The Citizen, 2013-08-29, Page 1CitizenTh
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$1.25 GST included Serving the communities of Blyth and Brussels and northern Huron County Thursday, August 29, 2013
Volume 29 No. 34
SPORTS - Pg. 8Brussels beats Blyth bigin fastball league action FALL FAIR - Pg. 24Brussels Ambassadorheads to Toronto’s CNELIONS- Pg. 6Blyth’s Charlie Shaw hascamp named after himPublications Mail Agreement No. 40050141 Return Undeliverable Items to North Huron Publishing Company Inc., P.O. Box 152, BRUSSELS, ON N0G 1H0INSIDE THIS WEEK:
Central Huron hires new lawyer for county appeal
Dingman retained
for Memorial Hall
needs assessment
Reclaiming some history
St. Michael’s Cemetery held its special 140th anniversary service outdoors Saturday, complete
with an outdoor mass and decoration service followed by the opening of a time capsule that
had been safely stored in one of the cemetery’s monuments for decades. Extracating the time
capsule safely from its long-time home are, from left, David Kelly, Bill Phelan and Joe
Hallahan. (Jim Brown photo)
Central Huron is not ready to give
up its fight against Huron County’s
Official Plan.
After months of discussion on the
issue, Central Huron Council held a
special meeting Aug. 22 to chart its
next course in the fight against the
plan.
New legal representation was
clearly on the minds of some
councillors as CAO Peggy Van
Mierlo-West began a Power Point
presentation outlining the history
behind the appeal, which was
launched in January 2012, when
council learned the Ministry of
Municipal Housing and Affairs was
giving the revised Huron County
Official Plan approval in what was
considered by some Central Huron
ratepayers and councillors to be an
inappropriately cloaked process.
Ultimately, council based its
appeal on two main points, one
dealing with issues surrounding
green energy, and the second with
regard to commercial water taking. It
was in the past few months that
Central Huron Council heard from
its planner, John Cox, and lawyer,
Alan Patton, that a successful appeal
at the Ontario Municipal Board level
seemed unlikely. Council then
pondered the possibility of moving
away from its appeal but after an
impassioned pitch from a group of
ratepayers, including members of
the Central Huron Against Turbines
(CHAT), council chose to instead
hear a presentation in August by a
CHAT-recommended lawyer,
London-based lawyer Valerie
McGarry.
Councillor Alison Lobb asked
why the mediation route was not the
first line of defence, though
Despite some concerns put
forward by Councillor Bernie
Bailey, North Huron Township
Council has decided to enlist the
help of architect Thor Dingman in
the needs assessment of Blyth
Memorial Hall.
Dingman, as part of the 14/19
campaign, will now complete a
preliminary needs assessment of the
building for an estimated cost of
$13,250.
While his expertise is in heritage
buildings, not all of council was
excited at the idea of working with
Dingman on two projects given his
current involvement with the North
Huron Town Hall in Wingham.
“I have some concerns about this
going back to the financial picture,”
Bailey explained. “We have some
serious concerns about runaway
expenditures on the existing
project.”
Bailey explained that Dingman
had found deficiencies in the
existing support structure of the
belfry on the town hall and the
township was going to need to pay
an additional $100,000 on top of a
$325,000 project that had already
been granted additional funds.
“That’s a substantial increase,”
Bailey said. “If we take a $2 million
project to Dingman, how high is that
going to go?”
Reeve Neil Vincent explained that
Bailey’s concerns would be
addressed during council’s Sept. 3
meeting when Dingman and other
contractors involved in the work will
discuss the issue with council.
“I agree with you that we need to
have that meeting,” Bailey said.
“However, we are preparing to
spend money now on Memorial
Hall. My concern is what the cost is
going to be in the long run. I don’t
think the town hall was properly
done and I don’t want that to happen
again.”
Other council members, including
Archie MacGowan and Brock
Vodden, explained that council had
decided to forego a preliminary
investigation that might have shown
the need for the work that Dingman
had discovered.
“That work would have cost an
additional $30,000 and we still
would have to pay the $100,000 to
have the belfry repaired,” Vodden
said. “This is the kind of thing that
happens with any old building. I
think we would be jumping the gun
in throwing our arms up and giving
up.”
Bailey questioned what council
was deciding that night, asking if
they were approving the $13,250
expenditure for any architect or if
they were specifically looking at
Dingman.
Chief Administrative Officer Gary
Long responded by saying that it
was staff’s direction, based on the
recommendation of the 14/19
committee, that Dingman be
retained for the project.
“The committee met with several
By Cheryl Heath
Special to The Citizen
Continued on page 10
By Denny Scott
The Citizen
Continued on page 10
“ Cultivating and sustaining your
creative economy - making new
connections within community
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PRU ROBIE
ARTSCAPE, TORONTO