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i I was fairly sure I wouldnt get in people only listen to what they wont Jean Smith Theyre fust sort of their own hole if there wasnt a writ there wouldnt be this fuss JEAN SMITH i George Burrows GEORGE BURROWS v the taxpayer has not been given the information on this Mildred Holmes An unending stream of letters telephone calls rumors and misinformation Township lawyer MILDRED HOLMES ass By BOB MARTIN Era News Editor SUTTON There are only two ways to think about Mildred Holmes and Jean Smith You either hate them or love them two women residents of Sutton and Keswick respec tively are the focal point of the opposition movement to Township Mayor George Burrows and his eight- member council are other prominent members in what appears to be V growing legion against a council elected only nine months ago but Mrs Holmes and Mrs Smith are its king pins accusing township of mismanagement in everything from building per- mils to the purchase of baseball ALICE IN WONDERLAND To council opponents the duo represents a major salvation from politicians and administrators that have created whats been termed an in Wonderland at- in the township I To members of council- township staff and municipal lawyers drawn into the con troversy they Ye part of a small corps of dissidents and agitators Mayor George Burrows is becoming increasingly upset over mounting challenges to councils integrity Its one thing to have I debate but its another thing to have character assassination he said Monday The whole controversy he said is tied directly to a group that has filed a writ to overthrow the December municipal election If there wasnt a writ there wouldnt be this fuss the mayor noted The legal action still before the courts contends that the election was not valid because of irregularities that occurred during the voting Since the issue first arose township clerk and returning officer Evelyn Waggctt resigned after being named a co- defendant in the law suit At the same time the writ is being debated the township is attempting to gain approval in the provincial legislature of a private members bill that would legalize ward boundaries illegally approved by council While council opponents now believe a concentrated campaign has scuttled any hope that the bill will be approved the township has already ac- legal fees of And according to a Toronto legal firm handling the matter costs will continue to rise vyouW appear that a small but determined number of people in the township have gone to a great deal of trouble to produce an unending stream of letters telephone calls rumors and misinformation about the bill and its purpose this in turn has necessarily led to a great deal of confusion and concern on the part of those in the Ontario civil service and government responsible for the con sideration of private bills a gina phases out artment KESWICK- With a series two bylaws and three resolutions Council Monday night phased out its building department and chief building inspector Charles job Mr attended the session and left only after Councillor Ken failed to win a stay of execution for the department Citing a provincial- municipal audit announced last week by the province Mr Smockum said while council could accept the intent of the proposal any action should be postponed pending the study Seconded by Councillor John McLean the motion was lost on a fourthree vote when pa only Bruce Welch joined Councillors and McLean in supporting the proposal Prior to the meeting Mr Chirnsides said he would have no comment on issue whatever the outcome Under one of the resolutions approved Monday he has been offered a lower rated job for less money in the new planning and development department The new department according to finance chairman Councillor Howard Shillington will consist of a development officer who will be designated chief building inspector an assistant development officer or head building inspector a design draftsman two building inspectors one dealing ex clusively with bylaws and two secretaries recent lawyers letter to the township noted Citing an artificial but bitter controversy surrounding the bill the lawyer said passage has taken far more time than should have been necessary NO THREATS MPP The same letter said George Ashe newlyelected from Durham West backed off sponsoring the bill because of a large number of telephone calls and letters many of them abusive While he received four or five lengthy phone calls relaled to the bill Mr Ashe said none of the calls were either threatening or abusive I never used that term at all he claimed While he considered sponsorship of the bill the novice MPP said he backed off because the phone calls and correspondence related to the issue would consume time needed to establish his own office Although his name became attached to the bill when it went into a committee for study Mr Ashe said he would never allow his name to be associated with a bill without studying it first To this day Ive never seen the proposed bill he explained Mr Ashes reluctance to get involved in a political battle outside his riding is offset by Mildred Holmes and Jean Smiths drive to jump in feet first While Mrs Holmes sat in her Sutton home blasting the townships involvement in Keswicks sub division Mrs Smith was busy in Keswick tackling Georgina council on another front A member of the preregion North Gwillimbury council Mrs Smith has run for council several times but failed to win a seat The last time at least she hadnt really expected that she would win the 3 post I was fairly sure I wouldnt get in she told The Era Her entire reason for run ning was to help the people of the township become aware of what she and other members of a growing legion claim are in consistencies on the part of township council the current campaign which includes court actions Councillors send park issue to OMB KESWICK Amidst all the controversy over court cases industrial development and election scandals Gcnrgiua Council Monday night took a positive step towards solving one of its most hotlydebated issues Council approved a bylaw clearing the way for the Trailer Park development The issue wasnt as much a blanket council approval of the project as an opportunity to allow the entire issue to he aired before the Ontario Municipal Hoard Before the zoning change for the park is approved the Ontario Municipal Board will hold a public hearing on the bylaw The hearing likely wont lie held for about four months Mayor George Burrows said following the meeting The proposal for the trailer park an issue thats been raging for the past year and a half was the subject of presentations by both opponents and proponents Monday night Favoring the development was former East Mayor Gladys Rolling now a municipal consultant who ap peared on the trailer park operator Mrs Rolling said after reviewing the entire issue it apparent that the trailer park has the approval in principle of council The operation she said would fit right in with designation as a recreational area Describing the proposed trailer park as a really high class facility she said it will encourage patronage by the good solid citizens who own recreational vehicles Keswick resident Jean Smith however sparked cries of support from the public gallery when she questioned the handling of permits for the project if Township Council drew its usually Urge Monday night as it attacked a varHy of Issues against the township petitions to the province and calls for the mayor and council to resign Mrs Smiths efforts largely fell on deaf ears People only listen to what they want to hear she noted But now more pocple are listening Although last weeks an nouncement of a provincial- municipal audit of affairs is