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18
Exeter Times -Advocate
r
Wednesday, June 16, 1999
Hensall council reinstates green waste pick up
By Kate Monk
TIMES -ADVOCATE STAFF
gENSALL -- After
t onths of peace and
3, Diet in the Hensall
.ouncil chambers, the
seats filled Monday night
ith three delegations.
)n the
property
maintenance
front, they
got results.
Jason Phil-
lips of Mill
t. was first
up with corn-
-
plaints about
the Property.
'". Standards
Bylaw not
boing enforced.
Phillips contends sever-
al properties are not be -
Lig maintained to the
standards set n the by-
law.
"What's the sense of
making a bylaw if you're
riot going to enforce it,"
he challenged council.
Long grass is Phillips'
main concern although
he said there were trees,
shrubs, sheds and junk
fleap that should also be
cleaned up.
Other citizens at the
meeting echoed his con-
cerns stating many Hen -
call residents work very
Lard to keep their prop-
erties looking nice and
tie least other people
could do is cut their
grass.
Councillor Steve Towle
rhymed off a number of
properties he knows of
that are not up to snuff.
Reeve Cecil Pepper told
the citizens that council
can't tell everyone what
to do.
Building inspector and
bylaw officer Milt Die-
trich was in attendance
at the meeting and said
he needs
to have
the com-
plaint in
writing to
support
. the case
if it goes
to court.
The vil-
lage has
a prop-
erty stan-
dards committee of three
citizens appointed by
council: Chuck Mallette,
Jamie Caldwell and Su-
san Hartman. The com-
mittee only meets when
Dietrich and the prop-
erty owner can't reach
an agreement.
The current bylaw
didn't have a clause to
address long grass and
could only -take action
when noxious weeds
were present.
After the delegation
left, council reviewed the
bylaw's relevant sections
and created a subsection
consistent with other
municipalities stating
grass shall not be per-
mitted to grow to a
length= of more than 20
centimeters.
Council will review the
complete bylaw ii the
fall `
"What's the
sense of making a
bylaw if you're
not going to
enforce it."
--- JASON PHILLIPS
to•
0141100.
Green waste pick
up reinstated
Valerie Pratt spoke on
behalf of nearly 100 res-
idents who signed a peti-
tion asking council to re-
instate green waste pick
up.
"It's obvious that there
are a lot of people who
need the green waste
pick up back," Pratt told
council.
Earlier this year, coun-
cil eliminated the weekly
green waste curbside
pick up and replaced it
by having the landfill site
open one Saturday
morning a month when
residents could bring
their yard waste : to the
site and .dump it . for a
fee.
Pepper said the pick up
was eliminated because
it was being abused.
"It was just a hassle
and getting worse all the
time," he said, ex-
plaining some residents
were not placing the
waste in proper contain-
ers nor cutting it in the;
proper lengths.
Members of the .delega-
tion replied council and
staff should have dealt
with the offenders rather
than penalize everyone.
Many at the meeting
said residents take pride
in their properties and:
were believed yard
maintenance was . -going
to slip without the ser-
vice. They were also con-
cerned the village's
many senior citizens
could not get their waste
to the Hensall dump.
Pratt asked for a com-
promise.
Coun. Greg Dayman
promised the deletion
the issue
would be
discussed
later in the
meeting.
"It can't
stay the way
it is," Day -
man said.
Later • in
. the meeting,
council
passed a
motion to reinstate the
curbside pick up on a
monthly basis,
Village staff will gather
‘.»
green waste on the first
Monday of each month.
If the first Monday is a
holiday, it will be picked
up the next day.
The
waste
should be
in contain-
ers or
cardboard
boxes (not
bags) that
can be
dumped.
Brush
must be
tied in
bundles no longer than
four feet in length and
no more than five bun-
dles will be picked up.
"It's obvious that
there are a lot of
people who need
the green waste
pick up back."
-- VALERIE PRATI'
Bundles or containers
can't exceed 40 pounds.
Items should be at the
curb by 7 a.m. on the
pick up day.
Insurance
premiums down`
Jon Gaiser of Gaiser
Kneale Insurance in Ex-
eter delivered the good
news the village's in-
surance premiums were
decreasing by 29 per
cent.
Gaiser said premiums
are market and claims
driven.
"(You've got) more cov-
erage today than '93 and
less cost," he said, .�.
Beach access still unresolved
By Katherine Harding
TIMES -ADVOCATE STAFF
iZurich arena study finishe
By Scott Nixon
TIMES -ADVOCATE STAFF
ZURICH --- The fund-raising committee for Zurich's Babe Siebert Memorial
Xrena has finished one step in its efforts to renovate the 48 -year-old building.
