The Ottawa Citizen from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada • 35

THE OTTAWA CITIZEN MONDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 1988 C3 Local Boorish blast from outback is no surprise ,11 )l 4ovJ 5 I in i ry claire HOY Usually, people get the government they deserve. But not always. I'd hate to think the people of Cumberland Township really deserve Mayor Peter Clark, for instance. Then again, maybe they do, since Clark was acclaimed last week for his fourth term. Citizen photo Chris Mikula, Citizen One might ask why a township of Haydon was former reeve and mayor Mayor Franklin's proud of new Centrepointe city hall would even need six councillors and a mayor let alone pay him about $60,000 a year for his mayoralty and regional duties, plus years Ddl Thaw provide a municipal car.

But Clark, you see, is a major ben eficiary of the expensive and outmo .1 0." KB- ded system of political pollution af flicting this region. ft gj Avdiwv S1DD Metro Toronto, with five times our regional population, operates well Nepean with six municipalities, plus Metro W- Council. Here, we pay for 11 municipal gov By Abby Oeveney Citizen staff writer ernments plus the region, a total of Could Nepean be Ottawa's best-kept secret? Nepean's sports and recreational facilities are unrivaled in the region. Chatelaine Magazine Nepean's quiet, controlled and non-controversial and residents celebrating its 10th birthday Thursday like it that way. City councillors seldom engage in spats.

Tax hikes have been below inflation for 12 years. Projects are completed on time and within budget. Some council hopefuls who ran in the Nov. 14 municipal election said the city worked so well, there was little they would change. The biggest event to recently rock the town was the removal of four paintings of nudes from a showcase in the atrium of the Civic Square.

"Boring, huh," jokes Mayor Ben Franklin, who hasn't been seriously challenged for the job in any election in his 10-year tenure. He says Nepean is a vital, active place. But it suffers from a "clean and almost lifeless image," says Harold Strat-ton, president of the Nepean-Kanata Chamber of Commerce. So does all the National Capital Region, Stratton is quick to add. "I wonder if it isn't the nature of us here in this town.

We're conservative, staid." their homes, according to the 1986 census. The average family income is about $53,000, the average four-bedroom house sells for $159,000. Unemployment is almost non-existent. Nepean finally made it on the map in 1986, when Rand McNally realized there was a city just outside Ottawa. The American atlas giant had somehow managed to overlook Nepean.

The city's namesake Sir Evan Nepean, who was secretary of state for Ireland, governor of Bombay and secretary to the admiralty, never set eyes on the place. The township was named after him in 1798. His descendants and the last of the Nepean line say they have never been compelled to come in part because of age. Sir Evan Yorke Nepean, 79, and his wife also say they have no clear impression of what Nepean's like, al- Conservative, or contrived? Take a look at Nepean's city centre, a man-made downtown in Centrepointe. Shops and offices should start to go up next year in the carefully-planned central core plan, which already includes a mix of housing, the beginnings of a 32-acre park and the Civic Square.

Planners are working hard to shun that suburban city feeling, and make Centrepointe a "people place" with restaurants, shops and other main street fare. They also hope to avoid planning horrors like Richmond Road and Merivale Road four lanes of pavement flanked by a league of strip shopping malls, roadhouse restaurants and gas bars. In keeping with Nepean's conservative image are its 100,000 residents mostly married and English-speaking. They're university-educated, work in business or the public service and own 1 3BSSB gag i ys III! did layjk I City finally makes map though, "It's obviously a very great and modern city," Lady Nepean said in a telephone interview from their home near Salisbury, England. The Nepeans also explained that however the residents may say the name of their city, the proper way to pronounce their name is not Ne-pee-an, but Ne-peen.

However great and modern the city is today, early settlers were loath to leave the greener fields along the St. Lawrence River for Nepean's freely-deeded acres. Nepean Township land was granted to children of United Empire Loyalists, who left it vacant, prompting one government official to describe it in 1820 as a "useless waste." Township Council was behind the move in 1978 for city status, says Regional Chairman Andy Haydon, who was Nepean reeve and mayor. Nepean was an urban community, with a growing business community, and it deserved city recognition, Haydon says. Local historian Bruce Elliott says Nepean is now a place to be reckoned with.

City status has given Nepean stature, and made its name better known. Modern-day Nepeanites like their town for its sports and recreation, parks and residential spreads, late night shopping every night of the week and proximity to Ottawa. "It's quiet, it's residential and it's a nice area to live in," says 22-year-old Wendy Stimson, who recently returned to Nepean. Stimson lives in the Craig Henry community and works at Bayshore Shopping Centre. "You're still close to downtown, but it's a suburb, and we like it." Luring residents is no longer a problem.

About 1,200 new homes have been built on average in Nepean each year for the past two decades, says city planning commissioner Bill Leathern. The second largest city in Eastern Ontario, Nepean was this year named by Chatelaine magazine as one of the 10 best places to live in Canada. "Could Nepean be Ottawa's best-kept secret?" asks the January issue. Chatelaine picked Nepean because "it's clean, safe and and has "well-planned neighborhoods." The Financial Post Magazine in 1985 rated "spacious, modern" Nepean highly for giving taxpayers big value for their bucks, and says the city "combines the best of urban and rural living." i -Iks MMwmi vr fared Ml I 1 fia jQETJ fyj" IX I -TIT i'l -r it i 'jnt 11 mayors and 71 councillors, or about one elected municipal politician for every 8,000 people. Obviously, that's too many politicians by any standard.

