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Home My WebLink AboutLakeshore Advance, 2011-01-26, Page 1010 Lakeshore Advance • Wednesday, January 26, 2011 County to welcome free lunches Cheryl Heath QMI Agency There could soon be such thing as a free lunch at Huron County Council sessions, At the behest of Councillor Bernie Maclellan (Iluron East), Huron County Council will soon be reviewing a motion that will see free lunches make a return to the county meetings after about a year-long hiatus from the practice after then Iluron East Mayor Joseph Seill led a charge to do away with county -paid meals. In making a plea for the return of light lunches at the Jan. 19 committee -of -the -whole session, Maclellan says order- ing lunches ahead of time makes more sense than taking hour-long breaks and losing valuable time --- and perhaps a few councillors --- in the process. "We're talking about $40 here says MacLellan. Before councillors could revisit the issue, a two-thirds support of county councillors was required to bring the issue back to the fore. That motion passed and the debate on free lunches began anew, While Coun. Paul Klopp (Bluewater) suggested an alter- native was for e.uch county councillor to throw money into a kitty to buy their own lunches, MacLellan says the amount Is so nominal that it isn't worth fighting about. "I got a lot of comments (when the decision was made to end free lunches) ... and peo- ple were thinking we were ools," says MacLellan, adding while it doesn't seem fair for the county to pick up the tab for elaborate lunches, soup and sandwich combinations seem reasonable. Several councillors, includ- ing Neil Vincent (North I luron), backed MacLellan's plea for the return of lunches, which, notes County CAO Larry Adams, cost about $6 per person for the 20 county councillors and the sen- ior management team. "For the time involved, it's a pretty small change to get things done." Ultimately, Macl.ellan's motion received the majority of councillors' backing though some, including Deb Shewfelt (Goderich) and George Robert- son (South Huron), remained opposed to it. Meanwhile, the motion passed with the provi- sion, given at the behest of Coun. Bill Rowson (Bluewater), that the CA() be entrusted to make the call as to whether a meeting will go long enough to warrant lunch. County Council must endorse the motion before the policy comes into effect. Newly Chosen Thanks to motions passed during the committee meeting, Coun. Brian Barnim (Central Huron) will chair the county's monthly library board sessions while Joe Steffler (Huron Fust) will chair the committee of the whole's second monthly ses- sion. Meanwhile, four candi- dates were nominated for the committee's vice -chair posi- tion, including Bill Siemon (Iluron East), Dave Jewitt (Cen- tral Huron), Neil Vincent (North Iluron) and Art Versteeg (llow- ick). Only Versteeg allowed his name to stand. In Recognition Dr. Don Eby, medical advisor for Huron, was on hand to pay tribute to Huron County EMS employee 'Tristan Barter for going above and beyond the call of duty in helping to men- tor a fellow paramedic. "'Tristan recognized a fellow a paramedic was struggling and he took it on himself to men- tor," said Eby. Eby notes Barter is one of only two employees in a 2,000 -person catchment urea to receive the award, known as the Medical Director's Award of Excellence. Winning Bid Councillors have chosen the contractor for its planned 31 -unit seniors housing project in Iluron East. At the recommendation of county administration, council- lors supported choosing 11. Bye Construction Limited with its $4.595 million hid for the Iluron East Seniors Apartments, Back by popular demand New & updated Ted Wernham's Seminar on Future Finances February 3, 2011, 7pm Lamplighter Conference Centre 591 Wellington Road South, London Topic: "Income for Life" Free Registration: 519.670.3177 or ted@tedwernham.com Wernham Wealth Management 6-431 Boler Road, London N6K 2K0 located at the 1-luronview property south of Clinton. Councillors were reminded that fig- ure does not reflect the entire cost of the project, though the origami esti- mate for construction was $5.35 mil- lion, meaning the construction phase is coaling in at $280,000 less than the estimate for the county's portion. Coun. Bill Siemon (Iluron East) was among the councillors expressing concern that the facility's quality is not sacrificed to keep the price tag down, "It's important that we don't cheapen this building," he said, add- ing that a complete review of the project should appear before council at a later date since more than half of the County Council is new to the job. No thanks County Councillors are not ready to donate to the cause. In reviewing a $100 student award request from the REACH Centre of Central Iluron, Coun. Bernie MacLel- lan (Huron East) says agreeing to it would set a troublesome precedent; "The REAC11 Centre is a Central Huron complex and, I think, it is their responsibility" says MacLellan. Coun. Neil Vincent (North Huron) echoed Macl.ellan's concerns. "1 don't believe it's a county func- tion," he says. While Coun. John (race (Goderich) wondered whether such requests could be dealt with at the CAD's dis- cretion, treasurer Dave Carey notes a motion passed by County Council in the 1990s prevents administrators from personally dealing with such requests. Councillors ultimately vetoed the donation. On the List In his monthly report to councillors, Social Services Administrator Dave Overboe reports there are 240 people currently sitting on the county's wait- ing list for housing. Councillors also learned while $15,000 in lost revenues were budg- eted for in 2010 in anticipation Of delinquent rent, the actual figure clone in at $13,599.39. Housing Serv- ices Manager Barb Hall reports those owing rent are sent to collection and that renters are not allowed back into housing until their debts are paid. Seeking a Grant The County is hoping to qualify for about $500,000 in grant dollars in order to bring its 85 West St. property in Goderich up to snuff. In requesting the go ahead to apply for the accessibility grant, Housing Services Manager Barb Hall reports the site requires a number of upgrades, including installing 0 second larger elevator and converting the lower level so that apartments have greater accessibility. lithe project is approved, the county will be on the hook for a $136,000 con- tribution as required per the grant's funding formula. Flu Update The flu strain has left the buildings. Homes Administrator Barb Sprite, gall reports that the Influenza A stn sweeping through the seniors honit is now over. She reports as per county policy, staff received either the flu shot or Tamiflu or agreed to transfer out or use a sick day in the event of an out- break. Springall notes about 95 per cent of residents were vaccinated and those who were not cited reasons, like allergies, for not taking it. PRISM update The county's EMS administrators report about 40 per cent of the popu- lation is now registered on the PRISM 911 emergency call -out system, up about 5 per cent from last February. 'Ihe goal is to get every resident reg- istered so EMS personnel can effec- tively contact impacted ratepayers when a special emergency, like a boil - water advisory, is issued. Coun. Rill Rowson (Bluewater) notes his attendance at recent pork conference reveals there is much work to be done with the system. "A lot of people are not aware of it," he says. Making Room A pitch for a palliative care room at the county's seniors' homes received support. Though Coun. Neil Vincent (North Huron) says it is his personal experi- ence that such sites can acid more anxiety to an already stressful situa- tion, Coun. Brian Barnim (Central Iluron), who originally put forth the suggestion at the behest of a ratepayer, says the idea is to give families an option. "It is up to the individual, it's per- sonal choice," says Barnim. Councillors supported the !Ionics departme'nt's recommendation to move forward with the creation of a quiet area for families that request it after administrators consulted resi- dents, staff and health-care professionals. The Go Ahead Renovations are set to hove forward at the Iluron County health and Library building as the tender of Wayne Houck, 111 the amount of $44,588.68, has been tentatively approved for the project, which will include the creation of offices, a wait- ing room and 0 new clinic room for a provincially funded dental care pro- gram for low-income families. g Iakeshoreadvance.com Get all of your news, sports and more. Serving Grand Bend and surrounding area