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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes-Advocate, 1999-04-14, Page 11Wednesday, April 14, 1999 7isM.-Advocw 11 Water levels dredging. Breaking new Exeter watering bylaw could get you $300 fme EXETER — Town gar- deners better watch out for the water police. Exeter council approved a lawn watering bylaw at last week's meeting that limits which days and which hours you can water your lawn and gar- den. Homes or businesses located west of Main St. may water their lawns or gardens. on even days between the hours of 8-10 a.m. and 6-8 p.m.; those east of Main St. may water on odd days during in Grand Bend were low last week with the village making plans for the same hours. The bylaw is in effect from May 1 to Oct. 31 each year. Bylaw enforcement offi- cers can levy an up to $300 fine to those who abuse their watering priv- ileges. The Exeter Hydro Water levels leave docks high and nearly dry By Kate Monk TIMES -ADVOCATE STAFF GRAND BEND — With water levels in the Ausable River lower than normal and Lake Huron at the long-term aver- age, Lakeshore communities are facing extensive dredging projects this spring to provide enough water for marine operations. Grand Bend administrator Paul Turnbull told council last week the Ausable River from Hwy. 21 to the lake is in "pretty good shape" and there is one spot where the water is only six feet deep. The rest of the channel is atleast fetirt! - . r • • Upstream of Hwy. 21, the river chan- nel is mostly fine but the areas along the docks need to have a lot of material removed, Turnbull reported. Mayor Cam Ivey said there is about 18" of water -and six to seven feet of sed- iment at the Cruising Club docks and the Ausable River is very shallow at the Desjardine Drain outlet. Ivey said ,dredging can be done between April 15 and May 15 and soundings will determine exactly where dredging is required. Council directed village staff to apply for the dredging permit. The application will be filed with the Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority. Approval is also required from the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. Alec Scott, ABCA water resources manager, told the T -A the primary con- cern is that dredging doesn't effect the ABCA erosion protection structures along the river. With low water levels, dredging could undermine gabion baskets and steel sheet pile walls. The ABCA permit will specify the maximum allowable dredg- ing depth near the river bank --Scott said the dredged material must be placed outside the fill regulated areas. River levels are lower than normal. Scott said the flows are at levels usually seen at the end of May. Lake Huron water levels are slightly below the long-term average and if the region receives below -normal precipita- tion this spring, the levels won't increase more than six inches. Scott said he wasn't aware of the situ- ation in Bayfield but the Port Franks area will require extensive navigation. Exeter sewage system upgrade tender approved, work to begin this week By Craig Bradford TIMES -ADVOCATE STAFF EXETER — Not only is the Exeter sewage treatment system upgrade/expansion going to start soon, the accepted tender came in under bud- get. Town council accepted the winning $4,015,971.62 tender from St. Marys contractor Stone Town Construction. Stone Town's tender was the lowest of eight submitted that ranged from Stone T'own's low to a high of $4,788,250. Consultant engineer Steve Burns of Goderich's B.M. Ross and Associates. reported on the tenders to council dur- ing a special meeting Monday night. Burns said Stone Town officials are anxious to get the project started and could start draining the lagoons as soon as today. Dried out sludge left over after the lagoons a. drained will be taken away to landfill. He said Ministry of Environment and Energy (MOE) approval is pending but should be done within a week. MOE is granting the project $1,801,161. The total cost of the project is estimat- ed at $4,755,691 of which Exeter has already paid $620,015 In preparation work like engineering. The town's total price tag for the pro- ject roject is placed at $1,636,766 (including the amount already spent) after Stephen Township kicks in $934,614 and Nabisco Ltd. contributes a yet to be determined fee. The town and Nabisco are still negotiating what Nabisco will pay. Town clerk -treasurer Elizabeth Bell said the town should be able to pay for the project out of reserve accounts and avoid long-term financing (borrowing). The upgrade/expansion will improve both Exeter's and Stephen Township's sewage treatment facilities. The work will address overloading problems at the Exeter