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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2018-03-22, Page 1INSIDE THIS WEEK: BRUSSELS - Pg. 2 Marks to take over Brussels Bulk and Bargain store WASTE - Pg. 10 Central Huron waste costs to rise with landfill closure FESTIVAL - Pg. 19 Blyth Festival seeks housing for season Publications Mail Agreement No. 40050141 Return Undeliverable Items to North Huron Publishing Company Inc., P.O. Box 152, BRUSSELS, ON NOG 1H0 r Citiz Volume 34 No. 12 ESTABLISHED 1877 $1 .25 GST included Serving the communities of Blyth and Brussels and northern Huron County Thursday, March 22, 2018 The log sawing challenge Blyth Creek Maple Farm had its March Break programming last week, welcoming visitors of all ages to try their hand at pioneer life, among other experiences. Above, farm owner Steve Bachert, right, helps Becky Prins from Orangeville participate in a log sawing challenge. The winners of said challenge got to take home a slice of wood emblazoned with a maple leaf on it. The tour also includes a replica Ojibwa camp and bow shooting activity, visiting a fur trader hut that allows visitors to get hands-on with various animal hides and plenty of chances to observe the syrup -making process. (DennyScottphoto) CH moves ahead with 0% tax rate increase By Shawn Loughlin The Citizen Central Huron's tax rate will not be increasing for the sixth year in a row, despite a multi -million -dollar increase in year -over -year spending. It has decreased for the last five years and is breaking even in the 2018 budget. Treasurer Terri Rau presented the most recent draft of this year's budget at a special council meeting on March 13. The Central Huron portion of the budget will increase by 4.07 per cent, but, when grouped with the municipality's county and education rates, equates to a budget with a zero per cent increase to the tax levy. As Mayor Jim Ginn pointed out that night, however, that doesn't mean the municipality isn't increasing its spending. The 2018 budget includes $2,838,206 in capital spending and $4,117,356 in its operating budget for a total of $6.95 million in levy requirements. That equates to nearly a 10 per cent overall increase in levy requirements. Ginn said he felt council should remain vigilant of the municipality's spending. Despite not increasing the tax rate, spending continues to rise, which he said could be a concerning trend with provincial funding steadily decreasing year after year. He did say, however, that hosting the Clinton Raceway and Slots has proven to be a boon for the community in terms of the money injected into Central Huron every year. Ginn also said that while the tax rate won't be increasing for Central Huron residents, the amount of money being taken in by the municipality will increase due to the phased -in increase of assessment across the province, which is currently in the second of four years. Two notable pressures on this year's budget, Rau said, were the reduction of Central Huron's Ontario Municipal Partnership Fund (OMPF) grant by $181,000 and a dramatic increase in municipal drain costs. Total municipal drain costs for 2018 will be $198,000, which is an increase of $156,000 from the previous year. Rau told councillors that a number of capital projects had already been approved in the budget. These included a new ramp at the Clinton Library, a new roof for the Central Continued on page 12 Blyth BIA eyes RT04 funding By Denny Scott The Citizen The Blyth Business Improvement Area's (BIA) executive is pursuing multiple funding applications to Regional Tourism Organization 4 (RTO4) to enhance Blyth. Over $27,500 in funding has been made available to stakeholders in and around the village as a result of the DestinationBLYTH project that RTO4 ran over the past several months. The funding is split into a destination/animation fund ($10,000) directed at creating or enhancing events and interactive activities, a hygiene fund ($10,000) aimed at beautification of the community and a storytelling fund ($7,500) focused on creating narrative experiences within the community. The BIA is currently pursuing multiple projects, and, while not all of them can be revealed publically, others are already in the works. Under the destination/animation category, the BIA is supporting initiatives for a Christmas -themed weekend in the village, a project around creating "selfie topiaries" in the village and the creation of a farmers' market. The Christmas weekend is an expansion of the existing Lighting of the Lights event the BIA has hosted for several years. Instead of being one night, however, the event will span several days, running either Thursday to Saturday or Friday to Sunday of the first weekend of December. While the Lighting of the Lights focused on celebrating the holiday season, this new event will be more focused on bringing visitors to Blyth's downtown core according to BIA Chair Karen Stewart. Events such as a parade, craft market, children's film screening, Christmas dance and events typically associated with the Lighting of the Lights are being Continued on page 20 Vodden wants snow removal back By Denny Scott The Citizen Councillor Brock Vodden has laid the groundwork to restore Blyth's snow removal after it was cut last year. Vodden announced his intention to bring the issue to council's April 3 meeting, saying that the Village of Blyth, leading up to and after amalgamation, had snow removal on the main street that allowed for completely accessibility. He called for that practice to be reinstated and have snow banks along sidewalks and around intersections removed before the start of the business day. His pending motion will call for staff to prepare a report regarding the policy addressing the issue, further saying that it had become a serious issue for people with mobility issues. Council's next meeting has been shifted to Tuesday, April 3 due to the Easter holiday Monday. Vodden's actions come after a public meeting hosted by the BIA regarding the state of the village resulted in several people noting the decline in snow removal. During the meeting, Reeve Neil Vincent explained snow removal had been cut to three days a week in the Blyth ward to equalize it with the rest of the municipality. Several ratepayers spoke to the issue, stating that the snow removal over the past winter was not acceptable and caused serious accessibility problems.