HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuron Expositor, 2001-01-31, Page 3THE HURON EXPOSITOR. January 31, 2001-3
Scott Higendorff photo
Three injured
Three people were taken to
hospital after a Jan. 25
accident around 11 a.m. on
Brussel's main street. Chad
Ascher, 19, of Grey Township
attempted to make a left turn
in his 1998 Chevrolet pickup
truck when he came into the
path of a van driven by James
Campbell, 36, of Egmondville.
Both vehicles received
moderate damage and
Fischer, Campbell and a
passenger in his vehicle,
Kiernyn Campbell, 3, were
treated and released from
hospital.
Increased flow into sewer system
has council working with Creamery
By Scott Hndorff
Expositor Editor
A year after an increased
volume of waste was found
going into Seaforth's sewage
treatment system, Huron
East administration has
come forward to discuss
related negotiations between
the municipality and the
Seaforth Creamery, a matter
that's been discussed behind
closed doors without
Municipal Act justification.
The Seaforth Creamery
and Huron East are working
to find a way to reduce the
amount of waste that is
taxing the sewage system,
an issue that's been
discussed behind closed
doors for almost a year.
About a year ago, the
former Town of Seaforth
became aware of an increase
in the waste going into the
plant.
The material is treated to
government standards for
water before anything is
released into the Bayfield
River and Administrator
Jack McLachlan said the
extra load did not pose any
health risks at any time.
"There were no problems
with treating it at the plant,"
said Public Works
Superintendent John Forrest.
The problem was not with
the content of waste going
into the plant but the
volume, he said.
The amount of material,
remains of The Creamery's
production of salad
dressings, was causing the
plant to operate at capacity
and would mean either
finding a way to reduce the
volume of material or
expanding the plant to
accommodate any future
development or business
expansion in the area.
"Our system is not
designed big enough to meet
the demands of the town and
The Creamery together,"
Forrest said.
Council has spent the past
year working out a solution
with The Seaforth Creamery
in hopes the company would
come up with a way to
reduce the amount of waste
going into the treatment
plant at their site first.
The discussions were held
in -camera (closed to the
public) for the past year
including at a committee of
the whole meeting held by
the new Huron East Council
on Jan. 16.
McLachlan admitted last
week council had no
grounds to go into closed
sessions about the issue.
He said about one year
ago, the Ontario Clean
Water Agency, which
monitors the material
released from the sewage
plant, informed council of
the increased use of the
system.
While he said the plant
could safely treat it, "We
started investigating to
determine what the source
was."
They took samples of
waste throughout all the
sewer lines, tracing it to The
Creamery.
Forrest said the
municipality has asked the
Creamery to reduce the
amount of solids going into
the system.
He said they've had a
good working relationship
with the Creamery as
they've worked on a
solution.
The facility, which
produces salad dressing and
mayonaise products, has
come up with equipment
that is hoped to both reduce
the amount of material
going into the system and
start to treat it before it
leaves the plant.
Waste is treated with
oxygen which contains
microrganisms that break
down the solid material.
The Creamery's system
would start this treatment
before • the material was
released to the sewage
treatment plant.
"We just don't have any
comments at this time," said
Murray Mackey, finance
manager at The Creamery.
Manager Clarence Murphy
is on vacation.
McLachlan said they
don't have a time frame at
the moment on when the
equipment would be in place
and that a currenty strike by
unionized workers at the
facility is complicated the
process for the time being.
Council shouldn't haveg one into closed session
stration on sew plant issue
admits adrri� �e
. •
certain situations.
"I'm not saying Jack would
give me bad advice," she
said.
Steffler is attending a
course on Friday that helps
outline her responsibilities as
mayor and intends to seek
more guidance on what
matters can be held in closed
sessions.
"We just didn't feel it was
important," said Steffler.
By Scott Hilg.ndorff
Expositor Editor
Council had no grounds to
go behind closed doors to
discuss a sewage treatment
situation between The
Seaforth Creamery and the
municipality, admitted Huron
East Administrator Jack
McLachlan last week.
For approximately a year,
council had been working
with The Creamery to come
up with a way to reduce the
amount of material going into
the sewage treatment system.
While some updates were
made public about reports
and testing being done in
relation to the issue, no clear
understanding of what was
happening was ever publicly
presented to council.
When discussions with
council were needed, The
Creamery was often listed as
either a legal or property
matter so they could occur in
a closed session of council.
Only items involving
personnel, property or legal
issues can be discussed'
behind closed doors because
of their sensitivity.
However, McLachlan
couldn't explain how the
matter actually fit into either
a legal or property category
when he agreed to speak to
The Expositor about the issue
last week.
He said they kept it quiet
partly because they were
afraid of losing The Seaforth
Creamery which produces a
variety of salad dressing and
mayonnaise products.
The Creamery employs
120 people but has recently
opened a warehouse facility
in Cambridge causing
concerns the facility might
decide to centralize its
operations there.
"We have to look out for
the good of the community.
We want to keep them here,"
said Public Works
Superintendent John Forrest.
"We have to be fair to them
and the community."
While Seaforth council
was originally discussing the
issue, the municipality has
since joined four others to
form Huron East.
The matter appeared at
Huron East council's first
committee of the whole
meeting on Jan. 16 when
Mayor Lin Steffler, who was
deputy reeve of the former
Seaforth council, said it
needed to be discussed
without the public because it
was a property matter.
Later, when asked to
justify how it was considered
a property matter, McLachlan
had indicated it was really a
legal matter.
After further pressure,
McLachlan agreed to discuss
the matter openly and
admitted there were no
grounds to keep the matter
quiet.
"I wasn't aware they
couldn't go in -camera," said
Steffler on Monday of
Creamery issues.
"I would have viewed this
as a property issue," she said,
adding they didn't want to
raise any public alarm when
there were no health
concerns in the matter.
"I didn't want to cause The
Creamery any
embarrassment," she said.
She has previously stressed
wanting the new council to
be as open and accountable
as possible but said this
didn't seem like a big issue
that anyone would be
concerned about.
"There's nothing
underhanded going on here,"
she said, adding she has to
rely on people with more
experience, like McLachlan,
to advise how to handle
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RMT
d Mase
Contact: Seaforth
Chiropractic Clinic
527-1242
for an appointment
Kim Jamieson
RMT
Registered
Massage Therapist
Contact
Seaforth Chiropractic Centre
527-1242
for an appointment
NEW TD BANK
BRANCH MANAGER
Cheryl Ryan
BRANCH MANAGER
We'd like to introduce Cheryl Ryan who is
now serving the Seaforth community as our
new Branch Manager.
Cheryl is a local resident and has over 20
years of financial services experience with TD
Bank. She understands your financial needs
and would be happy to discuss the many
services TD offers.
Drop by the branch at 56 Main St. S. to meet
our new Branch Manager. We look forward to
seeing you soon.
Tt7
BANK
56 Main St., Seaforth
519-527-1460
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Monday - Friday 9 am to 5 pm
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Book your cut & style, perm, colour, manicure pedicure,
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Protecting our natural heritage
Jean Fau is a chief park warden for Parks Canada. He and his colleagues
protect the plant and animal life in our national parks. They also help
Canadians explore and enjoy these special places. This is just one of the
hundreds of services provided by the Government of Canada.
For more information on government services:
• Visit the Service Canada Access Centre nearest you
• Visit www.canada.gc.ca
• Call 1 800 0 -Canada (1 800 622-6232)
TTY/TDD : 1 800 465-7735