The Citizen, 2015-04-02, Page 18PAGE 18. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, APRIL 2, 2015.
Sparling details funding request for council
Continued from page 9
starting and that’s going to really
help out [the water and wastewater
budgets],” he said. “Vehicles are one
of the larger expenses that we have.”
Efficiencies are also hopefully
going to be realized through a new
networking system, Nicholson said.
“We’re trying to network all the
water and sewage facilities so we’re
able to pull up the trending data
reports and messages,” he said. “The
long range plan is to reduce the
weekend rounds by staff. One per-
son will be able to pull up the reports
and there will be a reduced labour
cost.”
Nicholson also said future plans
involve utilizing Huron County’s
GIS mapping to target areas where
the water mains and road sewers are
going to be in need of care.
“That will help us prioritize what
roads need to be rebuilt as well as
what surfaces underneath them need
to be looked at,” he said. “It will help
as, last year, we had two guys [only
doing service locates] in the sum-
mer... This will save that time.”
Sparling was last to present his
budget and said 2014 was an
extremely busy year for the fire
department.
“I think first and foremost I have
to say last year was a pretty tough
year for the fire department for
activity, stress and the budget level,”
he said. “We’re almost licking our
wounds this year.”
Sparling explained that the depart-
ment had depleted its contingency
fund “and then some.” The fund is
set up to pay for equipment and per-
sonnel costs during particularly
heavy years and was more then
extended this year.
The fire department’s budget
reflect not only the “licking its
wounds” mentality, but also reflects
being in the second of a five-year
block in which the department has
fewer major capital costs than the
first several years it was in existence.
“You’ll notice we’re lower in oper-
ating cost,” Sparling said. “The rea-
son for that is, once we had our
equipment up to snuff and training in
place we don’t have to continue to
buy things.”
Sparling said that, if all goes
according to plan, this five-year
block will be the norm and the
department’s budget should only see
increases of the cost of living adjust-
ment going forward with one
notable exception.
“At some point, because I don’t
want to touch it now, we need to
address the fact that the Emergency
Services Training Centre [ESTC]
doesn’t have a generator,” he said.
“It’s a two- to three-person job to
open the doors at the centre without
power.”
Sparling said that in 2016 he will
begin looking at options, but
stressed the importance of the gener-
ator for the building as a training
centre, not just for the fire hall.
“We have people coming from the
maritime provinces for courses,” he
said. “They can’t wait or come back
later. Not having this generator has
the real potential to hurt our reputa-
tion because the courses aren’t avail-
able.”
Sparling says that early estimates
for a generator were between
$40,000 and $50,000
“I think it’s a necessity,”
Councillor Ray Hallahan said.
Some major capital costs included
in this year’s budget are as follows:
• East Wawanohs’s Moncrieff
Road tar and chip: $90,000
• Blyth’s Mill Street Water project
phase 1 (Westmoreland Street):
$130,000.
• Airport Roof Repairs: $27,125
• Blyth Well upgrades: $60,000
• Wingham’s Patrick Street Sewer
and Water: $190,000.
By Hillary Schramm
The last meeting of the Grey
Township Sappy Tappers took place
on March 14. At this meeting, mem-
bers were able to experience creating
their own maple syrup.
First, they went outside and col-
lected the sap from the buckets that
they had placed at a previous meet-
ing. Because it was a cloudy day,
only about six litres of sap was col-
lected. Each member took a turn fil-
tering some of the sap to rid it of any
excess dirt.
While the sap boiled in the pot in
the garage, members played a ball
game outside and also a couple of
inside games like a word scramble
and story-making. By the time the
sap was finished boiling on the
stove, only a small bowl was left.
But it was just enough for each
member to have a small taste.
For the snack, members enjoyed
ice cream with maple syrup on top.
The final game involved toilet
paper, where each member said one
thing they learned in this Maple
Syrup 4-H Club for each square they
took.
Sappy Tappers wrap up
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