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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2000-03-08, Page 6PAGE 6. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 8, 2000. County’s NMP expertise impresses province Huron County’s expertise in nutrient management plans may be called on by the provincial inquiry looking into large livestock opera­ tions, Huron-Bruce MPP Helen Johns told county coun­ cil, Thursday. Johns said Doug Galt, par­ liamentary assistant to the Minister of Agriculture, Food nd Rural Affairs, who heads the committee with Toby Barrett, parliamentary assis­ tant to the Minister of Environment, had been impressed with the presenta­ tion made by Huron County Senior Planner Wayne Caldwell both at a Clinton hearing in January and at the Robin Dunbar Grey reeve heads library assoc. Congratulations were offered at Thursday’s county council meeting to Grey Twp. Reeve Robin Dunbar, elected president of the Ontario Library Trustee Association for 2000. Dunbar, chair of the Huron County Library Board, was elected to the position at the Ontario Library Association Super Conference in early February. County council briefs Huron County is requesting the province enact a regula­ tion specifically enabling counties to allocate policing costs by workload and levels of service. The action follows a court challenge by the Town of Goderich which claimed policing costs should be allo­ cated across the county on a basis of assessment. The county had originally passed a bylaw calling for county-wide policing with the costs to each municipality based on its level of service. Because of the challenge by Goderich and a challenge by Wingham, the county repealed the bylaw, leaving municipalities to negotiate their own arrange­ ment with the OPP. Goderich’s proposal would have saved the town $271,000 a year while boosting the costs of rural municipalities. Rural Ontario Municipal Association conference in Toronto, Feb. 22. “They’re looking to utilize Wayne,” Johns said following Caldwell’s presentation to the full county council. Caldwell noted that Huron is a leader in the field with Grey Twp. being the first municipality in the province to require preparation of a County council considers new structures With amalgamation reduc­ ing the number of county councillors from 26 to 18 members come Dec. 1, Huron County council is looking at restructuring options to try to give as much input as possible to the remaining members. The council’s strategic planning committee has been given authority to continue to explore changes to the struc­ ture of council including such alternatives as reducing the number of committees because there aren’t enough councillors to fill the current slate or holding two full council meetings a month so committee business can be dealt with by the entire coun­ cil. Jack Coleman, reeve of Stanley and a past warden, warned against the proposal to reduce the number of commit­ tees. “I do not feel this is the time we should cut back the number of committees,” he said. “Some of the committee meetings will be far too long.” Better, he suggested, to reduce the membership on the committees to four council­ lors instead of the current six. But Goderich Twp. Reeve Laune Cox explained there was concern it might be hard to have a quorum at meetings if there were too few people on a committee. Mason Bailey, reeve of Blyth, warned that with fewer councillors there will be a lot less representation. “I have a feeling we can compensate by nutrient management plan (NMP) to obtain a building permit for large livestock operations. The county made several recommendations to the Galt- Barrett hearing. But Goderich Reeve John Doherty defended Goderich’s position. Goderich pays 13.4 per cent of all county services and therefore pays 13.4 per cent of the county road sys­ tem, yet has no county roads within its boundaries. Goderich paid for all its own 911 preparation but also had to pick up its 13.4 per cent share of setting up the system in rural areas, he said. The repeal of the county bylaw also left Goderich in a position of paying the entire cost of court security. The county, under the bylaw, had agreed to share the cost of supplying police officers for security during court sessions at the court- house. A request from the Goderich Police Services Board for cost shar­ ing was tabled by the adminis­ tration, finance and personnel Continued on page 7 The size of the proposed livestock facility should be a factor in the severity of the requirements. Existing regula­ tions are adequate for small operations but larger opera­ tions should require an NMP and very large operations might be subject to a height­ ened level of provincial scrutiny. For such very large being a lot more open to the public,” he suggested. “If the democratic process is to con­ tinue we have to find ways to compensate (for fewer coun­ cillors).” Wingham Reeve Bruce Starting in March, 2000, you will have the power to choose your electricity from a number of companies. This important change will lead to greater competition and choice for you, the consumer. Naturally, if you're happy with your current supplier, you don't have to switch. Either way, what won't change is the safety and reliability of Ontario's electricity system. And to protect you, all electricity suppliers will be licensed by the independent Ontario Energy Board. In the near future, you'll probably be hearing from a number of new energy retailers offering a variety of price options for delivery of services beginning in November, 2000. So, if you have questions, or want more information, simply call our toll free number: 1-888-668-4636 Visit our website at www.est.gov.on.ca or e-mail: fyi@est.gov.on.ca It's Your Electricity Now it's Your Choice ® Ontario operations the province should consider require for­ mal provincial approval such as a certificate of approval from the Ministry of Environment for manure stor­ age facilities. The county suggests the province should evaluate the continued use of high-trajec­ tory manure irrigation sys­ tems which cause concerns Machan suggested the solu­ tion might be the twice- monthly meetings. Currently all councillors attend two meetings a month, one for the committee they sit on and one for the entire council. Machan for odour and surface pond­ ing. Quebec has banned the practice, Caldwell said. Dry forms of nutrient man­ agement could provide a solu­ tion to the majority of the problems associated with large livestock operations, Caldwell said. In the U.S. there are encour­ aging results with dry sys­ tems, he said. said Wingham’s experience was councillors were better informed having two full meetings rather than commit­ tee meetings. Norm Fairies, reeve of Howick, agreed with this NMPs need to be enforced, and the county’s report sug­ gests the province look at the situation in Manitoba where five per cent of all large oper­ ations have their plans audited each year. There should also be more local advisory groups like the Huron Farm Mediation Committee to review complaints of non- compliance. approach saying it was diffi­ cult for councillors to stay on top of issues through just committee reports. The strategic planning com­ mittee will continue to study the issue.