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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes-Advocate, 1987-05-06, Page 34Page 18A I imes-Advocate. Muv 6, 1987 Increase pipe size Hav township awards contract to construct water >>>terr. Omega Contractors, London, have been awarded the contract to con- struct the Hay township waterline. Their tender of $1,266,544 to build the trunk line to serve only Hay township, as originally planned, and an alter- nate bid of $1,509,144 which includes a pipe size change from 12 to 14 inch so Stanley township can hook in later were the lowest of four opened at the fust regular May session of Hay coun- cil. The second lowest bid, from Hodgins and Hayter, was over $300,000 higher for both options. The highest tender was over $1,000.000 more than the lowest. Stanley Reeve Clarence Rau and clerk Mel Graham were present when the tenders were opened. Engineer Bruce Potter of Burns Ross and Associates checked all the tenders. Council took his advice and passed the motion awarding the con- tract to construct an oversize pipelo Omega, subject to approval by Stanley township, confirmation of MOE funding, and borrowing ap- proval from the OMB. Stanley township has already been promised 100 percent funding for the estimated $400,000 cost of oversizing the pipe through Hay township, Under the Omega tender, that cost is reduc- ed to $242,600. Stanley is still awaiting a government decision on what percentage the MOE will pay when the pipeline is extended into Stanley. The province is paying 74 percent of the cost of the Hay line. However, the Omega contract is still higher than the original estimate calculated in 1985, and Hay is only allowed to borrow 20 perceneof its assessment. Hay Reeve Lionel Wilder said the township "must reserve something to run the township". The municipality may have to return to the OMB to get permission to borrow more than originally estimated. Potter said construction costs are up 10 percent this year, and suppliers are no longer giving discounts. Potter said that history has shown the ministry won't balk at increased costs, and will consider the "total package". They had expected to pay 74.9 percent of the original construc- tion estimate of $1,372,000 plus 100 percent of $400,000. Now they are look- ing at 74.9 percent of approximately $1.5 million plus 100 percent of $250,000. Ed Chilton, an employee of the Ross firm, will begin knocking on doors later this Weak to ask property owners if they want the water service now, and where they want it located. Those not wanting the service will be re- quired to sign off. All affected proper- ty owners will be notified in writing of their options, Open houses are scheduled at the Hessenland Restaurant on May 16 and 23 to allow people to discuss details of the water services with Potter. Victor Brisson appeared before council to discuss a proposed agree- ment with the township and Bluewater Properties, who purchas- ed the Cantin subdivision at St. Joseph last April. As the plan to build condominiums proved to be too ex- pensive and time-consuming, the developers are reverting to the original zoning for single family dwellings. The main shareholders, Brisso 's son, two daughters and Peter lbntin, will develop the subdivi- sion in three phases. Although the zoning bylaw will not be changed, the imminent arrival of the waterline renders some of the terms in the old agreement obsolete. Brisson said required drainage had been completed and • inspected by , B.M. Ross engineers. He also asked that the old dock at St. Joseph be preserved. Wilder told Brisson the agreement will be submitted to township lawyer Kim McLean for comments. Burns Ross will be asked to verify the drainage. Wilder said the municipali- ty is not prepared to relinquish the five lots it holds as a performance bond until the subdivision is com- pleted. A decision on the agreement will be made at the next council meeting -on May -19. Wilder asked to have his appoint- ment to sit as Hay's representative on the court of revision of the Zurich drain on May 13 rescinded. He said he has received information which made him resolve to speak on behalf of the May will be busy month for PUC The month of May will be excep- tionally busy for the Exeter PUC, manager Hugh Davis informed the regular April meeting of the Commis- sion. Sidewalk