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Home My WebLink AboutClinton News Record, 2016-01-13, Page 7Wednesday, January 13, 2016 • News Record 7 Central Huron Council uses new format Valerie Gillies Clinton News Record The Central Huron Reg- ular Council Meeting held on January 4 was the first to follow the new format brought in by a bylaw passed in December. The council will now meet twice per month instead of the three times, with the one having been a Committee of the Whole (COW) meeting. From now on, there will only be the Regular Council Meet- ings on the first and third Mondays of the month with items that would have been addressed at a COW being addressed at the regular meetings, which now begin at 5 p.m. rather than at 7 p.m. as before. Councillor Westerhout addressed a letter that had been sent to council con- cerning the reconstruc- tion of the Bayfield Road/ County Road 31 intersec- tion. This sparked a lengthy discussion with most councilors in attend- ance adding their con- cerns and voicing com- plaints they have heard from constituents. A com- mon complaint is that there is no longer a left- hand turn lane. Councillor Metzger explained that the curve is too narrow for large transport trucks to maneuver to turn the cor- ner. Westerhout pointed out that there needs to be better signage on the island reconstruction. Coming from Little Eng- land there is no indication as to which is road and which is mud while nego- tiating the curve, causing concern for potential acci- dents. Mayor Ginn acknowledged that these were all legitimate con- cerns that should be looked into, however the intersection and curve were designed by an engi- neer. Another factor is that part of the construction took place on railroad - owned land. Ginn pointed out that nowadays rail- roads have a lot of rights and can ask for a lot of things to happen within construction projects. This was particularly a case in the fence being erected to stop pedestri- ans from walking on rail- road property. One sug- gestion that came out of the discussion was to look into installing a traffic light to reduce the wait time to turn at the inter- section. Another was that since there was already hydro at the intersection, perhaps flashing lights could be installed to help with directing drivers. Another lengthy discus- sion surrounded the Municipality of Port Hope asking Central Huron Council to support their Local Unemployment Rate Decreases Four County Labour Market Planning Board Special to Clinton News Record The Stratford -Bruce Pen- insula economic region matched the province's change in unemployment rate by dropping 0.2 percent, from 5.9 percent in Novem- ber 2015 to 5.7 percent in December 2015. Our region's rate at the end of the year was still behind the prov- ince's unemployment rate of 6.2 percent. While the province's par- ticipation remained rela- tively unchanged, between November (60.7 percent) and December (60.8 per- cent), our region saw a sig- nificant increase in partici- pation, November (57.7 percent) and December (59.3 percent). With only a slight drop in the unemployment rate, from 5.9 percent to 5.7 per- cent, the Stratford -Bruce Peninsula economic region still experienced a job growth of 3,900 in Decem- ber. The majority of these job gains were found in the Ser- vices -producing sector, with gains of 1,100 jobs in each of Accommodation and food services and Professional, scientific and technical serves. Decreases in jobs were seen in Health care and social assistance (-1,700) and in Manufacturing (-900). Although there is fluctuation month to month, employ- ment in Manufacturing is slightly higher than the year before, while Health care and social assistance remained stable. "As Health care and social assistance and Manufactur- ing are two major employ- ment sectors in the region, we can remain confident both these sectors continue to offer employment oppor- tunities for the local work- force," said Gemma Mendez - Smith, executive director of the FCLMPB. Following labour market events is one of the keys to understanding where local work opportunities may be. Labour market events and announcements, like the con- struction of a new Foodland grocery store in Wiarton and the expansion of Hayashi Canada Inc.'s automotive parts plant in Stratford, are positive developments in the region. Employers in Bruce, Grey, Huron and Perth counties can help the Four County Labour Market Planning Board understand the region's workforce needs by completing an EmployerOne Survey available January 1 to 31, 2016. Employers can visit www.planningboard.ca/sur- vey to complete the survey. "Using the employer input we can form a tactical response to workforce needs with a sense of urgency to support continued economic stability and growth," said Mendez -Smith. nwmo NUCLEAR WASTE MANAGEMENT ORGANIZATION resolution to oppose incineration facilities. The letter to council was very confusing to some. How- ever, the main gist was that there was not good supporting arguments from the provider of the service and some of the scientific data was being downplayed. Councillor Metzger advised that things like this are not allowed to happen in Europe as there they do the research first, then go to service providers to tender a quote. In Canada, it is the suppliers who try to push their services onto the municipalities. Coun- cillor Westerhout sug- gested that this issue is much like the Wind Tur- bine issue where people see no way to question ffiMMtMMOIIM SOCIETE DE GESTION DES DECHETS NUCLEAIRES what the providers are saying. Although mem- bers of council can empa- thize with the Municipal- ity of Port Hope, it was also made clear during discussion that individual councilors did not intend to support the resolution. In voting, the motion to support the resolution was defeated. During new business, Director of Finance Terri Rau was directed to look into comparisons for insurance as this has not been done recently. Rau agreed to do so, however she cautioned that it is very difficult to make straight comparisons with rates other municipalities are paying as there are so many factors that affect the overall rate that are specific to each munici- pality. Rau was directed to concentrate on comparing the areas of claims, blan- kets and deductable to determine if the rates cur- rently quoted are in line with other comparable municipalities. Councillor Westerhout asked when there would be a Economic Development draft given to council. Councillor Lobb explained that she had just submitted a draft to Mayor Ginn and that it needed to be received by Huron County before it could be discussed and approved. During the discussion Westerhout took the opportunity to congrat- ulate Councillor Lobb on a job well done on the plan- ning, which was echoed by those at the council table. JANUARY 23 & 24 LONDON CONVENTION CENTRE ,ike us on Sat. fo9 Sun. 12-5 Admission $12.00 Roll the Dice 11 f chanceor tao win $15,000 Largest Selection of Bridal Stores nicholas `-elizabeth Aaai Huge Wedding Dress Sale FREE Indoor Parking Trip for 2 to Las Vegas Fashion Shows 1:30 & 3:45 winter. londonbridals hows .com NWMO Learn More Centre The Municipality of Central Huron is one of nine communities involved in a process of learning about Adaptive Phased Management (APM), Canada's plan for the safe, long-term management of used nuclear fuel. The Nuclear Waste Management Organization is working collaboratively with the community to advance preliminary assessment studies. Learn about APM, meet NWMO staff, ask questions and offer your thoughts. Drop in to the NWMO community office and Learn More Centre in Clinton. Everyone is welcome. E NWMO Learn More Centre (Central Huron) 38 Albert Street, Clinton ON 519.386.6711 Monday Tuesday Wednesday 10 a.m. to 3 10 a.m. to 3 10 a.m. to 3