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Waterloo city council has voted unanimously in favour of implementâ€" ing a special area levy, or tax, in the Beechwood II Homes Association area to cover the costs of its neighbourhood recreational facilities. next tax bill. "I know you‘ll never make everyone happy ... but 1 absolutely see this as democracy," said Coun. lan McLean at Monday night‘s city council meeting. Special levy passed for Beechwood facilities "This has been driven by the comâ€" munity and staff helping to facilitate an emerging problem, which 1 think tonight we‘ll go a long way towards solving." This unique pilot project was proâ€" posed to address the fact deed covenants that force some Beechwood homeowners to pay membership fees to maintain and operate their neighâ€" bourhood pools and tennis courts were nearing their expiration date. Realâ€"estate developers constructed these recreational facilities about 25â€"35 years ago, and homes associations were created to oversee their upkeep. Once the covenants expire, homeâ€" owners are no longer legally obligated to pay their dues, and other alternaâ€" tives to cover the infrastructures‘ costs must be assessed. The Beechwood I1 Homes Associaâ€" tion approached the city a few years ago about initiating a pilot project in their neighbourhood. Under the speâ€" cial area levy model, its pool and tennis courts will be leased to the city. The city, in turn, will tax homeownâ€" ers for their membership fee, which will be returned to the homes‘ associaâ€" tion â€" minus a one per cent adminisâ€" tration charge that will go to the city â€" to pay for the maintenance and operaâ€" tions. The annual cost will be based on the association‘s budget. If the city had colâ€" lected the levy in 2006, each of the 182 homes in that area would have paid $291, plus the one per cent fee. omeowners in one Beechwood neighbourhood should expect to see a new charge on their By Jennirer OrmstoNn __ Chronicle Staff Continued on page 7 WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2007 + WATERLOO, ONTARIO e hadn‘t eaten in weeks and Hhad spent months watchâ€" ing friends, neighbours and complete strangers die all around him. His mother had been beaten for sneaking away to find food and Nicolaas van der Meulen had given up all hope of escaping from the Sumatran prisoner of war camp where he was being held captive. But thousands of miles away, Canadian troops liberated Holâ€" land. Dutch colonies were freed from Nazi control and van der Students from Rockway Mennonite collegiate, including Anirudh Puri above, joined members of the Royal Canadian Legion Waterloo Branch No. 530 for their annual Why We Remember program. The students learned firstâ€"hand about the sacrifices made by Canadians to preserve the freedoms they enjoy. _ Why We Remember hits home for local students By GrEc MacDonaLp Chronicle Staff Meulen and the other prisoners were released from the camp. "If it wasn‘t for the Allies like the Canadians in Holland, 1 wouldn‘t be standing here right now," van der Meulen recently told students from Rockway Mennonite colleâ€" giate during a Remembrance Day ceremony at Waterloo Legion Branch No. 530. Van der Meulen was raised in Indonesia, which was controlled by the Dutch during the 1940s. When Germans invaded Holland during the Secaond World War, he was sent to a POW camp in Burma. His father was off fighting in the war and he and his mother were forced to live in squalor with hundreds of other prisoners. When he was finally freed, the young man travelled to Holland to find it decimated. Buildings were flattened and the streets were filled with smoldering rubble. Even though the country was all but demolished, its people were grateful to the Canadian soldiers who had freed them from the Nazi‘s iron grip. Van der Meulen was so inspired by the soldiers‘ bravery that when he decided to emigrate from Holland, he chose Canada as his new home. $1 INCLUDING GST "The only thing I‘ve done since 1962 when I immigrated to Canaâ€" Continued on page 4 GREG MACDONALD PHOTO Blinds Are Us 356 Sasaga Drive at Manitou Kitchener 519.893.8687 (between Homer Watson and Wabanaki, past CAA) Local tap dancers off to Germany/Page 12 Wingfield On Ice /Page 25 ARTS FOCUS Golden Hawks blow big lead against Guelph IPage 29 Dr. Jodie Wang MD 25° OFF BOTOX® tor the Month of November LIFESTYLE 519.578.2828 9 Renewing your heauty.