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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Times Advocate, 2005-02-16, Page 1(519)235-1115 www.hurontractor.com EXETER HA R.`D' KS vs MITCHELL FRI. FEB. 19 8:30 p.m. South Huron Rec Centre TIMES -ADVOCATE Exeter, Ontario, Canada Wednesday,February I6, 2005 x.25 (includes GST) 01110 MOW • t_ Shay -Lynn Durand and Abbie Chandler were prac- ticing their volleyball skills Feb. 1 1 during the Precious Blood winter carnival while Megan Sereda and Lucas Skinner were hanging out with Bonhomme (Emmett O'Reilly). (photos/Pat Bolen) New water rates finally accepted By Scott Nixon TIMES -ADVOCATE STAFF SOUTH HURON — The new water rates for South Huron are finally set. Council approved third and final read- ing for the new rates at a special meet- ing Feb. 9. First and second readings were approved in January, but council delayed fmal approval to consider mak- ing changes to the proposed new rates in Exeter. In the end, and after much discussion, those changes didn't take place. As the Times -Advocate previously reported in January, council considered changing the proposed Exeter rates by including apartment buildings as multi - residential dwellings, with the belief that would bring down the rates for everyone else in Exeter. Council eventually decided to continue treating apartments buildings as one customer, meaning there is one connec- tion and the owner receives one large bill, instead of a separate bill for each unit in the building. Effective Feb. 1, the Exeter water rates are a quarterly flat fee of $75/connec- tion, plus 57 cents/cubic metre of water used. Under a proposed change to charge apartment buildings for each unit, the flat fee would have decreased to $65. As South Huron Mayor Rob Morley explained, council abandoned the plan to include apartment buildings as multi - residential dwellings because technical- ly, apartment buildings only count as one water customer. He said the only way to decrease the $75 charge is to find more water customers. In an apartment building, there is only one customer because there is only one water hook-up at the roadside. As a result, the original proposal for the rates stands. "We've been down this road in about four different directions," Morley said. "And nothing ever came up that was bet- ter than the original (rates). The bottom line is we need money to pay for the (water) system." He said all of council eventually agreed to the rates, since a better way of charg- ing the rates couldn't be found. Water customers can expect more increases to their bills in the future when the nearly $11 million Lake Huron water pipeline is installed. "When we go and put the big pipe charge on top of (the current rates), that $75 is going to look cheap," Morley explained. Other council notes: A strong start Building and development manager Robert Pattison is pleased with the amount of new building activity in the municipality for 2005. He noted at coun- cil's Feb. 7 meeting that permit fees col- lected in January 2005 were about 10 times the amount collected in the same month last year. January saw seven building permits issued at a building value of $855,000, with fees of $5,932. At the same time in 2004, there were only three building permits issued with a building value of $65,000, and fees of $583. The final building permit report for 2004 is also complete. There were 135 permits issued, with a total construction value of $8,630,542, and permit fees of $63,522.51. In other building news, Pattison said South Huron staff will be fully qualified by the end of April or May for the province's new Building Act, Bill 124, which comes into effect July 2005. He said in comparison to other municipali- ties in Ontario, South Huron is in the upper 15 per cent in terms of being qualified. "South Huron is looking very, very good for being fully qualified," Pattison said. Morley complimented the municipali- ty's building department staff for keep- ing up to date on their qualifications. Phone savings A recent study done by Telcom See SAVINGS page 2 The biggest contribution to any RRSP is good advice. George Godbolt' CFP CLU Paul Ciufo* CFP Successful RRSP planning depends on making choices that match your long term goals. As Clarica advisors, we'll talk about your retirement goals, and then help you put together an RRSP strategy that helps you achieve them. Godbolt, Ciufo Insurance & Financial Services Inc. 425 Main Street Exeter ON 235-2740 }c C LARI CA t INNIMMEN life, health & disability insurance, savings and retirement plans, employee benefits, mortgage & business insurance, & mutual funds' Representing Clarica Financial Services Inc. and 'Clarica Investco Inc.