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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes-Advocate, 1987-04-01, Page 2• Page 2 Times•Advocate, April 1, 1987 Luck, tricker You start with a dedicated ap- proach...add a lot of hard work and forethought...loss in a dash of luck...and mix with an element of . trickery. Those %_ere the ingredients for at- tracting and retaining industry cited by Huron County -senior planner Wayne Caldwell when he addressed the annual meeting of the Huron County Municipal Officers' Associa- tion in Exeter, Friday. Many of his thoughts were echoed by the other three speakers who ap- peared on the same topic: Ken Bowden of the ministry of industry, trade and technology; Chuck Godkin, of the ministry of municipal affairs; and Tim Roberts, a member of the economic development commission in ifidgetown. "It's difficult to pull a rabbit out of a hat and it's harder to,pull,out an in- dustry," Caldwell commented in his talk, -urging the municipal leaders to be realistic and patient in their ef- forts, because attracting industry "often takes a lot of time". While noting that economic development in most communities -PRESENT IDEAS ---_Themorningsession of the Huron Municipal Officers' Association meeting in Exeter on Friday dealt with attracting and retaining industry. Exeter Reeve Bill Mickle, second from the left, chats with the four speakers who aired their views on the subject: Tim Roberts, member of the Ridgetown Economic Development Commission: Reeve Mickle, Chuck Godkin, ministry of municipal affairs; Hucon senior planner Wayne Caldwell; and Ken Bowden, ministry of industry, trade and technology. Malone retires Continued from Irons page each to small industrial buildings and office areas of 5.000- square feet or less. Peters seeks PC nomination Nico Peters.• a 36 -year-old Tuckersmith Township farmer. has declared his intention to seek the Con- servative nomination for the Huron Riding in the next provincial election. Peters 'says he is aware of the frustrations felt throughout the towns and the townships over being bypass- ed in the economic boom presently en- joyed by. most ,other areas. of the province. "With the present government's tax increases and a one billion dollar unexpected windfall, people here are beginning to question why -funds aren't being used to promote.(he for- tunes and long term prosperity of our local communities," Peters added. Ile disagrees with those who say an election this year would be one without issues. "I can assure you that an election this year in Huron Coun- ty will be one that is built on the eon- cerns of our communities." Peters is an active member in several community and agricultural organizations and serves as a vice- president for the Iluron P.C. Association. The nomination meeting is schedul- edforApril 14, at 8 p.m., at the Cen- tral Huron Secondary School in Clinton. On location or Studio Bart DeVries PHOTOGRAPHY COMMERCIAL - WEDDINGS PORTRAITS • GROUPS - PUBLICITY - Telephone 23S•1298 137 Thames Rd., Easl, Exeter, Ont. Announcing Mowers Are now sold locally! • Guaranteed to start on the first or second pull for 2 years • The only starting guarantee of its kind in the industry Mi0111 TRACTOR Exeter 235-1115 • Prior to de -activation, the site employed about 250 civilians, the 10 major industries now located in the parte -employ, in excess of 1,150 workers. They currently occupy over 430,000 square feet and are continuing to expand. Ml industrial buildings are equip- ped with automatic sprinkler systems and a 100,000 gallon watersphere pro- vides added fire protection. Space conditioning heat and process steam is provided by individual gas-fired package boilers serviced by O.U.C. tradesmen at minimal cost to the tenant. The residential complex comprises .360 houses located on 135 acres of land. All houses are situated on ser- viced lots, have full basements and self-contained forced -air heating units. By renting houses. in the com- plex, a built-in labour force was created for the industries. Also attending Thursday's retire- ment reception ,were 'a number of area municipal offilds, represen- tativesg' froth Ontario Development Corporation and business located in the park along with former employee Pres Lavier who is now manager of the Northam Industrial Park at Cobourg. Stephen township Tom Tomes said. "Jack ran a good ship here. Stephen and ODC became one family. The business locations are now complete- ly filled. (Inc thing Huron Park has done is change Stephen township from agriculture to,urban industrial. Only one-third of our total assessment today is now agricultural. •' Former ODC directorfossWaddell also paid tribute to. Malone saying, "We worked closely together for 17 years. So closely_ that someone once described us as being intimate. After - we made the decisions like turning over recreation. water, sewage, fire departments and central heating to the township Jack had to deal with council. lie was a conscientous and dedicated manager." In his reply Malone said he and his wife Irene have made Centralia home. "Sure we have had some rough times in getting the park rolling, but it was worthwhile. Our family went to school here and in Exeter and we have had weddings, christenings, etc. it's home:" Malone paid special tribute to his staff. He added, "When special efforts were needed they were forthcoming." He concluded, "It's fitting to have the reception here in tale former of- ficei'`S-rs. i was on -the mess com- mittee for fps and wsbad just made considerable renovations when the announcement came that the base was closing." Gifts were presented by Kay McMillan of ODC, Stephen reeveTom Tomes. Exeter mayor Bruce Shaw and staff members Marg Brintnell and Doug Parsons. Hill Ford super- visor of operations at Huron Park was master of ceremonies. A successor to Malone's position is expected to be made by ODC in the very near future. Crediton man gets 14 -day jail term A Crediton man, who was denied in his request to move his case out of Ex- eter court to Goderich, was sentenc- ed to 14 days in jail. Tuesday. John D. Ilamilton appeared before Judge Gary Hunter in Exeter and pleaded guilty to an impaired driving charge that was laid on February 17. He was also given a six-month licence suspension. Court was told that Hamilton was seen driving in an erratic manner on the Crediton Road at 12:20 a.m. and the investigating officer said the ac- cused was weaving and turning sharply in an out of the westbound lane. A breathalizer lest gave a'reading of 200 mgs. Hamilton had previously been con- victed on August 26. 