The Citizen, 2010-07-08, Page 1CitizenTh
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$1.25 GST included Serving the communities of Blyth and Brussels and northern Huron County Thursday, July 8, 2010
Volume 26 No. 27FIRE- Pg. 26 Detailed cost comparisonbetween departments REVIEW - Pg. 27 ‘Bordertown Café’beginsremount at Blyth FestivalGRADUATION- Pg. 11A salute to local graduatesbeginsPublications Mail Agreement No. 4005014 Return Undeliverable Items to North Huron Publishing Company Inc., P.O. Box 152, BRUSSELS, ON N0G 1H0INSIDE THIS WEEK:
North Huron Township council
has set a precedent in allowing the
Avon-Maitland District School
Board (AMDSB) to lean on the
township for portions of a
development they can’t afford.
Four of seven members of North
Huron Council approved an idea that
would see the AMDSB develop land
at the end of John Street, while not
paying for all infrastructure
upgrades involved.
Council agreed to provide up to
$150,000 towards the reconstruction
and extension of John Street to help
facilitate the construction of the new
elementary school. Early estimates
from the school board place this at
slightly less than half the cost of the
upgrade.
The AMDSB will have to cover
the remaining costs of the
infrastructure development fronting
on the school’s property on John
Street.
According to documents from the
council, the $150,000 will include
the over-sizing of a water main on
John Street and storm and sanitary
services on Summit Drive and that
“every effort will be made to recover
[100 per cent] of these costs from a
future developer.”
The drain and storm/sanitary work
are a standard cost that would be
covered by North Huron Township
in any development.
This is a unique agreement as
developers are usually responsible
for all the costs incurred by the
development of land, and no
members of council or township
staff could recall any similar
agreements.
Councillors David Riach, Brock
Vodden and Alma Conn stated that
they were opposed to the idea
because of the dangerous precedent
being set where council is paying a
portion of costs they have always put
on developers.
Both Vodden and Conn stated that
this decision was an unwise one for
council to make.
“A precedent setting of us paying
for development is [not] a good one,”
Conn stated. “I am vehemently
opposed to that.”
Gary Long, Chief Administrative
Officer for North Huron, stated that
several councillors believed that the
agreement would stimulate
development near John Street which
would see the township have the
money returned.
“A majority of council, as well as
administration, feel that it’s
important for the municipality to
make an investment in this project
because it is a community facility,”
Long said. “This investment will
help to ensure that this school is built
in North Huron and that it will
stimulate future residential
development on [nearby
properties].”
Bob Pike, who has lodged two
Ontario Municipal Board appeals
It wasn’t just another world
premiere when this year’s Blyth
Festival opened late last month, with
it came news of an artistic
partnership between the Festival and
Toronto’s Theatre Passe Muraille.
As part of an opening night for the
Blyth Centre for the Arts, which
included the opening of Edward
Schleimer’s exhibit,Road To
Olympus, a gala dinner and the
opening of A Killing Snow, Theatre
Passe Muraille’s Artistic Director
Andy McKim was the keynote
speaker of the evening.
McKim announced that after a
long-standing relationship between
the two theatres, that they would be
officially becoming “twin theatres”.
McKim said this partnership
would be something that would
assist both theatres in opening up
artistic relationships, sharing
resources and connections and
possibly even co-producing a show
in the future.
In an interview last week, Blyth
Festival Artistic Director Eric Coates
said that he is thrilled with the
partnership and the possibilities
that could result from such a
partnership.
“We were looking for a way to
encourage artists from anywhere to
come here and show their art,”
Coates said. “Long term, I’d like to
establish an artistic institution here
in Blyth like the Banff Centre for the
Arts.”
Coates said McKim, who is an
close friend of his, felt the twinning
would be a great idea for both
theatres. Coates, however, stresses
that the partnership has nothing to do
with the financial aspects of either
theatre and the partnership is strictly
an avenue for artists from either area
to have a wider network of venues to
use to their advantage.
He says there is no contract, that
this agreement is just an
understanding between theatres to
help artists out. The Blyth Festival,
Coates said, will change nothing in
how it does business, including
maintaining its independence and its
mandate.
Theatre Passe Muraille, in fact,
has already twinned with another
theatre, Farnham Maltings, which is
in England.
While Coates said that one day the
pair may wish to collaborate on a
production that would fit both
theatres’audiences, for right now, he
is hoping that Theatre Passe
Muraille’s resources and artist
network could help bring more
artists to Blyth when the Festival
isn’t running.
On the other hand, Coates said,
McKim said he would like his
theatre to better itself and eventually
excel in the community connection
and outreach department, something
he said the Blyth Festival has
perfected over the years.
Coates says McKim has looked to
shows like The Outdoor Donnellys
as a model for co-operation
throughout the community.
Coates says that Theatre Passe
Muraille has an artistic think tank
that could be of use to the Blyth
Festival when brainstorming
projects.
Eventually, when thoughts of co-
producing a play are a reality, Coates
said the archetype would be The
Drawer Boy, a Blyth Festival
commissioned production that went
on to have great success to a number
of audiences.
He does know, however, what the
area can do for emerging artists who
can find benefit in isolation when
they’re trying to create.
“We’re hoping that artists will be
able to take advantage of the
isolation that artists really crave
when they’re in that mode of
creating,” he said. “Hopefully this
will help lead to the Blyth Centre for
the Arts as more of a year-round arts
centre.”
Central Huron and North Huron
Councils have both passed a ratified
version of the fire protection
agreement that representatives from
the two councils agreed upon in
principle on June 25.
North Huron approved the
agreement at the July 5 meeting of
council, while Central Huron
Council approved its side of the
agreement at a special meeting of
council on June 28.
Both councils worked diligently to
solve disputes regarding cost of the
service, responsibility for decisions
and price breakdown and were both
able to pass their respective bylaws,
bringing to a close the several-
month-long issue that has caused
citizens to camp out in front of
municipal buildings to make their
voices heard.
As previously reported, two major
concerns held up the initial
agreement: Fee Schedule F’s
wording regarding budgeting for
Medical First Response and Section
5.2’s implications about the
responsibility of costs that are above
what normal firefighting incurs.
Both problems were solved
through re-wording and an
agreement of collaborative work
between fire chiefs in both
municipalities.
The agreement affects residents of
northern Central Huron, up to and
including Blyth Line (County Road
35).
Up to $150,000
from North Huron
for school’s street
Blyth Festival finds its twin
New fire deal ratified
for northern Hullett
Check out the pipes...
Two pipers started off the Ball’s Cemetery Memorial Service on Sunday, July 4. As it does
every year, the service drew a large crowd that resulted in overflow seating with dozens of
people sitting in lawn chairs outside of the chapel. The service began with the pipers and
featured singing, words of remembrance as well as guest speaker Bruce Whitmore. (Denny Scott
photo)
By Denny Scott
The Citizen
By Shawn Loughlin
The Citizen
By Denny Scott
The Citizen
Continued on page 28