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The Lucknow Sentinel, 2015-05-27, Page 66 Lucknow Sentinel • Wednesday, May 27, 2015 Huron County recognizes staff contributions with annual Service Awards To acknowledge the contribu- tions of staff whom help make Ontario's West Coast a great place to live, work and play, the Corporation of the County of Huron recognized 60 individu- als from across the organization during the May 6 session of County Council. Beginning at 10 years of ser- vice and continuing every five years thereafter, staff are recog- nized by Huron County with a service award certificate. On behalf of County Council, Senior Management and your col- leagues, congratulations to all of the 2015 recipients and thank you for your years of service! The combined service to Huron County by award recipi- ents totals 1193 years! Fifty-five women received Huron County staff Service Awards at County Council. Front from left: Elizabeth French -Gibson, Patricia Hamilton, Jill Jervis, Deb Zaranik, Julie Eckert, Lorraine Hunt, Jody Hunt, Monica Ives, Deb Trollope. Middle from left: Catherine Allen, Christina Taylor, Theresa Wammes-Glavin, Colleen Janmaat, Lorraine Taylor, Lori Reid, Deb Cooper, Kathy Dykstra, Heather MacDonald. Back from left: Roxana Nassiri, Tanya Sangster, Shelley Spencer, Joanne Hickey, Erin Thomson, Jackie Lee, Bonnie Pletch, Evelyn Caldwell, Lori Nurse, Shirley Chalmers, Josee Cayer, Paula Mackie, Dianne Baird -Cook, Gayle Prout. May 6, 2015. Submitted Five men were honoured at County Council with Huron County staff Service Awards. From left: Donald Hastings, Wayne Higgins, Kevin Finnie, Mike Alcock and Jim Middegaal. May 6, 2015. Some county councillors concerned about G2G trail North Huron Mayor says process hasn't been transparent so far Dave Flaherty Goderich Signal Star Although most county council- lors are in favour of the Goderich to Guelph Rail Trail (G2G), some members are questioning how eve- rything came together. Paul Vander Molen, Huron County representative on the G2G steering committee and Chris Lee, vice -chair of Goderich to Guelph Rail Trail Inc., pro- vided an update to council at the May 13 committee of the whole meeting. North Huron Mayor Neil Vincent said while he supports the idea of the trail, he has some concerns. Namely, he said North Huron already has a lease on part of the trail. "What assurances can you give us on the liability," he asked. Vincent also believes the consulta- tion process has not been as transpar- ent as G2G Rail Trail Inc.has indicated. "It has been a closed process so far," Vincent said. In his view, the concerns of adja- cent landowners have not been addressed sufficiently. "Adjacent landowners can make or break a trail," he said. "Don't tick (N . . • y. i May 5 * * S • The I Lucknow Sentinel Birthday Club Alexa Russell May 28, 2014 1 year old Skylar Murray 28, 2004 11 years old Kaden Hanna June 2, 2008 7 years old Your child can be a member of the Sentinel's birthday club call 519-528-2822 to register Lucknnw ,1 ltinel 619 Campbell Street 519-528-2822 i A V ER115106 LLIS T O pusL' E YOU AO off the neighbours." He also urged Lee and Vander Molen to make sure they have sup- port from stewardship groups "on paper'; citing a similar situation in North Perth where the municipal- ity now has to have a full-time employee to maintain a trail. Central Huron Mayor Jim Ginn said a recent press release from the G2G "caused problems" in his municipality. He also believes landowner issues have not been addressed and the press release made it appear some local politicians have "gone back on their word': Ginn then requested a copy of the interim lease be provided to county council. Vander Molen defended the actions of the group so far, saying they've been very transparent and worked closely with a group of county staff However, he said it was not their intention to "circumvent county council" and they are willing to listen. "We are concemed about the con- cems of adjacentlandowners," he said. Bluewater Mayor Tyler Hessel spoke highly of the trail and the work of G2G Rail Trail Inc. so far. "I think we should commend a group that works towards active transportation and healthy life- styles;" he said. Hessel said the G2G was a perfect example of "not worrying about borders" and regional partnerships. "This is a game changer. It will be bring new people in our communi- ties," he added. Moving forward, Vander Molen said there are some issues that need to be addressed. "Our biggest concern is ATVs," he said. "As far as landowners are con- cerned, we are stopping the ATVs until clubs can convince the Ontario gov- ernment (to allow them on the trail). Another concern is milkweed, which some stewardship groups would like to see planted along the trail to attract Monarch butterflies. However, because of the poten- tial dangers of milkweed to humans, Vander Molen said the plant must be managed carefully. "That's why it is important for the county to be involved," he said. The lease between the Ontario government and G2G Rail Trail Inc. will commence on July 1. "It's exciting to see some con- crete action," Lee said. "Our vision has always been to move to the point where users have a seamless experience." Lee said the newly introduced Ontario Trails Act will "break down all barriers to trail development." Vander Molen admitted they were "surprised as anyone" when the government approved the lease and told them they would be mov- ing forward on July 1. Once completely open, the trail will span127 kmfrom Goderich to Guelph. Local municipal councils can expect visits from G2G representatives in the near future, Vander Molen added. The goal is for the municipalities which the trail runs through, including Huron County, to take over the lease. Change of Planning Meeting Schedule for Huron -Kinloss Valerie Gillies Lucknow Sentinel The Bruce County Planning Department has expressed con- cerns with Huron -Kinloss Town- ship's current bi-monthly planning meeting schedule now that the county is again busier with plan- ning applications. PARK THEATRE Mik :COL)E! ILC- .1O X 24 Th ma MOVIE INFORMATION... wviniv..mavielinksza �v ��r , •a7 �8�!4� - P Although itis more prudent to add a planning meeting onto an existing Council session as the need arises, there are two issues that can arise if Council opted for this route to address extra meetings required. The first issue is that Council Agendas can be tricky to predict If there are delegations sched- uled during a session or extra agenda items come forward close to the scheduled session, then adding a plan- ning meeting onto the regular session can make it too long to be handled eas- ily. The second issue is that adding planning meetings under the Proce- dural By -Law requires providing notice of the unscheduled meetings. It was agreed that it is a much sim- pler procedure to cancel a scheduled Planning Meeting than to add one to the schedule. In order to address the concerns of Bruce County that sched- uling meetings bi-monthly can slow down applications from area resi- dents, while taking into account that Huron -Kinloss Council prefers not to hold special Planning Meetings for one application, it was agreed that the schedule for 2015 will be amended. The new schedule will have monthly Planning Meetings scheduled, with the understanding that they can be cancelled, if needed. When prudent, Council retains the option that plan- ning meeting items can be added to a Council Session meeting to avoid the necessity calling a Planning Meeting for a single application.