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lan Kirkby Chronicle Staff The temperature dipped to minus 25 degrees Celsius Tuesday morning as Ray Swartz helped Jack Playford load his car with speciallyâ€"designed trays of food at the Meals on Wheels loading area of St. Mary‘s Hospital in Kitchener. The two friends were on their regular Tuesday trip through Waterloo, deliverâ€" ing lunches to 10 elderly people and shutâ€"ins. Last week they had 13 people on their route. However, one person died over the weekend, another moved, and a couple dropped out of the program. There. were 8,177 meals served to Waterloo residents in 1987 â€" about 19 per cent of the total for Kitchenerâ€"Waterâ€" loo. About 600 clients had been served by Meals on Wheels last year. Two new people had signed up for Playford and Swartz‘s route this week. Both men are retired themselves, @and look forward to their Tuesday work. Playford has been involved with Meals on Wheels for nearly three years, and recruited Swartz and a couple of other friends into the program. "You get to know the people you‘re visiting," he says. You get to have a chat with them. And you‘re doing something useful." Tuesday‘s menu consisted of cream of celery soup, homemade chili, spinach and mushroom salad with dressing, and a dinner roll. For dessert, there is a raisin square. Those who can‘t eat chili can phone in an order for the "alternative" entree â€" today it is baked fish. Ray Swartz is a welcome sight to the seniors on his Tuesday Meals on Wheels route. While the nutritious hot lunch is important to the clients, of even greater value is the conversation with volunteers and the personal checks on the safety and comfort of the participants. lan Kirkby photo The meals are prepared at St. Mary‘s Hospital and are on a fourâ€"week menu rotation to ensure variety, as well as good nutrition. Participants in the program Meals on Wheels much more than just tasty food eMo U Oe o s en n ont O eb Is this new city hall going to haunt Waterloo taxpayers for the next 10 or 15 or 20 years? It certainly seems like it. Recall, if you dare, that council in its infinite wisdom decided that what Waterloo really needed was a new city hall. But why stop there? It also decided that it is better to rent than to buy a city hall. After all, who knows how long municipal government will be in business â€" why waste a whole lot of money "up front" if the future of your venture is not asstured? s _ Then, when the prime (in the year 2000) location has been picked out, and negotiations are underway with our future landlord, the council in its wisdom (and remember now, representing the tenants â€" the taxpayers) agrees to pay half the cost of removing coal tar on the landlords‘ property. _ 'â€"B&tv;h; not? We‘ve come this far. What‘s a few more steps down the Yellow Brick Road? It gets better. es bathroom. It cost $1.6 million for Waterloo‘s move into the new It just never seems to end Miyor gets a roomy office with pay $2.50 daily for the service Their first destination for Playford and Swartz was an elderly lady who had been placed on a one week trial of the service by her doctor. But that is not the only service proâ€" vided by Meals on Wheels. ‘"‘We‘re going there five days a week and making sure they are alright," says Joanne Klausnitâ€" zer, who is coâ€"ordinator of the program. "If she stays on,. she‘ll be ensured of one wellâ€"balanced hot meal a day. "The real benefits really are the perâ€" sonal checks and having someone to talk to. There‘s the peace of mind they get knowing someone will be coming around. "Often, there are very strong ties established between volunteers and reciâ€" pients." 8 Though most clients can afford to purchase their meals, often they have difficulty preparing hot meals for themâ€" selves. "They are the kind of people who would just eat tea and toast if there was no Meals on Wheels," said Klausnitzer. ‘"The majority don‘t even go out to do their own shopping anymore. They alâ€" ways want to know what the weather is like outside, even though they are not going to be going out." Nellie Letson comes to the kitchen as Swartz knocks on her door and enters, setting two trays down on her kitchen table and unloading them. He will take all trays back to the hospital today. At 8Q, Nellie still has a big smile. She and Swartz chat about the weather, and the New Year. Nellie‘s husband Edgar, 83 is walking about the living room, she The Hidden Minorityâ€" city hall. That‘s $100,000 more than city officials projected last May and a juicy $400,000 over the amount budgetted in 1986. o â€" Why the cost overâ€"runs? To be fair, part of them was due to an "overâ€"heated" construction market. But surely, that was predictable in 1986, in the middle of the economic boom. â€"-fiixz-_l;e;â€"frt;ili;;sr,i;ve all have trouble keeping track of nickles and dimes, don‘t we? o Special metal door frames were late in delivery, creating a four week construction delay. With the need to catch up to meet tight deadlines, the result was major overtime expenses for some tradespeople. Other things raise a few more questions. For example, the offices of Mayor Marjorie Carroll and Chief Administrative Officer Don Roughley had special ceiling tiles installed at a cost of $7,599. Then there‘s the $17,000 for carpeting accidentally omitted from the original tender, $5,350 for a carved wooden crest in the council chambers and $3,243 to repair stairwells, corridors and doors following conâ€" struction and the city move. _ â€" V"Aâ€";;l;l; for the entrance to the beautiful new council chamber cost $425. It was nowhere in sight at this says â€" he‘s not feeling well _bo(‘ix_iy The Letson‘s have used Meals on Wheels for two years now, she says. "I‘m not able to get out to get our groceries â€" we have an old car." She likes the program because "it‘s handy. You get variety. You get someâ€" thing different every day." _ _ _ Later, we drop off a tray with Dorothy McDowell, age 74, one of three clients in WATERLOO CHRONICLE, WEDNESDAY JANUARY 6, 1988 â€" PAGE 3 week‘s council meeting. There are other goofâ€"ups as well. Check out the report yourself â€" it makes for i.ntaeresting reading. ele en t en ieinne ies t P My biggest hangâ€"up is the longâ€"term cost of not owning our own city centre. Mn Bd ine Reeiin That works out to a minimum of $5.9 million for; 15 years‘ rent. Then there‘s the $5.25 per sq. ft. operating cost â€" $185,000 a year â€" for realty taxes, heating, janitorial expenses, snow clearance, grass cutting and related maintenance costs. City hall takes up about 35,252.24 sq. ft., according to figures provided by Roughley. Rent of that space will run $10.50 per sq. ft. for the first five years, $12.50 for the next five years, and at least 81*60 for the following five years _ That‘s another $2.775 million over 15 years (assumâ€" ing no inflation, and the agreement makes allowance for inflation). â€" S O â€" Seriously, folks, does anybody still believe that city council made the best decision by finding a landlord rather than being one? Is the city council of the year 2003 going to be laughing or screaming at our current honorable members? What about the taxpayers? with lan Kirkby _ McDowell Tives alone and appreciates Playford and the other volunteers who check on her daily. â€" â€" O a lower income building. ‘"They come in with such a big smile and always have a minute to tell me about the weather," she says. "They are so cheerfu. That means a lot. . “They are wonderful. I don‘t know what I‘d do without them." according to