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The Citizen, 2010-03-04, Page 28PAGE 28. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, MARCH 4, 2010.North Huron Township Councilmet on March 1 to decide ifWingham is a suitable place for the new district K-6 elementary school. Council and interested parties met for a Planning Advisory Committee Meeting prior to council's regular meeting to entertain a request from the Avon-Maitland District School Board (AMDSB) to change the zoning and labeling of Part lots 5 and 6, in Concession 1 of Wingham Ward. Tom Robson, a solicitor retained by the AMDSB, put the request forward for the change. The advisory meeting provided an opportunity for residents of the Ward to put forward any questions or concerns they may have regarding the building of the school, and theextension of John Street toaccommodate the traffic caused bythe school.The location the proposed schoolis adjacent to the current secondary school, F.E. Madill, and will house 500 elementary public school children. The land is currently labeled Residential Future Development, and the application would see it changed to Community Facility. According to Sandra Weber, a senior planer for Huron County Planning and Development, the change is one part of several that need to be made. "The area proposed is in both Morris-Turnberry and North Huron," Weber said. "An Official Plan Amendment (OPA) and change in the zoning by-laws is required for North Huron, while its just a zoningby-law change in Morris Turnberry."Weber went on to say that thechange-over does make sense, as thelands that surround include othercommunity facilities, like F.E. Madill, and Sacred Heart Catholic School, as well as residential development. Most of the issues brought forward by both the public and councillors concerned buses and traffic, and how adding a second school would cause more bus traffic. But Jeremy Taylor, an engineer from R.J. Burnside and Associates, explained how the redesigning of school parking areas for both the high school and the new public school will actually alleviate some of the congestion around the school. "We've engineered the changes to try and prevent traffic problems," he said. "The extension to John Street will be curved to reduce speed, and there is now a queue for buses, with exits on the right side for safety." Taylor added that the queue canhandle up to 24 busses, which is themaximum expected to see betweenthe two facilities.Councillor Archie MacGowanalso questioned the problem of foot traffic, to which Taylor said the sidewalk on the north side of John Street will be extended, as well as the south of necessary. Jeremy also stated that, in recent years, the amount of student traffic caused by vehicles has dropped, because Grade 13 was dropped and the graduated licensing system. Parking was also brought up by councillors and the public, and Taylor explained that they had used a "Christmas Concert" clause when engineering the parking situation. "There will be enough parking for either school to have a Christmas Concert, as long as they don't both have it on the same night," he said. In her original documentation, Weber suggested deferring both decisions, as a traffic analysis was missing that would provideinformation necessary forcouncillors to make a decision.However, that report did surface lessthan a week prior to the publicmeeting, and addressed many concerns that were brought up during the meeting. As the traffic concerns were met, Weber still suggested deferring the Zoning By-law change until the OPA had been passed. As this was a public meeting and not an Official Council meeting, council was under no pressure to make a decision, however they did propose approving the OPA to allow the school to proceed with their timeline, while deferring the zoning change to a later date. In a recorded vote, Reeve Vincent, Deputy Reeve Scott, Councillor Campbell, Councillor Alma Conn, Councillor McGowan, and Coucillor David Riach were for the change, while Councillor Brock Vodden opposed it. North St. West, Wingham Mac & Donna Anderson 519-357-1910 A cemetery is a history of people, a perpetual record of yesterday and a sanctuary of peace and quiet today. A cemetery exists because every life is worth loving and remembering - always Distinctive Memorials of Lasting Satisfaction BOX 158 WINGHAM ONT NOG 2W0 LLOYD APPLEBY Lloyd Appleby died suddenly at his residence, RR2, Blyth on Friday, Feb. 26, 2010 in his 79th year. He was the beloved husband, for 56 years, of Lillian Appleby. He will be missed by his son Larry Appleby and his wife Deb, of Wingham and daughter Lori and her husband Kevin Masterson of London. He was the cherished grandfather of Alicia and Brittany Appleby. His sisters Thelma Johnston of Blyth, and Marguerite Peckitt and her husband John of Nepean and brother Donald Appleby and his wife Sharon, of Lucan mourn his passing. He was predeceased by his brother William Appleby. Fiends were received at the Blyth Visitation Centre of the Falconer Funeral Homes, 407 Queen St., Blyth, on Sunday from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. The funeral service was held Monday, March 1 at 11 a.m. Spring interment will be in Blyth Union Cemetery. As expressions of sympathy, memorial donations to the Heart and Stroke Foundation would be appreciated. Obituaries By Denny ScottThe CitizenNorth Huron takes first step in school approval North Huron Council is opposed to the five per cent increase levied by the Maitland Valley Conservation Authority. At the Feb. 16 meeting, council- lors directed MVCA committee member Councillor James Campbell to reject the increase, as it's the second hike in as many years. “We’re going to have a difficult budget year,” said Councillor Archie MacGowan. “These are difficult economic times in all municipalities across the province. We’re all trying to spend the same dollar three times.” The increase would amount to almost $2,000. Campbell said the money would be put towards flood forecasting, which would help North Huron considerably, and also towards wage parity, as MVCA staff's pay scale has been behind other conservation authorities. “It’s not that the amount of money is staggering over the course of the year, but the optics of a five per cent increase (is),” said MacGowan, adding that last year saw a nine per cent increase. 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The Citizen Call Us Today For Details 519-523-4792 or 519-887-9114 Fax: 519-523-9140 Susan Alexander, CFP Certified Financial Planner 472 Turnberry St. PO Box 69 Brussels, Ontario N0G 1H0 Phone: 519-887-2662 Toll Free: 1-866-887-2662 Fax: 519-887-2671 Email: alexander@ezlink.ca Cardiff Electric M.E. • residential • commercial • farm Call Rob 519-357-8529 or 519-887-9988