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The Times Advocate, 2004-10-06, Page 22 Exeter Times–Advocate Wednesday, October 6, 2004 Regional wrap up Huron County roads CLINTON — Huron County may not have the worst roads in Ontario, but some roads are receiving a failing grade. The Clinton News - Record reported the second annual poll ranking the worst roads for 2004 — online at www. worstroads. ca — provides an outlet for motorists to nomi- nate roads they feel are among the worst in Ontario. "What's not a prob- lem?" one critic said of the stretch of Highway 21 between Kincardine and Forest. "It's covered with potholes, poor repairs, patch work pavement, a rough ride, rippled pave- ment and cracks to boot. "This tourist route needs a fixin' (and) needs lane expansion due to heavy traffic." Recruitment in Goderich GODERICH — Just a few months after existing doctors declared a "red alert" regarding Goderich's doctor shortage, recruitment and retention committee chairperson Dr. David Walker and Alexandra Marine and General Hospital CEO Bill Thibert are "cautiously opti- mistic" about the local health care situ- ation. The Goderich Signal -Star reported throughout the sum- mer, Goderich hosted at least four doctor site visits, which fea- tured a tour of the hospital and town. Thibert said the new medical clinic is also a strong selling point for Goderich now that construction has actually started. Consultants recommend equalizing water rates By Mary Simmons TIMES -ADVOCATE STAFF EXETER — Citizens of South Huron last week were given the opportu- nity to hear about pro- posed changes to water rates and to give their input. A public meeting was held at the South Huron Rec Centre Sept. 30 to discuss water rates. Representatives of Dillon Consulting and Tera Trends gave a pre- sentation on their rec- ommendations to coun- cil for the 2005 rates. Guy Courtnay of Dillon told the crowd the cur- rent rates are not keep- ing pace with the cost to the municipality. "We are living beyond our means," he said. Wesley Stevens of Tera Trends said the 2004 water budget listed cap- ital and operating costs as $2,340,000 while user fees were $1,940,000. This meant depleting the reserve fund by $400,000 to make up the difference. Courtnay pointed out the current infrastruc- ture is aging and the municipality needs to maintain a reserve fund to pay for maintenance and replacement when it's necessary. "We will have massive bills if we don't start preparing for them," he said. He added the pipes will deteriorate in time, causing leaks which will be a loss to the system. According to the consul- tants, 92 per cent of the ductile iron pipe in South Huron was installed in 1969 or before, which means 65 per cent will have to be replaced within 25 years. Courtnay added 78 per cent of the municipali- ty's PVC pipe was installed in 1977 or before and has reached one-third of its expected life. He said if work isn't done in a timely fashion the costs will increase exponentially. "If it doesn't get the attention and care it needs, it will stop being functional," Courtnay said. "If that happens, everyone will pay. "This is the opportuni- ty to put away adequate funds in reserves." They recommended putting $100,000 each into reserves for water and waste water in the 2005 budget. Stevens said while going over the current rates, he did not see a good reason for having six different rates in the municipality. "Everyone should pay the same," he said. According to his fig- ures, based on a typical household using 50 cubic metres of water in a quarter, the current bills are $73.75 in Exeter, $47.20 in Huron Park, $34 for part-time cottagers in Stephen, $35.28 for full-time cot- tagers in Stephen, $37.45 in Centralia and $43.60 in Dashwood and the primary area of Stephen. He recommended council adopt a uniform rate policy where the "We will have massive bills if we don't start preparing for them," GuY COURTNAY CONSULTING DILLON only differences would be in well-defined areas of specific use. According to his figures, this would mean the same household as above would be billed $80.40 per quarter in Exeter and the rest would pay $70.50. The basic metered rate would be 57 cents per cubic metre. The overall rates will include a fixed charge and a volume charge. Stevens said Exeter residents would pay more because of a debt surcharge, which only applies to those users. The same rates would apply to businesses. Stephen residents expressed their con- cerns about paying more since they paid an up -front fee of as much