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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2019-02-07, Page 19THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2019. PAGE 19. Lions, Threshers against Gypsy Lane fire hall Continued from page 12 needs to be changed. She said that the cusps of two hills on the road would need to be shaved down, the road itself isn’t wide enough for emergency vehicles, and there aren’t sidewalks and lighting. “Trucks are large and hard to manipulate and coming out of there would be a nightmare,” she said.“It makes sense to find private land at the North end of Blyth. “It would make everyone’s life so much easier.” Bedard said that trucks entering or leaving the site shouldn’t be a problem, as any fire hall would have a large apron. As far as specific paths for the fire trucks to take, that would have to be determined with council. Hickey also said that she had heard the majority of calls were north of the community, citing a statistic of 70 per cent she heard at an all-candidates meeting, however Deputy Fire Chief Chad Kregar said he couldn’t confirm that was accurate and that he felt calls were likely closer to 50/50. Former Reeve Neil Vincent, who presided over council when the ESTC was sold, said he has been following this issue closely for a number of years. “One thing I’ll say, when the previous council sold the ESTC, we went into lame duck because of the election,” he said. “That prevented us from doing further work on it. The new council had to take over. It was a bad circumstance of timing.” He said that Blyth Memorial Hall, where the meeting was being held, was completely renovated in eight months just a few years earlier, so building a new hall in 10 months could be done. Vincent called on council to acknowledge the significant concerns being raised by residents, before saying he agreed with amalgamating the two buildings into one. He said that building on the north edge of the community, over the two options presented, seemed beneficial and added that the right decision needed to be made for the village of Blyth. “The thing of it is, with firefighters getting to the fire hall, a location right off [County Road 4] at the north edge of the community is the best you will do in Blyth,” he said. “So what if you have to buy two or three acres. It’s going to be cheaper than redeveloping the road from North Street. Blyth resident Rick Elliott said he was concerned that costs of developing the proposed sites hadn’t been discussed beyond the cost of running water to the North Street site. He said North Huron hasn’t paved a municipal street in Blyth since amalgamation, and both North Street and Gypsy Lane need to be upgraded to make them viable solutions. “Those redevelopment costs should be part of this information,” he said. I don’t know why you can’t take the time to present that to us.” He said that if a site costs $1.8 million to build, but $2 million to redevelop, the public doesn’t have that information. Elliott also pointed out that Central Huron Council would likely want to re-evaluate the fire coverage polygons if the fire hall moves north of the village, resulting in less funding coming from Central Huron for fire protection. Elliott, like others, then asked why the ESTC was considered surplus when another building wasn’t ready for the fire department to move into, a decision that falls on the shoulders of the previous council. Chris Lee also asked what council would do if the new fire hall wasn’t ready in time for the Nov. 30 deadline. “Are we just parking trucks on the side of the road?” he asked. “Do we have a plan?” McGhee said there were options being considered, including putting the fire trucks back in the former fire hall, the public works shed that council had previously described as being in need of replacement. Further to that, McGhee said that any discussion with a design engineer has emphasized the fact that the project needs to be phased so an apparatus bay is available for fire trucks before Nov. 30. Citizen Publisher Deb Sholdice told council that the Blyth Campground, Blyth Lions Park and the annual reunion of the Huron Pioneer Threshers and Hobby Association are consistently held up as the “crown jewels” of Blyth’s ability to generate tourism. She said it was troubling that council would consider diminishing the campground. Todd MacDonald spoke to the disparity between facilities in Wingham and Blyth, saying that the “Taj Mahal” building that is the ESTC was a mistake, but North Huron continues to pour money into similar projects in Wingham like the North Huron Wescast Community Complex. “We, as a small village, just see so much money being poured into places and mistakes made,” he said. “We just don’t want to see another one happen.” Sandra Bos once again spoke, saying that, council, by considering the Gypsy Lane option, was setting up the Fire Department of North Huron and its firefighters to be attacked. “I understand a lot of time has been spent on this, but it’s been wasted if you thought this was viable,” she said. “Ask the taxpayers where they want to spend the money first, and I believe the answer to that is safety first.” Bedard said that council presented the two options to the fire department, and, given those limitations, the fire department felt Gypsy Lane was the better space. “They asked for our opinions and we are giving them what they would like,” he said. After some comments from council members, Les Cook said he wanted to make sure council took away the right message from the meeting. He