Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - January 17, 1979, Winnipeg, Manitoba Winnipeg me pins january City news Alice Krueger vandals like meter rates last Falls Deci Sion by the City to increase Down town parking meter rates is turning into a pretty expensive proposition for Winni Eggers and a big head ache for the to the object of raising meter rates by 150 per cent was to discourage on Street parking and at the same time bring increased revenues into the cites coffers additional it was so the additional costs of implementing the higher rates Are approaching a figure that threatens to wipe out any extra reve nue in the first not Only is it costing Winnipeg motorists a great Deal More to Park but it is also costing the City that you and i a bundle to put it into the latest problem is while the 50centanhour rate May be discouraging some people from parking on the those meters full of quarters Are anything but discouraging for vandals looking for some easy police department spokesmen re port an alarming increase in meter vandalism since the higher rates were its reached the Point where the department has had to put on extra patrols to Stem the in the past month a total of 167 parking meters were smashed or broken into in the downtown says crime division staff inspector Des forthe whole of 295 meters were and the majority of those Are double that about 100 More than the Previ Ous the of is that the meters have become big there no longer Nickel and dime for obvious police wont say How much Money the meters will they rather not talk about the whole meter Vandal problem at for fear it might bring on a rash of new whatever amount of Money the meters theres no question that knocking one Over now produces quite a Nice Little pocket full of spare and each time one is its several Hundred dollars Worth of City property that has to be re for the Bill is estimated at about damage to meters the previous year was approximately Depourcq says police so far have managed to round up 11 people adults and five juveniles who been charged in connection with meter since the arrests things have died Down somewhat in the last week or so police Are hoping they have the problem in he for the the Bill just keeps first there was the Cost of the initial conversion of the 243 downtown meters to a half hour time that Cost about then just a few weeks follow ing pressure from downtown business City councillors admitted the 30minute limit was All a big so meters were changed Back to a on hour time limit ratepayers footing the Bill for another As a result of All the meter were probably going to get hit for another so the City can buy new Vandal proof works and operations chairman Gary Filmon want aware of the problem when but promised to look into the the cites is aware of whats been streets and transportation director Harry Burns confirms his depart ment is concerned about the Vandal ism and will be reporting the prob Lem to the works and operations committee when it meets next Mon he says meter vandalism in 1978 was up 125 per cent Over the previous a problem so serious the City has run out of spares with which to replace the smashed there now Are 240 empty meter spaces on downtown that Means the City is going to have to buy some new Burns refused to reveal what he will recommend to the works and operations saying such information must be presented to councillors informed sources at City Hall say the commit tee will be asked to approve an expenditure of so the City can buy 320 new meters meters which Are supposed to be virtually impossible to they Cost almost twice As much As the regular but they Are heavy duty units which have reportedly proven the City installed some of the heavier types in an area East of main Street last year and most of those have remained in if the City approves the expend it would bring the changeover Bill close to so and that Doest include the Cost of installing the new heavy duty or what was stolen from the old nor does it include what it must have Cost the police department in time and Effort when it was forced to put extra Security patrols on the Street to Stem the sometimes you wonder whether it was All Worth pos abortion clinic to expand service by Manfred Jager a unique counselling service for women who have had abortions has been so successful that its organizers Are thinking of offering it to the husbands and boy friends of Cli the counselling started last Spring by clinic Community health Centre of is the first such program offered any where in when youre in a theres a tremendous need for support for what youre this does not Only involve the women who have or had the actual but also for their husbands and boy Nanci a social worker in the counselling service of said in an interview tues the counselling sessions were first started for women who had had abortions but suffered from the emotional aftermath of their opera two group sessions of eight clients each were conducted for periods last with the third group spending an entire urday at clinic for a Shorter but More intensive debriefing in health the fourth such group is scheduled to meet this counselling is conducted by bums and Kathy a Volun at least one woman who solved her own crisis an lion she had h years ago during the group has offered to come involved in future Burns this service started from a plan for group counselling for single expectant parents through their preg but there want enough interest for Burns at the same people kept telling us about the crisis abortions present to their lives and that there was no followup to their abortions after pregnancy we started this kind of a service and it seems to have made a big difference for quite a number of the problem is not so much with feelings of guilt As it is with the general emotional upheaval Abor Tion represents to and with the fact that most people having abortions still feel they must keep their abortion secret because the rest of society might not its a crisis and when you Are in a crisis you want to talk about it to somebody who is in the same Situa Burns clients for the project have generally come from clinics regular pregnant by and general counselling she during pregnancy counselling women merely learn to consider All their which include the possibility of abortion or giving their babies up for in the a lot centres on the clients values and expert fences and How they have changed during since the 2nd class number 0886 it leaves you breathless win Pegi arrived in Masse tuesday afternoon at the Centennial Library but it want to take out the were responding to a false one of the 106 false Calls they have received so far this year in the fire department answered 270 false of the false alarms turned in so far this 63 came from Street in the department responded to 43 phoned in false City told to tax Church Halls an anglican minister has suggested the City should tax Church Halls and then offer rebates based on their appropriate Tim