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HomeMy WebLinkAboutWingham Advance-Times, 1980-04-09, Page 1.11 1 11 ,1 • '.1"..1111.fir., •' • . . "I' • 11. 11.1'4 ' ••. • • - 1;' • ;1• • • -I' if,11 ' • • • • •.•,,, • 4 164 :•4 • 1:11 •"' Ipril 9, 1980 3 • • . • ;Wingham light to t.ita CUiCkShaJIk,, project, votingMondayinIgt ,...-apprsiv*La bylaw amen the.Wown!aofficial plan allow the develOpmen;- : , ,„.. obstaclesobstades standing in theiva7PfAllePrOSC:t: OnlY:,. •-,Ontarlo,Munlcipal Board hnaringnit stands antic' '''''' ' hiiii ,, betty ' i.'Sens „ 4 COPIlltfflor voted ,favor' or David eltIngiitl 'Win,' supported tbe amendment, 0001010ted- • fortuirntely, he added, there Is no way. of lcnowing what the, majority wants in tliia ease since not everyone has spoken" out. He said three factors went into his • decision to votefotithe project: the Cruick- shank family dOesraphjeet ;Abe land is not being used; and he doesn't foresee com- mercial development in that end of town. The between the .N111301 The Home Place, downtown core is really -centred 'he said, and further development is more • *elk to locate in the southern end of town than-nt-the-north. He noted there are a • number of ,p,roperties which could become available fOirredevelopment in the southern end, as well as the land to the south of and behind the new plaza. • '4.1 would just hope we could get that all full there and would have to worry • about more land," he commented, but he doesn't foresee that happening. He added that the argument put forward by the mayor and Gary Davidson, Huron County planning director, that a change in site would jeopardize Ontario Housing Corporation's (OHC) commitment to build wasn't really a factor in his decision. More • important was the lack of a suitable • alternative. :He reported connefi spent a. lot of time talking about the old Lloyd factory site, but in the opinion of Reeve Joe Kerr and others •- the excavation costs Would be prohibitive, given the amount of concrete left buried there. The other Lloyd property at the end of Patrick Street West was also discussed, he .said,but they felt it !triad betonfor for the arrtendrn, majority re niendatiew of •:'1) , DesutY_Itcno'Haroid Wild14,41,4°"44 ' the inekt2 Main' den afil not '11004: cast‘'a The ng hoardhad recommended, following a pubiic.rneeting at which strong oppositionn-was expressed -to placing apart-. menta in the park, that the plan amendment not be approved. , Mi disaisidoo prior to the vote was held in a closed session of council, however in a survey Tuesday morning a number. of councillors discussed their • reasons for voting as they John-Batesan,nneef the two to oppose the amendment, said he still thinks the park is a good place for the senior citizens' apartments, "hut you can'tgo against the peoPle104,... He noted he hadloie had one person come to him and tell him council should stick to its guns, that the park is a good , location for the apartments, while a lot of people have expressedtheopposite opinion. "My first Wish is that we could do the Wishes of the majority of .• the people," •?. I Gary ejk - County Planning director, • outlined issues arising from the new draft Planning Act to county councillors at their last meeting. The draft /lit is the White Paper the Ontario government has proposed following a four-year review of the planning process in the province: Mr. Davidson presented the response to the paper prepared by the Association of Municipalities of Ontario. (AMO) and pointed out AMO has a number of fundamental disagreements with the proposed legislation. The association finds the draft act unacceptable ith ,prespet atP to- seniors4to an alter ,gtAll thlngs f eimeleded, adding.be* andlandscapedpeQple -asset to the mann Raii.'Welker., the oppose the amen accordance Withthe re planning .0004.Hel matter and irtildeliP',his in the board made UW0000517 go along4ith-iti recommendal Be agreed withltfr:. Canieror twalternativeTsitb--was a moi consideration • to 0006C11:, tlian- possibly projectifit o mentioned the prob .16 cavation of the Lloyd site an tbe -lot. He said he hadn'elni-d a p1 way on the Matter but, talked to ;Very many peePt with whomhedi4dololkoiyi CouncilorGot tO4' which influenced his. vote project were that he 1411 Wingham lose it and thiktO dte ;n alternative has been presented There: have been , wingham,gueineen..4:e1,0040. anoptionOn the said, Lloyd14 . to council, he14410 one the town o' with OF He said he wants to see thea put up and it -doesn't really mattef although he was concerned the" Ore might be lost if council didn't tipgrovf, site. He added that ;•1:. 