HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2019-10-10, Page 12PAGE 12. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2019.
Huron County Council has opted
to waive reimbursement from the
South West Integrated Fibre
Technology (SWIFT) project on the
advice of Councillor Roger Watt.
The reimbursement offer came as
a result of a budget recalibration for
the project, using each
municipality’s net contribution,
rather than its gross contribution.
The project, which aims to lay fibre
optic cable throughout southwestern
Ontario to improve its high speed
internet infrastructure, is now in its
second phase after the first phase,
business case development, was
completed.
While municipalities impacted by
the budget recalibration would have
the opportunity to claim or waive
their refundable amount, Watt,
council’s representative on the
SWIFT board, suggested it would be
foolish to claim it.
In general, Watt told councillors at
their Oct. 2 meeting, failing to waive
reimbursement would result in a
reduction of the project budget that
is equal to four times the difference
between the gross and net
contribution. In Huron County’s
case, Watt said that would mean the
loss of nearly $1.4 million worth of
investment in the project based on
the refundable portion of $343,978,
which is why he suggested waiving
the reimbursement. He also said that
the county’s budget could be
impacted by accepting the refund,
translating to $634,975 that would
need to be paid under the new
budget.
Council accepted Watt’s advice
and chose to waive potential
reimbursement from SWIFT. Watt,
who has worked in information
technology his whole life, has
proven to be a valuable advisor for
the county when it comes to the
SWIFT project.
Watt also told councillors that
while cell phone reception issues in
Huron County were not specifically
targeted by the SWIFT infras-
tructure, their improvement could be
a beneficial byproduct of the fibre
optic cable.
Council passed the motion on the
floor to waive reimbursement from
the SWIFT budget.
Continued from page 1
Road 4 (Queen Street) will be closed
from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. for
the Blyth Business Improvement
Area (BIA) Santa Claus parade.
The cost for the closure, which
includes staff time, is estimated at
$480 per parade, which will be
charged to the Economic
Development Department’s budget.
***
North Huron Township Council
approved a one-year extension on
the Wingham Trailer Park Operating
Agreement, allowing the Wingham
Branch of the Royal Canadian
Legion to continue to run the site.
The agreement was a stop-gap
measure as staff advised council that
the Legion wanted to be able to deal
with residents of the seasonal park in
perpetuity, and notify them if
ownership was to change next year.
Council approved the extension
with the caveat that, if staff needed
to access the property for research
purposes to determine the future of
the property, they could do so.
The property was recently listed as
a possible development site by staff
when council tasked them with
finding solutions to the critical
housing shortage in the community.
***
North Huron Township Council
will have a difficult decision to make
in the near future after the
catastrophic engine failure of the
2001 Bomag BC571RB unit used
for compaction at the Wingham
landfill site.
The unit, which compacts garbage
through weight, will extend the life
of the landfill substantially Director
of Public Works and Facilities Sean
McGhee said.
McGhee said that, after spending
$75,000 on the unit in the past two
years, he couldn’t advise spending
any more on it.
He said that, with the problems the
unit has had, he couldn’t guarantee
that any repair would last, saying
there was no telling how long the
unit might run if it were to be
repaired.
Replacing the unit with a low-hour
used unit would cost nearly
$400,000 McGhee said, once again
impressing how important the unit is
in maintaining the life expectancy of
the landfill site. Currently, the
municipality has $113,900 that
could be used as a down payment on
such a unit.
A report on council’s options will
be presented at the Oct. 21 regular
meeting of council.
County waives SWIFT refund
New compaction unit needed
Hi, my name is...
F.E. Madill School in Wingham was the place to be on
Tuesday morning to hear from Huron-Bruce candidates in
the Oct. 21 election. The school hosted a meet-and-greet
and debate with the candidates to better inform students
before they went to the polls. Here, Conservative Ben Lobb
greets a pair of students. (Denny Scott photo)
NOTICE OF PUBLIC MEETING
REGARDING THE NORTH HURON
COMMUNITY IMPROVEMENT PLAN
TAKE NOTICE that the Council for the Corporation of the Township of
North Huron will hold a public meeting on Monday, October 21, 2019
at 6:00 p.m. in the North Huron Council Chambers at 274 Josephine
Street in Wingham to consider amending the Community Improvement
Plan (CIP) for North Huron under Section 28 of the Planning Act,
R.S.O. 1990 as amended.
