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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes-Advocate, 1996-02-21, Page 1SEIP'S valu-mart 4 & ft3 Exet 135-02¢2 9p. This Weds on Video o Wong Poo Copycat 5-3535 6.99 43.545.15 r - arta - OM OM — ut� l▪ eengefereell . ▪ If you went to The ▪ uses= below I Name: 1 Address Prov ;Postal Code Wank) mise - (BS km) addressed b 1 non letter canter addresses $33.00 plus $2.31 O.S.T. 1 Outside 40 mks • (e6 km) or any reser carder address $63.00 + $4.41(.8.T. Outside Canada 499.00 Pet MAO raw* 1 uauO(IR CREDIT CARD 1 OCLIx]Card No. 1 Expiry Date CI Visa 0 Master Card 1 CI Cheque enclosed Befumig; TiMES ADVOCATE `e am ewe me �i N ipso 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 Inside IPM chairperson appointed It's Your Business See page 5 Pre -tyke hockey See Crossroads Second front Experts page 19 Announcements pages 20, 21 Classifieds pages 23-26 Grand Bend beach dispute may be resolved GRAND BEND - A 16 year dis- pute between the Village of Grand Bend and Malcolm (Archie) Gibbs, from Parkhill may finally be resolved. The ownership battle between the village and Gibbs began in 1980 when Gibbs acquired title to the 4.4 acre stretch of beach from the bottom of Main Street to the pier. A general division Ontario court handed over the property to Gibbs in 1989 and awarded him $1.2 million in compensation for lost revenue. An appeal court upheld the private ownership last Decem- ber, however, it also recognized the public's right to access the beach. Neither party appealed the deci- sion. Tired of the legal wrangling, Gibbs spoke to Grand Bend Mayor Cam Ivey about selling the beach to the village but nothing has been formally presented to council. "I went as far as Iwant.togo with it," said Gibbs who refused to quote a price for the prime stretch of property but hinted he may come to a decision within a month. Ivey said council will need to discuss the issue further but would like see the dispute finally set - "pearly the beach is an impor- tant t otoponert for our communi- ty, I believe the vi lege should o*rn ft," odd Ivey. Wednesday.February 21. 1996 Private company tries to buy Huron Park residential area Claude Brodeur, left, is chairman of PACS, ' a new non-profit, non-government, non- denominational organization that intends to provide an outreach ministry and develop social services for residents of Huron Park. Brother James "Steele" is executive director of the or- ganization. Under the company name of Steele Semper Fidelis lncbrporated, he Is trying to pur- chase the residential area of Huron Park. Brenda Burke - T -A staff HURON PARK - Don't expect any immediate change in the -own- ership of the residences of Huron Park despite an effort by a private company to purchase the sub- division. Provincial government officials deny the residential portion of the former air base is for sale despite an effort by Brother James "Steele," under the company name of Steele Semper Fidelis In- corporated, to become the new owner. 'The _ government —asked -40e' whether or not I was interested in Tile Nurori Park residences, to pur- chase this site," he said, adding, "There is nothing in policy right now. They don't have anything in place in regards to the actual sale of the place." Although he admitted the pro- posed purchase of Huron Park will be a lengthy process, he feels "it's inevitable that it's going to be sold privately." "What I would like to do is mesh the churches to work with the gov- ernment," he explained. "That's what we're here for is the outreach ministries." A spokesperson from the Ontario Development Corporation, which leases the 361 homes to park ten- ants, said the Semper bid on Jan. 30 had been declined. 'The ODC does, not presently in- tend to accept any offer," said Har- vey Glower, vice president. of port, foliomanagement services. However, according to Stephen Township • Administrator/Clerk- Treasurer Larry Brown, "the gov- ernment has indicated a willingness to sell provincial assets." Brown said the township receives numerous enquiries about the sale of the subdivision. "I understand there are several developers interested," said Brown, adding, "We've been asked by eve- ry., developer . that's approached us to remain confidential." When the township was ap- proached by Steele Semper about the sale of the park residences, Brown wrote William Saunderson, minister of economic development, trade and tourism. • "Stephen Township Council and the Ontario Development Corpora- tion have been approached by an individual interested in purchasing ttt�-01C -40?itied, restideetial sub. . di4'tlioii at iitrmrt Indpstriai itarTc Although we are not aware of pol- icy changes within your Ministry to allow the sale to occur, we are writing to inform you of our inter- est." Brian Wood, president and chief executive officer of ODC replied to Brown's letter. • Amalgamation a lengthy process An October target date has been set but many key issues need to be addressed Heather Mir T -A staff GRAND BEND - In dis- cussion following the Public Amalgamation Committee melting held on Thursday night, it was generally agreed par- ticipants have a long way to go before a meeting of the minds takes place. "It was probably the most frustrating meeting I have ever attended," said Exeter Mayor Ben Hoogenboom of the com- mittee meeting. While the group, made %p of , representatives from Exeter, Grand Bend, Stephen and Us - borne Townships, has made progress in creating a com- munications plan and drafting a transportation plan, several fun- damental is- sues remain un- resolved. Although members of the committee agree the goal of amalgama- tion discussion is to provide ratepayers with a better form of government, they have varying ideas about how best to achieve that objective. A motion put forth by Bill Weber of Stephen Township was withdrawn to amend the Draft Terms of Refer- ence Objectives. This would be done by adding the committee's support a two-tiered county sys- tem. While Orand Bend Councillor Bob Mann agreed it would be premature to discuss the role of the county at this stage in the pewees,. he opposed amending the objecdves. "I think it's out of place...supplying an answer to what we'll find out at the end of the study," said Mann. Exeter Councillor Roy Triebner stressed the importance of open discussion regarding the roles and responsibilities of the county and municipalities. "I want to make sure the door's not closed on