HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2015-07-30, Page 6PAGE 6. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JULY 30, 2015.
‘Most’ North Huron residents support G2G: Vodden
Waiting for take off
Wingham’s Richard W. LeVan Airport hosted the seventh annual RC Jet Rally over the
weekend. The event, which is called Canada’s biggest model jet event, featured all sorts of
remote control jets taking to the sky. Pilots, shown above behind the protective barrier, had
multiple jets in the air, though, with only one runway, some did need to wait their turn to take
off or land. (Denny Scott photo)
Councillor Brock Vodden feels
North Huron Township Council has
not been fairly portrayed when it
comes to its dealings, or lack
thereof, with the Goderich to Guelph
(G2G) Rail Trail.
Vodden, during council’s July 20
meeting, stated he felt North Huron
had been portrayed as being opposed
to the G2G Rail Trail Inc. group and
the potential trail and he felt a draft
motion that was presented to Huron
County Council, but not adopted or
even tabled, addressed all the
concerns of which he had been made
aware.
“This preamble indicates that none
of the fears have been realized in
areas that have had the trail for a
number of years,” he said. “There is
no evidence that insurance rates
have increased when an
undeveloped trail becomes a
developed trail. This shows all
concerns are addressed.”
He said North Huron is focused on
economic development and the trail
represents that kind of opportunity.
“It’s unfortunate we’re being
portrayed as [opponents] of the
trail,” he said. “Most people in the
municipality are for it, in my
opinion.”
He said the calls to halt the trail
were misguided and North Huron
should support the trail. He also said
he would like to see the trail ready in
its entirety for the 2017 International
Plowing Match, outside of Walton.
Vodden’s optimistic outlook on
the trail and proposed bylaw
however, seemed to be his alone.
Three other members of council
spoke to the issue and at best said
they were disappointed with the way
the G2G group had handled
information and communication
with the lower tier municipalities
and landowners adjacent to the trail.
Reeve Neil Vincent spoke to the
issue first, leaving meeting chairing
responsibilities to Deputy-Reeve
James Campbell in order to openly
address the issue.
“In being at a July 18 meeting of
the county’s G2G working group,
we started discussing a number of
the points of contention with the
trail,” Vincent said. “However, G2G
failed to have any representation at
that meeting.”
The working group, which was
struck by the county to work through
concerns raised, has met several
times since its inception.
Vodden said he was aware G2G
Inc. decided not to attend the July 18
meeting because they felt there were
“polarizing issues” that could be
problematic. He was not aware,
however, this wasn’t the first
meeting of the group G2G had failed
to have representation, according to
Vincent.
Vincent also said reports the
Ontario Federation of Agriculture
(OFA) approved the trail were
erroneous and the OFA didn’t
approve it, but stated they were not
in direct opposition of the trail at the
time.
“Actually, there are 13 points in
[an OFA communication] regarding
concerns of adjacent property
owners,” he said.
Vincent went on to say G2G has
taken adversarial positions in press
releases they have put out.
“They knew they were not
opening the whole trail because
there were leases they had no control
of,” he said. “We’re just asking for
answers. The working group is
going to have extra meetings to work
through some of these problems.”
Vincent also said Huron County
staff and Regional Tourism
Organization (RTO) 4, which are
involved with the working group,
were completely unaware of
biosecurity issues.
“They had, at the time they
discussed the trail, practically no
knowledge of the principles of
biosecurity that livestock and
poultry farmers have to go through,”
he said. “At their next meeting, they
are inviting [representatives from
agricultural groups] to go through
protocols and, as an example, show
what happened with the avian flu
situation near Woodstock.”
Vincent said he also believes an
expert from the University of
Guelph will be invited to give factual
background information.
As to the document, and Vodden’s
claims about insurance rates being
unaffected, Vincent said he was
aware of written quotes from
insurance companies that show there
is an increase in liability.
“Some of these concerns are
completely factual, we just aren’t
sure how many,” he said.
Vincent also stated the Goderich-
Auburn Rail Trail (GART), which is
often used as an example of a
succesful trail, has sections where
ATVs and pedestrians both trespass
to get around gates that mark the end
of the trail.
“I believe in being fair and factual
and letting everyone have their
opportunity to say the truth,” he said.
“This working group has been set up
by Huron and Perth Counties to have
the lead on this issue and it is the
only way to try and get to an answer
of what is happening.”
Vincent said he doesn’t expect
either the trail group or the adjacent
landowners to like him at the end of
the issue, but he said there needs to
be compromise and, thus far, the
adjacent landowners’ issues are not
being investigated in his opinion.
“One thing that no one seems to
realize is, at the east and west end of
what is to be the trail, land is a lot
more expensive now than when it
was built,” he said. “When the trail
was looked at, an acre was worth
$3,000 and land could be given up as
a buffer for the trail, but now land is
$10,000 to $12,000 to $14,000 an
acre and there’s a lot more
resistance.”
Vincent said 20 to 30 feet (or 40
to 60 feet if a farmer works both
sides of the trail) of cropland could
be lost as a buffer zone especially
with identified crops and biosecurity
issues. That loss would translate into
lost income for farmers.
Vincent said he is strongly in
favour of the working group doing
its job and finding a compromise,
but said that will only work if
representatives from G2G Inc. show
up to all the meetings.
“Neither side is going to be
completely happy, but we have to
work through it,” he said.
Councillor Trevor Seip said he
was tired of councillors bringing up
the issue with no new information.
“We’ve heard a lot about this trail
in the last two months, but nothing
has changed,” he said. “There hasn’t
been any new information in that
time. These are issues that Huron
County and G2G have to work
through. As a councillor in North
Huron and Wingham Ward, until
someone tells me where we stand on
the issue, I can’t tell ratepayers that.
Nothing comes back from G2G
saying landowner issues are being
addressed. No information has been
addressed regarding the leases.
“These issues are the same as
when it started,” he said. “I haven’t
been told anything new in all the
time we’ve been talking about it and
until new information comes up, I
don’t want to talk about it anymore,”
he said. “If a G2G person or
someone from the county comes
here, great, other than that, we’re
talking about the same stuff over and
over again.”
Vodden said all the issues are
going to be worked out “as the trail
is implemented.” However, Vincent
pointed out any kind of information
regarding mitigation had not been
provided to adjacent landowners, so,
if there were possible solutions like
fencing, landowners weren’t being
made aware of them.
Councillor Bill Knott stated he
wanted to know where the financing
for the fencing was going to come
from, since that could be an
expensive endeavour. No answer
was provided.
Councillor Bill Knott was the third
to weigh in, stating that he supports
the concept of the trail, as it
represents economic development.
However, he was less than impressed
with his interactions with G2G Inc.
representation.
“I sent a long list of questions to
both the listed information [e-mail
addresses] for G2G,” Knott said,
adding that he had also sent the e-
mail to members of the local media
and his fellow councillors. “I am yet
to receive an acknowledgement of
those questions, let alone an answer.
I sat with [G2G member Chris] Lee
at an economic development
Retirement and
Welcome Reception
The Community of Central Huron
Clinton Family Health Team
Clinton Family Physicians
Clinton Public Hospital
Huron Perth Healthcare Alliance
Clinton Public Hospital Foundation
Help us say thank you to Dr. Keith Hay
And welcome to Dr. Irram Sumar
at a Meet and Greet Reception
Wednesday, August 12, 2015
5:00pm – 7:00pm
Central Huron Community Complex
By Denny Scott
The Citizen
Continued on page 23