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Home My WebLink AboutTimes Advocate, 1994-06-08, Page 23Times -Advocate, June 8, 1994 Page 23 Hensall Public School track and field day High Jumps were a bit part of the competition as well. Here, Michelle Zwant concentrates on getting her legs over. Grade 5 and 6 boys at Hensall Public School get ready for an 800 metre run is during track and field competition at the school last Thursday and Friday. Pictured from left are: Shawn Willert, Gresham Bayley, Nick Bayley and Brandon Martin. Showing h /e E �' ci f: s ng Style Matthe ,"u('nr - clears his hg� °gym seau p. re ares for another tt er first jump. G a Student She toppede Consitt p n running Thursday morning. 80 metre run and 400 metre run. 1 TT our Views Letters to the editor Traffic enforcement too lax "Do you want a place that is simply for drinking beer, swearing loudly, blaring music all night, and urinating on other peoples' property?" Dear Grand Bend Traffic and Policing Commit- tee: It was a delight to arrive in Grand Bend for the Victoria Day Weekend and see the newly - completed parking lots so beautifully paved. They are definite and much overdue improvements. Con- gratulations to all those who made it possible. I also had a delightful weekend attending the event of the "Up, Up and Awaves" activities. The balloons taking off from the Oakwood Driving range is an incredibly beautiful sight 1 will long re- member. Unfortunately 1 will also long remember how my weekend was ruined by, what 1 describe as "lax" or "too liberal" police and law-enforcement. In our supposedly quieter Walker St./Elmwood section of Grand Bend (north of Oak St.), there were many times that our lawns were used for uri- nation by drunken non -property owners. We also ha illegal parking, dangerous driving, ear damag- ing oise, trespassing on private property, and ille- gal I f burning. Numerous neighbours, and myself, comp ined to the proper authorities. The enforce- ment s med to he inconsistent. • One eighbour complaining about a dozen peo- ple trespassing on an absent neighbours' property was told by the authorities they wouldn't do any- thing because they were "quiet". • Another time, when illegally parked cars were brought to the attention of the authorities, no ticket or towing resulted. • The constant patrols of last year by police and bylaw were not in much evidence. What 1 would like to strongly recommend to thc committee is the following four point plan to return control of Grand Bend to those who own property, pay taxes and year-round speeding thcir,money in this community rather than having it controlled by the weekend out-of-town transients, who, at best, buy a case of beer and a hag of chips. First: "Zero Tolerance" in all cases if there is a bylaw or legal violation; issues such as "they are quiet" should never come into play. "Tow, Tag, or Charge" - no first warnings should be the weekend norm rather than the attitude 1 en- countered this weekend of, "if they are still here at ?:OO p.m. we will do something about it." Second: Constant patrols, pro -actively "towing, tagging and charging". Instead of waiting for a com- plaint, get out there all weekend, actively looking for any or all violations of the bylaws and legal codes. I personally observed countless motor vehi- cle violations, from not wearing a seat belt, speed- ing, and outright dangerous driving. Do we need an- other innocent pedestrian killed to get action? Third: Allow property owners to re -install their fences, barriers, rocks, or whatever they used to use, to control unwanted partyers and parkers. Since en- forcement is not working, let's bring back the roped -off areas in front of the homes of residents and cottagers who are attempting to make Grand Bend a better place, rather than what resembles a long weekend "war zone." Fourth: Go after the landlords of these "party pal- aces." How do you expect Grand Bend to truly become a "year-round destination resort" when we have streets in the "jungle" Tined with buildings, that are little more than shacks to drink beer in front of. Many of us pay local contractors year-round to land- scape and maintain our residences, while not far away we have streets full of these "party palaces" littered with garbage, unraked leaves, uncut grass, and unmaintaincd buildings. If the owners of these places could be constantly pursued by all means possible this unfortunate "sleeze" clement in Grand Bend would gradually di- minish. I left Muskoka five years ago to come to Grand Bend, believing it is a great year-round community. I strongly encourage you and your committee to do everything possible to improve our community. Do you want a place that is simply for drinking beer, swearing loudly, blaring music all night, and urinating on other peoples' property? Or do you want a year-round resort attracting "up- scale tourists", families of all ages, and people who will make a long-term financial investment in this town? It's your choice! 1 look forward to positive improvements for the upcoming Canada Day weekend. Sincerely, Jim Gill Grand Bend c.c. Mayor Tom Lawson; councillors Cam Ivey, Ed Fluter, Bill Uniac, Phil Maguire; Lakeshore Ad- vance Newspaper; Exeter Times Advocate Newspa- per Irk and Field competition at, Hensall Public School on Thursday and Friday -also included putt. Here, Grade 5 student Ben Parsons gives it his all while Grade 8 student Kim Tay- lor looks on. Exeter and Clinton may face penalty for not paying fees GODERICH - County Council agreed on Thursday to take action against Exeter and Clinton if pay- ment of planning fees is not made when the invoices are mailed out. The proposal was carried out despite some grumbling from a few county councillors. "I don't know whether Clinton and Exeter are the bad guys," said councillor Bea Cook. "Two differ- ent consultants have told us the fee is too much," she said. The new planning fee structure would see all municipalities being charged the sante fee for certain planning requests. Many municipal officials have argued over the past fcw months that the fees are too high for work being done. Some municipalities feel thc new system is unfair because many tax- payers will he subsidizing com- plicated planning matters in other municipalities. But Exeter and Clinton arc thc only towns left that haven't passed a bylaw allowing thc new fee stric- ture. Councillor Bill Mickle explained Exeter's position on the issue by Lucan Community Bingo June 8 Bingo starts 7:30 p.m. Regular Games $1000 Jackpot Game 54 calls or less $1000. bonus Total prizes $3000 Due to the licence regulations, no one under 18 allowed to play Licence #537495 saying the county and Exeter have a different interpretation of what user fee means. As well, Exeter has a unique agreement with the county that al- lows the town to do all its own planning in exchange for some ser- vices. Mickle said the agreement states that the town does all the planning work and the county's role is only as a commenting agency on that work. He also said Exeter councillors don't want to pay for services they don't use. But Gary Davidson, the director of planning for Huron County, said under the new user -pay plan, the fccs would be split between the county and the municipality, de- pending on which did the work and which administration was used. "County council felt everyone was going to be treated the same," Davidson said. Other councillors echoed this view, saying it wouldn't be fair to other municipalities who will be paying the fee if both Exeter and Clinton are allowed to opt out. The soon -to -be -mailed -out in- voice will explain thc possible op- tions that are available to thc county if payment is not made. This could mean the county will refuse its consent granting function. For the two towns that would mean difficulties getting approval for such things as land severances. 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