HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2013-04-11, Page 1CitizenTh
e
$1.25 GST included Serving the communities of Blyth and Brussels and northern Huron County Thursday, April 11, 2013
Volume 29 No. 15
DEAL - Pg. 7Sparling’s deal meansgood things says CEO SPORTS - Pg. 11‘Citizen’ honours areawinter sports teamsTURBINES- Pg. 6Huron East declares itselfunwilling host to turbinesPublications Mail Agreement No. 40050141 Return Undeliverable Items to North Huron Publishing Company Inc., P.O. Box 152, BRUSSELS, ON N0G 1H0INSIDE THIS WEEK:
Fire agreement set for council vote
Group
reveals
plans for
Hall
He could... go... all... the... way
Andrew Falconer, the ball carrier, was the centre of attention on Monday during a flag football game at Hullett Central Public
School as plenty of other players attempted to stop his run in its tracks. Unfortunately for them, on this day Falconer could not
be stopped and went all the way to the end zone. Coming up just short on defense were, from left, Colin Howson, Lucas
Townsend and Josh Scott. (Denny Scott photo)
North Huron Township and the
Municipality of Morris-Turnberry
have finally come to an agreement
for fire protection services within
Morris-Turnberry that will be voted
on by the municipalities’ respective
councils during their next council
meetings.
For well over a year, the councils
of the two municipalities have been
debating the costs, services and need
for local fire protection as Morris-
Turnberry council members felt they
were being unfairly charged for the
service North Huron is providing.
The result is a new contract which,
if approved by both councils, will be
implemented on Jan. 1, 2014 and
last for five years.
The deal, which was brokered
between North Huron Chief
Administrative Officer Gary Long
and Administrative-Clerk Treasurer
Nancy Michie at the behest of their
respective councils, represents no
change in the contract according to
Long, just a change in price.
“No concessions were made in the
contract,” he said, adding that, now
that the fire department was near the
end of the five-year rebuilding plan,
prices would be dropping soon
regardless of the deal. “The savings
and efficiencies from that process
allow us to reduce the expense.”
That cost represented the expense
of replacing now-defunct hoses,
ladders, tanks and equipment of the
Fire Department of North Huron.
When the department was formed,
much of the equipment was found to
be in need of replacement.
“This contract is the same as the
two-year agreement that was signed
by Morris-Turnberry before,” he
said. “The provisions and
stipulations are all the same, the only
thing that is different is the amount
and the fact that North Huron will be
covering an area formerly covered
by the Howick Fire Department.”
The contract will be brought to
North Huron and Morris-
Turnberry’s upcoming meeting for
final approval and adoption via
bylaw, however both Michie and
Long stated that the contract was
approved in principle by the
councils.
“We’ve been working on this for
weeks,” Long said. “We can’t take
credit, but, after the final meeting
with Wayne Caldwell, [Michie] and
I began producing this document.”
Michie said that the contract was
identical to the old one except for the
fact that North Huron has agreed to
send quarterly reports regarding the
fire department to Morris-Turnberry.
She also said that the municipality
will be keeping its own fire
prevention officer to meet provincial
guidelines.
Councillor Bernie Bailey, who has
been outspoken about the conflicts
with Morris-Turnberry on several
occasions, stated that he believed the
new contract was “the best of both
worlds.”
“We’re getting the money we’re
asking for, and, through covering
some property we covered before,
we’re helping Morris-Turnberry
save some money,” he said. “It’s a
win-win.”
Bailey said that Morris-
North Huron Township Council
Chambers were filled on Thursday,
April 4 as council was approached
by members of a group hoping to
ignite an economic and cultural
revolution in Blyth starting with
some upgrades to the Blyth
Memorial Hall.
Members of the organization, led
by Blyth Festival Interim Artistic
Director of Peter Smith, took turns
explaining why the hall is important
to them and the community.
The stated purpose of the meeting
was for the group to seek financial
assistance from council to have a
needs assessment performed on the
hall. This would set the fundraising
goal for the group.
The project is important,
according to Smith, because of how
unique the building is.
“Memorial Hall means a lot of
different things to people, but first
and foremost it is a living cenotaph,
a living memorial,” Smith said. “The
thing I love about the building being
a living cenotaph is that... culture is
represented. Every day a story is
told, a song is sung, people dance,
there is a church service or there is a
play. The culture that was fought to
be preserved is being preserved and
it is moving forward.”
The hall, which serves as a
location to honour soldiers from
every branch of the Canadian Armed
Forces throughout modern history,
houses not only the Blyth Festival’s
plays, but also all manner of
community events including annual
Remembrance Day ceremonies,
meals, musical acts and film
festivals.
Smith then asked several members
of the community who are interested
in seeing the hall made more
modern to speak to council and
explain what the building means to
them.
Royal Canadian Legion Blyth
Branch 420 President Andy Lubbers
spoke first on behalf of the Legion
members as well as the Legion
Ladies Auxillary at the branch.
“Most people in the community
call [Memorial Hall] our hall,” he
said. “It’s special for everyone, but
for the Legion, it’s a very special
building.”
Lubbers indicated that because it
is a living cenotaph and because it
hosts the annual Remembrance Day
By Denny Scott
The Citizen
Continued on page 27
Thanks to reductions in the
portion of the tax rate going to the
County of Huron and school boards,
there will be no increase in the tax
rate in Morris-Turnberry this year in
a budget adopted at the April 2
meeting of council.
The tax rate actually dropped 0.1
per cent but that was helped by an
11.28 per cent increase in
assessment over 2012, some of it
due to new construction but much of
it due to reassessment of existing
properties by the Municipal
Property Assessment Corporation.
Someone with a $100,000
assessment would pay $1,533.21 in
taxes, a drop of $2.03. However if
the assessed value of the property
increased, the taxpayer may still see
his or her property tax go up.
The municipal portion fo the tax
rate will increase 2.9 per cent, but
assessment increase means the rate
needed for the County of Huron will
go down 2.67 per cent and the
M-T holds taxes steady
By Denny Scott
The Citizen
By Keith Roulston
The Citizen
Continued on page 15 Continued on page 26