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HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News Record, 2015-03-18, Page 3Wednesday, March 18, 2015 • News Record 3 CHIP funding request divides county council Dave Flaherty QMI Agency The Coalition for Huron Injury Prevention (CHIP) will receive a $5,000 grant from the county. Council voted in favour of CHIP's request despite treas- urer Michael Blumhagen advising the grant request did not meet the county's policy standards. "They are dependant on the county for funding. We've been supporting them since 2002; Blumhagen said. CHIP is an organization that strives for the prevention of injury through education and programming. It has representation from the Huron County Health Unit, Huron County OPP, the Ministry of Transportation, Wingham Police Service and the municipalities of Ashfield- Colborne-Wawanosh, North Huron, South Huron, Bluewa- ter, Morris-Turnberry and the Town of Goderich. The request split council into two camps in terms of support. Huron East Mayor Bernie MacLellan made a motion to deny the request on the basis that they have kept coming back for funding every year. Central Huron Mayor Jim Ginn was critical of some CHIP's programming. "I think the speed sign does absolutely nothing," he said. However, MacLellan's motion failed. North Huron Mayor Neil Vincent and Warden Paul Gowing both spoke in support of the request. "I see value in their seniors' driving education and the speed sign is a great way to slow down traffic in our lower municipalities" he said. Ashfield-Colborne- Wawanosh Reeve Ben Van Diepenbeek said if the county turned down the request, CHIP would likely approach lower municipalities. "For them to continue to function, they will need money," he said. A motion to approve the request, put forth by Central Huron Deputy Mayor Dave Jewitt, was passed. Morrison questions word- ing in agendas Specific wording in county council agendas drew the attention of Goderich's mayor at least week's meeting. Kevin Morrison's concern stemmed from county staff using the phrase "motion" when making recommenda- tions on agenda items. "I have a real problem with it. It's not the right see a motion in the agenda, Morri- son said. "It gives the appearance the decision has already been made' County clerk Susan Cronin explained that the motions are recommendations only and council does not have to abide by them. North Huron Mayor Neil Vincent said that staff is help- ing to "make council meetings flow:' "I agree what is written is just a recommendation, the only thing that gets voted on is what council chooses," he said. Watt selected for SWIFT committee ACW Deputy Reeve Roger Watt will serve as the county's representative on the SWIFT (Southwestern Integrated Fibre Technology) committee. Watt, who worked for 39 years in user -support services, facility management, and technology planning for cen- tral computing, campus net- work, and Internet services at the University of Waterloo, was nominated by Warden Paul Gowing. The Western Ontario War- den's Caucus (WOWC) is pro- posing SWIFT as a regional backbone of infrastructure for ultra broadband internet. Huron and Perth counties are the lone counties from the WOWC that have yet to declare support for SWIFT. Facilities review on the horizon for county council Dave Flaherty QMI Agency County council will be dis- cussing the future of the municipality's facilities later this year. Councillors were presented with a report on a potential review at the March 11 Com- mittee of the Whole Meeting. They voted to discuss the review at a future "priority - setting" meeting. Director of planning Scott Tousaw said the idea of a long- term plan for the county's var- ious offices has been dis- cussed in the past with no firm direction. Huron County currently has four general office build- ings related to municipal ser- vices - the MPAC assessment office and the courthouse in Goderich, health and library complex in Clinton and the Jacob Memorial Building in Huron East. "These buildings are all quite functional but have issues," he said. In his report, Tousaw pro- vided the following information: • The efficiency of county operations are somewhat impeded by offices being located in different buildings and communities • Most of the buildings were not built for office use, leading to poor floor plans, a low den- sity of offices and higher unit costs to operate and maintain • Rent charged to third parties such as the Ministry of the Attorney General are not cov- ering costs to operate and maintain the buildings • The current annual expendi- tures for operating and main- taining the areas occupied by county services are approxi- mately $650,000 • The diversity and size of county services have grown faster than the facilities hous- ing them for service and transparency • The disconnect between county functions and absence of central INDIAN RIVER DIRECT CITRUS TRUCKLOAD SALE CLINTO SAT., MAR. 21ST, 1:30 TO 3:30PM China Palace Restaurant 20LB BOX OF FLORIDA SEEDLESS NAVEL ORANGES'\ OR RUBY RED GRAPEFRUITS - $32.00 PER BOX www.indianriverdirect.com receptions likely fails public expectations Tousaw said the Jacob Memorial Building in Clinton in particular is very expensive and difficult to maintain. The county's 2014 corpo- rate strategy called for a facili- ties review. However, Tousaw said staff must be given direction from council on how they want such a review to be undertaken. In addition to the afore- mentioned buildings, the reg- istry office and corporate records office in Goderich will also be subject to the review. Staff has recommended a long-term plan for the future of the county's facilities. "For this study, a 40 -year outlook is the goal, although for the projection of county functions and services, a 20 -year planning horizon is more realistic;" he said. The estimated overall cost to replace all the buildings is $25 million. Central Huron Deputy Mayor Dave Jewitt said coun- cil has also received a report about the lack of affordable housing in the county. He said both are priorities but in his view, the affordable housing issue is a bigger con- cern at this time. Goderich Mayor Kevin Morrison said as a new member of county council he'd like to see what has been discussed in the past. Hearing a "sales pitch" from CAO Brenda Orchard is something Huron East Mayor Bernie MacLellan is anticipating. "We need to hear what the advantages would be to moving or remaining where we are," he said. "We need to know what the benefits are." North Huron Mayor Neil Vincent said such a facilities review would be a "daunting task" "If you start down this road, you might find unintended consequences," he said. ATTENTION ADVERTISERS! DEADLINES Our Weekly Deadlines are as follows: ADVERTISING & EDITORIAL Friday @ 2:00 pm views Record 53 Albert St. S, Clinton PH: 519-482-3443 www.clintonnewsrecord.com OFFICE HOURS: Mon. - Fri. 9am - 5pm CLOSED TUESDAYS fr