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The Times Advocate, 2008-11-26, Page 22 Times -Advocate New Lucan elementary school site By Ben Forrest TIMES -ADVOCATE STAFF LUCAN Lucan Biddulph council ap- proved a site plan Nov. 17 for a new el- ementary school that will replace two exist- ing schools and may draw students from a third. The new school, which will be located on Beech Street in Lucan, is slated to begin con- struction before year s end, said Lucan Bid- dulph public works manager Steve McAu- ley. It will replace Lucan Public School, Bid- dulph Central Public School, and may also draw students from Prince Andrew Public School near Denfield. Council approved the general layout of the property, which was altered due to concerns raised by the Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority. There is a regional flood plane at the south end of the property, and though the building itself was not slated to be located in the flood plane, a portion of the parking lot was, said McAuley. In the event of a severe storm, four inches of rain could flood over Beech Street at the property s south end, meaning dry access to the building could not be guaranteed. It was decided the school building would be moved to the north end of the property, out of the flood plane. A second culvert may be added to the south end of the property to address potential flooding issues. The cost for a second culvert would likely be between $30,000 and $50,000, McAuley said. Council approved the site plan on the condition that the municipality s fire chief review the plan to ensure that access to the property for emergency response workers would be adequate. The population of the school is expected to be roughly 348 students. Sewer upgrades possible Lucan Biddulph is in the process of draft- ing an application to the Building Canada Fund (BCF), which may allow for upgrades to Lucan s sewage plant. The BCF provides monies for infrastruc- ture projects, with one third coming from the federal government and one third from the provincial government. The remaining third is provided by the recipient municipality. McAuley said Lucan Biddulph is applying with the hope of addressing a filter issue and increasing the capacity of the Lucan Pollu- tion Control Plant, located on Allen Drive. Increased capacity at the plant is needed due to growth in Lucan, McAuley said. We would like to expand the plant, and we could do it with some modifications to some of the equipment there without doing the whole plant, he added. Though McAuley said he has not seen the final estimates for the project, he anticipates it would cost close to $1 million. If the BCF grant comes through, the munic- ipality would begin necessary studies right away, though it is difficult to know when construction would start. We d like to [begin] next year if we can get the studies in place, McAuley said. Museum curator Discussions continue about the hiring of a curator for Lucan s Heritage and Donnelly Museum. Mayor Tom McLaughlin told council Nov 17 an official from Fanshawe Pioneer Village was consulted, and that it may be early Feb- ruary before a curator can be found. ABCA budget increase slated for 4.96% Continued from front page project was in reaction to a growing prob- lem of "renegade" ATV riders driving on land and causing damage. While the ABCA has an agreement with an ATV club out of Parkhill which states club members can ride on ABCA trails, there are many non -club members who drive on the trails, as well as other forested and agricultural property when they aren t allowed to. The ABCA intended to hire the OPP or oth- er agencies to catch and fine those renegade riders. Prout said the ABCA gets blamed by pri- vate property owners who see their land damaged by ATVs. The $20,000 for the project was reduced to $5,000 on a suggestion by Bluewater director George Irvin, who said the expense should be deferred until the province and munici- palities come up with consistent legislation regarding ATV use. With the reduction to $5,000, Prout said the ABCA will now take less of a leadership role in dealing with the problem and will look more to partnering with municipalities. After October s budget deliberations, the proposed budget increase for the ABCA was 10.4 per cent. With the reduction to 4.96 per cent, Prout now plans to visit the member municipalities to speak to councils about the 2009 budget. With draft approval from the ABCA board of directors, the budget will now go to the municipalities. Other ABCA news: Exeter Dam study Water and planning manager Alec Scott updated the board on the public meeting held Oct. 23 in Exeter to receive public input on whether or not the Municipality of South Huron and the ABCA should go ahead with an environmental assessment to study the future of the Exeter Dam. As previously reported, the study would cost South Huron $30,000, minus a 50 per cent grant available through the ABCA. The issue of the dam arose after the municipality received complaints about unsightly green vegetation (duckweed) growing in the Aus- able River at the dam. The study would identify the cost to the municipality for a variety of options regard- ing the future of the dam, such as continuing to maintain it or decommissioning it. Scott said comments from the meeting show members of the public don t want the dam removed. He said the ABCA is waiting to hear back from the municipality on whether or not the study will go ahead. "We re kind of in limbo now," he said. 