1 ! Vernative site were put forward ptior to Atte 0M13 hearing council eould still look at He also said he doesn't think taxpayers in town can afford to pick up the difference in ice if the buildftig were put onto a more: pensive site. "If it came *putting it on e tax bill, I couldn't vote for ft." Mr. Davidson had told council at the start the meeting that OHC will spend only so s ouch to put up the apartments. If the price f land puts it over the ceiling the town ould have to subsidize the project or it .4vould be dropped. ' -Councillor Allan Harrison said Tuesday he rsonally is satisfied he Made the right cision in voting for the project to go ahead. ;•"-• He is concerned about the reaction off the arming board to being overruled, he ad- ded, "and I sincerely hope we don't have the same Thing (mass resignation) again,'' But e noted the board was under a lot of _Pressure following the public meeting, and it I1S-up to council to make the final decision. Both he and Mr. Cameron said they had • • ,Whether or not it ."Planning own y Weal approval; the riiirdster is given the authority to modify or refuse Official Plan amend- ments, • zoning bylaws and plans of subdivision if he is of the opinion provincial in- terests are being threatened. Furthertriore, the minister does not have to give his reasons for the intervention; Mr. Davidson said, and there is no recourse for appeal by • the municipalities provided in the draft act. • Mr. Davidson also ex- pressed concern that under the new act towns in the county would have to submit -their plans to the county for .. appoval, just as townships do now. One of the purposes off the new act was to speed up planning, he said, cbut as proposed it makes the process more complicated, with very detailed procedures which Would require more time. He cited an example in which approval of a plan which now takes 30 days would One of AMO's chief con- cerns is that the act would give more authority to the minister of housing at a time When the ministry was. proposing to give local municipalities a •Stronger voice in decisions affecting local planning matters. West Wawanosh reeve loses life in accident Leo Michael Foran, reeve of West Wawanosh Township, was killed last Thursday when. a traetor which he was operating overturned, pinning him beneath it. Mr. Foran was driving on Brucc4 County Road 16 in, Culross Townshi, near Teeswater, ctthen the tractor tipped into a ditch, landing on top of the driver. Provincial Police from Walkerton in- vestigated the incident. Leo Foran was in his 58th year and resided at RR 2, Lucknow. His death followed by two weeks that of his brother, Joseph. He was also predeceased by twin brothers, Elmer (1969) and Norman (1978). Left to mourn his passing are two brothers, John and Gordon, both of West Wawanosh; two sisters, Sister Mary Cornelius of London and Sister Eileen of Seaforth; as well as several nieces and nephews. The late Leo Foran rested at the MacKenzieMcCreath Funeral Home, Lucknow, until Monday when removal was made to St. Augustine Roman Catholic Church for service at 11 a.m. Interment followed in St. Augustine Roman Catholic Cemetery. . • • • t , take 69 days under the' new act. " At present the five towns in the county do their own plan- ning and the county has no veto power over them, Mr. Davidson said. "The towns do their plan- ning well and the relationship between the county and the towns is harminious!! However the county would have to become more involved in town planning under the proposed legislation, since it would not have the right to delegate planning authority to the towns. AMO is of the opinion municipalities which satisfy criteria should be delegated the authority to approvepans of subdivision • or con- dominium and .'consents. It expressed concern that, since the eligibility requirements are contained in the appendix to the act and therefore have no legal status, the minister would be able to alter the criteria at his discretion, "providing himself .with another tool that could serve to undermine the municipal planning process". One of the most significant changes proposed by the draft planning act is the change in status of the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB). AMO does not want the board restricted merely to making recommendations to the minister of housing. in a case where a local planning decision is considered to be contravening a provincial interest. According to AMO a board decision should' be finaland binding and without appeal except on points of law. It wants the 0M13 to determine whether a ,provincil policy has been contravened and in, addition feels the OMB is the appropriate body to arbitrate intermunieipal planning • disputes. ithOthei lune raised hy.. the, neVit draft act iSothe apparent