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The Times Advocate, 2008-08-13, Page 3Wednesday, August 13, 2008 Times -Advocate 3 No decision on rest home grant By Pat Bolen TIMES -ADVOCATE STAFF VARNA — After a series of recorded votes Aug. 5, the Municipality of Bluewater failed to come to an agree- ment on how much money should be given to the Blue Water Rest Home (BWRH) project. The issue will be decided at the Sept. 15 council meeting. At the July 21 council meeting, repre- sentatives of the rest home asked coun- cil for a grant of $333,434 as part of upgrades to the building and a decision was made to wait until the Sept. 15 council meeting for a decision. The votes last week followed a request from Bluewater Mayor Bill Dowson for council to make a decision at that meet- ing instead of waiting until Sept 15. Dowson said Huron County council has asked what Bluewater will do for the BWRH project and that it would be beneficial if Bluewater made a decision on the funding request in advance of a meeting of county council. Coun. Kay Wise replied that while she supports the project, "we haven't got the money." Coun. George Irvin said the July 21 motion said a decision would be made Sept. 15. "I don't think we should do anything different." Dowson replied that Bluewater should move forward before it goes to county council, saying "It would be better if there is a sizeable number." Coun. John Becker put forward a motion that the BWRH be given a grant of $100,000 per year for a four-year term. In what he said was a first, Dowson seconded the motion, saying, "it's time we moved this forward." Coun. Tyler Hessel said he wouldn't support a motion for more than what the rest home was looking for because the municipality is already looking at $21 million in other projects. Coun. Peter Walden said he agreed with supporting the rest home but the municipality didn't have $400,000 to give it. "We aren't being responsible." A recorded vote on the motion failed with only Dowson and Becker support- ing the motion and all other councillors opposing it, except for Coun. Marg Deichert who wasn't at the meeting. Coun. Bill MacDougall said he is con- cerned about the debt load of the municipality and wanted to identify what the water rates for Hensall will be before making a decision. Dowson replied that council knew the request was coming and that it now knows what the dollar figure is. He said the province has stepped up and the county will also. Fergusson said he was concerned about the size of the grant request, say- ing it is the largest ever for Bluewater, with the previous largest being $25,000. Becker said the rest home had to be upgraded."It's for the future." In a second recorded vote, a motion to provide a grant of $333,434 over the next three years was turned down with Dowson, Becker and Deputy Mayor Dave Johnston supporting it and all oth- ers present opposed. A third recorded motion to refer the decision to Sept. 15 for a decision was opposed by Dowson, Becker, Hessel and Johnston and supported by Fergusson, MacDougall, Wise, Walden and Irvin with the motion passing. Blue Flag achieved for the Bayfteld Marina By Pat Bolen TIMES -ADVOCATE STAFF VARNA — The Bayfield Marina is the first in Canada to achieve Blue Flag pilot status. "I congratulate you," said Jody Fry of Environmental Defence and project co- ordinator for the Blue Flag project, to Bluewater council Aug. 5. As well as the marina, Bayfield Beach has also been granted Blue Flag pilot status. Fry said the Blue Flag project started in Europe in 1985 and is administered by the Foundation for Environmental Education in Denmark. In Canada the program is operated by Environmental Defence which estab- lished it for the first time in Toronto in 2003, which was the first beach with a Blue Flag in North America. Fry said the Bayfield main beach and marina were evaluated against the International Blue Flag criteria, which are: environmental education and infor- mation; water quality; environmental management and safety and services. Fry said after the evaluation it was determined that the beach and marina could move to the pilot phase if commit- ments were made by the municipality to develop information and signage on nat- ural sensitive areas; support the devel- opment of educational components; introduce recycling facilities at the beach; install fully equipped lifesaving stations at the beach; develop a bylaw prohibiting camping, driving and dump- ing on the beach and develop an envi- ronmental logbook and segregated con- tainers for wastes. Fry said a beach and marina can remain in the pilot phase for up to three years. Coun. Jim Fergusson asked what the budget will be for meeting the Blue Flag standards and said he was uncomfort- able passing a motion without a num- ber. Bluewater Mayor Bill Dowson said financing for the project would be dis- cussed at a meeting Monday and a motion for Bluewater to commit to meeting the required criteria was passed. In other business, Larry Shapton spoke to council on the issue of rumble strips installed near his residence at the