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ilt- economist svmfftibune health tuesday dx 26 2000 feiflyt6gd wl 1 20 million expected from development industry in question by kathleen griffin staff writer its all systems go for york regions three hospital expan- sions despite the fact local builders are refusing to chip in v the work cant stop more space more beds and better facilities are urgently needed to serve the region where explosive growth shows no signs of slowing if there was ever a time the cliche lifeanddeath situa tion is appropriate its now said southlake regional health centre president dan camera the region is putting up 625 million of the total 202- million price tag for expansion projects with provincial funding at about 124 million and the balance to be raised by the hospitals fundraising foundations we were not terribly surprised the development indus try said thanks but no thanks they have agreed to help in other ways twothirds of yorks share will come from tax dollars the other third was to be financed from a 463 surcharge on every new home but now that financing about 20 mil lion is in question we have committed the money one way or another assured york region chairperson bill fisch we were not terribly surprised the development industry said thanks but no thanks they have agreed to help in other ways anything but development charges taxpayers could end up footing most of the bill but fisch said thats something most people wont mind an angus reid poll commissioned by the region found 65 per cent of residents support die region funding hospitals will there be a tax hike im not certain of that but peo ple have told us they are prepared to pay 12 or 15 extra every year to ensure we have good quality hospitals he said if we can absorb some of that we will but there comes a time when we have to pay for the services we require and this is one area thats very important southlake will tender a 109million construction pro ject which will expand and renovate the existing newmar ket facility by february new wings will replace additions built in 1945 and 1955 and a new 250000squarefoot build- l ing will be added to the 1966 and 1974 buildings carriere said v this facility was built in 1927 were not delaying we cant afford it were operating a facility thats borderline unsafe this is a wood frame structure there are nct sprin klers the rooms are small the heat and ventilation is terri ble to not build it and keep sending people to toronto on the 400 and the 404 parking lots is not the answer carrieres sentiments are shared by dr jim mclean chief executive officer for markham stouffville hospital that facility sits in the middle of massive development where the cornell subdivision alone will soon be home to more than 30000 people he said the provincial health services restructuring committee badly underestimated growth especially in york region the need is for significantly more beds than what was planned for he said were operating now with more beds than the committee said wed need in 2003 that estimate was 115 acute care beds the hospital is currentlyoperatingl25andneedsatleast75more i iittibehind elmsaististmingtoj- fruition uiitil2003f2004jheadded costs may riiehigner ithan the 30 million he estimates the facility needs wehave tofigure out how to handle that he said already in 2001 were beyond our capacity and the growth is not going to stop the community needs those beds things are no better at richmond hilfs york central hos pital where a 69miliion redevelopmeht project is already underway with that comes people and people need services whethefthe development community likes it or not they are part of that picture to just say no is not good enough its rv not a reasonable solution to the problem r butpresident frank lussing said hes confident the funds will be there r ifthe region had not come through that would be a stopper he said but they have committed the funding we havent had any indication the support wont be thera it may just be a bit slower in coming patrick ohanldn the newly elected president of the greater toronto home builders association has made it clear the industry will not accept any voluntary surcharge on new residential development to pay for hospital growth carriere slammed developers for not pitching insayirig they promote the region to industry andpptentialhbme- owners enticing them to make the move north with that comespeople arid pcopleneed services car- riere said whether the development community likes it or not they are part of that picture to just say no is not good enough its not a reasonable solution to the problem i fisch and all three hospital heads say they will continue tqlobby the province for changes to regulations contained f within the development charges act before 1998 a portion i ofdeveloprnent charges could be used to fund capital pro- jects for hospitals but developers fought it and that option was eliminated frances johnston manager of the municipal finance branch of the ministry of municipal affairs said there are no m plans tore that debated our response is we made the changes with extensive consultation including ministry of health participation j- jshe said we continue to expand provincial funding for jkealthwe have had similar requests and our standard response is the government has restructured and commit- ted large amounts of funding were not opening it at this jnmef 1 xi f but that doesnt sit well with carriere j does this hospital ha veto go to every ontario municipal i board hearing to stop development asked carriere if we i f cant bring them to the table we have to legislate it its not a problem thats going to go away onlv research can cure leukemia onlv excellence in canadian research is funded by lrf please 1 help 4v5klh bb mbm rm hhi mb sfclbbh mm hh dan carriere southlake regional bill fisch york region chairper- jim mclean ceo of markham frank lussing york central health centre president says devel- son feels taxpayers wont mind foot- stoufville hospital says the province hospital president is confident opers should be pitching in to ing part of the bill for hospital badly underestimated growth espe- funding will come through upgrade hospitals improvements daily in york region village nissans 2n 0 chance at chrbstfvl as event interest w- ir the 2001 pathfinder xe lease pathfinder xe- automatic for only 3omo for 48 months only 5450 down financing as low as 48 3sn for 90 days j v hake your first m only 6 days remaining bhbbbbhbb v v lease ahima gxe for only 298mo for 48 months only 2350 down financing as low as 48 t wmkwg jy j a f leukemia research fund je cahao 1 10 kinch ave w sec 222 toronto ontario m3 1 2t2 pel 4161 661 clri2s73 i 4600 hwy 7 markham 9054773337 the 2001 maxima gxe lease maxima gxe with convenience package for only for 48 months only 4650 down financing as low as 48 its only a deal if you get a gjtoaill car mmwnhlffjfmv erkum0k ft mi timn meet m n9mttbhtjusimm tlmmtmkflm v