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The Huron Expositor, 1990-02-07, Page 1Graduates — A7 Obituaries — A5 Hensel) — A7 Sports--A13-A15 Births — A20 i ntorl reiids 'lean o the nostalgic See A"9-Al2, Serving the communities and areas of Seaforth, Brussels, Dublin, Hensel) and Walton Huron xpos1 Seaforth, Ontario HURON EXPOSITOR, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 1990 50 cents a copy Ministry position clear on Huronview -Riddell BY BILL HENRY Ontario's minister of community and social services will not meet formally with Huron County officials to discuss their confusion over the Huronview Redvelopment Project, because the ministry position is "very, very clear," Huroh MPP Jack Riddell said Monday. Riddell said the Ontario government has agreed in principle to pay 50 per cent of "the approved costs" of building two new homes for the aged in Huron, one at the Clinton site and one near Brussels. "I just don't see how there can be any doubt whatsoever about the ministry stance," the MPP said. But at Thursday's county council meeting, several councillors were deman- ding a meeting with Charles (Seer, minister of community and social ser- vices. They said only Beer could iron out confusion over how the province would fund the project and whether renovation remains an option in the face of doubling new construction costs. NO TIME TO CHAT "He (Beer) feels as I do. Our position is very, very clear...He hasn't got the time to sit down and chat with them." Riddell said Monday. He also said renovation has always been an option open to the county, but since new construction has already been approved, any plan now to renovate in- stead would mean a reapplication for ministry funds. He also said he could not promise approval. "New construction is the way council decided to go," said Riddell. But Bayfield Reeve Dave Johnston, who was warden in 1989, said council on- ly chose to build new buildings after ministry officials ruled out renovation. "Mr. Riddell is saying that we're in charge, but we're only in charge of what they're willing to fund." "He (Riddell) seems to be of the opi- nion that county council doesn't know where they're going, and I'm not sure he does," said Johnston. "His statement makes us look like donkeys." Without knowing What happens to the existing facility, and who would pay to either renovate it for a new use or tear it down, county council can not reach a final decision about building the new facilities, Johnston said. NEXT STEP LS HURON'S Meanwhile, council was told Thursday that ministry officials say the next step is for council to approve a detailed plan with accurate costs for further ministry approval. Current estimates say the two sites, which will each feature independent liv- ing apartments for 20 people, as well as private facilities for residents requiring extended care, could cost as much as $22 million. Johnston said renovating Huronview's buildings for another use could add millions to the that total cost. Taking those added costs into consideration could make renovation of the existing site more feasible, he added, but the county has stopped exploring that possibility at the ministry's instruction. "We were told it was out of the ques- tion. When someone tells you that, do you spend a lot of time looking at renovating?" The ministry has agreed that demoli- tion costs would be equally shared bet- ween the province and the county, should Huron council decide to do away with the Turn to page 19A • NEW YEAR'S BABY - Finally after more than a month of waiting, the Seaforth Community Hospital has its New Year's baby. Sarah Belangi itl-daughter of Wayne Belanger and Cin- dy Duff of RR 5 Seaforth, was the hospital's first baby of the new year, and first baby of the new decade. She arrived on the scene at 1:05 a.m. Saturday, February 3, 1990, and tip- ped the scales at 5 lbs., 10 ois. Young Sarah is seen here with her parents, and her new sister and brother, five-year-old Melissa and three-year-old Mike. Robinet photo. T nckersmith council unimpressed with restructure g pions At this week's meeting of Tuckersmith Municipal Council, members advised Coun- cillor Larry McGrath to report back to the arena board on Tuckersmith's non- acceptance of the 1990 proposed Seaforth and District Arena budget. Council is seeking more particulars on the capital expenditures budget, set at $11,500. Concerns were also expressed about the projected reserve fund. Over budget by $10,000, the arena board is pro- posing a $9,500 amount for the fund. "That defeats the purpose of a reserve;" said Deputy Reeve Bill Carnochan. "When you're under budget, I don't mind it going to a reserve...but not when you're over budget." Councillor McGrath said that acceptance of the 1990 arena budget had been "..nip and tuck down to the