HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton 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
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Indoor Parking
Trip for 2 to
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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