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The Citizen, 2013-03-28, Page 7THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, MARCH 28, 2013. PAGE 7. THE EDITOR, An Open Letter to the Mayor and Council of the Municipality of Huron East I wanted to address some concerns that arose during the council meeting of March 19 when members of HEAT (Huron East Against Turbines) asked for action on three items. On Tuesday night at council, the mayor was asked as to whether Huron East has a cost recovery bylaw. It does have one. In May and June of 2010, HEAT proposed a cost recovery bylaw on the recommendation of its lawyer Kristi Ross. The bylaw was passed in September of 2010. The bylaw was the result of the collaborative efforts of Kristi Ross and the lawyer for Huron East. The trigger for this bylaw was supposed to be the first consultation that took place between the municipality and the wind company. This consultation has already taken place at least a year and a half ago. Several times during the past two years, HEAT has suggested that the costs to the municipality incurred as a result of the wind turbine project, be tabulated so that they can be charged to the wind company. This was the intention of the cost recovery bylaw. Have those costs been tabulated? In addition, it remains a great concern that the Municipal Consultation Form was not sent in. The form submitted by North Perth indicates the depth of comment that is possible on a consultation form. Even if that depth of comment is not made, it is remiss not to make any at all other than a letter from the Huron East lawyer. Our degree of frustration with the failure to submit this municipal consultation form is enormous. When the wind company provided its draft reports last spring, we of the community were overwhelmed by the task of reading and determining the flaws and inconsistencies in the technical reports. Nonetheless we read and responded. In addition, when we had the concerns with the company’s noise evaluation, we requested a review by an engineer and then paid for another study by a second acoustician. We also realized how onerous the task of analyzing these reports was for the municipality. We had suggested hiring additional staff (other municipalities have used consultants for this purpose); we were assured by council that it could be managed. The community wanted to be sure that no stone was left unturned. We had submitted our own concerns but we knew that there was a role for the municipality to address other concerns that directly affected the municipality’s infrastructure as well as its residents’ health and safety. For that reason, community members from HEAT offered to meet with some councillors and staff in an administrative meeting. The request to meet to discuss the topics was made at council. It was rejected. Instead, a motion by council was made requesting HEAT to send in its topics of concern to the administration. We did. We went through all of the project reports again and pulled out areas of concern that council needed to ask about and we listed issues for the Municipal Consultation Form and for comments from Huron East. The topics included such items as emergency personnel plans, landscaping and stray voltage. We understood that our issues and areas of concern were dismissed. And then, it appears, the form was never completed and it has not yet been sent in. You may begin to sense our frustration. Why is this so important? This issue of a wind turbine project with its transmission lines may be only one more item on the municipality’s agenda but for us it is our lives; it affects family farms, succession plans. It affects the value of our property; it affects our daily lives and it has cost us dearly for the past four years in both time and money. Finally, we are grateful that on April 2, the council of Huron East has agreed to address two motions. The first motion relates to a statement in which the Municipality of Huron East identifies itself as an ‘unwilling host’ for wind turbine projects and all of the accompanying infrastructure of the poles, transmission lines, substations and transformer stations. The statement would be attached to the Municipal Consultation Form to be sent to the Ministry of the Environment and to be presented to the Premier Kathleen Wynne. This statement would also be sent in to the MPP of Huron Bruce, Lisa Thompson to be presented to Wynne in the House. Premier Wynne has said that it is important to site wind turbine projects in municipalities that are ‘willing hosts’. The second motion asks that the Municipality of Huron East work on an agreement immediately with the wind company which addresses specifically the clauses in lawyer Kristi Ross’ draft agreement presented to council in November of 2012. The agreement relates to the creation of a property value protection plan, a clause relating to sound and noise monitoring by a third party paid for by the wind company. The noise clause is intended to determine a baseline before and after with a noise complaint resolution process. The third clause to be included would relate to a fund where persons with documented health effects caused by the project could apply for compensation. This fund would cover medical costs and would also extend to the purchase of properties of affected persons for fair market value. If there are no expected problems it would be expected that the wind company would have no difficulty in signing such an agreement. All items fall within the municipal jurisdiction and agreements such as this are supported in the Guide to Municipalities from the Ministry of Energy. Sincerely, Jeanne Melady and HEAT Committee Members, Gerry Ryan, Allison DeKroon, Jen Dixon, Anne Melady, Tom Melady, Dennis Mueller, Jim Murray, Carol Ryan, Rob Tetu THE EDITOR, With spring now in the air and Easter fast approaching, the weather lately seems more appropriate for winter than for the joys of Easter. However, we at the North Huron Community Food Share would like to share our optimism for the upcoming spring and summer at the Food Share. I feel at times that we are always asking for your assistance in supporting the Food Share, but the fact of the matter remains that without your ongoing support, we would be in dire straits. We receive our support from many different sources. Some people express regret that they couldn’t raise more donations, but there are a lot of worthy causes out there and whatever the amount we receive, we are truly thankful. The list of clients using the Food Share has remained constant over the weeks since Christmas and although donations of food and monetary donations are still coming in, we are slowly finding that we need to purchase more food to keep our shelves full. We would be lost without the deliveries from the Exeter Food Distribution Centre every two to three weeks. We were able to purchase some Easter dinner hams to pass on to our clients. Everyone seems so appreciative of our efforts to help supplement their food supply. As I have mentioned before, we strive to give our clients healthy food choices and over the last few years, we started giving out vouchers for eggs and milk from our local stores. A big thank you needs to be also directed towards all the local food stores in the area for their support of our cause. They are very good to let us know of upcoming specials, special pricing etc., which makes the dollars we spend go as far as possible. I would also like to once again pass on a big thank you to all the directors and volunteers of the Food Share for their willingness to step up and help out wherever needed. It would be impossible to serve our clientele as we do, without the compassion and understanding that these people possess. At this time, I would like to welcome our newest director, Jenn Moir, to our board. Please check our website for much more info regarding us at www.nhfoodshare.ca or if you have any questions please e-mail us at nhfoodshare@gmail.com Thanks for your ongoing support. Gord Kaster Chairman, North Huron Community Food Share Group frustrated with Huron East Council Food Share in need for Easter Letters to the Editor 440 Turnberry St., Brussels 519-887-6851 Huron Country Hardware New Hours April 1 ~ Monday to Friday 8 am - 6 pm; Saturday 8 am - 5 pm Ladies’ Night Wednesday, April 3 7 pm - 9 pm FEATURING: UPPERCASE LIVING WITH HEATHER LOGAN Join us for We are pleased to announce that we are now in collaboration with TenPas Décor. Be sure to drop in and look at the beautiful flooring samples we have at the store, and let us help you match your flooring and paint. hch@tcc.on.ca MEETING NOTICE MUNICIPALITY OF MORRIS-TURNBERRY The upcoming meetings for the Municipality of Morris-Turnberry will be held: Tuesday April 2 at 7:30 pm Regular Council Meeting and Meeting to consider 2013 Budget and Belgrave Water Rates Tuesday April 19 at 7:30 pm Regular Council Meeting Belgrave 519-357-2711 BELGRAVE CO-OP Auburn 519-526-7262 AUBURN CO-OP Order yours today by calling your local Huron Bay Co-operative Get Your All Natural Vegetable Protein Chick Feed Here! Chick Days Are Here Again! Other Birds Available: Egg Layers • Turkeys • Ducks