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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Wingham Advance-Times, 1988-04-19, Page 32as faahlereport,�'. l � Bell said he sees no q , increased regionalization n ing,. the autonomy of *ember municipalities. "I see this;: if anything, as more permissive," Most of the recommendations approved by council would be oprp,'.. tional if implemented by :. the provincial government, he added;, He also said he,could see no point in prolonging the debate by discussing each 'recommendation since -00090 wanted to react ruicl` enough o let the province iFlenient changes prior to this year's municipal elections in November. Reading from a prepared statement during the session, Mr. Mickletold council that accepting the report would lead to anoutside, remote government dictatingthe future of each municipality. "Duyoa want to accelerate tax iucreeases? er • �+ i uuua;- n rough, a saltau the meeting . e -wan to rad it through...before anybody understands it." - ' t ephen Township Reeve Tom , T,, ,es also found d hard tolappert the motion to approt►e the recom- mendationssince it did not have the support of .everyone. at the. execs tive 'co tttee meeting at which it' was discussed.; .Cleekc Treasurer Ain en Haation`nly poi thad oatn, howevapproveer, d thatbytheaedpee majority of the executive committee members. In the recorded vote, votes in favor were cast by: Grey 'Township Reeve Leona Armstrong, ,'Tuckers smith. Township Reeve Bob Bell, Seaforth Reeve Bill Bennett, Goderich Township Deputy . Reeve • 7st r!1 Rede erryT: rout, To•wnship reeve Clarence L Wawanosh 'Township Reeve ue %,Goderiehhip Grant, Stirling, 1341, i. Reye . Wasson, Ha Township Reeve Lionel WildeBrusse �Reeve. `Gordon Workman. v1 Opposing.; votes were cast by.Clinton-Reeve Bee Cooke, e , Exeter Deputy Reeve Lossy Fuller, Bayfield Reeve Dave Johnston, Stephen Township Reeve Ken McCann, Exeter Reeve: Rill 1Vlickie, Stephen Township Reeve Tom Tomes, and the two votes of Goderich Reeve Harry Worsell. Exeter Reeve Jim Robinson was absent. ■ Tenders for the second stage of the Huron County. Pioneer Museum may be called later this - month; Ihiroii County_ Council was told at its regular April session. Claus Breede, the museum's project direetor, made that statement to council after word was officially 'delivered that federal funding for the second stage has been approved. For Mr: Breede, museum staff and county councillors it was a happy culmination of 29 months of waiting, when Huron -Bruce MP Murray Cardiff told them that a $1.15 million grant has been ap- proved under the Canada -Ontario. Cultural Development Subsidiary Agreement. The program recognizes the eco nomic impact of culture, Mr. Cardif said. A news release of the an nouncement points out the projec will produce 82 person-years of em- ployment and that attendance will be boosted from 9,000 in 1987 to an estimated 30,000 visitors in two years after -completion. Five years after completion, attendance is expected to reach 50,000 per year. The second stage of the museum will center on renovation of the original museum building, the 1856 Central School on North Street in Goderich which, was purchased by the county to house J. H. Neill's collection of artifacts. The Huron County ,Pioneer Museum first opened in 1950 with Mr. Neill as its first curator. The old school has been con- demned and that portion of the building will not be open to the public when the museum reopens in May. The public will be able to visit the $2.4 million. addition to the back of the old school which will house the museum's collection' until both sections of the building are available. _ Mr Cardiff also. delivered a cheque for $67,000 under the Museum Assistance Program: The done► will assist in the purchase and installation of storage and other • • din Huron C'ou'nty ' Coutici dorsement of a conte + r;al provincial got. report which calls for sweeping changes to county government system a hin - of how such changes could lead to regionalization, claim opponents of that report. In a 22-9 recorded vote:. at its regular April session, ,Council en- dorsed all but one of -the 36 recom- mendations. in "Patterns for the. Future, The Report of the Advisory Committee on County Govern- ment". Exeter Reeve Bill Mic 22-9 majority vote shows county government could services now being pr municipalities. Among t recommendations app council is one which giv that right with a t majority. Representatives of th two largest municipaliti and Goderich, led the op approving the recomm although it was Mickle most loudly during the .m against the entire report, b the way in which council ling it. OppO recomm t e said couldn' see Doh council's execulive:'1natte�e„. recommend the prolol and as Ontario nicipal: AfFa rs Ministe John . Eakins to implement th said the how easily take over ovided by he report's roved . by es counties wo-thirds e county's es, Exeter position to endations, who spoke seting, not ut against was hand - His suggestion that each of the 36 recommendations be debated in- dependently fell mainly on deaf ears as council decided instead to ap- prove all but the first, which asks for a review of very small munici- palities and separated municipal- ities --municipalities within a county ' which do not take part in county government. In another and also -recorded vote, - Huron County adhered