Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes-Advocate, 1979-01-04, Page 1NEED EXTRA LIGHT — When electrical power became a little less than steady at Tuesday's meeting of Lucan village council, clerk Ed Melanson provided a reserve light for reeve Ivan Hearn. Galloping hydro wires were blamed for the numerous interruptions. T-A photo 'shop around'for loan Exeter council decided after lengthy debate, Tues­ day, to go shopping for credit, breaking a long­ standing tradition of automatically giving all their business to the Bank <5f Montreal. A bylaw authorizing the borrowing of up to $1,914,000 for the current year from the Bank of Montreal had been prepared for the meeting, but Reeve Si Sim­ mons led the move to seek funds elsewhere. Simmons indicated he was perplexed with the Bank of Montreal’s lack of coopera­ tion with the town in opening up off-street parking behind their Main St. facility. He explained that the town had been dealing with the bank for a number of years and for the past year and a half have been attempting to get off-street parking arrangements approved with no success. He suggested they were not showing initiative or leadership in something every businessman needs — off-street narking. “As representatives of other downtown businessmen, we should take a long, hard look at go­ ing elsewhere (for credit),” he recommended. Mayor Derry Boyle suggested that Simmons was advocating some type of blackmail and indicated he had already been in com­ munication with Bank of Montreal officials and ex­ pected some progress over the off-street parking situa­ tion as soon as the holiday season is over. “They may not be leaning over backwards, but I don’t think there’s any problem (in getting parking),” Boyle advised council. However, the discussion prompted other members to suggest that the town should shop around to seek the best possible interest rate for loans. “The current philosophy is to shop arouhd,’’ com­ mented Councillor Don Cameron. Councillor Jay Campbell said it may make extra work for Clerk Liz Bell, but added that he didn’t like to be taken for granted. Mayor Boyle then told council he wanted a frank discussion on the subject and Councillor Lossy Fuller noted that the interest rate on borrowing funds was an important consideration even if there was only a difference of half a percent. Assessment over $5 million Exeter’s taxable assess­ ment has taken a jump of $383,000 over last year ac­ cording to clerk Liz Bell. She told council this week that the total assessment in- 1979 will be $5,191,660. Mayor Derry Boyle com­ mented that when he joined council the assessment was just slightly over $1,000,000. Clerk Bell had some other good news for council this week, reporting that 96 per­ cent of last year’s taxes had been collected, leaving about $36,000 outstanding. “That’s good,” quipped Reeve Si Simmons. “If I After Clerk Liz Bell in­ dicated that the most the town ever borrowed at one time was $200,000, Campbell noted that at half a percent, that represented $1,000 a year. Campbell said that all the financial institutions in the town should feel ‘they are worthy of loaning council paid mine we wouldn’t have half that.” Building inspector Doug Triebner indicated to the T-- A earlier in the day that the total value of building per­ mits last year was in the $3,- 000,000 range. He expects to have a complete report for council’s next meeting. During the past month, the inspector approved per­ mits valued at $49,380, a large portion of that being for an addition planned by Lome Keller at 265 Thames Road E. Commercial renovations were also ap­ proved for Hawleaf the necessary funds. “We’re not getting any thanks for dealing with one person all the time,” Sim­ mons commented, noting that on mortgage funds, there was often a variance of between one-quarter and three-quarter percent among mortgage com­ panies. Developments, to finish off 50 Thames Road E.; 394690 Ontario Ltd., to renovate store at 430 Main; Al Gillett, to renovate store at 378 Main. Residential renovations were approved for the following: Alvin Epp, to repair porch at 386 Albert; Irene Harness, to renovate house at 77 John W.; Wallace Webster, to finish off basement at 382 Churchill; Fred Short, to repair base of wall at 60 Hillcrest; Fred Negrijn, to erect a garage and renovate at 302 Pryde. At that point, council prepared to vote on a bylaw that deleted the Bank of Montreal from the wording and replace it with “where we can get the best interest rate”, despite Boyle’s suggestion that the original bylaw naming the Bank of Montreal be passed as presented. He pointed out council could not pass a borrowing bylaw without naming a financial institution and the motion was withdrawn, with Simmons presenting