The Citizen, 2010-06-03, Page 20PAGE 20. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JUNE 3, 2010.Continued from page 1that a sudden jump and a suddenincrease of “over double the cost fortraining” was concerning to themunicipality and its council.McLlwain said that in past years,the Blyth Fire Department’s budget
had been very similar to that of
Central Huron, until this recent
proposed jump in training and
capital costs.
McLlwain said that what he and
council found concerning was that
the Central Huron Fire Department,
with a much smaller budget, was
fully compliant with all regulations,
training included. He said all Central
Huron has asked for was a
justification of the cost increase,
which to date, McLlwain said he has
not yet received.McLlwain also cited theindependent consultant’s report,saying that certain records wererequested for the report that couldnot be located.“The consultant stated that
training records could not be found,”
he said. “These records need to be
located.”
And when asked about first
response medical training,
something the Central Huron Fire
Department doesn’t have, saying it is
very expensive.
“First response is very reliable and
it’s also very expensive,” he said.
John Elliott, however, defended
first response, saying it is not a
duplication of services with the
emergency medical services, citing arecent motorcycle accident in theBlyth area where a driver wasextracted from an area theambulance couldn’t get to,according to him, bringing him to alocation that was accessible for the
ambulance, allowing the paramedics
to treat him and potentially save his
life.
Rick Elliott, also felt that
McLlwain wasn’t focusing on the
correct aspects of the disagreement
when he was discussing records of
past training, saying the future of the
agreement is what’s really
important.
“The history lesson doesn’t help
us,” he said. “We have to look
forward.”
Barnim said that he felt he and hisfellow councillors had been treatedunfairly throughout this process,saying that North Huron Councilhasn’t been as forthcomingthroughout the process as it hasseemed to some people.
“At the end of the day, it all comes
down to safety,” he said. “We’ve
been painted with a brush that isn’t
completely fair to our council.
“And North Huron hasn’t really
played as well as everyone thinks.”
John Elliott warned Barnim that
there is a municipal election coming
up this fall, telling him to “be ready,”
however, Barnim said that while he
couldn’t speak for his entire council,
that his actions had nothing to do
with the upcoming election.
“This doesn’t have anything to do
with an election,” Barnim said. “You
still have to trust council to do the
right thing, but we have to
negotiate.”
McLlwain then attempted to
discuss the recently changed
emergency service polygons in the
area that have led to the Central
Huron Fire Department covering
areas of Ashfield-Colborne-
Wawanosh (ACW).
Several citizens asked why the
municipality would change the
polygons if they didn’t need to be
changed. McLlwain, however, said
the polygon change was one that
would have had to happen
regardless. This answer, however,
angered a citizen, saying that under
the new agreement, it would take
emergency services at least 17
minutes to reach his property in case
of an emergency, asking what
business the Central Huron
department had in ACW when itcouldn’t provide adequateemergency services to its ownresidents.The citizen challenged McLlwain,asking him how he would feel if itwas his home that was on the
outskirts of an emergency services
area. He responded by saying that he
would want council to “do whatever
is equitable.”
Several citizens were unsatisfied
with his answer, with one shouting
out that he was “still putting cost
above people.”
“Kevin, you’ve lost your
credibility,” said one citizen. “You’re
just blowing smoke.”
McLlwain responded, however, by
saying that he was simply the
messenger for fire coverage
decisions, adding that as Chief
Administrative Officer, he simply
takes direction from council after
they make the decision.
That was when Barnim, despite
saying that he may have “got himself
in a lot of trouble” announced that
there would be an emergency
meeting between the two councils
later that night to discuss, and
hopefully, resolve the fire coverage
issue once and for all.
John Elliott, however, felt the
meeting may have been set up for
the wrong reasons and wanted to
ensure that the area’s citizens were
discussed and not just viewed on a
statistics sheet.
“At this meeting, I want the facts,
not just statistics,” Elliott said. “If
any of the councillors have an
opinion, I want to hear it. I want to
see both councils, side by side. Let’s
do it and let’s do it now.”
Continued from page 1
despite saying they wouldn’t.
Councillor Archie MacGowan of
North Huron said he felt that
negotiations had reached a
stalemate. For the sake of
transparency, North Huron released
the report.
“Yes, we did say we would go over
the release,” MacGowan said. “But
afterwards [at a Committee of the
Whole meeting in North Huron], it
became crystal clear we [wouldn’t
come to any agreement].”
After some debate, councillor
Brian Barnim of Central Huron said
that the councils needed to put their
disagreements aside and come to an
agreement for the sake of the
ratepayers they represent.
“Our ratepayers put forth a strong
presentation,” he said. “They had a
good message... [Central Huron
council has] heard the voices. We
need to resolve this.”
After three and a half hours of
deliberation, North Huron council
and staff and Central Huron council
and staff emerged from months of
deadlock with the tentative deal,
which will now go to both councils
for approval.
Councils to approve fire deal
Residents take to the streets for fire coverage
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Up and over
Kenny Huether was one of the mighty leapers left standing at May 25’s track and field event
at Hullett Central Public School, getting up and over the bar during the high jump competition.
(Aislinn Bremner photo)