to the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) position that any review of small municipalities and related problems should be done at another time. While most members of council were in favor of the report, there were extreme opinions as well, c la Muk don' r wi D he Ri u3A t 'ther reCOMMendatitinA as aaon. a possible -when, the Min/SW hlmsef has been quoted assayinghe .inn. hurry to implement report. Bayfield Reeve , Dave Johnston said he favored much of the report, but did not want the first recom- mendation to be ignored an:d argued that the recommendation' is "part and parcel” of the entire 'report. "I don't want number one defeated," he said. "I want a: motion included that `small' is not any municipality in Huron County Chief among other ,changes recommended by the report is that heads of local councils be required to sit at the county level. Currently,.. reeves and deputy reeves represents towns and some have argued that the extra time required by a mayor at the county level would. deter quality candidates from seeking the office. Following the meeting, Colborne Township Reeve Russel Kernighan said he agrees town councils have a legitimate concern, but added it should best be resolved at their own council tables with each sending its own resolution to the provincial, task force now reviewing 'reaction to the document. From both a corinty perspective and a rural��-_,representative's viewpoint, he sees nothing wrong;. with the report. "If I had my druthers, I wouldn't want anything (in the way' of a change), but if the province is planning to change things, we have to be ready for whatever's coming." Mr. Kernighan also said he was surprised to see the report approved Wheel Horse Power Works For You. _ MODEL 25241 Electric Key Start No -Tools Tach -A -Matic. Hitch System 12.5 -HP Kawasaki Engine Large 22" Rear 'fort Tires Attachment Lilt 37" or 42" Side & 42" Rear Moving Decks (optional) WI in' in am ale Sealed -Seam Headlights Nan -Skid Footrests Cast-Irc, Front Axle Eaton 7/Peerless 1300 Hydrostatic l ansaxie Teeswater 924402 equipment in the museu• m,. Mr.. Cardiff apologized -Ur the delay in` the approyal:..of,,fed aL. funding for the museum project., County officials have twlce visited Ottawa in the last two years trying to speed approval of the grant. In the absence of the funding, the museum had to undertake some 'additional work to secure the old school at the end of the current construction phase. Council also approved new ad- mission rates to the museum when it reopens. The new adult rate is $2.00, up from $1.50; the student rate is $1.50, from $1.00; the rate for children is now $1.00, up from 75 c and school groups will now be d 75 cents ._ Fes' ��.� _: .......�° ---- ming Ma ,i, the Innseurr will, _ -. be open 0a.rn '4:30p.m., Monday through Saturday and, ,1;to 4 p.m. on Sundays,.. After Labor Day the museum will be open 10-a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday and 1 to 4:30 p.m. on Sundays, but closed on Saturdays. Council authorized the Goderich Horticultural Society to establish a "fragrant garden" — designed to give pleasure to sightless people — at the museum. The society will establish the garden on the south side of the log cabin on the museum grounds, and will maintain it at no cost to the museum. MVCA fert.iijzessugar bush: as trees show health declinlng The Maitland Valley Conservation Authority has started a new fer- tilization program at the Maple Keys Sugar Bush in the hopes ofd, counteracting signs of decline, some of which may be due to acid rain. MVCA general manager Les Tervit said the granular form or- ganic fertilizer dropped on the bush in pellets posed no threat either to people or to the environment. Last Wednesday morning, a family whose property lies near the bush was startled when a low-flying plane roared overhead dropping pellets on the land. Laurence Rowbotham said his daughter was outside at the time and since there was an unusual smell in the air he was afraid she'd been exposed to harmful chemicals. Calls to the local health unit and the MVCA quelled his fears of danger but Mr. Rowbotham was still. upsetthat local residents weren't notified of the project. "They should let people know when they're gothg to do something like this," he said. Complaints' of foul odour surprised Mr. Tervit because, he said, the pel- lets are relatively odour -free. Jim Curry, a spokesman for Cana- gro Agricultural Products Ltd., of Elmira, the manufacturer of the fer- tilizer, said studies by the Ministry of the Environment indicate trees in the area have shown symptoms of decline commonly associated with acid rain. Maple trees are particularly sus- ceptible because their feeder roots are shallow so nutrients are taken from the upper soil levels. Precipitation in Southwestern Ontario is very acidic, a condition which, in effect, depletes the nut- ritional value in the ground, es- pecially near the surface. According to Mr. Curry, the heavy concentration of limestone in the Canagro product "sweetens" the soil, putting back the much-needed nutrients, The manufacturer's product has been developed in conjunction with scientific studies done by faculties at the University of Toronto and MacDonald College in Quebec. Mr. Tervit said it is part of the MVCA's work under the land management program to find ways to better the health of the area's natural environment.