HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2003-06-04, Page 21THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 4, 2003. PAGE 21.
Huron East faces amalgamation growing pains
By David Blaney
Special to The Citizen
Growing from a community of
1,000 or 2,500 to one of 10,000 may
not seem like a large change but as
Huron East council is discovering
amalgamation, down-loading and a
host of new and expensive
provincial regulations are forcing
change on small municipalities.
Instead of one fire department
there are three. Instead of one water
system there are four. Instead of one
recreation centre there are three.
Instead of confined and compatible
geographic limits councillors are
faced with municipal boundaries
stretching from Molesworth on Hwy
86 to Hensall on Hwy 8.
But it is not quantity alone, which
causes problems.
Rural municipalities, which
formerly concentrated on roads and
to a lesser extent on the other
elements of infrastructure, are now
faced with competing demands
ranging from economic
development to municipality-wide
disaster planning.
The changing government
regulations have resulted in
dramatic increases in the cost of
water and sewage services to urban
residents as capital improvements
are required and increased
monitoring becomes a fact of life.
The municipality has gone from no
employees specifically dedicated to
this area to a department with three
employees making it their principal
concern.
The recent appointment of Marty
Bedard as the overall administrator
of the three fire departments and
emergency management co
ordinator is an example of expanded
responsibility thrust on the local
municipality. The volunteer fire
chiefs were finding too much of
their time occupied with paperwork
and the emergency planning
requirements were a directive from
the provincial government.
The subject of economic
development has been the focus of
considerable discussion at council as
councillors wrestled with the idea of
professionalizing a function, which
had previously been done by
volunteers. After a one year
experiment with the position of
economic development officer
Huron East has reverted to the idea
of a volunteer committee having
overall responsibility in this area.
However, it is now a committee for
the whole of Huron East and has a
town-supported budget.
Recreation is another area where
change has occurred. Previously
each recreation centre had its
manager whose principal job was
booking space and the maintenance
of the physical plant. The
appointment of an overall recreation
director led to the creation of more
programs and increased the usage of
the buildings but also led to more
staff and increased costs.
The recent movement of two staff
members from the Seaforth arena to
other jobs in the municipality means
that the recreation director will need
Families gather
Continued from page 14
Florida in a small private ceremony.
The many extended family at the
shower congratulated Karin and
can’t wait to meet Charlie at Lee
Ann’s upcoming wedding.
Family is everything and getting
together to celebrate is great. The
McGavin families gathered at Pine
Lake to celebrate Neil McGavin’s
to spend more time supervising the
arena and less time supervising
recreation in the municipality.
The state of daycare in Huron East
provides an interesting glimpse into
the conflict between councillors’
ideas about municipal responsibility.
Walton’s Little School is private.
Seaforth uses a co-operative model.
Vanastra has a municipal daycare
program. Vanastra has recently been
running a deficit of approximately
$60,000, which is covered by the
municipality. Seaforth Co-operative
was recently given a grant of
$10,000 to help them move their
facilities. Walton’s Little School
because of its status as private
enterprise is not eligible for
municipal aid.
Most councillors agree that
support should be provided but the
extent and nature of the support has
been the subject of fierce debate.
In the near future councillors are
scheduled to have a special meeting
,to resolve the situation. If previous
discussions are any indication the
result could be anything from
dropping daycare altogether to some
form of support for individual
families regardless of which model
of service delivery they chose. It
would seem unlikely however that
the status quo will be maintained.
The manner in which they areAs Huron East’s first councillors
near the end of their term many of
the major problems facing the new
municipality have been identified.
birthday. They had burgers and
potluck and a great afternoon
together.
Congratulations to Murray and
Olene Dennis on the birth of a new
granddaughter Rachel Louise.
Proud parents are daughter Elaine
and husband Steve Grosvenor of
Hyde Park. Big brother Kevin is
excited.
Taste tempters
Lynda McGregor gets some of her tasty pies out of the oven
for buyers at this year’s Blyth Festival Book Sale. The
desserts have become a popular item at the event. (Vicky
Bremner photo)
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