HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2012-06-07, Page 24PAGE 24. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JUNE 7, 2012.
22 applications
received for CAO
Town hall dance
times to be moved
Council questionsMarshal’s stance
Coming down!
Huron Chapel Evangelical Missionary Church in Auburn held its anniversary service on
Sunday with dozens of families in attendance. Following the service there were plenty of
activities for the young people including an inflatable castle and a large inflatable slide, which
is being utilized by these three young girls. (Vicky Bremner photo)
Continued from page 21
community, she said, and
councillors shouldn’t forget that.
Staff member Florence
Stalenhoef, who is present at every
council meeting, was asked about
her experiences with the dance
group.
“If I’m here late and they’re
dancing, I’ll go home because I
know I can’t concentrate,” she
said.
Clerk Brenda MacIsaac said it’s
rare that she is there past 5 p.m.,
saying it only happens about three or
four times per month, so it’s not a
huge issue, but when staff members
are there, she said, it can become an
issue.
“We do need to have a meeting,”
said Mayor Jim Ginn. “That way we
can find something that works for
everyone.”
Council directed Campbell to
suggest 5:30 or 6 p.m. as a new start
time for the group and report back to
council at June’s Committee of the
Whole meeting.
After advertising for several
weeks, Central Huron Mayor Jim
Ginn reported that 22 applications
had been received for the
municipality’s chief administrative
officer vacancy.
Ginn reported these numbers to
the rest of council at the May 31
Committee of the Whole meeting.
Ginn said a short list would be
compiled consisting of eight names
and it would be whittled down after
interviews to between two and four
candidates.
Once the municipality is down to
the final two, three or four
candidates, all of council will be
involved in the interview process.
Ginn said all of the candidates
were good and that there is definitely
a strong candidate for the job in the
group.
When asked about the nature of
the job after discussing a potential
partnership with the Clinton
Raceway and the Regional Equine
and Agricultural Centre of Huron
(REACH) that would be centred
largely around marketing, Ginn said
that was no longer an option. He said
the municipality was simply looking
for a CAO and ideas about other
partnerships had been dropped.
Despite an assurance that Huron
County’s coveted shed/barn parties
were safe from new Fire Marshal
regulations, it appears the issue has
once again reared its ugly head.
At the May 31 Committee of the
Whole meeting, Central Huron Fire
Chief Steve Cooke raised the issue
once again as a result of a
communique issued by the Fire
Marshal’s office on May 1.
The communique states that
Cooke would be responsible for
parties being held in sheds, if he
were to catch wind of them before
they take place.
“This is exactly what you were
afraid it would be,” said Councillor
Burk Metzger to Cooke.
Mayor Jim Ginn, who had been
outspoken on his opposition to the
regulation when it first came up for
discussion last year, asked Cooke if
there was some sort of appeal
process, to which Cooke said there
was not.
The only potential for an appeal,
Cooke said, would be to lobby the
area’s MP and MPP for support of
banishing the regulation.
“This is ridiculous,” Ginn said.
“That man came here and he lied to
us.”
Ginn referred to a representative
from the Fire Marshal’s office who
came and spoke to Central Huron
Council last year and assured them
that their fears associated with the
regulation were not warranted
and one-off buck and does or
anniversary parties would be
allowed under the new regulations.
In the question-and-answer
portion of the communique entitled
“Use of Farm Buildings for
Assembly Occupancy” the seventh
and final question seemed to lend
itself to a more reasonable ruling on
the regulation as far as Central
Huron was concerned.
The question read “Are farm
buildings subject to the full
application of the Fire Code when
used for a one-off family event such
as a wedding?”
The answer reads, “It is
recognized that such events are at
times an extension of activities that
are carried out in the farmer’s own
home and would therefore not
normally be subject to the full
application of the Fire Code for
assembly use. However, the farm
owner is strongly encouraged to
review and implement the fire safety
precautions described in A6 (the
answer to the sixth question in the
communique) above and to deal
with any other health, safety or
structural concerns.”
Ginn, however, was disappointed
that the Fire Marshal’s office would
turn around and implement a
regulation after telling council, and
Ontario, that they were not going to
do so, as far as he thought.
“I’m very, very disappointed with
this if you can’t tell,” Ginn
said.
Cooke told Ginn that his
displeasure should not be directed
towards Thom Evered, who
appeared before council in
December, 2011. Cooke said the
Fire Marshal likely would have gone
ahead with the regulation regardless
and that would have had nothing to
do with Evered who he called “a
pretty good guy”.
By Shawn Loughlin
The Citizen
By Shawn Loughlin
The Citizen