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editors mail mmfimmmmi ft newcomer resents bells remark dear sir i read with interest a recent arti cle in a toronto newspaper regard ing the proposed new civic centre for the town of markham i found mayor bells comments regarding myself and by exten sion presumably all newcomers as requiring some response her comments seemed to infer that we newcomers were being dismissed because we couldnt possibly know what we were talking about being so new to the com munity i personally find this kind of atti tude offensive as im sure- must many of the more than 45000 people conservative estimate who have moved here since me i have lived in the town of mar kham for longer than mrs bell has been mayor and am tired of being asked by various members of coun cil whenever i make a presentation on behalf of the citizens of this com munity just how long i have lived here as if it makes some sort of dif ference i should mention that i have yet to find out what the town of mar kham council considers a minimum residence period before they assign you any credibility you do not have to live in this community very long before you realize that something is radically wrong with the way this town is growing just try sending your chil dren to school or driving our roads in the rush hour and you will soon see what our citizens groups are talking about i digress the issue is the civic centre mayor bell says we cant run back to the ratepayers associa tions every time there is something to be done is this how the expenditure of 23 million dollars of taxpayer money is thought of as something to be done we are told that there were sufficient public meetings for resi dent input but i do not recall the 23 million dollar price tag nor do i re call any information given as to how this was going to be paid for democracy how many people are aware that in order to finance this building the town of markham recently rezoned lands on the north side of highway 7 westward from warden avenue from 60 to 150 density to give you some idea of what this means the 10storey hotel on the south side of highway 7 opposite the proposed civic centre is sitting on 90 density land in order to increase land values and use this increased re venue to offset the cost of building the centre that this was literally an 11th hour decision gives you some in dication of the type of planning that went into the financing aspects this scheme seems to have come about as the result of a projected top mm mom bring your car in to midas for repairs and well shuttle you back to your office coupon save on brakes 51 i domestic foreign i cars b j offer expires fri july 3187 1 i not valid with any other specials i i discounts or guarantees discounts or guarantees a discounts or guarantees coupon computerized bear i wheel alignment i now at i midas dfik a savings of 500 complete front service fast i service free inspection 1 offer expires fri july 3187 not valid with any other specials i discounts or guarantees s coupon s too 10off exhaust repairs mufflers pipes offer expires fri july 3187 not valid with any other specials discounts or guarantees j coupon jsavl0 shock i absorbers j m offer expires fri july 3187 i mnot valid with any other specials discounts or guarantees i and dont forget the famous midas guarantee other services front end coil springs suspension custom pipe bending performance mufflers two convenient locations 9190 yonge street richmond r 4601 highway no 7 markham h j wr i n n dtiw 8899977 4790122 h v i 65 million deficit in the towns budget directly attributable to the civic cente this is some choice we are given we can either debenture the 65 million and guess who gets to pay the financing costs or we can have multistorey highrise buildings lin ing highway 7 something few peo ple seem to want as it will change the towns character forever people moved up here for the urban rural mix and they liked the towns quiet ambience the town of markham is seen as attempting to bring the city to us and many of us moved up here to get away from that there is no argument that we need a new civic centre but does it- have to be such a grandiose struc ture are we not just feeding poli tical egos as for the charge that we are attempting to lock the doors now that we are here that statement is nothing short of preposterous and is entirely indicative of how little attention is paid to the message that the community is trying to get across we recognize that the town has to grow what we are asking for is a longterm plan rather than the spot rezoning process we are enduring at present we know we will need highrise apartment buildings but do they have to be so high and always over look or be in the middle of existing areas of single family housing is it necessary to rezone more land to open up more farmland for development when the existing urban envelope can still accommo date an extra 50000 people and what is more to the point why are we spreading out and putting more strain on already inadequate ser vices schools and transportation leap to mind you talk about responsibility mayor bell it seems to us that re sponsibility starts with good plan ning where services move in con cert with a growing population your argument that these ser vices are provided by the region of york or the province of ontario and so are out of the hands of the town of markhahi do not hold wa ter when the town continues to re- zone farmland as this seems to be the one control that the town has in curbing unbridled growth not to re- zone more land and add to our prob lems land rezoned finally on a broader scope it should be remembered that we live iha democracy where a free ex change of ideas is a fundamental part of the system however it only works when the other side receives a proper hear ing the town of markham hears what is being said but isnt listen ing and this is where our problems lie municipal government is the only level of government in this country that does not ha ve an official opposi- tion that at tempts to keep the ruling party in sight of why it was elected in the first place ratepayers groups everywhere provide this vital community ser vice it is unfortunate that municip al governments can choose to ignore us if they wish which in the town of markhams case is virtual ly always this is why we have taken the public route with our local newspap ers and the importance of the press in situations such as this cannot be overestimated we are finally starting a dialogue with our local government we would rather have done it face to face but that opportunity was not afforded us r we have been forced by a lack of response to community concerns to take the high road so to speak we are not radicals as some of you have labeled us we are responsible concerned citizens whose only goal is to ensure that our community continues to de velop with the same ideals that brought us to markham in the first place we are still willing to discuss with you the way in which the citizens of this community tell us they want to grow we once again extend the olive branch this time publicly does the town of markham intend to burn this branch as well colin creasey unionville t markham village mi arkham village womens club offers these exclusive features exclusive aerobic circuit training a fully equipped universal gym double sprung aerobic floor exercise bicycles a childrens nursery year round suntanning facilities private showers change rooms in a beautiful environment after your workout relax in our sauna our fantastic glassfronted whirlpool overiooung the gym we fake the time to give you a thorough fitness test and a personalized program v markham village womens club ertff i kff kvri u4 mmi sum nom mono wowso i now j30m800pm tucsoav ano thjftsoay 00400pm satunoayiooanioopm