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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2017-03-09, Page 9THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, MARCH 9, 2017. PAGE 9. Accessibilityneeds double cost o pad splash Councillor Dan Colquhoun said estimated cost, she said, the By Shawn Loughlin The Citizen Central Huron Council has decided to proceed with a splash pad for its new municipal park, despite tender prices that came in drastically above best estimates. At council's Monday night meeting, Chief Administrative Officer Steve Doherty told council that the tender of Lavis Contracting and A.B.C. Recreation Limited of $283,932.68, plus over $35,000 in HST, for the splash pad in the park was over $120,000 more than had been anticipated. The splash pad is just one element of the park that will eventually include a new playground, skate park and gazebo in addition to the splash pad. Facilities Manager Steve Campbell explained that with the implementation of a splash pad, accessibility upgrades were then needed to allow all residents to access the new outdoor public washrooms that will be part of the park. Doherty said he hadn't factored in having to make the area accessible, which resulted in the drastically low estimates. The Clinton Raceway had donated $150,000 to the splash pad project, dependent on the park being ready for the raceway's opening day this season, set for May 21. With the extended work, Doherty said it would be a challenge to have the park ready for that day. that the raceway would be willing to work with the municipality if there were going to be delays. If the delays would be an entire year, then further discussions would have to take place, he said. Campbell also said that there will be further scheduling concerns than simply the added work of accessibility upgrades. With two different companies scheduled to work on the site (one for the splash pad and another for the gazebo) that may further complicate the timeline, as two construction companies cannot legally work on the same site at the same time. So, once the splash pad is complete, the company constructing the gazebo will have to be brought in, which may lengthen the timeline for completion of the park. Deputy -Mayor Dave Jewitt said that no one on council would make the case that the park shouldn't be accessible, so the only decision that needed to be made was whether the municipality wanted to pay for the upgrades now or later. He suggested taking funds from the Erie -Thames (ERTH) fund (from the sale of the former Clinton PUC) to offset the additional costs and to authorize the tender to go ahead now. Councillors agreed, but Councillor Alison Lobb said she was worried about other elements of the park coming in drastically over budget. If all four elements of the park come in at nearly double the municipality would be facing a significant financial burden as a result of the park. Campbell pointed out that the $160,000 estimate for the splash pad was pretty close and would have been completely funded by the Clinton Raceway ($150,000) and the Clinton Kinettes ($10,000). It's the additional labour and materials to make the site accessible that has resulted in the additional costs, he said. Mayor Jim Ginn said that the ERTH fund began with $800,000 for projects in the Clinton area and still has approximately $650,000 in it, so it would be worth utilizing for the park. He also mentioned the Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO) fund that could also be used for community projects such as the park. Council approved a motion to accept the tender from Lavis and A.B.C. Recreation in the amount of $283,932.68 plus $36,911.25 in HST for the splash pad, with the balance of the cost to be paid for from the ERTH fund. The vote was recorded, with Ginn, Jewitt, Colquhoun and Councillors Adam Robinson and Burkhard Metzger all voting in favour. Councillors Lobb and Marg Anderson voted against the park, while Councillor Alex Westerhout was absent for the meeting. Shrove Tuesday around the world PEOPLE AROUND LONDESBORO By BRENDA RADFORD Call 523-4296 I wasn't just sure what I had to share with readers this week. Then I remembered a short item that caught my attention on the car radio on one of my short trips last Tuesday. I decided to follow up the interest on Google about 'pancake races'. Wow, the things I learned. Shrove Tuesday is exactly 47 days from Easter. It is the eve of Ash Wednesday which signals the start of Lent in the Christian faith. Shrove comes from the word 'shrive' which means to hear confession and assess penance. As they enter Lent, persons are encouraged to self examine, seek forgiveness from their sins and ask for God's help in their lives. Lent is considered a time to make sacrifices. It became a period in which to give up rich foods and in past ages to stop eating any foods which came from an animal Ergo, women were encouraged to use up their supply of lard, butter, eggs and flour. So, they made pancakes or other simple pastries. Thus it became Shrove Tuesday, Fat Tuesday (Mardi Gras) or Pancake day and dates back many centuries. There are a number of ways to celebrate Shrove Tuesday besides eating pancakes, depending on where you live. One of these began in Olney, Buckinghamshire, England in 1445. Many towns across