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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes Advocate, 1994-03-09, Page 3Times -Advocate, Manch 9, 1994 Page 3 Strategic plan looks to future of Exeter 'Continued from front page. whether they're positive or neg- ative types." The mayor also observed that Exeter always ends up spending money on hard services, and spends virtually nothing on in- tangibles like the arts. "Should we be always prac- tical, or should we look at the impractical?" asked Shaw, say- ing it was a valid question to put to the community. Urlin said it will be hard to get an honest projection of what the town should look like in a dec- ade or two. "Has Exeter changed much in the last 10 years, 20 years? Not much, it's a nice little retirement community," said Urlin. He said the population might lean toward more seniors, or will there be young families com- muting to London, he asked? "I think the next few years will be the biggest change," said dep- uty -reeve Lossy Fuller. "If Exeter grows by 2,000 peo- ple, it all depends whether they will be over 60, or over 30," said Urlin. Councillor Robert Drummond said most new homes in Exeter are large, family -sized homes, and not aimed at retirees. He said maybe the town needs to be looking at providing more ser- vices for those families. "I know there were a lot of seniors when I came here 25 years ago, but there are a lot of families coming to Exeter to raise their children," agreed councillor Ben Hoogenboom. "We have to ask ourselves, do we want to get bigger? If we want to get bigger, how big do we want to get?" commented Shaw. "How much [financial] pres- sure do you put on the present population in order to double in size?" said councillor Ervin Sil- lery. Brown gave the council mem- bers a short exercise in setting their own personal priorities. Mayor Bruce Shaw, for example gave his highest priority to es- tablishing the Main St. inter- section as a civic -cultural centre, perhaps with the Old Town Hall as its centre. Reeve Bill Mickle apparently agreed. However, councillors Spears, Drummond, Urlin, Hoo- genboom, Bert Branderhorst and deputy -reeve Fuller all gave their top priority to expanding water and sewage capacity. Losers in the exercise were plans to incorporate the town li- brary with the public school, new road construction, day care, or renovating the police station into a library. After reviewing council's choices, the mayor said the pub- lic's priorites may be quite dif- ferent. "I hope there's a good turnout, a really good turnout, so we aren't left to our own devices," said Shaw of the March 30 meeting. Federal/provincial grants Hay Township eyeing up idea of building new office ZURICH - Hay Township, look- ing to find ways of allocating the $180,217 in federal/provincial grants comings its way, is consider- ing the construction of a new munic- ipal office with the funds. Clerk -treasurer Janisse Zimmer- man said the idea is only in the most tentative stages, having been brought up by council at its Febru- ary 24 meeting. However, she not- ed hopes to build a new centre for the township's business had been put on hold for some time. Other issues to be considered are whether the township's office should be located in Zurich, or outside, what size is needed, and what the township is prepared to spend. The grants are part of the fe!eral government's job creation plan, which aims to boost capital project spending at the municipal level with the federal, provincial, and lo- cal governments each throwing in one third of the costs. In addition to the $180,217 from the federal and Ontario govern- ments, Hay Township would have to add $90,109 of its own tunds to qualify for the grant. There may, however, be better places to spend the money, ac- knowledged Zimmerman. "There has to be consideration if there's other •projects that have higher priority," she said. HERE'S YOUR FREE TICKET TO THE MOVIES We invite you to attend our Free Information Seminar on Country Kable in your area FIRST SHOWING '7 p.m. sharp - Leam About Country Cable • For Rural & Urban SECOND SHOWING 8:30 p.m. sharp - For existing dishowners • Industry experts on hand • The future of satellite • How to restore your channels Thursday, March 10, 1994 At the Exeter Limon William Stmt presented by sss-Allen Stab64, a6ea -sti"4"""mg Farm plan aimed at all Ontario agriculture orContinued from front page. tario Farm Animal Council. The program's goal is to have every Ontario farmer try the plan by the year 2000. Right now, the leaders of various farm groups are being asked to show some lead- ership and go first. "It's a hard sell, to be honest," he said. "The people that have been thinking about the environment have been the first to get involved." However, as an industry, Thomp- son said agriculture probably puts more focus on environmental issues than others. "I've talked to some consumer groups, and their perception is the farmers are getting their house in order," he said, whereas many busi- nesses and industries are not. Gerald Johns, an Usborne Town- ship farmer is undergoing the En- vironmental Farm Plan exercise. Already he says he has discovered his operation needs some upgrades just to meet current requirements. "I knew my fuel storage was bad, but I didn't know it was so bad until I saw the legislation. I plan to do something with [the tanks] this year," said Johns. He admits he has some problems with how the Plan sets out its ideals. He points out the "best" ranking for spreading manure is to keep it more than 1,000 feet from any residence. He doubts it would be possible on any Usborne farm. "Best" ranked farm houses are ro- dent proof, according to the survey. "I don't know of any farm house that's rodent proof," he said. Nevertheless, the Plan does pro- vide a $500 per fanner incentive to help with upgrades he might under- take to meet the plans objectives, and Johns said it might help him move his fuel tanks. Still, Johns said he is more op- timistic about the Plan's potential now that he has attended the work- shop and worked on its ques- tionnaires and action plan. "It's not a witch hunt, I don't think, he said. Any Huron County farmers inter- ested in getting involved with the Environmental Farm Plan can con- tact George Thompson, who has an office at the Clinton OMAF build- ing for this project, at 1-800-265- 5170. Gerald Johns, an Usborne Township farmer, is one of the first to try out the Environmental Farm Plan. Agricultural organizations hope all Ontario farmers will have tried the plan before the year 2000. SPECIAL SPRING SHIPMENT LUM1NA&ASTRO YOUR BEST CHOICE ONE LOW PRICE STANDARD 4 -WHEEL ANTI-LOCK BRAKES - NOT AVAILABLE ON AEROSTAR OR BASE CARAVAN. MODULAR SEATING FOR SEVEN — NOT AVAILABLE ON AEROSTAR OR CARAVAN. RUST AND DENT RESISTANT COMPOSITE BODY PANELS - NOT AVAILABLE ON AEROSTAR OR CARAVAN. 7 -Passenger Seating • 3.1 L V6 Engine • Air Conditioning • Automatic 1994 CHEVROLET Transmission • Driver's Side Air Bag • Anti -Lock Brakes • AM/FM Stereo LUMINA VAN • Tinted Windows • Pulse Wipers • Plus Much, Much More. YOUR CHOICE: ASTRO OR LUMINA PURCHASE 7999 SMARTLEASE t S PER MONTH 48 MONTHS STANDARD 4 -WHEEL ANTI-LOCK BRAKES - NOT AVAILABLE ON AEROSTAR OR BASE CARAVAN. COMFORTABLE SEA TING FOR EIGHT — NOT AVAILABLE ON CARAVAN OR AEROSTAR. 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