Translate that ratio to the national level, and we'd have 3,125 elected MPs, instead of 295. Ottawa voters last week overwhelmingly endorsed the notion of a one-tier regional system to get rid of the glut of needless local fiefdoms. After the vote, both Ottawa Mayor Jim Durrell, who supports the concept, and Nepean Mayor Ben Franklin, who doesn't, agreed publicly there is at least room for discussion on reducing the number of municipalities They're right. A single tier isn't practical. Nor is it necessarily desirable.

But surely we could at least reduce the 11 kingdoms without harming anyone but those who are benefiting directly from overgovernment. Why not put Cumberland and Os-goode in with Gloucester, Rideau and Goulbourn with Nepean, West Carle-ton with Kanata and Vanier and Rockcliffe Park with Ottawa, for example? The region could survive nicely with four municipalities, plus a regional tier. The main stumbling block, of course, is all those politicians who have a good thing going and want to keep it that way. Which brings me to an astounding letter from Clark concerning an earlier column of mine on the one-tier issue. I had applauded Ottawa Aid.

Mark Maloney for criticizing both Regional Chairman Andy Haydon and the old boys' system of appointing the chairman. I did not mention Clark. Indeed, I have never met Clark, nor even given him a thought until receiving his hysterical letter. Apparently being mayor of Cumberland gives him lots of free time, since he fired off a response to my "diatribe," saying among other things that Maloney "hasn't had a new idea of his own since it was spanked out of him that defecating on the carpet at home was improper manners. "Speaking of defecation," he continued, "it seems an apt description of the 'Claire Hoy' approach to the world." It makes you wonder if Clark has been taking boorish lessons from John Crosbie and Simon Reisman, the acknowledged masters.

He went on to accuse me of saying publicly that "slanting" articles is the journalist's right and privilege. Nonsense. I do not advocate that either publicly or privately. He denied my contention that the system of an unelected chairman relies on mutual back-scratching and "voting by cabal," adding what bothers him most is that Maloney is throwing rocks "from the safety of his acclaimed job and from the security of his knowledge that nobody would ever elect him regional chairman." True, Maloney was acclaimed. But then, so was Clark.

None of this parochial hostility is all that surprising, however. It's an odd thing about local governments. As a general rule, my experience has convinced me that the smaller the municipality, the smaller the minds of those elected to govern it. Which is why, whenever amalgamation issues arise, there is an intense hostility directed at the city centre politicians from the outback pols. Durrell's campaign for one-tier is no exception.

Applauded in the city, it is condemned as a power grab by the regional mayors and councillors. But then, if surrounding townships faced reality and became part of a larger municipality, what would people like Clark do to feel important? Get a real job, perhaps? (Claire Hoy is an Ottawa columnist specializing in political affairs 1 Chris Mikula, Citizen Bells Corners Richmond Road strip one of the city's major shopping areas Conditions in her new apartment drive mom 'bats' ACTION LINE ftjMh-rf TONY I ijiMlill" What a downer. In August I answered an ad in the paper for a newly renovated apartment on Laur-ier Avenue. The apartment was owned by the City of Ottawa's Non-Profit Housing Corporation. When I visited the building I was assured that new floors were being installed in the kitchen and bathroom; a new stove and fridge would be supplied; the bathtub would be renewed; etc.

I was pretty excited. My son and I would be able to enjoy our first two-bedroom apartment. The rent was reasonable and it was close to his school and my work. Moving day came and I was shattered. The apartment was a mess.

The stove didn't work, the floors weren't done, and the bathtub and the kitchen sink needed refinishing. Those were just the major items. There were also a host of minor problems with the apartment. I complained and was promised things would be fixed. I went on a holiday, fully expecting the work to be completed when I returned.

It wasn't. One night both my son and I were frightened awake by two bats flying around the apartment. I am very frustrated. No one returns my calls, I get lots of promises and little action and now I am afraid to go tc bed at nights. My son wakes up with nightmares.

Thank you for anything you can do to help me get somewhere with this. C. Lalonde, Ottawa All of the major renovations were planned and completed with a five-year life expectancy. Because of the short nature of the lease the corporation decided not to replace your windows. Fat folks send bonus with pills In March I ordered special diet pills from a S.

mail-order firm called Freedom From Fat. They were guaranteed to make me into a slim person. The pills cost me $72.80 and were paid for on my Visa account. The diet pills never arrived. I think I have been the victim of a fraud and would like some help in getting my money back.

Name withheld The Freedom From Fat folks says they are sorry about your predicament. They blame it on an operations change at its Florida distribution centre. Instead of refunding your money the firm has sent your order, along with a special bonus. It has asked you to let them know if the pills don't arrive by the end of the month. Do you need help with a problem? If so, call Action Line at 829-9100 from 9 a.m.

to noon Monday to Friday or write to Action Line at the Citizen, P.O. Box 5020, Ottawa, Ontario K2C 3M4. Please send photocopies of original documents. We cannot acknowledge receipt of letters. Three days after you wrote, a new tile floor was installed in your bathroom.

A week later your kitchen was given the same treatment. Your bathtub has been refinished and your kitchen sink is scheduled to be done, and may have been finished by now. For safety reasons a new door will be installed leading to your fire escape. The frame of the old screen door, leading to the balcony, will be removed. The bats have been caught and removed.

Your concerns about the windows and buzzers on the front door were looked into but changes won't be made to them. You have been told the reasons. The property you are living in belonged to the Regional Municipality of Ottawa Carleton and was set to be demolished after many months of abandonment. The Non-Profit Housing Corporation learned of the building, negotiated a five-year lease on it and allocated $110,000 to bring it up to standards..