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Similarly in the education budget. York County Board of Education, to soften the blow for other communities. decided to allocate its budget. 70‘?» on the 1969 assessment and 30% on the 1968 assessment. Considering each item of each budget, council pared $100 Of this amount council has no control over the county levy of $380,403.83 ($369,241.91 in 1969), the education levy of $1,099,066.82 for public schools ($993,979.38 in 1969) and $920,048.93 for high schools ($884,656.95 last year) or the police budget of $376,226.45 ($288,400 in 1969). One mill will raise $124,000 in taxes in 1970. It was noted that Richmond here. $500 there. $1.000 else- I-Iill ratepayers are again pen< where, persuaded department Ilized this year in the county heads to make some equipment ‘ate and the educational levy. last another year. while approv- Because the statutes require ing replacement of the oldest :ounty taxes to be based on the and approving additions to issessment made in 1968. Rich- equipment in some cases. By nond Hill will continue to pay‘one o'clock when the meeting [2% of the county budget. al- broke for lunch.. $61881 had though last year‘s county as- been removed. Included in sessment revealed that the town these deletions was the $7,000 mould be responsible for only provided for the addition of nine percent of that budget. three permanent firemen in Ilf the 1969 assessment could September and the $500 for have been used. the county levy their uniforms. on the town would have been A reduction of $11,000 in the only $285.000‘. capital cost of a second storev VOL. 93, NO. 41 By MARY DAWSON At 9 :30 am when the day-long budget session of council in finance committee of the whole began to consider the 1970 budget, the total of all budgets submitted totalled $4,410,855.94, a substantial in- crease from the $4,111,363.64 budgeted in 1969 and even more substantial than the $4,022,300.61 actually spent last year. Reeve Donald Plaxton described this total as “Utopia” but warned council, the final amount must lie within the ability of the town’s ratepayers to pay. Richmond gill Council Paras 1.25 Mills From 1970 Budget Day-Long Session Pollution Bomb Sited In Whitchurch Contains Years Of Fluid Waste For Half Ontario The day-long business session began at 9:45 am, with the members of the local Ladies’ Auxiliary catering \f :--a tiful luncheon. Each Legionnaire received a gift from Richmond Hill’s newest industr a package of Reynolds’ wrap, a pack of cigarettes (Export), matches and a a ballpoint pen. The happy group aboV’? at the luncheon table are (left to right) Hon. Provincial Command 'I‘reasurei'AGeorge Laughlina President Douglas Hopson of the host branch and District Com- mander Alex ’ Rees. District “E” Orangeville. ‘ More than 125 Legionnail‘es from 48 branches in four zones were hosted by Richmond Hill Branch 375 Royal Canadian Legion last Saturday for the District “E” Convention. Included in the delegates and their guests Were District Commander Alex 'Rees of Gravenhurst, Honorary Treasurer Provincial Command George Laughlin of St. Catharines and Provincial 2nd Vice- President Bob Jeffries of Bracebridge, as well as the four zone commanders â€" Frank Barrott, Richmond Hill. E-2; Danny Rolph, Mono Mills, E-3; Hugh Taylor, Orillia, E-4; and Art Coon, Gravenhurst, E-5. l Provincial government officials think the possibility this pollution bomb will explode is extremely rglmote and the danger is neglig~ 1 e. But they aren't sure! Fearful ratepayers 'm the neigh- borhood recently met and de‘ By HAROLD BLAINE A huge multi-million gallon pol- lution bomb of unknown content is sitting and still growing beside Highway 48 in York County‘s Whitchurch Township. The bottom of it is approxim- ater 70 feet above the water table and it is about 7.000 feet from the wells that supply water to thousands of people in Stouffvllle. Only earthen embankments are keeping it out of a swamp which may be the headwaters of the Holland or Rouge Rivers. It is the Bremner Dump and the only known disposal location for industrial fluid wastes for Metro- politan Toronto and an area from Hamilton to Collingwood and Osh~ awa. local Legion Bram/1 Hosts District reaches from Steeles Avenue as far north as Mactier and as far west as DAWSON flay-long budget session of ;ee of the whole began to the total of all budgets 855.94, a substantial in- L64 budgeted in 1969 and the $4,022,300.61 actually Donald Plaxton described warned council, the final $133,971 before they recessed'the balance remaining in the for dinner. They were back on No. 3 Account, made up of lot the dais by 7.30 and continued fees a decade ago had reach- their deliberations until 20 ed $18,536.84. 