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Times Advocate, 1992-01-08, Page 1PITL"`I•IN AND RECYCLE! Gaieer.Kneale Insurance Service Experience & Value 235-2420 Vandalism Suspect charged by police page 2 No North Minister cancels visit page 2 Canadian Carvers in Lucan Page 5 _Levee Stephen starts its 150th year page 7 From Sweden Bantams in Huron Pprk page 14 Perfect attendance so far EXETER - One of the criticisms of Exeter Town Council raised in November's municipal election was that very few meetings saw full at- tendance from council. In fact, it was shown that in 1991, there were only three meetings be- fore the election with all council ---tnetttberspresent. For the record, it appears the new council is on its best behavior so far. Aftcr the first three meetings since the election, perfect aucn- dance has been seen at all. This record may soon be spoiled once the -winter vacation time takes its toll on councillors heading south. Building rate nearly halves EXETER - With what can only be described, as a drastic slump in the construction market, Exeter's building official presented the to- tals for 1991's permit report -at Monday's council meeting. Dave Moyer reported that build- ing starts in Exeter in 1991- added up to an assessed value of $4.78 million, considerably boosted by December's start on the new Royal Bank building valued at 5475,000 (exterior construction only). In sharp contrast, 1990's con- struction values totalled at some S8.2 Million. However, the number of actual permits issued during the year was not down by much. The building department issued 212 permits for new buikhiigs, additions, and dem- olitions in 1991, slightly down from 1990's total of 271. Holiday RIDE statistics released EXETER .: The Exeter Police De- partment have released statistics on. their 1991/92 RIDE program (Re- duce -Impaired Driving Every- where). Of the 1,543 vehicles that were pulled over at the police's roadside stops during the holiday season, four people were arrested for.driv- . ing -with over 80 mg of alcohol per Titre of blood. The police also is- sued fo4r 12 -hour license suspen- sions and conducted six roadside ALERT tests. • Another 61 motorists were given warnings about permit discrepan- cies or detects in their cprs. The police sa3, that even though the holiday mason is over, the RIDE .program As uot. police will congaed ,n . rod- s t atr r -;--mss d4lMlljbout, 1992 "in 4n :et%rt to meP uw ARNOtillsWotrtdI". 1 North Middlesex & Lamhton First baby of the year A New Year's baby was bom to Freda and Ralph Vanderwal of 'RR2 Lucan at •2:15 p.m. on January 1 at St. Joseph's Hospital. -'Michelle Nicole (Bibs 5oz) is the couple's second daughter, who also qualifies as the first baby bom to a Times -Advocate subscriber and -the winner of a selection of prizes donated by local businesses. tri Wednesday, January 8, 1992 Not a "freeze" 75. cents No new lots for Exeter as town reviews sf capacity_ genboom said at Monday's council a property owner told him a sevcr- ance"had .:been denied because a "freeze" was on in Exeter. When he asked town staff if this was the case -,-fie was told that development is 01l1 proceeding, but precautions arc being taken to ensure the ser- vice capacity of the sewage system is not exceeded. Town administrator Rick Hundey told council the town is "more or less getting its name on the list with - the ministry of the environ- ment for funding" of a sewage sys- tem expansion. Building official Dave Mor said there is no "official restriction on lot severances. ' "There is no freeze, they can make the application," said Moyer, but said Since the $400 fee is not re- fundable so the building depart- ment is advising potential develop- ers to wait to see what exact sewage capacity is available. When asked by reeve Bill Mickle - if restrictions existed "informally," Hundey replied by- saying staff have had to be honest and have ad- =vised properly owners to sitlll faiths- for (gisfor severances. "There are an awful lot of devel- opment possibilities everywhere," said Hundey, pointing out that there is plenty of land already zoned for all types of development possibili- tie&- but due to servicing capacity, it is not yet known if the town can accommodate any new severances or zonings. "There's not a development freeze from that point of view," said Hundey. Mickle then said irreparable dam- age may be done because of the use of the word "freeze" in a public meeting. "This hits the press and you can expect to sec a change in the way the development goes in this town," complained Mickle. Mayor Bruce Shaw agreed, how- ever, that the term "freeze" only ap- plies in a very limited sense. "We're asking people to put a lit- tle bitofdelay on it (development plans] until we. get everything ironed out," said Moyer. Shop locally, or shop More pressure from SoIi�Itor- cheaply, council debates �neral, u councils . r it is nobler > still e a Shop elsewhere and save a buck, or shop at home to save a business, ■ that was the question raised at police services board later EXETER - Town council has received some tersely - worded letters from the Ministry of the Solicitor Gen- eral, spelling out in no uncertain terms that the town is flouting the new Police Act by not conforming with the new regulation concerning the creation of a police ser- vices board for the town. Exeter, along with several other Ontario municipali- ties, is resisting the switch to a joint municipal/ provincial board on the grounds that the province will hold the majority of votes, leaving council without control over the cost of town policing. At the moment, .the police board is being run by three council.appointees: councillor Dave-Urlin, may- or Bruce Shaw, and deputy -reeve Lossy Fuller. A lsuer from the Solicitor General dated December 13 reads "With a population of 4297 citizens, Exeter is required...to establish a three-member Police Services Board consisting of...a) the head of the municipal council, -or another council member appointed by reso- lution of the council, and....h) two persons appointed by the Lieutenant Governor in Council." Another alternative is to choose a five member board, but as Shaw pointed out, the province would again hold the majority of votes.. " ;!- said -Fuller, of couac l'sixev ous-decj- sion to ignore the new requirements. "Let's face it, we have to have some kind of body to oversee police services in this town," said Shaw, sug- gesting council continue with its own nominees. counts, Hoogenboom pointed out Urlin said he had heard rumours that some had ap- that the lawn's police unifonns arc plied for the appointed positions advertised by the min- drycleaned by an outside -Exeter istry• company, even though a dry clean - Reeve .Bill Mickle said the whole prospect of not er operates an outlet in town. providing- free policing to municipalities under 5,000 Hoogenboom likened the situa- population is unfair in Ontario. tion to the concern over cross - "If they feel the need to put provincial appointees on border shopping, and argued that this board....then council has to be solely responsible consideration should be given to a for the final figure on the budget, or the province ,pompany' which pays taxes to the should be paying for policing in this town," said Mick- town, a company which also pro- le. Vides charitable support The reeve noted that the board of education receives donatiorjogram each 78 percent provincial funding, taming it the right to � have the final say on policy, but he said the town payk____ / 82 percent of the cosi of police services. "I think we should sit tight...that's my position and I'm staying with it,". said Mickle. Councillor Ben Hoogenboom asked how the fight against the new Act is going in the rest of the- province, and Mickle said more municipalities are joining. in. "More people are beginning to realize that what we have been saying has been snaking a lot of sense, and wish they could reverse their decisions," said Mackie. Shaw said that u+atikits oa1Qa "gunfightThouncil should continue with its own appointees to nm the board. council's Monday meeting by coun- cillor Ben Hoogenboom. In looking over the town's ac - to a coat year. - -" companies vre.shouldsupport," said Hoogen- boom. Police committee chairman Dave Urlin pointed out the town's overall policy is to give preference to local businesses as long as the price is within ten percent. "Those prices were well, well above ten percent," said Urlin,. ex- plaining the choice for the out-of- town contract. "You talk dirty about saving the town money, that's what we're- do- ing," said Urlin. Mayor Bruce Shaw asked how often the prices were compared, aro Urlin said they arc checked each year.