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The Citizen, 2016-09-29, Page 7THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2016. PAGE 7. Brussels meeting to come after residents feel slighted By Shawn Loughlin The Citizen Over 20 Brussels residents went home unhappy the evening of Sept. 20 after many felt Huron East did not adequately address their concerns with the state of the village. At Huron East Council's Sept. 20 meeting, which was held at the Brussels Library to allow councillors to attend the Brussels Fall Fair and its opening ceremonies, several Brussels residents thought there would be an open forum portion of the meeting, during which they could air their grievances. The form of the meeting, said former Huron East Mayor Joe Seili, was thought to be similar to a non -council meeting held in June at the Brussels Legion. Because it was a regularly scheduled council meeting, however, members of the public, according to procedure, were not allowed to speak to council unless registering as a delegation and no one had done so. While Seili said that he and other Brussels residents had been The anticipation At the opening ceremonies for the Brussels Fall Fair last week, a new event called the watermelon squeeze was introduced, where fair ambassadors and local celebrities work together to put enough rubber bands around a watermelon to make it explode, hence the rain ponchos. Here, Brussels Fall Fair Ambassador Patti Blake and 2014 Citizen of the Year Dave Stephenson work together to make their watermelon pop. (Vicky Bremner photo) Bylaw could see changes Continued from page 6 bylaw, the municipality needs to ensure that a follow-up was conducted on every complaint and that Brockelbank or council couldn't "pick and choose" on whom they follow up. Being selective with its procedures, Wilbee said, could open the municipality up to legal liability. Another perceived hole in the bylaw, council felt, was that it hadn't been updated in 15 years, so complaints couldn't be filed by phone or e-mail. This was another area that council felt could definitely be revised. In terms of the Brussels -specific concerns, Brockelbank said there did seem to be more complaints in Brussels and he'd like to see more compliance there as well. MacLellan said that staff, including Brockelbank, would ReLook Nook Ladies Wear Consignment Shop Get Your Look On! Quality Ladies Wear Sizes Sm - 3X, Jewelry, footwear, purses and small furniture 519-606-4001 Consignments by appointment only Sears 14 Isaac St., Clinton ® Tues. -Fri. 9:30 am - 5:30 pm y & Sat. 9:30 - 4:00 pm review the municipality's current bylaw and take the evening's discussion into account when suggesting potential changes to the bylaw. The hope is that a report will be presented to council for input from both councillors and members of the public in either late October or early November. Sparling's Propane 65th Anniversary Congratulations to Craig and Brittany Browne of Delaware, Ontario Winner of the 6.5 cpl of propane for the winter 4*spariings Clean Energy. For Living. sparlings.com "blacklisted" and "muzzled" by council, Mayor Bernie MacLellan assured them that wasn't the case and that he was simply following proper procedure. It is MacLellan's full intention, he said, to return to the residents of Brussels for a meeting in which they are able to speak their piece once again. At that meeting, he told them, he hopes to provide a progress report on the concerns raised in June, which included property standards in the village, the state of the Brussels, Morris and Grey Community Centre and the decision to eliminate the deputy -mayor as an elected position. Over the course of the meeting, which included a presentation from bylaw enforcement and property standards officer Bruce Brockelbank, several residents attempted to ask questions, although MacLellan discouraged them from doing so, saying it was not an open forum. Because so many of the residents' concerns pertained to property standards, council is undertaking a review of its current policies with the expectation of a staff report in either late October or early November. Once that report has been received by council, MacLellan said, council will return to the public, specifically the residents of Brussels, for their input on how property standards regulations can be better enforced throughout the village. Planning Department didn't delay project says Tousaw's report By Shawn Loughlin The Citizen An assumption that the Huron County Planning Department was holding up developments turned out not to be so, according to a report presented last week. Scott Tousaw, director of planning and development, presented Huron County Council with his report at council's Sept. 21 committee of the whole meeting. The Bryan Morton barn development in Brussels was used as a test case after some involved felt it took far too long and they wanted to know why. In a breakdown of responsibility for time, the report assessed 67 per cent of the blame to Morton's developer, while the planning department was only responsible for elapsed time to the tune of 11 per cent. However, Tousaw stated, there were no delays in the process by any party, adding that the application was approved within the minimum timeframe governed by the Planning Act. Sheepskin Rugs Bainton's Old Mill Downtown Blyth 519-523-4740 RECOGNIZING EXCELLENCE • CELEBRATING ACHIEVEMENT Central Huron Secondary School www.amdsb.ca/CHSS Clinton, Ontario Canada Please Join Us for our annual Awards Assembly at 9 am On Friday October 7 At Central Huron Secondary school Commencement Exercises at 7 pm Friday October 7, 2016 At Central Huron Secondary School This invitation is extended to all our graduates, their proud parents, relatives, and cheering friends. Graduates, Award Winners and Presenters - please arrive at the school no later than 6:30 p.m. We'v' reserved a seat just forYou!