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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Expositor, 1979-08-16, Page 1.1;." • 120th Year, Whole, No. 5814 • ...SEAFORTIlv. :ONTARIO* THURSDAY AUGUST 1.00 1979r.", 124 PAGO $13 a year in advance Smgle,. Copy 30• soot* NOT EVEN A GRIN — Rhonda Howatt was very reluctant to smile Monday morning at the Londesboro Vacation Bible school, She was one of fifteen youngsters in the nursery class. The morning craft lessons at the United ChUrch finish on Friday. • Seaforth Town..Council has made the decision on behalf of the town of Seaforth to opt out of the Fire Area Board and establish its own fire department. At the council meeting Monday night Mayor John Sinnarnon read a statement outlining the reasons for council's decision, and the costs and benefits of the new departmeet. A copy of that statement was submitted to the press, and Mayor Sinnamon requested that it "be printed in its entirety, comma for comma, and word for word." The report- cites four reasons for the withdrawal from the FAB: The Township of McKillop withdrawal of 25 per cent of its fire area for two years; the disagreement over Ace of taxable/ nontaxable assessment as a basis of sharing fire costs; the disagreement over who is responsible for paying the costs of maintaining fire hydrants;and the' authority of the Fire Chief. • • "Seaforth believes that their proposal will not cost any more to operate and the operation of the fire derTartmdet, will be smoother under one managementiowner- ship," reads the report. The costs outlined in the report apply to those before the withdrawal of Seaford% aid to the proposed selling of fire protection 10 the municipalities of flibbert, Hellen, tvIcKillop and Tuckersrnith. "11 any of the four townships decide not to buy lire protection fromSeaford', the town will investigate the legality of its equity in the present agreement and will purchase new equipment at an estimated cost of 5,55,00 tip S60,000." (It is stated in the FAB aRteetneet that any party withdrawing from the board would lose its equity in the equipment), The report continues, "This, (the purchase of fire equipment) can be achieved through the use of present cash reserves and budget allocations without any undue burden on Seaforth taxpayers," .,1 The report further states that, although ;it would be less expensive for "everyone"to Although. it's a busy time of the year for formers, 14 car loads of workers, organized by the Huron County Federation of Agricul- ture ' are travelling to Woodstock to lend a hand in the cleanup after the recent tornado. More calls are still coming in, said Adnan Vos, who, with secretary Carol Finch, is answering the telephone at the federation office. • , In addition to willing hands, chain saws and wrecking bars are needed to help clear up the rubble, said Brenda McIntosh, spokesman for the federation, If volunteers could bring their own equipment, it would also help,. she said. • One volunteer drove down to the disaster area on his motorcycle carrying a chain saw , . and a crowbar with him. The federation will instruct those assisting where to get passes to enter the area, as it is strictly supervised against by-stanciers. • In a week or so carpenters will be requiredto help rebuild. The federation is also accepting donations from those who are Unable to offer their tinie. They should be operate a fire xlepgtmeot If the townships - bought eroteetign, if the town only was served by the department, Seaferthwoitid benefit becaese "residents will not be faced with waiting for a fire truck to return frown a neral area to fight a fire in town and more emphasis may be put on fire protection." The complete statement, as, submitted to, the Expositor and read at the August council' meeting, foilows: To All Residents and 'Ratepayers of the Town. of Seaforth -• The Seaforth Council has committed the Town of_Seaforth to the establishment of a fire department which will be owned and operated solely by, the Town of Seaforth. Seaforth Council feels that the time has come to state clearly, the reasons, costs, and benefits for this decision. There have been four problem areas with the present agree- ment which was signed in 1970. They are; (1); The Township of McKillop withdrawal of 25% of its fire area for two years; (2) the disagreement over use of taxable/nontax- able assessment as a basis of sharing fire costs, (3) the disagreement over who is responsible for paying the costs of maintain- ing fire hydrants; and finally (4) the authority :of the Fire Chief. Let's examine these problems; 1 MeKfilop withdrawal of 25 % of its fire area: Section 1(b) of the present agreement states that "all of the Township of McKillops shall join to establish the "Seaforth Fire Aret'." -Section' 10 of the agreement states that the . agreement is binding upon all parties and. that Section 10, may not be amended. ----- made out to the Huron County Federation of r Agriculture Tornado Relief Fund: • Monday night the Huron •Fork Producers Sho d di The Township of MCKillop, without permission, withdrew 25% of its assessed, area from the fire area for a ;period of two years. This action was in contravention to Section 1(b) of the agreement and to this date McKillop has not repaid the Fire Area Board the amount that should have been those paid for two years, The Fire Area Board has never taken any action on this matter. ' 2. Taxable/Nontaxable Aliseasment: In 1976 the Fire Area Board questioned the use of taxable assessment as the basis used in establishing the percentages of contriblite tions for each municipality, For the first five years taxable assessment was used. The, Fire Area Board received a legal opinion dated March 4, 1979, which stated, (quote) , 'the assessed value of all property wauld by its very wording have to include the assessed value of exempt property" (end quote). Seaforth argued that the agreement had been based on taxable assessment for five th. years and that theexempt properties included schools, arena, churches, hospital . and various service club properties which were used by area residents and therefore; the fire protection costs should not have to be paid solely by the Town of Seaforth. The Fire Area Board did not agree'so that in the end the Town of Seaforth contributed on the basis of all assessment. The amount of nontaxable assessment for Seaforth was approximately S500,000.00 which greatly increased Seaforth's allocation to the Board. 