HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2015-01-29, Page 8PAGE 8. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JANUARY 29, 2015.
Museum has big
year with Munro,
homecoming events
The Friends of the North Huron
Museum presented their 2014 year-
in-review and plans for 2015 to
North Huron Township Council at
its Jan. 19 meeting.
The report was presented by
members of the board of the group,
Peter Gray, Chair Bill Farnell, Verna
Steffler and Judy Lyons.
Farnell first spoke about the past
year, talking about the biggest event
the museum was involved with: The
Wingham Homecoming.
“This was the biggest event we
were responsible for over the year,”
he said. “Traditionally, the Friends
of the Museum has worked through
the fall, winter and early spring and
the summer season is handled by a
summer student, with us assisting
them as necessary.
“This year, however, we worked
right through,” he said, adding that
many hours of work went into the
Homecoming weekend. “The place
looked sparkling. This was the
biggest and best event since
opening.”
Farnell said the event was well
attended and spawned several new,
temporary exhibits.
Verna Steffler spoke next and, as
the board’s resident expert on Alice
Munro, she handled the Alice
Munro Festival of the Short Story.
Steffler said that, starting in 2013
when Munro won the Nobel Prize
for Literature, the library and
surrounding grounds have become
main destination for Munro
information.
“We had visitors from all over the
world,” she said. “Some [visitors]
actually wanted to be involved more
with activities about Alice.”
Steffler said the group was
looking forward to the labour
market study being completed in
partnership with the provincial
government, Central Huron, Morris-
Turnberry and North Huron as it
would point out how they could
better handle honouring Munro’s
legacy.
“One of the biggest problems
we’re beginning to see is lack of
space for Alice’s display,” she said.
“You can only get about two people
in the area for the display before
people are coming close to falling
down the stairs. We’re hoping that,
with the new report, it tells us where
we could put a display about Alice.”
Steffler said the visitors,
especially those from abroad, are
saying the exhibit the museum has
about Munro is nice, but they would
like to see something larger, as
would she.
“We should be looking at this as a
large tourism opportunity,” she said.
“We should be looking at how we
can motivate poeple to come to
Wingham to see the different
information people want to see. It’s
not good enough to just have them
come and look at the garden and pop
into the museum if it happens to be
open.”
Steffler said Munro’s win and the
accompanying tourism could
become a big part of North Huron’s
economic development in the future
and something council should
capitalize on soon.
“After Alice is gone... I think
interest will start to dwindle,” she
said. “Therefore, right now, we
should be looking at our museum.
We should do a bigger display.”
Steffler said she had been in touch
with Munro’s representatives and, if
the author were to ever sell her
home, Steffler would be first in line
to buy furniture and keepsakes from
the house because it could increase
the longevity of Munro’s tourism
potential.
“We have to expand on what we
have because, once you’ve seen
something like this, you’ve seen it,”
she said. “So unless we can expand
upon it with new artifacts, we won’t
be able to do the tourism. I’m
waiting patiently to see what they
can do with the museum in the
labour market report.”
Gray spoke next, talking about
some of the more intricate workings
of the organization including
partnerships with local community
groups and local businesses and
some revenue generating ideas to
explore for the year. He also
Hitting the ice
The Blyth Brussels Initiation Blue team took to the Blyth and District Community Centre ice on
Saturday morning to play against their Huron County rivals from Goderich, the Sailors. It was
a good day for Boden Lyons, who found the back of the net on this play. (Jasmine deBoer photo)
NH hangar leases raise questions
Leases on hangars at the Richard
W. LeVan Airport outside of
Wingham were the focus of a
lengthy debate at a recent North
Huron Township Council meeting.
During council’s Jan. 19 meeting,
Director of Recreation and Facilities
Pat Newson reported that 3476316
Canada Inc., a numbered company
owned by Henry Van Heesch, was
selling its lease on one of the three
hangars at the airport to Apex
Helicopters Inc., a transportation
and crop-care helicopter service
based at the airport.
The hangars, which are built and
owned privately on top of land
leased from the township, are
typically rented out a cost that
increases by the Consumer Price
Index (CPI, which dictates cost of
living adjustments, or COLAs).
Council was presented with two
requests by Newson during the
meeting, one to release 3476316
Canada Inc (and Van Heesch) from
his 20-year lease which he signed in
2007 and one to, through a bylaw,
sign a 20-year land lease agreement
with Apex Helicopters for the land
on which Van Heesch’s former
hangar sits.
Newson reported this would mark
the second hangar owned by Apex
Helicopters on leased land at the
airport.
Apex Helicopters has also been
renting office space from North
Huron at the Richard W. LeVan
Airport’s terminal. That
arrangement is set to end as their
operations will be moved into the
hangars.
Councillor Ray Hallahan was the
first to question the lease, wondering
what happens if the airport stops
operating within the 20 years.
“In the details of the lease there is
a market value we would owe the
owners left on the hangar value,” she
said. “Alternatively, they can remove
the hanger upon notice of us no
longer operating the airport. That is
standard for these agreements as the
leasees have spent tens of thousands
of dollars on the hangars.”
A motion to release 3476316
Canada Inc. from its current lease
was approved, however the next
motion, which was to approve the
new lease, caused council to take
pause.
Deputy-Reeve James Campbell
asked if there was a COLA, to which
Newson said there would be.
“The cost goes up with the CPI
every year,” she said.
Councillor Bill Knott said he
understood that the rental fees at the
airport were less than other airports
and asked why that was. He also
requested a document comparing the
rental rate with similar leases.
“We do have that documentation,
but other airports offer more
facilities,” Newson explained.
Knott then continued to express
his displeasure with the lease as it
was written.
“I find that a COLA is insufficient
down the road,” he said. “There
could be incidental costs increases at
the airport. We could be binding
ourselves to a one per cent cost of
living update but having a massive
increase on individual items in the
budget like insurance. I would prefer
to see that worded differently so we
can accommodate extraordinary
increases... I would rather tie it to the
cost of operating the airport, which
would be much more advantageous
to us.”
Newson said writing the lease like
that would make it difficult to find
people to rent out the remaining
space or to renew the existing
contracts.
“[Leasees] don’t have any control
over what we have as expenses,” she
said. “They cover all the expenses
for their hangar and property
surrounding it, as well as paying the
lease. For us to put this unknown
future cost would be very
challenging. I’m not sure a business
person would sign a document like
that.”
Councillor Trevor Seip said he
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The Citizen
Coaches and parents
~ we need your team’s picture
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• Hockey • Broomball
1. Please submit team photo
A.S.A.P.
2. Please include players’ and
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Please help us get ALL the
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By Denny Scott
The Citizen
Continued on page 18
By Denny Scott
The Citizen
Continued on page 18