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Lakeshore Advance, 2012-01-18, Page 41 Int.aaux.. .-. .- .... County to review its composition Cheryl Heath Lakeshore Advance I tumn County Councillors are preparing to take a look at j,,,,iit makeup, but the first kick NoiThat carne behind closed doors at the county's Jan. 12 committee -of -tile -whole ses- sion in Goderich. That move was much to the chagrin of Coun. Deb Shewfelt (Goderich) who says the first debate should have been held in a public forum given there have been concerns expressed by ratepayers with regard to the county's seemingly last- minute decision to keep 20 county representatives in spite of the fact a 1999 county bylaw spells out that each lower tier gets one representative per 4,000 population. It looks like we're trying to hide something," says Shew- felt, noting Bylaw 28-1999 was passed by a triple majority. 1 don't see how it can be changed ,,, You should live up to it based on the returned vot- ers' lists," Given the criteria of the 1999 bylaw, four municipali- ties — Central Huron, Huron East, North limn and South Huron — were set to lose one county councillor apiece as the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC) taxpayer roll shows each municipality dropped in population. However, MPAC's figures were quickly contested because newly introduced rules prevented some voters from being counted because their dtizenship was not certi- fied, among other reasons. After an hour-long in -cam- era session, COW chairman Bill Dowson welcomed back members of the public and media by noting the issue "can now be discussed in public," Coun, Bernie MacLellan (Huron East), however argues that he is "not sure" more debate makes sense since the issue will require further review and discussion among both administrators and councillors. "'Phis is something that needs to be looked at," he says. "There is nothing that can be changed at this point." Greg Stewart, the county's legal counsel, notes that egardless of what the county uncil now decides to do about the 1999 bylaw in ques- tion, the sitting council will continue to be comprised of 20 members for this terns. Ile says the 1999 bylaw was about adding numbers, not reducing thein. 1 towevet; Shewtelt notes the council of the day was rccduced from 26 members to 20. "The precedent has been set;' says Shewfelt, Coun, Ben Van Diepenbeek says the bylaw doesn't use the words increase or decrease. Instead, it says every lower tier is apportioned one represent- ative per 4,000 population. "Once you reach the thresh- old, you get the extra member," says Van Diepenbeek, "The voters' list is pretty clear There are four municipalities that didn't reach the threshold and yet..,." Cour. George Robertson (South Huron) says there were obvious flaws with MPAC's counts, "MPAC: defaulted people off the list because they didn't prove citizenship," he says, noting 800 extra voters could easily be confirmed in his hotne municipality. In essence, says Robertson, municipalities should not be denied representation because "MPAC is making mistakes all over the map," Further, he says, MPAC's flawed counting system lies at the root of much of the debate. "Before we start eliminating people on or off county coun- cil ,., we should hold these people responsible," says Rob- ertson. "We shouldn't be fight- ing among ourselves ... if it's broken, they should be the ones to fix IC Coun. Brian Barnim (Cen- tral Huron) also says MPAC's numbers are circumspect and that it should be understood the county made its decision on realistic numbers. In Cr;1- tral Huron, he says, MPAC didn't count voters living at campgrounds, ' While legal counsel recom- mends hosting public meet- ings and enacting another tri- ple majority process before officially changing council's composition, Coun, Hill Sie- nton (Huron East) moved a motion that will see county administrators and council- lors further debating council's composition at an upcoming strategic -planning session. Conunittee members passed that motion, HCFA REQUEST 'Ihe Huron County Federa- tion of Agriculture will not he getting a heads up from the county when severances are requested. While the t ICFA had asked the county's planning depart- ment to put it on the mailing list when severances are on the committee -of -the -whole agenda, Coun, Brian Barnim (Central Huron) questioned the wisdom behind comply- ing with the request. "What are the negative impacts of this?" he asked. While planning director Scott'I'ousaw says it is likely the I ICFA wants notification on agricultural severances so it can work within the county's protocol when there are con - cents, including on issues like surplus farm dwellings, Barnim argues that many areas of the county, including the Lakeshore and urban areas, are also surrounded by agriculture. 1 do have some concerns," says Barnim. 1 am leery On what the spinoff could be While 'rousaw suggested amending the original motion to read "within agricultural designations" for 11CFA notifi- cation, Coun. Bernie MacLel- lan (Huron East) notes any severance the county makes is a matter of public record. Coun. Jangles (Ginn (Central Huron) says if the county begins forwarding such info to the I ICFA, it would likely have to follow suit with other groups, like ratepayers' associations. While noting he is a mem- her of the HCI A, Paul Knopp (Bluewater) saw merit in Ginn's argument. In contrast, Coun. Neil Vin- cent (North Iluron) believes sending the 1ICFA notification is in keeping with the county's best practices. 