Municipal

Township aims for five-per-cent budget increase

By Liz Dadson

Huron-Kinloss is hoping to bring in a tax increase of five-per-cent or less.

Council took an initial stab at the budget Feb. 12 and was faced with some startling statistics.

Treasurer Jodi MacArthur reported that if the township were to continue with the same level of services as last year and bring in a balanced budget, the tax increase would be 15.63 per cent. In order to have a zero increase for 2010, council would have to chop $633,849.66 from the budget, she said....continue reading>>>

Kincardine TimesHuron-Kinloss had ambitious 2009 says mayor Twolan

By Liz Dadson

Last year was an ambitious one for Huron-Kinloss, with huge investments in infrastructure through grants from the federal and provincial governments.

"That was a big boost for the township," says mayor Mitch Twolan, reflecting on 2009. "We were able to put a lot of money toward much-needed projects." … continue reading »

By Liz Dadson

The announcement of the 2010 allocations through the Ontario Municipal Partnership Fund brought good news for Huron-Kinloss council.

The township stood to lose $647,500 in provincial grants next year, but treasurer Jodi MacArthur said Monday night (Dec. 21) that the province has implemented transitional assistance to ensure municipalities receive at least 80 per cent of their 2009 allocations… continue reading »

Mitch Twolan:

We have serious concerns about the direction this project is taking. There is a short term road-flooding problem in a few defined areas and the project as described seems to be beyond what is needed and may not be environmentally and fiscally responsible.

Short-circuiting the natural drainage process with its slow but effective filtration through the sandy soil between the road and the lake can only introduce more pollutants and debris into the lake water. Small filters in the drainage pipeline cannot hope to duplicate the effectivness of slow seepage through the ground, and will require on-going maintenance. At the very least, a full environmental assessment should be made, although it is always difficult to predict the full impact of interrupting natural processes: the larger the change, the greater the potential problems.

The last estimated cost we heard for this project was $300,000 (and this was before the addition of the filters). As huge as this number seems, it is unlikely that a project of this magnitude could be brought in for this amount. Also, the on-going cost for maintaining the pipe and filters cannot be ignored.

Installing the pipeline under the gravel will require prolonged and major inconvenience on a road that is so narrow that it is difficult for two cars to pass under normal conditions. ( As an aside, it is difficult to envision how the drains will allow the flood water to get from the top of the road to the pipe without bringing in significant amounts of gravel.) Digging the pipe trench could disrupt roots and kill roadside trees along the way. This could also mean digging on private property where it directly meets the road in some areas. … continue reading »