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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2013-04-25, Page 14PAGE 14. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, APRIL 25, 2013.Huron East group proposes changes to mowing Huron East resident and former Huron-Bruce MP Murray Cardiff, along with a group of rural Huron East residents, is hoping to improve the municipality’s roadside mowing practices. Cardiff led the group of over a dozen concerned citizens, saying that it is his hope that Huron East would take the lead on the issue, starting a sea change in policy surrounding roadside mowing in farming communities. Cardiff explained to councillors at their April 16 meeting that entire portions of farmers’ fields are having to remain unworked as a result of weeds going to seed in patches of roadside grass beside their fields. He explained to councillors that when weeds are not cut before they go to seed, seeds can be blown intothe fields, infecting the crop andruining further growth. Additionally, Cardiff said, if the weeds grow too close to the edge of a field, if a farmer works that border land, he runs the risk of getting seeds into his combine, which he would then inadvertently redistribute throughout his whole field, ruining the crop. Farmers are wise to the risk, Cardiff says, and often just don’t work that land, which takes a sizable portion of workable land out of production for that farmer. Too often, Cardiff told councillors, roadside mowing tenders are won by companies that work all throughout the province, so they can’t be counted on to cover all of their area before weeds go to seed. Companies, he said, often have huge slates of work and are stretched to get all their work done over the course of the summer.Cardiff said that if urban residentswere to leave their lawns in the state the municipality leaves rural roadsides, the properties standards bylaw would likely be evoked and the property owner would be required, by law, to clean up his property. The group suggested that council should move from two annual roadside cuts to three and that the third cut should take place before the weeds go to seed. The cuts, Cardiff said, should also go from the fence to the road every time. Ken Glanville, another member of the group, said that farmers take it upon themselves to cut their own roadside grass, at a risk to both them and to their equipment. Mayor Bernie MacLellan said that he would not be adverse to a third cut from fence to fence, but that he felt it would be fair for that cost to behanded down to rural taxpayers on auser-pay basis, so urban residents wouldn’t be burdened with the additional cost. Public Works Manager Barry Mills said that if Huron East wanted to increase the amount of cutting to three full cuts per season, costs would likely double. If the cost were to be absorbed by rural residents, doing some quick math, MacLellan estimated that taxes for each farm may rise approximately $25 per year. Cardiff said he wouldn’t have a problem with the additional cost, but that he knew some farmers who would. In addition, there are a lot of out-of- area landowners, Cardiff said, who would get hit with the increase, while those who rent the land wouldn’t have to pay anything. “I like the idea,” MacLellan said. “If the farmer is losing some of hiscrop because of these weeds, Iwould have to think this would be a no-brainer for most farmers.” Glanville also explained to councillors that if the roadsides were mowed more frequently, those in the rural wards would be more likely to take care of them and not litter. He said that in roadsides near his property, because of how long the grass gets in the summer, he has found discarded couches, chairs and even a toilet in the roadside. He also suggested that a more trim roadside would help reduce vehicle collisions with animals, as deer would be less likely to cross roads and stand at roadsides if they couldn’t hide in the tall grass. 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