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The Citizen, 2017-07-13, Page 6PAGE 6. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JULY 13, 2017. Central Huron aims for unconventional IPM display By Shawn Loughlin The Citizen Central Huron Council and Community Improvement Co- ordinator Angela Smith are working towards crafting an unconventional municipal display at September's International Plowing Match (IPM) in the Huron County tent. Huron County will play host to one of the largest tents on site at this year's IPM and that tent will include nine tents, each representing one of the county's lower -tier Not your regular parade horses This year, the Clinton Kinsmen and Kinettes pulled out all the stops for PIucKIN'Fest to help celebrate Canada's 150th anniversary. The parade featured floats and entries of all kind, including the antics above entered by the Clinton Raceway. (Shawn Lou gntfn photo) North Huron IPM barn a mystery By Denny Scott The Citizen North Huron Council is putting some financing behind its support of the International Plowing Match (IPM) set for Sept. 19-23 in Walton. While the county has been supportive of Huron's bid to host the IPM, some figures are finally being released as to what the municipality will be required to provide for the event. During council's July 4 meeting, two reports regarding what would be expected from the municipality, one from Economic Development Officer Connie Goodall and Director of Recreation Facilities Pat Newson and one from Interim Chief Administrative Officer/Public Works Director Larry McGregor. The first report outlined $5,000 in expenditures proposed by North Huron staff and requested that the municipality approve 20 days of staff time to spend at the event. The report indicated that Huron County requested one individual to work at the front gate of the event for the duration of the plowing match, five days, as well as three staff members to work in North Huron's `barn', a working display within Huron County's tent. All four staff members would be on-site for five days each for a grand total of 20 work days. Aside from staff time, the proposed budget covers various costs for the staff and the barn, including $300 for parking for the staff, $1,030 for giveaways and prizes from the booth, $700 for an interactive activity in the booth, $350 for staff clothing, $2,000 for brochures to be handed out and $600 for decorations for the barn, totalling $4,980. The report from McGregor suggested council approve even more staff time to help as the public works department may be asked to help with the event. Councillor Trevor Seip wanted to make sure that, between the two requests, the municipality wasn't going to be spending more than it had anticipated. "This has been budgeted under the economic development budget, but is there anything else that has been budgeted for the IPM?" he asked. Seip was told that $6,000 was budgeted, which covered the $4,980, and that staff time would be paid out at a normal wage and not cause any increased cost for the municipality because the work wouldn't be considered over and above regular scheduling. Seip said he didn't have any problems with the report or cost, but wanted to make sure there weren't any additional costs. He was told it would be within the budget. Councillor Bill Knott was surprised with the $300 charge for parking passes for staff, saying that was "a hard sell," but he and council voted in favour of receiving the two reports and approving the recommendations. Newson stated that the plans for the township's booths were intentionally vague because they wanted to keep them a secret for the event. municipalities, as previously reported by The Citizen. Each municipality will have its own "barn" to inhabit and decorate for the IPM. Inside the barn will be displays and features showcasing all that municipality has to offer. In addition, each barn will have its own "silo" that municipalities are free to design and then buy to keep and display once the IPM is over. Smith told councillors at their July 4 meeting that the term "silo" is a loose one and that each municipality is free to adorn its barn however it sees fit. For Central Huron's purposes, Smith suggested a large replica of Ball's Bridge, one of the municipality's most prominent tourist attractions and heritage assets. In fact, in order to be geographically accurate, Smith said she hopes to partner with Ashfield- Colborne-Wawanosh on the construction of the model bridge and that the bridge could symbolically "link" the two municipal barns together, just as the real-life bridge does with the two municipalities. Councillors said they liked the idea, adding that it was a unique feature of the two municipalities that could be recreated in the county tent and it would be sure to be one of a kind in that forum. Deputy -Mayor Dave Jewitt cautioned council on supporting the bridge model and the purchase cost of $2,000 after the IPM, asking what use the municipality would get out of it. He also raised the point of a model Sloman School on Wheels that the municipality has to find in order to display at the Central Huron tent. Councillor Dan Colquhoun said the school car had been stored in the back of the LCBO for a number of years, but he was unsure of its location now. Jewitt said that the council of the day likely thought the model School on Wheels was a good idea as well, and now it's being stored in the LCBO. He said the same could happen with the bridge replica. Smith disagreed, saying that she had plans for the bridge after the IPM. She said that Central Huron would incorporate it into the natural playground features due to be installed at the municipality's new park, which is near the Clinton Raceway grandstand. In addition to the details of the municipal barn and its features, council also discussed its staffing requirements, saying that a number of staff members will have to be on hand in the tent at all times, but that it will be a challenge to ensure enough staff members remain in Clinton to ensure the municipality runs well during the IPM. Treasurer Terri Rau said that has been a challenge for her department, but she is managing personnel and will ensure that the office is staffed properly during the IPM. Councillor Alison Lobb suggested community volunteers for the tent, but councillors said staff members need to be on hand to answer questions and provide information pertaining to the municipality. Councillor Marg Anderson said that between the money being used for the barn display and the replica bridge, which Smith said could be built by Huron County bridge crews, and staffing costs, she wanted to see a report that would detail every cent put towards the IPM by the municipality. Rau said that won't be a problem because she had been tracking all that information through special accounting software. That report, she said, will be available for council after the IPM. Get wedding advice and tips, see a case study and read about local brides on the Brides in Huron section of our website www.northhuron.on.ca • Colour Printing • Posters • Letterheads • Envelopes • Business Cards • Business Forms • Brochures • Flyers • Carbonless Forms • Labels WE CAN DO IT ALL! Keep your eyes on the balls Entertainer Bob Cates was part of a special event held at Huron Missionary Chapel in Auburn on July 6. The evening event was affiliated with the Vacation Bible School being held at the chapel throughout the week and started with a family barbecue. (Denny Scott photo)