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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes-Advocate, 1987-03-18, Page 1Exeter will drop Huron county's planning servlces Following periodic confrontations and disatisfaction with the county planning department over the past couple of years, Exeter council decid- council that the town will no longer re- ed this week to have solicitor Mike quire the services of the department Mitchell of Stratford advise county and will be contracting whatever j TALK HYDRO LINE -= Property owners from Stanley Township huddled during a meeting in Exeter, Wednesday, to decide whether to appeal a recent decision allowing a hydro transmission line from the Bruce nuclear plant to London: It was decided to prepare an appeal, but- it won't be tabled with cabinet unless some other group initiates action first. imes Serving South Huron, North Middlesex One Hundred and Fifteenth Year planning consulting is required with Jean Monteith & Associates, London. The London firm represented Ex- eter initssuccessful appeal to the On- tario Municipal Board over the pro- posed Hay agri-industrial park and that matter is up for discussion again In the immediate future. Exeter had to pay its costs for the appeal after unsuccessful attempts to be reim- bursed by the county, which represented Hay at the hearings. Council representatives attended a recent meeting with Flay Township council and the county planning department to hear a new needs study on the agri-park and the town will be making its response known to that following its April meeting. Speaking on behalf of the executive committee, which made the recom- mendation to withdraw from the county's planning services, Councillor Dorothy Chapman said it was being done "because it's in the best. in- terest of Exeter." Deputy -peeve Lossy Fuller, who chaired Monday's council session in the absence of Mayor Bruce Shaw and Reeve Bill Mickle, had advised that the • Planning Act allows municipalities to arrange for their own planning services. However, she said that reasonable notice should be given to the county and the, change is not scheduled to take place until December 31 of this '100` year. - Mrs. Chapman said that the London firm had presented figures which showed there could be a savings in planning services by contracting them privately, rather than through the county system. Last year, Exeter paid about 123,000 to the county as the town's ap- portionment for planning services. The Stratford solicitor has advised the town should have no problem in terminating the county's services and the cost of same. Mrs. Chapman also indicated there should be no problems in the town receiving provincial grants directly for projects that are assisted from that source. At the present time, the province makes such grants to the county planning department on behalf of the- benefitting municipality. While the Hay agri-industrial park issue raised serious concerns for members of the local council, about the county planning department some also complained that during the re- cent comprehensive review of the zo= • ing bylaw and official plan, local peo- ple do most of the work involved and the county kept the major share of the provincial grant provided for the work. Ms. Monteith's firm will be advis- ing council regarding the new pro- posal for the Hay agri-industrial park at their April 6 meeting. • She will also be asked to provide an estimate for the preparation of the housing and trade area study being. undertaken in Exeter this summer. Provincial grants of 111,250 are available for that project. It had originally been intended to have summer staff from the county planning department assist with the surveys, but they will now be advis- ed that the assistance will not be required. Plea backed over grants The Organization of Small Urban Municipaljties (OSUM i has endorsed Exeter council's plea to have the pre- vincial government make grants -in - lieu of taxes for group homes in municipalities. - The OSUM executive committee has ehdorsed Exeter's resolution in that regard and it will be presented at the group's 34th annual conference being held in Collingwood in May. .s Minister of Municipal Affairs Ber- nard Grandmaitre and Health Minister Murray Elston have both ad- vised council that the payment of grants -in -lieu of taxes for group homes is not being considered by the province at this time. - vocate & North Lambton Since 1873 EXETER, ONTARIO, March 18, 1987 Price Per Copy 60 Cents Unless some other group initiates action Won't appeal hydro line. derision Members of the Foodland Ilydro Committee agreed in Exeter this week to prepare an appeal to the On- tario cabinet over the recent decision allowing Ontario Hydro to build a ma- Pryde drain is approved Flooded basements along Pryde Boulevard and homes in the east could be a thing of the past by the end of this summer. Council this week accepted a recommendation from the public works committee that Huron - Middlesex Engineering Ltd. design and call