contradiction concerning public participation in planning." Despite a recent statement by Housing Minister Claude Bennett that: "We are determined to get the decision -making process closer tcrthe source ... close to the people ... and to make the system more responsive," the draft act would inhibit a municiality's ability to plan and would represent a serious impediment to the decision- naking authority of elected offipials, according to AMO. Public participation isa • required element -Mr • Davidson said, but specific ,1proceduret to • which municipalities must adhere make the system too rigid. There should be more recognition of local dif- fereneet • by allowing municipalities t� provide for public involvement in the way best suited to their needs, resources and administrative capabilities. Municipalities should be allowed to establish their own guidelines notification, • hearing and appeal procedures. Huron has already been follpwing a similar process to that of the draft planning act, in that- both local munici- palities and the county are plans. Mr. Davidson told council. How- ever if the proposed act became law the county would need to prepare a new plan, because of structural dif- ferences, he said. KINETTES ANNOUNCE GIFT DRAW WINNER Joan Crawford of Wingbam won the 150 gift certificate from Miller's Ladies Wear in the draw sprafsored by the Wingham Kinette Club. Separate school board sets $5.2 million budget • By Wilma Oke • DUBLIN—The Huron -Perth County Roman Catholic Sepa- rate School Board set its 1980 budget during a special meeting last Monday night. The total budget was set at $5,220,054, an increase of $266,500 or 5.4 per cent over 1979 expenditures. Provincial grants and Mis- cellaneous revenue will provide 80.2 per cent' of the budget, compared tb 82.6 per cent last year, and local tax- payers will have to contribute the other 19.8 per cent, up from 17.4 per cent in 1979. The mill rate as set results in an increase for ratepayers which will cost an overage homeowner an additional $1925 in 1980. In commenting on the budget Jirk Lane, superin- tendent of business and finance, noted the provincial share of education costs is continuing to decrease, im- posing financial burdens on local taxpayers beyond those caused by inflation. Ronald Marcy, board chair- man, declared the budget is bare bones, as tight as it can be, and Finance Chairman Gregory Fleming added, "Too tight" The board agreed to con- tinue requesting that its 1980 requisitions from all municipalities in Huron and Perth be paid in two instal- ments, June 15 and December 15. Included in the board's revenue and expenditures for the year is $6,000 for an Experience '80 program to assist in the operation of a summer school at St. Patrick's School, Dublin, again this year. Ministry approval is required, but the board is hopeful that the grant will be available to employ high school students during July and August, talked to several people who favored the "...Cruickshank apartments, although My. .:Illarrison acknowledged he had talked to a 10.43ot who opposed it too. . ' Tom Deyell, the fourth councillor who ;supported the amendment, said his reasons ,, • were muchlike the others. He doesn't want r.':tto see the town lose the project and while he 'would be willing to consider,alternate sites he doesn't want to further burden the tax- 4:..Payers. The suitability of the Lloyd property would depend on the price; he said. • Continued on Page e• • celebrates • anniversary — A large rwri'ends and rela- , • n.npan iniust; %AV', ' " Da - son, RR•3;4 tOhan, who eelebrated - theirik -golden weddbig .aaniersarr, March 30 .dtA,the Belgrave WI Hall. Thywere married inTerorito on April 2, 1930. Therewas a doubl4tiered anniversary cake with gold flowers; which was decorated by a granddaughter, 'Mrs. Connie; Nesbitt., Chimney- coverei•Piold candles 'en- circled by red and yellow rose i adorned the head table, • The plaque Of • congratu- lations from William Davis, premier of Ontario was presented by Murray Gaunt, MPP for Huron -Bruce. The couple has a family of three daughters and two so*, Mrs. Alai (Jean) Nethery; Ftlt BrUSSeir, Roy,- RR Wiiitil ham; Mrs. Mervin (Mae),Rit- chie, Blyth; Mrs. Doug (Flor- enc) Meehan, RR 5, Brussels; Murray, RR 3, Wingham; also 17 grandchil- dren and eight great grand- children. Friends and relatives at- tended from Sarnia, Brant- ford, Waintleet, Iteeswick, Blind River: Port Rowan, Dundas, St. Catharines and surrounding district. Special guests were Mrs. Pearl Hogg, Wingham and Mrs. AliceLong, Blind -Over, sititowetthe &loth, on ThnisdaY evening the" immediate family was treated to a delicious hOt roast beef dinner in Blyth, which was thoroughly enjoyed