The Citizen, 2013-01-17, Page 14PAGE 14. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JANUARY 17, 2013. Classified Advertisements
All word ads in The Citizen classifieds are put on our webpage at
www.northhuron.on.ca
Tenders Tenders
FOR SALE BY TENDER
Property known as 41569A Morris Rd., Brussels
north part of lot 17 con 6
SEALED TENDERS WILL BE RECEIVED BY THE LAW FIRM
SUTHERLAND MARK FLEMMING SNYDER-PENNER, Prof. Corp.
until 5:00 pm Jan. 28, 2013.
Att: Mr Ron Mark. Phone 519-725-2500 Fax 519-725-2525
Tenders will be opened next business day at 11:00 am
Highest or any tender not necessarily accepted.
Anticipated closing date of February 21, 2013
75 ACRE VACANT FARM LAND AND LICENSED GRAVEL PIT
Property consists of 40 acres prime farmland, with licensed aggregate
underneath. The whole 75 acres is licensed gravel pit. There are
approximately 30 acres of land that could be rehabbed back into
farmland.
NOTE: The two steel granaries are sold and are to be removed from site
by Jan. 30, 2013.
Vendor will consider two options on the gravel licence
Option #1: Vendor keeping ownership of the gravel licence and paying
the new owner for the pit run gravel in the hill on non-exclusive basis at
$1.00 per tonne
Option #2: New owner taking ownership of the gravel licence, with
agreement for the Vendor to buy pit run gravel long term on non-
exclusive basis at $1.00 per tonne.
Whoever holds the licence is responsible for the annual reporting to the
M.N.R. and the rehabilitation of the area from which gravel is extracted.
Affiliate of Vendor owns the next property east at 41617 Morris Rd. north
part of lot 18 con 6 Morris Twp., on which there is an 80' government
inspected truck scale. Vendor will make this truck scale available to new
owner to accurately weigh gravel trucks. There is an interior road
between the two properties that can be used for faster weighing of
trucks.
For more information, or a copy of current appraisal contact
David Rapson 519-357-5045
email da_rapson@yahoo.ca
Splitting up to tackle it together
By splitting into smaller groups, members of North Huron Township Council and staff and
Morris-Turnberry Township Council and staff hoped to be able to better address the issue of
fire protection services. The contract terms have been hotly debated between the two councils
for more than a year since North Huron created a single fire department out of the remains of
local area fire boards. (Denny Scott photo)
Meeting reveals advantages, disadvantages
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difference in what each group was
looking for.
North Huron was focused on
maintaining the status quo through
agreeing to the existing fire
department’s practices while Morris-
Turnberry was focused on the future.
North Huron Reeve Neil Vincent
chimed in next, stating that he felt it
was important for both
municipalities to agree to a level of
protection that will be extended,
including which kind of buildings
firefighters will attempt to save and
which buildings will be contained as
to not let the fire spread. He also
suggested that everyone be aware of
the provincial rules and regulations
surrounding a volunteer firefighter
and that appropriate training would
be necessary.
Long stated that he would like to
see it agreed upon that the closest
station will always respond to the
fire, regardless of border.
Deputy-Reeve David Riach stated
that he wants everyone agree to
having a legally compliant fire
department, full support and
adequate training for the firefighters
and adequate testing of equipment.
His agreement items fit well with
fellow council member Archie
MacGowan who said he wanted
everything done to mitigate the risks
associated with being a firefighter to
make sure that no unnecessary risks
are taken either on behalf of the
North Huron property owners or the
firefighters.
MacGowan also stated he wanted
a more streamlined governance
model for the fire department than
what was used in the past.
“We need clear, understandable
directions and clear lines of
communication,” he said, adding
that he would also like a strong focus
on the prevention of fires in the
community.
North Huron Councillor Brock
Vodden of North Huron suggested
that the two municipalities should
work together because they were a
“logical grouping” and he hoped that
most agreed.
Morris-Turnberry councillor John
Smuck stated that he would like to
see the seriousness of the emergency
to dictate response and not
geographic location.
“The response to an emergency
should be prioritized as severity first
and not based on who is local to the
fire department,” he said.
