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HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News-Record, 1983-11-23, Page 1II' ii 0 THE BAY FIELD U GI in( lir p1 ratlnQ T LYTH STANDARD cents —No. 47 Wednesday, November 23, 1983 118t year 20,000 sewer study okayed By Shelley McPhee CLINTON - $20,000 will be set aside in Clinton's 1984 budget to cover the cost of a sewage works study being conducted by the Goderich engineering firm of B.M. Ross and Associates. On Nov. 21 Clinton Council authorized the study which will attempt to determine where overflows in the town's sanitary sewers are occurring. Steve Burns of B.M. Ross and Associates told council that his firm would begin the study immediately with a completion date scheduled for April 1984. The study will look at the sewage plant capacity which, according to ministry of environment standards, is close to maximum levels. Earlier this year council learned that the 10 -year old plant was running at near capacity despite the fact that it was constructed with the guarantee that it could accommodate a population of up to 6,000 people. Mr. Burns told council that the study will show how the capacity problem can be best solved. Probable solutions will be reducing flows, expanding the plant, or a combination of both. The study will also determine actual sewage flow problems in the system and will distinguish between sewage, ram and ground water flows by studying the flow patterns at various times in a year. It appears that sewage overflow problems occur on a peak basis after heavy rains in the spring. The study will determine how the treatment plant could best be modified to handle the excess. When completed the study will be sub- mitted to the ministry of the environment for study. If the ministry says that im- provements to the system must be made, funding from 15 to 75 per cent may be available. Mr. Burns pointed out that the ministry allots greater funding to large projects and he noted, "It's not to your advantage to have a low cost solution, but the best long term solution." He also said that the ministry may determine that the treatment plant can adequately handle the town's sewage. He noted, "You provide the information to prove the ministry wrong." When questioned about the continual changes in ministry standards, Mr. Burns noted that he would be in frequent contact with government officials during the study. Council members were initially reluctant to budget $20,000 for the study, but Mayor Chester Archibald said that in talking with ministry officials, he believed that if Clinton didn't carry out the survey, within a few years the ministry would demand the work done. Mr. Burns said his company recom- mended that the study be carried out im- mediately, while the ministry of the en- vironment has put a delay on their Environmental Assessment Act for this type of project until June 30, 1984. He said that the Assessment Act requires that projects of the type that Clinton may embark must include public and government comment and a review of alternatives. The added work, Mr. Burns said, would be costly, complex and time consuming and could cost up to $12,000. By completing the study by June 1984, Clinton will avoid the Environmental Assessment Act requirements. Councillor Charlie Burgess commented, "Sewage is expensive now. To add ad- ditional costs is really going to hurt. (But) we have to go ahead with this study." Clinton will still be paying for the cost of constructing sewage treatment plant for another 10 years. Almost half of the 20 -year debenture will be paid by the end of 1983. Clinton gets new building bylaw By Shelley McPhee CLINTON - After years of discussion around the council table, Clinton at last has a new building code bylaw. The 10 -page bylaw was given final approval')<ly Clinton council at their Nov. 21 meeting. ' The bylaw is designed to ulster thv issuance of permits for th , )eir tioil enlargement, alteration, dem�j;jittfon relocation of buildings in town. enforced by the town's buildifl t and the chief building official. Any person who constructs, alters, demolishs, removes, relocates or occupies a building covered by the bylaw must pur- chase a building permit from the town. The permit fees will be a minimum of $10 for work valued at up to $2,000. Construction work costing more than $2,000 will cost the permit applicant $2 per $1,000. Demolition permits will cost $10 if the building is in a traccif area and an occupancy permit will cost $10 if inspection is required. The fees remain unchanged from previous years. Two significant additions in the revised bylaw is the occupancy clause and the portion that states that permits must be obtained for alteration work. An occupancy permit is required to allow the occupancy of an uncompleted building or when the use of the building is changed. Mayor Chester Archibald pointed out that