Britain were in the custom of ringing the church bell at 11 a.m. calling parishioners to service. One housewife was so intent on making pancakes she forgot the time until she heard the bell. She ran to the church for the service carrying her pan and flipping the pancake as she went. This was the start of 'pancake races' which are still held across Great Britain and especially England. The races are a fun means of raising funds for charities and peoples of all circumstances enter teams. The women of Olney must wear an apron and scarf and flip pancakes along the way. A race in London, England finds politicians donning chef hats, aprons and even dressing up. Some races are relay races. Every runner must flip their pancake at the start of the race and also at the finish, provided he still has one. Apparently there are lots of shenanigans along the raceway. There can be prizes for the best dressed and even for the best behaved teams. In Spanish-speaking countries, the day becomes a celebration, or carnival, which sees street parades and fancy dress like the Brazilian Carnival in Rio De Janeiro. Some countries even have half-day FROM LONDESBORO holidays so folk can dress up, visit, go sledding and indulge in various rich pastries. Pancake day in some form is observed in Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Spain, Belarus, Ukraine and Russia. In Lancashire, children go house to house asking "please a pancake". Usually they are rewarded with oranges or sweets. The tradition dates back to a time when farm workers visited wealthy farms and manors seeking fillings for their pancakes. Bet you didn't know all that either! I just really enjoyed my waffles. And a supply of this year's maple syrup happened to arrive that day. Buggy business turns auto shop Denied Liam Shortreed may not have been able to block this particular spike during the Central Huron Secondary School volleyball tournament on Feb. 27, but the Hullett Central Public School player didn't need to worry much as his team posted two wins over their competition from Huron Centennial Public School near Brucefield and then went on to win the tournament. Reid Button is shown looking on in the foreground. (Denny Scott photo) Boys team wins tourney The senior volleyball teams from Hullett Central Public School competed recently in a tournament at Central Huron Secondary School. Congratulations to the boys team who finished in first place. The girls came home with a fourth place finish. Remember that next week is March Break and the children will be out on the streets enjoying a break from classes. Spring must be on the horizon for this weekend is the start of daylight saving time. Remember to turn your clocks forward an hour. On Sunday, March 19 the official board of Londesborough United Church will hold a short meeting following the morning service to discuss the sale of the manse A history lesson King Street in Londesborough looked under a century ago. (Photo submitted) It is very doubtful anyone reading this space will recognize the buildings in this picture. None of them exists today. They stretched east from Hwy. 4 along the first block on the north side. The one of interest in this column is the larger one, the one with the board and batten siding. I would assume this building must have been situated about where the Hensall Co-op trucks back into that western overhang to be loaded and/or where some employees' cars are parked. Originally, a buggy and wagon manufacturing establishment, in 1929 it was owned by Alex Wells. a lot different just The second floor had been used for lumber drying and storage. Alex and his brother, Bill, had both left their father's farm to try their hands at other occupations. Alex offered this large building to Bill who had decided that working on cars/machinery was what he wanted to do. Bill set up shop in the back third of the building where there was a large lathe, workbenches and an air supply from the mill. Only the back part had a stove so the front would have been used mostly in the warmer weather. Necessary for his purposes was to have a grease pit dug and lined and electrical wiring installed. Bill, at Wells Garage, quickly became the man to see for repairs and full service to all makes and models of cars and apparently some farm machinery. The information I have indicates Mr. Wells had some employees and eventually they were hired to wreck cars as well. However, unfortunately, on Nov. 20, 1939 the garage caught fire and burned to the ground. The story goes that the fire could be seen for miles and the efforts of three fire departments, Wingham, Blyth and Clinton, were required to bring it under control. Also lost in that fire were the other buildings in the picture - a storage shed, a private garage and the general store on the corner which was also the post office. Other buildings were threatened as well, even the Alex Wells' chopping mill across the street. By this time Bill was a licensed mechanic and moved into Clinton where in 1942 he designed and built the garage that was later sold to Lorne Brown [Motors]. Some readers may remember when Mr. Wells taught small engine repair at the Clinton High School between 1967 and 1970. The picture and information about the building were given to me by Bill's son, Doug, who attended high school with me.