HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes-Advocate, 1986-09-17, Page 24
BEEF SLICERS — Bob Hodge and Richard Gedhill slice beef for Sun-
day's barbecue at the Lucan Community Centre.
Just get 'em up
They're not certain what the new
speed limit will be, but Exeter coun-
cil this week approved erecting new
signs to reduce speed in the area of
the public school and community
park.
At their recent meeting, the police
committee agreed to have 20 km.
speed signs erected in the school and
playground area, but Monday night
committee chairman Dorothy Chap-
man explained that a reduced speed
was already approved in the local
traffic bylaw.
However, that speed was 15 m.p.h.
and that translates into about 24
k.m.p.
Reeve Bill Mickle suggested the
speed should be posted at the latter
figure so the bylaw would not have to
be amended.
But works superintendent Glen
Kells advised that it would cost extra
to have a special sign made up for the
24 k.m.p. and that 25 would be more
standard and Less expensive.
After some debate on which speed
to post, council adopted a motion
merely to "get the bloody signs up".
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Student'sreport on computers
draws praise, plan for decision
Summer student employee Jamie
Chaffe this week presented Exeter
council with a 69 -page report to help
them in their deliberation over the
possible purchase of a computer
system that could be used by -many of
the town departments.
He narrowed the choice of suitable
systems down to two and estimated
the total cost in the neighborhood of
$45,000 to $55,000.
While outlining many areas where
a computer system would make the
various departments more efficient,
Chaffe warned that "never in the
history of office automation have the
costs of automation been recouped
directly from gains in efficiency."
He said office automation is strict-
ly a convenience, adding that "Exeter
does not need a computer system in
the future in the same way it did not
need typewriters in the past".
The University of Western Ontario
student outlined many time-
consuming operations a computer
could perform and said that could
translate into saving or postponing
the need for additional staff re-
quirements in the near future.
There were some direct savings
outlined, such as the net annual
amount of $970.43 for havng the town
staff do the payroll on a computer as
opposed to having the service provid-
ed through its present bank.
The time saving in producing tax
certificates was listed at 117 hours per
year as a computer can do the job in
seconds that now takes staff from 15
to 20 minutes.
Chaffe estimated the time saving
for chief building official, Brian
Johnston at four to 23 hours per week,
but explained that the real saving in
that department may stem from a
decrease in the possibility of litigation
through delayed or incorrect informa-
tion being given`out and that could run
into thousands of dollars.
A module for the public works
department to provide inventory con-
trol, equipment maintenance
managment and better estimates on
major projects was cited as a cost
factor that could pay for the entire
system in one or two years even with
a cumulative saving of only one per-
cent of the department's budget.
Providing site data for the fire
department could result in savings in
life and property, and while noting it
is hard to qualify such things, Chaffe
argued that access to a computer
would necessarily be considered very
significant.
While finding it hard to justify soft-
ware for booking and scheduling at
the rec centre, Chaffe did explained
that computerization in the form of an
energy monitoring system that would
control refrigeration units and utili-
ty bills could be expected to save from
$2,700 to $5,500 per year (five to ten
percent) and thereby pay for itself in
5.5 to 11 years. However, the latter
system would add another $25,000 to
the overall cost.
Chaffe reported that the cemetery
superintendent would be saved a
significant amount of time in sear-
ching records and would get rid of the
ambiguities surrounding perpetual
care charges and plot sales. He said
that because the superintendent is a
salaried employee it was difficult to
address the financial benefits of a
computer for him, "but it would cer-
tainly improve his job satisfaction."
The area of economic development
was another inwhichChaffe advised
that the town would make efficient
Two crashes
investigated
Two accidents were investigated by
the Exeter police department this
week, neither resulting in injuries.
On Monday, vehicles driven by
Charles Jeffery, Zurich,,and Wayne
Jennings, London, collided at the in-
tersection of Highways 4 and 83. Jef-
fery was southbound and was in the
process of making a left turn. while
Jennings was northbound. Total
damage was set at $2,000.
A motorcyclist escaped unhurt on
Tuesday after he collided with a car
on Huron St. E. Jean Corriveau,
Zurich, was eastbound and was mak-
ing a left turn into a private drive
when she collided with a westbound
motorcycle operated by Tom Irvine,
Woodham. Damage to the vehicles
was listed at $1,000.
During the week, the local depart-
ment laid six charges under the
Highway Traffic Act and issued four
parking tags.
Police Chief Larry Hardy announc-
ed that on his recommendation, the
policy committee has promoted Will
Chisholm to the rank of third class
constable. The appointment became
effective on August 1.