1985 on a charge of driving with a blood alcohol content over the legal limit. Ile asked that the case be moved to Goderich, explaining that he did not want his name in the local newspaper. Judge Hunter denied the request. The latter continued in his recent policy of reducing fines to people who didn't tie up court time. Ile imposed fines of $3.50; rather than the usual $500, on Gary 11. Grant, 106 Algonquin Drive, Huron Park, and Robert James Hall, RR 3 Teeswater, who each pleaded guilty to driving with a blood alcohol level over the 'legal limit. it was the first conviction for both and each was given a three- month driving suspension. Grant was charged on December 21 while driving on the Crediton Road at 7:55 p.m. -Ile was clocked at a speed STAHLKE SATELLITE SYSTEMS 27 Ceder St. John Stahtke 2,14.112 your dealer Economical Financing as low as 816.50 a week. FREE! 4 nights accommodation at Daytona Beach ($850 value) with the purchase of a Uniden System Ex• res Mar. 31/87. Call nowt of 108 km. per hour and the court learned he was driving in an erratic manner as he, veered onto the shoulder of the road at one time and was weaving in his lane. A breathalizer test conducted on the :31 -year-old gave a reading of 140 mgs. The Teeswater area driver was charged on February 28 on County - Road 21. He was reported to be driv- ing slowly at the time and his vehicle was weaving. A breathalizer test gave a t .ing of 200 mgs. The reduced fines were imposed after Judge Hunter noted that both had pleaded guilty and saved the court's time. • Each was given 90 days in which to pay the fines. Municipal leaders told how to attract, retain industry art of the game was aimed at attracting new industry, Caldwell suggested it should also in- clude business and commerce, tourism, residential growth, agriculture, fishing, transportation, community services and community well being. In setting up organizations and •'goals for economic development, the planner said it was important to have realistic goals as not every municipality could expect to attract a major industry and should be gear- ing more for residential growth or im- proving present amenities for the benefit of existing residents. He advised that the county plann- ing department, which is in charge of economic development as well, is 'available to assist wherever they can. One important function' being undertaken at present is a blueprint for industrial and tourism strategies in Huron. However. he cautioned that the county could not get involved in presenting one municipality over another in representations to prospec- tive industries or businesses and it was the municipality's responsibility —to—represent—themselves—w' county's goal being to make contacts. In outlining considerations in plan- ning for economic development, Caldwell erhphasized that 80 percent of the growth in a municipality comes from within from existing businesses and industries and urged members to be aware of provincial, federal and county support available. He concluded that aspect by noting that the availability of land and buildings was a key to the oppor- tunities for attracting growth. in his remarks, Roberts told the Huron officials 'that when the economic development commission was started in Ridgetown in 1084, it became apparent that the biggest -thing needed was to change the at- titude t- titude of people inthe community; as many were opposed to growth, not recognizing that attracting industries was primarily a case of filling the void left by those which had closed or departed in recent years. "You've got to out -hustle the other guy," he commented, noting that most municipalities have the same thing to offer. "Be a sales man and get out of your chair," he added. f le reviewed some of the successes • of his commission, which included at- tracting three industries and establishing the seventh busiest tourist information centre in Ontario. and outlined some of the goals of the - group. cr< The insurance broker welcomed Hucon municipalities-rto steal Ridgetewn's ideas, rang "we've already amendedlhem and have new ideas". Bowden. whose territory for the ministry of industry trade and technology, includes London. Mid- dlesex and Huron, opened his remarks by explaining that there is a lot of work involved in attracting and retaining industry and then outlined many of the services offered by the ministry in that regard. He announced that. next fall, the. ministry hopes to attract 20 to 25 European entrepreneurs to the area and urged municipal leaders to com- plete their municipal profiles in an ef- fort to encourage those entrepreneurs to visit their communities. Bowden noted that the investment climate in Canada is very attractive for foreign investment at present and there are many people in other coun- tries who have money to invest. He also advised that the incubator centres in .ondon had worked out very successful and could be tried in Huron as local municipalities may have •entrepreneurs who need only a building to get them started in suc- cessful ventures. "If you put up a building, i guarantee you'll lease it," he added, but admitted that it was difficult to get bank financing for such projects. without tenants already being signed up. Godkin explained to the audience that he was on hand to tell them what they can't do and outlined Bill 79, which lists the prohibitions facing municipalities on the'matter of pro- viding bonuses for prospective industries. He said it was to ensure that municipalities don't get into bidding wars in air effort to attract -industry by providing incent11tes,such as free land or leasing below market values. Godkin indicated the legislation was aimed at keeping all `. municipalities on the same level in at- tracting industry `and he cautioned them to check with`{heir solicitor to make certain they are not contraven- ing the law on bonusing prohibitions in their dealing with prospective in- dustries or businesses.