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Zurich Citizens News, 1977-12-15, Page 1FIRST WITH LOCAL NEWS THURSDAY, DECEMBER 15, 1977 , price Per Copy 20 Cents' until debates committee system You would never think that a communication gap could occur on village council but that was precisely the point that Reeve Fred Haberer brought up at the. close of Thursday's regular Zurich council meeting. Haberer wondered if the com- mittee system that is presently operating in Zurich should be overhauled or that the com- mittee system be dropped and all decisions for the village be made by council. Councillor Leroy Thiel had ex- pressed considerable disdain over the lack of information made available to him on the salary increases to town employees and the purchase of a new truck for the works depart- ment. During the discussion, Thiel suggested that specific dates for committee meetings be set so that a councillor who is not on the committee but may have some interest in matters that are to be discussed, be able to at- tend. In a remark that seemed to ex- press the interests of the other council members, Ray McKin- non said "I don't care what system you follow." Near the close of the discus- sion, Haberer said that the com- mittee system would give more attention to areas than the coun- cil system. Council agreed with a recommendation from the streets, sidewalks and drain committee that a three-quarter ton, four wheel drive pickup suitable for snow clearing operations be purchased for a price of approximately $11,000 dollars. Isadore Laporte and Haberer reported that a similar vehicle operated by the Village of Grand Bend did an excellent job of snow removal during the winter. In voicing opposition to the purchase, Thiel said "We, could be doing a lot of snow equipment renting for the cost which you're talking." A few minutes later Thiel quipped "You've got a lot of Cadillac ideas, fellows." In support of the purchase, Laporte pointed out the inade- quacies of the present system of snow removal with the tractor unable to perform a good job in certain parts of the village. ele one debentures approved by council In a meeting that was delayed one day due to the storm, Hay township council authorized the issuance of debentures in amount of $200,000 for improvements on the Hay Municipal Telephone system. An underground conduit system is to be constructed in Grand Bend so as to allow for the placement of new feeder cables when the village and outlying areas expand. Council accepted a petition from the, residents around the Datars-Mrner drain on con- cessions 12 and 13 that requested that the upper portion of the drain be cleared out. Prior to the commencement of work an engineers report will be con- ducted along with notification being sent to the Ausable- Bayfield Conservation Authority. In other council news, an ap- plication for a tile drainage loan from Grace Merner for $12,000 was approved. Authorization for the repair of the lower end of the Forrest - Thompson drain was passed. A motion from the township of Sandwich West calling for alterations in the Highway Traffic Act to allow the owner of a motor vehicle to be charged when violating school bus safety procedures was approved. Hay concurred with a resolution from the Zurich and Area Fire Board that specified a fee of $1000 should be paid by Hay and Stanley to the village of Zurich as compensation for the housing of the tank truck. Taxes in the amount of $2010 were written off: Joe Miller -$50, Ray Hartman -$180, Harry Hayter -$1170 and Walter Ver- munt-$610. Council plans to pay for the vehicle over a two year period. A recommendation from the Zurich and Area Fire Board call- ing for $1,000 to be paid to village for the housing of the tank truck purchased by Hay and Stanley for fire protection was accepted. Recreation committee chair- man Claude Gelinas said that "The construction at the arena is just about at a standstill." The work at the front portion of the arena has been rescheduled for spring while the construction of new dressing rooms is progress- ing slowly. In other council news R.J.T. Holdings Incorporated informed council that the plans submitted originally for sewage and water works for a proposed subdivision off of East street have been deemed to be inadequate and that new plans will be submitted some time in the future. The South Huron Veterinary Clinic was appointed the pound keeper for the village with responsibility for small animal control. A request from Paul Cyr con- veyed to council by Laporte ask- ing for an exemption from the in- stallation of the sewer at his boat repair shop was denied. Authorization for the purchase of Zurich souvenirs to be dis- tributed to members of a touring Swiss minor hockey team in ear- ly January was given