this. The role of the county's going to change dra- matically," said Triebner adding, "We need to assess the appropri- ate level of government to de- termine if it makes sense to create a one tiered system." Liz Mcprath, amalgamation ad- visor from the Ministry of Mu- nicipal Affairs, indicated regu- lations expected to be release by the end of Feb- ruary will stipulate what will need to be addressed in a restructuring pro- posal. "Regulations will require you to ad- dress all of these is- sues," she said. Dave McClure at- tended the public meeting as a delegate. Ile stressed the importance of main- taining the county system and suggested sharing of services can occur without amalgamation. "Pm not opposed to solving problems in a regional manner." he said adding, "Don't ever think of getting rid of counties. Repre- sentatives should be close to the people they represent. We can wont together beautifttlly as mu- nicipalities but do we have to join together?" Transportation plan A preliminary analysis of trans - "There are lines in the sand right now...that doesn't mean these are economically sound." portation services, costs, manpow- er, and equipment was presented. Larry Brown, committee co- ordinator, reported the study found transportation costs in the four municipalities to be similar and provided similarly. .There are no long-term debts and municipalities have small tranportation reserve funds. The report concluded tranporta- tion services are capable of being amalgamated and savings` may be achieved through efficiencies, ef- fectiveness and standardization of equipment. Staff estimate ap- proximately a 10 per cent opera- tional savings may achieved by amalgamation. "I have trouble seeing some of these things as saving the taxpay- er money," said Usbome repre- sentative Ken Oke adding, "There is no really new equipment in any of our municipalities." A detailed operation plan will address how services could be provided across the amalgamated community including contracting out work. Communication plan The sub -committee on com- munications reported its re- quirements and principals. Ac- cording to the plan, all committee meetings are open to the public and will be held on the third Thurs- day night of each month. Times, locations and purposes will be ad- vertised in local papers. Progress reports are scheduled to be releit ed to the public period- ically throughout the study. A tar- get date of October has been set fbr pobtication of a t'inal arrrai- gamation proposal. AaaaIgamation study area Again members of the committee m' Continued on pars 2 "The Ontario government has not made any decision with respect to the future of Huron Park," it read. "Ontario Development Corporation is not presently contemplating or soliciting any offers to purchase the said property, nor is it presently en- gaged in any discussions or nego- tiations with respect to the sale or other disposition of the Huron Park property....I can assure you that the Township of Stephen will be no- tified if and when the Huron Park property is to be disposed of by On- tario Development Corporation." Although the township admitted it does not object to the transfer of the property to private owners, it stressed the sale of the property be "conditional on a requirement that the purchaser proceed to develop the property in a manner satis- factory to the municipality." The township is concerned that unless there is local control over the property's development pro- cess, Huron Park may end up in a similar situation as Vanastra, which was sold to a private developer. 'The residents are concerned and we would like to resolve that as best we can," said Brown. "Should the province decide to dispose of the Huron Park property without recognizing our concerns," he wrote Saunderson, "this situa- tion could easily be repeated." But according to Brother James, who first approached the govern- ment about the proposed sale in Oc- tober, "This will not become a Va- hastra...We don't want the community disturbed here." If Brother James, under Steele 5emper; makes the purchase," he claims he will offer Huron Park res- idents a chance to buy their homes at very affordable rates under mar- ket value. "Everybody we've (surveyed) would like to buy their own home," he said, adding if he purchases the park, people will have a choice to buy, lease or rent their home. "We want them to own their own home. They're not going to be put out if they don't." Claiming Steele Semper will be able to help 80 per cent of Huron Park residents, Brother James ex- plained, "We will do creative fi- nancing and get the banks to stretch it to the limit to get...an excellent rate....It's to establish a quality of life for them and a dignity...Having established ourselves in the com- munity, we would attract fi- nancing." Brother James is the executive di- rector of PACS, (Partnership in Community Services) a new non- profit, non-government, non- denominational organization. The mandate of PACS, according to a promotional brochure, is to "pro- vide outreach ministry and...to de- velop an integrated human services system aimed at improving the health, well-being and self-reliance of people and communities throughout Huron County." The brochure continues, "PACS will provide opportunities for com- munity economic development, em- ployment, education and skill de- velopment, self-help, mutual support and volunteer services, in- vestment in the community and spiritual enhancement." "We in no way, shape or form are here to duplicate anything that's been done," said Brother James. "We are not here to defend any de- nomination" When they failed to lease Cen- tralia College in an effort to de- velop a Bible college and ecu- menical or integrated denominations seminary in Oc- tober, PACS organizers decided to place its information centre at Exet- er's Employment Centre. Xfter exploring studies on Huron L rny,` rte organizers helped res- idents fill out questionaires Jan- uary, asking them if they were in- terested in the organization, if they would rather own, lease or rent their homes, and what "health/ social/spiritual services" they used and would prefer in the future. "In your opinion, what type of programs/services/supports are most needed in the Huron Park community," reads question five. .r Continued on page 2 Snow pose Students et BJddulph Central School wrap up their winter carnival on Friday. In back, Ryan Strong; middle, Matt Goa - sell') and James Lucler In front.