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Home My WebLink AboutTimes Advocate, 1994-9-14, Page 28Page 28 Times -Advocate, September 14, 1994 JN THFJN Huron holds strategic plannlng day The county is examining everything from hiring protocols to agricultural policies at their planning session By Fred Groves T -A staff • GODERICH - County coun- cillors gathered at the Benmiller Inn near Goderich on Friday to take another overall look at how Huron County is operated. Everything from terms of com- mittees, to the agriculture vision, to remuneration for councillors and the warden were discussed at the Strategic Planning Day. It's the fifth such session in the past five years and warden Allan Gib- son seems pleased with the out- come. "I think it's good to get together on a casual basis to discuss these things. A lot in the draft could be implemented by the first of the year," he said. One of the subjects looked at was how long each member should be on a various committee, i.e. Senior and Social Services. In the draft presented on Friday, it was sug- gested that no one shall continue to serve on a committee any longer than three consecutive years. Also, in the past an unwritten rule suggested the chairman of a com- mittee could not be re -appointed, but the draft puts this in writing.. Following the November 14 mu- nicipal election, there will be six fewer county councillors as the deputy -reeves from Goderich, Hay, Stanley and Stephen Townships as _well as from the Towns of Exeter and-Goderich will not go to county council. "Some of the committees will be smaller," said Gibson. "We're going to have six less members. It won't make any big change. There are some committees we can do with less." Gibson said that the Strategic Planning Day is a good opportunity to get together and take a look at several issues in small groups and then come back with suggestions to everyone else. "Everyone is broken into groups, there's probably seven or eight in each and then you change. You Lucan reeve to try for another term He has held the position of reeve since the fall of 1991 LUCAN - Reeve Tom McLaughlin announced at last Tuesday's council meeting that he would be trying for re- election for a second term. Be- fore moving to the reeve's chair in the fall of 1991, he. served three years as a councillor. McLaughlin said he sees a lot of challenging issues that he would like to address over the next couple of years. They in- clude completing the recently ap- proved infrastructure projects, solving the infiltration problem, new development in the village and the proposed amalgamation with Biddulph township and es- tablishment of a new library for the area. Studies on amalgama- tion and the library are currently underway. After McLaughlin made his fu- ture plans known, deputy reeve Harry Wraith said, "I'm glad to hear that news. You ha,c done an excellent job in leading the village in a position that you get very little thanks." To this McLaughlin replied, "The reeve is only as good as council. It's a real team effort." The balance of council mem- bers are expected to make their election intentions known at the next meeting. Council gave permission to Pat Van Gelucken to proceed with plans to establish a business as- sociation in the village. She would like to form a task force and brain storming sessions with four or five local business persons to determine what ave- nue to take. Van Gelucken, now a resident of the area has been an active member of the London Chamber of Commerce for a number of years. Reeve McLaughlin said he felt a business association would be helpful to promote the village and added, "I would like to add a theme to this type of project." Councillor Rob Brady agreed saying, "I think it's a great idea and you have our moral support." In other business, McLaughlin said he was con- cerned about the inconsistency of population signs posted at the four entrances to the village. He added, "The signs at the east and west approaches say 1,700 and the south and north signs proclaim 1,800 residents. I think by now we have at least 1.900 persons in our village." Clerk Ron Reymer said the last census reported Lucan's popula- tion at 1,845. The Ontario Ministry of Trans- portation puts up the signs on Highway 4 and county of Mid- dlesex is responsible for the other two entrances. . Claire Anderson of Lucan has been named a member of the Middlesex county waste manage- ment steering committee. In an attempt to find a solution to the infiltration problem in Lu - can, council is requesting solu- tion ideas from a number of engi- neering firms. This project has received funding approval from the joint federal -provincial infra- structure program. Council has instructed Clerk Ron Reiner to get copies of "pooper scooper" bylaws from the town of Exeter and the city of London. The step was taken after a letter from Beth Smith of Beech street regarding the messes Icft by dogs in her area. Deputy -reeve will stay part of Exeter council It's too late to change council's positions before the election EXETER - Although the position will be no different than a coun- cillor except in name, an election for deputy -reeve will be included in this November's Exeter council election. The deputy -reeve position, cur- rently filled by Lossy Fuller, has in the past been Exeter's second repre- sentative at county council. With county council downsizing to sin- gle -seat representation under a weighted vote system, Exeter's dep- uty -reeve will no longer be a part of the county government. "Since there's no point in having a deputy reeve, should we get rid of the deputy -reeve [title]T" asked mayor Bruce Shaw at last Tues- day's council meeting. Reeve Bill Mickle said the re- quest to change council would have to go to province, and would nor- mally go along with a request to re- duce the size of council. "It isn't good enough to pass a by- law?" asked Shaw. Clerk Liz Bell said eliminating the position of deputy -reeve to an- other councillor's seat would prob- ably have to be done with the con- sent of the electors on a referendum ballot. "Everything else, you would probably have to go with a private bill through the legislature," said Bell. A referendum would have had to have been approved by bylaw be- fore the deadline, which has passed, meaning the deputy -reeve position will still be a part of coun- cil after the election. Fuller has not yet announced whether she will be seeking re- election as deputy -reeve. All coun- cil members were asked by the mayor to announce their intentions for the election at next Monday's meeting. present the comments from each group, I think it's been successful." Gibson said there was no real main issue which had everyone's concern but rather, it was an over- view of several issues which have been on the county's back burner for a few years. �"We talked about purchasing pol- icies and hiring `policies. I think there will be some changes. Every- thing is subject to change." As far as hiring is concerned, in the draft it was suggested that only the clerk -administrator, department heads and "second level" em- ployees should be hired throu4h the committee/council process. Regular full-time, regular part- time and casual hiring would be done by the department heads. The next Strategic Planning Day is planned for October and Gibson said there could be more to discuss there as the agendas seem to be fill- ing up each time. "When it started out, we had a goal. It's amazing how many things have been added." Another area discussed on Friday was the warden's salary. A chart showing what 14 other counties are doing indicate that the average an- nual expenses are $40,162, but this varies depending on conferences at- tended, distances to meetings, etc. Huron County has a base salary of $5,750 plus $101.24 for full-day meetings and $69.36 for half-day meetings. irrgifffffim Got a tip? 235-1331 � '� n, n o n 1 0 n r g co:Rac't:roE The telephone number for Hopper Hockey Funeral Home 370 William St. Exeter was printed incorrectly in the Who Does Directory of the Times Advocate phone on page 145. THE CORRECT NUMBER 235-1220 The Times -Advocate apologizes for inconvenience this error may cause. Ltd. What book IS any d .l ir/../.1:1 /./.1../../✓,/,/../../../✓✓. /.11./. r.././../, / 1-1 l.1 :1- up to :100' or more on selected Armstrong floors Armstrong always has a way of putting fashion right at your feet, and this September is no exception. You can receive a rebate of up to 1100 or more when you buy selected Armstrong flooring. 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