a resolution that the clerk be authorized to contact all the financial institutions to determine the best interest rate and have a bylaw prepared for the next meeting. That was approved. “Does it give us enough time?’’ asked Councillor Campbell, after Mrs. Bell indicated she would soon need to borrow funds. “She may be down to borrow a few bucks from you”, Deputy-Reeve Don MacGregor quipped. Nursery school first phase Establish resource centre Starting next month residents of Huron Park and Stephen township will be able to avail themselves of the services offered by the Stephen township neighborhood resource cen­ tre. According to Thea Rothbauer chairperson of the 13 person steering com­ mittee and Kathy Prvde of Lines go galloping There have been some un­ usual sights in area council chambers, but- Tuesday night mav have topped them all. Candles adorned the chambers in Exeter . and Grand Bend, while at Lucan the clerk needed the aid of a flashlight to read the minutes. The problem was the same as experienced by all area residents, periodic hydro failures. They started around 5:00 p.m. and lasted for more than two hours. Peter Richards, at the On­ tario Hydro office in Clin­ ton, told the T-A Wednesday morning that the problem was occurring due to “galloping” on the 115,000 volt line in the Rannoch- Propsect Hill area. This occurs when the wind velocity and direction create the situation or when icy lines are whipped by the wind. SECOND TIME FOR AWARD — For the second consecutive year, Mary Ford, the caretaker of the Exeter Post Office has won the Building Excellence award in category 1. Making the presentatipn is district property manager Ed Lewicki. Boyle stands firm over five percent Exeter ratepayers will pay an interim tax rate of 90 mills again this year. That rate worked out very closely to half of last year’s total mill rate and Mayor Derry Boyle suggested that council would be “tied pret­ ty tight” to the five percent increase which the Ontario government is establishing this year. ■ Boyle said Tuesday night that the five percent in­ crease should be reflected in salary increases to town employees as well, “We have to be firm, but fair,” he suggested. “I’m hoping we can keep the mill rate around the the Huron County Family and Childrens Services, the idea for such a centre originated with the county agency but that industrial park’s residents have been involved in it since it was first proposed. According to Mrs. Rothbauer it was the adverse publicity received by the community during the Fleck Manufacturing strike which helped initiate the project. “What really started us out was the story (in the London Free Press) referr­ ing to the ghetto,” Mrs. Rothbauer said. As far as I’m concerned, I’ve never been ashamed of living in Huron Park. I could have moved out several times but I didn’t”. Funding of $28,056 will come from the Canada Works Program and will allow the program to be operational for one year. Mrs. Pryde said its hoped other sources of funding can be found once the Canada Works funds are exhausted. While the centre will have four functions; an informa­ tion centre, a recreation program, and an evaluation of the centre’s effec­ tiveness, the initial thrust will be the establishment of a co-operative nursery school. Mrs. Pryde said there is an urgent need for a nursery school in the community. She said parents will be urg­ ed to actively participate in the school’s running. same as last year and that the interim rate of 90 mills will be sufficient,” he add­ ed. Council also approved an interim rate of 20 mills for the special assessment for businesses contributing to the Downtown Business Im­ provement Area. Last year, their total levy Was 44 mills and there was no interim rate established. Clerk Liz Bell said the in­ terim rate this year would balance the tax load for the businesses and noted that it would also enable collection from businesses which may close before the final two in­ stalments. Registration date for the school has not been set but it’s expected to take place sometime in the middle of January. Mrs. Pryde said the com­ munity will decide what its needs are and the centre will then try to find ways to fulfill them. She said the centre won’t duplicate ser­ vices already- offered but should complement programs of other agencies, service clubs and the township. Location of the centre remains undecided but Mrs. Pryde said it should have its programs in operation by February. Ask Boyle to negotiate with press Exeter council’s position on matters being considered by the committee of adjust­ ment shouldn’t be reported* prior to the committee’s deliberations, Reeve Si Sim­ mons suggested this week. He told council that at the last hearing, over a