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A new year is just around the corner, and for the city of Waterioo, 1982 marks 125 years as a municipality. As a preview to the city‘s 125th anniverâ€" sary, The Chronicle presents a threeâ€"part series of interviews with Waterloo‘s electâ€" ed officials. The following is the first in this series, written by Chronicle reporter Melodee A. Martinuk, in which officials share thoughts on the city‘s past, present and fuâ€" When it comes to the future of the city of Waterloo, concern for economic developâ€" ment is uppermost in the thoughts of Waterloo Alderman Glen Wright. ‘"‘The bottom line is we need to have continued industrial growth or the city will stagnate or slip," he said. _ _ "All indications are the days of easy growth are gone there‘s a lot of competiâ€" tion for new industry, a lot of competition for the jobs they produce." The greatest challenge facing the city, he believes, ‘‘is to attain a reasonable amount of growth, and here we are talking two to three per cent." It is essential to keep our tax base at a reasonable level." There are little black books â€" there‘s even a little red book. Now in Waterloo there is the little yellow book that belongs to Alderman Charles Voeiker. THE FIRST IN A THREEâ€"PART SERIES However, Wright is also confident that the city of Waterloo has better growth potential than many cities in Ontario. " _ ‘"By the nature of the city, it is in a good competitive position," < he said. ‘"The university and its innovation centre, things The yellow book contains some 56 ideas which Voelker has come up with over the past few years to improve the city of Waâ€" terloo. +J carry the book with me all the time," he said, "and if I see something, I just jot it down." The book is a logical outcome of Voelker‘s whole attitude towards sitting on city council â€" rather than simply passing judgment on recommendations that come from city staff, he said, "I like to think things up. Wherever I go I try to find things which benefit the city." Just some of the projects included in Voelker‘s notebook include a proposal for a new type of accommodation, called the granny flat, for elderly citizens which can be built in a backyard; shelters for parks so people can escape the rain; ideas for theme shopping centres which simulate fishing villages; and plans for subdivisions with fewer services which would make purchasing land for a home a cheaper proposition. _ The major challenges facing the city of Waterloo in the coming year are to maintain the city‘s tax base by attracting more industry, And the revitalization of *‘*Waterloo is a beautiful little city," she said. "It has great residential areas, beautiful parks, terrific recreational facilâ€" ities, but our uptown was depressed â€" it just needed to be revitalized. the uptown area according to Alderman Doreen Thomas. ‘"Like it or not, the fact of the matter is that downtown cores, not just in Waterloo, but in every other place in the country are dying through lack of adequate parking and through lack of adequate foresight on Already she said, mentioning the plantâ€" ers and ornamental street lighting recentâ€" ly installed along King Street, as examples Waterloo has taken great strides in the revitalization of the uptown area. Howevâ€" er, it is clear that for Doreen Thomas there is still a great deal of work to do for the Voelker is the first to admit that some of his ideas are impractical, but he said, "it makes it interesting. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, sometimes you are discouraged, but every once in a while, something clicks and everything is rosy again." _ _ the part of city councils to encourage development that would bring people downtown." _ , â€" "If the uptown is going to survive," she explained, ‘"we ‘have to have people down there. We have tfwo universities here with a lot of young people who we should try to interest in staying in the city. More dollars _I‘m not a fighter," Voelker added. ‘‘That‘s not my cup of tea. You may get Waterioo â€" past, present, future headlines by going after the mayor, but I spend more time talking things over with staff at city hall. According to Voelker, this past year has been a very productive one at city hall. _ First, Voelker said, "we‘re buying downtown core properties to increase our parking facilities.‘‘ The alderman is against the construction of a parking garage, "building a big unsightly building downtown, you‘d just be using your best property that could be developed for inâ€" ‘"‘There‘s just so many projects,‘"‘ he said as introduction to a lengthy list of council undertakings. â€" â€" Also, he believes that "the minute we put in one we‘ve got to start charging for parking over the whole downtown. Free parking is one feature which now draws people to downtown Waterioo." connected with the university â€" it gives a tremendous edge over the competition for the type of industry we want.‘ . Next, there is the Seagram Museum, which Voelker says may bring in as many as 350,000 visitors a year to the city once it is opened in 1983. ‘‘We‘ve bought more land in the Dearâ€" born area, which means we‘ll have more land for industrial development, we‘ve had a record year in Waterloo with between $32 to $36 million in building permits by the end of the year, which is terrific with the economy the way it is, and the Civic Development Committee seems ready to take off," he continued. _ ‘‘The burnedâ€"out blocks downtown are being taken care of. One‘s replaced now with a four or five storey building and the other one ... the property was purchased by the Imperial Also, "we have a reputation for an industrious work force and, culturally, socially, it‘s a nice place to live," he exâ€" plained. . Gilen Wright .