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Clinton News Record, 2014-01-15, Page 910 News Record • Wednesday, January 15, 2014 Checking in with Bluewater Council on the year ahead Lynda Hillman-Rapley Lakeshore Advance With 2014 being the end of the term for Ontario municipalities we asked Bluewa- ter Council what their successes for 2013 were and their expectations for the com- ing year. In Bluewater, those who responded said: Mayor Bill Dowson Mayor Bill Dowson is throwing his hat into the political ring for the October elec- tion, stating it has been an interesting term and he wants to continue with what has already been established. Dowson said they have a very good CAO and that makes his job easier. He also credits the $7.5 million dollars this municipality received three years ago, from the provincial Minister of Agricul- ture and Food. With those dollars they were able to fund manyprojects, Roads, libraries, eco- nomic develop and landfill, that would benefit the entire municipality. Dowson is proud to say because of these monies, not one cent of propertytax was budgeted for libraries in 2012 or 2013. He said they have accomplished many of their goals such as all the concession roads across the municipality, to the lake and hope to move forward with their upgrades in 2014. He says it is difficult to meet many commitments when items such as polic- ing and insurance costs sky -rocket -but they will do what they can to keep the budget down. In 2014, Dowson wants to complete the projects that have been ear -marked with the provincial dollars, work on the facility review and to continue building on what they have already accomplished. He says they have a great group of councilors who are working towards what's best for the constituents. Deputy Mayor Paul Klopp Topping our successes for 2013, I think that anytime that an individual or a group came to Bluewater Council and we could help by making the " system" work for them. We are here to help our residents. Before I was re-elected, the council had changed the format for planning the budget. In short they were not going through the budget line by line. With a little of my persistence council agreed to do it as was done in past. We continue what I started three years ago, going through the budget line by line and it has allowed us to find savings. As for regrets I think the provincial and federal governments create programs and announce big dollars with a very short window to apply. As a result, the smaller municipalities like Bluewater can miss funding opportunities. This process was not started in the last three years but has COUNTY OF HURON NOTICE OF PUBLIC INFORMATION CENTRE CLASS EA FOR REALIGNMENT OF COUNTY ROAD 13 (BAYFIELD RD) AT KING STREET (COMMUNITY OF CLINTON) PUBLIC INFORMATION SESSION FOR RESIDENTS The County of Huron, in conjunction with the Municipality of Central Huron, is planning to redesign the intersection of Huron County Road 13, King Street, Matilda Street and Railway Street, immediately east of the existing rail crossing in the southwest portion of Clinton. A public information session is planned to present details on the proposed project and to receive input from interested persons. Representatives of the County, the Municipality and the Project Engineers will be in attendance to answer questions. DATE: LOCATION: TIME: HURON COUNTY Wednesday January 15, 2014 Clinton Legion, 95 Kirk Street 6:00 pm — 8:00 pm been getting worse. I will not stop pushing for more com- mon sense from all levels of government. For 2014 I will continue to remember that I am working on behalf of all resi- dents of Bluewater. I am spending their money so I must help to look to do things as cost effective as possible. Will I be running again? As in previous times, I will decide when I feel that I have examined all of the issues. It is a four-year year commitment of great importance - it is a great honour to serve the citizens of Bluewater, so it is a decision that cannot be taken lightly. Hay East Councilor John Becker The greatest success for 2013 was the finalization of the waterlines for the Bay- field residents, the starting of the com- pleting the new library in Bayfield and the first stages of the building of the new Zurich Library. If I had a regret it would be not getting enough done for the small villages in Bluewater, re: signage, updated water- lines and hydrants for Dashwood. For 2014, my top priority would be to look at the big picture and to include all taxpayers' needs in the municipality. I am running in the 2014 election because I show great pride and honour to help and give back to my Municipality and the area that I serve. Hay West councilor John Gillespie Despite the diverse nature of Bluewater and its elected municipal representatives, we have been able to focus on and make decisions based on the merits of specific issues and in the best interests of all of Bluewater. I see this as a major achieve- ment for the current Bluewater Council. I also see the development and imple- mentation of a new roads policy as a sig- nificant achievement. This helps to resolve the tax and access to services inequity that has existed since amalgamation. I regret that Bluewater has not had greater success in encourag- ing wind development com- panies to take a more respon- sible approach in introducing wind energy as a new industry in Bluewater. In looking back, we could have worked more closely with other municipalities As a top personal priority facing similar challenges on council for 2014, Gillespie says managing escalating costs for services paid for by Bluewater but delivered by other organi- zations, such as Huron County, policing, conserva- tion authority. Also, strive to mitigate the negative impact on the com- munity created by the imple- mentation of wind energy projects. Gillespie will announce shortly as to whether he will run in this year's election. Hensall Ward councilor Kay Wise On success: In my opinion, the Communities In Bloom Committee, a committee of council achieved five blooms this term and the Heritage Conservation Award for Ontario. Five blooms being the highest mark possible is source of pride for the whole municipality as there are rep- resentatives from all the wards involved in the committee. As chairman of the commit- tee and Jim Fergusson co- chair we are extremely proud of this accomplishment. The new parkette in Hensall where once an old abandoned unsightly structure once stood is a sign of progress. Work with the present term of council has become a real- ity for the Friends of the Upper Room over the library. It is something that will bring a new concept to the municipality. The only regret is the com- plete disregard the province has shown for decisions made by council regarding the green energy act. It became a dicta- torship and that was wrong. I believe there is nothing I could have done differently about this decision and that is wrong. My priority for next term if I decide to run again would be to finish what I started. My ward is a special place and it deserves recognition. I have made no decisions to enter into the 2014 term. Stanley East councilor Dave Roy After one term, Stanley East councilor Dave Roy says he will be running in the 2014 election for Bluewater. In successes, Roy says he is thrilled Bayfield has a great library, and washrooms and that Zurich is also getting a great library. He said he has enjoyed working for the peo- ple and although it is not eve- rything they asked for, he is pleased to see they accom- plished setting a reasonably high fee for wind turbines. Roy said the first year was interesting with lots of learn- ing curves and the past two they have come together as a solid group- all working to get stuff done. "I hope we can maintain that effort because it will mean accomplishing a CONTINUED > PAGE 11 OFFICE HOURS The Office Hours for The Clinton News Record is as follows Mondays - 9am - 5pm Tuesdays - CLOSED Wednesdays - 9am - 5pm Thursdays - 9am - 5pm Fridays - 9am - 5pm Clinton News Record 53 Albert St., Clinton, ON PH: 519-482-3443 www.clintonnewsrecord.com