Jason Breckenridge, Deputy-
Mayor of Morris-Turnberry, said he
would like to see North Huron’s
ideas upheld but done so while being
fiscally responsible.
Morris Ward Councillor Neil
Warwick said that the current
planning for the fire department
needs to be expanded and looked at
as a 10 or 15 year process, not a two
to five year process.
Gowing stated he wanted to have
the best service possible but to have
equity across the entire area.
Riach agreed that fiscal
responsibility was necessary, but
also said that adequate reserves were
also held for new equipment.
Other agreement issues included a
quick response time, a balance
between fiscal responsibility and
efficiency and adequate
remuneration and recognition for the
firefighters.
After dealing with the agreements,
Caldwell reviewed the two proposals
that Morris-Turnberry had put
forward in the past for fire coverage
including a joint agreement with
50/50 ownership of the fire
department with North Huron or a
long-term agreement where North
Huron retains the service and sells
protection services to Morris-
Turnberry.
The latter option is different from
the current model as Morris-
Turnberry is not willing to pay
capital costs without ownership,
which they currently do through
paying for the depreciation of the
equipment.
They also require that fire
prevention costs and reserves be
taken out of what they pay into.
The former option was based on
Brockton and West Grey townships
who have a similar method set up.
The half-and-half split was inspired
by the fact that, according to
assessment, Morris-Turnberry and
North Huron, when considered as a
whole, have nearly equal assessment
values with Morris-Turnberry being
slightly higher. That gap is set to
expand by 2016 with the increase in
assessment for farmers land,
however, Morris-Turnberry Council
felt that the idea represented
fairness.
The agreement would be based on
a memorandum of understanding
that would outline the ownership and
include the terms of the deal.
Morris-Turnberry outlined several
of the terms including representation
on a fire committee from both
municipalities, a policy of
procurement and other necessary
caveats to the deal.
There were some aspects of the
proposed purchase, however that
confused councillors like Wingham
Ward representative Bernie Bailey,
specifically, a clause through which
a two-year transition period would
be held before Morris-Turnberry
paid for their half of the fire station.
“We’re not sure how things are
going to work,” Gowing explained
to Bailey. “We’ll set out what money
would be transferred and do it in two
years to make sure everything goes
smoothly.”
Bailey was still confused and
likened the delayed purchasing to
buying a house but living in it for
two years before paying for it.
Vodden was also concerned with
the two year purchasing period, but
not due to the delayed purchase.
“I’m curious as to what changes in
those two years and what we would
be committing to,” he said. “How
much do we stand to lose if we get in
and it doesn’t work out?”
MacGowan said that it seems
inefficient to have a two-year period
and that he would like to see, if the
joint ownership takes place, the two
years be used to further discussions
on amalgamation of the two
municipalities.
MacGowan’s idea of
amalgamation, however, was met
with skepticism, specifically from
Gowing who said he was “not
elected with the mandate to pursue
amalgamation.”
Council was split into several
groups, each one consisting of
representatives from each
municipality, to discuss the pros and
cons of each proposal.
Advantages to a even split in
ownership of the fire department
between Morris-Turnberry and
North Huron were listed as:
• Expenses spread out
• Fair payment.
• Cooperation
• Community betterment
• Certainty of service.
• Sharing capital costs.
• Working as a community
• Effectiveness
• No duplication of services
• One step closer to amalgamation
Disadvantages were listed as:
• Fear of the unknown
• Inefficiency of arbitration
• Expense of arbitrations
• Need for good terms of reference
Advantages to Morris-Turnberry
buying service under new terms
included:
• An escape clause
• Clear ownership
• Simplicity
• Costs determined
• Reduced Morris-Turnberry
liability
Disadvantages to North Huron
retaining the fire department and
selling services included:
• Unfair charging
• No Morris-Turnberry ownership
• Doubt that it will work
• Lack of long term planning
• Lack of proper representation
The councillors discussed several
of the issues and, at the end of the
meeting agreed that good progress
had been made.
For the next meeting, which is set
for Jan. 23 at the Belgrave and
District Community Centre at 7
p.m., Caldwell said that the two
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