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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2018-01-04, Page 1INSIDE THIS WEEK: REVIEW - Pg. 6 2017 proves to be a year to remember IPM - Pg. 10 Chair Jacquie Bishop looks back at the match DRUGS - Pg. 20 County prepares drug strategy in face of report Publications Mail Agreement No. 40050141 Return Undeliverable Items to North Huron Publishing Company Inc., P.O. Box 152, BRUSSELS, ON NOG 1H0 4Citiz Volume 34 No. 1 n $1.25 GST included Serving the communities of Blyth and Brussels and northern Huron County Thursday, January 4, 2018 Year-end hockey The Blyth Brussels Novice Local League Black team was in action just before the end of the year on Saturday, Dec. 30. While the weather would kick up and close roads later in the day, the game was played at the Blyth and District Community Centre in the morning. Unfortunately for the home team, their opponents, the BCH Ice Dogs, got the better of them that day, besting the locals by a score of 8-1 to finish the calendar year. (Quinn Talbot photo) County budget projects increase By Shawn Loughlin The Citizen Treasurer Michael Blumhagen says that Huron County is looking at a potential 5.45 per cent increase to its levy for 2018. Blumhagen made a brief presentation to Huron County Council at its Dec. 20 committee of the whole meeting, telling councillors where he and his staff were in the budget process. He said that the county is facing a reduction of $305,000 in its Ontario Municipal Partnership Fund (OMPF) money, which is a factor in the increase to the levy for the coming year. However, because assessment has risen so much, Blumhagen says that the county will actually have a tax rate decrease, if nothing were to change, of 1.11 per cent compared to 2017. Council has set aside an entire day to review the budget and discuss it further. That discussion will happen on Wednesday, Jan. 31 when department heads will present their budgets to council. Huron East moves funds to reserves to end year By Shawn Loughlin The Citizen With a new budget year just around the corner, Huron East moved around some funds late last month to prepare for the year ahead. Not all recommendations, however, were met with approval by councillors. Councillors primarily disagreed with Treasurer Paula Michiels' recommendation that a portion of the profit from the sale of two Brussels -area buildings be allocated to the Brussels, Morris and Grey Community Centre reserves. First, Michiels recommended that $150,000 of the proceeds from the sale of the former Brussels Public School, also known as the Brussels Business and Cultural Centre, be put into the Brussels, Morris and Grey (BMG) Community Centre reserve. In her report, Michiels stated that the school was originally purchased for $142,500, but sold for $225,000. The money used to buy the building had been paid back by way of rent over the course of the last five years, said Chief Administrative Officer Brad Knight. There was also a request made by the Huron East Economic Development committee in regards to those funds that $10,000 from the proceeds of the sale of the school be put towards the Brussels Community Improvement Plan (CIP). Staff, however, didn't recommend that allocation as an "optimal use" for the funds. "This isn't being recommended as optimal use for these funds. The 2017 budget for the Brussels CIP fund is currently $20,000, which is comprised of a $10,000 allocation from 2017 combined with the unused allocation of $10,000 from 2016," Michiels said in her report. "Individual applications are limited to $5,000, but there has been no uptake of this fund since it was implemented. It would appear that the more appropriate use of the funds would simply be an annual budget allocation, rather than a commitment of funds to a reserve" In December, the Moncrieff Hall was sold to Donald Stuebing and Michiels said that the municipality realized a profit and she felt that $50,000 should be put towards the community centre reserves. "Given that the ball park property has not sold yet and the timing of the sale of the Moncrieff Hall, it is recommended that part of the proceeds ($50,000) from the sale of the hall be dedicated to the Brussels, Moms and Grey Community Centre reserves," Michiels said in her report. "Similar to the Brussels Business and Cultural Centre, the property is an institutional/ recreational property and the Brussels, Morris and Grey facility seems like a logical facility to support with these proceeds. Once final costs/proceeds are determined, the Moncrieff Hall committee will make further recommendations to council on the use of the remaining proceeds." Several councillors, however, felt that the proceeds from the sale should simply be placed in general reserves for use throughout the municipality, rather than for a specific project in one specific part of the municipality. Councillor Bob Fisher said since general municipal funds were used to buy the building in the first place, there's no reason that all of the proceeds of its sale should go to Brussels. He said that the municipality incurred a lot of debt as a result of the Brussels Business and Cultural Centre and that a lot of time and money was spent there by way of staff time by Knight, Economic Development Officer Jan Hawley and Building and Property Maintenance Co- ordinator John Hill. Both Councillor Nathan Marshall and Mayor Bernie MacLellan agreed, saying they felt the funds belonged to the municipality, rather than a specific project for the community centre. In addition, MacLellan said that, according to the recommendation, these funds would simply be handed over to the community centre, and not for a specific project or an area of need at the building. Councillor David Blaney said there are many areas of need at the centre and that those in charge of the building would have no problem spending the money. Blaney also said he was concerned Continued on page 19 Blyth subdivision meeting set Howick Reeve Art Versteeg will represent the county at a joint public meeting on Jan. 15 to discuss a potential 22 -lot subdivision development in Blyth. "A member of council is required to attend a joint public meeting of the County of Huron and the Township of North Huron for a subdivision application," read the Huron County Council committee of the whole agenda for the Dec. 20 meeting. "The application proposes to create a plan of subdivision with 22 residential lots and blocks and a mix of densities. The public meeting for the application is scheduled for Monday, Jan. 15, 2018 at 7 p.m. in the council chambers, North Huron Town Hall." Council appointed Versteeg to represent the county.