less than the inquiry hoped for by Mrs Smith and cohorts she termed it a foot in the door The province is interested in continuing its preliminary in vestigation into the township and the Keswick woman is convinced it will lead to a broader provincial inquiry Councillor Howard chairman of the finance committee and one of the most outspoken opponents of council critics sees it dif ferently BACKWARDS The province leaned over backwards to point out that this was not an official inquiry he noted Thursday Instead the province is expanding its preliminary in vestigation and saying the full inquiry is not needed he claimed For his part the man who made the decision provincial treasurer McKeough put it this way in a letter to the township last Wednesday Based on the facts made available to me I have decided not to recommend that a commission of inquiry be issued into the affairs of lie Township of However I feel that a further examination is required with regard to two specific matters that have been brought to my attention The two areas Mr continued include the township building depart ment particularly the issuing of building permits and the apparent nonenforcement of a subdivision agreement The subdivision in question is Westpark where Mrs Holmes charged that services and paving were to have been completed by midJune but have still not been completed Township officials said the project was originally delayed by weather conditions Paving and installation of services by the early deadline would have resulted in a poorer quality road they noted NAME PETITION Following the an nouncement of the audit a spokesman for Mr office said the study will also cover any matters arising from the investigation The audit will not be restricted to financial areas the official said and can be broadly interpreted Mr decision was sparked by a petition backed by a letter citing the Westpark controversy councils handling of industrial park proposals in the Sutton area and criticism of the townships treasury depart ment Although Mrs Holmes openly admitted that she headed the petition drive councillors claim they have not been of ficially notified who their critics are Nor has council been presented with a copy of the letter that takes it to task There was never any at tempt to hide the information from council according to Mrs Smith J If they want to know anything they can come to me she explained I wasnt ad vertising Even as the province an nounced the audit Mrs Smith was finding new areas in which to criticize council The township had no authorization to spend on tickets for a Toronto Blue Jays baseball game she claimed Money is spent without proper authorization she charged with the township treasury operating on the policy of simply paying bills as they come in Even routine bills are not covered by a bylaw or procedure that would allow the township to pay them Monday however Mayor Burrows termed the ex penditure an in and out figure offset by the sale of tickets The entire procedure covering ticket sales for the Aug Day at the Blue Jay game in Toronto was approved by the townships community services committee the mayor claimed We didnt spend it all at once Councillor Bruce Welch chairman of the community services committee added We ordered them as we needed them It was kind of a break even deal While Mrs Smith continues to attack council on a series of issues Mrs Holmes is con centrating on a single matter Her specially is the West- park subdivision a Keswick area development thats been in the news practically as long as been In an appearance before council late last month she presented a lengthy document outlining a series of unanswered questions about the property first purchased in COSTS CREATE DEBATE Councillors knew Mrs Holmes was coming and were aware she wanted to discuss Westpark but the nature of her presentation which evolved into an hourlong verbal battle was unknown until she was in troduced during the delegations portion of the agenda Mrs Holmes refused to present a copy of her presen tation to township officials prior to the meeting Stressing that shed never release such information in advance the Sutton woman said councillors could effectively sidestep the questions by knowing them prior to her presentation While council agreed to release an outline of all legal fees relating to the Westpark project Mrs Holmes went away feeling her other questions had been sidestepped The requested financial figures were released by a committee last week but held up by council Monday night Councillor Eric said no information should be released pending the provincial audit I would hope the figures we came up with were correct noted Councillor John McLean adding that the figures approved by the committee could be released and then updated if necessary Council decided instead to hold all information until the audit is finalized and Mrs Holmes left the meeting feeling another of her requests had been sidestepped Her other questions Why the council accepted lots from a parcel mortgaged for 300000 as a performance bond when the township had earlier purchased property as part of a larger tract for 150000 and sold the controversial portion of it for 160000 Whether the township assumed complete ownership of the land in January and Whether councillors realized liens were placed against the properly including the lots registered in the townships name in May NO LIABILITY Councillor Bruce Welch claimed he was not aware the property was mortgaged when the township finalized the subdivision agreement Mayor George Burrows noting that the entire procedure was drafted by a lawyer said all transactions were carried out properly We reviewed this carefully to make sure there was no financial liability he noted The answer wasnt enough for the persistent Mrs Holmes She claimed two former councillors were misled during a May discussion on the property During that discussion the township agreed to New Unisphere Resources Ltd becoming the developer of the property At the time Councillors Gary and John Hastings both asked if the proposed agreement would relieve the municipality of any financial responsibility surrounding the property Told the township would not be held financially responsible the two joined the majority of council in voting for the sub division agreement But that agreement noted Mrs Holmes was signed in June and contained a standard clause freeing the township from any subsequent liens against the property but not covering any liens prior to signing of the agreement Immediately after the agreement was signed on June Contracting acted on a 30000 lien against the township Brought by the sub contractor to a former developer the issue is still before the courts While the township is disclaiming any responsiblility for lien it has estimated that losing court case would cost a maximum 4500 plus costs MADE YOU MONEY I I Even with those figures included stands to eventually profit from the Westpark deal according to municipal officials The township has spent a total of 171000 on the property realized 160000 from the sale of lots and still has 30 additional lots that can be created once water and sewage services are completed in Keswick We have made you money on this Mayor Burrows told Mrs Holmes during her July appearance before council But the whole concept of the municipality becoming a speculatordeveloper angers and baffles the Sutton woman They mortgaged us for she noted last week The taxpayer has not been given the information on this While Westpark has received most of Mrs Holmes attention she estimated that shes spent 500 in various at- tempts to secure information and protect her own property from regional road projects And she is still waiting for answers from the township Ml J v J VJ