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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 Winter Sports Pages Blyth B u l l d o g s A t o m — B a c k r o w , f r o m l e f t : L o r e t t a T h o m p s o n , T r e v o r R a y n a r d , Aaron P o p p , T y l e r B l a c k , J o h n L e C o m t e , J e f f P l a e t z e r , M a t t h e w P o p p , F o u r t h r o w : Coache s K i r k S t e w a r t , C h a d H a g g i t t , C o l e S t e w a r t , K a r e n P e n n i n g t o n , D o r e e n Thomps o n , L i n d a P l a e t z e r , D o u g W a l k e r , L a r r y P l a e t z e r . T h i r d r o w : C o d y D u c h a r m e , Dana Te e d , J a m i e P l a e t z e r , K e l s e y S m i t h , M a t t h e w C l a r k e , E m m a B r o h m . S e c o n d row: Ry a n P a q u i n , A l i c i a M i d d e g a a l , C a r l y W h i t f i e l d , C o d y R i c h m o n d , K i r b y C o o k , Cody K e d d y , C a l e b B r o w n . F r o n t r o w : A d a m C r o n i n , K e v i n P e n n i n g t o n , J o n a t h o n Atkinso n , K a y l a B l a c k . A b s e n t : S t e v e n E l l i s . The Citizen Coaches and parents ~ we need your team’s picture and players’ names • Hockey • Broomball 1. Please submit team photo A.S.A.P. 2. Please include players’ and coaches’ names for under the photo. Please help us get ALL the Winter Sports teams published. 413 Queen St., Blyth 519-523-4792541 Turnberry St., Brussels 519-887-9114 By Denny Scott The Citizen Continued on page 18 By Denny Scott The Citizen Continued on page 18