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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2017-03-02, Page 22PAGE 22. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, MARCH 2, 2017. Classified Advertisements Tenders Tenders FARM FOR SALE BY TENDER By Glenn Robb Vacant land described as: North 1/2 of the North 1/2 Lot 9, Concession 11, WD, Ashfield, Secondly described in R209518, Township of Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh 47 workable acres, more or less. • Selling in as is condition without representation as to exact acreage. Purchaser must rely on own inspection. Available for the 2017 crop year. Tenders shall be in the prescribed form available from the Vendor's Solicitors: CRAWFORD, MILL & DAVIES Attention: Conor T. O'Keefe 217 Josephine Street, Box 1028 Wingham, ON NOG 2W0 519-357-3630 Tenders to be submitted by 12:00 noon on Friday, March 31, 2017 with a 10% deposit. Highest, or any tender, not necessarily accepted. MUNICIPALITY OF MORRIS-TURNBERRY GRAVEL TENDERS Sealed and clearly marked tenders are now being received for the purpose of: 1. Supply, crush, load, haul and spread approximately 32,550 metric tonnes of Granular 'M' Gravel for the South Half of the Morris Ward in the Municipality of Morris-Turnberry. 2. Supply, crush, load, haul approximately 8,100 metric tonnes of Granular 'M' Gravel for the North Half of the Turnberry Ward in the Municipality of Morris-Turnberry. 3. Supply, crush, load, haul approximately 500 metric tonnes of Granular 'M' Gravel (stock pile) at Morris Works Garage, 41342 Morris Road, in the Municipality of Morris-Turnberry. 4. Supply, crush, load, haul approximately 500 metric tonnes of Granular 'M' Gravel (stock pile) at Turnberry Works Garage, 65 B -Line Road, in the Municipality of Morris-Turnberry. Apply to the undersigned for contract forms. Tenders must be received at the Clerk's Office by 12:00 noon Wednesday, March 15, 2017 and be accompanied by a certified cheque for 10% of the enclosed bid. Lowest or any tender, not necessarily accepted. For further information, please contact the undersigned Wray Wilson, Interim Director of Public Works Municipality of Morris-Turnberry 41342 Morris Road, PO Box 310, BRUSSELS, ON NOG 1H0 Telephone: 519-887-6137 Fax: 519-887-6465 Email: mail@morristurnberry.ca yacation properties BOOKING FOR 2017: TWO - bedroom cottage with bunkhouse at Point Clark, includes fully -equipped kitchen, gas barbecue, fire pit, horseshoe pit and much more, close to lighthouse and beach. To find out more or to book your holiday call 519-523-4799 or 519-440-7447 after 6:00 p.m. tfn Wanted to buy SELL YOUR COINS, BANK NOTES and tokens from Canada, the U.S. and the world. We are local as we will visit you at your home, office or favourite coffee shop. We will also buy gold and silver items. Don't delay - call today toll free 844-392-7034 or visit www.5AC.ca 08-6 Come on through The Brussels Skating Club held its annual showcase on the ice late last week at the Brussels, Morris and Grey Community Centre with plenty to see and do for those on skates. Here, some of the skaters make way for others as part of one of the night's many routines. (Dennyscottphoto) Courses turn profit: Sparling Continued from page 1 fact that it had been saddled with so much debt was. "There are a number of other centres that have appeared across the province," he said. "They don't have the debt behind them that is here. Their operations keep them in the black." Councillor Trevor Seip said he was disturbed by the fact that the centre, independent of the cost of the building, wasn't breaking even. "It's a service," he said. "We should know the cost [of running it] and adjust revenue [expected[] accordingly." Rockx said that it can be difficult to increase the cost of courses as there are other options for training. He also said that, as most of the training is being done by municipal staff and volunteers, like firefighters, those signing up for the course are always looking for the best price. Fire Department of North Huron Chief David Sparling said that the ESTC's revenue in 2015 was greater than training centres in Waterloo, London and Kingston combined, but that the site is constantly seeking for more and better programming. "We put a lot of money, time and energy into pursuing projects and that costs us," he said. "For some reason or another, they might not come to fruition." Sparling said courses are run in a way that ensures they will turn a profit. "I agree, there is no point in running a course if it's going to cost us money," he said. Changing the cost of the programs could also be difficult, Sparling said, due to potential travel costs. "We can't get our rates a whole lot higher," he said. "Travel plans can make it cheaper to go to a more expensive centre for some of these programs." Later in the meeting, council discussed the issue and noted that, against the suggestion of KPMG and an earlier report from Sparling, they were planning on having the yet -to - be -hired fire chief in charge of the ESTC, as well, at least on an interim basis. Sparling reported that staff could re-establish a board of directors for the centre as a means of overseeing operations, noting that the first board of directors disbanded after a single meeting. In his opinion, it was due to the fact that the budget wasn't manageable with its amount of municipal debt. He said pursuing options for the centre is no small task and requires dedication, time and effort that go beyond a single staff member. "There are real opportunities beyond basic fire training here," he said. "They need to be investigated by someone. We need someone to be a quarterback or champion, not someone to do it alone." Sparling said a lot of research goes into a program to ensure it's viable before the centre pursues it. Other council members said they weren't convinced the centre could be viable, even with programming opportunities in place. However, the report outlines several opportunities to make money that were missed. For example, the township declined to partner with a solar energy company that offered $35,000 annually to rent the ESTC roof for 10 years. Unfortunately, due to the prevalence of solar opportunities, it is no longer feasible. The report also indicates that in 2015 the ESTC turned a profit on training. The site cost $182,600 to run and brought in $185,600. Unfortunately, due to what is required for the ESTC to pay back the loan for the centre, it likely wouldn't be able to turn a profit, which is a concern that the Huron County Economic Development Board aired. While the operational costs and loan cost have the ESTC paying $66,000 per year to the municipality, KPMG feels that $12,000 a year is all the organization can currently pay and realize a profit. Stephanie Currie, who previously worked at the centre, was at the meeting and explained that the ESTC needed to be treated like a business to succeed. "When things started to hit the wall for us, we had a private career college [and] a marine emergency duty training program that wanted to sign contracts," she said. "There were others. We had a number of opportunities that, by the time it was presented to council, had passed us by." Currie pointed to specific opportunities that were missed because they were presented prior to an election and couldn't be dealt with until several months later. "Although I understand there are steps that need to be taken, I encourage you to recognize that .. . there are other people that will [entice these programs away]. As a ratepayer it concerns me that more opportunities will be missed. I really hope that is taken into consideration as the committee is formed. All these things that prolong action cause opportunities to be missed." Currie said she "lived and breathed" the ESTC when she was there and it was "beyond frustrating" when opportunities were missed and Continued on page 24 All word ads in The Citizen classifieds are put on our webpage at www. north h u ron.on.ca