by council. On a resolution from the Coun- ty of Huron calling for residency requirements for Senior Citizen's housing to be on a coun- ty wide basis rather that based on a local residency status, was approved by council providing that the grant in lieu of taxes which the village receives from the county for the Zurich Senior's apartments is not affected. Contrary to their Exeter counterparts, which took a resolution from the town of Paris calling for a global referendum on disarmanent and world order somewhat seriously, Zurich council had ordered clerk - treasurer Sharon Baker to file the resolution almost before the resolution had been totally read. Sandwich township's resolu- tion calling for the owner of a vehicle involved in a traffic offense against school buses to be charged was filed. In a remark that characterized coun- cil's reaction to the resolution, STANLEY MEETING — Residents of Stanley Township gathered at the Varna Community Hall to discuss the draft copy of the proposed secondary plan for that township last Tuesday. George Penfold of the Huron County Planning Department was on hand to answer questions that the residents had about the proposal. Staff photo Thiel said that "There must be other ways of creating safety." Several members of council pointed to possible instances where the driver of the vehicle might not have the permission of the owner and as such would have no control over the driver's actions. In keeping with the Christmas spirit, the village will be secur- ing a Christmas tree from Howard Theil and locating it near the village hall. STRIKE! — If all bowlers had the concentration of Greg Willert, 300 games would be common place. Greg was one of the many par- ticipants at the bowlathon held Sunday which should realize close to $900 to be used towards the purchase of a washing machine for ARC Industries in Dashwood. In the background are Ken Denomme, Jay Schwartzentruber and Don Beauchamp. The other bowlers taking part were Martin Gelinas, Dan Durand, Tom Dietrich, Jim Bedard, Tony Bedard, Bill Degroot, Rick Hoffman, Dan Durdin, Gerald Masse and Rick Masse. Staff photo Village employees receive six percent After a debate lasting 45 minutes, Zurich council finally authorized wage increases for their five full time employees and increases to be paid to coun- cillors for attendance at meetings. A six percent increase which had been suggested by the Anti - Inflation Board as the maximum which they would permit was the guideline used by the finance and property committee in deter- mining the increases. In the case of clerk -treasurer Sharon Baker, Arena Manager Jerry Rader and Works Depart- ment head Carl Thiel the wage increases were rounded upwards slightly, in the words of Ray McKinnon, chairman of the com- mitteeto keep the salaries in round figures." The salary of Charles Eckel, PUC manager was lowered slightly for the same reason while bookkeeper Helen McAdams' salary increase was not altered. "It should be six percent across the board", stated Leroy Thiel who thought that it was un- fair to lower the increment in one case and raise it in three others. A motion sponsored by Thiel calling for a straight six percent increase received little support from council and died on the floor. Subject to AIB approval, Baker will be receiving $10,400 per annum, Rader, $11,500, Thiel, $9800, Eckel, $16,200 and McAdams $6250. For regular council meetings the reeve will now_ be paid $5D per meeting up from $46, while councillors receive an increase from $42 to $45. The going rate for board or committee meetings goes up to $17 as compared to $15. The amounts payed for special day meetings and mileage for of- ficial village business remain the same. All increases are effective January 1 of the coming year. Storm stymies area Last week's first blast of winter brought Zurich and area to a virtual standstill as high winds and heavy amounts of snow combined to make area roads hazardous. A wide range of functions from the appearance of the theatre acts group of South Huron District High School at Zurich Public School to the open house at ARC Industries were cancelled. The conditions contributed to a less than expected turnout at the Stanley township secondary plan meeting last Tuesday evening while rural mail delivery was hampered. Businessmen reported that the snow storm came at a crucial time in terms of business with a heavy loss in Christmas shopping dollars resulting. Sporting events along with everything else were thrown off schedule with the Zurich-Hensall midgets having had two games cancelled last week. Readers and advertisers of the Citizens News are advised that there will be no paper published the week of December 26 and that notices and ads for that week should be placed in next week's edition.