The Citizen, 2010-07-01, Page 17THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JULY 1, 2010. PAGE 17. Possible new site for school due to appealsDue to timeline constraints andOntario Municipal Board appeals(OMB), the Avon-Maitland District
School Board (AMDSB) is
considering alternative sites for the
new North Huron elementary school.
Steve Howe, manager of
communications for the board, said
that, with an upcoming election,
construction of the new school has
become a priority since the
availability of funding may change
with the installation of a new
government.
“It’s not like there is a specific date
for us to start or complete
construction,” he said. “The fear is,
with a provincial election coming
up, that the government may
withdraw the funding.”
The original plan for the proposed
John Street building was to have it
prepared for students to move in for
September, 2011. Howe stated that
this timeline has passed, and, to
make sure no more time is lost due to
the complications with the zoning
by-laws like those that have
happened in Wingham, the board is
currently looking at alternative sites.
Board Chair Jenny Versteeg stated,
in a press release from the board,
that the decision is a direct result of
challenges in negotiations and the
OMB appeals.
“We have been working very hard
to make [the Wingham build
timeline] happen in a timely
fashion,” she said. “That timeline
has passed, given the challenges we
are facing in our negotiations and the
appeals with the OMB. In an effort
to be prepared for all possiblescenarios it is prudent for the Boardto consider alternative locations...[we must] be prepared to take a newdirection with this project ifnecessary.”
Due to potential conflicts of
interest, those sites can’t be released.
The aforementioned OMB appeals
have been brought forward against
the Official Plan Amendment and the
Consent Agreement that were passed
by North Huron councillors by Bob
Pike, a Wingham resident.
Pike’s appeals are based on the
development of road infrastructure,
the over-use of roads in the area,
safety of students, and future
development of Wingham being
hampered by trying to “shoehorn” in
this development on John Street.
Both the board and North Huron
have stated that they wish to deal
with Pike’s professed issues,
however, Pike has not been available
for any discussions.
Another issue is the funding for
the extension of John Street.
According to North Huron Chief
Administrative Officer Gary Long
and North Huron Reeve Neil
Vincent, the extension funding is an
issue that the two groups are still
working on.
Vincent stated that, if the school
board was seeking help with the
costs of building the new public
school, which would be beside F.E.
Madill Secondary School, that
council most likely couldn’t provide
it, and that the AMDSB would be
treated like any other developer.
“Our policy has always been that if
a developer wants to build where
there are no roads or services, that
they pay for roads and services to bebrought to their land,” Vincent said.“That’s the standard across theprovince to the best of myknowledge, and we will most likelybe holding the AMDSB to the same
policy.”
Vincent stated that if council did
decide they wanted to help with
costs, budgeting would be a factor.
“We have a number of projects
that need to be started in the next five
years,” he said, citing the $5.5
million reconstruction of Josephine
Street as a prime example.
“We just have too many other
things on the go.”
Vincent also stated that helping the
school board would set a dangerousprecedence with other developers,but that council was not againstdiscussing matters.The Wingham site is good forstudents, according to Vincent,
because it will be easier to protect
against fire than a rural location.
“When you go away from a
municipal system, the amount of
money to put in a great big cistern
for sprinkler systems can be
expensive,” Vincent stated. “Costs
build up if you get away from
municipal water and sewage
system.”
Vincent said that, when the
Accommodation Review Committee
(ARC) process started he expectedthings to happen quicker. “When the ARC started sayingthey were going to close schools andbuild a new one,” he said, “Iexpected a proposal to be brought
forward sooner for the new
building,” he said.
Students in North Huron who
attend East Wawanosh and Blyth
will continue to do so in the interim,
according to Howe, and will remain
there until the new school is
completed.
“The closure of schools like Blyth
will be delayed pending the
completion of the new school,” he
said.
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Continued from page 16
wasn’t analyzed carefully enough.”
Hoy said that the pair have sought
legal counsel, paid for out of their
own pockets to see if an appeal may
be achievable.
“Jim and I have taken money out
of our own pockets and we’ve hired
a law firm to investigate as to
whether we have any recourse,
whether it be an appeal or what,”
Hoy said. “We don’t want to launch
an appeal until we know we have the
grounds.”
Hoy said, however, that he has
been grateful for the support he and
his supporters have received from
Brussels supporters and really all the
people involved throughout the ARC
process from Grey and even from
Morris-Turnberry, saying no one
group is to blame for the anger.
“I’m not upset with the
community,” he said. “You can’t
blame the community for the actions
of a few.”
Hoy said, however, that he felt that
trustees began to waiver when they
shouldn’t have, after the ARC
process was officially over.
“It’s a real shame that the trustees
listened to the song and dance after
the fact,” he said. “They shouldn’t
have been listening.”
Hoy likens it to a jury being
sequestered, saying that once the
final arguments had been made and
the board staff had made its
recommendation that the trustees
should have been free to make their
decision.
However, it was that lack of
communication that MacLellan felt
worked against the group. He said
he’d hoped that many of the trustees
would be involved in the process,
which, with few exceptions, they
were not.
“The biggest frustration is that for
the most part the trustees didn’t
show up for many of the meetings,”
he said. “If they were there, then
some dialogue could have happened
and if you can’t have dialogue, it’s
hard to work anything out.”
Seili says that his feelings towards
the board of trustees are also split.
He says that several trustees made
efforts to come out to meetings and
to them, he “tips [his] hat” but other
trustees, he mentioned specifically
Meg Westley from Stratford, he says
they incited some of the nastiness
between the communities.
“When Meg Westley issued that
challenge to the Brussels
community,” he said, “that was when
each school started to tear each other
apart.”
By Denny ScottThe Citizen
Debate rages over school vote