Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes-Advocate, 1999-02-10, Page 5$ ru ri44-. ylat3i.'+. at `e Wedni day.`t ,i.... d 19: v ,4..4 4'; !,r,i•f 1444.1 Exeter Times -Advocate 5 Long and short term plans looked at for dump EXETER — EX)ter has too much of a good thing when comes to recycling and the• long term economic health of the Exeter landfill site. - In a report by town chief. adMinistra- five officer Rick Hundey to Monday's committee of the whole meeting. Exeter's highly successful waste diver' sion program (recycling, cardboard col- lection, composting) on top of increased costs to run the dump (staff costs, bull- dozing, taxes, insurance, expansion study consulting/engineering costs) has meant the site may not be viable in the long run. Hundey said revenues at the dump don't meet its cost of operation. And costs will only go up when the town is granted its Certificate of Approval from the Ministry of the Environment tp offi- cially open up 'area B' in an ,expansion of the site to meet future capacity needs. Hundey said given the difficulties of selling the site to Huron County, the town should attract new customers to dump their waste at Exeter's site such as Stephen and Usborne townships, other municipalities and private waste haulers to increase revenue. Some of those revenues would go to paying for the site's fixture needs.- Hundey underlined .the town could keep the door open On selling the dump toa the county while soliciting more busi- ness. Both Stephen and Osborne have sent letters to the town outlining their inter- est in using the town dump if they can cut their waste disposal costs. Hundey said Stephen is running out of time when it comes to capacity at their dump. "They're in the last throes death over there," Htnidey said. Usborne has closed its dump except for one day a week and is exporting their garbage to Greenlane Environmental's facility near T ilbotville through Bluewater. Recycling. "I think there's a lot of potential there," Hundey said of opening up Exeter'. dump to other municipalities including beyond the neighbouring townships. In the short term, the committee directed Hundey and his staff to look into the possibility of acquiring •weigh scales. Right now waste dumped at the site is measured fin- payment by volume. Councillors Robert Drummond, Dave Urlin and Pete'Armstrong argued mea- suring -waste by weight arguably is a more. equitable system for customers and might attract more business and past business that has gone elsewhere. Drummond suggested, Exeter buy weight scales for about $40,000. Stephen Township • has weight scales that the Exeter dump could use come amalgamation or possibly before. Reeve Roy Triebner directed Hundey to come up with an analysis of what the scalescould mean to the site's bottom line. • Hundey said raising user fees to offset increased costs4ost revenues at the site "would put fees eventually to unman- ageable levels." Armstrong suggested Exeter could choose to close the dump and haul waste elsewhere, a scenario other municipalities have chosen that has proven cheaper than operating a dump in the short-term but could also be cost- ly in the long run. Armstrong said council should have updated waste transportation numbers" Armstrong added.4!ouncil should invite waste handling profisionals to, speak to them on possible solutions. "You can bring in as many municipali- ties you want but unless you know what those haulers want you're not going anywhere," he said. He added council needed to know whether the town could pay for the about $134,000 cost of doing the work needed to get the MOE to approve the Certificate of Approval over a few years. .The committee also debated the cur- rent practice of having private waste haulerspay an up front fee for their business. Drummond argued businesses would' prefer getting billed for the ser- vice rather than paying up front. Clerk -treasurer Liz Bell countered say- ing some of those private haulers might choose not to pay when billed, adding the town's only recourse then in many cases is to take those businesses to court. "You're going to let them get away with it," she said. Hundey was* directed to continue with his analysis of the issue. Ausable Centre wants to use old village building By Craig Bradford TIMES -ADVOCATE STAFF LUCAN BIDDULPH — The for sale sign isn't even up yet, but there's already a lineup to use the vacant Village of Lucan municipal meeting. The only formal propos- al to use the building came from Ausable Cer t're 'pr'esid`ent Tom' McInerney and treasurer Paul Percival who pre- sented their plans at the recent Lucan Biddulph council meeting. The Ausable Centre board wants to relocate its employment resource centre in the building's main floor and use the second floor as offices and a meeting room (thee former council cham- bers). The plan also calls for 10 new computer sta- tions and a counselling room. The current Ausable Centre location at 170 Main St. would continue to be used as an, art gallery, performance 'cen- tre and community ceri= tre. McInerney said his group would spend $50,000 renovating the municipal building to bring it up to building and fire code regulations as well as making it handi- cap accessible by adding a ramp. In return, the Ausable Centre wants Lucan Biddulph to grant them a 10 -year lease at. $1 per year. The Ausable Centre would* pay -=for the 'buiildl ing maintenance and util- ities. McInerney supported his proposal by listing the Ausable Centre's many accomplishments since it opened in March '98. Those accomplishments include securing $225,000 in grants from Human Resources Development Canada (HRDC) for various pro- grams, creating 23 part- time or temporary jobs and the creation of the Youth Uniting Communities program (YUC). YUC provides young out -of -work and out-of-school people a temporary job while they work on projects to better and promote the commu- nity. McInerney added the Ausable Centre has attracted 5,000visitors as of Nov. 30, 1998, 1,000 of whom never visited the village before. McInerney said while the would have to apply for more grants, he Is- confident the Ausable Centre will continue to be supported by HRDC and other federal and perhaps even provincial grant pro- grams including the Trillium and Millennium programs. "We've been lead to believe we can secure a grant of a third of a mil- lion dollars," Percival said. He added the board is currently negotiating the renewal of the $100,000 HRDC grant that funds the employment resources centre. Councillors did not com- ment on the proposal but agreed to pass it along to its corporate services committee: • • BUD'S. NG ST. MARYS Final Classes 1998/99 School Year at SHDHS March/April Class Easy payment plan available. Pre -registration recommended. Call 284-3348 Notice of Liquor Licence Application The following establishment has applied' to the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario for a liquor licence under the Liquor Licence Act: Application for a Sale Licence Icy Cafe (The) 395 Main Street South, Exeter Any resident of the municipality may make written submission as to whether the issuance of the licence is in the public interest having regard to the needs and wishes of the residents. _Submissions must be received no later than March 10, 1999. Please include your name, address and telephone number. If a petition is submitted to the Commission, please identify the designated contact person. Note: The AGCO gives the applicant details of any objections. Submissions to be sent to: Licensing and Registration Department Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario 20 Dundas St.W., 7th Floor, Toronto ON M5G 2N6 Fax: (416)326-5555 • E-mail at licensing@agco.on.ca POLICE BRIEF • Three charged HAY TWP. — 'three `swung men are facing drug trafficking charges after a traffic stop on Ilwy. 4 in Ilay Township on Feb. 5. Mark Deitz, 23, and Daniel Dimich, 28, both of Hensall, and Adam I3oehler, 21, of Kitchener, are charged with posses- sion for the purpose of trafficking after drugs • and stolen property were discovered by police offi- cers, London OPP Const. Myra Rusk said. Dimich is also charged with posses- sion of stolen property. cLeod • • Trusted Advisor • Tailor made, Portfolios • Great Service For the Best RRSP... CaII: Michael Skochinski Investment Executive 660-3254 1-800-265-1242 S c:atiat�llcI.. Qii 3cotiaMcLeod is a member of TheScotiebailk Group. Member CIPP