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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Times Advocate, 2004-08-18, Page 1JOHN DEERE (519)235-1115 www.hurontractor.com INHURON TRACTOR Day jircicp ]] TIMES -ADVOCATE Exeter, Ontario, Canada Wednesday, August 18, 2004 x.25 (includes GST) "Huron Park is for sale:" Mitchell By Scott Nixon TIMES -ADVOCATE STAFF HURON PARK — After years of negotia- tions, tenants of the industrial portion of Huron Park will now be able to buy the buildings and land they lease from the province. Huron -Bruce MPP Carol Mitchell made the official announcement Aug. 11 at the entrance gates to the industrial park, along with South Huron Mayor Rob Morley and Scot Magnish of the Ontario Realty Corporation (ORC), which man- ages land for the province. The 635 -acre former Royal Canadian Air Forces base includes a residential community and an industrial side, includ- ing 26 businesses and an airport. Businesses in the park include machine shops, storage facilities, airplane storage and painting and some office and retail use. The residential portion of the park is not yet being sold, although talks on that issue will continue. Mitchell said allowing Huron Park industries to buy their buildings and land "will allow the owners to expand their businesses, provide job stability and cre- ate a better quality of life for the resi- dents." She said uncertainty over the park in recent years has hurt it. Mitchell congratulated Morley and the ORC for their work to make the sales pos- sible. "It's with absolute delight we make this announcement," Mitchell said. "Huron Park's for sale." Morley said he's been working on the sale of the park since he first became mayor of South Huron four years ago. He said within the first month of his first term as mayor, he had Huron Park busi- nesses telling him they wanted to expand. The problem was, once the province shifted control of Huron Park to ORC, the province stopped spending money on the park and it "tied the hands" of the indus- tries. Once he started working on the sale of the park, Morley said everyone was in favour of it, but the former Progressive Conservative government wouldn't make it a priority. When Mitchell, a Liberal, was elected in last fall's election, Morley approached her to continue talks on the sale. Before the election, negotiations were "very close," but fell apart last sum- mer. Morley said there are now three Huron Park industries negotiating to buy their property and more have expressed inter- est. He hopes it will attract more busi- nesses to the area. Current industrial tenants will have first right of refusal, meaning they will have the opportunity to buy a site before any- one else. As for the residential side of Huron Park, Morley said it won't be sold "in the near future," as the residents aren't "ready or willing" yet. He said the munic- ipality has spent a lot of money in Huron Park over the last year to improve the infrastructure on the residential side so it will eventually be ready for a sale. So far, Morley says he's received posi- tive feedback from industries on the sale. One key in the park's success is ensuring the airport remains "vibrant," Morley said. Mitchell said the province will continue to work with the ORC and the municipali- ty on the eventual sale of the residential side. She said the industrial side is ready now. ONTARIO REALTY CORPORATION Huron Industrial Park Cent"ia Airpar DEL MA GED BY ENT SOLL T b;f1rs, "r_ 4404 Huron -Bruce MPP Carol Mitchell, right, announced last week ants in Huron Park will now be able to buy their land and buildings from the province. She said the park has been hurt in recent years because of uncertainty over the future.Also with Mitchell are Scot Magnish of the Ontario Realty Corporation, left, and South Huron Mayor Rob Morley. (photo/Scott Nixon) that industrial ten- Magnish, a community liaison officer with the ORC, said work now has to start on defining lots on the industrial side, since it is now just one large lot. He said negotiations will determine how much land tenants want. While some tenants may not want to buy, Magnish said the entire industrial side will eventually be sold. "It will be a long process," he said. "It's not like we're pulling up stakes and leav- ing town." He said anytime the government sells land, it is a lengthy, bureaucratic process. Kirkton residents want better police service By Scott Nixon TIMES -ADVOCATE STAFF KIRKTON — Faced with what they say is an increase in break-ins and vandal- ism, Kirkton residents have formed a Community Watch program and want a stronger police presence in their village. A public meeting was held Aug. 12 at the Kirkton-Woodham Community Centre. About 60 residents attended to offer their concerns and to gather infor- mation from local police officers and politicians. During the two-hour meeting, residents spoke of their frustration over crime in the area and the fact police aren't visible in the area. One resident even said he is afraid to open the windows in his house or keep his doors unlocked during the day for fear of someone breaking into his house. He added women are afraid to walk in the village at night. Resident Chuck Huntington, who has formed the Community Watch, said the crime problem in the village has escalat- ed. However, all of this is news to the OPP and the South Huron police services board, who say calls for service to Kirkton are few and far between. As Kirkton is split by Hwy. 23, it sits in Huron and Perth counties and is serviced by both OPP detachments. Huron OPP Sgt. Brad Sadler encour- aged Kirkton residents to let the OPP know about their problems. He said there simply hasn't been much communication between the village and the OPP. "We're not getting calls in Kirkton and Usborne," he said. "It's like a vacuum here. You've got to pick up the phone." Sadler told the audience the Huron side of the village has a police services board that meets monthly. Any issues can be dealt with at those meetings, but resi- dents need to report their problems to the police. "If you don't call us, we don't know," Sadler said. He said since the start of this year, Huron OPP have only had 10 calls to Kirkton, compared with "tons of calls" in Exeter and Stephen. In June and July, Usborne had 30 and 34 calls respectively, while Stephen receives about 120 a month and Exeter receives nearly 200. As part of the new Community Watch program, residents can put their name and address on a list and choose who they would like to watch keep an eye on their home. Everyone will also receive a laminated "Community Watch" sign to place in their window and a list of names of local residents who will respond to emergencies night and day. While Huntington said people should call a name from the list before calling 9-1-1, Sadler said people should call 9-1-1 first because the calls are recorded and can be traced. Non -emergency calls to the OPP can be placed to 1-888-310-1122. Perth County OPP acting Staff Sgt. Joel Skelding agreed, and said the OPP's map- ping system can be used to find a resi- dence quickly in an emergency. Huntington said those on the Community Watch who respond to calls will either catch people committing a crime, catch them fleeing or at least be a witness. He said some will even bring video cameras to calls. He hopes the program will make the OPP's job easier. The program is being sponsored by businesses in the village. Some residents who have called the OPP, though, weren't impressed with the service they received. One resident said it took over an hour for an officer to respond to a call and when he arrived the officer was angry for being called. Sadler and Skelding both said if their officers aren't doing their jobs, it will be investi- gated. Another woman complained that dis- patchers on 9-1-1 take too long by asking too many unnecessary questions during emergency calls. South Huron police services board chairperson and Deputy Mayor Dave Urlin said the board meets once a month to look at occurrences and determine what the "hot spots" are in the area. Once a hot spot is determined, police presence is upgraded. Urlin said calls from Kirkton are rare and, like Sadler and Skelding, encour- aged people to call the police when they need them. "We're here to help," Urlin said. He said Huron OPP, because of a grant the South Huron police services board received for night vision goggles, are equipped to deal with problems at night. South Huron Coun. Ken Oke, who rep- resents Usborne, said residents should "start making phone calls. Make this a hot spot." He said if residents feel they haven't been treated right by police offi- cers, "we're not getting our money's worth." Oke informed the audience of a Community Oriented Policing group that has always had trouble getting members from Usborne. He said the committee is "in limbo" right now and invited Usborne residents to join. See POLICE SERVICE page 2