11; was agreed minutes past midnight. \\'hen,that the parks development they had pared still further tolbudget which had been cut a total of $176,889.82. down from $50,000 to $6,850 The spectre of the im- be minence of regional govern- ment hung over the meet- ing and influenced many the ability of the town’s decisions. Richmond Hill Public Library suffered a 39,000 out in budget, but $3,000 was granted for the Youth Aid Centre to help young people with prob- lems and $2,500 was al- located for the Richmond Hill and Area Family Serv- ices. An attempt to allo- cate $1,500 each to Union Villa and Blue Hills Acad- emy was unsuccessful, since the majority of council felt that support of both should il has no control over the :3 ($369,241.91 in 1969), 9,066.82 for public schools rid $920,048.93 for high 'ear) or the police budget n 1969). 54,000 in taxes in 1970. here. $500 there. $1,000 else- where, persuaded department heads to make some equipment last another year, while approv- ing replacement of the oldestl be at the county level' and approving additions to‘ Reeve Plaxton and Deputy- equipment in some cases. By reeve Ivan Mansbridge. the one o'clock when the meeting town’s representatives on counâ€" broke for lunch,- $67,881 had ty council, promised to try to been removed. Included in have the question re-opened. these deletions was the $7,000 They reported the sum of provided for the addition of $10,000 each had been included three permanent firemen in in the county’s budget, but had September and the $500 for been removed and held in re- thelr uniforms. serve. “If the Southern Six A reduction of $11,000 in the had voted solidly for the grants, capital cost of a second storey they would have carried, since on the fire hall to provide ac- the commodation for the existing were split," it was reported. nine permanent men, chief and “The vote was close â€" 16-12.” volunteer firemen who make Treasurer Mack Clement up the town‘s fire-fighting andlproved to be a bearer of un- fire prevention force was alsolexpected gifts, when he reveal- made. . led a treasure trove existed in By 6.10 pm council had suc-lthree separate accounts. With ceeded in lopping off a total oilinterest of more than $5.000. northern municipalities! increased by $11350 and that $18,200 of the No. 3 Ac-l. (Continued on Page 3) cep con tic] prc be bu: an ant me llllllllllllll 40% Less Schoolchildren High Rise Buil High-rise apartment develop- ment brings large increases in traffic and population densities. But town house development on the same amount of land hikes the school population about 40% more. This according to a report to Markham Township Planning Board last week. ' Being considered was an ap- plication by Costain Estates Limited for a condominium town house project on part of a property at the northwest com- er of Bayview Avenue and Royal Orchard Boulevard in Thornhill. The planners are going ahead with the applica- tion. The firm proposes to develop the westeer 3.5 acres of the property with a 62-unit project. The corner would be left free for a possible highâ€"rise apartâ€" ment building. The whole property is zoned RMS (third densny multiple family residential) and the own- ers c high wishe Bu‘ densi housi zone. comp and than woult Ac staff the l with and expe< wouh mate 103 secon At Coun noted catim bit ( relati and 1 to sc last another year. while approv- ing replacement of the oldest and approving additions to equipment in some cases. By one o'clock when the meeting broke for lunch,- $67,881 had been removed. Included in these deletions was the $7,000 provided for the addition of three permanent firemen in September and the $500 for their uniforms. The admittedly highly dangerous fluids are contained in natural holes in the ground called kettles. These holes were left in the last glacial period when earth piled up around huge pieces of ice and then the ice melted away. Provincial officials from the Waste Management Section of the Department of Energy and Re- sources Management last week ex- plained the situation to Whit- church Township Council and rep- resentatives of Metro and Holland Valley Conservation Authorities. manded the dumping be stopped. They want assurances in writing that there will be no water pollu- tion from the dump, now or in the future. ‘ One neighbor complains the win- dows of his home must be kept