superintendents can mark May 13 on their calendar. That's the day a giant crane sets out from London at 8:00 a.m. at a.cost of 1175 per hour to overhaul the substa- tion at the library. When the crane arrives in Exeter, it will go first to the community park to load the new 15 -ton transformer, tote it to its new location, and set up ready to begin work about noon. The six old ten -ton transformers will be lifted out and replaced with the mam- moth modern one. Davis promises spectators a good view from the safe side of the fence. A PUC work crew will begin laying underground conductors this month at the Veri subdivision. Once tenders are opened on May 19, Davis expects work on the Hicks well to begin right away. The PUC many also be faced with a big project in the future. Davis reported that inspection of a water main break at the north end of Main St. revealed corrosion of the pipe. Soil samples have been sent away by courier. The problem seems to be cen- tred on the section between Waiper St. and Thames (toad. Davis explained that at one time the many galvanized services acted as sacrificial anodes, protecting the cast iron mains. Now, with these replaced with copper, the old' mains ii7 Sic• h, 'a:�%,'A„ici':::..:. are deteriorating. The PUC has spent $5,000 protecting potential trouble spots in the Thames Road area with zinc anodes, and Davis expected the north end section will have to be replaced and protected too. He does not look forward to the job, describ- ing the Locale as "a stinking place to work because there is no room". Turning to what has already been accomplished, Davis said the Victoria and Gidley St. betterments have been completed, material has been ordered for servicing the Veri and Darling subdivisions, and four capacitor banks containing PCBs have been removed from town by Ontario Hydro, freeing some poles which the local utility "can make good use of". Replacing a concrete street light pole hit by person or persons unknown has cost the town approximately $2,000. PUC chairman Murray Greene and Commissioner Harry DeVries plan to attend the combined two -and -one-half days of meetings of the Ontario sec- tor of the American Water Works Association and the Ontario Municipal Water Works Association being held in Ottawa. Besides serving on the executive of the latter, Greene is also vice- chairman of District 7 t London i of the Municipal Electric Association and on the annual meeting committee of the parent MEA. De Vries is a member of the MEA's consumer information and advertis- !ng committee. Varna carnation sales help MS research By Mary Chessell May is Multiple Sclerosis month. Members of the Mothers Club of Goshen are selling carnations ( real and silk) in support of MS research on May 9. Please be generous when they call on you. I think we all know or have known people with MS. I believe the researchers have made alot' progress in recent years in understan- ding the causes of MS, and hopefully a cure or prevention is only a short time away. Final card party The final Orange Lodge card party of the season was held Friday night with 11 tables in play. Erma Crich won ladies' high and Helen Pepper received the consolation prize. Walter Pepper was high for men and -Glen_ Dowson was low. Draw prize winners were Jeanette Turner. Doris Laycox and Eileen Consitt. David and Marilyn Marshall of _ Tweed were guests of Bill and Mary Chessell on Monday morning. They were in Clinton for the. funeral of --Hugh-Lobb on Sunday, and also went to Mrs. Rowat s funeral in Seafo rth on Monday. UCW There will be a small plant ex- change at the meeting of Varna UCW on Thursday evening: Mrs. Mary Reid and Mrs. Laurie Broadfoot were received into the ..41111111111110116. LEGION DONATES -- Rick Smith on behalf of the Exeter legion presents a cheque to Cathy Skinner (right) and Darlene Passmork (left) representing the Usborne minor baseball tykes. Okay teachers pact Huron County Board of Educa- tion and its 385 elementary teachers represented by the Huron Women Teachers' Association and the On- tario Public School Teachers' Federa- tion - Huron have reached an agree- ment for the 1986/87 and 1987/88 school years. The agreement calls for a 3.4 per- cent increase in grid salaries retroac- tive to September 1, 1986, followed by a 1.1 percent increase effective April 1, 1987. In addition to this 1.1 