a minister and director of the social planning Council of Winni tuesday told the civic and hoc committee studying youth needs that the City should Challenge people to think about the fact they subsidize Church Halls by not taxing Sale said his submission was per not on behalf of the planning Council or the existing facilities in the City Are being left unused when there is an urgent need for he in the most of the Community made use of Church Halls which justified the he when you see the Halls empty and still subsidize what is the ratio Nale he said other culturally accepted subsidization included the on going City funds spent towards the hockey the City should broaden the Range of activities permitted in such single purpose facilities As Arenas and he joint use agreements Between City and school officials allowing the pub Lic to use school gyms after hours have been he the two jurisdictions Haven Learned to get along on an Issue facing the and hoc committee since its formation last Sale said Corner convenience store owners should adapt their ser vices to the needs of youth who represent a Large number of their instead of they store owners want the business but dont want the heat that goes with the stores Are a legitimate place for them youth to he downtown towing lot location in limbo by Ingeborg Boyens the Winnipeg parking authority has shelved a request by the finance committee to lease Cit owned prop erty to the Holder of the cites 1979 towing the land would be used to store cars removed from downtown streets for parking Viola authority members agreed to Send the matter Back to the finance committee with a recommendation that consideration be Given to leasing a site at Lombard Avenue Between the red River and the the authority was asked to consider leasing a downtown lot to the recommended United towing to establish a Cen trial location for storing towed Lehi parking authority members said they see Why the City should be making things easier for motorists who violate Rush hour parking Prohic Drivers would otherwise have to travel Touni teds own compound at 314 Dawson since the majority of towed cars Are removed from downtown finance committee councillors Felt it would be convenient if the com Pound was located United towing has reportedly re commended several including City property at Osborne Street and Don Avenue and a lot Between Bannatyne and Mcdermot How All suggestions met with disapproval members said it would be almost impossible for the City to provide a paved and fenced compound required in the contract specifications by March Gerrie urges fire Sale of City lots councillor Don Gerrie of Winnipeg said tuesday the City should consider a fire Sale of substandard lots to facilitate inner City devel Gerrie suggested at a meeting of the civic finance committee that the City sell its Core area lots at assessed rather than Market lets get rid of this we sell it at Cut rates to other governments and neighbouring property so Why not to the Gerrie the generally 25 feet wide or Are ideally suited for infill housing and said the the City would gain the property taxes on the newly Deve loped land surveys and real estate direct Jim agreed that the fire Sale would accomplish the objective of getting the Sites on the photo by Gerry weather Southern Manitoba May not be breaking records but its cold enough to break water no atreus water disruptions in the inner City have kept work Crews a break at Arlington Street and Matthews Avenue tuesday eased Loyds Al water vapor to restricting the visibility of police ask province to share workload by Ingeborg Boyens the Winnipeg police departments annual plea for More men had a new twist tuesday when it requested the province be asked to assume responsibility for delivering court documents and filing traffic Accident Winnipeg civic finance committee endorsed the recommendation that police chief Norm Stewart said would free up extra officers for ser vice at no Cost to the but even if the province agrees to take on the extra Stewart indicated he Hast neglected his traditional request for More although he said the cites crime rate was the second lowest in the More men would enable the department to do an even better Winnipeg police with has 193 less men than the National average and costs Winnipeg less than any other City on this continent of comparable said in arguing for the City to request the province to assume responsibility for some administrative Stewart said ten of the cites who ticket illegally parked have carried out the Job of delivering court summonses and but because the City gains nothing from what is really a responsibility of the provincial court the ten veterans can be considered no prod said the police we Are paying for what is actually the attorney general depart ments said if the province assumes the extra work the commission Aires could be put on the Street to ticket parking violations and earn extra Revenue for the said the accidents which dont involve bodily injury must now be reported both to the police department and a topic to Elmini ate the duplication of aut Opac should assume the full Job of reporting injury free the chief police department staff members could be assigned to review and Monitor All aut Opac he committee chairman Abe Yari of sky said City councillors have been concerned about the amount of police time consumed by the reporting of no injury especially when future action by the police department int Stewart said he estimate How Many Man hours Are wasted on Accident reporting and document de in laying the groundwork for a request for whether or not the province takes on additional Stewart said four police officers have recently been assigned to duties imposed by the Federal such As fire arms control and metric City councils directive to maintain the departments 1979 budget at last years level do snit allow for extra said the chief j Stewart conceded he would be requesting the City for the authority to hire 29 extra staff Mem Bers for june this year to operate the departments new computerized communications if we dont get Well have to use police Stewart warned committee the chief of police refused to con firm a statement last year that he would be asking the City for the full additional complement of 193 men when he goes before Mercier okays Sandbank halt municipal affairs minister Gerry Mercier has told the City the province has agreed to Winnipeg request to abandon a vital land banking pro since the City and province have amassed More than 300 acres in As Well As an estimated 950 acres in fort Garry for future Public last summer the two governments agreed to abandon the fort Garry program and while City Council went on record As also favouring abandon ment of the vital the province reserved its in a letter to the City dated Mercer agreed to abandonment of the program but stressed the City should to expropriate land needed for such projects As the change at marys Road and the perimeter ;