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Home My WebLink AboutThe Citizen, 2015-02-12, Page 23THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2015. PAGE 23. Entertainment Committee seeks support in re-opening theatre StopsStopsStopsStopsStops a l o n g the wayalongtheway A VISITORS’ GUIDE TO HURON COUNTY stopsalonglakehuron.com Look for entertainment ideas on our Stops Along the Way website at... 430 Queen Street, Blyth, Ontario 226-523-9720 Specialty Coffees & Espresso Bar Live Entertainment Saturday, February 28, 2015 Tim Craig and Julie-Ann Lewiski 8:00 pm ~ $10. admission at door Continued from page 11 $150,000 from the highways department’s ditching budget, $35,000 from the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) budget for advanced care paramedic (ACP) training, $3,000 for the proposed EMS gala, $12,000 from the Economic Development Board’s conferences budget (half of the proposed $24,000), $130,000 from the Social Services accrual budget, $158,000 from the homes for the aged accrual budget (utilizing one- time funding from 2008 in the 2015 budget, rather than the 2014 budget), $15,000 from the corporate budget’s consulting section (half of the proposed $30,000), $6,100 from the corporate insurance budget, $20,000 in increased revenue from provincial offenses, $2,000 in reduced travel in the treasury department and a reduction of $10,000 in council’s consulting/legal budget line. After the motion was made, Chief Administrative Officer Brenda Orchard cautioned council against eliminating the EMS gala from the budget. She argued that it was a relatively small item in the county budget and that EMS employees really believe they deserve to be recognized amongst themselves for the work they do. She said that to cut the item from the budget may harm morale in the EMS department. South Huron Mayor Maureen Cole said that while she respected the position of the EMS employees and felt they had the right to be recognized, so too do employees in every other county department. If taxpayers were going to pay for an EMS gala, she said, then the same should be done for every other department throughout the county. North Huron Reeve Neil Vincent agreed, saying that the EMS department is where the county is seeing its largest year-over-year increase and he was comfortable removing the gala from the budget. Howick Reeve Art Versteeg said he wasn’t sure if he was willing to support the cuts, but only because he felt they didn’t go far enough. Leaving the potential tax levy increase at over three per cent, he said, was still too high. He said he’d like to see the increase at around two per cent. He felt that if council approved the cuts, councillors would be inclined to stop there, when he felt they needed to go further. Central Huron Mayor Jim Ginn disagreed, saying he saw Blumhagen’s proposed cuts as a starting point for council and that further cuts could be proposed in the next round of budget deliberations. Council passed a motion to implement Blumhagen’s suggested cuts. Councillors then directed staff to bring a proposed budget with a two per cent tax levy increase to the next budget meeting. Staff was instructed to also make room for the $505,311 in grant requests. Grant requests that have yet to be decided on are: $60,000 per year for the next four years to the Huron County Food Bank Distribution Centre, $5,000 for the Coalition for Huron Injury Prevention (CHIP), $20,000 for the United Way Social Research and Planning Council, $135,711 to the Southwest Integrated Fibre Technology (SWIFT) initiative for the first of five years and $284,600 to the Emergency Services Training Centre in Blyth. In order to assist in achieving this, council authorized staff to utilize the county’s surplus from 2014. While the figures are still very preliminary, Blumhagen says he has been using the working figure of $1 million for the county’s surplus. The budget was scheduled to be presented next at council’s Feb. 11 committee of the whole meeting for further discussion, but cannot be approved until council’s next official meeting, which is scheduled for Wednesday, March 4, although there is a special meeting of council scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 18 where a potential bylaw could be considered. North Huron Township Council Chambers was filled on Feb. 2 with concerned citizens hoping to see new life breathed into the Wingham Heritage Theatre, which closed due to non-compliance with fire code several years ago. Art Fitzgerald, a member of a committee hoping to restore the site to its former glory, made a presentation to council highlighting why the facility should be re- opened. Located on the third floor of the municipal town hall, the theatre was built in 1890 according to Fitzgerald and was