The Citizen, 2006-03-16, Page 18Mon. - Fri. 7-6:30;
Sat. 8-6:30, Sunday Closed
THE COUNCIL
FOR THE
MUNICIPALITY OF HURON EAST
Cordially invite you to an
OPEN HOUSE
in recognition of the
RETIREMENT
of
WAYNE DOLMAGE
(1980-2006)
on
Saturday, April 1st, 2006
at
Seaforth & District
Community Centres
122 Duke St., Seaforth
2:00 - 5:00 pm
Gift Presentation will occur at 4:00 pm
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PAGE 18. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, MARCH 16, 2006.
North Huron council briefs
Council selects architect for Memorial Hall
Alan Avis Architect will be work-
ing on the renovations to the Blyth
Memorial Community Hall, North
Huron council decided at the March
6 meeting. The cost of the installa-
tion of an evac-trak was not included
in the project at this time as recom-
mended by the recreation and facili-
ties committee.
***
Scott Tousaw, director for Huron
County planning and development
said the department is focusing on
water protection, economic develop-
ment and waste management. "We
had a public meeting regarding the
landfill site in Wingham, as you are
well aware," he said to council. "We
are hoping the expansion will [go
through] in the next 15 years."
***
Penny Nelligan from the Huron
County Health Unit said they are
currently working on a website that
would deliver health information
specifically to youth as well as offer-
ing a forum for youth to ask ques-
tions and seek answers.
***
Beth Ross from the Huron County
Library said she has recently been
named director of cultural services
as well as county librarian. Ross said
she is working on the relocation of
the Blyth Library which she hopes
will be complete in April. She is also
working on a county-wide doors
open event for this coming summer.
***
The Huron-Perth Children's Aid
Society will be given $500 by coun-
cil.
***
Hullett Central Public School will
be reimbursed for one hour of ice
time at the Blyth Community Centre
which was used for a silent auction
fundraiser.
***
A hazardous materials survey will
be conducted at the Wingham
Children's Centre for the approxi-
mate cost of $2,000 and will be con-
ducted by Alan Avis Architect.
***
The Wingham Playground
Committee will be given $5,000 for
the purchase of new playground
equipment. The amount will be
included in the 2006 budget.
***
Council decided 80 per cent of the
funds required for the Blyth Youth
Park must be received before the
project can proceed. The remaining
20 per cent must be allocated in
pledges, they decided, on the recom-
mendation of the recreation and
facilities committee.
***
Huron social services staff will be
meeting to discuss funding for the
Best Start program. A copy of the
results of a recent survey conducted
by the county indicating interest in
the implementation of an infant care
program in Wingham was requested
for the committee to review.
***
Council decided that the costs
associated with the development and
enforcement of a policy for the con-
trol of cats would be cost prohibitive
at this time.
How much ambulance funding is coming?
By Keith Roulson
Citizen publisher
When the provincial government
announced plans for new funding to
bring municipalities' share of ambu-
lance funding back to 50 per cent,
Huron County officials got excited.
As time goes by they're becoming
unsure just how good the news is.
"We thought 'yahoo!'," County
Treasurer David Carey told county
councillors at the March 2 meeting
of council. If Huron got enough
funding to bring their share of ambu-
lance costs back down to the 50 per
cent promised by the province when
the services was downloaded under
the government of Mike Harris, it
would mean $1 million to the coun-
ty.
But as information has slowly
leaked out, so has the excitement.
Carey said new information seems to
show the county might get as little as
$50,000 in additional money.
"The biggest problem is that (the
government's promise) is based
2003 figures," explained Warden
Rob Morley. The gap between the
original 50 per cent pledge and the
current reality has grown most in the
years since 2003.
In addition, said Carey, officials
don't know if the province funding
will meet 50 per cent of the costs of
paramedics with advanced care cer-
tification or only basic care.
Bluewater councillor Bill Dowson
worried that the pot of money for
ambulances may not get divided
evenly. "I think we're going to be
proportioned out like that gas tax,"
he said of the additional money to
municipalities from gas tax revenue
that ended up going much more
heavily to large urban areas. "I think
toronto will get most of it. We may
get $50,000."
