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The Citizen, 2017-02-02, Page 1INSIDE THIS WEEK: FINANCIAL - Pg. 9 The Citizen' provides annual money tips MARSHALL - Pg. 10 NH, M -T fire safety officer resigns SCHOOL - Pg. 19 Former Brussels Public School declared surplus Publications Mail Agreement No. 40050141 Return Undeliverable Items to North Huron Publishing Company Inc., P.O. Box 152, BRUSSELS, ON NOG 1H0 4Citiz Volume 33 No. 5 n ESTABLISHED 1877 $1.25 GST included Serving the communities of Blyth and Brussels and northern Huron County Thursday, February 2, 2017 Making moves While Saturday's time on the ice was tough for the Blyth Brussels Crusaders Tyke Burgundy team, the day had its bright spots. The team lost by a score of 9-1 to the Mount Forest Rams, but with 10 minutes left the team was able to break the shutout and get into the goal column. Here, Everett Cherrey busted out his best stick -handling moves to get around a pair of Mount Forest defenders. (Shawn Lou ynun photo) MacLellan calls for BMG upgrades By Shawn Loughlin The Citizen Huron East Mayor Bernie MacLellan is encouraged by what's going on in Brussels and wants the municipality to go the extra mile to support the Brussels, Morris and Grey Community Centre. At Huron East Council's Jan. 24 meeting, MacLellan told councillors that his enthusiasm for the centre had been rejuvenated after attending a meeting of the Brussels, Morris and Grey Recreation Board earlier this January. MacLellan told councillors about a number of events created by the committee that have generated great interest and funds for the centre and how impressed he was with the committee's initiative and the public's response to the programming "Although the committee was looking at these events as fundraising, I think they also play a more important role," MacLellan read to councillors from a prepared statement. "It is great the events raise money for the centre, but to me it is a lot more important that the committee has come up with programs that the community is interested in; that the hall is being used for different, sold -out events that are of interest to the residents." He said that while ice rentals may not be at an all-time high, the fact that the committee is finding alternate ways to generate both interest and revenue is an encouraging sign for both the community and for council. "When a community centre has a vibrant, active committee that is engaging the public to use the facility, then I believe they deserve the full support of council," MacLellan said. "The Brussels, Morris and Grey facility may be past its prime, but the community wants a centre and is actively using it. I would encourage council to allow either the committee or Huron East staff to investigate the actual cost of upgrading the facility." MacLellan specifically cited a number of successful initiatives spearheaded by the committee, including the construction of a fairy garden, several paint nights (several of which have sold out) and a sold - out ladies night. Brussels Ward Councillor David Blaney said that plans to improve the centre did exist and had been generated not too long ago. MacLellan said he wasn't sure if improving the community centre would mean repairing the current structure or building a new one, but it had been made clear to him that the centre is very important to the Brussels community and continues to be supported, albeit in different ways than in years past. MacLellan returned to a concept he had first proposed several months ago of a potential Sprung facility in the place of the current building. The example he had given was of a new centre expected to cost over $35 million that saw cost reductions to one sixth of the price. If those kinds of savings could be applied to a building in Brussels, he said, it may be worth investigating a second time. However, MacLellan said he wanted to leave it up to Huron East staff and then get input from the committee members to make Continued on page 18 County eyeing modest spending increase By Shawn Loughlin The Citizen In a budget year Huron County Council already knows will be challenging, there is still more work to be done. After a special budget session last week, Huron County Warden Jim Ginn said the county is still hoping to cut hundreds of thousands of dollars from its budget for the coming year. With a spending increase currently sitting at 5.8 per cent, council will have to cut the aforementioned $600,000 to reach their self-imposed goal of a four per cent increase in spending. The budget has now been returned to Huron County staff to ask for ideas on how to cut the funds from the budget. The other option, Ginn has said, is to simply increase the budget for the year. This comes after Huron East Mayor Bernie MacLellan, at Huron East Council's Jan. 24 meeting, told councillors that the county has frozen all grants for the year in order to allocate spending to the 2017 International Plowing Match in Walton this September. MacLellan told councillors that while council had authorized the annual grant of $60,000 to the Huron County Food Bank Distribution Centre, which continued since first being authorized a number of years ago, no other grants would be approved. MacLellan said that the members of council viewed the food bank donation (allocated as $60,000 per year to represent $1 per resident, per year) as an essential service to Huron County residents. Anything beyond that, he said, would be rejected this year, including requests from the Coalition for Huron Injury Prevention (CHIP), the United Way and the United Way's Social Research and Planning Council. The budget deliberation process continues at the county as the budget will return at a future meeting. Molenhuis resigns from NH, MT By Denny Scott The Citizen Less than nine months after starting as the first major hire of the shared services project, Jeff Molenhuis, the Director of Public Works for North Huron and Morris- Turnberry, has tendered his resignation according to several sources. The details of the resignation, such as when his time with the municipalities will end has not been made public yet. Molenhuis took over the positions of North Huron Director of Public Works Kelly Church and Morris- Turnberry Director of Public Works Gary Pipe, both of whom took different positions within the municipalities and have since left, leaving no one within either municipality with experience in the position. Molenhuis was named as the director during a special joint Morris-Turnberry and North Huron council announcement at the Wingham hall of the North Huron Fire Department on May 16. Both Morris-Turnberry Mayor Paul Gowing and North Huron Reeve Neil Vincent lauded the benefits that having Molenhuis would bring to the municipality. Both mentioned that Molenhuis' previous experiences would lend better long-term planning for the municipalities with Vincent saying he would bring "superior customer Continued on page 10