Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutLakeshore Advance, 2011-03-16, Page 10Bluewater council balks at wind by-law Vanessa Brown Lakeshore Advance Bluewater council will await guidance from the county before it adopts a wind turbine bylaw similar to the Municipality of Huron -Kinloss. The bylaw withholds issuing build- ing permits to wind developers unless they comply with the municipality's setback requirements. Coun. John Gillespie's (Hay West) motion to pass a similar bylaw at council's March 7 session died on the table, giving councillors time to review informa- tion. A new countywide committee, with representation from each munici- pality, will investigate low frequency noise from turbines. Mayor Bill Dowson argued Bluewater should wait to see how the committee proceeds. "If we can come up with something through the county level that's going to work, we need to do that; Dowson said. "We'll have strength in numbers, and right now we don't have much strength with one munidpality." Coun. George Irvin (Stanley West) will sit on the committee for Bluewater. There are currently two Bluewater wind -farm projects awaiting approval. Heritage Properties The Bluewater Heritage Committee is awaiting council approval to continue working on its heritage properties registry. At Bluewater council's March 7 meet- ing, chair of the committee David H,)\ l emnlnlulllc 1 (ill 1c'.11 ti l cic'hl,ite \VIth Johnston informed councillors there are about 85 properties across Bluewater that could be added to the registry. "The committee fully under- stands the financial restraints placed upon council at this time," Johnston said. "We respectfully request that during your budget deliberations, consideration is given to continue with this part- time help for our conunittee." When a property is put on the registry, it is not automatically des- ignated a heritage building. Rather, it means the municipality has iden- tified it as having heritage signifi- cance. Johnston said a registry allows the municipality to consult with the owner if they plan to demolish the building. Last year, the heritage commit- tee hired one employee to work on the registry. Asked by Deputy Mayor Paul Klopp how much that employee cost Bluewater; Johnston said she worked about 20 hours per week for about five months. "'there's no doubt there will be a cost, but whether it's significant or not, I can't answer that," John- ston said. The Bluewater Heritage Com- mittee identifies certain properties that have heritage significance and brings them before council for approval. Under the Ontario 1 lerit- age Act, a municipality isn't obligated to inform the owner that their building will be added to the registry, but Johnston said council is "strongly encouraged" to dis- close that information in case the owner doesn't want their property on the registry. Properties that could this year; added to the registry are located Bayfield, 1 lay Township, l-lensall, St. Joseph's, Stanley'lbwnship and Zurich. Some examples include St. Boniface Roman Catholic Church, Zurich United Church and the Dominion 1 lotel, all in Zurich. "The heritage committee is very strong in supporting the heritage of Bluewater," Johnston told councillors. Crowded Bayfield Ilbrary 'woefuily Inadequate' Vanessa Brown Clinton News Record The Rayfield library's rede- velopment was put on hold after the October municipal election shook up Bluewater council, and the time has come to again pick up speed, says a county librarian. An architect has been hired and a redevelopment plan was tabled last October. As budget time nears in Bluewa- ter, Huron County librarian Beth Ross and branch serv- ices librarian Meighan Wark spoke to council at its March 7 session. "The current library is woefully inadequate for the community," Ross said. At the heart of the matter is the branch's small size. About 4,246 people - from the village itself to Bluewater Beach in the north, south to Pavillion Road and east to Clinton - use it, up from 3,000 in 2006. The influx of visitors in the summer makes programming tough to accommodate. "The Rayfield library is so crowded that the very popu- lar summer reading program that we have actually has to be offered outside because there's no room for it in the branch," Wark said. the proposed renovations call for a brand new building Need Mortgage Money? Farm & Residential 1 & 2 Morigage S 3.25 Interest of Less • No upfront fees • Personal loans/mortgages • Consolidate your debts • Problem mortgage specialist Head Mice Ph: 519.7446251 Lite 10163 If you qualify, payments: Amt Approx. Mo. PaymeN ' 5,000 ' 13.55 '10,000 ' 27.08 '50,000 '135.42 '100,000 '270.83 ASTRAL FUNDING INC. 1-800-387-1932 84 101h Street Nanover RET STOP Buy 1 Bag of PRO KITTY FOOD and receive a "FREE" Bag of MAX LITTER 38 Ontario St., S. Unit 4, Grand Bend (519) 238-2086 at the same location, about three times the size of the current branch. Ross said the archives room, a heritage building, will either be incorporated into the new site or will stand alone, separated from the library. The county's librarians, along ‘vith council's planning depart- ment, determine how big the library needs to be; Ross advised council to involve the community on the look of the new branch. "It's a very attractive building and fits in with the historic streetscape of the community, and we would hope that the new building will too;" Ross said. She added they've reached a point where they need direction from coun- cil's library committee. Since Mayor Rill Dowson's proposed committee appointments were struck down twice since January, the library committee hasn't met since October. But Rowson, along with Deputy Mayor Paul Klopp and Councillor -at -large 'Tyler 1lessel told Ross and Wark the Bayfield library is a priority. "1 think direction will happen shortly to get it back on the table and get mov- ing," Dowson said. "We will likely commit ourself to do it, but it might make our decisions easier if we get that grant or not:' Since Huron County's library branches are part of a collective, the county pitches in with a $4,500 mainte- nance grant for village libraries. Klopp said a grant would help, but shouldn't be the deciding factor whether or not to move ahead with renovations. "I'm a little frustrated that we've been sitting on our hands," he said. "1 just want to remind all councillors that we did have something like $1.1 million sit- ting in a hank account, and 1 was under the assumption that those could b- used for our libraries" lhe Zurich branch is also one of the worst in the county, said Ross. Conn. Janisse Zimmerman (Zurich) expressed interest in a redevelopment program for her ward's branch as well. Rowson said council should advise the county librarians and the architect on the next steps by the end of March.