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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1994-05-04, Page 6PAGE 6. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, MAY 4, 1994. HCBE votes to replace retiring supervisor An issue which was tabled at the April 5 meeting of the HCBE was resolved Monday. After considerable discussion, the trustees agreed to replace retir­ ing Supervisor of Program Arnold Mathers. Several trustees expressed con­ cern that failing to replace him would force the shift of too many responsibilities to the remaining staff. Norm Pickell, trustee for Goderich, said, "This board has no fat left to trim. Our staff to student ratio is now 1:10. The Waterloo school board has a ratio of 1:7. If we operated on the same scale, we Parents oppose joint-usage at Representatives from the Parent Liaison Committee of Central Huron Secondary School (CHSS) made a presentation to the Huron County Board of Education Mon­ day, disputing the positive factors of a joint-use school. The HCBE has been in negotia- Section 28 passes by 19-13 Continued from page 1 voted on with due process in the past. I do not intend to be dictated to by some foreign country south of the 401, just because two people down there have opposition to it. I think we should be standing up for this generation right here, and future generations, that we have the right to vote and run our own affairs the way we should. I think Huron County has come to the age of being able to run its own affairs without the dictatorship of Toronto. In South Africa people are lining up to vote under threat to their life. Here we are laying over and not even a shot fired." But Tom Tomes, Reeve of Stephen Township said that in his years at county council nothing had been discussed as much. He noted that at the county's strategic plan­ ning session in Benmiller on April 8, councillors had a lengthy debate and voted to adopt Section 28. "I think we realized that we have to be the ones to make a decision on what the voting structure of county council is, that we don't want to by leaving the chance of being dictat­ ed to by the ministry. This mightn't be perfect but it at least gives us the say and we can do it just by a coun­ cil vote." He pointed out his town­ ship would be losing a Winter does damage to Huronview, Huronlea The harsh winter weather of 1994 was not easy on the Huronview and Huronlea homes for the aged, the report of the Health and Seniors Committee to Huron County Coun­ cil on Thursday showed. One wing at Huronview was damaged because of burst pipes from the sprinkler system. Both Huronview and Huronlea suffered damage when ice and snow built up on the roof and created leaks in the roof. Lionel Wilder, reeve of Hay Township wondered if this was a continuing problem because "unfortunately Huron County does get snow". Wayne Caldwell, acting co-administrator, said it was felt that the problems were due to the unusual weather this year. All repairs are covered under warran­ tee, he said. *** Public meetings will be held this could hire almost 400 staff." Exeter Trustee Jim Chapman said, "We have already reduced staff by eliminating the transition years co-ordinator and the principal at the Learning Resources Centre." Mr. Chapman expressed an interest in selecting an acting supervisory officer (SO) so the board would remain flexible with staffing in the future. (An acting SO would come from within the HCBE system and would hold the position on a short term basis, two or three months at a time.) Mr. Pickell said the board should not limit themselves to an internal tions with the Huron-Perth Roman Catholic Separate School Board (HPRCSSB) for several months to determine if a plan could be devised which would allow for the sharing of facilities at CHSS. Bill Steenstra of the liaison com­ mittee, said the trustees should be looking at the social impact on the representative. John Doherty, reeve of Goderich, said he would support Section 28 as the representative of his council, but he felt there was no hurry to accept the change. He felt it would be better to continue with the status quo than adopt Section 28. "I think if the different municipalities had time to analyze the votes and (com­ pare) what they have now and what they'll have under Section 28, at least 12 municipalities will lose percentage wise." Jack Coleman, deputy-reeve of Stanley Township said he was opposed to any municipality having four votes. "I think our small municipalities are going to lose their identity." At the committee level each member will have one vote but at full council, some mem­ bers will have more votes. Councillor Hallam agreed about the danger for smaller municipali­ ties. Under the proposals of the Sewell Commission, he said, plan­ ning restrictions would make it dif­ ficult for rural townships to grow, so their influence will dwindle on a representation by population voting structure. Robert Fisher, reeve of Zurich, argued that the size of council sim­ ply has to be reduced. He pointed to the Huron County Library Board which, under provincial legislation, spring to discuss the Huron County Library Board's strategic plan which will recommend closure of some branches. Meetings will be held with the councils of all munic­ ipalities involved including West Wawanosh, Morris, Turnberry, McKillop, Grey, Howick and Stephen, said Beth Ross, chief librarian. One reeve, Bob Hallam of West Wawanosh, indicated he wasn't going to accept closure quietly. "At this time I'm not ready to bow down and give in and have Auburn shut down," he warned. *** The architect selection process has begun for two large county pro­ jects, the renovation of the old Huronview building at Clinton and the renovations to the Huron Coun­ ty Courthouse. search. Director of Education Paul Car­ roll said, "In my opinion, this orga­ nization would be sorely tried to deal with another re-organization if there were no replacement for the retiring SO." "It may be possible in the future to make that change when a decen­ tralized decision-making system is in place, but we are not set up for that change yet," he said. HCBE Chair Graeme Craig said, "We decided not to eliminate a trustee a few months ago so I would find it very difficult to accept the