6 - Friday, March 31, 1989 - North Shore News INSIGHTS Permanent watchdog for Tiddlycove’s tax bucks? **RISING”’ IS NO LONGER THE WORD for West Van's cost-of-gracious-living index. This spring it’s heading in the general direction of the stratosphere. Million-dollar waterfront bungalow ‘‘bargains’’. Side-street Starter cottages (if you can find one) commanding 250 thou. Bellevue apartment tenants who've seen their rents double in six years. Even a looming 1,370 per cent rent hike for the lump of Ambleside Park east of the duckpond — which has just been officially returned to the Squamish Band reserve. And now, of course, the whopping 16.4 per cent tax hike, savaging homeowner-occupants and small businesses alike. What’s council doing about it all? There's nothing it can do, of course, about real estate prices. Nor has it any jurisdiction over rents — though it might well exercise a little ‘‘moral persuasion’’ by inviting gouging landlords ta explain publicly (or refuse to explain!) the 10-15 per cent hikes hitting more than a few fixed- income seniors. Meanwhile, numerous ratepayer critics want further belt-tightening at city hall itself. Services like police, fire, health, transport and recreation have already been pruned compared to the provisional budget of last December, but ‘general govern- ment’’ costs, now shown as $3,179,200, are up by over $200,000 — one wonders how much of it is due to the expensive litigation in which this council regularly gets involved? Over the past year or so council has also splurged heavily on such visible monuments to itself as Ambleside and Dundarave revitaliza- nent tax watchdog of their own may be the way to do it. os ¢ @ TAILPIECES: Most Bibles are fairly easy to replace but NOT the one accidentally Ieft behind the other Sunday in a North Van Safeway shopping cart. For the grandma who owns it, it’s irreplaceable because it contains the last signature ever writ- ten to her by her grandson who was killed last summer. So PLEASE — whoever found it and is looking after it — call 987-2405. The lady will be overjoyed to pick it up from you . . . If you hear some happy quacking coming from the direction of the Deep Cove-Dollarton Community Programmes Society, there's a sound reason. This month the Socicty Teceived a $3,000 donation from the North Van Rotary Club — part of the proceeds from February's Great Capilano River Duck Race... Don't know who deserves the bigger apology for our production goof in Wednesday's column which caption- ed the photo of architect Joseph Cantafio as *‘Murray Pezim"’ and that of The Pez as Joseph! . . A big get-well-soon card to Rete McKay, the lady who coordinates all those fun events in North Van parks and whose address for the moment is Room 627 at LGH . . . And on the North Van birthday list, many hap- py returns today, March 31, to Art Weseen — with the same again tomorrow, April 1, to Cart Busby. es * 6 WRIGHT OR WRONG: Getting most people to agree with you is perfectly easy. Simply keep quiet. tion, Ambleside Landing and the Seawalk. Some necessary, others just nice — but all reflected in the $4.7 million debt servicing charges which drain almost 11 per cent from the total 1989 operating budget. How strictly are capital costs controlled? Does West Van always get the best bang for its buck? Jim MacCarthy of the BP Ratepayers wants future spending limited to items with an ‘‘assured and immediate payback'’. Gleneagles spokesman Roy Bar- thofomew and former alderman Doreen Blackburn go further. They’re calling for a standing citizens’ finance committee to keep a full-time eye on the books — in the same way as the Advisory Planning Commission and Design Panel stand : ; : rn : guard over zoning and architecture. Jaa . oo So : yy ; os , ee : Even for Tiddlycovians — most of §& . a . ia anne . a . eee them far less well-heeled than their Phots submitted handful of millionaire neighbors — DUCK BUCKS for good works ... North Van Rotary’s Bob Ross ) hands them over to Jim Cuthbert and Diana Howard of the Deep Cove Dollarton Community Programmes Suciety (see column item). there’s a time to cry halt. A perma- JIM MacCarthy ... ‘‘spend only for immediate pzyback.”* Vetere fires: Gun, ol VIEWPOINT : Ambleside fate HE RECENT return of 108 acres of land in West Vancouver to the Squamish Indian Band will force the municipality to make some hard decisions involving some hard cash. Of the land returned, 26 acres are in Ambleside Park, almost one third of one of West Vancouver’s most popular waterfront recreation facilities. Until now, the municipality has paid a minimal an- nual rental fee to the province for use of the property. It currently pays $3,400 per year. But the Squamish Band wil! surely want many times that amount if it sees fit to leave the prime waterfront property as part of the park. Back in 1986, the band proposed an annual $50,000 rent for the 26 acres; West Vancouver was prepared to come up with half that amcunt. It is likely the band’s rent proposal will be higher in 1989 than it was in 1986. But it is just as likely West Vancouver's ability to pay such a rent hike will be no higher than it was three years ago. Obviously the municipality, which has a large finan- cial investment in the property, has more than a nominal interest in it; and West Vancouverites who have made regular use of it will also have more than a nominal attachment to the park in its present configu- ration. But the Squamish Band, which has fought 20 years to get the property back, could hardly be blamed if it chose to market the land for maximum return. It is therefore up to West Vancouver and the much- lauded negotiation skilis of its mayor to overcome past negotiation stalemates between the municipality and the Squamish Band and keep Ambleside Park whole. 980-0511 986-6222 985-2131 986-1337 986-1337 985-3227 Display Advertising Classified Advertising Newsroom Distribution Subscnptions Peter Speck Managing Editor Barrett Fisher Associate Editor Noel Wright Advertising Directur Linda Stewart North Shore News, founded in 19659 ay an independert SsuDUIDaN news perpen and Qualified under Scntdule 111 Paragtapts it ot tne Becise Tas Act 1s pubnsned each Wednescay Friday and Sunday by Nortn Shore Free Press Lids and distntiuted to every door on the Nortn V7M 2H4 Shore Second Glass Mail Registration Number shBt Sueschptons, North and West Vancouver, $25 pet year «99,170 (average, Wednesday Mailing fates avattable on request Submissiun, ate Friday & Sunday} welcome but we Cannot accept teyponsibe for unhsohtited maternal including manuscnpts and pictures . which should be accompumed by 4 stamped addressed SDA DIVISION envelope Entire contents ‘© 1989 North Shore Free Press Lid. All rights reserved. TWEE VINCE OF RORTTH Ant EET WERC OLIVER Publisher SUNDAY | WEUNESOA® + PMIOAY 1139 Lonsdale Avenue, North Vancouver, BC MEMBER North Shore owned and managed