tenders as soon as possible for an interceptor sewer along Pryde Boulevard. It will run northerly to the river and is expected to cost approx- imately 1100,000. The cost will be financed by ad- -justing-existing_sewer mainteMnce amount. plus $60,000 from sewer reserves and another $16,000 to he in- cluded in this year's hudget. Works superintendent Glen Kelis explained after Monday's session that the drain will be the first phase of a sanitary sewer project which will in- clude a future pumping station to han- dle areas north and south of the river. The new drain will originally be built,as a storm sewer and then swit- ched into the sanitary system at a later date. He said it should alleviate flooded basement problems in the area east of Pryde Boulevard and (he work should be completed this summer. Residents in the area have been plagued with flooded haseinents for some time and several have had raw sewage included in the mess to be cleaned up. When Councillor Dorothy Chapman asked if there was any grant available for the project during the meeting, Kells shook his head to respond in the negative. "We certainly have to do it: we've been talking about it for some time", commented public works committee chairman Lossy Fuller, who admitted the project will have a serious effect en this year's committee hudget. Have you got ticket? Time is running out on the holder of a lottery ticket purchased in Exeter last summer that is worth $38,579.50. The ticket won the second prize in the July 19 Lotto 6/49 draw, but has yet been unclaimed. The winning numbers in the draw were 7,25,28.32, 37, 43 and the bonus number was 16. Owner of the ticket has one year from the draw date in which to claim the prize. "Although our policy is not 'to release the location where the winn- ing ticket was sold until the winner has come forward," commented On- tario Lottery Corporation president D. Norman Morris, "we feel, and our minister agrees, we have an obliga- tion to bring these unclaimed prizes to the attention of the players who may have forgotten to check their tickets." • jor new transmission line from the Bruce nuclear plant to London, but, the appeal won't be presented unless other parties, particularly Ontario Hydro, make an appeal. Noting that he was considering the matter with his head and not his heart, chairman Tony McQuail advis- ed that action in his comments to about 400 of the 1,200 -member com- mittee in attendance at the Wednes- day session at SHDHS. He said preparing the appeal would be a "safety. precaution' and would only. be presented if Hydro appealed the decision or it appeared that some other group had started a lengthy ap- peal process. It was explained that Hydro was unhappy with the joint board hearing which approved a single line which will pass through prime agriculture land in Bruce, Huron and Middlesex and there was a possibility the utility could appeal in an effort to get a dif- ferent plan more to their liking or at least to change some of the terms and conditions handed down in the board's ruling. The audience, constituted primarily by land owners who will be directly affected by the new line, were told that any appeal to cabinet would not have a great chance of success as it would be seen as undermining the hearing process and cabinet would be l ...,, r� /j \ HEART AND STROKE CANVASS Mike Ryan and Al Renning of the South,Huron Junior Farmers present a cheque to Marg Cook of the Huron Heart and Stroke Foundation for the canvass in Usborne township. T -A photo Exeter won't hike -stipends for council Exeter council members won't be receiving any direct increase in stipends this year as the result of adoption of an executive committee recommendation on Monday. The committee npted that because council introduced pe'r diem rtes this year for extra meetings and conven- tion attendance, no increase should be made in the base stipend. Exeter's total remuneration will be compared with (he other four county towns early in 1988. Councillor Tom Humphreys was the lone objector to the recommenda- tion. noting that council had adopted a policy to increase stipends each year on the basis of the average in the other towns. • "It seems that every time we get a policy, we change it," he lamented, noting that it had been adopted so small increases would be made each year and save council the embarrass- ment of giving larger increases less frequently. Councillor Dorothy Chapman said council would have to live with the situation for a year to see how it works out in view of the fact a $70 per diem is now grantal for extra meetings and convention attendance. She explained that the per diem would automatically increase the average salary and added that every member should attend al least one conference or convention in which that member had an interest. Councillor Gaylan Josephson fur- ther explained that the per diem received in the stipends of council members in other towns is already us- ed in the comparison figures and agreed that local stipends would in- crease this