elimination of an SO." students in a shared school instead of just at the economics. "A Catholic against Protestant situa­ tion could develop." Susan Beard of the committee presented a detailed paper on the problems the parents' committee saw in the proposal for a joint has 15 members. "Now to me that is bloody ridiculous. It's way out of line." He argued that accepting Section 28 wasn't "written in stone" and a private member's bill could be rein­ troduced at any time to change the voting structure. But Deputy-Reeve Coleman wondered how such a change could be brought about. Only one munici­ pality was originally opposed to the one-member, one-vote proposal, he said, but others then changed their minds. Tom Cunningham, reeve of Hul- lett Township, said the current provincial government doesn't understand what is happening in rural Ontario. "Let's let them know," he urged in arguing against giving in to the pressure from above. "In two years we are going to have a different government making the rules." He called Sec­ tion 28 a short-term solution. He conceded that the councillors prob­ ably made a mistake in not giving Goderich more than one vote in the proposal that went to the province. Lionel Wilder, reeve of Hay Township, argued that there are 26 municipalities in the county but six dominate 20 others. "Now if we are going to give multiple votes to the giants, the little puppies are going to fall by the wayside. I'm not fighting for Hay Township because we're in the middle (by population size). I'm fighting for what is right, and to me it was wrong for the Minister to say no with only six municipalities objecting." He sup­ ported Reeve Doherty's motion to re-examine the situation. "This is not right, ladies and gentlemen. It's wrong!" Pat Carrier, reeve of Bayfield, argued that council was going to have to downsize sooner or later and this would accomplish this on a short-term basis. The situation could be changed after the next election, she said. But Howard Armstrong, reeve of Stanley argued "it's absolutely unacceptable for people to suggest we can change it in three years because it doesn’t happen that easi­ ly." In two recorded votes, however, the passionate arguments against the change were defeated. First a motion to table the issue was defeated, then the motion to adopt Section 28 was accepted by a 19-13 count. Mr. Craig spoke in favour of replacement by saying, "There are several major issues before the board such as the joint venture with the Catholic school board, al Cen­ tral Huron Secondary School. The many new challenges placed before the trustees and the board must be dealt with to protect our interests and our school system." A recorded vote was held with triose in agreement with hiring a new SO taking nine votes and those wishing another alternative having six votes. Local trustees voting for the replacement were: Graeme Craig, McKillop Twp. and Seaforth; Doug CHSS school. She listed several examples where the program had been tried in other areas and more than half had failed. Some of the issues for considera­ tion, as outlined by the committee, included a long-term lease for space with the provision for rene­ gotiation, identification of a defined entity, and what classrooms would be used by the new entity, parking space, identify areas for an addition or portables, joint use areas and custodial staff. The parents' committee was also concerned about an estimated cost to the HCBE of $5,000,000 for the venture. Director of Education Paul Car­ roll says the estimate was for gov­ ernment funding purposes and had at least $1,000,000 included which was not associated with the expan­ sion and renovation of CHSS. "The costs of the project would be funded by the Ministry of Edu­ cation and Training and the Catholic school board taxpayers. -The only costs to the HCBE and their ratepayers would be in areas unassociated with and unnecessary to the move, but improvements which were mutually agreed to by both boards," he said. The trustees listened to the com­ mittee's objections and suggested they present the same concerns to the HPRCSSB. Mr. Carroll also ensured the committee that every effort would be made by the board to provide them with all available information on the issue. Ideal Gifts "Magic Makers" Plates & Frames from Bradford Exchange D.H. Ussher Frederick Dicks Winston Roland Happiness is SUGAR & SPICE Specialty Gift Baskets Collectables from: Precious Moments, Cherished Teddies, Miss Martha & Maud Humphrey Bogart Limited Edition Prints - framed Garniss, Morris and Turnberry Twps. and Don McDonald, Grey Twp. and Brussels. Vicki Culbcrt representing Ash­ field, East and West Wawanosh and John Jewitt representing Hul- lett Twp. and Blyth voted against the motion. Recession drives welfare up The recession has cost Huron County taxpayers dearly, the annu­ al report of John MacKinnon, administrator of Social Services showed. In 1990 the cost of welfare was $1,297,516. By 1993, it climbed to $5,107,953, an increase of 294 per cent. The county's 20 per cent of the cost of welfare was only $335,457 in 1990 but climbed 219 per cent to $1,070,646 in 1993. During 1993 welfare costs increased 19.66 per cent over 1992, leaving the county with a deficit of $69,863.25. Meetings begin, Mon. Continued from page 1 owners and neighbours can gain more information. The meeting for the Colbome Cl and C2 sites will be held Monday, May 9 at the Col­ bome Township Hall, Carlow, at 8 p.m. The other two sites will be dealt with at a meeting on Thurs­ day, May 19 at the Colbome Town­ ship Hall. The West Wawanosh meeting will be Friday, May 13 at the Dun­ gannon Senior Citizens Centre. The McKillop meeting will be held on Monday, May 16 at the Seaforth and District Community Centres. The Ashfield meeting will be Tues­ day, May 10 at the Lucknow and District Community Centre. Warden Gibson, when the discus­ sion had ended, declared he would be taking no part in further debate at the county level because of a conflict of interest. "I hope you will appreciate that as an interested land owner I might show up at the meetings and ask a few questions," he said, to chuckles from around the council chamber. FREE DRAW for a Sandra Kuck framed print, with any purchase Draw to be made May 7