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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2011-03-17, Page 9THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, MARCH 17, 2011. PAGE 9. March 26th, 2011 10 am - 4 pm Seaforth Agriplex ONTARIO Mons ter Whi tetai l Magazine ...has moved. WIN an Excalibur Exocet 200! www.ontariobigbuckcontests.com Ontario's Premier Buckshow Check the website for full details! 116 Chalk St. N. Seaforth, ON (Huron-Perth & Surrounding Counties) Vodden concerned over building liability issues Level Three Members of local skating clubs have been receiving their CanPowerskate accreditation, and Blyth skaters are no different. From left: Colin Howson, Drew Van Wyk, Brett Stevenson and Alycia Coultes all received their level three medals. Van Wyk was also awarded the Senior Most Improved Power Skater Award while Coultes received the Junior Most Improved Power Skater award. (Denny Scott photo) North Huron Township CouncillorBrock Vodden relayed his concerns that council may be operating too “hands-off” with the Chief Building Official (CBO) at council’s regular meeting on March 7. Vodden stated that he was concerned that there seemed to be no overseeing body that the activities of the CBO and his representatives. were monitored by. While at the Good Roadsconference in early March, thequestion came up at one of Vodden’ssessions as to whether council candirect a building inspector or CBO to either issue, or not issue a building permit. The panel said that council did not have that kind of power. Vodden then questioned who the CBO and building inspectors did answer to, but couldn’t find an answer at the conference. After seeking the input of several individuals involved in the creation of the building code, Vodden foundthat the panel at the Good Roadsconference was incorrect, and thatthe CBO, like any other officer, wasboth responsible, and liable for decisions made by the CBO and building inspectors. A portion of the building code of conduct confirms this. While Vodden was concerned that any decisions made by the CBO could come back on council, other members of North Huron’s council believed that taking a hands-off approach was the best way to dealwith the issue. “While all that is part of the code,our Chief Administrative Officer(CAO) [Gary Long] is the person who all our employees answer to,” he said. “He is the one that does the performance appraisals. That, and the other safeguards that are in the act, ensure no one on council can influence the CBO.” Vodden said he wouldn’t want a single councillor to have any swayover the decision-making process,just that council should be aware thatthey are responsible for the actionsof those in their employ, even if they are following the building code. Deputy-Clerk Kathy Adams explained that all the senior staff and officers make decisions based on similar acts every day, and that the township is similarly responsible for their decisions. By Denny ScottThe Citizen ACW renews Veolia Water contract Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh (ACW) Council worked with Veolia Water to retool their contract for water system testing after the contract originally came back too high for some councillors. Veolia, who had set the contract with a larger increase than the Consumer Price Index (CPI), stated they would have a hard time reducing costs, but they did, and council agreed to the new contract during its March 8 meeting. *** The spring thaw is beginning and building season is beginning again according to ACW Chief Building Official Kirk Livingston. His most recent report to council saw $480,000 worth of building permits issued in February, up greatly from January’s $191,500. February saw two new seasonal residences, one garage addition, one renovation, one two-storey house addition and one building demolished according to the report. “[The upcoming months] are looking pretty busy,” Livingston stated. He then said that he already has requests for permits for three new seasonal residences, two additions, one barn, one dry shed, five renovations, one addition and one roof-mounted solar system in the near future. *** Wages are being increased at the Lucknow Fire Department, according to a report that Reeve Ben Van Diepenbeek brought to ACW council during their March 8 meeting. Most notably, Chief Peter Steer will receive a 220 per cent increase in wage from $4,500 to $10,000 per year. The Deputy-Chief position will receive $5,000, up from $2,500. Van Diepenbeek