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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2009-08-20, Page 20PAGE 20. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, AUGUST 20, 2009. Two old headaches were topics of discussion when Morris-Turnberry councillors considered the reports for two municipal drains at their Aug. 11 meeting. Problems with the Fisheries and Oceans Canada were part of the discussions surrounding the McCutcheon municipal drain. The drain had earlier been stalled by a last-minute objection by Dave Balint, senior habitat biologist with FOC to wording in the report. Bill Dietrich of Dietrich Engineering Limited told councillors and landowners attending the meeting that wording had been changed to propose a staging of work on the drain. The open portion of the drain, which contains trout habitat, will be cleaned out at two specific points, with stilt traps installed in the hope they will catch sediment and prevent having to clean out the entire open portion of the drain in future. Dietrich expressed doubt this would do the job and that the open portion may need to be cleaned later. That would add some additional cost if equipment has to be brought in a year later, he said, but in all the costs are not much higher than the original estimate. He said he was hoping the work would get done this fall. Because it is a cold water trout stream, work on the open portion must be completed by Sept. 15 under FOC regulations. Tenders will be called for Aug. 31. Later in the meeting the issue was engineering fees when council considered the report of the Bryce Municipal Drain, at the north end of Turnberry ward, going across the boundary to South Bruce. Deputy-mayor Jim Nelemans asked Jeremy Taylor of R. J. Burnside and Associates Limited to explain the fact that engineering costs made up 49 per cent of the cost of the drain while for the McCutcheon drain the engineering made up only 19 per cent of the cost. “We get a lot of complaints from our landowners (about engineering costs). It isn’t a big drain,” Nelemans said. Taylor explained there are base costs for preparing a report no matter the size of the drain. Councillor Bill Thompson agreed with Nelemans that the engineering costs are too high. One landowner present also objected to the high proportion of engineering costs in the overall cost. “These are huge costs for what we’re getting,” he said. In the long run, with no other landowners objecting, council approved the report and a call for tenders. Nelemans registered a vote against the report. “I’m opposed because of the astronomical engineering costs,” he said, arguing that if council keeps approving reports with high engineering costs there’s no incentives for engineers to sharpen their pencils. Continued from page 1 the situation. She said her son had fun on the trip and the 60 hockey players formed teams and played against themselves. They were able to stay in their hotels and had a good time. Const. Adam Minnion of Peel Regional Police said the police have to determine whether the services weren’t rendered because of fraudulent means or whether the contracts were entered into in good faith and something just broke down somewhere along the way. Mom finds silver lining It may take longer than originally expected to develop a new fire service agreement but Morris- Turnberry residents can expect continued protection until the deal is signed. That was the promise new North Huron fire chief John Black made to Morris-Turnberry councillors at their Aug. 11 meeting. Black told council he has been gathering information about the Blyth and Wingham departments that will be amalgamated into the new North Huron fire service and has been meeting with everyone involved. The level of service to be offered to the community must still be agreed upon, he said, but it will be the same across the municipality. Currently Blyth offers first response medical service in its area but Wingham doesn’t. Black said he expects a draft budget for the new department will be presented to North Huron council later this month or early next month. After that, a proposal can be submitted for service to Morris- Turnberry residents. “I don’t want any of us to be pressed to meet some timetable,” Black said in promising that even if the agreement isn’t in place by Jan. 1, people would continue to have protection. But Nancy Michie, administrator clerk-treasurer said that fire service is unlikely to remain the same after Jan. 1 because Morris-Turnberry council is considering a proposal to expand the area covered by the Brussels station of the Huron East fire department. She pointed out to council later in the meeting that the proposal from Huron East has been put on hold, awaiting a proposal from North Huron and the issue needs to be cleared up. Morris-Turnberry discusses drains Fire chief promisescontinued servicefor M-T residents Crowning jewel The new Brussels Fall Fair Ambassador was crowned over the weekend at the Brussels Legion. Jolanda Smith, right, was the winner, besting three other girls who took part in the annual competition. Smith was crowned by 2008/2009 Ambassador Kari Bell who will be on her way to the Canadian National Exhibition to represent Brussels in one of her last acts as Ambassador. 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