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stouflville suntribune thursday dec 22 2005 3 stouffville says by hannelore volpe what would you like santa to bring you this christmas asked at strawberry patch montessori school in stouflville jacob rintjema hffig- hpshai ism 1hb x ali hl r- js ehbl bi i would like a scooter one with a motor i want to ride it in front of my house chantal campbell i want a computer with a dora the explorer game i want a girl tamagotchi i liketo open my pre sents on christmas morning with my family katie currie id like a new dog like my cousins its a goldcoloured dog we wish you a merry christmas briefly staff photosusie kockerscheidt orchard park public school grade 5 students sing monday during slapshot santa the schools annu al christmas concert council takes another shot at developing hall downtown by hannelore volpe staff writer will you finally be seeing stouffvilles vacant municipal building flourishing in the not- toodistantfuture a focal point for a sparkling new downtown drawing residents and tourists alike the chances got better with whitchurchstouffville councils decision tuesday to go ahead with a search for something to put into the old town hall and specific work plans with target dates attached money has also been ear marked in the 2006 budget for downtown revitalization to the tune of 150000 its the first time a methodical inclusive approach involving the major stakeholders in town has been used the strategy comes out of a townrun charette where groups such as the whitchurchstouf fville chamber of commerce the stouffville business improve ment area local landlords citi zens including students the eco nomic advisory committee and heritage advisory committee sat down over several days in sep tember to hash out ideas for the entire downtown town planner andrew mcneely appeared hopeful as he picked up a large bundle of docu ments and headed out of the meeting in the five years hes been here council has been unable to move forward in putting a thriving enterprise in the old town hall and thats what has held up plans for the adjacent area he said the last attempt to put a the atre and cultural arts centre in the old building was part of a propos al put forward by the ventin group it envisioned a huge addi tion on the civic avenue building that would have encroached on the adjacent lawn bowling greens and butted against neighbours fences it was overwhelmingly nixed by council in april council will have its acid test march 7 thats when they will vote on proposals from staff for the building some old proposals will be revisited mr mcneely noted council agreed there would be no additions to the building and that it would not be sold the potential use would have to promote increased pedestrian traffic in the downtown area and reinforce the meeting place role of civic square in front of the building and nearby memo rial park at the same time while townowned buildings are being analysed to see how they can best be utilized the search is still on for a location for a cultural and performing arts centre community consulta tions should take place in janu ary and february with a final report coming to council by march council will also look at moving the town offices back into the downtown area from its rented sandiford drive quar ters mayor sue sherban who has fought long and hard to put a per forming arts centre in the old building says she will endorse the decision of her council whether a performing arts centre goes into the old building or not my personal commitment is to make sure before another elec tion rolls by that there will be a decision on the old town hall she said in an interview in the meantime a number of committees have been deployed to reach specific objectives by specific dates a downtown stouf fville working group is to be appointed april 18 when con cerns were expressed about the committee being dissolved with next novembers election mayor sherban noted it might be an independent committee not a town committee the towns parking and traffic circulation study comes before council march 7 the memorial park mas ter plan is slated to be ready june 6 a report on changing the look of the downtown through signage is to be ready feb 7 there is no one solution for the downtown mr mcneely said there is no magic pill a whole series of approaches will be taken fireworks legion party on new years eve are you looking for something to do on new years eve mayor sue sherbans new years eve celebration takes place in the stouf fville memorial park picnic shelter from 6 to 9 pm music will be provided by shoot ing stars productions from 7 to 9 pm there will be horsedrawn wagon rides from lionels pony farm fireworks by pyro mario begin at 9 pm whitchurchstouffville volunteer firefighters will man the bonfire the ice rink and cook hotdogs for resi dents the stouffville lions club holds a games night in latcham hall and serve up hot chocolate and cider the stouffville royal canadian legion hosts its annual new years eve party from 9 pm to 1 am in the legion hall on ninth line north of main street tickets are 20 per person music by tim hewie and larry goguen dancing chinese buffet dinner party favours and champagne at midnight questions for candidates do you have a burning question you wish you could ask the candi dates in your riding is there something you need to know before you decide howyou vote jan 23 but nobodys talking about it who wants to wait for a candi dates meeting set aside an evening and wait in line in the hope you might get to ask your question thats why the york region news paper group is running an online candidates meeting send your questions please no more than 20 words to dteetzelyrngcom before 5 pm mondays then check electionyorkregioncom thursday mornings to read the candidates answers be sure to include your name and community with your question well also publish a selection of questions and answers each week in thursdays newspaper well have new questions and answers every week from participat ing candidates in york regions seven ridings starting next week contacting us have a news tip please phone us at 9055131717 email us at jmasonyrngcom newspapers magazines posters brochures calendars manuals reports business stationery promotional materials tmuii- m i mi bnic output ripping wft j- h manual inserti delivery 1line quoting hlii pasaiiasj 1183 ringwell drive newmarket i r 9058300523 1-877-362-8970- fax 9058301992 j