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Woodburn Cottage bed and breakfast on King Street was the site for launching the . initiative -- announced in the 2001 Ontario budget - that will allow munici- . K palities to offer tax relief ' Qaé’ and, in turn, be partially Miiiiih' "r reimbursed by the 'eps,,,'. province. ‘ T ' "rt?, _ Finance minister explains initiative By DON FRASER Standard Staff A tax-relief measure for heritage property owners was offi. cially launched in Beamsville Thursday by Ontario Finance Minister Jim Flaherty and Culture Minister Tim Hudak. It is designed to encour- age the restoration and preservation of heritage buildings, Flaherty ex- plained later at a meeting with The Standard's edito- rial board. "It's effective now," he said. "lt means savings of 10 to 40 per cent on prop- erty taxes for owners of heritage' homes." Muiiicipalities have the discretion to pass a resolution choosing the amount of relief and can apply different per- celtages to drferept types of properties. - The-province will pick up the iducation portion of the tax relief, while municipalities will fund their portion of the tax reduction. T - Flaherty said the new tax change was "capable of being handled within our (provincial) budget: _ _ "The measure ainis to preserve a, historical legacy," he said. "Particularly in areas like Niagara." "It really goes-from generation-to generation - not this year or next year," he said. "This is looking out over the next hqured year}? _ _ _ - A - f A - "It's good for tourism," Flaherty added. "These heritage properties are one of the main reasons people come to Nia- gara and other parts of Ontario as tourists." Tax relief tool for protection of heritage Heritage homeowners throughout the province will be saving a few extra dollars this tax season, thanks to the assistance, of the provincial government. On Thursday, February 7, the provin- cial government issued a statement that all her- itage home owners will be eligible for a new heritage property tax rebate. Making the announcement at Beamsville's first ever Politicians make heritage announcement in Beamsville by Kate Stark stuff writer Finance Minifter J!m.fleherty. brick home built in 1834, Woodburn Cottage. MPP Tim Hudak and Minister of Finance and Deputy Premiere Jim Flaherty met with local residents and heritage home own- ers to bring them the good news. . "We know the owners of heritage homes incur higher expenses for maintenance and upkeep," explained Mr. Flaherty. "So we are allowing municipalities to provide tax breaks to the hard working own- ers of these heritage properties." start photo by Bob Tymczys'zyn Tax break will help preserve heritage From Front "We have to preserve the heritage because at the end of the day that is what attracts people here, to witness . the heritage-sind to preserve it for the generations in Ontario." said Mr. Included in all prop- erty taxes there is a normal percentage for education, which the Town normally collects on behalf of the school board. From now on however, the Province will be pay the educa- tional portion of all heritage home taxes. equaling 10 to 40 per cent. The provincial hope is that this reduc- tion will allow home owners to properly restore their homes to their original glory and maintain that glory over the years to come. yyanzbévl . (Staff) -Al Teather is certain that building a covered bridge in Lincoln would attract tourists, but he ran into troubled waters trying to convince Lincoln Council a few years ago that the single- lane Bailey bridge, which crosses Twenty Mile Creek at let Street in Jordan, be replaced with a two-lane bridge that could be covered. Undaunted, Mr. Teather has approached the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority with a new idea: a small covered bridge over Twenty Mile Creek above Balls Falls. He is hoping that his idea will be looked at seriously by consultants who have been hired by NPCA and the Tourism Development Project Committee to examine tourism possibil- ities at Balls Falls and in the Vineland/Jordan area. Regiment proposing covered bridge "The original settlers came from Pennsylvania, where many covered See Page 2 Flalyfrty. "Heritage helps tell us where we came from and who we are." agreed Mr. Hudak, "And homes like this Woodburn Cottage, just aren't made like this anymore." although the technical- ities of how this new tax reduction will be imple- Local MP/o Tim Hudak, left and finance minister and leader- ship hopeful Jim Flaherty announce a tax break for owners of Heritage properties. bridges are tourist attrac- tions," Mr. Teather stated in a report to Lincoln Council, the NPCA, the Tourism Committee and consultants Hough. Woodland. Naylor, Dance. Leinster. “Think about the viewing attrac- tion of the ' reproduction of a covered bridge, simi- lar to ones used in Pennsylvania. The setting is also perfect for amateur photographers, artists and covered bridge enthusi- astslike myself." He also suggested that there could be additional income created by selling post cards, t-shirts, coffee mugs and other items depicting the covered bridge. SuperBuild funds can be ‘uscd to increase tourism, and the whole Niagara Region would benefit from this project," he added. "A one-time cost with minimal upkeep is another advantage." He suggested That such understand mented in the various municipalities, Lincoln Mayor Ray Konkle is encouraged about its prospects, certain that many home owners will find this to be extremely beneficial especially the almost 20 officially declared heritage homes in Lincoln. an attraction would increase the use of Balls Falls Conservation Area. Mr. Teather himself paid for the plans and the Town ofrincoln's expens- .es fottfie original propos- al at the Bailey Bridge. He offered to pay $500 and obtain a matching dona- tion elsewhere for a toral of $1,000 for a design and plan for a covered bridge at Balls Falls if the NPCA approves the project. "People wanting more information about COV- ered bridges in other towns and about societies of covered bridge enthusi- asts can log on to www.atawa1k.com for more details.