recognized as a great location. “We have a gem of a theatre,” he said. “It was listed as one of the finest opera houses after it opened.” Fitzgerald said that their committee, which includes local citizens as well as members from various groups including Blyth Festival General Manager Deb Sholdice, only want to bring the theatre up to usable standards and have it as an active facility in the community. To that end, they outlined several upgrades that had been completed at the theatre prior to it being shut down including accessible washrooms, stage work, acoustic tiling, stage lighting, upgraded seats and an elevator. “With all that, we’ve got a real treasure here,” Fitzgerald said. The work that is necessary to bring the building up to code and to make it more usable are fire door and sprinkler system upgrades and a natural gas heating and cooling system. Fitzgerald said that while the former two were necessary, the latter is nearly as important because summer use of the theatre is nearly non-existant due to the heat in the building. They presented a rough estimate of $100,000 for the work necessary, though the group promised it wouldn’t seek funds from North Huron coffers or ratepayers. “We’re looking at grants like Trillium and some other sources,” Fitzgerald said. The other sources include corporate donations, sponsorships, fundraisers, area service clubs, the federal government and groups that have historically used the facility such as the Almost Famous Players and the Barn Dance Historial Society. Fitzgerald also reported the organization had received $4,000 from the Wingham 2014 Homecoming Committee. As far as making sure the facility does see use and is deserving of the $100,000 upgrades suggested, the organization made a list of potential users and events that could benefit from the theatre including the Almost Famous Players, the Barn Dance Historical Society, school drama productions, a “Little Theatre”-style theatre group featuring community based productions, dance groups, amateur musicians, talent-search events, the Alice Munro Festival of the Short Story and rentals to professional musicians and performers who would sell tickets to their performances there. As for North Huron, its involvement would be signing an agreement between the committee and council, developing rental and fee schedules to cover ongoing uses and establishing timelines for project activities. The committee members present then took questions from council, starting with Reeve Neil Vincent who said he was happy with what had been presented, but still saw more work to do. “There is no questions that this is a great resource,” he said. “What we have to have is a commitment of use to see it become viable again. Your committee has pulled together a lot of that, thank you in advance for that.” Councillor Brock Vodden was moved by the presentation. “I’d like to say I don’t think council has been opposed to this development, we just haven’t seen our way clear to do it in a way that’s viable and sustainable,” he said. “This is the kind of proposal we’ve been waiting for. This is a very positive presentation in my mind.” Councillor Trevor Seip said he agreed with Vodden and it was nice to see residents take ownership in something in the municipality, but he was not convinced the project 110 North Street, Goderich, ON 519-524-2686 www.huroncounty.ca/museum Join us for Family & Heritage Day at the Huron County Museum Monday, February 16 10 am - 4 pm Free Admission Winter Hours: Tuesday, Wednesday & Friday - 10 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Thursday - 10 a.m. - 8 p.m. Saturday - 1 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. Become a Museum Member! Benefits include unlimited visits to the Huron County Museum and seasonal sites; gift shop and programming discounts, and free admission to partner museums (Grey Roots, Bruce County Museum, Simcoe County Museum and Waterloo Region Museum). • Try your hand at historic rope making • Take part in a cookie decorating craft • Enjoy warm apple cider and cookies • View historic footage featuring Huron County towns • Visit the Museum Galleries Event organized and sponsored by the Huron County Museum Friends & Volunteers Pleasing tunes Gulliver, left, Gideon, centre, and Blyth Festival Artistic Director Gil Garratt, right, were one of the many acts performing at Friday night’s Faith-In-Song concert, held at the Blyth Christian Reformed Church. Garratt and his sons have been playing violin for years and decided to share their gifts with local residents at the well-attended annual event. (Vicky Bremner photo) 273 Hamilton St., Blyth • 519-523-4590 www.blytheastsidedance.com Blyth East Side Dance Learn the Rumba By Denny Scott The Citizen Continued on page 24 County approves suggested cuts