year through payment of the.per diem. "There's no way we could give an increase and the per diem," conclud- ed Mrs. Chapman. Humphreys still opposed the motion when it was presented but it was sup- ported by all others in attendance. Other recommendations from the executive committee that were ap- proved included an increase in vision care from $60 to $125 under the group insurance program for the pur- chase of eye glasses every two years. The increase premium cost' will be 150.67 per month. A further $45 permonth increase was approved by changing the ter- minology in the long term disability protection from "any occuption" to "own occupation". Clerk Liz Bell was also asked to determine if employees could pur- chase extra life and accidential death benefits as well as restorative/or- thodonist 50 percent reimbursement if they wished. If extra coverage is Please turn to page 3 very reluctant to throw out a 180 -page report submitted by the three members of the hearing board who heard testimony for 130 days. .The group's lawyer, Peter - W. Kryworuk, of Lerner & Associates, backed McQuail's opinion by noting .cabinet would not want_ to second guess the hearingboard. By initiating an appeal, it 'could open the door for Hydro to follow suit and ask that some of the benefits won by farmers be removed. McQuail said he had no difficulty agreeing with those who found fault with the final decision on the line. "It's a real disappointment to have any line to London," he explained, but quickly added that it was still better than having two lines. Two other options were outlined at the meeting: to appeal to the divi- sional court or to start an action with the National Energy Board. While there were calls for taking the matter to the "highest court in the land", those alternatives received no support after the ramifications were outlined. ---Bothwere seenas being very cost- ly (one in the $100,000 to $200,000 range) and both were also seen as be- ing nothing more than delaying tac- tics. "The reason for the lien con- tinues to be there", the Lucknow area farmer explained, while the London lawyer said there was certainly no review of the method of promotion in guarantee of winning either case and it would be only a matter of buying that area. . . some time. He cautioned they could Chairman Bill Mickle advised the be held liable for costs brought on by committee of the visit of a German a delay in construction and that could entrepreneur to town on March 11 and tie in the'mtlItons $her nn March 15 and 16. After taking a break an&;rneeting in their respective townshipgrpups, the members- overwhelmingly adopted the plan to Prepare an appeal to cabinet and to ue it only if some other group initiat s the -action. However, the tan owners let it be known theywere not prepared to back' down from their fight with Ontario Hydro and wilt turn their energies to 'getting the best possible dear for owners who will be affected by the transmission line. - It was unanimously - agreed to restucture the organization so the board representatives will be primarily from the townships direct- ly affected. That is expected to take place within the next two to three weeks. Although there was some minor op- position. the membership also agreed to accept new members at the current rate of $1 per acre or 150 per, household. McQuail said the alternatives were to deny: dew memberships. allow them under the existing terms. -ear allow them with a premium being charged. - ' One audience member argued Please turn to pane 3 meitttemventwimmutmftssmassoss in a depressed area? Membership of Exeter's economic development committee has been ex- panded to 13. The new appointments include Karen Pfaff and Doug Ellison from the Business Improvement Area, Bob Spears from the planning advisory committee and businessmen Gary Beanend Peter Darbishire. At their meeting on March 12. members were advised that Mike Darbishire, the committee's representative in the United Kingdom, will be visiting Exeter in May at which time there will be a It was also explained there is a possibility that a European delegation may tour the community in coopera- tion with the ministry of industry. trade and technology and the County of Huron. A report from the Canada Employ- ment Centre showed that South Huron has an unemployment rate of 10.8 per- cent._ An update of coded wage scales for Exeter was also made available - to the committee. Commenting on the unemployment figures at Monday's session of coun- cil. Tom -Humphreys asked if they were seasonally adjusted,.notidg they were way above the average for Ontario. "It almost puts us in a depressed area," added Ben Hoogenboom, noting the figure was nearly double the Ontario average. . HONOUR CENTRALIA POSTMASTER Alice Koehler who has been at the Centralia village post of- fice for nine years mostly as Postmaster is taking over a similar position at Huron Pork. She was honoured at a Tuesday night party at Keegan's Inn. From the left are Kay Tripp. Alice Koehler and Diane An- drews. T -A photo •