corner of Highway 83 and Airport Line. Shapton said with the installation of the water pipeline, there has been dam- age on Airport Line that will need to be repaired. He said rumble strips on the road that are 60 feet away from his house make noise that keeps his family awake. Shapton said he is aware the strips are a safety issue but has checked with the Ministry of Transportation which says they are not required to be installed. "Please don't put in rumble strips," said Shapton. Dowson said when the road repairs are looked at in next year's budget, the issue would be addressed. Truck tender Public works manager John Graham told council that tenders have been received for two single axle cab and chassis trucks complete with snow plow equipment with a bid of $360,895.08 from Waycon International Trucks rec- ommended by Graham for acceptance. A motion was passed accepting the proposal. Bridge tender Graham told council the lowest tender for the reconstruction of a bridge on Airport Line was from Strat-Con Construction for $203, 844, although the budget allocation for repairs on the bridge was only $170,000. Graham said the $23,652 could be made up through the Airport Line paving tender that came in $79,821 under budget. A motion was passed accepting the ten- der. Hensall meeting A meeting to discuss Hensall water rates has been rescheduled to Sept. 10 at 7 p.m. at the Hensall arena. The meeting had been scheduled for Aug. 6 but rates to be presented at the meeting hadn't been finalized. HELP Coun. Fergusson, chairperson of the board of management of the Lake Huron Primary Water Supply System (LHPWSS) briefed council on the recent "I congratulate you" JODY FRY ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENCE AND PROJECT CO-ORDINATOR FOR THE BLUE FLAG PROJECT The weekender is the local pathway to Coming Events, Classifieds, Experts and their Advice, Help Wanted Ads and Car Story! Advertising in both the Exeter Times -Advocate and the weekender yields great potential to get your message out! GET IN HERE... GET NOTICED! Contact Deborah or Jennifer at Exeter Times -Advocate 519-235-1331 $150 million funding announcements from Building Canada for the Huron Elgin London Project (HELP). Fergusson said the Exeter-Hensall pipeline is part of the HELP project and asked that a request be sent to the board to have it kept in. A motion was passed requesting the board to continue to include the pipeline project in HELP. Exotic animals A bylaw to deal with exotic animals in the municipality will be looked at with a report to be brought to council after a couple of incidents recently. Chief administrative officer Lori Taylor said a python was recently loose in Zurich and Dowson said there have been a lot of complaints about cats roaming free, although Dowson said he doesn't see the need for a cat bylaw. Taylor said the bylaw will deal with anything that isn't indigenous to Canada. Mayor's Council meets WINGHAM — The inaugural meet- ing of the Huron -Bruce Mayor's Council was held Friday evening at the North Huron council chambers in Wingham. The concept of a Mayor's Council was proposed by Greg McClinchey, North Huron councillor and Federal Liberal Candidate for Huron -Bruce, following Federal Liberal leader Stephan Dion's July 11 meeting with local mayors in South Huron. At that time, Dion expressed a desire to receive input from the may- ors of Huron -Bruce with respect to the challenges they face. McClinchey remarked, "speaking as a municipal councillor myself, I can say without hesitation that our local councillors, mayors, reeves and war- dens are on the front lines of public administration. The lower tier levels of government are struggling to deal with mounting infrastructure costs, out of control regulatory burdens and a shrinking pool of resources on which to draw." North Huron Reeve Neil Vincent, stated, "Working with upper tier levels of government is essential. North Huron is committed to exploring every possible opportunity for economic development, infrastructure renewal assistance and taxpayer relief that might be available. "I am very pleased that we have been invited to give our thoughts and ideas unfiltered to Dion and Kennedy. On behalf of the mayors' in Huron - Bruce, it is certainly my hope that Dion listens and then acts quickly to ensure that real solutions are placed on the table." c4 l ills ('t�1l 411/(1' t�.1 ; flik i <),F...g777t:('tll 1101'l /1111 �fJ11t� In honour of our 5 Year Anniversary we at Bridal Elegance invite you to celebrate with us in an amazing Storewide Sale August 12th to 16th Save up to 7 5 rrl clegince 410.„„„ [md 'ilio ilt wear 483`uIe'airn ka5lIrel &ANAm ter p9 -.2.n.-08.278 irrrhfildenvincrexeler.alm - research Off Selected Bridal Gowns, Mother's Wear and Other In -Stock Items In addition you could save up to 55% on regular priced merchandise just by popping a balloon...it's that easy! With draws and free giveaways daily...you won't want to miss it. Visit Bridal Elegance August 12th to 16th, located on Highway 4 in the town of Exeter. Call 235-0858 to book your appointment today.