as $7,000 to hook up to water and in at least one case the system is only 10 years old. Concern was expressed about paying into reserves for mainte- nance when their sys- tem will not break down as quickly as in other areas of the municipali- ty. Those who attended Councillors unhappy with water numbers By Scott Nixon TIMES -ADVOCATE STAFF SOUTH HURON — The numbers are in, and not everyone on South Huron council is happy. Council discussed the proposed new water rate numbers Monday night. Those numbers were officially unveiled to the public at a meeting Sept. 30 at the South Huron Rec Centre (see related story). After talking about the issue for another hour at Monday's council meeting, council wants to have another talk with the consultants who came up with the numbers. Of much discussion was the pro- posal that will see water rates for a typical home in Stephen go up 60 per cent from the current $43.60 per quarter to $70.50 per quarter. Both Stephen ward councillors, Harvey Ratz and Jim Dietrich, expressed unhappiness with the proposal. Ratz explained his displeasure with last week's water meeting, say- ing the "mushroom" philosophy was used in revealing the new rates to the public — "keep them in the dark and feed them bullshit." Ratz said Stephen and Usborne picked up a lot of Exeter's tax share when the three municipalities amal- gamated and he doesn't think they will want to pay for Exeter's water. Instead of operating the Exeter and Stephen water systems as one system, as the new proposal sug- gests, Dietrich wondered about keeping them separate. Coun. George Robertson reminded council that "we're amalgamated now" and South Huron has to think of itself as one. He added he took offense to Ratz's comments. Under the new rate proposal, a typical home in Exeter will see its rates jump from $73.75 per quarter to $80.40 per quarter. The former number includes the $30 quarterly surcharge that was recently added to Exeter water bills retroactive to May. While rates are designed to be consistent across the municipality, Exeter users will pay more under the proposal because of the Exeter water system's debt. But adding to Exeter users' costs is the $12 million pipeline to Lake Huron, which will see another $32 per quarter added to Exeter water users' bills. What that means is a typical Exeter house will pay $184.35 quarterly when their water, sewage and pipeline costs are com- bined, up from the current $161.44 quarterly costs of current water and sewage costs. Another of Dietrich's concerns is the added water expenses Stephen farmers and businesses will face under the proposal. "I need answers, I'm sorry," he said, adding he needed to be able to explain to Stephen residents why they are facing a 60 per cent increase in their water rates. Ratz added some cottagers will see their costs go up over 100 per cent — from the current $34 for part time cottagers and $35.28 for full time cottagers to $70.50. Deputy Mayor Dave Urlin said council wants a solution that is fair for everybody. He admitted he felt blindsided at last week's public meeting because the information was new to council. Chief administrative officer Larry Brown said there are many more rate options council can look at and he will talk to the consultants about getting answers to council's and the public's concerns. Another public meeting on the issue will be held in early November at the Rec Centre. were encouraged to sub- mit their suggestions on a comment form which could be filled out that night or mailed to Dillon Consulting. The consultants said they would go through all the suggestions and take them into account. They said another pub- lic meeting will probably be held in November to address the concerns raised at the meeting. In a related issue, the municipality is going to tap into the Lake Huron water system at an expected cost of $12 million. The new pipeline will service Exeter residents and rates will be adjust- ed at that time for users of the system. The con- sultants recommended council increase water rates to 63 cents a cubic metre to collect a debt surcharge from users. None of the money going into reserves from the adjusted rates sug- gested above would be used for this project. Business Directory REPAIRS Sewing Machine REPAIRS to all makes Free estimates 90 Day Warranty Experienced since 1952 Sew and Save Centre Ltd. 149 Downie St., Stratford Phone 271-9660 Bloemens Clock Repair & SALES Gifts & Art Lingerie & Nail Spa (519) 238-1508 13 MAIN ST. 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