3. Fire Hydrant Maintenance: In May 1977 Seaforth requested that the total fire hydtant (Continued- on Page 3) c os amage Association decided to give S200 to the • • Tornado Relief Fund. • Those interested in offering their services can call the office between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. at 482-9642 in Clinton. • . 1.• , • . . . 1 . 1 . . . • . • . • Wanted: More room • "You have to wait until someone dies so , you can buy their house," Hensall Reeve Harold Knight said Wednesday night in advising a small turnout of Hensall and Hay ratepayers why the village is attempting to extend its boundaries. He said the annexation would benefit both the village . and neighboring township residents in that it would. make a stronger and more viable area; The reeve suggested that without expan- sion, the community could start to lose. "Things are going to close up," he added, • suggesting that the elementary school in the village could be included in the list as it is already experiencing declining enrolment and could face the fate of some schools in London which are being closed. "I hope we can maintain these services," he said. The meeting, held at the Hensall arena, attracted about 35 people, half of whom were there in some official capacity. Knight said he was disappointed in the turnout, especially in the number of Hensall residents in attendance. He was crictical of the fact that only one businessman was present, noting that expansion was the only way to maintain a viable core area business section. ••. • Roman Dzus, of the Huron County Planning department, explained that the meeting was called to get the ,views of the ratepayers in the two municipalities before any application for annexation is made to the ;Ontario Municipal Board. Dzus reported that it became obvious when the secondary plan was prepared for. Hensall that the land base was basically' depleted and some local industries had already spilled over into Hay to meet their expansion requirements. • "If it is to grow, the boundary has to be adjusted and expanded," he said, The two municipalities have basically agreed that the boundary should be extended to, include the Robert E. Caldwell property on the northern limits and the property owned by Allan and Gerald Reid on the southern limits. The Caldwell property has been suggested for future industrial expansion, while the Reid property would be used for residential purposes. About 175 acres is involved. Dzus said this should meet Hensall's requirements for the next 15 to 20 years. Township residents who live along Highway 4 south of the village in the area to be annexed voiced several concerns, ranging • from higher taxation, the cost of municipal services, school bus service and mail delivery. Higher taxation? While one owner suggested his taxes could double, Chuck Godkin of the ministry of inter -governmental affairs produced statistics to suggest this would not be the case: , . • In fact, Godkin said that based on the 1978 taxes for the two municipalities, the change in taxation would be ."negligible on both sides". Ratepayers in flay .would face a slight increase, while Hensall's would. -enjoy a small decrease. He had comparisons for each of the eight property owners in Hay, but only two were mentioned. Mis. Bev Simpson was told her taxes would have increased by S61.06 in 1978 had she been annexed to Hensall, while the increase for the Campbell Eyre property nearby was listed at $28.32. Dzus said he could not envision any major Servicing or administration cost increase for either Hensel! or Hay, He agreed that the present township residents, if annexed, would lose rural mail delivery, but was unable to answer whether or not their children would continue to receive bus transportation to the Hensall school. • Mike Fenn of the ministry of inter -govern - Mental affairs, speculated that if the county school board provides that service .now, they would probably continue to do 'so. While there were concerns expressed about the children having to walk along the highwaY to school, -Knight said he could assure the, families that access would eventually be provided to eliminate that danger. Under questioning from Mrs. Simpson, the Reeve said he didn't know when that would be, but said "it may not be a terribly long time." Hay Deputy Reeve Lloyd Mousseau said he couldn't see why the school bus policy would change, although Councillor Tony Bedard said kids on the outskirts of Zurich • ride on the bus while those 1,000 feet away in the village limits are requited to walk. Officials indicated they would check' out the matter .with school board' officials in an effort to getk an answer. Village services, Harold Elliott, who claimed he would face Only higher taxation if annexed, questioned what benefits he woul d receive. Dzus said they presently have access to all the services now provided in Hensall, but have no responsibility to help pay for them. 