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$1.25 GST included Serving the communities of Blyth and Brussels and northern Huron County Thursday, March 15, 2012
Volume 28 No. 11
ECONOMICS - Pg. 12Joint economic developmentcommittee is formed TURBINES - Pg. 15HEAT bashes HuronEast CouncilCLOSURE- Pg. 10Bluewater Youth Centre toclose, council reactsPublications Mail Agreement No. 40050141 Return Undeliverable Items to North Huron Publishing Company Inc., P.O. Box 152, BRUSSELS, ON N0G 1H0INSIDE THIS WEEK:
Residents protest Morris-Turnberry Fire Department
Huron East budget
proposed with 3.7
per cent tax increase
Amazing
It was amazing that no one was severely hurt in this two-vehicle collision North of Blyth on
Friday, March 9. Police officers, Emergency Services personnel and Fire Department of North
Huron firefighters were all on site to help. Only minor injuries were reported as several people
were taken to Wingham Hospital, some as a precaution. A full story on the handful of collisions
reported in the area on Friday can be found on page 24. (Denny Scott photo)
A group of residents protested, at
the March 6 meeting of Morris-
Turnberry council, that there is no
need for a zoning change to
allow a fire hall in Belgrave until
there’s been a firm decision to go
forward with creating a fire
department.
Lynn Armstrong said those present
were notified about the meeting
because they live near Parker Drive
and London Road, the proposed
location of the Belgrave station of a
proposed Morris-Turnberry fire
service, but there are others who
have concerns over starting a fire
department who didn’t know about
the meeting.
“There’s a bigger question that
should be addressed by the general
public,” she said, calling for a public
meeting to “allow those who have an
interest other than living near a fire
hall.”
Mayor Paul Gowing said the
creation of the fire department and
the rezoning of the land are two
different issues. “We need to deal
with the rezoning to have the option
to proceed [with creating a fire
department],” he said. “Nothing is
lost by the actions we have taken.”
He noted that one of the items in
the municipality’s plans leading up
to the creation of a fire department is
holding a public meeting, but to
position itself to proceed it must
have the rezoning done.
But Armstrong said the timeline to
proceed isn’t something that can’t
change. “There are lots of questions
from reading the business plan. Why
go through the zoning change
[before answering those
questions]?”
Councillor Neil Warwick
explained the rezoning needs to be
done now because if it was delayed,
and someone then appealed the
rezoning to the Ontario Municipal
Board, it could delay construction of
new fire halls in Belgrave and in
Lower Town, north of Wingham, for
up to six months, making it
impossible for the building to be
ready for the Jan. 1, 2014 start of
service.
Armstrong persisted with
questions about the need for a fire
department. She questioned locating
a station in Belgrave at the western
edge of Morris-Turnberry.
“What I’m voting on [at this
meeting] is rezoning, nothing else,”
said Warwick. “In no way does it
mean the public meeting is
irrelevant.”
Armstrong said the rush to rezone
the properties made it appear the
issue is much farther down the line
than council indicated.
Councillor David Baker said the
bottom line is that councillors are
trying to do what’s best for residents
of the municipality. “We didn’t come
on this council wanting to build a
fire department.” But if Morris-
Turnberry doesn’t have a fire
department in place by Jan. 1, 2014
“It’s going to cost a lot of money.”
Gowing finally cut off debate on
the necessity of the fire service,
calling a vote on the zoning
amendment.
As she left the council chamber,
along with several other Belgrave
residents Armstrong complained: “I
thought people who expressed an
opinion would be listened to.” She
said she hoped council would soon
set a date for the public meeting.
(Later in the meeting council added
an item to the agenda for the March
20 meeting to set a public meeting
date.)
After the zoning ammendments
for the properties for the two fire
halls were passed, council heard
from Jeff Howson, president of
Howson and Howson Limited of
Blyth.
Howson said his company had
“great concerns” with the business
plan for the fire department, noting
that borrowing money to finance the
department’s start-up would create a
long-term tax burden.
Huron East Council received
some scary news at its March 6
meeting when the first draft of the
2012 budget was presented by new
treasurer Paula Michiels.
Michiels’s proposed budget
showed a suggested tax levy
increase of 3.7 per cent. However,
with all of the projects currently
listed in the first draft, many of them
seen by councillors as essential or
fairly close, with a 12.9 per cent tax
levy increase.
This draft of the budget leaves
council with some tough decisions
to make. Either the tax rate will rise
substantially or several important
projects will have to be cut from the
2012 budget entirely.
Michiels only dealt with issues
quickly and with little detail at the
meeting, as the budget was simply
presented to councillors to begin the
budget process and stimulate
discussion.
Several issues, such as renovations
at the Huron East Town Hall in
Seaforth, the Brussels Library and
the Brussels Cemetery were
discussed as big ticket items. The
Brussels Cemetery was discussed
due to its ever-climbing deficit and
what amount Morris-Turnberry
would be covering due to its share in
the stake of the property.
OPP costs have increased the
budget by 1.6 per cent on its own.
The policing budget is up 8.1 per
cent from last year, or $32,597.
Recreation departments from
Brussels, Seaforth and Vanastra have
all increased their budgets by five
per cent as a starting point in the
budget.
The 2012 budget also includes
replacement of the Grey Fire
Department’s 1972 tanker truck. The
new truck is listed at $206,000 in the
budget.
The economic development
budget came in 18.5 per cent lower
than it did last year, after the
department came under fire earlier
in the year for its rising costs every
year.
Huron East Mayor Bernie
MacLellan reminded councillors
that one per cent of the
municipality’s budget is $25,000,
saying that if a project for $100,000
is being projected for the budget,
that alone is a four per cent increase
in the overall budget.
Budget deliberations will continue
later this spring as a second draft of
the budget will be presented to
council.
Huron-Bruce MPP Lisa
Thompson may not have succeeded
in stopping the construction of all
wind turbines pending results of
third-party social, economic,
environmental, psychological and
health studies, however she feels that
a message was sent to the minority-
government Liberals.
Thompson tabled a private
member’s bill in December, 2011
calling for a moratorium on wind
projects until the aforementioned
tests were completed and it came up
for discussion on March 8 when it
required the Liberal and NDP MPPs
to join forces to stop the bill despite
petitions having more than 1,500
signatures in support of it.
This was Thompson’s first motion
to be tabled as an MPP since she was
elected last fall and captured the
support of her PC peers.
“I got a lot of support from the PC
Caucus and I have to thank them for
that,” She said in a phone interview
with The Citizen shortly after the bill
was voted on. “[Conservative
Leader] Tim Hudak even expressed
his interest and said he would use his
one ballot to push the issue through.”
Thompson said that, aside from
By Shawn Loughlin
The Citizen
By Keith Roulston
The Citizen
Thompson’s wind turbine bill
voted down at Queen’s Park
By Denny Scott
The Citizen
Continued on page 24