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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2019-02-28, Page 11THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2019. PAGE 11. The Citizen wants you to stay connected wherever you are in the world with an Electronic Subscription • Easy access • Read on your phone, tablet or computer • Perfect for travellers, students or snowbirds • Timely reading (no waiting for mail delivery) $3800 per year Go to our website and pay by Pay Pal or come into the office and pay by cheque, cash, credit card or debit The Citizen www.northhuron.on.ca 413 Queen St., Blyth 519-523-4792 541 Turnberry St., Brussels 519-887-9114 Summit Drive project given pre-budget approval The implementation of standard street lights on Summit Drive in Wingham will go ahead this year if all goes according to plan, but the changeover won’t be without complications according to North Huron Public Works and Facilities Director Shawn McGhee. Council granted McGhee pre- budget approval for the project, up to a total cost of $42,000, and the ability to use a single-source provider for the project instead of putting the project to tender. McGhee explained that Summit Drive has no conventional street lighting, and that, when the municipality looked to switch to light-emitting diodes (LED) lights in the rest of the municipality, it was decided to include the project. However, as McGhee explained, that changed after the municipality didn’t see the return it was hoping for from the LED changeover. “We anticipated doing this on top of the retrofit, as far as funding is concerned, but when the director of finance looked at the lights, we weren’t seeing the return on investment we had hoped for from the LED retrofit,” McGhee said. “As a result, we’re recommending this come straight out of the 2019 capital budget.” The project is complicated, however, as, when Summit Drive was initially lit, it was done through lights in each yard. Each of those 17 lights, however, was connected to the electrical grid before the homeowner’s meters, as they weren’t charged for the electricity to run them. As a result, however, there is no way to shut off the lights, meaning that, as part of the project, the lights will have to be disconnected from the grid while live. “Westario can’t disconnect the lights,” he said. “The cable will still be energized.” That fact, according to McGhee, made the project all the more important to pursue. After the current lights are deactivated, the homeowners can choose to keep the light and have it connected to their home system at their expense or it can be removed and the municipality will fill in the hole. Pletch Electric is the vendor for the project and McGhee said they are familiar with the underground infrastructure of the municipality, know about the live cables for the lights and understand the project. “We favoured someone familiar with it,” McGhee said. The new lights are expected to cost $34,000, installed, while $4,000 will cover the cost of Westario having to disconnect the live service of the existing lights. A $4,000 contingency fund is being built into the project due to its complexity. The project will see five new street lights with cobra-style heads installed on the street, from the same company that installed the new LED lights through the rest of the municipality. Deputy-Reeve Trevor Seip asked if replacing 17 lights with five lights would provide sufficient illumination of the street. “The diagram provided through the street light audit for RealTerm energy addresses that,” he said. “Five properly-designed street lights will replace 17 yard lights and provide better illumination.” Reeve Bernie Bailey asked if the design of the lights would be welcomed by the neighbourhood, and McGhee said they match the rest of the community for the most part, and that these lights will focus on illuminating the road, and not the outlying areas as the previous lights did. Council approved the pre-budget expenditure and the single-source vendor to have the project completed as soon as possible. By Denny Scott The Citizen Continued from page 1 and Emergency Services Training Centre for $3.5 million. The sale would allow the municipality to pay off the outstanding debt on the centre as well as relocate the new fire hall and public works shed inside of the municipality’s boundaries, thus saving on taxes. Council initially anticipated having $2.5 million left for the construction of a new fire hall and public works shed, however, it turned out to be closer to $2.2 million. While tenders have not yet been issued, it was reported previously that building on private property would cost between $318,538 to $667,238 more than that $2.2 million, or as much as 12 per cent of the municipality’s current 2019 budget. Council decided to pursue private land after a public meeting held in Blyth when ratepayers made it clear they felt the fire hall shouldn’t be located on Gypsy Lane, at the location of the Radford Memorial Baseball Diamond, or at the end of North Street. Fire hall, shed to cost $2.8 mil. Family day fun Earlier this month, the Belgrave Community Centre, as well as the surrounding grounds and the community itself, marked Family Day with special activities like a snow volleyball tournament and a free skate, shown above. (Quinn Talbot photo) Keeping the giving going Two years later, the International Plowing Match (IPM) 2017 executive committee is still giving back to the community from funds raised through the event. Above, Jessica’s House Residential Hospice in South Huron received $20,000 from the committee earlier this month. (Photo submitted)