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Times Advocate, 1993-04-14, Page 2Got a news tip? alu the ria at 2861331 Hiss 2 Times -Advocate, Atiri114,1993 egiona rap u Wingham employees Wages frozen WINGHAM - For a second year, the wages of Wingham's municipal employees have been frozen. As well, Wingham Town Council accepted a proposed tax increase of no more than two .percent, it. was. reported. in. the Wingham Independent. In making the motion for the zero percent increase in wages for all municipal employees, Councillor Ward Robertson said. the people would prefer to have a job and work than a pay in- azrease and not work. chiefs wage increase upsets councillors MITCHELL - Some Mitchell. town councillors feel that they didn't have the whole story on one police officer's salary in- crease, it was rind in the Mitchell Advocate. Mitchell Councillor Roth Fie - big told council Monday she un- derstood the police officers were receiving a 2.7 percent wage .in- crease. But after studying the budget, she learned one officer, Police Chief Chuck Zehr received a 6.5 percent increase. His salary was S50,400. Mitchell Mayor Hugh McCau- ghey explained that the average negotiated salary increase was 2.7 percent, but , that doesn't mean all officers received that increase. Deputy -Reeve Bob Burten- shaw and Reeve Harold Jordan said they too were not aware of the additional increase. Dogs banned from Maitland Woods GODERICH Town council decided on April 6 that dogs, even on a leash, will not be al- lowed in the Maitland Woods. According to the Goderich Signal -Star, council added a clause to the municipal parks by- law that prohibits dogs in the Maitland Woods, a wooded area in the industrial park. The bylaw change was based on recommendations from the Maitland Trail Association, which maintains the trail on a volunteer basis. The association slid dogs would disrupt the wildlife in the area. Parents protest cuts to programs ST. MARYS - More than 50 parents, teachers and students form St. Marys attended the Perth County board of oduca- ( lion's regular meeting on April 6, to protest program cuts. The meeting had to be moved of Anne Hathaway public school to accommodate the 300 people in attendance, it was reported in the Journal Agrus. Most were upset with the board's recent decision to cut the family studies and design and technology programs from its elementary schools. The St. Marys deligation were upset the school board did not give taxpayers what they felt was enough time for input into the budget problems, requested the board notify them in advance ..Ill decisions made from now $. County severance fees an urlGessary 'fix' Coalition vows to fight By Adrian Harte T -A Editor EXETER - The battle against the Huron County Planning Department's consent fee "tax" is heating up as seven municipalities join forces to fight what they see as an unfair fee sched- ule. The five county towns, Bayfield and Zu- rich are fighting a planning department $750 "consent" fee for approval of lot sev- erances, even though many municipalities do most of the planning themselves. Mayor Bruce Shaw told council last Monday evening his report at the last County Council session was recefved with "mixed reviews". While the seven municipalities endorsed it and agreed to fight the consent fee, 19 others voted it down, approving the fee structure which is•aimed at boosting plan- ning department revenues. The $750 fees would come on top of the Exeter's own plan- ning charges, under which the creation of a new lot costs the town about $400, and a lot adjustment might cost only $250. _.-Shaw-said-he viewed comments of the -county planner "as s v_e _pi_' fueling the age old rural -urban split", even though he felt Hu- ron townships and villages without their own planning servic- es still have a right to question the charges being levied against them. "The thought that carried the day was that this was more grousing by the towns," said Shaw. "Th46 is no way the $750 is justifiable, and our contention is that it's illegal," said Shaw. "Our position is that the [planning] depart- ment itself needs some housekeeping...their costs are simply too high," stated Shaw, and suggested Exeter might no long be able to afford their services. "They want more money...that department...it's a little em- pire, the empire has to be maintained, the empire's running a deficit and the empire's generated a little tax," said Shaw, of which he said would generate a considerable amount of mon- ey. This isn't the first time Exeter. council has battled the county planning department. The last dispute raged for five years over a Hay Township industrial park which Exeter ( 'I)1icerh(ltiO11 I)11111P1" Hot bidding, several raffles, and silent auctions kept the interest up in the fourth annual Con- servation Dinner at the South Huron Recreation Centre Thursday evening. At top left, Anne Motsseau makes her debut as a volunteer auctioneer. At top right Liz Watson of Parkhill is congratulated i3y Jon Dinney of the Lions Club after she won the Tammy Laye original painting, seen on the wall behind. Bottom left is Pam Hunter, a member of the Conservation Dinner Committee, selling blitz tickets on the premier work of art of the dinner. Bottom right is Rich- ard Lobb (standing) confirming her winning bid of Mad Hutchinson of St. Marys on a James Christensen print. Popular programs may be cut CLINTON - Board of Education trustees in Huron County hope to know by April 19 whether family studies and design technology courses will be on the cutting board. Although it had only been consid- ered one of many possible cost cutting worts, it is one option trustees have seriously considered in reducing the 1993 education budget. But parents in the arca have re- sponded overwhelmingly in favour of maintaining the programs it was revealed at the board's regular meeting April 5. Schools in the county sent out surveys to get reaction from parents on the idea of cutting the programs. Trustee Jim Chapman said in a later interview, that survey returns in Ex- eter showed parents want to keep the programs. But, he pointed. out, the board had never formally reached a stage in discussion that would haveput the programs on the carving block. The possible cut of the programs was proposed at a special budget meeting on March 24. Trustees at that time had requested the board's administration research the cost saving measures of eliminating the programs. It costs 5425,730 per year to run the programs. At present, gradc,seven and eight students choosing to take the fami- ly studies and design technology courses are bussed to one of about four schopls in the county that have the facilities for the programs. In defence of the programs trus- tee Joan Van Den Broeck said "We're jumping on someone else's bandwagon. We have always been frivolous if riot ultra conservative in fiscal matters." Her response came on April 5, af- ter lengthy discussion on the possi- bility of cutting the program if no alternative could be found. "We should not be getting frantic and cutting out programs," she said. Hensall nominated for recycling award HENSALL - The Village of liensall has been nominated for an Ontario Waste Minimization Award from the province's Recycling Council. The village was nominated by the County of Huron for its work in putting together an overall waste management plan, crowned by the construction of the municipal composting facility. Some council members, however, objected to the 5100 a ticket dinner cost associated with the awards banquet in Toronto. Councillor Butch Hoffman noted the 5100 ticket would be com- pounded with travel expenses. But since only four municipalities have been nominated for the award in. the under 211.000 population category, council agreed it would be good to have the village represented. "i would say we have a preuy good shot at winning it...but we don't know who the other three nominees are, so it's hard to say," said reeve Cecil Pepper. "i think somebody should be there. 