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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuron Expositor, 2015-06-24, Page 3Wednesday, June 24, 2015 • Huron Expositor 3 Landowners raise concerns about planned trail Marco Vigliotti Postmedia Network Local municipalities in Huron County remain on the sidelines of a brewing spat between rural land- owners and a private firm over a contentious project to transform an unused railway line into an expan- sive nature trail. Huron East Mayor Bernie MacLellan says both the municipality and county have had no involvement in the approval process for the proposed Goderich to Guelph Rail Trail, which, if built, would stretch over the length of a 127 kilome- tre now abandoned rail line that runs between the namesake cities. The comments were prompted by a presenta- tion to Huron East council at its June 15 meeting by a delegation of concerned farmers with land adja- cent to the trail, who cau- tion that the proposed development will increase costs for them. The discussion about the project, however, should be focused around the owner of the unused line, the Ontario govern- ment, and G2G Inc., the private company develop- ing the trail, MacLellan says. "This group, G2G Inc., has nothing to do with the county or the local munic- ipality," he told the land- owners, adding that the province would ultimately have final say on who gets the lease for the rail line. The landowners group worries that the planned trail would cut into farm revenues, as they would be forced to employ new safety measures to account for the increased public access. Neil Mitchell, one of the landowners, says insur- ance companies have already indicated that some farmers would have to carry additional liabil- ity coverage if the trail is approved. The routine passage of heavy farm machinery over the abandoned line repre- sents a significant safety consideration that G2G Inc. has yet to address, he adds. "How do we prepare for and prevent potential accidents? How can emer- gency personnel effec- tively respond to a call for help on the trail if they do .ea ort uronex.ositor.co Air ATTENTION ADVERTISERS! DEADLINES Our Weekly Deadlines are as follows: ADVERTISING & EDITORIAL Friday @ 2:00 pm Nuron Expositor 8 Main St., Seaforth PH: 519-527-0240 www.seaforthhuronexpositor.com OFFICE HOURS: Mon. - Fri. 9am - 5pm CLOSED TUESDAYS not where the victim is or how to get to the individ- ual?" Mitchell asked. He also raised concerns that a fence would have to be erected along the trail that he says would impact the passage of machinery and could cost taxpayers upwards of $500,000. Mitchell stresses that the farmers have raised their concerns, including how misuse of the trail would be handled, to the county but have only been met with silence save for two letters from the plan- ning department. The announcement that the full trail would open to the public on July 1 of this year caught them by sur- prised, as it preceded the signing of a lease for the line, he says. "To insure the success of any project, community involvement is vital, yet G2G Inc. has never con- tracted us as adjacent landowners," Mitchell said. MacLellan, though, says G2G representatives acknowledged to county council in a meeting that the announcement of the impending opening was "premature" and "a little misleading" in terms of what they view as the whole trail. In addition to Huron East, the landowners have made or inquired about making presentations to several other lower -tier municipalities in Huron County in a move that the county's planning director said left him scratching his head. Scott Tousaw says he is "confused" as to why they would say they're not being engaged by the county when several of the landowners are members of the county's working group about the proposed trail. OPEN FARM Huron & Perth Dairy Prodvicers invite you to join DAYS 1 tI Wm for., 'ht al the Datry Tarim, Saturday June 27th, 2015 9 a rrr — ' pr`1 Said wry , 4731 Pe.ih Line 53 Brunner, OI'J 95 Brealcrazt served from 9 am .11 am catered by the t l: ,i ri ut,4flri uI:.. Society. (guara.r20601 kir first „OLIO Guided Farm Tours, Kids Activities, Cheese Samples,. Ice Cre•ern & Much More! 9F-rec. SidfitiesigOn.°''' For :nore information, contact Heather 519.291.9536 0� #HPD ['yr *For biggerlArity rP475 n5, Nn Piro.