the occupancy clause was designed to prevent people from moving into unsafe living accommodations. Building permits will now be required when building owners make alterations. A definition of alteration applies only to structural changes. A home owner, for in- stance does not require a permit to put a new roof on his house, but would require a permit if the work included structural changes to the building. To apply for a building permit, the ap- plicant must follow several steps, according to the new bylaw. The applicant must identify and describe in detail the work, occupancy and land to be covered by the permit. The application must be ac- companied by complete plans, drawings and specifications and value of the proposed work must be estimated. The bylaw requires that the names and addresses of the owner, architect, engineer or other designer and the constructor or demolisher be submitted. Where applicable it also requires written acknowledgement of the owner that he has retained the architect or professional engineer to carry out the field review of the construction. The application must be signed by the owner or his authorized agent. An application for permit may be deemed to have been abandoned and cancelled six months after the date of filing, unless the application is being seriously proceeded with. If applications are not carried out, the chief building official may determine the amount of permit fees, if any, that may be returned to the permit holder, The flees that may be refunded will be established on a percentage basis. They may bei 80 per cent if adminstrative fun- ;+Ftions have only been performed; 70 per cent if administrative and zoning functions have been performed; 45 per cent if ad- sstthtive, ,. zoning and plantii examination functions)have been com- pleted; 35 per cent if te permit has been issued and no field inspections have been made subsequent to permit issuance; 5 per cent shall additionally be deducted for each field inspection that has been performed after the permit has been issued. No refund will made of an amount less than $10. Anyone who is charged with contravening the building code bylaw may be liable to a fine of up to $2,000 or to imprisonment for a term of up to one year, or to both. Every person who fails to comply with an order by a chief building official may also be liable to a fine of not more than $100 a day for every day the offence continues after the order is given. The bylaw also states that if the town is convicted of an offence under the Building Act, the maximum penalty is $10,000. A complete copy off the new building code bylaw is available at the town clerk's office. S'sarat'' se ol e /card will take%inerease� By Stephanie Lev que Separate school trustees rolled back their 1989 honorarium to reflect the five per cent provincial guidelines. As of Dec. 1, the trustees honorarium was automatically set to increase to $215 per month, but at the Huron -Perth Separate School Board's Nov. 14 meeting, the honorarium was reduced to $198.45 per mon- th. The $198 represents a five per cent in- crease over the present stipend off $189 per month. Trustee Louis Maloney of Dublin said he had made the motion because the board's employees had to abide by the Inflation Restraint Act. "I feel trustees should abide by it," com- mented Mr Maloney. The previous board, as allowed w►►it•r Ministry of Education guidelines ,et L.; .t.• trustees' stipend for three years the term off office for the prest•i,' L •• Originally the honorarium was ti, ,n, to $200 per month effective D«. 1 ; AAT!. !.0 $225 effective Dec. 1, 1983 aril f' r, per month effective Dec. 1, 1984. While the present trustees are n, ,t .tli, ,wed to increase the honorarium for the l.resent term they are allowed to roll back t'.e fee. Earlier this year the trustees roll, ; ;Jar k their 1983 stipend to $189 which, repro•.>'•rited a five per cent increase over the $181! per month they had been receiving. Next year, it will be up to the trusters to roll back the automatic increaaa' to $ 54) per month. This week Clinton high school students are writing exams and a familiar sight in the halls is last minute cramming. Grade 9 students Gord Collins, Colleen Chuff, Gayle Dunn and Darlene Denys were taking one last look at their history bell rang. (Shelley McPhee photo ) notes before the Don't dial l - Clinton and Blyth are free calling areas On Nov. 18 the Clinton and Blyth telephone exchanges became free calling areas of Bell Canada. Hullett Township Tom Cummingham and Blyth Reeve Tom ('ronin cut the symbolic cord to end the long distance lines. Ruth Rueger, left, manager of operator services at Clinton's Bell office and Peter Croome, right, district manager were on hand to see history being made. (helley McPhee photo) BLYTH — Telephone subscribers in the Blyth and Clinton exchanges were able to call other without long distance