The Citizen, 2015-12-24, Page 13THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2015. PAGE 13.
Brussels Trust commits to dam project in 2016
The Huron East/Brussels Com-
munity Development Trust has
committed to assist in the Brussels
Dam project that calls for the
installation of new logs at a cost of
nearly $20,000.
The Trust discussed the issue and
moved to commit to the project at its
Dec. 17 meeting at the Brussels
Library.
Stewart Lockie from the Maitland
Valley Conservation Authority was
at the meeting to speak to members
of the Trust, as well as a handful of
community members, about the
project and the need for the new
logs.
The logs at the Brussels Dam,
installed in 1986, have now rotted
past the point of usefulness and need
to be replaced, Lockie told those in
attendance – sooner, rather than
later.
Original cost estimates placed the
replacement of the logs at $17,000.
The cost was then updated to
$25,000, however, and then reduced
once again to $18,000.
He informed the Trust that it
would be beneficial to “get the ball
rolling” soon so the Conservation
Authority could authorize the
purchase at its next meeting in
January, which should mean that the
new logs will be ready and delivered
by the spring of 2016.
If the decision was not to be made
soon, he said, the Conservation
Authority’s next meeting would be
in March, meaning that the process
would begin much later in the year
and it would be unlikely that the
replacement could be complete in
2016.
He told councillors that there
could be resale value in the rotted
logs that, for various uses, could be
sold, netting about $1,500, that
could further reduce the project’s
bottom line.
The Conservation Authority has
recently restructured, Lockie said,
and is operating with minimal funds
and simply cannot finance the entire
project. He suggested that the
Conservation Authority could pay
for $6,000 of the project, one-third,
if community groups were able to
pay for the other two-thirds of the
cost.
Trust member and former Huron
East Mayor Joe Seili suggested that
the Trust could pay one-third of the
cost and could then approach the
Municipality of Huron East to pay
the remaining third – a proposal that
interested several Trust members.
Councillor John Lowe said the
issue could be raised at council’s
first meeting in January, but that he
could make no guarantees.
Trust members then decided to
proceed with the replacement of the
logs, but not attach a dollar figure to
the motion. The hope, they said, is
that either the municipality or
perhaps some of the village’s service
groups would come forward with a
plan to help finance the project,
which is important to the village.
A motion to support the project
was passed by all members present
in order to allow the Conservation
Authority to order the new logs and
begin the process so that installation
could take place later next year.
Continued from page 1
number of directions for the
county – identifying areas that
stakeholders would like to see
development initiate and other
practices they’d like to see stopped.
Some councillors had issues with
the restructuring.
Goderich Mayor Kevin Morrison
said that two organizations – the
Huron Manufacturing Association
and the Huron Tourism
Association – were going to be
directly affected, losing planning
staff in the shuffle.
Chief Administrative Officer
Brenda Orchard said that the county,
as well as its economic development
department, would still support
those two organizations, but that she
saw the “old model” as a gross
misallocation of resources where
high-paid planners were busy
compiling minutes and scheduling
meetings for those organizations.
She also said there could be a
perception of a conflict of interest
when a planning staff member is
working for both the Planning and
Development Department, while at
the same time acting as a proponent
for an association made up of private
business owners.
Gaudet agreed with Orchard,
saying that there is a clear transition
process in place for those
organizations and that they won’t be
left high and dry.
There will be support for them
from the county, it will just come in
different forms, which will, he felt,
be better for the organizations in the
long run.
The plan identifies a number of
sectors which hold the greatest
potential in local municipalities –
thoughts that have been echoed by
the Economic Development Board
in its reports.
The sectors are: health and
wellness, tourism, arts and culture,
harbour development, industrial
lands, agriculture, manufacturing,
information technology (IT) and
entrepreneurship.
With the strategic plan now in
place, Gaudet said it was time to
begin looking to the plan’s next
steps, which included the re-
organization of resources, both
location and human, followed by a
work plan and implementation, and
finally, constant measurement.
Council endorsed the strategic
plan, with many councillors
speaking in favour of the changes
and the new direction.
Greetings from the Municipality of Morris-Turnberry
Back row, from left: Dorothy Kelly, Jim Nelemans, John Smuck, Sharen Zinn.
Front row: Clerk Nancy Michie, Mayor Paul Gowing, Deputy-Mayor Jamie Heffer.
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