-. Fibron school budget Continued from front page $21.700 will go towards the develop- ment -of a multi -shop technical facili- ty. This will accommodate students at all levels of difficulty and will incor-_' porate components normally found in several shop areas in larger. secon- dary schools. • - At Goderich District Collegiate In- stitute, $5,000 will be spent to make minor building changes to allow teaching spaces for instruction in fur- niture refinishing and painting and decorating, and to provide additional spaces for an expanded auto pro- gram: This- work %%ill- also -comple- ment building changes to accom- ttit—ttTtr odale_-the_-senior sludents_wi-t1T— challenging learning needs formerly located at Victoria Public School. Other special projects will see. $5,000 used to support alcohol and drug education programs: $14.000 for the replacement of the IICBE courier van, $26,950 for the full computeriza- tion of financial services at the IICBE Education Centre and an additional $30,000 for temporary personnel hir- ings to implement the new servic.•. Also noteworthy is a 815.000 allot- rtlent for late bus proposals. whereby secondary schools may apply to the board for funding to offer limited late -bus scheduling as a means to allow students to participate in co-cirricular activities. Another -810,000 will go to health and safety repair of field and playground equipment and $8,000 will be used to support communication and public relations -work-.- - The special projects included in this year's budget are part of a detailed report of estimates. In 1987 the elementary expenditures, are ex- pected to run at 823,789,215 up 8.9 per- cent from the 1986 figure of $22,052.531. At the secondary school level. the expenditures. for 1987 will be 820,764,530. as compared lo $18,576.385 in the year previous for an increase of 4.2 percent. While expenditures in the 1987 budget are up over previous years. the director of education. Bob Allan said that4his year he is encouraged by additopal financial support given by the provincial government: Additional French itn tructibn at the public school level has meant addi- tional grant money, amounting to $556,782 which is some 894.000 more than received in 1986. Various other monies from the -province amount to total to $15,001,157 in 1987. At the secondary level. grant money has been awarded to the HCBE for various education in: Spring is Here Stratford Memorials Reopening our Hensall Showroom Now is a good time to plan for your memorial needs For completion for a specific date order Now. We offer very competitive prices and prompt service Visit our HENSA L L SHOWROOM 120 King St., Hensall Agent: Michael P. O'Connor 236-4365 itiatives, including $72,897 for the con- tinuing education programs, $15,000 for the Ties to Business and Industry program and $:39.600 for the Co-op Education. In total the provincial con- tribution to the 1987 financial pro- gram for .the IICBE secondary schools is $11,865,734. Mr. Allan said he was encouraged by this year's budget and the provin- cial input.1 le noted, "The provincial share hasn't quite kept pace. but they have put up a good amount of money this year. I'm encouraged by this." Ile suggested that the additional government support could -be -due -in Part to the increased enrolment figures within the srhuol system-. • Enrolment, on the decline since 1971, rose slightly this year. in_ 1982 the figure in the decline per year column read 260.81. This year the figure reads on the positive side to 10.58. Additional budget and formula changes were seen this year in the reclassification of Roman Catholic students who attend secondary schools in Huron County. In 1987 the secondary school residential assess- ment has dropped $10 million from $99,460,746 in 1986 to 889,685,602. This has meant a decrease of 9.1 -percent in the municipal revenue requirement for 1987. The IICBE will be'receiving a new revenue, the tax transfer from the Roman Catholic board assess- - inent for students in grades 11-13, amounting to $573,787. As well. the Catholic school 'board will pay the 1lCBE $1,82,9,479 as tuition fees for the some 120 Catholic students who are enrolled in grade 9 and 10 public secondary schools. This amounted to $1,095,954 in 1986. RECEIVE GRANTS At recent meetings, the board of the Ontario Arts Council approved grants in the amount of $3,640,228 consisting of 521 grants to individuals and 275 grants to arts organizations throughout the province. Among the grants were $68,000 to the Blyth Festival and $40,500 to the Huron Country Playhouse at Grand Bend. The Blyth Festival also receiv- ed $8,350 for music theatre and $3,550 for touring arts funds. The Ontario Arts Council is an agen- cy of the Ontario government, fund- ed through the Ministry of Citizenship and Culture. It comprises a decision- making body. of 12 members who serve voluntarily on the Board. ap- pointed from across Ontario by Order -in -Council. a DRESSED FOR THE OCCASION - - Celebrating Hawaiian Day at Ex- eter Public School were (bock left) student council v/p Jenny Wurm, Shannon McBride, Jeff Bowen, Jackie Sweitzer and (front) Jessie Bergmann, Brett Rideout, student council president Ian McLean, teacher Larry Black and Jenna Darling. Moonlight Madness at ANSTETT 284 Main St. Exeter Come in and see our In \, Store Values Savings up to 50% Wed. thru. til Sat.