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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Lucknow Sentinel, 1997-10-08, Page 13Report 'distorts' true cost of road management o pgae 1 evaporate. Carnochan said the report "distorts" the true • cost of municipal road management, and in that sense, the savings of Muntz's privatized systema will not be there as indicat- ed. 'Under the • current sys- tem, the county, towns and townships spend about $20-inillion each year to maintain the 2,833 kilome- tres of road and 404 bridges in the county. Muntz considered four options of road manage- ment for the county, three of which offer potential savings. The first option would. keep the road, system as it is and allow the county and. municipalities to manage their own roads but would result in.no savings. The second option. would have local munici- palities" assume responsi- bility for the county roads within their municipality and eliminate the county road system. • This option, according to .Muntz, would save about $t -trillion by ee eliminating 30 per cent of the existing roads • equip- ment layingoff the equiv- alent of 21 full-time employees and closing half the township yards The' third option would.. have the county assume responsibility ,'for roads" and eliminate the 'local Municipal : road :systems. Muntz estimated this option would save $2.5 - million .with deeper cut- backs to staff and equip- ment. Less `graders' needed A big part of the equip- ment cutback would be a reduction in the number of county road graders. i►R„.. frnt , a:r$ filo nn„*,ter hale •. LL6atI ataat* tptt. L.�'.�•_aJ __.,, a."high density" of graders -- which • is good for local industry .but not cost effec- tive. Rather than disposing of old graders when new ones are purchased, the ' 'county has reportedly kept' many graders for use dur- ing peak winter periods. Muntz said such a prac- tice is dangerous. He did- n't deny the need for extra graders. during peak times, but in his opinion, the •extra graders should be contracted on an as -needed basis rather than owned by the county. He: said the county has to consider how long it wants to keep fixing its dead horse.. "You're ,sit- ting on a' (maintenance . cost) time bomb with that big stuff sitting around in your yards.” Contracting from ,the ;private sector was key to savings available' from Muntz's fourth option -- to privatize the roads system; 'He said :' this option would result in an estimat -ed savings. of $3.8 -million reducing' staff, equipment and, facilities by :approxi matel'y'half. • Muntz noted that although as many as 41 of 100 roads employee `equivalencies' might be laid off under privatize - tion, those people will find employment with the roads servicing companies:, thecounty will in turn hire. Muntz acknowledged the. L,„rement.. t.,IIL, 14o. t,,,/ . • •.ullaeala LYVV-1.14l tem usedby the county and the townships serves the special needs of Huron Cowaty roads at a cost belowthe provincial aver=, age, but he added council should ' .consider the "potential of privatiza- tion. He recommended • a Huron Road Service Corporation be formed. • • The corporation would. be a partnership between individual municipalities and a private road service contractor. The such a corporation, said Muntz,` is a middle ground between total, pri- vatization and the current system which . "steam rolls" creativity He said the input of a private con- tractor would introduce' "dynamics" • into thecoun ty roads system .to better: • serve the needs of the mar- ketplace. • The council' decided to send ,the roads study report to local councils arid. the Road': Superintendent's association for further, comment before a recom- mendationis brought back to county Ltaa'kno u Oei'blWir 03; idv i. 0 Page h LISA IS A A :leader in her community, an inspiration to everyone she meets -- Lisa is a start For the past seven years Lisa has given her time, energy and spirit supporting the Easter Seal cause. Last year she was recognized as an Ontario Junior Citizen, and honoured by the Ontario Community Wpw..nanvrs Ascnriafinn and the Lt. Governor of Ontario. We know there are stars in our community too. If you know a young person, aged 6 to 18, who is involved in worthwhile community service, a special person who is contributing while living with a limitation, or a youth who has performer' an act of heroism, help us make them stars in Toronto next spring.' Nominations will be accepted until October 31,1997. Contact this newspaper or the OCNA at 905-639-8720, Loc 230. JUONTARIOO __JUNIOTOCITIZEN C111Z6N OF YEAR STAR The four area schools were presented, with Remembrance. Day kits com- pliments of the Lucknow Legion, ,Branch 309.: Included in the kits are 'five videos, produced by the National. Film Board of Canada; the Canada Remembers ` book, and a teachers'; guide: "Canada's Coming of Age. 193945". Accepting the kits were Laurence Uyl, Lucknow Christian School; Joan Duckitt St, Joseph's; and Tim Burkett, 'Lucknow- Central. d Pyette'(second from right) Branch 309 president made the presenta- tion last week.: Brookside School willalso receive the kit.' (Livingston nt'/If r+1' M.y name is the .beginn.in'g' of „ply story, i'hromlli'the 1'N tintvenion do the «iifhtc o1 the ('hild, l/Nfl `E'! i ; `' •'' tYt)r/.'/ill to 1101.1 it/l't' Ito child A dt It11'd their right to 04, .ltorat to a UOicee Hank and rt nationalitg. Motu., i;ive rt'htn Ctt11.See the 'range box FAZPItiltand'tiln P"N11 1 I- <i,idt and .gilt:,. 1.t't Ike sterid negro. unicef4i ."I m4.1 N.nmo. ( Lddan • 1and Families Can. use their newspaper to read together, think together, talk together., What a marvelous family togetherness tool .Herare some practical tips to help improve:your child's reading skills: Read the newspaper to your child regularly •Talk about. what you're reading • Read the .newspaper together. •Let children' choose What they want to read ' * Encourage your child to read a newspaper every day: • The LuC IT.AtL STARTS WITH...NEWSPAP'ERS a