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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2010-12-09, Page 13THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2010. PAGE 13. Blyth takes another step towards BIABusiness Improvement Areas (BIAS) in Wingham and Blyth are one step closer to becoming a reality after an information meeting held on Dec. 2 at Blyth’s Memorial Hall. The meeting was attended byrepresentatives of the Ministries ofMunicipal Affairs and Housing andAgriculture, Food and Rural Affairs who provided a brief history, explanation and overview of the rules of BIAs. David Riach, head of the Blyth Business Association and a North Huron councillor for Blyth Ward said that the evening didn’t lead to any decisions other than to persevere down the path of establishing a BIA. “There were no decisions made other than to go ahead with our current goal,” he said. “This was more of a how-to meeting.”Riach stated that therepresentatives from the ministriesgave information about how to start and successfully run the proposed BIAs. The members of the planning committee for the BIAs then discussed desirable aspects of a BIA, practices to avoid, and other rules that will need to be decided upon during at upcoming planning meeting. The specific rules for the proposed BIAs in Wingham and Blyth will be discussed at future planning meetings. The Blyth BIA planningcommittee is set to meet in mid-December.The presentation detailed the history of the creation of BIAs, what purposes they serve and the activities they would be involved in. The first BIA in the world was created as a result of Ontario passing legislation in 1970 which saw a business-focused group created in Toronto’s Bloor West Village. By creating a BIA, municipalities are able to collect taxes from the businesses within the area and deliver them to the BIA’s executive to be used to promote the area andthe businesses therein.A BIA, according to legislationpresented at the meeting, is “a geographically defined continuos area within a municipality” that is managed by a board and composed of businesses that have to pay the BIA levy alongside their property taxes. They exist to revitalize neighbourhoods and benefit all businesses and provide identity to the local community. Some of their key activities, Continued from page 11 Ontarians,” Westerhout stated in a Letter to the Editor in a local news magazine. Westerhout called the local effects of industrial wind turbine installations “horrendous”. Westerhout said that initially he investigated, and eventually signed a contract to, erect two small wind turbines that would stand at approximately 80’ tall. Soon after, he was approached by a large wind developer to install 2.5 Megawatt turbines on his property. He said he felt the contract was unfair and that he should do his own research, which yielded several conclusions. Concerns he had were the setbacks, potential negative health effects, loss of enjoyment for property, decreased property values and the loss of thousands of acres of prime farmland, to name a few. In the end, Westerhout says that he isn’t against green energy, just that he is against industrial wind projects being presented in their current form and he encourages anyone with questions of their own to do their own research and to draw their own HIGHWAY 8 BETWEEN GODERICH AND CLINTON 3 km. west of Clinton 519-482-7144 Great Christmas Deal Huge Savings! NO TAX The Price is The Price SAVE SAVE SAVE PRO SHOP HOURS Nov. 9 am - 5 pm Mon. to Sat. Dec. 10 am - 4 pm Mon. to Sat. Closed Sundays ~ Open ’til Dec. 23rd Gift Certificates Available for Christmas! 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