wire." Originally, Tuckersmith and McKillop townships had objected to the reserve fund, but McKillop ended up coming in in favour of the amount. It was noted that the arena appears to be going into deficit spending and budgeting their reserve into this, precipitating a year-to-year budget increase. "I don't think that there's a community centre between here and Detroit that breaks even, though," remarked Councillor McGrath. The reserve fund is currently being held in trust by the town of Seaforth for the rest of the municipalities, each of whom have claim to 13.5% of the fund - including accumulated interest - at any time. The insurance on the Seaforth and District Arena has been upped to $2,609,000 from $1,607,800, and Arena staff received wage hikes ranging from 6 six to seven percent. The board also appealed to the townships, asking to draw money from them at more frequent intervals throughout the year. The arena is drawing the money to run the facilities from the municipalities, but is being hit with high interest rates. The board estimates that they could save up tq $2,500 in interest charges if the money from the townships was up front. Currently, the arena board draws payment from the town of Seaforth four times per annum, from Tuckersmith three times a year, and only twice a year from the smaller townships. It is re- questing that payments from all townships be collected four times per year. The arena will be running a free public skating program on a trial basis for the remainder of the winter, asking local mer- chants and organizations to donate the ice time. Exeter reportedly tried the idea out to make up for lost revenue, and found that public skating participation increased from 25 or 30 people to a couple of hun- dred. Councillor McGrath said that three ,;or four businesses have already expressed interest in sponsoring ice time. ""He's got good response in Seaforth on it, so far, but it's just on a trial basis," he Local real estate "Seaforth has always been a good steady market," says local real estate broker Henry Mero, "and I certainly don't see any decrease in sales coming." This sentiment was voiced by all three of the real estate agencies in Seaforth, heralding a healthy year to come on the market. In a business where 20 percent of the salespeople make 80 percent of the money, 100 percent of the town's real estate agents have had a busy 1989. Maureen Wildfong, sole salesperson for the moment at Culligan Real Estate, reports that 76 pro- perties were sold out of the office last year. This compares to 78 sales in 1988, but the value of the properties being sold has increased dramatically over this two- year period. "What sold for $45,000 is now $65,000," says Henry Mero, adding that her's " never had a year under one million (in sales)." Henry Mero worked for 12 years with Harold Workman before branching out on his own, taking a year off beforehand to obtain his broker's license. Consequently, he "..missed out on last year's boom." With the high interest rates slowing down the market considerably in the ear- ly 1980's, the home -buying public more than made up for the lag. "Residential properties have been taking a fairly dramatic increase," Henry Mero notes. Less expensive properties - homes in the $45 -$70,000 range - are especially in demand in the area, and the locals are snapping up these homes. "Everybody wants property under $100,000," affirms Mclntee Realtor sales representative Sharon Medd. Any homes in the 60, 60 or 70,000 dollar range are bound to go quickly, often within a day or two, but most properties under $100,000 are fast "healthy", busy year predicted ONE OF THE FAST MOVERS - Seaforth's real estate industry is in healthy shape. agents say. This home on John St. sold two and a half days after it was listed, Elliott photo. movers in the Seaforth area. Any and all bungalows, one -floor homes, are hot items. Larger, older homes with renovation possibilities, commonly known as `fixer - uppers', are getting harder to come by in Seaforth and area. According to Maureen Wildfong, most of these older homes have already been updated and extensively renovated over the recent years. As the cost of materials rises, more and more people are beginning to realize that renovation is a costly endeavour - figures in the tens of thousands are not unusual, with bathroom renovations alone sitting at an average of $10,000 - and are turning to newer homes requiring less elbow grease. The cost and convenience factor is a big determinant in many purchase decisions, agrees Sharon Medd. "That's the difference," she says. "leo you have to move in and remodel, or can you just move right in?" "Price dictates who's buying," states Henry Mero, when asked if out-of-town purchasers are looking to the older homes Turn to page 19A remarked. The