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The Citizen, 2007-01-18, Page 19Wingham resident Brock Voddencontinued in his struggle against hislandlord over an ongoing second-hand smoke issue at North Huroncouncil’s Jan. 8 meeting. Chief building official Dave Black was on hand to present a detailed timeline of his actions in this case and the results it has yielded. Black stated that after a lengthy process and several consultations he was satisfied he had followed due diligence and had done as much as he could do in this case. Black’s presentation stated that he had talked to both residents several times, the landlord, the contractor, council members, Hanover’s CBO Don Tedford, the installer of the heat recovery ventilator and an electrician. One of the most telling testimonies in this group ofindividuals was the installer of theHRV unit, who informed Black thatthe unit was in fact installed as perthe requirements.However, after a mechanicalfailure was eventually found in theunit, it was cleaned and repaired, which should have resolved any air transferral issues, Black said. After conceding that the amount of second-hand smoke odour had decreased, Vodden was sure to point out that it had not been eliminated. The landlord in question has not moved quickly on this issue according to Vodden, who says he is surprised that a landlord would not want to work with a tenant to solve this problem. “Any normal landlord would want to get to the bottom of this issue,” Vodden said. “He has studiously avoided anything that could bring this problem to light.” Vodden said that the landlord hascarefully avoided the issue and whenhe did come through the apartmenthe opened vents and closed vents,and told the other tenant not tosmoke in the apartment as a meansof fixing the problem.Vodden was not satisfied with this, saying that second-hand smoke is still traveling into his apartment from the adjacent unit aggravating his wife’s already fragile health. Vodden said he has taken the action to notify the manufacturer of the HRV, which is according to Vodden, the source of the air exchange between units, saying that they have now opened a file to look into his case. The manufacturer of the HRV unit’s website, according to Vodden, states that the company does not make any units for multi-family dwellings. This was a point that Vodden felt was rather cut and dried, that this unit should not be used in abuilding with more than one familyin it, period.Although he says he cannot affordit, Vodden has taken to rentinganother apartment because he saysthe conditions in his currentresidence are still unlivable. “I’ve rented another apartment. I can’t afford to, but I have to get my wife out of that environment,” Vodden said. “We have no alternative. I have to get Janis out of there. Her health is in the tank and we feel better already.” Although Vodden has yet to be satisfied with the outcome of Black’s investigation or the tribunal back in November, council felt that it had gone as far as it can. Several councillors commented that they felt that Black had gone the extra mile on this case and reeve Neil Vincent told Vodden that he thinks that council has gone as far as it can.Clerk-administrator Kriss Snellinformed council that in buildingcodes, HRVs have always been agrey area and that this case is noexception.“It’s particularly hard to interpret,”Snell said. “We have sympathized with [Vodden’s] situation. However, I think Dave [Black] has reasonable satisfaction that this is as much as he can do.” While the building may have been up to the code that was in place when it was first presented with a permit in 1998, things may be a little different now Black said. Black cited that there are already some issues in Portland, Oregon and in Winnipeg concerning this issue of second-hand smoke. Black said that from what he has heard, second-hand smoke in multi- family dwellings is going to be a big issue in the very near future. PAGE 20. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JANUARY 18, 2007. At Huron East’s Jan. 9 council meeting, the main event was the review of fees and charges, which were reported with little to no controversy. As reported by The Citizen and made available on Huron East’s website, there was a presentation on the review of fees and charges on the evening of Jan. 9 in Seaforth. Rates discussed were water and sewage rates, building permits, fire inspections and waste management. As discussed, water rates were raised as of Jan. 1, 2007 in Brussels 46.34 per cent from $20.50 to an even $30. All other municipalities in Huron East saw similar hikes in rates as well. Huron East treasurer Brad Knight said in his presentation that the rates are operating on a 2:1 ratio. This means that for every dollar of operating costs, a dollar goes to cover the operating costs with another dollar going to cover existing capital debt as well as distribution upgrades. Knight said that this ratio to cover debt will not last forever and that perhaps in five or six years rates will be reviewed again and perhaps they can be dropped to a ratio of 1.5:1. However, that is something that would have to be reviewed at that time by council. Rates were compared to those of adjacent municipalities with Clinton and Exeter coming in way over what Huron East has proposed for Brussels and Seaforth at $49.81/month and $39.25/month respectively. However, rates in Goderich and Wingham were compared and come in lower than those of Brussels at $27.57/month and $18.00/month respectively. In order to put things in perspective, nearing the end of the water and sewage portion of his presentation, Knight got creative and compared the rates to a cup of Tim Hortons coffee. With a small coffee at Tim’s coming in at $1.13, and 24 hours of Brussels water availability coming in at 99 cents a day and sewer coming in at $1.04 a day, council found these rates to still be rather affordable even after the significant raise. A slight adjustment was proposed to the bag tag fee in Brussels. The fee was to be adjusted from $1.50 to $2 in order to bring it even with the other municipalities in Huron East. However, since the Brussels system is linked to the Walton landfill site, Knight said that it would only make sense to leave the fees the way they are. There was some discussion by Seaforth councillor Bob Fisher as to whether bag tag fees should go up along with the amount of bags to be thrown out. Fisher’s thoughts were that perhaps after three bags of waste that the bag tag price would go up to $3 a bag and so on. McKillop councillor Bill Siemon disagreed with this, not for environmental reasons, but with thoughts that people would go to lengths to avoid buying bag tags if the price was raised. Siemon’s concern was an increase in illegal dumping if Fisher’s idea was put into practice. “I think if you went to $3 a bag, you’d start finding [bags] in the bush somewhere,” Siemon said. There was also discussion on building permits and inspection fees. The discussion was spurred on by Fisher and renewable energy enthusiast Brussels councillor David Blaney with thoughts on waiving fees for people installing solar panels and wind generators in order to encourage environmentally sound practices in Huron East. This was a discussion that took on all kinds of issues as far as legalities and liability and questions about how much commercial potential there is in renewable energy. Blaney insisted that there is some potential and that he would like to see these fees waived for renewable energy installations in both private and commercial settings. Tuckersmith councillor Larry McGrath agreed and offered that perhaps when these types of energy generators are installed, to get a clearance from the engineer that it is installed correctly as opposed to a permit. This was something that deputy- mayor Bernie MacLellan said was “The best argument that I’ve heard yet [in this issue].” However, with the chief building official Paul Josling absent for this discussion, many of the questions remained unanswered and the issue was deferred until the next meeting where Josling would be present. Second-hand smoke issue comes to council Huron East council reviews fees, charges Looking for local heroes There are so many people out there who do so much to improve their community. Now you have a chance to say thanks. Nominate that special person for the 22nd Annual Citizen Citizenship Awards. Each year a committee chooses an outstanding citizen from each of the Blyth and area and Brussels and area communities to receive an award for contribution to the community. If you know someone you think should be honoured, please fill in the ballot and send it in. You may attach a longer explanation of why you think your nominee should win, if you like. If you have nominated someone before and he or she didn't win, please feel free to try again. I nominate as Citizen of the year for I feel she/he deserves this award because Nomination Deadline March 31, 2007. Name and phone number of nominator ❑❑Blyth & area ❑❑Brussels & area By Shawn LoughlinThe Citizen By Shawn Loughlin The Citizen BE A FACE IN THE FIGHT AGAINST CANCER BECAUSE CANCER IS IN YOUR COMMUNITY, SO ARE WE. Your donation is needed to fund life-saving cancer research and vital support services for people living with cancer. Please give generously when a Canadian Cancer Society volunteer knocks at your door this April. www.cancer.ca HELP US MAKE CANCER HISTORY.