1f we won, somebody should be there to get the award," commented councillor Bob Seaton. "i could see if it was $40-45 bucks [a ticket]," conceded councillor Dick Packham. "I'd like approval to attend, but 1'11 pay my own way," volunteered clerk Luanne Phair. Council gave Phair approval to attend the April 29 banquet, along with reeve Pepper as long as they were paying for, it expenses. wra 4 argued undermined its own industrial zonings and services. Town council in 1986 raised the spectre of seceding Exeter from Huron County, making it a "separate town", like St. Marys. This latest dispute over planning charges has rekin- dled interest in that possibility at several meetings. The coalition of municipalities fighting the county will con- tinue to meet to discuss its strategies, Shaw told council. The "group of seven" as they have been called, met April 8, and Shaw said all agreed to have five people (three adminis- trators and two politicians) draw up a policy on how the con- sent fees would be fought. The mayor said there is some doubt as to whether Goderich will continue its support of the coalition, apparently worried about a $17,000 grant the town receives from the county for the airport. However, Shaw said Goderich has passed a reso- lution asking the county not to comment on lot severances, thus eliminating the need for the consent fees. Shaw said the other municipalities may also follow that strategy, but he also said it was unlikely the problem could be solved so easily. Buyer says rail station also part of Grand Bend history Continued from front page. in taking over the building. An estimate was prepared by the foun- dation. "If you could do it for a quarter -million dollars, I'd say you would be quite fortunate," said Heywood, adding such a project in Exeter might have needed some financial support from the town or higher levels of government, but no money was available. "I don't think council had any desire to ask the taxpayers to con- tribute to this...and understandably so," he said. Heywood said the foundation had asked the rail company if the building could be purchased along with the property where it stands, but was told the property may have future uses. Dr. Anne Wilson,. the Grand Bend optometrist who has arranged to buy station said she can appreciate some Exeter people may be upset at losing the old landmark. "I think we have the same objective in mind, to try to save the building," said Wilson. She said she could understand the rail company's "economic deci- sions" to set a deadline on the station property, but she said she too was working hard to get the building off the land before June 1, or it will still be demolished. "We're racing against time here," she said, stating that because the building can't be moved through town, it must go through nearby fields before they are seeded. Wilson said she had been looking for a new location for her op- tometry practice, but had hoped for a "leisurely move". The news the station, needed.a buyer led her into a deal she.agrees.is far more costly than constructing a new building. "Who in their right mind would get involved in. this"?" she said, adding that she did not disagree with Heywood's $250,000 estimate of the costs involved to get it to a location on the north side of High- way 81 in Grand Bend and renovate it. Nevertheless, Wilson said she has had "wonderful help" from the local municipalities in her bid to save the building. Wilson noints out the station has a strong historical connection for Grand 1 too. Holiday visitors, or those heading for the famous dance hal.., would arrive in Exeter by train before travelling over- land to Grand Bend, which had no rail service. "It was our railway station too, historically speaking," explained Wilson. Ba _garbage next on list Hensall putting tight controls on village landfill use HENSALL - Village council is reviewing a new bylaw'for the mu- nicipal landfill site, setting out strict regulations on certain kinds of materials allowable in the dump's gates. Certain materials named in the bylaw will be banned from the landfill altogether, including recy- clable materials that can be collect- ed through the blue box system, batteries, or tires. Other materials, such as wire fencing, scrap metals. and compost - able materials will be accepted, but cannot be placed with the domestic garbage. All will have to be col- lected for acrap metal recycling or put through the compost facility. The part of the bylaw that gener- ated the most debate at council was a schedule for new tipping foes at the site. Council agreed the rates should perhaps be based on the vol- ume of garbage being dumped, rather than on arbitrary vehicle siz- es. Council was also concemed the rates may be too low, and will com- pare them to other municipalities in the region to make sure cheaper rates won't attract unwanted gar- bage. If reviewed and approved, the by- law could come into effect on July 1 this year. "If this thing works it should cov- er the maintenance and covering [of garbage]" said reeve Cecil Pep- per. "But the point is not to make money, but to cut back the amount of garbage," commented councillor Dick Peckham. 'Councillor Butch Hoffman said some measures will eventually have to be taken to control and curb the amount of garbage being set out by households. "We haven't hit households with this," said Hoffman. "We haven't affected them." Council also discussed the possi- bility of arranging special collec- tions for yard waste and other mate- rials that might be ground up in the tub grinder and composted. Pepper said it would be too late for such a collection this spring, but could be considered for the fall and next year. Also on the books for future council moctings if the eventual adoption of an torsi' Wasto Man- agement Pru tarn.. Modenod after the 'town of Limier's plan, a user pay residential collection is also in- cluded in the program. The current draft describes a bag -tag garbage collection system. with a certain number of free stickers to be dis- tributed to each household. Any- one needing additional sackers for extra garbage bags will have to pay extra.