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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes Advocate, 1995-08-16, Page 3Councilor ob- jects to extension of services EXETER- "The promise of pos- sible future jobs and additional as- sessment should not enable a de- veloper to take advantage of the Exeter taxpayer. Let the developer live up to his promises, and when those promises are realized, then there should be some payback." With these words, Councilor Thom Hughes strenuously objected to the granting of a request for the extension of services to the proper- ty line of an industrial site on Hwy. 83. Reeve Bill Mickle explained council had a couple of options un- der the Municipal Act, one of • which is to provide services to a property so all developers are play- ing on a level surface. "It has been our policy for some time to indicate to developers that we are interested in going part way to assisting both them, in the short run, and ourselves over the long term. We have to give the impres- sion that we want their business and what they can contribute to the Town." The motion passed with only Hughes in opposition. Page 3 r4DEBT ars alt.maths. to Bankruptcy For FREE initial consultation D. Bruce McLennan Trustse at McLENNAN & COMPANY LTD. Trustee in Bankruptcy 484 Richmond Street, London Tel: 4334728 McNaughton Park Donations Usborne & Hibbert Insurance Judy Mock & Paul Norton Peter Snell Ron & Deb Ferguson Kirk and Norma Beecroft Jim and Pat Scott and Family Don and Marie Brunzlow and Family Anonymous Archie and Ilene Webber Frank and Doreen Regier John and Susan Saborin and families . Scott and Karen Eveland Family of Norm and Ruth Eveland Olga Davis Total to date $200 $100 $100 $100 $100 $100 $100 $100. $100 $500. $100 $100 $200 $100 $163,221 All great men Are poor writers. What a pity that All poor writers Are not great men. We're great at Heating and air conditioning We type our correspondence. BAILEY'S of Hensall Ltd. Your home comfort people since 1981 Hwy. #4 N. Hensall " 262-2020, 262-2626 Long distance: 1-800-461-8013 T�IF,I�F,W.S Times -Advocate, August 16,1995 TN From France to Zurich Laurence Deplerre forefront left, from France is staying with the Erb family in Zurich. From left, Phil and Laurie Erb with children Ashley and Stephanie are taking Laurence sight- seeing to Toronto and Niagara Falls during her one month stay in Canada. Power of council questioned EXETER- Tuesday night's coun- cil meeting became a forum for philosophical debate on a number of issues, one of which is the role and power of council in dealing with minor variances and decisions of the Planning Advisory Commit- tee. The committee rejected an appli- cation for a variety of reasons, pri- marily because it did not have enough information. By the time the notice came to council, appar- ently some of the problems were resolved. Reeve Bill Mickle said he had no difficulties with the application if it had the support of neighbors, and Councilor Bob Spears, a member of the committee, advised that the committee would revisit the issue in light of new information. Mickle then asked if council could overturn a decision of the Planning Advisory Committee. Mayor Ben Hoogenboom ob- served that the unsuccessful appli- cant would have to appeal to the Ontario Municipal Board, as coun- cil has no power. Councilor Thom Hughes disa- greed with the recommendation of staff, stating that the variance was too great and that future neighbors may not be so accommodating add- ing a future owner may allow the property to deteriorate. Clerk Liz Bell advised council it was on the mailing list for those bodies which might wish to com- ment prior to the committee's hear- ing an application. Councilor Roy Triebner re- marked, "Council shouldn't pick and choose what items on which it should comment; it is traditional for council not to comment on mi- nor variances." Street light project ahead of schedule New distributer will be able to supply the light poles in 2-3 weeks HENSALL - York Crescent may be getting three new street lights before the days get shorter and the snow begins to fall. Due to in- formation from the PUC manager indicating delivery for the required poles can be obtained in two to three weeks with a different dis- tributor, the project will be moved up substantially. Council approved installation of the street lights with $5000 allocat- ed in the 1995 budget. It was orig- inally estimated the poles would take between 22 and 26 weeks for Your Views Letters to the editor delivery. At a cost of $2025 plus taxes, the same style poles can be delivered in a much more timely manner. This option will cost $500 more than the original price. The new delivery timeframe will speed up the completion date which is now estimated to be within the month of September. Had council remained with the original quote, the poles would not have been de- livered until the new year and then the work would have to wait until the frost is out of the ground. "I think it would be good to get this taken care of in September, " said Councillor Jeff Reaburn. A motion was easily passed and the work will proceed ahead of schedule with the new supplier. Councillor willing to discuss library issue We have the hard facts and solid planning to present at a public