matter pertaining to the sale of a building beside the com­ munity park to Stephen Printing, the committee members continually faced the suggestion from neighboring property owners that the issue was “cut and dried” because it had been reported in the newspaper that council had no objection. ‘ Simmons said reports of council’s debate on such matters shouldn’t come out in the paper prior to the committee of adjustment hearings. The Reeve said he didn’t think it was necessary for council to meet in closed session to discuss such topics, but said some way should be found to have the press withhold comment un­ til after the committee meets. Mayor Derry Boyle said he could see the problem be­ ing outlined by Simmons, but added, “show me how we can get away from it”. Simmons said he would leave that up to the Mayor and press to resolve. Boyle explained that the committee didn’t have to pay any attention to council, noting that council had no greater power than any other private citizen on matters being considered by the committee of adjust­ ment. “We have a absolutely no power over them,” he said. Simmons agreed, but said this was not the feeling of many citizens who suspected the committee made decisions based on council’s position. A motion was finally ap­ proved calling on the Mayor to work but a solution with the press. DAMAGE $1,000 Exeter OPP Constable »Larry Christiaen is in­ vestigating damage to four CNR signals in Stephen Township over the weekend. The signals damaged were located at County Roads 5, 4 and 21. Another was also damaged in the Lucan area at the same time. The damage has been es­ timated at$1,000. I imes - Advocate Serving South Huron, North Middlesex I . 'II • k jR Ww & North Lambton Since 1873 One Hundred and Fifth Year EXETER, ONTARIO, JANUARY 4, 1979 Price Per Copy 25 Cents PUC okay $39 write-off SKATING — Ann Baynham takes her daughters Brenyn and Shonyn for a glideFAMILY ! along the ice surface at the South Huron Rec Centre during moms and tots skating Tuesday afternoon. • T-A photo Lucan and Biddulph okay joint sessions near held br The councils of the village of Lucan and the township of Biddulph will be meeting in a joint session in the future. The meeting to be either January 31 February 1 was approved Tuesday night after being suggested by Lucan coun­ cillor Norm Steeper. Steeper in suggesting the meeting said, “I think we should meet once or twice a year to discuss matters of common concern.” Reeve Ivan Hearn agreed saying, “There certainly is some merit in such a meeting. County planning is a big thing in the near future. Biddulph and us have both said for’f our or five years that we could go together without too much hardship, but, we would have many things to straighten out.” During Tuesday’s Lucan council meeting a telephone ' call was made to Biddulph council, also in session and the upcoming meeting was agreed upon. Council learned from clerk Ed Melanson that the Ministry of Housing grant to help establish a com­ prehensive new zoning bylaw has been approved. In fact, half of the $4,027.50 grant has been received. The balance will be paid when the bylaw is completed with a deadline of November 30, 1979. To get a start on the zoning planning, council will be meeting with the village’s planning board and com­ mittee of adjustment on January 18 and 22. In other business, council: Authorized property committee members and works foreman Doug Johnston to make recom­ mendations on painting the outside of the water tower. Savings are piling up! In view of the festive holidays, the committee reports at Exeter council’s initial meeting of the year were spa rce. However, Councillor Ted Wright, chairman of the roads committee, indicated the town had already saved “thousands of dollars” in snowplowing and snow removal costs due to the lack of snow to date this winter. “I hope we just get enough for the snowmobilers and skiers and it doesn’t blow,” he added. A The Exeter PUC agreed Thursday to write-off $39 of the Exeter Agricultural Society bill from last year’s fair and some hope was ex­ pressed that the bill in the future will be lower if per­ manent hydro facilities can be included in the plans to redevelop the community park. Fair board members Garnet Hicks, Don Bray and Pat Down met with the PUC to outline their plea for a reduction in the $245.95 bill received for services provid­ ed for the fair. No injuries in collisions Learned that auditing of the village accounts for 1978 would begin January 22. Received word from engineer J. P. McIntyre that most of the problems con­ nected with construction of phase two of the Wilberforce Heights subdivision have been corrected. The Exeter OPP didn’t nab any impaired drivers in the area over the New Year’s eve period