closed during sleep at night. in case fumes from dumped acids and other chemicals float in the direction of his property. Until recently.rno record what- soever was kept of what chemicals were being dumped. Public Li“r”.'r-3I 24 Uri 'rlt pt, Rich's-n“. Hill . @1219 e , Mimi Further test holes are to be dug. he said. with the permission and co-operation of the dump owner Bremner Ltd. But there is now no provincial regulatory power, although some new legislation is promised at this session by Min- ister of Energy and Resources Management George Kerr. Members of Whitchurch Town- ship last week appeared to agree they could see no way for the mun- icipality to force closure of the Mr. Heaman reported that pres- sures from industry to keep the dump open are immense. and wholesale layoffs of thousands of workers were threatened when the dump was closed for a short period last Decembere At this time Director of Waste Management John Heaman could report only promises that some- thing would be done about the dump and the pollution control problems it presents. Representatives of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture in York County also attended. RICHMOND HILL, ONTARIO, THURSDAY, APRIL 9, 1970 Bu-t town house development on the same amount of land hikes the school population about 40% more. ‘ Being considered was an ap- plication by Costain Estates Limited for a condominium town house project on part of a property at the northwest corn- er of Bayview Avenue and Royal Orchard Boulevard in Thornhill. The planners are going ahead with the applica- tion. (Photo by Stuart's Studio) High Rise Buildings Cut School Tax T‘In Essentials Unity; in Non-Essentials Liberty; in all things Charity" III-II Provincial Officials Say Risk ls Negligible Councillor Merlyn Baker. who has spearheaded efforts to air the dump issue in council. indicated he felt the provincial government was stalling and equivocating over the issue because of pressure from in- dustrial interests. He charged provincial experts had drilled only one dry test hole near the kettle where most of the fluid industrial waste had been dumped. He alleged most of the test holes have been drilled near a kettle that contains mostly Whit- church Township domestic gar-s Deputy-reeve Norman Barnard said the municipality had tried going to court about gravel pits. but lost its case and the money spent. This was because evidence and experts controlled by the prov- ince. were withheld. He said there was no use having the mun- icipality go through this kind of punishment again. dump as long as the province op- posed closure. or refused to co- operate by supplying experts and data in the event of a court case. New development has result- ed in a six percent increase in enrolment and accounts for about $1.3 miLlion of the $4 million increase in budget over 1969, explained Business Sup- erintendent George Ford. but the burden on the home own- er will be heavier because of the change in method of assess- ment. - munlnunluuuummuum1mm1m1mummmmmummmm ers could use all the land for high rise apartments if they wished. At the planning meeting. Councillor James Jongeneel noted the report on this appli- cation yielded a very significant bit of information about the relative effects of apartments and town houses when it came to school taxes. illlll\ll\\lllllll“\llmmlmmlllulllmll“llIlllllllllll\\\l\\ll\ll\\llll|llfl But they propose a lower density use for part of it. Town housing is usually in an RMl zone. Still, the town houses comply with the other zoning and cover no more land area than the high rise apartments would. According to the planning staff report, an apartment on the land could have 210 units with a population of 525 people and 74 school pupils could be expected. The 62 town houses would be occupied by an esti- mated 245 people, including 103 public elementary\ and secondary school students. l ‘ By MARGARET LADE When York County Board of Education last week approved a $34.8 million operating budget for 1970, it also gave an indication of how this will affect the average; taxpayer. The budget represents a jump of 16 percent over last year’s total of $30,095,559. It was pointed out, however, that part of the brunt of the increases will be shared bygthe province. Education Minister William Davis has agreed to provide subsidies where the increase is greater than the equivalent of one half an “equalized mill.” Although the board is responsible for all public schools in the county, each of the ".14 municipalities is responsible for its own share of the overall budget, and :with assessment now a provincial, not a municipal affair, the in- creases will vary widely, ranging from an estimated increase of 6.79 percent in Woodbridge to an increase of 20.55 percent in East Gwillimbury Township. 