percent increase, some cells on the grid will be adjusted to eliminate some ine- quities. The grid will be increased by a further 4.48 percent effective September 1, 1987. As of September 1, 1987, the minimum and maximum teachers' salarieswillbe $19,120.00 and 150,100.00 respectively. Ad- justments in allowances range from 0 percent to 4.48 percent. The total cost increases are approx- imately 4.1 percent for the 1986/87 school year and 4.48 percent for the 1987/88 school year. The agreement also calls for joint investigations into the benefits package, teacher preparation time, the retirement gratuity plan and an early retirement incentive plan. Although the negotiations took over 12 months the parties are pleased to have some time to investigate areas of mutual concern in a very positive mode through the committee structure. Nibbert Cancer canvass By MIK. ROBERT LAING Rev. Robert Johnson,' Baden, was in charge of Sunday's church service and spoke on the theme, What We Do Determines Who We Are. He said something is beautiful because of what it does, not what it is. Jesus disturbed a lot of people including the Pharisees. Levites, even his friends, by such acts as healing a blind man on the Sabbath. He stated that we are now God's church and it is up to us to pass on the faith. The Old and New Scripture passages were read by Roberta Templeman and the choir sang 1 Wonder Ilave I Done My Best for Jesus. The Cancer canvass has been com- pleted on the 10th and 11th of hbbert with $332. being raised thanks to the efforts of Bob Hamilton, Bob Norris, Dorothy Dow, Eldon Allen, Ruth La- ing. and Gretta Miller. Muriel Scott, Edna Stoneman, Agnes Lamond, Helen Parsons, Mary Elliott and Ruth Laing attended the Hamilton -London Synodical of the Women's Missionary Society in Listowel. Most people wish to serve God - but in an advisory capacity only. Woman to husband in football stadium: "What gets me is, after fighting traffic for 20 miles, we cheer some guy for gaining 15 yards." n membership of Varna United Church by_transfer on Sunday in a ceremony conducted by Rev. Samuel Parker. Bill McAsh extended the hand of fellowship to them and Carol Simons presented them with red carnatins. Anniversary Congratulations to Eric and Sharon Chuter who celebrate twenty-five years of marriage on May 5. Their friends held a surprise party for them at the Oakwood Inn on April 11, another- "birthdayparty" surprise. Lola and Jerry Brubacher and Wilfred Chuter treated them to dinner at the Bedford Hotel on April 25. and a family dinner is scheduled for this weekend. The pot is black ' Some criticism levelled at Exeter council this week appeared, in part, to be a case of the pot calling itself black. - The planning advisory committee report included on the agenda ex- pressed disappointment with council over the plan to drop the services of Huron county planning department before committee members had been consulted prior to the decision being made. The motion approved by the com- mittee was made by council represen- tatives, Ben Hoogenboom and Gaylan Josephson, who were involved' in council's decision to hire a private i o den The surrounding bushes are becom- ing quite green and the leaves will soon be fully out, although we may soon need a nice warm rain to give us a bit of moisture. The tnovies shown on Monday even- ing were "Sail Away" and "Riviera". These will be the last of our regular movies until fall since the day light saving time makes the early evening hours too sunny for the'pictures.to show up. Please circle your calendar for this Saturday, Mlay 9 when the Mother's Day Tea will be held in the auditorium from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. This will include a bake sale, plant table and display of quilts. As men- tioned previously. donations of baking will be greatly appreciated by the members of the Auxiliary. As many of you may have noticed, Hay population down to 1,885 Auditor Eugene Bender attended the first May session of Hay township council to, go over the 1986 financial report of the municipality. The township ended the year with a deficit of 87,000, the resultof large expenditures on equipment at the end of the year. This compares with a surplus of 832,000 the previous year. Bender showed in a six-year review that the population has decreased slightly from 1,906 in 1981 to 1,885 