HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2011-05-12, Page 20PAGE 20. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, MAY 12, 2011.
Two storefronts which are
currently being used as apartments
in downtown Blyth turned out to be
a hot topic for North Huron council
and gallery members alike at
council’s May 2 meeting.
Deputy-Reeve David Riach
wanted an update on what progress
was being made with two buildings
between Blyth’s Memorial Hall and
the post office that have been used as
apartments, which is against the
zoning of the buildings.
Chief Administrative Officer Gary
Long stated that, as a commercially-
zoned property, it can not be used as
a residence. He also said that this
wasn’t the only concern with the
property.
“There’s definitely some property
standard issues that we’ll have to
look at there,” he said.
The problem isn’t with the tenants
of the buildings, but with the
property owner.
The storefronts, referred to as the
Aitken’s buildings by Riach, are an
eyesore according to reports, as
patrons of the Blyth Festival will be
walking past them.
Riach stated that people can be
found in various stages of undress in
the windows of the buildings.
People in Blyth are also concerned
about the issue according to ward
resident Bill Knott.
“People are complaining
constantly,” he said, adding that this
issue has been dragging on for
nearly a year now.
Knott wanted to know what steps
has been taken to remedy this
situation as did Riach.
Long stated that he had spoken to
Chief Building Official Dave Black
and that a meeting was going to take
place with the owner of the
buildings.
Long stated that the results of the
meeting with the property owners
would be brought back to council,
but stated that it may not be dealt
with immediately since a meeting
had yet to be set with the property
owners.
Property standards
debated in Blyth
Continued from page 1
hoped that the relationship between
the two bodies would continue,
saying that it’s not fair to the
REACH Board of Directors to go
forward not knowing if the
organization will receive a donation
from Central Huron from one month
to the next.
“There should be some contract
with REACH so that we don’t have
to discuss this every month,” said
Councillor and REACH Board
representative Burk Metzger. “There
needs to be some understanding and
some trust. If that trust is not there,
then that’s something we’re going to
have to talk about.”
Metzger said that he was fine with
the monthly agreement, but as long
as there was a sort of majority that
suggested that council wouldn’t
simply pull the plug on REACH at
some point.
Councillor Alison Lobb agreed,
saying that there should be
consistency month to month in order
to be fair to the people at REACH,
but that she, like many others, would
like to see more transparency in
REACH’s financial operations.
“I think we need to show that kind
of commitment,” Lobb said. “But
we have not yet seen the kind of
reporting that we’re entitled to and
the kind of reporting that we need
and want. So until we get that, I like
this arrangement.”
At this point Ginn interjected,
saying that what Lobb wanted is
what all of them, even members of
the REACH board wanted, which
was echoed by board members
Metzger and Councillor Alex
Westerhout.
“We’ve come to an agreement that
there will be financial reporting to
the approval of our CAO,” Ginn
said, adding that those financial
records would include a municipal-
style cheque register, listing each
cheque written by the organization,
including payroll.
Westerhout said that there have
been several meetings at the
REACH board level that have asked
for the kind of financial
transparency council is requesting.
“We’re demanding more reporting
at the board level as well,”
Westerhout said.
Metzger, however, said that while
this upcoming level of transparency
has hopefully been achieved, it was
not an easy road to get there.
“There were very heated
discussions about having everything
so confidential,” Metzger said. “I
understand this is now going to be a
very public process. That was a
demand by the board, although there
was some resistance.”
Not everyone agreed with the
donation, and therefore, the budget,
including Dan Colquhoun, who said
the amount of money that would be
going into REACH over the course
of the year is something he disagrees
with in principle.
“I fundamentally disagree with
giving $500,000 to an organization
that we don’t control,” he said,
going even further citing Metzger’s
figures from the special budget
meeting last month where Metzger
said council donations would have
to total $800,000 in 2012 and $1.1
million in 2013 to keep the centre
running.
In a recorded vote, the budget was
passed with five votes for the budget
and two votes against the budget.
Colquhoun and Councillor Brian
Barnim voted against the budget,
while Councillor Marg Anderson
was absent for the meeting.
Council debates REACHbefore finally passing budget
Help is on scene
Ok, maybe they weren’t in full firefighter dress, but there’s
no doubt that Brayden Cochrane, left, and Lucas Ward
would have had their share of fun spraying that fire hose at
Sunday’s Mother’s Day breakfast at Grey Central Public
School. Members of the Grey Fire Department were busy
cooking breakfast for area mothers so the children were
able to have a little fun on the department’s rig. (Vicky Bremner
photo)
Pre-Construction Sale - Sports Drive, Brussels
BUNGALOW TOWNHOMES
with accessibility features
For information or appointment
to view our model call
519-335-3156
www.howickhomes.com
$189,500from
By Denny Scott
The Citizen
Stick With the Classifieds.
If you’re shopping for something special, keep looking
in the Classifieds. Every week, you’ll find a great selection of
listings for everything from apartments for rent to
things to buy and see.
The Citizen