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The Huron Expositor • November 25, 2009 Page 3
Municipal lawyer recommends `continuing with contribution'
From Page 1
said he was in favour of providing
the $125,000 towards the construc-
tion of Robert Street because he's in
favour of economic development.
"We want to get more housing and
get people to do development and
whatnot and its .coming out of an old
reserve the Seaforth peo-
ple put there," he said.
"All we're doing is
opening up a street. We
like economic develop-
ment," Steffler added.
"Who is Coastal En-
terprises and who does
the money go to? Does
the town grant money
to anyone who walks in
off the street?" respond-
ed Don Pletsch.
In March of 2007, Hu-
ron East council passed
a motion to contribute
$125,000 towards the
construction of Robert
Street with the funds
to be removed from the
Seaforth ward reserves
and that the balance of
construction costs be the responsibil-
ity of Brian Barnim, Coastal Enter-
prises 2005 Ltd. conditional on the
existing school building being torn
down and removed within one, year.
McKillop Coun.. Andrew Flowers
said the money will be deducted at
the end of the development agree-
ment.
"There is no physical cheque or
money changing hands,", he said.
Mayor Joe Seili added that all of
the conditions ofthe development
agreement must be completed before
the $125,000 is released.
"We did receive a legal opinion and
it's here for anyone to read. I don't
think council took the easy way out.
We do want to see the property de-
veloped," he said.
Seili added that if council had done
more in the past to encourage eco-
nomic development, maybe Seaforth
wouldn't have lost its high school and
Huron East wouldn't be
in danger of losing two
schools in the north.
Flowers said he
thought the situation
was unique.
"I don't know of too
many developments
where an old dilapi-
dated school was taken
down," he said.
In a letter to coun-
cil,Huron East's law-
yer Greg Stewart said
council would "expose
the municipality to
some risk" if .it chose to
withdraw the $125,000
now after allowing the
developer to miss the
deadline without conse-
quence.
Stewart pointed out that council
voted on Feb. 19, 2008 to extend the
condition concerning the contribu-
tion to April 1, 2008. Then in Janu-
ary, 2009, the developer and the mu-
nicipality entered into a development
agreement, part of which referred to
the $125,000 contribution of the mu-
nicipality towards the road construc-
tion.
Stewart added that although the
municipality authorized proceedings
under the Property Standards Bylaw
about the debris left on the school
`I hoped
council would
N # what was
t, not what
rig
was easiest
and most
expedient, and
1 d n't think
you did that,'—
Kathy Pletsch,
of Seaforth
Seaforth
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Arlene Timmins, Bayfield
property, it never suggested during
that process that the $125,000 would
be withdrawn if the situation wasn't
rectified.
He made the same point that the
$125,000 never became an issue
during the Ontario Municipal Board
hearing, even though there was evi-
dence that the rubble from the school
remained on the property.
"If council were not to determine to
withdraw the $125,000 contribution,
it would be open to the developer to
take the position that it had proceed-
ed through the OMB hearing and
has proceeded with the development
since that time with the understand-
ing that the $125,000 is still commit-
. ted despite the fact that they did not
meet the requirement with respect
to removal of the school," said Stew-
art's letter.
Stewart added the municipality
could be "open to allegations of bad
faith" and "found liable and subject
to payment of some damages."
"I believe the wisest course of ac-
tion would be to continue with the
contribution," he said in the letter.
Tuckersmith Coun. Larry McGrath
said council should have done some-
thing about the situation in 2008.
"I'm just saying we dropped the
ball," he said. .
Don Pletsch said council didn't do
its homework on the issue from the
beginning and Seili responded that
he could influence council during the
next municipal election.
"On Oct. 25 next year, everyone has
a chance to change that," said Seili.
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