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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2017-02-16, Page 1INSIDE THIS WEEK: IPM 2017 - Pg. 12 IPM 2017 organizers on the hunt for 1,000 volunteers BOARD - Pg. 18 Avon Maitland Board appoints new director HALL - Pg. 19 Memorial Hall renovation budget increases again Publications Mail Agreement No. 40050141 Return Undeliverable Items to North Huron Publishing Company Inc., P.O. Box 152, BRUSSELS, ON NOG 1H0 4Citiz Volume 33 No. 7 n ESTABLISHED 1877 $1.25 GST included Serving the communities of Blyth and Brussels and northern Huron County Thursday, February 16, 2017 Aiming for the clouds Whether they're five, 15 or 55, as soon as someone sits in a swing they start pumping to try and get higher than ever before. Jillian Shortreed, left, and Shyanne Hubbard at Hullett Central Public School were no different at recess on Monday. (DennyScottphoto) Improvement plan coming for Brussels By Shawn Loughlin The Citizen Huron East Council has approved the creation of a community improvement program (CIP) for Brussels. The plan will create guidelines and best practices for building design in the community, as well as financial incentives for businesses in the downtown core. Economic Development Officer Jan Hawley and Huron County Planner Claire Dodds presented the basics of a CIP to council at its Feb. 7 meeting and explained why one is so necessary for downtown Brussels. The CIP, Dodds said in her presentation, can help place financial incentives in order to focus public attention on local priorities and municipal initiatives; target areas in transition or in need of repair, rehabilitation and redevelopment; facilitate and encourage community change in a co-ordinated manner and stimulate private sector investment through municipal incentive -based programs. Dodds also pointed out that supporting small businesses and industry, with a focus on vibrant downtowns, was one of the strategic directions listed in the municipality's economic develop- ment strategic plan for 2016 to 2019. Community improvement plans, Dodds pointed out, are not a new planning tool. They have been in place for decades, but have become widespread throughout the province in recent years. She said that to see the best results, the plan should be specific and focus on a concentrated area. For example, she presented a map of the village and suggested a starting point of an area including from the block north of Orchard Lane on Turnberry Street to one block south of Flora Street. A concentrated project area, she said, provides a greater return on investment for municipal dollars. Hawley said that improvements to buildings' facades are the most common grants made by community improvement plans. The plan will help unite the community of Brussels in appearance and in its goals, she said. The plan won't tell anyone how to design their buildings, but there will be suggestions and incentives to ensure that all businesses within the community are on the same page. Hawley said she felt the CIP was important with the development ongoing in Brussels with Brian Morton's barn project, which will house a number of initiatives, including a year-round home for the Brussels Farmers' Market. Councillors liked the idea and were in favour of authorizing it. The plan, however, has yet to be drafted. The motion on the floor at the Feb. 7 meeting, Hawley said, would simply authorize the two departments to begin work on a plan that would then be presented to council once it has been completed. With council authorization in place, the next step will be a community consultation meeting in downtown Brussels next month. After that first meeting with community members and Brussels stakeholders, Hawley and Dodds will work to prepare the plan in March and then they will circulate it for comment. Hawley and Dodds will then present the final draft of the plan to council and get direction ahead of holding a public meeting. After that meeting, revisions would be made and council will adopt it, hopefully in April or May. Council authorized the pair to work towards the development of a community improvement plan for Brussels, with public consultation and public meetings to follow. Huron County to produce report on Blyth intersection By Shawn Loughlin The Citizen Huron County will produce a report on a solution to ongoing traffic concerns at the Blyth intersection of London and Blyth Roads. North Huron Councillor Bill Knott and Blyth resident Chris Patterson spoke to council at its Feb. 8 meeting, presenting to council an audited petition that contained over 1,000 signatures. The intersection has been a hot topic of conversation at North Huron Council for a number of months. However, calling the safety of the intersection into question is not new, as people have been calling for a traffic solution there since the 1970s, Knott told council. Patterson spoke about his Nov. 16, 2016 collision that sparked his interest in the safety of the intersection. Patterson said he was T- boned at the intersection by someone travelling eastbound on Blyth Road and while there were no serious injuries, it was mentally traumatic for all involved. After that experience, he said, he started a Facebook group for concerned citizens and it garnered plenty of support. Around that time, independent of Patterson's Facebook group, Knott began a petition to the county for traffic lights at the intersection. Finding that they were both pulling in the same direction, they joined forces to bring awareness to the danger of the intersection. Patterson said that through his travels he was finding many people who had been affected by the intersection, whether it be through injuries or death, he was finding that he was not alone. "I never thought I'd be the voice of 1,000 people," Patterson said. "But if it's something that I need to do, I'll do it." Knott called on council to make a motion then and there to invest in Continued on page 10 CH Council may abolish wards By Shawn Loughlin The Citizen Central Huron Council has voted to dissolve its ward system, meaning that all elected officials will be voted on through an at -large system for the 2018 election, pending a final vote. Council made the decision at its Feb. 6 meeting in Clinton and the bylaw, which will officially adopt the new wardless structure, will be up for debate and final vote at the Monday, March 6 meeting. This decision comes just years after council made a decision that first broke the three post - amalgamation wards into two. Central Huron had been comprised of Hullett Township, Goderich Township and the Town of Clinton, but council voted to institute a two - ward system in the municipality, an east ward and a west ward. Now, citing several cross-border candidates in the 2014 election Continued on page 11