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The Lucknow Sentinel, 1986-06-25, Page 1ESTABLISHED IN 1873 "THE SEPOY TOWN" ON THE HURON -BRUCE BOUNDARY PUBLISHED IN LUCKNOW, ONTARIO WEDNESDAY, JUNE 25, 1986 16 PAGES 40c PER COPY a,ani--x=:u�v�.n...-..�.m-�.=,,.•�....o_�....y,�:._.-....�-,_-..r....ss-c:rr.�.......--.,.-,a �.zrru�."�......_..+z.im.. -c�s+d Kevin Austin of the Kingsbridge slow -pitch Hanover Flyers batter during a game .at weekend. Thirty-two men's teams and 16 team stretches for the ball in time to put out a the Sunimerfest Slow -pitch tournament last ladies teams competed in the tournament. [Sharon Dietz photo] Council orders tax increase By Alan Rivett In an effort to raise money for capital projects within the village, Lucknow council has withheld the passing of the 1986 budget in order to consider an across-the-board increase of the general mill rate. The proposed budget, presented by council at the June meeting, would have raised the general mill rate by three-quart- ers of a mill, or 5.1 per cent over last year's rate. However, council voted to delay the passage of the budget to raise the general mill rate up by one mill. Prior to council's decision to increase the mill rate, the 1985 general residential rate would have been set at15.717 up from 14.952 and the commercial rate would have been 18.491 up from 17.590 in 1985. Under the additional mill rate hike, residential increases on an average assessment of $14,000 would be increased by $65. The revised budget will be passed by council at their July meeting. Reeve Herb Clark said the increase was necessary in order to go ahead with renova- tions for the town hall basement and roof. Council had budgeted $36,500 for the project while the projected cost could be as high as $42,000. Councillor Ab Murray said an increase in the mill rate was definitely due as the generalmill rates in the town hadn't experienced an increase in seven years. "We've held and held, and if we held the mill rate (increases) back anymore we wouldn't have enough money for projects like roofing for the town hall. We've gone without around here for a long time and we could have a lot more than we have. We've kept the mill rates down for seven years," said Mr. Murray. Reeve Clark said the deadline for setting the budget is July 25 and the assessments will be in the mail 14 days before that date. Teachers favor strike action Over 88.3 per cent of Bruce County elementary teachers have voted in favour of strike action against the Board of Educa- tion. The decisive result of the June 18 secret ballot follows a breakdown in mediation earlier this month after the Board refused to change an offer the teachers had already rejected by 95 per cent. The teachers have been without a contract for 291 days. The Provincial Assistance Team, headed by the two Provincial Presidents Jeanne Milovanovic and Mary Hill, remains con- vinced that a negotiated settlement is within reach, A strike date has not been established. The teachers will contact provincial mediator, Norman Bernstein, to indicate their willingness to resume negotiations at any time. Diane Smith, president of the Bruce County Women Teachers' Association and Doug Goar, president of the Bruce District of the Ontario Public School Teachers' Federation, called the vote very strong proof that the teachers are not prepared to accept a decline in the quality of education because the board will not allow them to do the best job they can. "A strike can still be averted if the Board agrees to negotiate working conditions," Ms Smith said. Board supports new arena despite lack of funding by Sharon Dietz The Lucknow Arena Board plans to pro- ceed with the construction of a new arena despite its failure to obtain provincial grants to fund the project. At a June 18 meeting, the , Lucknow Arena Board which includes represen- tatives from the four municipalities which operate the arena, instructed Art Clark of Maitland Engineering Services Ltd. to prepare the proposal documents for a pro- posal call from contractors in September, followed by interviews with three contrac- tors who express interest in the project. The contract is to be awarded in January, 1987 giving the contractors two months to prepare the finished plans with approval of the final drawings by March of 1987. Con- struction is to start in May of next year. Clark said in an interview Friday phase 1 of the project calls for the construction of the front end service area and dressing rooms and phase 2 is the construction of the arena shell over the existing arena floor as the money becomes available. The third phase of the project is to complete the expansion of the arena floor when money is available. Clark said he hopes that the board will be in a position to proceed with phases 1 and 2 of the project at the same time next spring. He said it will be more costly for the contractor to work around the existing arena while constructing the new service area and dressing rooms and then work around the new service area while con- structing the new arena shell at a later date. The arena board and its fund raising committee have been unable to raise the local share of the funds for the project to qualify for provincial funding through a capital grant for new recreation facilities. The fund raising campaign launched last July has raised $140,000 to date including the money pledged by local service clubs and community organizations, money donated through a door to door canvass last November, conducted by the Lucknow Lions Club which is spearheading the fund raising and the proceeds from the Jam- boree 83 celebration which were earmark- ed for the project. According to C. M. Bud Bitton, recrea- tional consultant with the Hanover recrea- tion office of the Ministry of Recreation and Tourism, a capital grant for new recreational facilities was available in May, but Lucknow was unable to raise its share of the' funding and could not apply for the grant. The grant would have funded 331/3 per cent of the project which left Lucknow's share at $600,000 since the pro- ject is estimated to cost $900,000. Bitton said he was willing to allocate $300,000 to provide the ministry's share of the funding because he had made the Lucknow project a priority this year, but Lucknow's "$600,000 share was giving them a problem." Bitton said the Lucknow Arena Board was unable to apply for the grant because of the likelihood that the Village of Lucknow would not obtain Ontario Municipal Board approval for a debenture because it is presently funding a sewage project. There was also a lack of commit- ment from one municipality which had made a commitment to the project last year, but was unable to put in their share now. According to arena board member Rhea Hamilton, West Wawanosh Township Council could no commit the total amount requested for t project because they do not have the tax base to draw from that the other municipalities do. West Wawanosh agreed to commit $20,000 to the new arena if a majority of the board members voted to proceed with the project, said Hamilton who represents West Wawanosh on the arena board. The township at.. the same time committed $20,000 to the repair of the existing arena roof if that is the route the board decides to take. Bitton pointed out that under the capital grant for new recreational facilities, the project must be entirely new and it must be built at one time. If Lucknow decides to proceed in phases with the project, it would not be eligible for this grant, but could apply for the capital conservation grant which upgrades and repairs an ex- isting facility. The maximum grant on this type of project is $100,000 and the ministry will fund 331/3 per cent of the project. Bitton said neither grant will be available until next year because the total allotment for capital funds for this year is spent. Bitton said there is little chance the Lucknow project will receive provincial grants before they begin construction next spring. His ministry will not receive any new funding for capital programs until the beginning of the next fiscal year which is April 1, 1987. All of the money available for grants this year was allocated before the end of May and the programs were closed for this year. If the program is funded again next year, money will not be available until after the beginning of the fiscal year April 1. If Lucknow submits its application and has its share of the funding in place, the paper work could not be completed and the grant would not be approved in time to have the funds committed by May. Bitton said the capital grant program for new recreational facilities has been dor- •Turn to page 3 Arena news The chairman of the arena fund raising committee has written a reply to the editorial which appeared in last week's Sentinel. SEE PAGE 3. Extra -billing A Wingham area doctor, represent- ing other area physicians, attempts to shed more light on the controversy still brewing over the government's ban on extra -billing in a letter to the editor. SEE PAGE 5. Lottery This week's Complex lottery winners are announced. Did you win? SEE PAGE 11.