Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2006-05-11, Page 1Inside this week Pg. 2 Pg. 8 Playground set at Brussels school Anthony Peters to play in OHL A Couple reflects on Ps,. 1 A Couple day Pg' 11 Cooler heads prevail at M-T 2 Locals' work in Pg. Bruce exhibit Down ramp? The Citizen W E LC .0 MO;C:P 1:1'1_,Yr . , .(1 c • IC Bjyth aadiawasels_ond northern Huron Count Volume 22 No. 19 Local churches will close In June 2007 Blyth Catholics who chOse to attend St. Joseph's-Church in Clinton or St. Augustine Cintreh when St. Michael's, Blyth closed, face another upheaval. On...April 28 and 30, Bishop Ronald -Fabbro of the London Diocese, announced the closing of five Huron County churches. Two, St. Augustine Mission, St. Augustine, and English Martyrs Mission, Bayfield are slated to be closed in September 2006. St. Mary MisSion, Lucknow; St. Joseph Parish, Kingsbridge and St. Joseph Parish, Clinton are scheduled to be closed in June 2007. In 2001, 200 Catholics celebrated the 100th anniversary of St. Michael's Church. Just a few years later, Christmas 2004 marked the last service held at St. Michael's Church. It was closed and the congregation was combined wit)' St. Joseph's congregation in Clinton. Approximately 20 people regularly attended mass at St. Michael's at the time. Denise Dalton, Huron-Perth regional co-ordinator for the diocese stated that although St. Joseph's was St. Michael's sister church. in fact. upon the closure, Blyth area Catholics were welcomed into the congregations in Wingham, Brussels, and Lticknow, as well as Clinton. In discussing the criteria for closure, Dalton said regarding the issue of accessibility that "no one need to travel more than one-half hour by car in good. weather." She also indicated that the number of masses each priest was having to celebrate weekly was another consideration, as were whether or not the church was holding weekly masses, and how full the church was during the mass. "There is an expectation that the Continued on page 6 By Carol Burns Citizen staff The tearing apart of a face .of Memorial Hall, the ramp and the surrounding landscaping beside it is a symbol of a community group and local government working together. "We received a Trillium grant of $35,000 at the beginning of the year, and Feb. 1. we had a meeting with North Huron Twp. staff and some councillors to plan -how to meet health and safety standards, maintain accessibility and -minimize disruption to the building's tenants," said Jane Gardner, Blyth Festival general manager. - North Huron is contributing $100,000 to the renovations. Gardner added that staff has been increasingly concerned about the safety of the Festival's patrons for at least three years. Water has been pooling in places on the ramp, making . walking treacherous especially in the winter. Bricks have been falling from the surface of the building onto the ramp area. Water has been leaking into the men's washroom. "So far no one has been hit by a brick." Gardener said. The ramp was built by the theatre during the 1970s to improve access to Memorial Hall for seniors and people with mobility difficulties . Gardner said that rebuilding the ramp to meet current standards would require extending the ramp out onto the public sidewalk. "This was not a satisfactory Coutinued on page 6 By Bonnie Gropp Citizen editor North Huron council is looking at ways to lighten the load for Belgrave residents who have to pay capital costs for water on vacant lots. Steve Delisle expressed his frustration at the May 3 meeting of council. Delisle said he had purchased the lot adjacent to his property as an extended yard for, his children, with the intention of selling some day. Delisle said he had contacted the township on numerous occasions to verify that there would be no levy on the empty lots until a building permit was issued and had been told that was the case.. "I thoughtl could call for accurate information but apparently not." Speaking on behalf of other Belgrave residents in North Huron facing the same situation, Delisle- said, "Some of us with empty lots feel a little railroaded." Councillor Archie MacGowan tried to explain the difficulty the township, was in. "We didn't realize until a week before the final report came in that we would have to carry $90,000 if we didn't have the empty lots chip in. I'm not sure how else to handle it." It was explained that other municipalities have levied lots whether they hook into the system or not. Delisle said that lots haven't been Thursday, May 11, 2006 moving well in the area. "I'm kind of stuck with a lot unless the township wants to buy it-from me." Saying that . the lot is fully serviced, Delisle said he would like to see a five year timeframe given to him to sell the lot or as a last resort he would merge it with his other property. Retiring clerk-administrator John Stewart said that the process is in place for deeming the two lots as one. This could be repealed down the road. However, if Delisle was given five years, council has to borrow -the money to cover the costs. "You can't, use taxpayers' money to subsidize water. We'd have to borrow or jack up the rates." The question then was posed as to whether Delisle would be willing to pay the interest costs over that five years. "I'm open to that. It's better than paying out a large amount now. I don't .know where some of the people are going to get the money." Asked by MacGowan how many would be in the same circumstance as Delisle, Stewart said there were only two or three specific cases where the lots touch, though there- are 14 large lots. After Delisle left the meeting, councillors continued their discussion. Stewart said staff had been talking over the issue and were split on the best option. "If we put a timeframe on it, we have to put $1 (93c + 7c GST) interest on it. It's not fair for the neighbours to pick up someone else's interest payment." The new clerk-administrator Kriss Snell who worked on many land and deyelopment issues as clerk of North Perth, stressed that council must come up with terms and an agreement. "At the end of the time, if the money's not collected then collect it on taxes. I know it's done." Coming back to deeming as a possibility, Stewart said that are reasons why it is beneficial, but "I'm not sure at all that the situaiton in Belgrave is the best plan." Snell explained that there were two issues to consider with deeming. "You could possibly lose development property forever so it's not good from a land use planning perspective. From the ratepayer's perspective I wouldn't want it because you could be giving up land use to another council." /' Told that Delisle would also eventually have to pay the principal, councillor Murray Nesbitt asked, "So' it's the same as just getting the loan himself in the first place?" "Sure is," said Snell. Stewart acknowledged that this is a difficult position and suggested that council try to work out a proposal. "We knew this would happend because, there are so few users. The upgrades we've had to put in mean it's extremely costly for them. I fell sorry for them, I really do." The Humphrey subdivision had a new water system that had never had a problem, said Stewart, yet, the province set the new standards' that had to be followed. This wasn't helped by the fact that the tender price came in considerably higher. "Again this was nothing we had any control over," said Stewart. Deputy-reeve Murray Scott also expressed sympathy for the ratepayers and said he was in favour of trying anything that might make it easier for them. ' There was also some thoughts on whether a one size fits all system for Belgrave, which is split between two municipalities, Morris-Turnberry and North Huron. "Trying to create one water system was a good idea, but I'm not sure we've been.going at it the right way," said Stewart. The system in North Huron was a newer one than the one in Morris- Turnberry, he added. "I think what should happen is the council and people on the Humphrey side decide how they're going to operate their section, then make a recommendation to the water committee and make it work. Council and the residents should sort it out ahead of time, but it's probably too late to do that now." Scott 'agreed that they need more time to talk the issue over. Discussion will continue at the next water committee meeting. Work begins at Blyth Memorial Hall Watching the tearing down of the Memorial Hall ramp was an awe-inspiring experience as the equipment operator carefully, maneuvered between 437Queen St., the former library and Memorial Hall. (Carol Burns photo) NH council tries to find solution