charges beginning on Nov. 18. Peter Croome, local Bell manager, said Blyth customers, who were surveyed in May, 1981, were 81.4 per cent in favor of the expansion of their local calling area, although monthly telephone rates in Blyth will increase. "The monthly charge for telephone ser- vice is based on the number of telephone numbers that can be reached without paying long distance charges," he said. "For Biyth customers the change will bring a sub- stantial increase in the number of other customers a caller„pan call locally". Blyth is in Rate Group 4 where the residence individual line monthly rate for basic service is $7.45 and for a business individual line $15.70. The group has a maximum of 3,500 telephone numbers that can be called locally. Because of the expansion of Blyth's local calling, the exchange goes to Rate Group 5, in which a maximum of 7,500 local riurnbers can be called. The basic individual irne residential monthly rate is $7.75 and the basic business individual line $17 80. There is no increase in rates fur customers in the Clinto►i exchange wtur h is in Rate Group 6 with a maximum of 15.(t(u) numbers that can be called locally. Vanastra water hikes will raise $10,000 By Wilma Oke VANASTRA - Water rates at Vanastra will increase in 1984 following approval of rate hikes on Nov. 15 by Tuckersmith Township Council. They will take effect on January 1. The new service charges for each four- month billing period are: single family, duplex and semi -residential units, $20. an in- crease from $15; multiple units containing three to four residential units, $30; multiple units containing five to six residential units, $45; multiple units containing seven to eight residential units, $60; multiple units con- taining nine to 10 residential units, $75; multiple units containing more than 11 residential units, $100; a small commercial building, $25, up from $15. An additional consumption charge of 50 cents a cubic metre for every four-month billing period will be levied, an increase of 10 cents. Clerk Jack McLachlan, reported the new rates will bring in an increase of about $10,000 for the Vanastra Water System from $7,000 in consumption charges and more than $2,500 in service charges. He said it costs ,000 a year to operate the system. Councillor John Brownridge of Vanastra continued to oppose the increases in the rates as he had when they were first propos- ed last month. Council approved in principle the agree- ment for the new landfill site it will share with Seaforth and McKillop Township, sub- )ect to submission for Ontario Municipal Board approval. The landfill site located in McKillop Township about a mile north of Seaforth will be purchased from John Mcll- wain for about $120,000. (The cost per acre is $3,300 for approximately 38 acres, which will be determined by surveying). Addi- tional charges will include cost of purchas- ing land for an access road, a fence around site and about $85,000 for environmental assessment costs (engineering fees) of the site and other possible sites that were assessed as well. The total costs will be debentured by all three municipalities with Tuckersmith issu- ing the debentures when all the details are finally worked out and OMB approval is received, Mr. McLachlan said the nine il- legal ( mistakenly made) hook-up` la the Vanastra sewage system have been iden- tified and located by the Ministry of [hi. Er. vironment staff at the water sewage depart - ment. It was incorrectly reported there .-.a, going to be an independent invest'i.atir Five of the hook-ups have been correr•t;•. ,.r: - stalled and the other four will be. Clark McLachlan was authorized tend two seminars both being sponsored ha. the Ministry of Municipal Affairs arid Il•,w.- ing. The first is in Goderich on Der ; ;,t th, Court House for the preparation of 11( 1,171, ,;,; statements and the other in London r r. k•r 8 advising of changes to the (i. r,rr,', Building Code. Welfare assistance drops in Huron County this year Huron County's general assistance caseload hasn't been hit as hard this year as it was a year ago. Social services administrator John MacKinnon told the Nov. 3 session of county council that the caseload is "down quite a bit from last year". "We have not been hit as bad as at this time last year," said Mr. MacKinnon_ Statistics show that 150 referrals were received in September of 1982, compared to only 97 this past September. Mso, a year ago, assistance was issued to Lits ; •, representing 507 beneficiaries wh!Ir• past September's statistics show as:., -•.a;, was issued to 186 cases represertrr',• 4;r, beneficiaries. Mr. MacKinnon also reported that May of this year records have been r' ;•t ar the number of "UIC exhaustees' appi , ,k for assistance. From May to Sept PTI ',' r .'.t cases were added under the exha 01(•,. category. These cases represent 14 l,, r of the caseload additions.