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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2004-05-06, Page 9SAVE up to $2 °C) a year Off the newsstand price If the newspaper you are reading was purchased at a newsstand... we have a deal for you! Having a subscription to The Citizen saves you money Newsstand price - $1.00/week Subscription price - 600/week Yes - I want to save money. Enclosed is $30.00 for a 1-year subscription Name: Address. Postal Code: Mail cheque & coupon to: P.O. Box 429, P.O. Box 152 Blyth, ON or Brussels, ON NOM 1H0 NOG 1H0 Town: L THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, MAY 6, 2004. PAGE 9. Belgrave residents consider water options A little explanation Paul McKee, a member of the water steering committee in Belgrave, explains one of the options for water service in the hamlet at an open house on Thursday night. The two-hour session was followed by a question and answer period. (Bonnie Gropp photo) By Bonnie Gropp Citizen editor Residents of Belgrave showed up at the arena on April 29 to learn more about the future of their water system. Currently. the hamlet has three small water systems, all of which will be needing significant upgrades to meet the new Safe Drinking Water Act 2002. As a result the councils of North Huron and Morris-Turnberry in which the' hamlet is located, have been questioning the economic viability of continuing with the current operations. R.J. Burnside and Associates Ltd. were engaged to complete a study which would look at alternative methods of providing cost-effective water service to all or part of the hamlet. Peter Somers, one of several Burnside representatives at Thursday's open house and question period said the-preferred option was one with lower operating costs and a lower total life _cycle cost. This solution would see a new pumphouse complete with reservoir. Water would be taken from the existing McCrae and Jane wells in Morris-Turnberry ‘ and the three distribution systems would be interconnected. Capital cost for this is $1,308,000 with annual operating and maintenance costs of $38,000. The total -life cycle cost is $1,951,000. Another option would see maintaining the three existing systems (the third is the Humphrey well in North Huron). The total life cycle cost on this is $3,479,000. A third option would see the construction of a new pumhouse and reservoir with upgrades to the Humphrey well. The total life cycle cost is $2,543,000. The final option is connecting to the Wingham water supply. The life cycle cost is $2,555,000. Somers explained that following the formal submission of the environmental study report there are still severals steps to take, beginning with a 30-day review period. The ultimate decision will rest with council. However, as clerk- administrator John Stewart told councillors at their meeting on Monday night, "there's a fair hit of work to do yet." According to information presented at the meeting, it is hoped that the federal/provincial OSTAR cost subsidy of 66.6 per cent will be available for the implementation of the selected solution. A cost-sharing between North Huron and Morris- Turnberry will need to be reached before any arrangments can he finalized with OSTAR. BUY? SELL? TRY CLASSIFIED GET CLICKING WITH THE CLASSIFIEDS! Now you can think locally and act globally at the same time, because when you place a classified ad in your favorite hometown paper, you'll also get a FREE electronic listing on our classified Web page! 523-4792 or 887-9114 The Citizen Morris-Turnberry residents bring concerns to council By Elyse DeBruyn Citizen staff Area residents attended the Morris-Turnberry council meeting on April 27 to express their concerns about the condition of the Turnberry- Culross boundary line after sending a petition fetter to the municipality regarding their concerns. The petition stated that Turnberry and Culross residents are concerned about the Turnberry-Culross road condition, especially the part located west of Holmes Road. For about six to seven weeks-each spring between mid-February until early April, that part of the road is almost impassable. The report said the road is "like a quagmire of mush, clay-like material and totally covered with potholes of quite a depth. The road seems to be made of inferior materials and is very poorly drained at this point for about 1.000 to 1,500 feet to the west of Holmes Road." Brent Bowyer, spokesperson for the concerned residents, said the safety and access of the Turnberry- Culross road is dangerous and many people get their vehicles stuck in the soft, wet gravel, causing them to run off the road. He said the base of the road is not made of the proper material and there are pot holes throughout the road, causing many of the incidents. The petition said the residents feel that council needs to take action this year, so that the same situation doesn't happen in the future. Residents have no other route to take if they wish to get to Wingham in the winter and early spring months and hope that council will try to improve the road. Dorothy Kelly, mayor, asked Bowyer if he had approached Culross Twp. about the problem, but he hadn't as of April 28. Barry 0.'Kratka, public works co- ordinator for Morris-Turnberry, said he spoke to, some residents who signed the letter and decided to take a look at the area west of Holmes Line. with Dennis O'Malley. public works • co-ordinator for the municipality of South Bruce. 0' Krafka said the biggest problem is drainage and the solution would be to install a culvert. He also thought that A gravel would make a difference. He said he first thing to do is get the water level on the road doWn a little. Melting frost in the spring caused the water level to increase and. without proper drainage, it piled up. "We're looking at putting a culvert in around July. It can lower the water level two feet which should bring it to the bottom of the north side. Any base is not good if it's not drained properly," said 0' Krafka. He also said there is a six-inch catchbasin and drain on either side of the road. He is hoping the drain, which goes into a nearby creek, will hold the amount of water. Kelly asked the residents if they were pleased that O' Krafka and O'Malley had a plan for the summer and everyone agreed. Don Morrison said if the ditches were properly cleaned out, it would also help a lot. Bowyer said people are dumping garbage such as tires, bags of garbage and dirty diapers, at the corner of the Turnberry-Culross road and Morrison agreed that that is an ongoing problem they are also faced with. Morrison said he saw roof shingles being thrown onto the road and a blue Ford pickup truck drive away from the mess, but he couldn't find out who it was. Kelly said council would need proof of who had done this before taking action. Morrison said he found mail on the road from three different people. whom he thinks may be responsible and called the police, but nothing was done about it. "My main concern is that if the garbage isn't cleaned up, people are going to think it is a private dump," said Bowyer. He asked council for a by law for a tine if people are caught dumping garbage. Kelly said Bowyer would need to send a written complaint to Nancy Michie, Morris-Turnberry clerk. to start the bylaw process. "We'll see what we can do to help. In the mean time watch for licence plate numbers and please report them," said Kelly. No JEPP funds for N. Huron By Bonnie Gropp Citizen editor There was a setback for North Huron emergency preparedness plan with the announcement that they will not receive JEPP funding for the purchase of a generator. Clerk-administrator John Stewart told council Monday night that the township would have to re-apply next year. "It puts us in a real curve for our emergency services." Deputy-clerk Kathy Adams ex- pressed frustration, stating that "everybody else who has applied got it." Goderich, she said, has four generators and Morris-Turnberry got one and has applied for a second. "I was told generators are a high priority. I'm going to see how those around us do with their applications. 1 just don't understand We have never applied before while Morris- Turnberry is going fir a second one. I will be interested to see if they get this one," said Adams. Help protect the environment Reduce, reuse and recycle