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Huron Expositor, 2009-05-20, Page 24t' ► ` Pegs 16 The Huron Expositor • May 20, 2009 Councillor ar; Cheryl Heath Size. matters. So argued County Councillor George Robertson (South Huron) May 6, in making a pitch for a small- er library board during county. coun- cil's .regular session. As it stands, Huron County's li- brary board operates under the Public Libraries . Act. The board is comprised of six councillors, six citi- zen representatives and the County Warden, with meetings taking place on the third Tuesday of each month, 11; times a year. The problem, said Robertson, is it is difficult to justify the honorari- ums and mileage paid given library- board meetings are sometimes only 20 minutes in length. Plus, said Robertson, $20,000 in conference expenses were paid out in 2008 alone for library -board mem- bers and library, staff to attend the 0.1♦.♦••1 uts fof s ti ews 4 Ailey less expensive library board annual Ontario Library Association conference in Toronto. "For one year, that's kind of exces- sive," he said, noting $11,000 of that figure was paid out . to library -board members. A step in the right direction, he said, is to abide by the province's bare -minimum standard of two members . from the public and three representatives from council, includ- ing the warden. "That would cut down on a lot of the costs," he said. While agreeing a smaller board could be a sound plan, Coun. Deb, Shewfelt (Goderich) argued there should be more community repre- sentatives than councilors. Coun. John Bezaire (Central Hu- ron), meanwhile, said committees and boards with community repre- sentatives should continue to play a role in politics. • "1 think we're throwing the baby out with the bath -water here," he said, noting when he HOUSE FOR SALE FOUR BEDROOM farm ,house on 1.3 acres with paved drive on McKillop Road: New Sunroom and New Septic Tank System. Priced at $195,000. Immediate procession. Call 519-348-9057 or 519- 348-9796 was first elected to Central Huron council, there were several subcom- mittees that included representa- tives from the general public. Since then, he said, "There's been a change in the public attitude be- cause there's not the opportunity for people to be 'involved at this level." Bezaire suggested another option to cut costs would be to look at axing honorariums. Coun. Dorothy Kelly (Morris Turn - berry), chairwoman of the library board, cautioned council that ap- proving Robertson's motion to re- duce the board's size without first re- ceiving input from county librarian Beth Ross, who was absent, would be inappropriate, especially given Ross was asked to contact other area library boards to find out more about their composition. As such, Kelly said, it would make sense to defer the motion until the report is reviewed. During the debate, Coun. Bill Sie- mon (Huron East) noted the issue is one that could perhaps be dealt with under a service -delivery review Is today the day to seU aou�r house? Pe! l�a��mission. Keep that hard earned equityin your own pocket. www.PropertyGuys.com 519-565-5384 if the county chooses to undertake one. County councillors chose not to reduce council's composition of 20 members earlier this year. Kelly's motion to defer a decision passed with a few dissenters, in- cluding Robertson and the motion's seconder, Neil Rintoul (Ashfield Col- borne Wawariosh). Public consultations The County of Huron is preparing to play host to five public -consulta- tion meetings as part of its ongoing commitment to its evolving Official Plan. Thanks to a number of county - council councillors that stepped for- ward at the county's May 13 commit- tee -of -the -whole session, five public meetings are now a go. Those meetings, said county plan- ner Scott Tousaw, are designed to garner public input on the "very draft" form of the county's OP, a proj- ect which began in 1999. Indeed, the county was originally set to hold its first review in 2004. Meetings are set for June 17, 6 - p.m. till 9 p.m. at the Goderich mu- seum, 6 p.m: till 9 p.m., June 18, at the North Huron Wescast Commu- nity Complex in Wingham, 9 a.m. till noon, June 20, at , the Bayfield town hall, 6 p.m till 9 p.m., June 24, at the Exeter town hall, and from 6 p.m. till 9 'pm., June 25, at the Sea - forth town hall. A formal public meeting will be set to unveil the findings this fall. COLDWeIWL IEBANIKell`0 All. Points Festival City Realty Brcikerage Seaforth & Area Listings www.coldwellbankerfc.com (519) 527-21031 Main St., Seaforth Sales Representatives 11..A 1:13 WM. 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