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Wednesday, November 26 2008 Upper Thames CA plans $13 million project By Scott Nixon TIMES -ADVOCATE STAFF EXETER While the Upper Thames River Conservation Authority (UTRCA) has proposed a four per cent budget in- crease for its member municipalities, a new $13 million building for the UTRCA will see municipalities paying more mon- ey if the project goes ahead. UTRCA general manager Ian Wilcox spoke at South Huron council s Nov. 17 meeting, where councillors learned South Huron is slated to pay $5,272 in its an- nual levy to the conservation authority, an increase of 4.2 per cent, or $210, over last year s levy. Lucan Biddulph will pay $6,796, a 5.7 per cent, or $366 increase over the 2008 levy. The UTRCA budget is expected to be approved at a February meeting. The 2009 proposed average municipal funding increase of only four per cent is significantly lower than the increase in the previous two years, which saw an in- crease of 12.1 per cent in 2007 and 14.8 per cent in 2008. Those increases were part of the UTRCA s goal of achieving municipal funding of 30 per cent of the authority s budget (the provincial average is 32 per cent, while the UTRCA was receiving only 23.5 per cent from municipalities). Wilcox said the increase in municipal funding has led to stabilized staffing and services. But municipalities will see additional expenses to the UTRCA if plans for a new building go ahead. The conserva- tion authority s current headquarters at Fanshawe Conservation Authority is 40 years old and, while there was an addi- tion put on in 1980, the building was only designed for 30 staffers; there are now 50, Wilcox said, adding the UTRCA ran out of space 15 years ago. "There s no place left to go," he said. The new building is slated to cost $7.5 million, plus $1.5 million for an energy efficient design that will be recovered in 10 years through reduced energy costs. There is another $3 million budgeted for "ancillary costs" such as parking and land- scaping, architectural fees, demolition, moving expenses and furnishings, plus $1 million for an entrance relocation. With a 50 per cent provincial grant, South Huron would pay $15,113 towards the building; without the grant, the cost would be $30,225. In both scenarios, the costs would be financed over eight years with 5.43 per cent interest. Lucan Bid- dulph is slated to pay $18,891 with a grant and $37,781 without a grant. The City of London will pay about $5 million if the project receives a 50 per cent grant, or $10 million if there is no grant. While the project doesn t have approval yet, the UTRCA is asking for $3,778 from South Huron in 2009 for the building. Ap- proval for the building will be decided upon in February. Wilcox said the proposed costs are "worst-case scenario" fees and he expects the actual project to be cheaper than $13 million. Council made no decision regarding the UTRCA budget or the building proposal, but Mayor Ken Oke said council would let its representative on the board of di- rectors know its eventual decision. Coun. Tom Tomes said, "$13 million is one hell of a pile of money," adding he s against the costs, which he called exor- bitant, particularly with the shape the economy is in. Tomes asked what would happen if the province starts cutting back on conserva- tion authorities like what happened in the 1990s and the UTRCA no longer needs the space the new building would provide. Coun. Pete Armstrong added, "The numbers look somewhat horrid." Wilcox said the UTRCA is trying to be as efficient as possible with the proposed building and said the lower storey of the current building will remain, as the foun- dation and floors are in good condition. The top floor of the current building will be recycled and used for the gatehouse at the new entrance. Jig- HAY MUTUAEIW*iw PLEASE JOIN US FOR AN OPEN HOUSE CELEBRATION AT THE NEW HAY MUTUAL INSURANCE BUILDING LOCATED AT 37868 ZURICH-HENSALL RD ZURICH, ONTARIO ON THURSDAY, DECEMBER 4TH, 2008 2:00 P.M -7:00P.M. Best wishes only. (Donations of food items or unwrapped toys will be gratefully accepted for the Huron County Christmas Bureau.)