Whatever the amount of money
the county gets, Goderich Councillor
Deb Shewfelt wanted to make sure
the money was spent to lower taxes.
Local taxpayers had already paid for
the extra costs of the ambulance
service, he said, and any money
from the province should go toward
reducing that tax burden.
On the urging of Warden Morley,
Carey agreed he would inform coun-
cil as soon as the amount of funding
was known and councillors will then
decide how to ensure the money
goes to reducing future taxes.
Landfill neighbours must be accommodated
By Keith Roulson
Citizen publisher
Neighbours of the North Huron
landfill site near Wingham must be
convinced they can live with the
operation before it can become a
long-term solution to the county's
waste management needs, a county
planner says.
"We have to convince them
(that) it is necessary we make the
neighbours happy," Senior Planner
Scott Tousaw told county council-
lors at their March 2 meeting, report-
ing on meetings held in Wingham
and Exeter into the possibility of
making the landfills in the two cen-
tres serve the surrounding communi-
ties.
At the Wingham meeting some
neighbours were quite vocal in their
concerns, Tousaw said but this was-
n't unexpected since the landfill site
is commencing an environmental
assessment to allow for expansion.
Residents were worried about opera-
tion of the existing site as well as the
possibility of expansion, Tousaw
said.
Wingham, if it agrees, would not
be expected to accept garbage until
2015-2020 when neighbouring
municipalities run out of space, he
said. _
Despite the fact the Wingham
landfill is located in an old gravel
pit, it is well equipped to be a land-
fill, Tousaw told council_after one
councillor worried about the
possibility of seepage from the
site.
In a manufactured landfill a
metre of clay is put under the
landfill to prevent seepage,
Tousaw explained. North Huron's
consultant was., at the meeting and
revealed there's a layer of clay from
seven to 15 metres deep under the
site.
County council briefs
Ambulance service completes inspection
Huron County's ambulance serv-
ice has completed its accreditation
inspection with very few require-
ments for approval.
"We were the second service in the
province to be reviewed under the
new format," ambulance manager
David Lew told councillors at the
March 2 meeting of county council.
"It is far more stringent on docu-
mentation."
The review made 21 recommenda-
tions, the majority off them very
minor, Lew said. Huron County's
ambulance service has met all the
requirements well in advance of the
necessary deadline, he said.
***
A Howick Twp. farmer is going to
get a whopping bill for damaging
county roads in the area.
County engineer Don Pletch
explained that a manure tank with
aerator teeth had pulled out of a field
without the aerator teeth properly
raised. The driver of the machinery
then proceeded 8km down County
Rds. 7 and 28 leaving gouges in the
surface ranging from 20-88 mm
deep.
An independent asphalt specialist
retained by the county estimated it
will cost $100,000 to repair the dam-
age.
North Huron councillor Doug
Layton asked what the chances were
of collecting the money.
"When you can follow the trail to
the field it's pretty obvious (who did
it)" Pletch said.
"I think it's up to the farmer's
insurance company (to pay)," said
Ben Van Diepenbeek, councillor for
Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh.
"And don't let them off the hook."
***
The cultural services and seniors
committee offered support in princi-
ple but no money for a Goderich
group creating a Veterans Book of
Honour.
Jim Rutledge, chair of the
Veterans Book of Honour commit-
tee, appeared before the committee
at its Feb. 9 meeting to seek finan-
cial assistance to bring the bdok, to
be titled Our Men and Women of
Honour to completion.
The committee offered "in-kind"
support to the project.
"There was no discussion of
money changing hands," explained
committee chair Rosemary
Rognvaldson. "We will offer support
in research at the library as we
would for other projects."
***
The committee supported a resolu-
tion from the Cambridge city coun-
cil calling for the province to update
its funding formula for libraries. The
resolution noted that libraries have
faced a 37 per cent decline in provin-
cial funding since 1995.
***
A committee-of-the-whole
motion to construct a single-bay
ambulance station in the Brussels
area to improve response times
Morris, Huron East and Howick
areas was tabled at the committee
meeting.
The Brubachers of Ethel
Restaurant & Bakery