The Citizen, 2012-05-31, Page 13THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, MAY 31, 2012. PAGE 13.
MacLellan reacts to county governance report
Turbine meetingcoming to Brussels
They’re going the distance
Hullett Central Public School held their annual track and field event on May 23. Students, from
left, Emily Wilts, Paige Gibbings, Caitlin MacDonald and Shannon Dale pushed themselves to
do their best during the competition. (Denny Scott photo)
Aim for the moon
Chantal Van Schaik laughed at the world’s gravitational pull
as she leaped high into the air during the running long jump
competition at Blyth Public School during their track and
field competition on May 24. (Denny Scott photo)
After the presentation of
consultant George Cuff’s “Report on
Governance” for Huron County (see
page 1 for story) Warden Bernie
MacLellan says council is eager to
get started on implementing some of
Cuff’s recommendations.
Cuff presented his 54-page report
alongside MacLellan at a press
conference on May 23 in Goderich.
The report made over 50
recommendations, including
changing the warden’s term of office
and reducing the size of Huron
County Council to just nine
councillors.
MacLellan said council will tackle
many of the recommendations after
the regular session of council on
June 6. The meeting will be treated
as a strategic planning session where
council can decide which
recommendations they’d like to
implement and which ones they
wouldn’t.
MacLellan told members of the
public that council was ready to
“start working” on the
recommendations as soon as
possible.
In addition to Cuff’s executive
summary, council received two
additional reports, one was the full
comprehensive report and the
second is the personnel report.
The full report may be made
public in the future, MacLellan said,
but it would have to go through the
county’s legal advisor before that
move can be made.
MacLellan said that there wasn’t
one singular issue that triggered the
review, just that there were a number
of things that were dealt with in
closed session.
MacLellan said there were several
letters from members of the public
and several councillors felt that a
review was warranted.
Council then hired a consultant to
recommend a consultant, which
eventually resulted in the hiring of
Cuff and his firm, to ensure the third
party review would not be biased in
any way.
A question was asked if council
had a goal in mind when the review
was commissioned and MacLellan
said there wasn’t.
In an interview with The Citizen
following the meeting, MacLellan
said when council first saw the
report, although it was in closed
session, councillors really took
many of the recommendations to
heart, realizing that there had been
shortcomings in how the county has
been run in the past.
“They realized that there was a
need for change,” MacLellan said.
MacLellan said the report
contained much good information
that council appreciated for the
money invested in the review.
He acknowledged that it’s unlikely
Dave Hemingway wants to shine a
light on the possibility of wind
turbines popping up near Brussels
and what the implications of wind
energy are for local residents.
Hemingway, along with other
wind awareness activists, will be
hosting a public meeting in Brussels
on June 5 at the Brussels United
Church to let people know what he
thinks will happen if and when
wind turbines come to their
community.
Currently the only impact wind
energy has on the Huron East
community is a transmission line
that is proposed to run from southern
Huron County to Wroxeter running
through Cranbrook, according to
planning companies, and a
transmission station proposed for
just outside of Seaforth. Those same
companies, according to
Hemingway, have insisted that there
won’t be any wind developments
near Brussels, however he isn’t as
sure as the companies are.
“I find that a little hard to believe,”
he said. “That’s why we’re
encouraging people to ask questions
and do their homework and be ready
for that eventuality.”
He said that, due to the turbine
companies and government not
always providing the answers to the
questions being asked, people need
to be armed with the right
information to make an educated
decision.
“We’re trying to share information
with the community and
encouraging them to be ready to ask
questions of the groups involved.”
Hemingway said that many of
communities aren’t looking at
turbines until the construction is
already started and things can’t be
handled like that.
“A lot of time communities don’t
know what’s happening until after
people have signed leases,” he said.
“We want people to be informed and
educated about the realities of
turbines before that happens.”
The meeting will consist of a short
presentation followed by a
documentary regarding turbines.
By Denny Scott
The Citizen
By Shawn Loughlin
The Citizen
Continued on page 19