Coun, Shelley Rodgers -Bedard, chairperson of the arena's fund-raising com-
mittee, reported to council the geotechnical study on the arena has been done
and no contamination has been found underneath the arena.
There are, however, explosive -level amounts of methane gas in the ground
where the arena may be expanded. Zurich clerk -treasurer Charlene Overholt;
though, said that's not a concern now because that land isn't now coveted by
any structure and naturally vents itself. If the village does decide to expand
the arena to that land, Overholt said council would have to ensure it was prop-
erly vented. ---,4.','-.' r;-3 , r ,, ' r. . ;rx• i �" 5 i` j i -+L -
Rodgers -Bedard also told council efforts to raise money for the arena's ren-
ovation may include a Halloween Bash for children. -
She said she still hopes to have the door-to-door canvassing begin in July,
but said the process has been somewhat delayed.because the committee is still
,waiting for an operating budget on the renovations from the engineer. •
The fund-raising committee -now has raised $24,000, including a $10,000
loan from council. Renovations, including a new cement arena floor, dressing
rooms, boards and glass, could cost up to $_500,000.
Other notes from Thursday's meetings'
Severance approved ;
Council has given permission to Robert Morrissey to go ahead with a sever-
ance plan for his Goshen Street property.
The consent application will see the portion of the land with a residence se-
vered from the undeveloped land. -
Co'unty planner Wayne Caldwell appeared at council's meeting on Thursday
in favour of the application, but he recommended council ensure Morrissey in-
stall services to the undeveloped property. Morrissey agreed to have sewer
and water hookups installed by Oct. 1.
Overholt told council none of the landowners on the neighbouring properties
expressed any concerns to the village about the application. •
A new scrubber for the arena
Council agreed to let arena manager Kevin Geoffrey spend $5,600 on a new
floor scrubber for the arena.
Geoffrey appeared before council and told them the current floor scrubber is
broken and, at 20 years old, is irreparable:
Geoffrey said a new scrubber he has looked at is an improvement over the
old one because it is much lighter and easier to move it around.
In addition to cleaning the arena floor, the new scrubber will clean the
dressing rooms and the upstairs.
He added the new scrubber can be lent out to other companies in the village
to use.
GRAND BEND -- Council is be-
coming frustrated over the issue of
public access to the South Beach.
The North Shoreline Property Own-
ers Association (NSPOA), failed to at-
tend a meeting last month Av4h coun-
cil to. discuss the issue. Council set up
the meeting after receiving a letter on
April 20 from Frank Butterworth, a
member of NSPOA, requested the
meeting to discuss public use of the
beach.
For the past two summers, the six
property owners who belong to
NSPOA and have title to the beach,
have posted a `Private Beach' sign cit-
ing=public misuse as a problem.
The popular beach located at the
end of Lake Rd. had been used for
decades by villagers and tourists.
However, Grand Bend has never
made a claim to the beach. The land
located in the Lake Rd. South Beach
.area is the original Southcott family
lots purchased in 1900. When South-
cott Pines was :_established in 1944,
this area •was not included because it
had ;been already sold ,to private in-
vestors and is not part of the sub-
division.
"We aren't going to get anything
from these guys," saki - Mayor Cam
Ivey at last Monday's meeting. "I
don't know what the hell to do."
"How do we get- to the bottom of.
this: ,;They don't think the Gibbs case
is a threat to them but I think it is."
On Dec. 20, 1989, Parkhill's Archie
Gibbs became owner of Grand Bend's
most popular beach at the end of Main
St.
However, an appeal in 1995 legally
recognized the public's "right to use,"
making it clear that although Gibbs
owned the 300 metres of beach be-
tween the bottom of Main St. and the
pier, the beach must remain open for
public use.
Eventually Gibbs was awarded com-
pensation by the province and in 1997
he sold the beach to the -village.
Other notes from council;
New development==`S
tiro
Council gave the go-ahead to Oak-
wood Plaza, a ,new commercial
residential development which will
house a 9,000 sq. ft. gym and six apart-
ments.
The development's architect Andy
Spriet and developer Doug Jennison
presented the site plan for the project
to council.
Construction on the two-storey build-
ing located off Ontario St N. -could be-
gin as early as this July.
The developers have already received
Interest from a local couple, Patti and
Paul Wisniewski, in leasing the gym.
While the site plan also includes a -
proposed commercial building. on the
north corner of the property,that
wasn't included in council's approval
because of concerns with proposed
drive-through lanes.
A great meal!
Young avid old enjoyed the meal served at
the Thames Rd./Elimville Strawberry and
Ham Supper at the South Huron Rec.
Centre on Sunday night. Helping out in- the
kitchen are (I -r) Crystal Varley, Sandra '
Rowe, Kathy Simpson and Joan Skinner. At
right,Hansford Mahon, 2, eats his dessert.