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economist sunjtribune regional news thursirjan 260 vs aurora may force amalgamation issue with rural neighbours by rick vanderlinde staff writer aurora has tried the polite approach courteous ly inviting king and whitchurchstouffville to amalgamation talks but with both municipalities refusing to negotiate aurora politicians are starting to get pushy the towns council wants to see if it can annex parts of its rural neighours to the east and west to force the issue auroras deputy mayor john west initiated the move saying its time king and whitchurch- stouffviue realized the province will amalgamate york regions municipalities west wants yorks municipalities to decide how theyll be amalgamated not the province theyve got to get their heads out of the sand west said we dont want to annex them we would like to sit down with them and talk about things that are best for all the communities but king mayor margaret black and whitchurchstouffville mayor wayne emmerson say theres nothing to talk about black said she doesnt believe the province is poised to force amalgamation in york region adding aurora is attempting a greedy power play king will fight it to the end she said if theres one reason to run for mayor again its to protect king from aurora newmarket and vaughan emmerson said he has no interest in sitting down to talk amalgamation with york regions northern municipalities since his council favours the singlecity approach they already know our position he said we dont want amalgamation but if it comes to that we want one city for the whole region emmerson said preliminary studies show whitchurchstouffville taxpayers would lose out if they joined their urban neighbours id wish theyd just leave it alone he said dont those councillors in aurora have anything else to do ive got lots to do here but west said merging the regions nine munici palities into one city is too cumbersome adding the northern municipalities need to make a case for a twocity model if i had my druthers i wouldve liked aurora to stay the way it was in 1954 when i moved here west said but were too close to toronto and growth is moving north if an annexation bid moves ahead aurora would like to move its western border from bathurst street to hwy 400 in king township theyve got to get their heads out of the sand to the east aurora wants to move its boundary from hwy 404 to warden avenue aurora council has asked town staff to file a report outlining the process and cost of annexa tion the request would be forwarded to the provin cial government which would consider it under the municipal boundaries act in most cases the province asks the municipal ities to negotiate the boundary changes including financial compensation if negotiations fail the province appoints a mediator to encourage a settlement only aurora councillor peter healy opposed plans to push the towns borders east and west councillor bob hartwell said he initially opposed the annexation bid but decided there was no other way to bring king and whitchurch- stouffville to the table at first i felt it was a little heavyhanded he said but i understand we need to get them to dis cuss the possibility of amalgamation with us meanwhile aurora is discussing amalgamation options with newmarket and georgina but east gwillimbury continues to boycott the discussions falling in step with king and whitchurchstouffville new management special aaas hi transmission serving markham area since 1978 1 00 centres coast to coast same day service in most cases free multicheck road test towing available automatic standards clutches differentials 2 year clutch warranty available i nationwide written vehicle ownership warranty available i no payment no interest 90 days oac i courtesy cars available some conditions apply 8 laidlaw blvd first lights east of mccowan on hwy 7 905 2940490 f peppertree ft klassics womens fashions all i fall winter 4 fashions and accessories off boxing week sale ihe staff at peppertree assics wish you att the best for year 2000 137 main st north markham village 2943882 regular ticket prices excludes new spring arrivals special orders holds and layaways m 4 1 i