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$1.25 GST included Serving the communities of Blyth and Brussels and northern Huron County Thursday, January 10, 2019
Volume 35 No. 2
SILVER STICK - Pg. 8
Local team travels to Pelham
after Kincardine tourney win
INNOVATION - Pg. 10
Terpstras use out-of-the-
box thinking at farm
CONTEST WIN - Pg. 3
Blyth student claims
provincial essay crown
Publications Mail Agreement No. 40050141 Return Undeliverable Items to North Huron Publishing Company Inc., P.O. Box 152, BRUSSELS, ON N0G 1H0
INSIDE
THIS WEEK:
County Road 12
work takes shape
North Huron Township has
withdrawn zoning bylaw charges
against East Wawanosh residents
who had been facing charges
relating to the building code.
Jacob and Isaac Stutzman had
charges laid against them as a result
of building code issues regarding a
property severance with the AG-4
zoning designation.
The township received a
complaint last year, according to a
press release issued in late
December. The complaint was
investigated and charges were laid.
After the charges were laid,
according to the release, the owners
worked with the township to resolve
the issues and, after a mediation
process began in late summer, an
agreement for resolution was
reached in September. The township
says the property owners are now in
compliance, resolving the issues
with the building code and the
township’s zoning bylaw.
On Dec. 21, the township
withdrew all charges against the
property owners.
While this was a North Huron
issue, it shed light on problems with
the zoning bylaws used by Huron
County municipalities that are put in
to place with the aid of the Huron
County Planning Department.
As a result of the incident, the
planning department became aware
that the AG-4 designation it
suggested municipalities use was in
contravention of provincial policies
regarding nutrient management
requirements and that a resolution to
that problem would be forthcoming.
Morris-Turnberry Council also
dealt with the issue, with ratepayers
airing concerns that the solution
proposed by the Huron
County Planning Department
sought to impose the same kind of
restrictions through another means.
According to Morris-Turnberry
Administrator Clerk-Treasurer
Nancy Michie, however, AG-4
designations were originally
intended to be residential properties
in rural areas and weren’t to have
any kind of agricultural operations
on them.
During Morris-Turnberry Nov. 20
meeting, she said that Huron County
had originally required barns or
agricultural structures to be severed
alongside agricultural land or be
demolished when the idea of an AG-
4 zoning was first considered at the
county level.
She said that, since that time, rules
have become more lenient, allowing
small-scale agricultural operations
on the properties.
The Huron County Public Works
Department and BM Ross are in the
final stages of preparing for a
massive urban renewal project for
County Road 12 through Seaforth.
Manager of Public Works Mike
Hausser and Project Manager Imran
Khalid both spoke to the project at
Huron County Council’s Jan. 2
meeting, explaining that the project
will be completed in two phases
over several years. While more
information is needed for phase two
of the project, it is estimated that
phase one of the project will cost in
excess of $5 million.
Khalid spoke to the project at the
meeting, saying that it would be a
partnership between Huron County
and Huron East. The RFP (request
for proposals) was awarded to BM
Ross in May, 2018.
He told councillors that the project
will involve the reconstruction of the
road, storm sewers, new sanitary
sewer mains and some of the water
system. Major benefits, he said,
would be the revitalization of the
Seaforth downtown core and the
extension of sewage servicing to
Egmondville.
Khalid said the project would be a
“significant undertaking”, hence the
phased approach to the project,
which will be similar in scope to that
undertaken in Brussels a few years
ago.
Each phase, he said, would be
approximately one kilometre in
length. The first phase would be on
Kippen Road from Front Street to
Lloyd Eisler Street, which has been
expanded to include the side streets
of Thompson and North Streets and
Silver Creek Terrace (the south end
of the main street).
Design for phase one has already
taken place, while construction will
begin this year, followed by top coat
paving in 2020.
Design for the second phase of the
project (the north end of the main
street) from Lloyd Eisler Street to
Highway 8 will take place this year,
followed by construction in 2020
and top coat paving the following
year.
Khalid said that in addition to
improving the main street through
Seaforth, there are many other
opportunities presenting themselves
as a result of the project.
He said that the lanes will be
widened for a shared bicycle route
with continued two-lane usage,
though there will be no formal
painted bike lane. The project will
also upgrade the storm drainage
system, extend the sanitary sewage
system to Egmondville and improve
pedestrian accessibility.
The Kippen Road (south end of
main street) portion of the project
will cost an estimated $3.85 million,
with the county paying $2.645
million and Huron East paying
$1.205 million.
Huron County will pay $188,500
of the $237,000 total cost of the
Silver Creek Terrace project, with
Huron East picking up the
remaining $48,500, while Huron
East will pay the entire $1.164
million cost of the North and
Thompson Streets project.
Due to the extent of the work
The transition to the Ontario
Provincial Police (OPP) covering
Wingham is set to commence in
February, however the final bill for
the changeover has increased
according to North Huron Chief
Administrative Officer Dwayne
Evans.
During council’s Monday night
meeting, Evans presented a report on
the changeover, as well as a final
contract that council approved.
That contract, however, included
some significant increases in cost for
Wingham ratepayers.
“This is an updated contract
proposal to reflect costs for 2019,”
Evans said, pointing to wages as one
increase.
With updated salary information,
radio system work and renovations
to the OPP dispatch office in Lower
Town, the costs were higher than
anticipated.
The radio system work and
renovations were one-time costs and
Evans explained the former was
originally estimated at $30,000, but
could now cost as much as $50,000.
The renovations, another one-time
cost could cost up to $19,000 as
well, up from $14,000, according to
Evans’ report.
In total, Evans’ report stated that
the actual cost of policing would
come to $1,311,502 which is up
from $1,275,299.
Council approved going ahead
with the transition.
OPP transition costs to rise
Where we’re going...
In Back to the Future, it was Dr. Emmett Brown who said, “where we’re going, we don’t need
roads.” Well, as the Blyth Brussels Tyke Crusaders took on their neighbours to the north in the
Wingham Ironmen, where they were going, they didn’t need a score, as the scorekeepers
were given the night off and the teams played for fun. The Crusaders spent much of the game
in the Ironmen end, however, during the Saturday morning game at the Blyth and District
Community Centre – the sign of a strong outing for the home team. (Hannah Dickie photo)
Continued on page 20
By Denny Scott
The Citizen
By Denny Scott
The Citizen
North Huron withdraws zoning bylaw charges
By Shawn Loughlin
The Citizen