and also report that only three ac­ cidents occurred during the week, despite some icy roads. There were no injuries in any of the collisions, the first of which occurred on Friday when an unknown vehicle slid off County Road 5 in Stephen and hit a Bell Canada junction box. Constable Frank Giffin listed damage to t'he telephone equipment at $300. On Saturday, a vehicle driven by Francis Georgeff, Windsor, skidded on ice on County Road 2 in Hay and went into the east ditch and struck a tree. Damage to the car was $3,000, but there were no in­ juries. Constable Larry Christiaen investigated. The other accident, the first of the new year, happened on Monday when a vehicle driven by William Hoover, Crediton, skidded into a bridge on sideroad 20- 21 of Stephen. Damage was listed at $500 by Constable Giffin. THE SNOW — The heavy snowfall this weekTHROUGH gives Darren Wright and his pet a chance to get exercise. ,000 term deposit Manager Hugh Davis said that the costs had reached their current level because the PUC had to instal a pole and temporary lines each year to accommodate con­ cessions at the fair. Mayor Derry Boyle suggested that if permanent services could be installed they may pay for themselves. “The costs should come down,” agreed chairman Chan Livingstone. While Commissioner Murray Greene said he didn’t think there was any way the PUC could help the fair board, he did second Boyle’s motion to delete the $39 which had been charged for the PUC line truck. At Thursday’s meeting, the Commissioners also ap­ proved purchasing a term deposit in the amount of $5,- 000 for the hydro depart­ ment, bringing the total now on deposit to $11,000. Manager Hugh Davis said the term deposit would be used as a “cushion” in the event of an unexpected dis­ aster, such as an ice storm. Later in the session, they approved a term deposit of $10,000 for the water works department. This is to cover Debate on gifts is opened again Exeter council have received their usual re­ quests for donations from several charitable organizations, and despite objections from committee chairman Lossy Fuller, decided to turn them over to the social services com­ mittee for study and recommendation. When the motion was presented, Mrs. Fuller ex­ plained that council had passed them over to her committee in the past and each time the committee members have decided that council, should not make donations. “We feel it is double­ canvassing,” Mrs. Fuller explained. “I think we should say no.” Mayor Derry Boyle, who started the discussion by noting that council had turn­ ed down requests in the past because they “didn’t think people should be dinged twice — through taxes and personal donations” cast the deciding vote to turn the requests over to the com­ mittee. Councillor Ted Wright, who presented the motion, said council had followed the policy of not making donations in the past, but on occasions had broken down later in the year to give money to some groups. Last year, council gave $500 to the International Plowing Match banquet fund and also took out an adver­ tisement in a Boy Scout cookbook. such unexpected emergen­ cies as a pump replacement, Davis said. 1 In other business, the Commission: Increased the anticipated capital forcast to $110,000 for a sub-station in 1980. The facility had been included in last year’s forecast at a cost of $100,000. Agreed to pay -the $60 membership into the Huron Electric League in an effort to keep thdt organization afloat. The cost includes one meal for an employee of the PUC at the eight meetings held annually by the League. Livingstone noted that the League was designed primarily for private elec­ trical contractors, but said it was a valuable link and he would hate to see it fall by the wayside. The League noted that a minimum of 50 members would be needed to keep the organization go­ ing for 1979. Wrote off outstanding ac­ counts of $747.42 for the year, which Greene noted were the highest ever for the PUC. Davis agreed, saying that the community now has a very transient population , and “these people (write­ offs) just disappear”. MARY BLEWETT gw..a Student on T-A staff The Times-Advocate welcomes Mary Blewett to their staff for the month of January. Mary, a 23 year old native of Grand Bend, is working at the T-A as part of the journalism program at the University of Western Ontario. Mary is a graduate of North Lambton Secondary School in Forest where she was a photographer and editor on the school’s year book staff. She has an honors B.A. in English from Western and is a contributor to the U.W.O. Gazette. Since last May, Mary has been in the one year M.A, journalism program. She has also been working part time at the London Free Press, and doing some free lance writing. j