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The Huron Expositor, 1990-05-16, Page 1f • :00itogi,e.s 4474; A10 , VckynCi.Efiriefp, AS 'Wegcling‘e,—, A4 Prfh.O.' Sports A0,-9 „„t4-407 'Serving the communities and areas of Seaforth, .Brussels, Dublin, Hensel! • .and Walton 3D 2 • i • Seaforth, Ontario WEDNESDAY MAY 16 1990 1 • 50 cents a copI AusabJe'oFEtcivfieid -outlines levy BY SUSAN tOORD Rebate'by not allowing the rebate to non - Due to increased ,pependitures 'and farmer land owners. The authority does decreases in governtent funding, the rent some of it agricultural land to Ausable-Bayfield ConSprgation Authority farmers. Cottage lots on authority proper- (ABCA) asked the ttutei Of Seaforth for an ty in the past were rented and many were increase of 21 Per- et ',in its municipal sold he current tenants to raLe money, levy. At conne.ire' Meeting ABCA although it meant loosing money over the general manager, To Prout, and vice- long term. Less authority agricultural land chairman, Joe Gibson, ;Were present to de- was rented since some of ABCA's 400 fend the increase. Prolkaidlined the needs acres is planted with trees. OMAF has for the increases ande showed how the discontinued some of its grants to the authority has managed to;lieep its levy re- authority and MOE has reduced some of quests down to an average of 14 per cent its grants. over the last eighteen years. In 1988 auto insurance rates increased, putting more financial strain on the authority. In'1990 the authority may have another insurance premium increase due to their company requesting risk management Practices. This means authority property with public access malt be better main- • tained to avoid personal ',injury lawsuits, or face higher insurance premiums. The new Health Tax, in which employers now pay full price for employee OHIP premiums, in 1990 cost the ABCA' $28,000. Women make • up fifty per cent of ARCA staff and many were awarded pay increases due to the Pay Equity legislation. The authority also now collects and remits provincial sales tax. The GST will bring, problems for AB - CA and will be time consuming for the authority to ledeer the tax and rebates. The AIWA lost $10,000 in revenue since the government reformed the Farm Tax • • Prout pointed out that the ABCA has made cuts to reduce its costs and has managed to reduce its original budget of $3.3 million to $2.1 million. He noted the last alternative' would be to cut staff not already affected by government cidbacks. Prout told council the authority has reduc- ed the standard of maintenance in the con- servation areas, although the decision has brought criticism. Capital equipment and structures are now, where possible, minimum maintenance and maintenance free designs. For example, the authority now uses picnic tables that are made of pressure treated wood. Some of the authority's mandates are legislated and can't be dropped from the budget. Prout said programs which do not receive federal or provincial grants are the first programs to be completely cut or reduced. In his notes and emilanatinnq !amid- ashiA the ABCA spent $11 Million on capital pro- jects since 1946, and noted that Seaforth had $237,507 worth of capital projects car- ried out by the authority. He pointed out the authority spends mere on capital pro- jects than what a benefitting municipality pays in their levy. Town council 'listened to the report. Councillor Gary Osborn asked Prout about building specifications for new houses built on the flood plain. Osborn said some of the houses were built with basements almost 3 meters above -ground and they were an eyesore to the street they are built on. Prout explained to council that the eleva- tion depended on the house's location in the flood plain. The authority is concern- ed with the height of openings and hydro outlets from ground level. It is the house owner's decision to have an in -ground, or above -ground. basement, or no basement. Osborn said town council should make a by-law forcing all new basements to be in -ground. Later in' the council meeting the town supported a resolution from the Township of Stephen to pay municipal levies in in- stallments that coincide with municipal tax due dates. They also supported two resolu- tions from Lucan and Exeter stating that the ABCA re-examine their budget, and that the cheque for the levy due April 1 be withheld until then, or the ABCA explain the high increases to the qatiakirtinn HOLDING! - Wayne Flan of the St. Columban men's soccer team encounters a bit of nasty opposition from a, London Spurs rival during Sunday afternoon's game. The locals played their first home game on the St. •Columban pitch, and downed • 40e,fsk a 0 The ,1 vestgat $edimifi! pinefiourj:. canikt*e.7 reports ',that awe the Seaforth got 04,0 how. Full details :0154 pending. the eomp vestigatiet.00fr�m— Of from out ly from theStratford party *long with discussion led to got 1140 .bis gee.and amok oil the propeify; eie to the crowd. A mariner of people ok kh7 d pit.aI for • 'euse had ben audenhi for a par • •)f centre 0e, lie 0 • . 4 • elgA..,ARtt; One scratch, one add for Celebrity Dinner Eleventh -hour line-up changes have been announced for Seaforth's Third Annual Celebrity Dinner, set for this Thursday night, and the final word has one new face added and one guest scratched from the list. Trevor Dam, Chicago Black Hawk signer and Captain of the London Knight's O.H.A. hockey team, will be a no-show for the din- ner, reports Community Centres manager Graham Nesbitt. Appearing instead of Dam will be Sebr- ingville's Ron White of the Stratford Cullitons, the 1989-1990 O.H.A. Junior "B" champions. White holds the record as the Cullitons' career point leader, and is the IVfid-Western Junior "II" career goal scor- ing leader, tying the league record with 67 goals. White is also a member of the Canadian Junior Mens' fastball team, and has ac- cepted a full scholarship to Ohio State University. ' Ile will be joining the ten other sports celebrities and M.C. Glen Creamer at the Seaforth and District Community Centres this Thursday evening, May 17. The gala gets underway with a social hour at 6 p.m., with dinner at 7 and speakers and a mini -auction beginning at around 8 p.m. Tickets are still available for $30 ($20 for students under 18). Small stairs are a big hassle The warm weather early last week was a blessing for most, but it ended up being a bit of a curse for builder Doug Webb and the new steps on the front of the Seaforth Post Office. Webb, of London, has been doing battle He had the second set of steps poured th with that particular set of stairs for about on the weekend, and the small job that two weeks now. After removing the iald turned into such a headache is now corn - steps with a jackhammer, he set up the pleted. Seaforth Post Office customers earl forms for the new concrete and poured it walk in the front door again, with piece et early last week. • mind, knotving that they won'tslip, on the However. the warm weather caused the stairs. steps to harden overnight, too soon for Webb to put a rough finish on them. He was forced to destroy the newly poured stairs and start the job all over again. e; • CROWNiNG GLORY and SUCK GETAWAYS- The 1990 Seaforth District High spring prom, Stairway 'to Heaven, saw Louie Glanville and Brad Carter crowned as Queen and King of the gala. Runners-up were Leanne Whitmore and Jason Dietz. Below, Meaghan Scot- chmere and Cheryl Schewan pal with their limo driver before speeding off in- to the night as the dock strikes mid- night. Limousines, are becoming a hot item at high school proms. Elliott photo. 41.