1 think it's just being open, says Vincent, noting there could be less conflict if the I ICFA is kept abreast of possi- bly controversial severances before they reach the council level Coun, Deb Shewfelt also saw the logic in the 1ICFA's request. "it (agriculture) is still the biggest industry we've got h1 1 luron County," says Shewfelt. Ginn, however, argues that it is not a "case of plight being right." Ultimately, a motion that would have allowed all future severance applications to be forwarded to the HCFA failed to pass at the committee level. SEVERANCE APPROVED An application to sever a house currently located within a campground at Lighthouse Cove was approved by com- mittee members after some debate. Appearing before council, an agent for property owner George Land says the existing house will he accessed on Norma St., rather than through the campground. While there were some neighbouring property own- ers on hand to hear the pres- entation, a main concern appeared to be whether the property owner would be on the hook for municipal services. Committee members approved the severance with the understanding that out- standing issues will be addressed, WALK ON The Alzheimer Society of Huron County supporters are asking county councillors to walk a kilometer in their shoes during their upcoming Walk for Memories on Jan, 29, Event coordinator Melissa Campion appeared before council to urge them to partic- ipate in the event, which is something several of those on hand, including John Grace (Goderich), Joe Steffler (1 turon East) and James (;inn (Central 1 luron), pledged to do. RECOMMENDATiONS APPROVED Two more of the county's boundary bridges, No. 2 and 3, have been approved for repairs in order to bring them up to snuff, according to county policy, before they are downloaded to the lower tier municipality, which is Morris- 'Rtrnberry. SURPLUS DOLLARS At least one county council- lor wonders whether surplus departmental dollars would he better utilized in general revenues. In addressing the public works' department's surplus for 2010, Coun. Bernie Maclellan (Huron East) won- ders whether the surplus cre- ated from projects that came in under budget could go to the general surplus instead of public works' surplus account. Treasurer !)ave Carey says while there are "differing views" on the issue, one other solution could be to take a per- centage from the surplus in question and place it in the general surplus. And yet, says Wednesday, January 19, 2011 • Lakeshore Advance 9 Carey, it is important to remember 80 per cent of the assets of the public works' department are depreciated. In contrast, Cohn. t)eh Shewielt (Goderich) says it wouldn't be fair to "penalize" a department for managing its funds well. "Why would you steal it?" he asked. MacLellan argues that the budget should be based on solid figures and if the depart- ment is continually posting a surplus, the practice deserves review. Public Works director Dave Laurier reports his department bases its projects on averages each year and there are tinges when projects come in under budget. Ultimately, the committee agreed to keep dedicating the public works department's surplus to its own budget. NEW CHAIR Huron County Council is welcoming Bill Dowson (Blue - water) as its new chairman for the first monthly session of committee of the whole. Rowson, whose name was put forth by Bernie MacLellan (t lemon East), proved to be the only county councillor nomi- nated for the position. Meanwhile, Coun. Bill Sie- nton (1luron East) nominated James Ginn (Central Huron) for the vice -chairman's posi- tion, which 11e also accepted. GUIDE APPROVED Commercial Print Craft, of Woodstock, will once again he entrusted to take on the pub- lishing responsibilities associ- ated with the County of 1luron's Vacation Guide for 2011. In pitching the company for the Job, tourism spokeswoman Cindy Fisher notes the com- pany sleets all of the compa- ny's specifications and that it has completed the job in 10 of the past 11 years. 'Ihe compa- ny's quote was $37,100, plus taxes. CONTINUED > PAGE 10 Choices for Seniors Information on Independent Living January is Alzheimer Awareness Month 'lt) mark Alzheimer Awareness Month, the Alzheimer Society revealed alarming new statistics about this crippling disease. 'Today, someone in Canada develops dementia every five minutes. In 30 years, thele will be ono now case every two misstates," says David Harvey, Principal Spokesperson for the Rising Tido project. Tho hours of care delivered by unpaid fancily members are expected to more than triple, increas- ing from 231 million hours in 2(.x)8, to 758 million hours by 2038. Ittxx)gnizing the urgent need to start turning the tido of dementia, the now report outlines a HeriOH of potential interventions that could help lessen the impact of tho disease. 'l'tcose interventions would address: - 'rho benefits of physical activity on reducing the risk of developing dementia - Tho development. of now treatments. in delaying the onset of dementia - Supporting family caregivers, who aro struggling to care for those with the distwee. - Tho iniportanm of a "system navigator" to help fiunilies find the right sorvieos at the right time. "Elope lies in snaking changes today that will lessen dementia's crippling effect on Canadian families," says Richard Nakonec,nv, Chair of the Alzheimer Society of Canada. "More than ever, research iH a critical contributor to this change...possibly oven discover a 1ioatiment to delay the onset of the disease and !educe its impact substantially." 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