meeting.... Dear Editor I ani writing in response to G. Smith's letter to the editor concerning the proposed library development. First, Ido not recall this council holding a public meeting specific to the future of the Exeter library. The meeting G. Smith may he referring to was for the development of a community strategic plan that included a Town Square Initiative. The Town Square Initiative comprised of two phases. Phase 1 was redevelopment of the Olde Town Hall and the project will be completed this fall. Phase II is con- sideration of an expanded and improved lihrary. We are now in Phase 11 and council has appointed a Library Advisory Committee comprising of coun- cillors Roy Triebner, Wendy Boyle and myself. The committee has submitted a preliminary applica- tion for a jobsOntario grant. The status is uncertain, as grants from upper tier governments are rapidly disappearing. The committee also concluded that the costs associated with the library redevelopment may be too high for the residents of Exeter to bear through taxes alone. Other financial considerations are to seek corporate and foundation funding along with the possibility of a community fund-raising drive. r `� `' o The Library Advisory Committee sought the ad- vice of various experts and gathered all the pertinent information required to make an informed decision. We have reports from Garrett — Marklevitz Archi- tects, Hastings & Aziz Consulting Engineers, MNE Engineering and the County Librarian. The reports will be available for perusal at the public meeting and include cost estimates for all options and gener- al structural, mechanical and electrical condition of the existing library building. The town staff have prepared site plans that can he viewed at the meet- ing. A major consideration to be addressed is the fu- ture of the existing library building. We feel the taxpayers should have a say in the disposition of the existing structure. The present building was con- structed with a grant from the Carnegie Foundation. The question is: Docs the old lihrary have signifi- cant historic or sentimental value to he retained as a vital part of the Town Square redevelopment'? We have the "hard facts and solid planning" to present at a public meeting scheduled for early fall of this year. We believe the public deserves an op- portunity to express their views on this matter and be part of the decision making process. Our recom- mendation to council will include all available docu- mentation, part of which will be the technical re- ports, site plans and comments received from the public. Council's final decision will be based on the committee recommendation and supporting docu- mentation, being cognizant that tax dollars have to be wisely spent to ensure the taxpayers receive the best value for their investment and knowing that we cannot please or accommodate everyone in the pro- cess. I will be pleased to discuss all aspects of the pro- posed library redevelopment with any interested pers6h and 1 maybe reached at 235-4444. lam con- - fident that my colleagues on the committee would also be interested in receiving comments from the public. Sincerely Thom Hughes Councillor, Town of Exeter Councilors raise minor issues EXETER- Exeter councilors raised several minor issues at last Tuesday's meeting. Wendy Boyle said the BIA should be supporting all ave- nues to expand access to busi- nesses on Main Street. Karen Brown, the BIA coordinator at- tending council said all the BIA can do is verbally support the philosophy of expanded access; the individual owners will take whatever means necessary to at- tract business. Joe Rider mentioned Labor Day weekend will see the offi- cial opening and dedication of MacNaughton Park. The ribbon - cutting will take place on Sep- tember 4 at 4 p.m. Charlie Mac- Naughton's family will take part in the ceremonies. Bill Mickle's term as presi- dent of the Association of Mu- nicipalities for Ontario (AMO) ends in three weeks, and Mickle expressed his appreciation to both Exeter council and the peo- ple of this community for their support and encouagement over the last three years and this last year in particular. Roy Triebner said "l think the taxpayers of this town expect us to take a look at our organiza- tion. We must look for opportu- nities for saving tax dollars, be- cause we will not be getting the same funding from the Prov- ince. If we don't review our op- erations, we are not doing our jobs." Seadoos recovered HWY. 21 - On Aug. 13 Exeter OPP recovered two seadoos that were stolen from a residence on Hwy. 21. The abandoned machines were located on a stolen trailer on Conc. 2-3 Hay Twp. There are no suspects and the investigation con- tinues. BANKRUPT LIQUIDATION SALE THE BASSETT/GLOBAL TOROi%TO MATTRESS FACTORY IS BANKRUPT DINNEYS HAS PURCHASED A HUGE INVENTORY FOR IMMEDIATE SALE AT A FRACTION OF IT'S VAL E Shop today while selection Is at Its best Single Regal Mattress $ 7 700 Single Firm Unit Mattress only 4108. Elegance $178 Double Firm Elegance $213 Mattress only $135. Double Regal Mattress $9900 Single Golden Dream Unit Mattress only 4137. Double Golden Dream Unit Mattress only $153. Queen Golden Dream Unit $219. $249. $299. • "'Pegg Fine Furniture, and Window Fashions f467 Main Street, Exeter, Ont. 235-0173