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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Times Advocate, 2004-09-22, Page 22 Exeter Times–Advocate Wednesday, September 22, 2004 South Huron council hoping to meet less often Continued from front page finds difficult to keep up with. In contrast, Mayor Rob Morley said he believes South Huron is the only munici- pality in Huron County that meets more than twice a month. "That's because we're the most aggres- sive and the most successful," Urlin said. Councillors Ken Oke and Jim Dietrich said they would only agree to the reduc- tion in meetings if it didn't lead to longer meetings. Oke said council doesn't make good decisions after 10 p.m. and, with fewer meetings, it's possible the meetings they do have could go longer. Council agreed to try the reduced schedule until the end of December and will discuss the issue again. In the mean- time, council can call for more meetings if the two per month aren't enough. The following is council's fall schedule: regular meetings Oct. 4 and 18; Nov. 1 and 15; and Dec. 6 and 20. Communication Sessions will be held Sept. 27, Oct. 25 and Nov. 22. There will be no Communication Session in December. Other council notes: Water main project Council gave the go-ahead for a $134,800 project that will see the water main replaced down Hwy. 83 from the area near the west Canadian Tire entrance to Rosemount Avenue. The water main work is a continuation of work done last year and should be done in a couple of weeks. Tenders Council also dealt with a number of tenders at its Sept. 13 meeting. Approved was: the purchase of a 2005 one ton cab and chassis truck with a dump box from Huron Motor Products for $39,198; the awarding of the 2004 winter sand con- tract for the supply, mix and stockpile of sand to Clarence Carter and Sons at $7.65/tonne, or $12,240 for 1,600 tonnes; and the annual sidewalk tender to Albeck Construction for $17,865. In the latter two categories, the low tenders were chosen, while Huron Motor Products was the only company to tender for the truck. Farm land lease Council decided to renew its lease to have current leaser Albert Visscher farm about 90 acres of municipal land at the Exeter Landfill. The current lease, which sees South Huron get $14,000 annually in rent for the land, expires at the end of the year. The new three-year lease with Visscher will be for $15,000 per year. While council eventually agreed to lease the land to Visscher, both Morley and Dietrich said bidding for the land should have been open to the public since it is public land. Oke said he was willing to accept Visscher's offer because it is a fair offer and the town has had good luck with Visscher in the past. Compost bins discontinued In a money -saving effort, the munici- pality is removing its compost bins at the Exeter Work Shed, meaning compostable material will have to be taken to the Exeter Landfill site. The bins, which allow residents to drop off items like branches, leaves and limbs, cost the municipality $30,000 for four months for bin rental and trucking the material to the landfill site. In addition, road superintendent Ken Bettles said the bins tend to overflow on weekends, meaning municipal staffers have to clean up the site. Also, some con- tractors have been dumping their mater- ial in the bins. As a result of the removal of the bins at the work shed, the munici- pality will extend hours at the Exeter Landfill. Material can be dropped off for free. South Huron will also approach Perth South about closing the Kirkton Landfill site, citing high per tonne costs. The site is only open one Saturday a month. The Exeter bins will be removed Oct. 30. Holiday openings Retail businesses throughout South Huron will be able to stay open on Victoria Day, Canada Day and Labour Day after council passes a new bylaw. A bylaw already existed allowing the openings to retail businesses in Exeter, but the new bylaw extends permission through the entire municipality. The openings are allowed in South Huron because of its proximity to the tourist and recreation areas of Lake Huron. Council will vote on the bylaw at a future public meeting. Lucan Biddulph council defers minor variance application By Mary Simmons TIMES -ADVOCATE STAFF LUCAN — Lucan Biddulph council decided to defer a deci- sion on a minor variance appli- cation Monday night until infor- mation could be clarified between the applicant and a neighbour. Carol Sloetjes applied for relief from the minimum separation distance for a lot on the south- east corner of William Street and Coursey Line. Since there was some dispute over the nature of a livestock operation run by Harold Kress, planner Ted Halwa recommend- ed council wait to make a deci- sion until the matter could be cleared up. Kress said although the barn in question holds only 40 heifers his nutrient management plan allows manure storage for 35 additional animals. The parties involved were asked to work out the correct numbers and come back to council at the next meeting. The history of the lot, which is the site of the former pumping station of the Village of Lucan, will also be looked into. Consent application A consent application was granted to Jerry and Lynda Martens of 15484 Elginfield Road to sever a portion of land to be zoned for farm commercial purposes rather than agricultur- al use. Granton sewer and water Council decided to wait for a year to meter the Granton sewer system. Meters will be used for the newly connected water system and public works manager Barry Mills said approximately 40 meters have already been installed. Administrator Ron Reymer said residents will receive a dummy bill for the first month on the meters so they will be able to fix any problems which may be causing them to use more water than they need. ABCA board denies applicant's request By Mary Simmons TIMES -ADVOCATE STAFF AUSABLE BAYFIELD — The Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority (ABCA) board of direc- tors upheld a staff decision at a hearing pursuant to Ontario Regulation 46/95 Sept. 16. Planner Kelly Vader told the board staff denied the application of Steve and Barb Evans to build an addition to their bungalow at the same level as the current structure. She said the residence is in the Thedford-Klondike flood plain area and according to provincial regulations the addition has to elevated 0.8 metres above the rest of the house. Evans said the house is a three- bedroom bungalow, which is the home where she and her husband are raising two children and plan to retire someday. She said the family has lived there for nine years and has never received water in their crawl space. She said she objected to the elevation because she didn't want the addi- tion to have to be up a level of four steps from the rest of the res- idence. Provincial planning reform Vader also reported to the board about her participation on a provincial committee looking at planning reform. She said there were minor word- ing changes to the various aspects of the Planning Act with an overall tone to intensify development in built-up areas and avoid urban sprawl. The reforms are also more pro- tective of natural heritage areas and make the policies more clear- cut. PGMN Land and Water Technologist Davin Heinbuck updated the board on the Provincial Groundwater Monitoring Network (PGMN). ABCA has 14 wells in the PGMN and the first round of groundwa- ter quality sampling is complete. Heinbuck said the conservation authority is moving forward with the implementation of a water quality sampling design, deciding which water quality parameters are important locally and consis- tent among conservation authori- ties to ensure long-term success of the monitoring program. The board agreed to go ahead with testing for the metals, chemi- cals and pesticides laid out in Heinbuck's report, as well as cer- tain volatile organics, total col- iform and E. coli at a cost of $2,500 for 2005. Granton residents will pay a flat rate of $30 a month for sewer service for a year and then it will move to a metered system as well. Financial report Treasurer Cherie Mahoney gave the year-to-date financial report to council. She reported the municipality is in good shape overall. Meeting Council's next public meeting will be in Granton Oct. 4 at the fire hall. Council passes spraying amendment By Pat Bolen TIMES -ADVOCATE STAFF VARNA — Bluewater council passed an amendment to its No Pesticides resolution Sept. 13. The resolution had originally been passed in July 2001 saying the Municipality of Bluewater would not use pesticides on municipal lands, except for health and safety reasons. The resolution was brought back to council after ragweed was sprayed on municipal property Aug. 16. Coun. Jim Fergusson said he felt either some- thing should be added to the resolution that would allow managers to make decisions on spraying or leave it the way it was. Coun. Bill MacDougall agreed saying, "we have intelligent workers in Bluewater, we should allow them some free- dom." After further debate Council passed the amendment saying spraying would be the manager's decision with consideration for other types of destruction cov- ered in the weed control act. 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