by all. . Following the meal Linda Machan read a Poem she com- posed in honor of her grand parents. SO YEARS—Mr. • !lege last week: gathered at the anniversary. and Mrs. Philip Dawson, RR 3, Wingham, celebrated 50 years of mar - The couple were wed April 2, 1930 in Toronto. Friends and relatives, Belgrave Women's Institute Hall on March 30 to help celebrate ihe, 1,4,‘ • ; • ovvri Council Sho • Wingham should be a cleaner place to live this year as a result of a decision by town council Monday night. Council voted to purchase a reconditioned street sweeper at a cost- 'IJr no Mat ' than: $14,000Ork. 147 s Committee Chair- man David Cameron told council the alternative would be a new sweeper for $10,000, which the town couldn't af- ford, or "used junk" for. $5,000- $10,000. He noted the town has found renting a sweeper un- " satisfactory, since it was never here when it was needed most. .1 I feel with this machine in our garage we can keep the streets in the condition they should be," he told council. • He • reported he, the works• commissioner, the town fore- man and a mechanic had travelled to TorOrito to see the hiisbeinjreconditioned by, the manufacturer, and they are satisfied it is a good buy. • 0-0-0 • Wingham council passed resolution Monday night Which it will circulate to other municipalities in the province asking for support in a bid to have the fines for liquor and.: noise offences kept at a high • level. Councillor Allan Harrison, chairman of the police sEhiteShTaEs known, aKoLADY ey easlIck of Wingham looks back overthe 86 Easter Days recalifieby the lovely Easter lily she received last week. Mrs. Casilck, who now 'loos at Brookhaven Nursing Home, celebrated her Bath birthday a few days before Easter. committee, told council he is concerned that lowering Of the fines under the new Provincial Offenees Act has removed the deterrent against those- of- fences. He' deelared lie isipset with (Attorney General Roy) McMurtry and the govern- ment, and said the police chiefs in the county are hoping to meet with Mr. McMurtry and resolve the matter. Wingham Chief Robert Wittig noted that under the new act the fines are Set . province -wide,- while previously judges had been able to set the fines for the : area under their jurisdiction. As a consequence the fine for liquor offences will drop from $100 plus costs to $25 plus Costs for possession by a minda, and $35 el!. cost p for possession in a place other than a residence. The fine forexcessive noise will also drop from $100 plus costs to $25 and costs. He said police in the county believe alcohol is at the bot - /tom of many other problems they encounter, and as a result were able to convince the local judge to raise the liquor fines. They will be meeting with Mr. MeMurtry to see whether the fines can be returned to the former level, he added. Mr, Harrison noted that at the new level the liquor would cost more than the fine. 941-0 Council agreed to donate $25 to the heart fund in memory of George Carter, who -died reeently. Cartr-Wag former town foreman and later a member of coimeil. • if41.0 • Town council has started to lay the groundwork- for possible future development in the southern corner of town behind the new plaza: Engineer Andy McBride showed council several alternatives for running a roadway from David Street to Highway ' 86, opening "up the town lots in that area, and council agreed to -begin the process of getting approval from the. Ministry of Trans- portation ani Communi- cations for a road opening onto ,thehighway: While the town has no im- mediate pl4s to construct a street or streets there, the approval would enable it to interest prospective developers in the land. Mr. McBride noted the town would have to work out an agreement with any prospective develpper regarding the cost offillinL the land' iTrid building the roadway. Optimist Club plans banquet The Optimist Club of Wingham District met last week to discuss preparations for its May 10 charter banquet to be held at the Teeswater- Culross Community Hall. Guest speaker at the meeting was Dave Crothers, chief of the Wingham Fire Department. He explained the numerous dangers , firemen face when called out to a fire and described in detail the hazards of flammable materials such as plastics as well as caustic gases and faulty chiinneys. One two - quart milk carton can create 1400 degrees of heat in a chimney, he said. He noted tfiat every time an alarm is answered the fire- men dont know what is in- volved until they •get to the scene, and often they risk their liveeto save others. At the close of the meeting Leonard James, program coc.rdi na tor , presented Mr. Crothers with a certif te of appreciation from the cl