7 Predict Education Tax Jump As School Budget Is Up 16% Extension of the local Richmond Hill bus service along Trench Street to serve York Ceniral Hospital and Don Head Secondary School, (both located in Vaughan Township) has re- ceived approval of Rich- mond Hill Town Council. Trailways of Canada. which operates the local service. has agreed to seek consent for the extension from Vaughan Township and also to obtain a public vehicle license to operate in Vaughan, it was reported at the ‘Marelt ‘26“ meeting. " In February council ac- cepted its transportation committee’s recommenda- tion to extend the service provided a license could be obtained for the local buses to operate in Vaugh- an Township from council and the Ontario Depart- ment of Transport. Local Bus To Serve Hospital Actual homes standing on less than one acre of land were used for samples, said Mr. Ford. Since assessment this year is based on market value. the board then listed estimated taxes for 1970 for a home valued at $20,000. He pointed out that it is obvious that 1he $20,000 house in Richmond Hill will not be the same type of house that would sell for 1hat amount in Georgina or North Gwillimbury. Tax hikes in Aurora and Newmarket for a residence that has the same market value will be about $31, and in East Gwillimbury, it will be a whop- ping $49. Using the hypothetical home assessed at a market value of $20,000 the board predicts an increase of 7.37 percent in edu- cation rtax in Richmond Hill -â€" from $308 in 1969 to $331 in 1970 â€"â€" about $23. In Vaughan Township the predicted increase is 16.6 per- cent", from $213.52 ta $249 -â€" a total of $35.48. Planning Director Kunio Hi- daka said the growth in interest in the new condominium town house type of development was posing some new problems for the township. These problems were going to be encountered by many municipalities and a meeting with the Department of Municipal Affairs officials was scheduled. Condominium town house roads may be privately owned and narrower than normal streets, since they are not in- cluded under the usual subdi- vision regulations. A completely new set of problems for such municipal services as snow ploughing. gar- bage collection, traffic safety and lighting. etc. is presented by condominium type develop- ment. Markham Township can an- ticipate an increase of 16.9 per- cent in education taxes â€" about $35 on the $20,000 home. Regulations for streets and other such public services in large condominium projects would have to be developed quickly. Mr. Heaman really didn‘t tell council members anything new, ex- cept that new legislation was promised by the minister. Infor- mation provided previously in council was again provided by Mr. Heaman. This time it was first- hand and in greater detail. The problems faced by the province in waste management were presented. Prospects for new developments to replace the dump were outlined. A pioneer fluid waste disposal oper- ation near Sarnia was described. Mr. Heaman promised more test holes would be drilled as soon as weather permitted. For the first Reeve Stewart Burnett disagreed. He said Mr. Heaman hadn‘t en- tirely wasted his time. and did explain to the council that the risk was negligible. Councillor Baker charged that Waste Management Director Hea- man had wasted his time by com- ing to the meeting, told the council nothing new, and gave no guarantee the dump was safe. bage HOME PAPER OF THE DISTRICT SINCE 1878 In Stouffville. the homeown- er in this bracket can look for- ward tQ an increase of about $48. and in the Town of Mark- ham. an increase of $39. Norfll Gwillimbury fares bet- ter, with a predicted increase of 14.3 percent, or about $29, and in Georgina Township the jump will be about $23.62. with the owner of the $20,000 home paying $187.60 in school taxes in 1970 compared to $163.98 in 1969. One More Delay Yonge St. Traffic Mr‘ Currie stated his associa- tion is well aware that recon- struction of Yonge Street will bring about a decrease in busi- ness during the period of con- struction and that the Centre merchants are prepared to spend more monies on promo- tion and advertising to bring in and hold their present patrons. He pointed out that these mer- chants require as much access to the Centre as is possible at all times, without