Stouffville 'open for business' but there are constraints: Mayor

Previous councils overspent $18 million in development charges, Altmann tells chamber dinner

Yorkregion.com
April 10, 2015
By Sandra Bolan

Being surrounded by the greenbelt and Oak Ridges Moraine is both a blessing and curse, especially when the region has mandated that by 2041, Whitchurch-Stouffville has a population of 67,300.

Mayor Justin Altmann held court in front of 172 people Thursday night, most of whom were local business owners, during his first ever Mayor’s Dinner hosted by the Whitchurch-Stouffville Chamber of Commerce.

On hand were Paul Calandra, MP for Oak Ridges-Markham, and his Liberal opponent in the upcoming election Jane Philpott. Both are Stouffville residents.

Altmann’s family was also in attendance.

The municipality’s population is currently 46,000. In 2031, the region wants it at 60,600. By 2041, the region wants 67,300 Whitchurch-Stouffville residents.

The only way to get there is through intensification, according to Altmann.

He said intensification needed to be looked at in blocks, instead of individually.

“(Business owners) have to uncloud their minds and look at the future,” Altmann said.

Part of his concept to not only revitalize downtown but bring some intensification into town by demolishing Main Street’s south side from CIBC to Turack, Raguseo, Lesti and Gilliatt accountants to make way for a complex that would have retail on the main floor, professional services on the second floor and a couple of levels of residential units above that. There would also be underground parking.

“Whitchurch-Stouffville is open for business,” he said.

But the 404 Hwy. corridor stills needs to be developed.

Gormley, which the mayor called an “$100-million interchange”, will not be serviced by York Region until 2025.

He’s hoping to bring more business to town, despite that, so Whitchurch-Stouffville will become less of a bedroom community.

“That takes away from the family unit,” he said.

When it comes to expanding the leisure centre and library as well as potentially moving the 55+ Club to 6240 Main St., the Latcham Gallery to the municipal office, along with the food bank and perhaps WhiStle Radio, it’s to get the biggest bang for your buck.

The proposed library/leisure centre expansion plan, put together by the previous term of council, had an estimated price tag of $38 million. With amortization that could go to $50 million, according to Altmann.

That $50 million could fund a number of other projects, such as roads, he said.

Altmann also claimed the municipality has overspent its $40 million in collected development charges by $18 million.

When the development charge background study was conducted, the fees were based on initial costs for the new fire hall, Stouffville Clippers Sports Complex and operations centre, Marc Pourvahidi, the municipality’s treasurer and acting CAO told The Sun-Tribune today.

But when designs and tenders were completed and received, their price tags were higher than initially planned, according to Pourvahidi.

Budgets were amended accordingly and “technically, none of the projects were over budget,” he said.

The development charge bylaw has since been amended to account for the $18 million shortfall, according to Pourvahidi. All of that money will be collected by 2018.

“We all have dreams. We all have wishes but we have to spread it around,” Altmann said, adding only $800 of a homeowner’s $5,000 property tax bill goes to the municipality.