The Citizen, 2012-11-15, Page 10PAGE 10. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2012.
Continued from page 7
there have been more pages and
maps added and costs have gone up
for paper and other supplies.
“That’s like a 30 per cent
increase,” said Councillor Neil
Warwick, who was in favour of
calling a halt to the printing until the
budget could be re-examined.
But Nancy Michie, administrator
clerk-treasurer explained that most
of the work is already done with the
first 500 books arriving on Nov. 30.
Deputy-Mayor Jason
Breckenridge objected to the fact the
new costs hadn’t been revealed
earlier. “I would have hoped we
would have seen some figures earlier
so it didn’t come quite so much as
sticker shock,” he said.
Michie said the per-set costs now
amount to $237.76 for books that are
being sold at $125 per set.
If all 1,000 sets are sold, the
municipality will have to pick up
$128,000 of the costs, she said.
Currently about 500 sets have been
sold and if no more were sold, the
municipal bill would increase by
another $70,000 to $198,000.
“This is not a project that was
originated by this council,” said
Gowing. “This is a project we have
to get finished.”
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Increased printing costs
don’t stop history book
Inspections, encroachment troubles Blyth businessesContinued from page 3was the addition of limited parkingsigns to downtown Blyth.While council dealt with limited
parking issues several months ago,
the signs, which were indicated to be
an example of poor communication
between council and North Huron
businesses, were only recently
erected.
At the meeting, however, there
were people on both sides of the
parking issue.
Some stated that while they
understood some businesses like
local restaurants wanting to have
people park and stay, others stated
that they thought limiting parking
time to two hours was a worthwhile
venture.
The owner of The Village Barber,
Dana Weber said her customers are
in and out rather quickly and she
liked the idea of people being able to
park in front of her store.
Councillors stated that one of the
driving factors behind limiting
parking was that some business
owners had complained that parking
spots were being taken by tenants
who live above the stores and others
are being used by employees and
owners of the store, limiting the
amount of people who can park on
the street.
Others stated that often, especially
in the winter, it was a good thing to
have vehicles parked on the road as
it lends a busy atmosphere to a
village that sometimes isn’t.
Council said they would have to
try and find a happy medium,
however indications were made that
the signs would be removed.
While council’s decisions may
have been cited as an issue, a larger
one was found when several
business owners shared their own
‘horror’ stories about dealing with
governing bodies for business
openings and expansions, especially
the Huron County Health Unit.
MacGowan said he would like to
streamline many processes that new
or growing businesses need to face,
but also stated that there are
regulations that need to be met.
“The Health Unit doesn’t help,”
MacGowan said in response to
complaints about them. “Green’s
[Meat Market in Morris-Turnberry]
had a nightmare with their
expansion. When we rebuilt
[Braemar Retirement Centre, of
which MacGowan is the
administrator], we had the O.K. to
put in a class three septic system,
but, instead, a half million dollarsewer had to be put in by Winghambecause they changed their minds atthe last minute.”
MacGowan said that a meeting
should be set up with the Health Unit
because “public health plays a huge
role in economic development.”
Rick Elliott, Chair of the BIA and
another part owner of the Queens
Bakery, said that one of the huge
roadblocks the business ran into was
a plumbing inspection.
He said that, while North Huron
Chief Building Official Dave Black
did a fantastic job and that the
plumbing inspection itself wasn’t the
issue, the Huron County Health
Unit’s regulations provided some
unique challenges and delays.
Cook stated that some of the
interactions among the Health Unit,
the county and the municipal
government were also ridiculous as
individuals couldn’t communicate
when they were three feet away from
each other but instead had to follow
channels within their individual
departments.
He also took issue with the fact
that by observing these regulations,
it could take months for the issue to
come to light.
Jackie Cook, Les’ wife, and co-
owner of the Queens Bakery, stated
that they had patience in getting their
business open and dealt with the
delays. She did not, however, feel
new business owners or business
owners who don’t have a fall-back
career, would be able to deal with the
situations they had to.
Council and the assembled
stakeholders also discussed the
encroachment issue, which came to
a head during the summer season in
Blyth.
Business owners felt that a heavy-
handed approach had been taken to
dealing with sets of tables and chairs
on sidewalks adjacent to county
roads. Council explained that other
businesses were allowed to have
their goods on the sidewalks because
they brought them in at night,
however, that possibility wasn’t
initially discussed with local
business owners.
Council delayed an encroachment
bylaw that had been approved by
legal counsel near the end of July
and then again delayed making a
decision due to concerns from a
“multi-generational” business from
Wingham regarding its winter
practice of having items on the
sidewalk. By the time an
encroachment policy was in place, itwas too late for Blyth businessowners to benefit from the foot traffic created by the BlythFestival.Councillors said that they felt they had to take the time to thoroughlyreview the document and ensure itwould work.
Huron Christian School
Christmas Home Tour 2012
Friday, November 23 6:30 pm-9:30 pm
Saturday, November 24 10:00 am-3:00 pm
Tickets: $15 per person
Available at Gift Cupboard and Spa Essentials, Blyth; Radiant Life Book Store, Goderich;
Selah Christian Book Store, Exeter; Blooms and Rooms, Seaforth; Huron Christian School, Clinton.
Please join us for refreshments at Huron Christian School
Enter your name into a draw for Christmas Décor at Huron Christian School
✸Gary & Rachel Damsma-Sutcliffe
82778 North Line, Walton
Decorated by Jillians
of Mitchell
1 ✸Trevor & Karen Sutcliffe
239 Dinsley St., Blyth
Decorated by Blooms & Rooms
of Seaforth
4
✸Bert & Brenda Sjaarda
38816 Moncrieff Rd., Blyth
Decorated by the Homeowners
2 ✸Pastor Mark & Glenda Royall
177 Dinsley St., Blyth
Decorated by The Gift Cupboard,
of Blyth
5
✸David & Annie Sparling
304 King St., Blyth
Decorated by Connie Marriott
Floral Designer of Stratford
3 ✸Huron Christian School
87 Percival St., Clinton
Decorated by NJS Design &
Verbeek’s of Clinton
6
Food for thought
Students at North Woods Elementary School put their heads and hearts together and
gathered food for the North Huron Food Bank. Some of the Grade 4 collectors are, back row,
from left, James Blake, Justin Morrison, Taylor Daw and Sarah Alexander. Front row, from left
are Grade 1/2 students Jayse Wylie, Paige Priestap and Kiley Nicholson. (Denny Scott photo)