arena board examined the pay equi- ty implementation guidelines, and found that they were not applicable to the staff. NEW PUMPER DISPUTED Councillor Rowena Wallace attended the last meeting of the Ausable-Bayfield Con- servation Authority, where the board was informed that the 1990 budget has been set at $2.1 million. This is down from the 1989 $2.2 million budget total. The percentage that the municipalities will be covering has been upped to 22% of this amount, or $305,000. An assessment formula will be us- ed to determine the actual amount that the separate municipalities will pay. Last year, the levy on Tuckersmith rounded out to about $6,000, and Councillor Wallace figures that the increase will mean an ex - Turn to page 19A . Second stage of waste report ready Copies of the potential areas and markets, identified by the Huron County Waste Management Master Plan Commit- tee in its Stage 2A Preliminary Report, are now available for public review. This report contains constraint maps of Huron County which identify areas suitable for further investigation in order to identify potential landfill sites. The Report also pro- vides information about markets for materials which may be recovered from the waste stream, outlines possibilities for future waste management administration, and discusses tentative considerations with respect to the appropriate components of a waste management system for Huron County. The Waste Management Master Play study was undertaken in June 1988 to develop a comprehensive, long term strategy for dealing with waste in Huron County. In May 1989 the Stage 1 Report, entitled "Data Collection" was completed. The Stage 2A Preliminary Report iden- tifies the positive and negative factors which are considerations when making recommendations with regard to the level of government at which the various waste management functions should be ad- ministered. To date, in the County of Huron, the responsibility and authority for waste managment functions have rested with local municipalities. In 1989 however, Bill 201 was enacted by the Province of Ontario enabling the County to assume the responsibility for any or all aspects of waste management, provided that it had the clear mandate of County Council. However, any transition to County respon- sibility would require that consideration be given to present arrangements and transportation costs. One component of the Waste Manage- ment study involves the analysis of alter- native methods for dealing with waste, in L order that a combination of methods most suitable for managing waste in Huron County be proposed. The Stage 2A Preliminary Report provides tentative con- siderations about these other methods which may be appropriate for inclusion as part of the waste mangement strategy for Huron County. Some of these alternative methods include; reduction, reuse and recycling; landfill; transfer stations; home composting; .centralized composting; waste export; and waste import. The information required to reach a decision regarding an appropriate location for siting a landfill is developed over the course of the Master Plan study. During Stage 1 weighting factors were developed for use in evaluating potential waste management facilities/systems, including landfill sites. This weighting system reflects community values regarding the importance of ensuring that various com- ponents of the environment are protected from potential impacts of a landfill site. It also considers several economic and technical concerns. As stated, during Stage 2A potential areas for landfills were determined. This was undertaken through constraint mapp- ing of exclusionary criteria. Mapping of ex- clusionary criteria identifies general areas in the County where it would be preferable not to locate a landfill site, for en- vironmental reasons. During Stage 2B a secondary screening process will be undertaken. This involves a detailed examination of areas shown to be without constraints, and identifies any site specific environmental concerns. Ideal- ly, one would locate a landfill site in an area where no environmental impacts would be felt. Since it is unlikely that such locations will be found, the process will also likely involve identifying areas which Turn to page 19A = Caterer still in business Contrary to the latest rumor, Velma Miller of Seaforth, has not gone out of the catering business. After over 30 years of pleasing the palates of Huron County residents, Mrs. Miller said last week that confusion over similar names, seems to have people thinking she is going out of business, or is handing over the reigns to someone else. "I don't want to make a big fuss, but I do want to squash that dang notion," said the 79 -year-old Mrs. Miller. 1 rm very much in business and no one else is accountable for my business,"