Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2006-05-04, Page 36Welcome Former Blyth resident Kriss Snell is the new clerk- administrator for the Twp. of North Huron. Snell and his family, wife Jodi and daughters Masyn, four and Jordyn, two, currently reside in Wroxeter. Since arriving at the Wingham office Snell, who was most recently clerk of North Perth, has been getting to know the people and evaluating the differences between the two municipalities. (Bonnie Gropp photo) NH welcomes new clerk THE GARDENER'S ATLAS This fascinating book for gardeners explains the origins, discovery and cultivation of the world's most popular garden plants from daisies to daffodils. 224 pages with Plenty of colour photos. $22.95 THE FORGIVENESS OF NATURE: THE STORY OF GRASS The very foundation of farming is grass. This book tells the story of grass in British farming, from 5000 years ago to modem times. $44.95 THE WATER GARDEN ENCYCLOPEDIA The ultimate guide to designing, constructing, planting and maintaining garden ponds and water features. More than 250-pages of plans, tips and photographs on everything from container water gardens, to ponds. $29.95 • OLNIER'ti r~T LAS BEST TREES FOR YOUR GARDEN There's a wide variety of trees that • could add interest to your yard and this book gives you information on them and colour photos to let you see what they look like. $24.95 LILACS FOR THE GARDEN Since pioneer days lilacs have been an Ontario favourite but there's so much new to report. Here are 124 pages of information on varieties growing tips and options for landscaping with lilacs. $19.95 xr~k EVRGIVENEISS 0 1 t.170"-Ellt E WATER GARDEN FACYCIOPEDIA Drop by and see our great selection of books The Citizen 404 Queen St., Blyth 523-4792 541 Turnberry St., Brussels 4 887-9114 Best Trees x-Your Garden PAGE 36. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, MAY 4, 2006. North Huron taxes increase 2.32% over 2005 After weeks of meetings, debate, slicing and dicing, North Huron council passed its budget Monday night, showing an increase of 2.32 „, per cent in money raised through taxation. The total expenditures are $9,790,392 while revenue is $6,317,904, leaving the balance of $3,472,487 to be raised by taxes. By Bonnie Gropp Citizen editor Building a bigger North Huron is something the township's new clerk- administrator is interested in working on. "I hope to bring some of my key development expertise to the job. I don't know exactly how that will translate yet," said Kriss Snell. He credits council and staff for having taken a critical first step in this with the recent boundary adjustment made into Morris- Tumberry, that will allow for further residential development in the Wingham ward. He also feels that there are opportunities for expansion within the wards of Blyth and East Wawanosh. Snell is familiar with the area, having been raised just outside Blyth. He also brings varied experience to his new position. He left home to attend Laurentian University in Sudbury where he studied law and political science. While in Sudbury, he worked with youths preparing him for his first job at a group home in Stratford. In 1995, having just come off volunteering on a successful campaign for Huron-Bruce Conservative MPP Helen Johns, Snell was offered the job of consitutency assistant. It was during this time that he met his wife Jodi who worked in Johns' Toronto office. He made the decision after the couple married to move on. He left in 1999 to work for Community Living Central Huron, until receiving a job offer from Perth Ten people attended a special budget meeting April 26 and raised several questions. One asked why taxes raised from farmland had to to go to pay the operating costs at the complex. Director of finance/treasurer Donna White explained that the it is the province's policy on how taxes are raised. Middlesex MPP Bert Johnston. Those political associations have, he feels, provided him with a good background for municipal administration, a field he entered for the first time in 2002. Having begun taking the municipal program courses while working for Johnston, Snell said, "I was looking for something in the public sector; it's a little more stable than politics. He applied for the position of deputy-clerk of the Municipality of West Perth and was hired. He felt then that he'd found a good fit. "This job I feel really works well with my education." Accepting the position of clerk in North Perth in 2003 was a forward move for Snell-, whose focus in that position was the responsibility of all of council proceedings, as department head for the building department and North Perth day care, with bylaw enforcement and in planning and development. "In my three years there, most of my work was planning and development. Listowel is really growing." The move to North Huron is another career move up. Since arriving to the job April 19, Snell has been busy evaluating the differences from whdt he's known in the past and familiarizing himself with people. He will take over from Stewart officially on May 15. "I have always liked dealing with the public. There is an advantage to knowing the area. This job gave me an opportunity to come back to my home community." The weighted assessment for farmland is 25 per cent of the residential value. Industrial and commercial property has a weighted assessment of 1.1 per cent of the residential value. Another question was with regards to the policing of Wingham. "Is the By Stew Slater Special to The Citizen It's expected there will be an increase in the minimum value of construction projects, for which the Avon Maitland District School Board must seek tenders. And according to South Huron trustee Randy Wagler, who proposed the change at a regular meeting Tuesday, April 25, this could help increase the chances of local tradespeople securing work at schools in Huron and Perth Counties. "There hasn't been a change in the policy in about eight or 10 years," said Wagler after the meeting, confirming a reporter's question whether his motion was meant to reflect inflation. He suggested major contractors are becoming less and less willing to submit bids at the low end of the current limit, because costs of materials and labour mean such projects are increasingly minor in scale. standard of policing which the Wingham ward receives necessary?" It was explained that in 2002 the municipality forwarded an application to OCCOPS to change the policing service from a municipal force to OPP. OCCOPS The chair of the finance committee, Wagler brought forward the motion asking Avon Maitland staff and trustees to consider upping the tendering limit of $100,000. Under current board policy, any project which is predicted to cost more than that must be put through a tendering process. According to Wagler, part of the impetus for suggesting the change is an ongoing renovation at Stratford Northwestern Secondary School (NWSS), aimed at improving some teaching space and washroom facilities for students with special needs. A separate motion regarding NWSS was also brought forward from the finance committee at the April 25 meeting, suggesting staff go ahead and seek contractors for the project without going to tender. Wagler explained the original estimate for the project was around $700,000, but the desired scope of work has since been decreased significantly — to about half that did not approve the application. Also, there had been a large delegation of Wingham residents at a a council meeting where they voiced. their opposition to disbanding the Wingham Police Services. The budget passed Monday with no further discussion. value. In addition, owing largely to the number of education-sector projects currently being funded by the provincial government, there has been difficulty in securing commitments from the type of well-rounded contractors that typically submit bids in tendering processes. So at the April 25 meeting, trustees authorized staff to go ahead seeking contractors for NWSS, without a tendering process. Wagler also suggested broadening the board's list of "pre-qualified" contractors — for such work as plumbing or electrical — who can be hired for such non-tendered projects. He says this will benefit local tradespeople, who might not be affiliated with a company large enough to submit tendered bids, but might still have strong reputations which would make them ideal for working on either small projects or portions of larger projects. Bd. increases minimum tender