and Huron Park plants. The project is expected to be finished in September 2000. The above project is part a much larg- er project MOE granted Exeter and Stephen over $5 million in its Provincial Water Protection Fund. Another part. of the much larger pro- ject will eventually hook the overloaded Huron Park sewage pumping facility to the expanded Exeter system to eliminate raw sewage bypassing to the Ausable River. Electric Commission will be asked to provide staff who can act as bylaw enforcers since town staff are already strapped for time. Lawns that have been newly planted and busi- nesses who sell lawn and garden plants are exempted from the bylaw. Town chief administra- tive officer Rick Hundey recommended the town stick with the policy it passed in February on the HEC's urging. Hundey said the prior softer system of warning offenders worked well with high compliance. Cly. rk-treasurer Elizabeth Bell said it is too costly to pay bylaw offi- cers overtime to look for watering abusers in the evening. Hundey added the best way to approach water usage problems is through water rates, not enforcement. He air said staff is short of resources due to downsizing. But councillors begged to differ. Mayor Ben Hoogenboom said just one homeowner that abuses the watering rules can waste 100,000 litres of water a year. He said it is important to have a bylaw "with teeth" especially with the dimin- ished Lake Huron levels and recent drought condi- tions. Councillor George Robertson had stronger words for his staff. "This report is a namby pamby report because you don't want to enforce it," he said. Liquor license and sign bylaw public meeting this Saturday in Grand Bend GRAND BEND — The public will have the opportunity to give Grand Bend council its two cents worth on Saturday at a public meeting at the Grand Bend Public School from 10 a.m. - noon. Two topics are on the agenda: liquor licenses and a draft sign bylaw. Council decided to solicit input from its residents on the topic of new liquor licenses when it placed a moratorium on supporting new licenses in February. The provincial Liquor and Game .Commission has the final say on whether an establishment receives a license but municipal councils can tell the commission they support or object to a particular liquor license. The com- missiOn does not have an obligation to follow the municipality's recommenda- tion. The Grand Bend area has 5,800 licenses spaces with 4,561 of those spaces lying within the village limits. Grand Bend administrator Paul Turnbull told the T -A the licensed capacity of the area hasn't increased dramatically in the past 10 years. The number of licenses spaces "rolls up and down" with supply and demand playing a role, Turnbull explained. Special occasions permits haven't increased over the past 10 years either, Turnbull said. During the village's Burgerfest days, there were large numbers of spaces licensed and the current beach volley- ball event "doesn't hold a candle to the number of places at Burgerfest," Turnbull said. Village policing costs have brought the issue into focus in Grand Bend. Prior to 1998, the village didn't pay for policing. In the shifting of provincial - municipal responsibilities in the Who Does What commission, municipalities began to pay for policing costs. In 1998, Grand Bend received a bill from the OPP for $555,000. That doesn't mean that amount was added to the tax bill. Eight to 10 factors such as educa- tion, policing etc. were "all melded" to get to the bottom line .of what munici- palities had to pay. Turnbull said the village doesn't receive any details from the OPP of how the $555,000 was spent and therefore the village can't make a direct link between police costs and the number of licensed spaces. "No one has made the hard and fast statement" that police costs and licenses establishments are related, Turnbull said. But at -previous council meetings, councillors have made the connection between policing costs and the large number of licensed spaces. Councillors have said the heavy police presence is required because of the number of licensed establishments and residents have communicated their concerns. A new village sign by-law is also on . Saturday's agenda. When the T -A went to press, council was still working on the final details but copies will be available before the meeting. Sidewalk cafe season Council will allow sidewalk cafes in Grand Bend again this summer with Gordy's and J Dee's receiving permits. Council added the stipulation that food preparation. is not allowed on the sidewalk encroachment area,The permit does not allow the areas to be open on Victoria Day weekend and they must close after Thanksgiving. A. -446 dut .