HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2019-07-25, Page 18PAGE 18. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JULY 25, 2019.
Phelan urges M-T Council to
learn from Blyth Creek Drain
Jim Phelan wants the tale of the
Blyth Creek Drain to remain with
Morris-Turnberry Council as it goes
about other drainage petitions in the
future.
Phelan is one of several
landowners who opposed the work
currently scheduled for the drain, a
process that has taken five years and
is far more expensive, in his opinion,
than necessary.
While the applying landowner
wanted the drain cleaned out (a
section 74 process), a
miscommunication resulted in
significantly more work being done
on the drain (a section 78 process).
As a landowner on the drain, he is
being charged part of the $440,000
the project will cost, less a one-third
grant available for landowners.
Phelan holds that the drain didn’t
need the kind of work the plan calls
for, instead saying it requires only a
clean-out.
To illustrate that fact, Phelan
claims that, with the removal of
beaver dams, the flow of the drain
has been restored to where
landowners want it without the
$440,000 project.
While Phelan said that the
necessary work could have been
done for $18,000, he said he isn’t
trying to get the current plan
changed, but did want council to
keep in mind what happened when
members consider other drainage
projects.
He also said that drainage projects
should be handled in a timely
manner. The Blyth Creek Drain
project has been on council’s plate
for five years, which Phelan put into
context by saying two mayors, two
clerks and four different drainage
superintendents.
“I’m appealing for more
consideration of financial difference
when council considers section 78
drain [projets] in the future,” he said.
“Any existing drain should be given
a section 74 clean-out first, then
[work under section 78] if necessary.
It would be a major savings for
landowners.”
Mayor Jamie Heffer, who has
been on council throughout the
entire Blyth Creek Drain process,
said he has learned that the
communication factor in drain
projects is paramount going
forward.
Deputy-Mayor Sharen Zinn, who
has also been on council for two
terms now, said she would take
Phelan’s comments to heart when
dealing with future projects.
Phelan said he hopes that future
landowners aren’t saddled with such
expenses.
By Denny Scott
The Citizen
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Before the school year let out, the Blyth Lions Club sent a few members to Hullett Central
Public School to discuss Canadian pride with the school’s Grade 1 students. Here, Youth
Opportunities Chair Shawn Loughlin, right, and Lion Lisa Bromley are seen with the students,
who were all presented certificates and Canadian flags to demonstrate their patriotism. (Photo
submitted)
NH council sets
museum committee
North Huron Council approved
the North Huron Museum
Committee’s membership on
Monday night by amending its
committee appointment bylaw.
The committee, which will
invesigate moving the currently
closed-to-the-public museum to a
potential new home, will include 11
members, five representing local
organizations and six at-large.
The five members representing
local groups are Doug Kuyvenhoven
(Wingham Business Improvement
Area), Bill Farnell (the former
Friends of the Museum Committee),
Verna Steffler (the Alice Munro
Festival of the Short Story
committee), David Wall (the Barn
Dance Historical Society) and Dixie
Lee Arbuckle of the Wingham and
District Horticultural Society.
The six at-large members include
Betty Lou Cull, Brock Vodden, Joan
van der Meer, Julie Hamilton, Mary
Margaret Kinsmen and Paula
Mackie.
Council also invited those who
had applied to the committee but
weren’t selected to attend meetings
and provide feedback.
Through the same amendment,
council also made several other
changes to the committee
appointment bylaw, including
naming representatives to the cross-
border servicing agreements
committee (Reeve Bernie Bailey,
Deputy-Reeve Trevor Seip and
Councillor Anita van Hittersum), the
water protection steering committee
(Councillor Ric McBurney) and the
Sustainable Huron Committee
(Councillor Paul Heffer).
Flying for O’Reilly
Huron East’s municipal offices in Seaforth, alongside local
businesses, are flying the colours of the Stanley Cup-
winning St. Louis Blues in preparation for a visit from
Huron’s own Ryan O’Reilly on July 25. (Shawn Loughlin photo)
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