Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2015-04-30, Page 1CitizenTh e $1.25 GST included Serving the communities of Blyth and Brussels and northern Huron County Thursday, April 30, 2015 Volume 31 No. 17 NEW CAO - Pg. 15 Chambers begins her time in North Huron HOCKEY - Pg. 9 Two-time WOAA champion team hosts 25-year reunion Publications Mail Agreement No. 40050141 Return Undeliverable Items to North Huron Publishing Company Inc., P.O. Box 152, BRUSSELS, ON N0G 1H0 INSIDE THIS WEEK: Huron East tax levy proposed to increase 4.91% Remembering and playing Every year the Matt Dinning Memorial Rugby Tournament is held to recognize Corporal Matthew Dinning, a Wingham- area resident who perished in 2006 in Afghanistan. His alma mater F.E. Madill Secondary School hosts the tournament and, this year, played in its final game. Unfortunately, the Madill Mustangs were ousted by the Grey Highlands Secondary School Lions. Shown is Madill’s Josh Gibbons making a tackle on a Grey Highlands player. Supporting Gibbons are, from left, Craig Murray, Matthew Schraa, Caleb Bott and Jackson Goodall. (Denny Scott photo) G2G Trail to open July 1 Huron East Council was on the verge of an unusual “financial experiment” during April 21 budget deliberations, but a tie vote defeated the initiative. With the municipality facing several equipment purchases, Mayor Bernie MacLellan discussed the option of an internal debenture (borrowing money from its own reserves and paying them back with interest) to fund a $180,000 capital purchase for the Public Works Department. While the purchase would end up costing the municipality slightly more in the long run, due to the interest, the purchase would have been spread over the course of five years. Councillors who opposed the concept, however, felt it was a dangerous practice to get into and Treasurer Paula Michiels said she felt that, like the perceived financial freedom of a credit card, debenturing equipment would lead to the municipality living beyond its means with purchasing. Councillor Nathan Marshall said that while he wasn’t necessarily against the concept of a debenture, he felt that if Huron East was going to employ reserves, it should be for larger projects like bridge replacements or paving, not equipment purchases. MacLellan said that a debenture would reduce the municipal levy significantly this year, but that the purchase would effectively account for a one per cent tax levy increase every year for the next five years. He suggested that the debenture could be viewed as a “financial experiment” and would be useful for council to see where the municipality is in five years and then decide if it was a good or bad decision. The vote, however, was tied, which means it was defeated. Once again, conversation shifted to the budgets of the municipality’s three community centres. With the Vanastra Recreation Centre set to receive over $20,000 for roof repairs, Councillor Dianne Diehl said that a policy is needed for The Guelph to Goderich (G2G) Rail Trail will soon become a reality, with the full trail set to officially open on July 1. According to a press release issued by the G2G Rail Trail Advisory Committee, the entire trail will be open for users on Canada Day. While sections of the trail are already open, this will mark the culmination of years of hard work by those involved with the trail. “The [G2G Trail] runs along former CPR railway land that stretches over 137 kilometres between Guelph and Lake Huron. Working from the original plan that was drafted over 25 years ago, the G2G Rail Trail volunteer-based advisory committee stepped up roughly five years ago, adopting the responsibility of completing the proposed rail trail,” the release states. It further states that there is “tremendous support” from many steward groups and stakeholders along the trail. In addition, a number of trail groups are in the process of “stepping forward” to ensure that the trail becomes an “iconic integration” between urban and rural Ontario. The trail, which has been referred to as the backbone of Ontario trails, will connect 13 communities. There are also plans in the works Morris-Turnberry Council decided status quo is the way to go for garbage and recycling pickup in the municipality. Originally, Morris-Turnberry Council had sought several different options for the pick-up, including bi- weekly in the residential centres in the municipality as well as one-side- of-the-street pick-up. However, after being informed Bluewater Recycling, which handles the contract, advised against one-side collection since it could cause congestion, they decided to leave things the way they are with collection weekly in residential areas and bi-weekly in rural areas. Maintaining the status quo will see an increase of 11.20 per cent in price from $137,233.24 to $152,623.47. Director of Public Works Gary Pipe said the congestion issue would be very prominent in residential areas. “The problem is that things are so close in town, there could be enough issues where people are trying to keep things in their driveway.” Deputy-Mayor Jamie Heffer said, even in the rural areas, if one-side collection was used, there could be congestion problems due to recycling and garbage being all on one side of the road. Mayor Paul Gowing stated he was leary of increasing the time between collections, especially in residential areas. “In the warmer weather, there could be a significant issue with having household garbage picked up every two weeks,” he said. “The garbage could become quite noticeable if it were sitting there for that length of time.” Pipe informed council the municipality will take in an estimated $126,500 from garbage tag sales and a grant for recycling from Bluewater Recycling which will cover the majority of the $152,623,47 price tag. Councillor Sharen Zinn said, due to most of the cost being covered, she didn’t see the point in changing. “I think, from what I’ve looked over here, that for the difference in price I don’t see the point in changing it,” she said. “I don’t see a big enough benefit to upset everyone and switching it to one side or changing the schedule.” Gowing agreed, saying there had been no negative comments regarding the current collection schedule and plan. “Why attempt to fix something that’s working?” he asked. Gowing then asked Pipe if he had heard any complaints, to which Pipe said any input he received has been positive. The Citizen Celebrating 30 Years 1985~2015 Continued on page 19 By Denny Scott The Citizen M-T sticks with collection status quo By Shawn Loughlin The Citizen Continued on page 16