said that neither of the options presented were good, but council needed to know that the Gypsy Lane site was completely inappropriate for a fire hall. “That ball park, that fairground is not an option,” he said. “We need to know council has heard us. That park is no longer an option... The campground is not an option for the fire hall. It already has a purpose.” BLYTH LIONS CLUB John Stewart, representing the Blyth Lions Club, said that while the club endorsed the fire hall being within or close to Blyth, there were concerns with the proposed locations. Stewart pointed out five concerns the club had with the Gypsy Lane location, saying that the Radford baseball diamond was constructed at considerable cost to the community. He said that, aside from the cost, there was substantial volunteer labour as well. He said that removing one of the two baseball diamonds would damage the community’s appeal to organizations looking to host baseball tournaments, which in turn will hurt community groups like the Lions, which benefit from those events. “Last year, during one tournament, the club realized $1,000 profit from the food booth,” he said. “One hundred per cent of that money is returned to the community.” He said there have been discussions to secure additional baseball tournaments, and that losing the diamond would shut down those opportunities. Lions Park, which includes a playground that has been built and maintained by the Blyth Lions Club was the next concern Stewart raised. He also said it was “difficult to comprehend” how firefighters would access the site during events like the Huron Pioneer Thresher and Hobby Association reunion. Finally, he pointed out that the baseball diamond is a memorial site erected in memory of George and Lila Radford for the family’s dedication to youth and activity in the community. “I trust council will give consideration to [the provided] information,” he said. HURON PIONEER THRESHERS Ray Hallahan, an East Wawanosh resident and former member of council who, like Vodden and Vincent, was part of the council that decided to sell the ESTC, spoke next on behalf of the Huron Pioneer Thresher and Hobby Association, which uses the baseball diamond every year as part of its annual reunion. Hallahan explained that the club is currently in its 58th year, and has supported the development of the campground. “In the past, our club purchased and developed parcels of land to accommodate our ever-expanding show,” he said. Hallahan said the organization just renewed a five-year joint use agreement with North Huron for the use of the campground, an agreement that has existed since before North Huron had amalgamated. “Our main concern with the relocation of the fire hall and our public works facility to the campground is the loss of space we use for our exhibitors, exhibits, working displays, daily parade and campsites,” he said, adding the campsite rental is the main source of revenue for the association. He pointed to the fact that the association already uses off-site land for parking and some events, stressing the need for the space. He also said that other organizations, including the Fire Department of North Huron, benefit from the annual event through fundraising opportunities. “The loss of this space would cause severe hardship in continuing our show, which is attracting many young people who have taken positions on our board or acted as a committee chair,” he said. COUNCIL RESPONSE After significant public feedback, some members of council spoke to the issue. Councillor Kevin Falconer said that he wanted the audience to know that North Huron had exhausted many private land options, which several public members had suggested would be better options than those presented. “We would be using them if we could,” he said. “If someone has land out there and is willing to sell, I’m all for it, but don’t think those options haven’t been looked at first before we came to this meeting.” Seip said that he was understanding of the concerns presented by the ratepayers, but buying and developing a piece of land could potentially cost more than using existing municipal land. Bailey reminded the ratepayers that, despite some people believing otherwise, a decision had not been made yet. He also said that, as far as private land goes, council can’t comment on negotiations with private citizens. The issue was set to be brought back to council on Monday evening during its regular meeting. LL-ATHE ROY O EBUTTRIR AST OORBIS ON plus t the music of AVELTHE TR SUN FEB 1 plus t yyt..Blwww.www 519-523-9300 423 Quee YYYTH MELYLYLYBLBLLYTHME 4242323 Queee 519-9--5252233--99300 wwwwwwww Bllyt LLING WILBUR 17 3PM - $39 the music of + SC eeestival.comthF 0 or 1-877-862-598 yytheeeet, Blen Str MORIAL HAEMORIAL HA en StStrreetett, Bllyth 0 or 1--877-7--86262-2--5598 thFFestiivaval.com YSR m 84 ALLALL 884 m Recognition On Tuesday, Julie Sawchuk, right, was proud to announce that Blyth Cowbell Brewing Company has received the Accessibility Certified Gold rating from the Rick Hansen Foundation Accessibility Certification (RHFAC) program. The brewery is the first in Canada to receive the status and first private business in Ontario to be recognized. The award recognizes the brewery’s score of 90/100 through the RHFAC program. Cowbell Chief Development Officer Grant Sparling also spoke at the event, thanking Sawchuk, Mikayla Ansley, Lorie Falconer and Cheryl Peach, local accessibility advocates, for their efforts in helping Cowbell achieve its successes in designing an inclusive space. (Denny Scott photo)