holding back progress on the project. Mr. Whalen told council that he had acted quickly when the letter was received and the con- tractor had co-operated in get- ting the barricades out of the way, especially on the weekends. He agreed to write a letter to Mr. Currie giving these facts, but added. “By the time he gets the letter I hope to be through." His statement came during discussion of a letter from President Stan Currie of the Richmond Heights Centre Mer- chants Association, representing 50 businesses. Yonge Street traffic will'be restricted for only one more short period at the present time, Works Commissioner Otto Whalen told Richmond Hill Town Council at its March 26 meeting. The restrictio would be necessary for only a couple of days while the excavation for the storm sewer serving Centre Street West is made, he said. He suggested the north de- tour sign be brought down to Crosby Avenue and that the signs be pulled to the side of the road Thursday and Friday nights and all day Saturday when no work would be under- Way on the project. He reported that on March 14, a count showed that coming from the north, nine out of every 14 automobiles turned off Yonge Street at the detour sign at Elgin Mills Road. Apparent discrepancies, ex- The berms. or tanks of earth holding in the fluid wastes, are to be made stronger as soon as weather permits. This is to fur- ther decrease the danger a heavy rainstorm might breach the banks and release a flood of poisonous fluid waste. “I know I’m speaking for Whit- church. There's going to be an uproar such as never has been heard before." said Councillor Baker. Reeve Burnett disagreed. He said it wasn’t all of Whitchurch that was complaining. For instance, the people on Bayview weren’t saying anything. It was just the people in the area of the dump. Councillor Baker said there was I ratepayers’ meeting. Councillor Gordon Ratclfifa time these test holes will be drilled all the way under the dump, in an attempt to mak’e more certain that the soil around the kettles is impermeable and that none of the juices are escaping and pollut- ing the underground water. 'in plained Mr. Ford. were due to fluctuations in the mill rate [as a result of equalized assess- ‘ment across the province and in the mill rate subsidy which “ill be applied to some munic- ipalities and not to others. Provincial grants. will account for $15,133,471 of education revenue, and mill rate subsidies for $1,560,- 223 for a total of $16,693- 694 from the province. Municipal tax levies for ed,- ucation total $17,675,108. The remainder comes from tuition fees from other boards who have students attending schools the county. indiVidual tuition fees and “sundry revenue". The whole grant structure has changed. explained Educa- tion Director Sam Chapman. Boards used to receive addition- .facilities. ' a1 '.‘incentive grants" for set. ' ting up and operating commer-,for secondary schools. lcial and technical courses and ' special classes for the retarded. between, with Vaughan Town‘ Now all grants are the same. night school- ' fees. driving course fees, rent-i ‘als charged for use of school I There Is a danger. he said. that expensive cours- es. such as vocational class- es and classes for percep- tually handicapped chil- dren, may be in jeopardy if there are serious cut- backs ln budget.~ When the grant structure was adjusted in 1961. he said re- structuring placed emphasis on education for employment. giv- ing large capital grants for vo- cational schools and expensive lechnhical and commercial equipment. "Now," said Mr‘. Chapman, “the department is different stance” Some trustees were very crit- ical of the. schedule of subsi- dies. which gives Markham Township a 22.6 percent sub- sidy for elementary schools and 31.8 for secondary schools, while Richmond Hill gets only an 8 percent subsidy for ele- mentary schools and nothing in taking 3 Other municipalities fall (Continued on Pagerl5) Barriers to speedy develop- ment of hon-sing and other pro- jects are being broken down in Markham Township. And some of the money de- velopers save is being diverted to lift municipal planning costs from the backs of the ordinary taxpayers. ‘ There is provision for the hiring of an additional senior planner at a salary in the vicin- ity of $14,000. Applicants have been considered and it is pos- sible someone will be hired al- most immediately. The summer staff will be augmented by taking on some summer students taking courses in the planning field, possibly from the Ryerson Institute of Technology. The