'You'llhave to bear your share," he said. Another township resident, Bill Freeth, said the village would not have to provide them with 'a road, sewer or water as they already have those services. Dzus Said Some of the benefits they share are such things as recreation facilities, core area shopping and schools. "We're not going to offer you the Moan," Reeve Knight advised. He said water and sewer services Would he available, as well as better fire protection if hydrants vete extended to the proposed annexed area, He; added therewould be n0 significant change in taxes and the township residents would be helping to maintain a viable core and to keep the churches and school strong. 'Knight said it wouldn't matter to him if the land was-develeped by Hay or Hensall, but noted that Hensall had the services available. He added that it would result in better land use in that residential lots cOuld, be smaller when they had municipal services available. Businessman Ron Wareing said he was being a little selfish in • wanting the community to grow, but asked if the township 'residents would find it as pleasant to live on the outskirts of Hensall if there weren't stores, the arena and school to serve them. • He said an increase in population would result in more services being available, Such as a resident doctor, dentist and perhaps even a pharmacy. He said there just wasn 't enough population now to 'attract those services. "That's absolutely correct," Dzus Said. "Services are based on popplatioe.". "You need additional 'people to keep the village going," commented Hay Reeve Jack 'finney, noting that if all the people who worked in Hensall lived there, there would be a big population. "It Woulddouble," interjected Herman councillor Klaus Van Wieren. • • Vandals have caused. 5787.96 in damages to the Seaforth District High School during the first half of this year. Across the county, vandalism in Huron has cost ratepayers S9,897 to repair property damage to area schools. A report to the Board of Education Monday listed 116 cases of vandalism in the county's 24 elementary and 5, secondary schools between April and Aug. 1 . alone, with damages during that period amounting Damage.• figures include broken lockers, plumbing, fixtures and windows, but don't include vandalized school buses. Central Huron Secondary School was the hardest hit, with damages of 53,001. Seaforth High School had the third highest figures. Clinton has a high school student population of 940, Seaforth has 347. South Huron Distriee High School in Exeter sustained the second largest amount of damages -- 51.386.82 (population 951). to S5,479. (Continued on Page 3) • j Dzus said the expansion would posiibly provide more job opportunities for ydung people, reporting that Hensall was largel y an aging population" with fewer and fewer young people. Tinney said he could understand the concern of the township residents, and noted that while he had never opposed annexation, he was concerned for them, 1 "1 feel concerned too," Knight commented. He said the people thought they were going to enjoy country tieing when they built in the area, but he said he alwayt felt that some day they would require village REFLECTIONS Photographer Pa01 Ellis used the headlanip of a 1931 Ford Model A Sport Coupe to create a very different picture. More photos and a story on old cars on page 5. . . • Services. I ; , . . . , • . . . • .. -. • . • . . ,. . • h, • ,e•re. . Knight predicted the township residents would fryererhydro.tteSnfiderteiitecomawhiteBeca:oredictedlifi; • Break-inSUSPeCtreste ' . full inventory and cash count, Mr. Reynolds appeared in Goderich court on Monday and was releasedori condition on t recognizance, The Seaforth than his also been charged with break and entry at the McKillop Township municipal Offices on June 3 and with several other counts of break and enter • in the Exeter -Clinton area, Seaforth police chief John Cairns said he ki also being questioned in connection With the recent robbery at the Seaforth Legion, Mr. Reynolds lll appear in provincial • amid, Goderich on Monday, A Seaforth man has been charged with break and entry following a robbery at Mitchell's Family Market, Londesboro on, Thursday. • Robert Reynolds, 20, of 7 Godench Street East, Seaforth, has been charged in Cennect- ion with the theft. The break in was discovered while in progress by a driver from T, B. Allen Mill, at he WAS leaving Londesbdra about 4, st,m, on Thursday morning. • The Goderich OPP tidied ht the Seaforth police department to execute a search srarrsint at the ReYnold'i residence. Some Of the stolen goods, including grritefiesi were reCovered in. the inveStigation. Approxi. Matey ilea in cash was MO reported taken in the break4n. Entry to the btrilditig Was gained when lock on the rear entrance Was broken. According to Mr. Mitchell, the store's owner, almost all the dinner hams and cases of coke were missing from the dote. "They were very neat and careful," the store owner said, "Nothing was knocked over or brOken." • The store owner said it would be difficult to know how much stock was takr Without a • ANtte TeleVenttSielild 4'! -.4'4*41t 114' ,f9 ' property values would increase if they were annexed. Township residents weren't the only ones to voice their toncern, Charles Hay presented a petition from 20 residents on York Crescent in which they outlined their fears that their street would become a busy thoroughfare as if would be used as an, *mesa to the new residential area Ed the sourI was predicated this would endanger the children on the street and would reduce property values. ; Knight said the suggestion in the petition was hypothetical and had nothing to do, with the purpose Of the meeting, . He said the •ICkintintted On Page 3) 1 Va ' 4A. Or Autism *iiexposittor • Inside thiS week FareWelli to Father Laragh.. Old carsitteal shOw ; ,t), 6 Lawn bowlert celebrate 50 years pe 13 Siehtunera, 'do or die . P. 21 • Sun pewer, Mahon solar her. . 28