in 1986, while the number of househ(1. has increased from 1,355 to 1 +2 Total taxable asscssn nt grown from $4,237,00u to $ . tla and the residential and fa i m mill r: climbed from 8215.49 in 1981 to :11n till in.1986. Although the municipal levy has gone from 49.30 mills to 70.'77 and the county's share from 36.96 to 56.11, • education taxes have ballooned from 128.23 in 1981 to 183.98 in 1986. The complete 1986 financial report ..will be published later this month in this paper. planning consultant to replace the county department. In addition, the planning committee motion advised council they were very happy with county planner Wayne Caldwell's work and assistance given to the committee on planning business. Noting that the two council members had originated the motion expressing disappointment in council, Mayor Bruce Shaw wondered aloud if it had been done to placate fellow committee members. Josephson said that it had not been spelled out at the time of .council's decision that there was no concern over the work of Caldwell. fimpiei the Home has been undergoing a face lift. We are indebted to the Township of Hay who had previously furnished the front lobby when the Home was built, and now given agenerous grant towards replacing the ftfrnishings. Mass was celebrated by Fr. Mooney on Thursday afteroon. Residents who were out visiting during the wek were Mr. Alvin Steckle, Mr. Aaron Gingerich, Mr. George Grenier, Mrs. Elizabeth Gingerich, Mrs. Genevieve Ducharme, Mrs. Ruth Warner, Mrs. Fern Love, Mr. Fred Teeter and Mrs. Violet Huntley. • - Bingo was held on Friday evening followed by refreshments. The Sunday evening chapel service was conducted by Rev. Clayton Kuepfer of the Zurich Mennonite Church. township, and he would have to re- main silent if he were part of the court of revision. Murray Keys was ap- pointed to represent Hay. The report on the Luther -Miller municipal drain will be read at the May 19 meeting. The total cost is 825,950, but allowances and erosion control grants reduce that to a net figure of 818,357. The net cost to the Anne Luther property has been assessed at 85,300, and $5,370 to Wayne Miller. Hensall's request for a 1987 recrea- tion grant increase from the promis- ed 82,500 to 86,291 representing the cost to Hensall of the 12 percent of users from the adjacent township was turned down. Wilder said Hay's 1987 recreation budget has already been set, and the payment to Hensall is $100 more than last year's. 'A' TEAM IS TOPS The 'A' Team won the league championship in the Exeter ladies dart league. Above, Ellen Knight presents the trophy to Marg Wragg End Annie Lawson of the back and Marie Ferguson and Jan Sedlak at the front. - CONSOLATION DART WINNERS The Golden Girls were consola- tion winners in the Exeter ladies dart league playoffs. From the left are Olive Ostland, Dorothy Wallace, Doris -Hackney, Shirley Camp- bell and Julie Higgins. T -A photo REBELS WIN PLAYOFFS - The playoff championship of the Exeter ladies dart league was won by the Rebels. From the left ore Wanda Reynolds, Marion Froyne, Barb Hearn and Irene Jackson. T -A photo Cost reference was improper Last week's news item pertaining to the town's purchase of industrial land explained that an earlier pro- posal to purchase land from Ted and Donna Jones had been dropped when council became "faced with gigantic servicing costs". The reference to gigantic costs'was obviously improper as it is open to interpretation: More factually. it should be noted that the cost of servicing the 50 -acre site west of the CNK tracks was estimated at $483.000 by an engineer- ing firm which provided council with • a study in that regard. The property had been offered at $5,000 per acre and the total purchase and servicing cost. which would have been undertaken over a number of years, was estimated at 1733,000 for the town. That works out to $14,666 per servic- ed acre. The purchase of -land approv- ed by council last week was for $18,000 per acre art the 10 -acre site is servic- ed only to the westerly property line. INVESTMENTS FINANCIAL CENTRE, GODERICH 524-2773 1-800-2654503 fl4eqa1we'4 In -Store Specials for Mother's Day May 7, 8, 9 (Don't miss out) 383 Main St., Exeter, Ont. THE PROBLEM THE SOLUTION Dandelions ! `wed 2�►�, WE CARE FOR YOUR LAWN. •, THE NUMBER CALL TOLL FREE LOCAL CALLS DIAL 1-800-265-5593: 524-2424