___In the future Wright would like to see W aterioo continue demonstrating ‘"its welâ€" come to industry; where we are not unnecessarily restrictive but at the same time, we protect the quality of building and the quality of life in the community. There has to be a happy medium between amenities for the community and. the needs of developers." Specifically, according to Wright, the focus of city policy over the next few years must be towards the downtown area. ‘‘*Making wise decisions on development projects for downtown is going to be one of the biggest challenges facing council. The decision we make in the next one to five years are going to be crucial to what the city looks like and is in 20 years." Bank of Commerce and they intend to build right away,"‘ he added. But, he stressed, council must take care in reaching its decisions. ‘"The danger is that you either take no action or you move too quickly,"" Wright explained. "We all want development, but at the same time we have to be very careful. The decisions we make are going to affect us for a long time." Other areas of concern for Wright are housing, parking in the core area and access to the Lakeshore Village subdiviâ€" sion. "We must work towards a solution ensuring there is adequate accommodaâ€" tion available," he said. ‘"Next year I will push for economic decisions on the part of "As chairman of the energy commitâ€" tee," she added, "I guess that 1 feel too many of us have wasted energy for too many years. Concerning uptown development, Thomâ€" as stressed that the city must exercise great Care in the course it adopts. ‘‘Uptown Waterioo could be so beautiful if we don‘t grab the jimmediate and allow the developers to make the city ugly," she ‘‘While it is expensive for the city," she said, ‘"public transit is going to have to expand. City council has some responsibilâ€" ity to continue to encourage people to use public transportation."" , * generated by the university population would be spent uptown if there were more for young people â€" more recreational facilities, theatres." Also, she said, success in the city‘s program of residential development will mean that Waterloo must expand public transportation. ‘‘The need for transportation will exâ€" pand if we manage to get uptown residenâ€" tial development because a lot of people won‘t want or need private transportaâ€" tion,"" Thomas explained. ‘"One has to not lose sight of the fact that if we move in one direction, if we promote uptown residenâ€" tial development, then we also have to provide the services." ‘"‘The downtown core is our major Charles Voelker WA TERLOO CHRONICLE, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 16, 1981 â€" PAGE 3 project because that‘s what draws people to Waterloo, and if you have a prosperous downtown it radiates through the whole economy," Voelker said. According to Wright, the city has already taken important steps towards encouraging development in the city, especially through the establishment of the Economic Development Committee. ‘"‘The idea of bringing residents, busiâ€" ness and politicians together on a commitâ€" tee working together to set a favorable stage for industry to come in is an excellent formula for getting results." In a nutshell, Voelker explained, "the entire business of Waterloo is to try to create in Waterloo an atmosphere for development. We are trying to bring in industry. We have a fair amount of industrial land and the more industry we bring in the better the whole picture will be for the employment situation and everyâ€" thing." council which don‘t obstruct growth unneâ€" cessarily, especially in the area of lowerâ€" rental, affordable bousing. We have a mp(:si?mty to get these projects off the On the controversial issue of downtown parking, Wright said, "I guess there are those who see it as being the immediate problem but it is also part of the whole downtown program. Parking has to be developed as one of the projects of downtown development." _Because of the stable and diversified nature of Waterloo‘s industries, Voelker expressed great hope for the economic future of the city. People are very fortunate in Waterloo, Voelker said, "there are a lot of cities far worse off than However, according to Voelker, the major concern for the city.in 1982 must be how ‘"much the tax increase is going to go up next year. ‘"Along with downtown redevelopment, we will have as prosperous an area as you can find anywhere." **What it boils down to," he said, ‘"is how much everyone is asking for â€" the school board, firemen. We‘ve got to get together with someone in the provincial governâ€" ment ... and elect arbitrators who can read the paper and realize there‘s a recession ‘‘There has to be a limit to things," Voelker continued. ‘"We can‘t keep spendâ€" ing. Who is going to pay, especially with the economy the way it is." "As much as a lot of people don‘t like the idea, I think we‘re going to have to build some sort of parking garage â€" whether it is above or below ground. Although his first year as alderman has meant added pressure and extra work for Wright, he admits it is a job he "thoroughâ€" ly enjoys". "It‘s like any job. You can do a little bit or you can really work at it. If you are going to make a good contribution you‘ve got to put in the hours and do the homework," he said. â€" *"*We mustn‘t compromise the future for a‘few tax dollars in the present. If we want to build a really beautiful uptown area, we must put some restrictions on design. We don‘t want development so cheap that in a few years it will become a slum." ‘"*Waterioo is certainly going to feel the economic pinch,"" she said. ‘"It‘s not going to be immune, but I think that because of good planning over many years, Waterioo is going to be in a better financial position than most cities. said. Despite the state of the Canadian economy, Thomas remains very optimisâ€" tic about the economic future of Waterâ€" loo. ‘"Waterioo has always concentrated on having small industries," she explained. We have a wide base so that we are not crippled when one industry, such as the automotive industry, takes a downturn. ‘"We have a very stable economy." One of the greatest challenges the city faces, Thomas believes, is to continue its past record of keeping taxes down. "In order to do that," she said, "we‘re going to have to expand our tax base through expansion of both residential and industrial properties. We have to continue to be aggressive in attracting the right type of industry and business."