planning budget is being hiked nearly $20,000. The load on township taxpayers will be reduced about $15,000, hope- fully without any additional cost to anybody. In fact, Markham Township development productivity could be improved to such an extent that developers' savings will be several times the amount of the new fees being charged. This was the opinion of one develop- er in discussion with planning officials last week. Most of the planning board budget is for salaries, with this item totalling close to $59.000. This year’s salary of Planning Director and Secretary-Trea- r This will allow the township to increase its planning staff as fast as the work load growsn V The full outline of the new policy became evident last week as planning board completed its work on the 1970 budget. and sent it on to township coun- cil. A new fee schedule for devel- opment applications went into effect at the first of the year. It is expected that application revenues will carry about a $35,000 portion of a 1970 plan- ning budget of about $68.000. Housing Productivity Is Goal Of Markham Move It is hoped it will be possible to give immediateuattention to all development plan. applica-‘ tions. Markham Township Planning Board began putting this new policy into effect January 1. Councillor Baker said he could see no reason why there ever had to be such dumping in Whitchurch Tovmship. Industry should have been responsible for the proper disposal of wastes from the very beginning. Deputy-reeve Barnard said the whole thing was a real can of worms. He noted that the Dec- ember closure of the dump was apparently done voluntarily by the owners. He said maybe volun- tary closure could be obtained again. He felt the way Councillor Baker was proceeding was no way to get voluntary coâ€"operation. added that the Holland Valley Authority representatives had shown they were concerned, along with the agriculture federation pollution committee representative. .Reeve Burnett said the dump problem was another good rea- son for the comprehensive zoning bylaw being prepared for the township. “It will stop this kind of thing taking place. We’ll have (Continued on Page 4») There is a danger. he said. that expensive cours- es. such as vocational class- es and classes for percep- tually handicapped chil- dren, may be in jeopardy if there are serious cut- backs in budget» When the grant structure was adjusted in 1961. he said re- structuring placed emphasis on education for employment, giv- ing large capital grants for vo- cational schools and expensive Some trustees wé're very crit- ical. of the schedule of subsi- dies. which gives Markham Township a 225 percent sub- sidy for elementary schools and 31.8 for secondary schools, while Richmond Hill gets only an 8 percent subsidy for ele- mentary schools and nothing for secondary schools. Other mufiicipalities fall in between, with Vaughan Town- lContinued on Page 15) Besides the new senior plan- ner, the planning staff includes a planning assistant. junior draftsman. secretary and clerk- stenographer. The budget includes $3,200 for office supplies and equip- ment, up about $250 from 1969. Staff mileage and travelling ex- penses are expected to total $750 in 1970. just about double the amount for 1969. The budget for planning (Continued on Page 3) Councillor James Jongeneel. a member of the planning board and of the township's finance committee, explained at last week’s meeting that the total amount of the planning budget was subject rto council review, but that council doesn't inter- fere with how the board allocat- es its funds for any particular budget item. lllflumllllllmlflHllRlR“l“1mlkll“lIllllll\l\Hllllllllllllllllllflllllfl xurer Kum’o Hidaka is being 'aised from last year‘s $16,500 0 $20,000. It was decided final decision well enough to Since Rev. David Mo- Guire, who initiated the proposed name change and received the support of a majority of the household- ers affected. is in hospital after undergoing surgery, The bylaw has been giv- en two readings by council and will not become effec- tive until it is read a third time and passed. Council decided to postpone the third reading until a later date to give the people in favor of the change and those opposing it a chance to present their views. Judge Harry Steen. who heard the application for the change of name from Arnold Street to Arnold Crescent in county court a month ago. has informed Richmond Hill Town Coun- cil that he has approved the bylaw. Judge Approves Name Change PER COPY 10c to postpone until he is be present.