Loading...
Lucknow Sentinel, 2009-08-19, Page 3Lucknow Sentinel, Wednesday, August 19, 2009 - Page 3 Chantry Island is symbol of community Frem page 1 The federal gov- ernment has declared the bird sanctuary and lighthouse on it as surplus. It's been offered to Bruce County, but coun- ty council declined the offer in favour of the municipality. Saugeen Shores has already been negotiating the deal with the fed- eral government for several months. Chantry Island is a symbol of the community, Saugeen Shores Mayor Mike Smith said, and the restored light- house ig ht- house and keeper's house are an important part of tourism. Volunteers have spent massive amounts of time and energy restor- ing the buildings andpreserving-the marine history of the community, Smith said. An endowment from the Marine Heritage commit- tee will take care of costs "hopeful- ly in perpetuity" once Chantry Island becomes part of Saugeen Shores. "We want the Island," Smith said about the opportunity: to acquire the prop- erty and icon lighthouse. Brockton Mayor Charlie Bagnato raised the issue of lighthouses in other Bruce coun- ty municipalities. That list includes the Point Clark lighthouse in Huron -Kinloss, the Kincardine lighthouse, and lighthouses at Tobermory, Cabot Head, Flower Pot Island and Cove Island in the Nc . thern Bruce P ainsula. "We have to look 40 years down the road (at expenses). Maybe it's too much for a municipality. Should it be some- thing for the coun- ty?" Bagnato said. Kincardine owns its light- house and spends "significant" money on it, said Mayor Larry Kraemer. But the lighthouse • ` is a point of pride for the community. On ` the peninsu- la, volunteer groups organized as Friends of the individual light- houses take care of much of the maintenance and operation of light- houses that have been abandoned by the federal government. "One thing we can guarantee is we ` don't want to see (the lighthous- es) ihthous-es) disappear,,. said Mayor Milt McIver. Bagnato's sug- gestion. about put- ting lighthouse preservation on the county agenda got support from South Bruce Peninsula's mayor. "It's not a -prob- lem," Gwen Gilbert : said. "Bruce County Tourism promotes lighthouses and people travel throughout the county to see them," she said about spinoff ben- efits of the attrac- tions. Affordable housing Bruce county is eager to get more builders in on a housing incentive. The province . is kicking in $120,000 per unit for capital costs on eligible afford- able housing proj- ects. There's need across the county for reasonably - priced apartments, but housing man- ager Susan Earle said so far most applications have been from the Kincardine area. That's in part because of a semi- nar held in Kincardine last fall to explain the federal and provincial afford- able housing incentives, said Kincardine Mayor Larry Kraemer. He credits the municipality's economic devel- opment committee for picking up the ball and making housing a priority. Earle is now hoping for similar response from Brockton, Arran- Elderslie and South Bruce. She's encourag- ing developers and non -profits to get their applica- tions in to take advantage of the program. Applications go through the coun- ty to the province for approval. The main criteria is that projects need r to be ready to build within three months and devel- opers have to be prepared to sign a 20 -year agreement with the county, Earle said. The deadline for application is March 2011. The subsidy is allocated •by the province and available on a first come, first served : basis. Energy conservation Bruce county council is still debating whether to sign on with a consulting firm for a wide -reach- ing energy . conser- vation • program that will target 32 of its buildings. Amanda Kusick of Ainsworth con- sulting engineers gave council two options in her report oil a $59,000 feasibili- ty study. 1 1 1 The base project would cost just over $529,4504, yield $85,392 .worth of energy cost savings a year and take just over six years to pay back. That project includes a :huge lighting retrofit project to install compact flores- cents and LED exit signs, installing pro- grammable ther- mostats in build- ings and re -setting some pumps, fans and motors to save energy. The other option, with a $1.3 million price tag would add win- dow indow and door caulking, trans- former upgrades, and controls on some electric heat units. It would yield $140,081 in annual energy sav ings and take just under 10 years to pay back. Calculations for both options are based on getting energy retrofit grants from the Natural Resources Canada and Hydro One. Kusick recom- mends the 'enhanced' option, but said either one could be financed through reserve funds or through a loan. Energy sav- ings will cover the cost of the loan and Ainsworth's $16,000 a year monitoring fee, she told council, insisting that con- dition is guaran- teed. Once the project cost is paid back, the continu- ing energy savings go straight to the county. Ainsworth's guarantee of ener- gy savings means there's no finan- cial risk in the project, Kusick said. The compa- ny will pay for shortfall and allow the county to keep any savings that are greater than the study quotes. The ': retrofit. would take six to eight months' to complete and could begin this fall, :!Cusick said. County council wants more dis- cussion and a staff recommendation before making decision. Clerk treasurer Bettyanne Cobean said one advan- tage of the Ainsworth pro pose. is that it addresses all the energy conserva- tion' • [ issues at once. County staff don't have time among their cur= rent duties to take on : those retrofits at such a large scale, she said. Photo by Garit Reid A new event, the truck pull revved onto the day track at the Dungannon Fair Grounds on Aug. 8 with many powerful trucks seeing how far they could pull the heavy: weight. Dave Rutledge pulled his purple Chevy (Gin and juice)` 218 feet in the 5500 lbs. class. s tudio alor, sca dantelie sutton of studio C is excited to announce her lower price for en Vogue gel tail fills! $40 ...corm in and find out.why more & more people are switching from acrylic to our. gel nails... non toxic, odour free, flexible & strong... loop:your bast...who sadd !owls blinds ,'`r/{/. >iv.JdiOcsa1orista .net Lucknow 519.528-5068 a • This Week's Specials Augustl9to26 RONA RECYCLES PAINTS IL and 41. Site S200 67U Air .Conditioner Clearance Pries x$9 R1215 Fiberglas ae.i2 sq. R. $29.90 R2015 Fiberglas 49 sq.ft. X2.8.94 9 1/2" Moller Refills 2015o72 $1.39 each 24 x 24 Natural Diamond Pattern Stones $5.29 cin &.carry HENDERSON' 782 Havelock Mon. RONA 8 - 4 LONA St., Lucknow 519-528-3118 - FrI.7:30 - 5:30; Sat. .0•••0, GODERICH PAM( FLEA MARKET Previously field at Huron County Gadl ) Unique items including new & used, books, jewellery, golf clubs, toys, trading cards, .collectibles, produce & plants and more! For more info call 5244356 SUNYSaA 9amto3pm MI South Side Courthouse Alton Seeds c I I To QuaN1 Soft Red Winter Wheat for only .$500/t4flfle All the same standards as the other brands only less expensive. • Minimum 85% germination • Delivery available • Treated with dividend XL RTA • Bulk, totes, bags •`Cleaned and debearded • Same as certified Call Cam to order: 519.441.1041 (cell) 519.529.1041 (home) Alton Seeds can also look after your cleaning and fleeting needs Alton SINK'S ..: "keeping fanning profitable" . 85278 Lucknow Linc, RR 2 Lucknow, ON NOG 2H0