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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2016-04-28, Page 8PAGE 8. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, APRIL 28, 2016. Robinson chosen to fill vacant Central Huron seat Stepping in Adam Robinson, right, was chosen as the next Central Huron councillor, filling the West Ward seat left vacant when Genny Smith resigned from the position earlier this year. Robinson was one of five candidates on the ballot, leaving the choice up to current councillors. Robinson is seen here taking his oath of office with the help of Clerk Brenda Maclsaac. (Shawn Loughlin photo) By Shawn Loughlin The Citizen Adam Robinson of Clinton is Central Huron's newest councillor, filling the West Ward position left vacant when Genny Smith resigned earlier this year. Robinson was chosen at a special meeting of council Monday night. He was up against four other candidates, three of whom were at the meeting to speak to their candidacy. A majority of council was required in order to elect a candidate and the first vote ended in a tie with three votes going to Robinson, a Huron County paramedic, three votes going to Mike Russo, head of the Clinton and Central Huron BIA, and Tim Collyer, a former Central Huron councillor, garnering one vote. Collyer was then eliminated from the voting and Robinson was elected four votes to Russo's three. Patrick Nagle received no votes from councillors, despite the fact that he lost out in the West Ward to Smith by just 44 votes in the 2014 election and Kaushik Patel, who ran in the East Ward in the 2014 election, was out of the country for the meeting and was unable to attend, despite letting his name stand. When addressing council, Robinson said he has been a Central Huron resident since 2011. He felt that being a resident of the East Ward wouldn't hinder him in representing the West Ward, because he would be brought in to represent Central Huron — not one ward over another. As a young man, he said he wanted to generate interest in municipal politics and life in Central Huron to fellow residents from his generation. He cited the low voter turnout in the 2014 election as a sign of disengagement and said he wanted that to change. He also said he wanted to be part of the team that brings Central Huron into the future. Russo, in his capacity as head of the local BIA, said that economic development would be his focus if he were chosen to fill the position. He told councillors that he's dealt with all of them in different capacities over the years and that experience would Huron East projects win OBIAA awards Turning heads Huron East won two Ontario Business Improvement Area Association awards at the organization's national conference last week and Economic Development Officer Jan Hawley presented the municipality with the awards at Huron East Council's April 19 meeting. From left: Maureen Agar (whom Hawley called her right-hand woman for the projects), Hawley and Huron East Mayor Bernie MacLellan. (Shawn Loughlin photo) Two Huron East initiatives won Ontario Business Improvement Area Association (OBIAA) awards at the organization's national conference last week in London. The municipality placed first in the Outstanding Special Events and Promotions category and also engineered the top Business Retention and Expansion project for the year. It was Economic Development Officer Jan Hawley's Art Unhinged program that took top honours in the special event category. The project repurposed old doors and put them in the hands of local artists. The artists painted the doors, using them as their canvas, and then displayed them throughout Seaforth. They would eventually be auctioned off to raise money for the Seaforth Agricultural Society to replace the roof on its historic round house. It was Hawley's Win This Space project, which encouraged budding entrepreneurs to pitch a business idea in the hope of winning free rent for a store for a year, that won in the Business Retention and Expansion project category. The project was a success not only in that it crowned a worthy winner, Hawley said, but also that it encouraged many other people to simply drop out of the competition and occupy a storefront without the help of the program. This resulted in a number of new businesses setting up shop on Seaforth's main street. Mayor Bernie MacLellan said he was proud to see the municipality honoured for Hawley's work, but that it was Hawley who deserved all the praise for thinking outside the box on both projects. Hawley presented MacLellan with the awards at Huron East Council's April 19 meeting. go a long way as a councillor. Collyer told councillors that as a former two -term councillor who is now retired, he would have the experience and the time to dedicate to the position and that he's well aware of the issues facing Central Huron, such as decreasing provincial funding, a lack of economic development and continued financial pressures. Nagle said he had some concerns about the process, saying that he felt he should have been offered the position of West Ward councillor once Smith resigned. In speaking to residents, he said, many felt that way as well. In speaking to council, however, he noted a lack of engagement in the municipality, saying that voter turnout in 2014 was low and no all - candidates meetings were held. He said that people in the municipality aren't aware of what's going on in their backyard and he would endeavour to bring them back into the fold and get them involved in Central Huron again. Once the candidates had finished speaking, both Deputy -Mayor Dave Jewitt and Mayor Jim Ginn thanked the candidates for letting their names stand, saying that it was encouraging to see so many people interested in the position. "It's a challenging, but a very rewarding position," Ginn told the candidates. After the initial tie vote that saw both Collyer and Nagle eliminated as candidates, Russo and Robinson faced off against one another in the second round of voting, in which Robinson edged Russo four votes to three. He was sworn in immediately afterwards and took his seat as a councillor of Central Huron's West Ward. Central Huron's next council meeting is set for Monday, May 2. Cutting Boards Maple and Moose 398 Queen St., Blyth 519-523-4276 ir Air ;central Huron Central Huron Donation Fund The Municipality of Central Huron is pleased to announce their annual Central Huron Donation Fund. The Municipality will again set aside funds to assist and promote community-based non-profit organizations. To Qualify Organizations must be non-profit. Proposed programs or events must clearly demonstrate a direct social or economic benefit for residents of Central Huron. Successful organizations will be required to submit a post project report identifying the use of the funds. When applying please include complete description, budget and date of the program or event, also supporting information including statistics for previous similar projects and the amount of funding requested, specifying whether a cash or in-kind donation is required. The Municipality reserves the right to fund only programs or events as deemed appropriate. Deadline for applications must be received by 4:00 p.m. Friday, May 20, 2016 in person, by email: info@centralhron.com fax: 519-482-9183 or by mail and are to be addressed as follows: "Central Huron Donation Fund" Attention: Brenda Maclsaac, Clerk Municipality of Central Huron P.O. Box 400, 23 Albert Street Clinton, Ontario NOM 1 L0 For further information please look for details on the website www.centralhuron.com.