will report back on cost estimates in September - said funds would come from working reserves. BARRIE ER5KINE / SPECIAL TO THE CHAMPION CHEQUE IT OUT: Terra Greenhouses founder Jim Pepetone (left), along with visual merchan- dising manager Michelle Graham and marketing manager Bill Bown present a cheque for more than $44,000 to Sharon Wood (right), executive director of the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation, Ontario chapter. The money was raised through Terras Grow for the Cure campaign, which ran in May 7 Costly Home Seller Mistakes Free Report Visit: www.haltoncostlyhomosellers.com Prudential Twn Centre ReaRy Brokerae Toshiba A100-CFI Laptop 10076185/10076186. This laptopdoes not have a 60OGB Hard Drive as advertlsed on p. 1 of our July 7th flyer. In fact, it has a 6013B Hard Drive. ft sinoe*ypoogoe for an nonnn this ayhm caused ou[ lb s 1e, PITCH IN CANADA 'I