The PURPOSE of the public meeting is to consider the proposed
amendment to the Community Improvement Plan (CIP) to add the
Structural Grant Program, a new incentive program that would allow
applicants proposing significant structural work and met criteria for
improving accessibility, safety, energy efficiency, and increasing mixed
use of commercial/residential to be eligible for available funding.
The EFFECT of the CIP amendment is to add a second grant program
for eligible applicants and provide financial incentives for investment in
rehabilitation, development and redevelopment of the buildings within
the commercial areas of downtown Wingham and Blyth. A section
describing the Grant for Structural Work, its intent for a successful
application, and eligibility criteria would be added to the CIP and the
corresponding North Huron CIP Application would also be amended to
reflect the second program.
ANY PERSON may attend the public meeting and/or make written or
verbal representation either in support of or in opposition to the
proposed CIP amendment. If a person or public body does not make
oral submissions at a public meeting or make written submissions to
the Clerk of the Corporation of the Township of North Huron at the
address below before the proposed CIP amendment is adopted, the
person or public body is not entitled to appeal the decision of the
Council of the Corporation of the Township of North Huron to the Local
Planning Appeal Tribunal, and may not be added as a party to the
hearing of an appeal before the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal unless,
in the opinion of the Tribunal, there are reasonable grounds to do so.
IF YOU WISH TO BE NOTIFIED of the adoption of the CIP
amendment, or the refusal to adopt the CIP amendment, you must
make a written request to the Clerk of the Township of North Huron at
the address below and such request must include the name and
address to which such notice should be sent.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION Text showing the proposed
amendments to the Community Improvement Plan are available on the
Township website (www.northhuron.ca) and at the municipal office
(274 Josephine Street, Wingham).
Carson Lamb, Clerk
Township of North Huron
274 Josephine St, Wingham N0G 2W0
401 Albert Street, Box 340, Brussels, ON N0G 1H0
Phone: 519-887-6336 ~ Fax: 519-887-6438
email: riversidefuneralhome@hotmail.com
www.riversidefuneralhome.ca
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Volume 34 No. 49
RESPONSE- Pg. 3
Morris-Turnberry Mayor
calls for autonomy
CONCERT- Pg. 6
Brussels Ministerial comes
together for show
FUNDING - Pg. 2
Education Minister in
Blyth to hand out grants
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:
Seaforth’s Fisher elected Huron East Deputy-Mayor
4-H Clubs
awarded
Seaforth Councillor Bob Fisher isHuron East’s new deputy-mayor,besting two others who put their
names forward at the inaugural
meeting of Huron East Council onDec. 4.Fisher, Tuckersmith Councillor
Ray Chartrand and Grey Councillor
Alvin McLellan all let their namesstand for the municipality’s second-
in-command position. This came
after Huron East eliminated the at-
large deputy-mayor position,
reducing the size of council from 12members to 11 just ahead ofOctober’s election.
It was Fisher who nominated
Chartrand for the position.Chartrand then paid the favour backby nominating Fisher. Former
Deputy-Mayor Joe Steffler
nominated McLellan for theposition.Fisher told his fellow councillors
that he has lived in the community
for over 40 years. In addition, he has
been a councillor for 12 years and
spent nearly 40 years in business, allexperience he felt would aid in beingthe deputy-mayor.
Fisher also listed a number of
projects he’d like to see undertakenor continued both in Huron East andin Huron County.
In Huron East, Fisher said he
wanted to see the municipality’scommunity centres better utilizedand to promote a harmonious
relationship between residents
of all of Huron East’s five wards.