explained that the previous pay was well below the standard for part-time firefighters, and that the increase brought them in line with provincial averages. “This brought our wages in line,” he said. “It probably should have been done over two years but the board felt it was appropriate.” Councillors stated they were comfortable with the increase, as larger centres, like London, routinely pay their full-time fire fighters more than $100,000. *** After a meeting with Ministry of the Environment (MOE) Minister John Wilkinson, ACW councillors learned that the water in ACW is not getting better, and that agriculture shoulders a lot of the reason for that. Reeve Van Diepenbeek explained that, in a meeting with Wilkinson, he expressed the importance of funds being available for farmers for water testing and cleaning initiatives. “The water in ACW is not getting better,” he said. “There are 130 ravines from Amberely to Kitchigami, and we need money for those.” In a recently completed five-year study of the Eighteen Mile River, it was discovered that 60 per cent of the pollution being carried by the river was caused by agriculture, three to four per cent caused by humans, and the rest split among various wildlife. Councillor Barry Millian stated that he found it alarming that agriculture had that much of an impact on the water table. “It’s disturbing that agriculture causes that much [pollution],” he said. “Nutrient management programs should stop that.” Van Diepenbeek explained that while nutrient management programs are in place, some farmers don’t follow them, and that since the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) took over enforcement of the nutrient management program, enforcement hasn’t been a priority. Council said that OMAFRA needs to be aware of the need for enforcement, and that more funds need to be provided by the MOE for clean water initiatives. Winter Sports Pages Blyth B u l l d o g s A t o m — B a c k r o w , f r o m l e f t : L o r e t t a T h o m p s o n , T r e v o r R a y n a r d , Aaron P o p p , T y l e r B l a c k , J o h n L e C o m t e , J e f f P l a e t z e r , M a t t h e w P o p p , F o u r t h r o w : Coache s K i r k S t e w a r t , C h a d H a g g i t t , C o l e S t e w a r t , K a r e n P e n n i n g t o n , D o r e e n Thomps o n , L i n d a P l a e t z e r , D o u g W a l k e r , L a r r y P l a e t z e r . T h i r d r o w : C o d y D u c h a r m e , Dana Te e d , J a m i e P l a e t z e r , K e l s e y S m i t h , M a t t h e w C l a r k e , E m m a B r o h m . S e c o n d row: Ry a n P a q u i n , A l i c i a M i d d e g a a l , C a r l y W h i t f i e l d , C o d y R i c h m o n d , K i r b y C o o k , Cody K e d d y , C a l e b B r o w n . F r o n t r o w : A d a m C r o n i n , K e v i n P e n n i n g t o n , J o n a t h o n Atkinso n , K a y l a B l a c k . A b s e n t : S t e v e n E l l i s . The Citizen Coaches and parents ~ we need your team’s picture and players’ names • Hockey • Broomball 1. Please submit team photo A.S.A.P. 2. Please include players’ and coaches’ names for under the photo. Please help us get ALL the Winter Sports teams published. 404 Queen St., Blyth 519-523-4792541 Turnberry St., Brussels 519-887-9114 By Denny Scott The Citizen M-T proceeds with Bluevale drain Morris-Turnberry councillors agreed at their March 8 meeting to proceed with an environmental assessment for a storm sewer system for Bluevale. Council agreed to ask Bruce Potter and Scott Allen to attend a meeting to discuss the next steps in preparing the Environmental Assessment (EA), including a public consultation. Noting council had already spent $18,000 on the process and that the estimate was $10,500 to complete the EA, councillor John Smuck felt council shouldn’t throw away the money that had already been spent. Councillor Neil Warwick agreed council should finish the project. It shows council recognizes there is a problem in Bluevale even if it doesn’t have the money to solve it, he said. Deputy-Mayor Jason Breckenridge said that from listening to Bluevale residents he felt people wanted to be consulted, though he didn’t think many were prepared for the expense the drain would cost. Echoing that opinion was Terry Matz, who told councillors there are a relatively small number of people who have a problem with water in Bluevale and many residents are seniors or have limited incomes and would find it hard to manage to pay their share of the cost to install storm sewers. By Keith Roulston The Citizen