Rain
Continued from front page
back -water valves installed. He said
the cost could run as high as $500 for
existing houses, but is much less when
the valves are installed at the time a
house is being erected.
King St. N. residents in Crediton
were also victimized by flooded
basements with the most damage be-
ing -done to a beauty salon in the base-
ment of Mark Laye.
Several roads in flay, Stephen and
tJshorne were closed as water spill-
ed out of drains and the Ausahle to
make them impassable. •
Mex Scott of the Ausahle Hayfield
Conservation Authority said the
Ausahle spilled out quite widely in
some areas and rose about 15 feet dur-
ing the three-day period of the heavy
rains which started on Wednesday.
use of a computer. He backed that up
by noting an economic profile done
this summer would not have been
possible without the rental of a com-
puter to do the work.
To keep the profile a valuable
marketing tool, the computer report
explained that it would have to be up-
dated on a regular basis and this
would be impossible to achieve on a
professional level without a
computer.
"If such a document is important to
the success of Exeter's development,
and it is, Exeter can not be considered
serious about economic development
until it has the cost effective means
to produce and maintain it."
Chaffe added that the cost of the en-
tire computer system could be
recouped by increased tax revenue if
the town was successful in attracting
one major company.
His final words on time _savings
were: "A computer system could
save the town's departments a lot of
time and reduce the need for staff re-
quirements in the future, if the
system is used efficiently. While the
computer will produce some reports
and certificates automatically, its ef-
ficiency is ultimately the responsibili-
ty of those that use R.
"If files are not maintained, fast
retrieval capabilities are useless. If
mail merging functions are not used
to put out mass mailings the process
of addressing each envelope in-
dividually must be used and an im-
portant area for time savings is Lost.
In order for a system to be efficient it
must be used intelligently. It will not
make the departments more efficient
by itself; it will make the people in the
departments more efficient.".
The lengthy report to council in-
cluded a five-year implementation
process with the cost for the first year
being $35,000 to $43,000 due to the need
for puchasing the hardware.
In his conclusion, the SHDHS
Okay policy
on Ianeways
Exeter council this week adopted a
policy fpr paving lane entrances dur-
ing street reconstruction.
When streeta are constructed with
curbs and gutters, the following alter-
natives will be provided for
homeowners:
1. All driveways will be paved to the
sidewalk,
2. Asphalt will be laid for three
metres or to the property line,
whichever is shorter, or
3. Asphalt will be laid to the proper-
ty line if the owner has paved the
driveway to this line.
Where there are no curbs, and if the
driveway is paved farther than the
property line prior to the letting of the
tender for paving, then an asphalt
connection to the paved part of the
street will be laid. In all other cases,
paving will be at the expense of the
property owner.
If a driveway is concrete or paving
stone and it goes to the asphalt por-
tion of the road of curb and the grade
has to be changed, the town will
replace the surface with asphalt on-
ly. If the property owner wishes the
concrete or paving stone replaced, it
will be done at the owner's expense.
graduate said he had reached the
limit to which he could effectively
negotiate price and options and it was
now necessary for the town to commit
themselves to the purchase of a com-
puter system and prepare a formal
request for proposal from each of the
vendors recommended.
He urged council to move quickly
in the decision so that the town could
benefit from the current funding
under the BUILD program which pro-
vides grants of up to 50 percent for
some department use.
Deadline for that program is next
March.
Council members appeared almost
overwhelmed by the scope and
calibre of Chaffe's report and he drew
Loud praise from MaygQr Bruce Shaw,
who said that saying he was impress-
ed was an understatement.
"It was excellent and well done,"
Shaw continued, and added that it
was undoubtedly more candid than
council would have received from any
professional computer advisor.
Dorothy Chapman asked if the
speed by which the computer industry
is changing should prompt council not
to act too quickly.
Chaffe said that was his reaction at
one point, but explained that a com-
puter is a tool and if it does what you
want it is therefore unnecessary to
change it just to keep up with other
computer owners.
Shaw asked the executive commit-
tee to review the report and prepare
a "speedy recommendation".
The town has already established a
reserve fund for a computer.
Every child is an artist. The problem
is how to remain an artist once he
grows up.
P.b. Nor.
Our faults irritate us most when we
see them in others.
-Pe..sYlr...a Dutch proverb
KIRKTON ASTRONAUTS — Greg and Reg Young and their space
dog Spike were in Saturday's Kirkton Fair parade as the Kirkton
Astronauts. T -A photo
THIRD ANNUAL
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