At the county level, Fisher said he
wanted to see a greater focus ontourism, saying that Huron Countycould easily be the Prince Edward
County of southwestern Ontario. He
also said that while the county’saccessibility advisory committee hasdone a lot of great work, there is still
more to be done.
Fisher also said that, as someonewho is legally blind, he also hopedthat being named deputy-mayor
would inspire others with disabilities
saying that if they “get [their] ass off
the couch and do something” like he
has they can accomplish anything.McLellan said that his decades ofexperience as a councillor and on
numerous boards and committees
would make him an ideal choice forthe deputy-mayor position.He said that being self-employed
would ensure that he wouldn’t miss
any meetings, adding that he hates tomiss any council meetings.He said he had been asked if he
The Huron County 4-H Leaders’
Association Awards Program wasrecently held at the SeaforthAgriplex, recognizing 4-H members
for their efforts throughout the year.COUNTY AWARDSLoretta Higgins won the Murray
Cardiff Award for Top All-Round
Member.The Don Pullen Award for highestoverall score in the county went to
Evy Verschaeve. She also won the
Dedication Award for dedication tothe club. The Warden’s NoviceAward for first year competitive
member with the highest score went
to Emily Datema. The Ben Lobb Award for thejunior member with the top essay
went to Kayla Drennan.
Emily Franken won the OntarioPlowmen’s Association Award foroutstanding agricultural 4-H
member as well as the Longstanding
Graduating Member Award. Shealso received her graduation seal.The Citizen-Rural Voice Awards
for press reporter book competitionawards went to Dugald McIntosh(first) and Mercedes Prout (second).
The Huron County 4-H Leaders’
Association Award for clubsecretary book competition wereawarded to Emily Bieman (first) and
Kayla Drennan (second).
The winning team for the countyGo for the Gold Competition wasthe South Huron Sheep Club Team
which consisted of Amanda Bos,
Rachel Gras, Grace Hallahan andEvy Verschaeve.The Top Gate Sign Award for the
White Christmas
The snow was falling on Friday night as Clinton held the
final Santa Claus parade of the Huron County season,
bringing residents and visitors out to the town to help
celebrate the holiday season. One of the main attractions of the
parade every year is the Clinton Pipe Band, seen here appealing
to the ears of all in attendance. (Nick Vinnicombe photo)Continued on page 12
REALIZE YOUR DREAM
IN IT TO WIN IT: brought to you by the Libro Prosperity Fund, Wingham BIA, North Huron Economic Development Committee, Huron County Economic Development and Community Futures Huron.
Enter the In It to Win It contest to Win! $10,000 Prize Package.
Receive invaluable (mandatory) business training to give you a good foundation in your
dream to expand an existing business
or establish a new business on Main Street in Wingham.
Full details at www.northhuron.ca
Contest opens December 12
Applications will be accepted until January 25th, 2019 at 4:30 pm
Forms are available online or at theTownship of North Huron office
at 275 Josephine Street in Wingham
Email: inittowinit@northhuron.ca
or call the Project Co-ordinator
at 519-441-7629.
Continued on page 15
By Shawn Loughlin
The Citizen
Recipient will be announced in the last paper of the month.
Riverside Funeral Home will sponsor
one new subscription per month.
Call, email or fax your submission
to Riverside Funeral Home - include person’s name,
complete mailing address and your name and number.
541 Turnberry St., Brussels
519-887-9114
405 Queen St., Blyth
519-523-4792 The Citizen
Check out all our books at...
Rural Living & Local Authors
Specializing in
The Rural Reading Room
$2495
FROM IRELAND
TO THE QUEEN’S BUSH
Author Arnold Mathers’ Irish roots run deep in
these stories which weave a pattern about the
romantic pioneers that were his ancestors. His
great grandfathers came from Ireland and settled
in Huron County. His mother’s family farm was
called Queen’s Bush Valley Farm.
By Shawn Loughlin
The Citizen
Get information
on Huron County attractions
on the new
Stops Along The Way
website at
www.stopsalongtheway.ca