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st mssasxpssssrssssa vsktsssbasaii tribunetmarch41992p3 food for thought photojohn andrews fred klein grabs a snack while heather mcklnnon kris white kate mcknlght erin blenkhorn meagan morri son and from right natalie wood jeni montgomery and cheryl taylor look longingly on the group from sdss took part in the annual 30hour famine last fri day to raise consciousness about world famine ban mixing plants in rural areas town officials advised tracy kibble staff reporter tax defaults double since 89 whitchurchstouffville ratepayers owe nearly 3 mil lion to the town in unpaid prop erty taxes and the numbers are steadily on the rise according to tax collector ruth armstrong the recession and loss of jobs is the number one reason people are having trou ble paying their property taxes figures below show in 1989 with a total tax levy of 17 mil lion just less than six per cent of ratepayers owed taxes to the tune of 1 million in 1990 with the levy rising to 20 million nearly 10 per cent of ratepayers failed to pay their taxes a total of 18 mil lion the trouble with taxes 1989 total tax levy 1712794570 outstanding dec 3189 101698300 percent outstanding 594 1990 total tax levy 2007469388 outstanding dec 3190 188281502 percent outstanding 938 1991 total tax levy 2204453450 outstanding dec 3191 271666297 percent outstanding 1233 armstrong said the total tax levy rose in 1991 to 22 million because of increased housing in the municipality figures show more than 27 million or 12 per cent was left unpaid as at dec 31 1991 in a twoyear period the total out standing taxes has doubled meaning that 12 per cent of the ratepayers are having difficulty paying their taxes armstrong said whitchurchstouffville should ban the use of readymix and asphalt plants in rural lands officials heard last tuesday evening such industry could contaminate the towns water supply and affect natural features of the lands according to townhired con sultant group templeton lepek templeton lepek was hired in august 1990 to investigate 14 operating aggregate pits in the municipality the oneyear study showed provincial guidelines require the town to live with protect and accept aggregate extraction but that readymix plants are not a part of provincial policies consultant helen lepek told officials aggregate is a temporary use and that once all the material is extracted from a pit the land should be rehabilitated to its original state protection is aim it should be wwtehurchstouffvilles aim to ensure that aggre gate is protected but that noncompatible use be depleted lepek said aggregate is the basic material of the building and road con struction industry and is the least expensive bulk material cost ing between 4 and 8 a tonne ontario consumes about 160 million tonnes of aggregate annual- ly at a total of 703 million the industry employs both directly and indirectly about 45000 people aggregate extraction is an interim use of the land and is not there forever its a finished use when the pit is fully mined lepek added after looking at the various sites from several different angles lepek said the company concluded readymix plants are noncom patible uses on rural lands and should be reserved to industrial land water could be affected not only are readymixplants heavily dependent on truck traffic and outdoor storage but chemicals used in these operations could affect the towns water supply the study showed changes to the towns official plan regarding land use extraction will be made before august this year said town chief administra tive officer bob panizza a public hearing has been scheduled for april council ndp stalling local development sap on tap at bruce s mill spring is coming and the sap will soon be running from march 7 to april 5 braces mill conservation area will be open to all for selfguided tours through the sugar bush and will open every day during the march break highlights of a visit to the sugar bush include a taste of maple syrup or maple taffy a wagon ride and pancakes with maple syrup at the pancake pavilion as well a variety of maple products will be sold at the sugar shack the maple festival weekend will also be celebrated on march 21 and 22 the festival will include strolling musicians a sale of home baked goods apple cider pressing and a demonstration of wilderness survival techniques on march 22 there will be friend ly st bernard dogs on hand the braces mill conservation area is on stouffville eoad three km east of hwy 404 admission is 2 for adults 150 for seniors and 1 for children children under five are admitted free for more information call 6616600 ex 264 or 203 ask for a free copy of the sugar bush trail guide and discount coupons that will save you money on general admission or the purchase of braces mill maple syrup cooperatives plan restructuring the new democrat govern ment is stalling local develop ment and local officials want answers it was decided last week whitchurchstouffville has 45 applications pending on somebodys desk at queens park said mayor fran sainsbury the province is crying out to get the economy going but no one is being a decision maker the system is very unfair sainsbury told council ward 2 councillor stephen bellerby suggested the same letter be sent to environment minister ruth grier to remind her we are waiting for deci sions help with taxi sought local officials will recom mend spending 15000 a year on a mobility transit taxi only if the province kicks in the same the contracted taxi ser vice to run at an estimated 30000 annual cost would provide service starting in may to qualifying disabled residents of whitchurchstouffville markham and richmond hill the pledge is in conjunction with york region and stems from recommendations by the mobility transit steering com mittee cut spending boards told whitchurchstouffville will join forces with georgina in asking both local education boards to cut back spending in 1992 in a council meeting last week officials agreed to sup port a georgina resolution which recommends both the york region board of educa tion and the york region roman catholic separate school board practice bud getary restraints study to be completed the town will spend 31500 to complete the ballantrae musselman lake secondary plan study it was decided last week council will allocate the funds to the 1992 operating budget spending this money is a necessary condition the whole purpose is to get approval for the secondary plan from the municipal affairs ministry said ward 2 councillor stephen bellerby town chief administrative officer bob panizza said the 31500 is a shortfall to round off the 60000 total cost of the project however ward 6 councillor ken prentice who voted against spending the money said government approval is not guaranteed just because the study is performed number is up the recreation department is cancelling its 1800267play number march 1 because not enough residents make use of the number council heard this week recreation director marlane mckeewetheral said the 120- amonth charge for the 1800 number which allows residents information about local recre ation was not worth the cost and recommends council accept collect call charges from resi dents with the exchanges 473 895 and 727 from page 1 now the cro is investigating what possibilities are available to best serve the farmers the restructuring is taking place across the province and allin said like other businesses cooperatives must be financially successful but unlike other businesses coopertives have the unique responsibility and ability to use their suc cess to directly benefit the members and the communities they serve allin said it would be too early to tell if jobs would be lost but he said it is a possibility he said some areas are over staffed and reloca tions would be available if needed this is the opportunity to become a lot stronger allin said he said the larger a coop is the more efficient it becomes he added the restructuring will likely result in larger coops that cover bigger geographic areas i feel fairly confident it will be a lot more prof itable we have a strong commitment from the local farmers allin said he said the cro will have a good idea of which direction they will be taking by the end of the year pay hike yet to be approved from page 1 with the budget process if these figures are not voted on in council prentice said mon day he added since former council committed itself to the money its awful hard to turn around and take that money away what other commitments are out there tying our hands this makes a mockery of the budget process when the tribune contacted the towns chief administra tive officer bob panizza regarding the pay raise he flatly refused to release any figures unless directed by council mayor fran sains bury said it was inappropri ate to mention the raise dur ing the current budget deliber ations