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

"Petals & POLS mc Flower & Gift Shop Gary Miller Join us for this introductory session taught by Executive Chet Gary James of ar?ri)or (Centre in the Square). Learn the basic skills of cooking with wine; classic food & wine parning; fruit wine in salads; sauces for your entrees and some special sauces for desserts. $8.00 per person To regaster call the Winery at 747â€"2337 â€" Limited space available EASTER HOURS â€" both locations ()pln Good Fri. 9â€"4; Easter Sun. 11â€"4 Choose from a great selection of Easter Plush Bunnies! i ut the St. Jacobs Country Winery & Cidery "COOKING WITH WINE" Tues. April 17 or Tues. Apr. 24 7 pm â€" 9 pm EASTER CENTREPIECES Bright & vibrant & including spring flowers SPRING BUNCHES ROSES Assorted colours Reg. $19.95 EASTER LILIES YOUR 1 STOP EASTER SHOP! 148. "It‘s a very ambitious tarâ€" get," said Waterloo regional Coun. Sean Strickland, chair of the community services committee. "The area of affordable housing definitely requires improvement to keep our community strong." The current rate for all municipalities in the region, excluding _ Wilmot _ and ffordable housing optâ€" Aions in the region could increase over the next three years if the efforts of both the Region and the City of Waterloo, combined with assistance from the federal and provinâ€" cial governments, pay off. The Region‘s community services committee â€" will review a report next Tuesday which suggests an addition of 1,000 new affordable units in the region over the next three years as a viable target to help , increase â€" rental vacancy rate. Region/city work to increase affordable housing By Anprea Baiey Chronicle Staff The topics the group will tackle include maintaining and enhancing the existing A challenge was held last Saturday, kicking off four weeks of brainstorming among community memâ€" bers interested in finding a solution to this mounting problem. Over the next month, five groups will meet to generate ideas on how to improve the availability of affordable housing in the city with minimal reliance on government resources. Wellesley townships, sits at 0.7 per cent, which is an allâ€" time low for the area. In the city of Waterloo specifically, the apartment vacancy rate in 2000 sat at 0.3 per cent. This figure prompted the local council to approve the establishment of a task force to develop an affordable housing action plan. More than 3,300 houseâ€" holds in the region are now on the waiting list for affordâ€" able housing. 01 Passat GLS 1.8T Sedan Bright green pear!. 6000 km . . 01 Passat GLS 1.81 Wagon Red/Black leather. 800 km . . . 550 Weber St. N., Waterioo 884â€"7470 Volkswagen Waterloo _ ;. The New 2001.5 PASSAT Please visit out website for more details on all our new and preâ€"owned cars. www.vwwaterloo0.com GOOD SELECTION IN STOCK NOW! TEST DRIVE ONE TODAY SUPER VALUE PRICING ON REMAINING 2001 NEW PASSAT AND COMPANY VEHICLES MPANY DEMCG cl2 2. ... . $32,495| 00 Passat GLS, Â¥6, a *Applicable fees and taxes are extra But Strickland said a botâ€" tomâ€"line solution is still based on whether the federâ€" al and provincial governâ€" ments, as well as public secâ€" tor and nonâ€"profit groups within the community itself, are willing to assist the municipality with its goal. The groups will present their ideas May 12, with the presentation of the action plan to take place this October. "It‘s a really fabulous process," said Sarah Rapley of the city‘s development services department, who is heading up the task force. "The community has identiâ€" fied they are concerned about this issue and has shown a willingness to parâ€" ticipate in finding a solution. It‘s great to see." supply of affordable housing in the city, encouraging priâ€" vate and nonâ€"profit develâ€" opment, and identifying the key issues related to the lack of affordable housing 75 KiNG sthReET soumâ€" WaATERLOO TOwn BGQuaARE REAL Ssuts FOoR REAL women aoiden.me "We as a region have ETNESS CLASSICS $28,495 98 Passat 1.81, outo, silver .. . . .. 99 Passat 1.8T, 5 sp., black . . . . .. 99 Passat GLX, Â¥6, auto, green . . . 00 Passat GLS, Â¥6, auto, 4â€"M, grey REâ€"OW N "All of the pieces seem to be coming together, but it‘s going to require partnerâ€" ships and a lot of interest from the community." "I feel the region is showâ€" ing excellent leadership in this area," Strickland said, adding the region is also conducting an analysis of land the region now has which could be used to accommodate future housâ€" ing units. However, he admitted the region‘s target will not completely solve the probâ€" lem. "Oneâ€"thousand units is a significant number," he said. "Will it solve the problem? No. But it will make a signifâ€" icant difference. So far, aside from setting a target number of units to be built, the region has also reduced the property tax rate by about 60 per cent for new multiâ€"residential housâ€" ing. Broken down, this means that the owner of a $2â€"million multiâ€"residential building which used to pay $85,000 annually in property taxes now pays a rate of $32,000, a reduction of $53,000. made a commitment to address this issue," he said. "But it‘s hard to say if we will be able to do so without govâ€" ernment help. "Right now both governâ€" ments want to do someâ€" thing, but they can‘t decide on how to structure their assistance." That‘s why, he said, the region has taken matters into its own hands. o $21,695 $22,695 $28,995 $34,695