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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2016-10-27, Page 26PAGE 26. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2016. Helping out Joey Scrimgeour, right, was on hand for the Stuff the Bus fundraiser for the North Huron Community Food Share on Oct. 1. The event saw grocery stores from across the northern part of the county, including Scrimgeour's Food Market, and beyond gather groceries to help the food share for Thanksgiving and beyond. Shown accepting Scrimgeour's donation is food share representative Brian Boyne (Vicky Bremner photo) HE considers committee changes By Shawn Loughlin The Citizen Huron East Council is looking at perhaps changing the way its committees are structured. As part of a brief discussion at council's Oct. 18 meeting, several councillors felt that in order to inject "new blood" into some committees, a cap should be placed on terms that civilian representatives can serve. Councillor Bob Fisher was the first to raise the issue, suggesting a cap of eight years for members of the public serving on committees. In most cases, eight years would be two terms on the committee, with a term consisting of four years, coinciding with council's four-year term. Fisher suggested that some committee members can get stale if they are in a position for too long and should be replaced in order to make way for a new representative with potentially new ideas. He suggested that committee member would then be mandated to sit out for at least a four-year term of the committee and then could reapply for the next term. Mayor Bernie MacLellan said that he liked the idea in principle, but said council needed to face facts in that very often it's difficult to attract enough members of the public to fill a committee. Given that situation, he said, he'd hate to be mandated to turn away a member of the public willing to do the job and then not be able to fill the position with someone else. Other councillors also revisited a debate that went on at the beginning of the current council term in 2014, suggesting that perhaps committee terms for members of the public should be reduced from four years to two in order to encourage greater participation. Fisher agreed, saying that a four- year term had been viewed as a barrier to some members of the public and prevented them from letting their names stand for a position. There was also some discussion about possible revisions to the process by which councillors are chosen for committee appointments. Currently councillors can submit their preferences for committees on which they'd like to serve, but the ultimate decision is made by the mayor. Council directed Chief Administrative Officer Brad Knight to prepare a report on the municipality's committee structure and bring it back to council before the end of the year. Westerhout requests G2G update By Shawn Loughlin The Citizen With Huron County presenting its draft cycling strategy to its lower -tier municipalities, Central Huron Councillor Alex Westerhout feels there are some loose ends remaining. At Central Huron Council's Oct. 17 meeting, Westerhout discussed the strategy, which was in council's agenda package that night, saying that the Goderich-to-Guelph Rail Trail is featured heavily in the strategy. Westerhout wondered aloud if concerns voiced by adjacent landowners and members of local farming organizations had been properly addressed. Mayor Jim Ginn said he couldn't remember an update on the trail since the last time the issue was up for discussion and Westerhout said he felt the concerns should be addressed before Food bank seeks county support By Shawn Loughlin The Citizen Mary Ellen Zielman of the Huron County Food Bank Distribution Centre is hoping Huron County will again help fund the centre in 2017. Zielman spoke to council at its Oct. 19 committee of the whole meeting and while she did not ask for a specific amount this year, Zielman did ask that the centre be considered during council's upcoming budget deliberations. In recent years the county has contributed $60,000 annually to the organization. Zielman told councillors that usage of the county's food banks continues to rise. She says the number of students using the food bank rose from 3,600 in 2015 to 4,500 this year and that from January to September last year 10,000 families used area food banks, compared to 13,000 families during the same period this year. She also continued to praise Huron County's past support of the food bank, saying that such a large donation gives the organization buying power because large amounts of food can be purchased for pennies on the dollar compared to retail prices thanks to the county's donation and the organization's charitable position. Several councillors spoke favorably about Zielman's presentation, and while Huron East Mayor Bernie MacLellan also praised the organization's work, he recalled a conversation of council the last time a donation to the centre was approved. MacLellan said that while council had approved the donation in the 2016 budget, there had been some discussion about getting to the root of the hunger problem in Huron County and working to help people obtain skills and better jobs so food bank usage wouldn't continue to be a "band aid" solution that could potentially be abused. Chief Administrative Officer Brenda Orchard agreed with MacLellan, saying that conversation had taken place and a report had been presented to council, but no real action had been taken. Huron East Deputy -Mayor Joe Steffler disagreed with MacLellan and said that residents who use the food bank would want nothing more than not to have to use the food bank, but often they don't have the means or the resources to do so. Goderich Deputy -Mayor Jim Donnelly agreed with Steffler, saying that it would be difficult to take another approach to the problem, given the circumstances in Huron County. Staff will return to council at a future meeting with a report on the grant request from the centre, at which time council will make a decision. OPP costing up for MT Morris-Turnberry Council wasn't happy to learn that Ontario Provincial Police costs in the municipality are once again set to rise. Administrator Clerk -Treasurer Nancy Michie explained the municipality would see a 17.6 per cent increase in costs from 2016 to 2017 which represents a 2.4 per cent increase in the levy. The new cost is approximately $324.87 per property. Michie had attended a meeting regarding costing and found that other municipalities were facing increases both greater and smaller than Morris-Turnberry. "Howick and Huron East are going up a smaller amount and Ashfield- Colborne-Wawanosh's is going to be increasing substantially more than Morris-Turnberry," she said. The increase should be one of the last to account for the new pricing model according to Michie. Michie also announced that a new OPP headquarters is being considered for Huron County, though the site had not been publically announced yet. Mayor Paul Gowing said that, if the new headquarters is built where he believes it is going to be, it's very central to the county and close to "a hub of activity." He also said the existing detachment headquarters, which is on County Road 21 south of Goderich, is on leased land, so the land could be used for other purposes. the strategy goes any further. Westerhout put a motion on the floor that council write a letter to Huron County to that effect and council carried his motion. *** Central Huron Council approved a recommendation that municipal staff go ahead and procure three quotations for the proposed Central Huron Park. The park has been up for discussion at the council table for over a year, beginning with a skate park proposal, followed by the inclusion of a new playground, splash pad and gazebo in subsequent meetings. Staff will now obtain quotations for the different aspects of the park from local companies and return to council when a decision needs to be made. *** At its Oct. 17 meeting, Central Huron Council voted to commit $10,000 of start-up funding to the Central Huron Canada 150 Celebration Committee. The event will be held in the municipality in July, 2017 and the funding will come from the municipality's Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO) Community Fund. *** A number of improvements will be made to the Clinton North Baseball Diamond and Central Huron will contribute a good chunk of the funding and loan the rest. At the Oct. 17 meeting, council passed a motion authorizing upgrades to the lighting standards and fixtures, the infield and outfield, the backstop fencing and new dugouts for the diamond. The upgrades are estimated to cost $58,647. The municipality will be contributing $25,000 to the project, to be funded from the Erie Thames Powerlines (ERTH) Reserve Fund and will contribute the remaining $33,647, also from the ERTH Reserve Fund, but to be paid back by the Clinton Minor Ball Association over a four-year period. The Citizen Wants to Near from You! PHOTO OF THE DAY Let us know what is happening in your area by emailing a picture for possible inclusion on our website's "Picture of the Day". Please include a small caption about the picture. Visit our website at northhuron.on.ca - maybe your picture will be the PHOTO OF THE DAY! Email submissions to: reporter@ northhuron.on.ca