Rancorous discourse dominates North Huron Council's town hall meeting in Blyth
BY SCOTT STEPHENSON
Last Thursday, 110 North Huron citizens came out to the Blyth and District Community Centre in order to participate in their municipality's town hall public meeting. The annual meeting is the community’s chance to ask questions directly to the members of North Huron Council ahead of budget season.
Moderator Chris Watson, from Huron County’s Economic Development Department, explained some basic rules of decorum for the evening, and then invited members of the public to take turns coming up to a microphone to ask a question or speak briefly about a subject that they felt deserved attention from council.
Winter snow safety was of concern to a number of Wingham residents, as were overall snow removal policies throughout the municipality. Potentially over-sized plow blades were pointed to as a possible culprit when it comes to an on-going issue with damage caused by snow removal. The danger to pedestrians caused by uncleared municipal sidewalks was top of mind for a Wingham-based business owner, and Reeve Paul Heffer assured him that the township would work to rectify the situation.
Some North Huron citizens also took issue with the management of the trailer dumping station in Blyth. Complaints of poor upkeep, an unpleasant odour and misuse by out-of-towners were all brought up as dumping station problems, but members of the community also brought forth a few ideas that could improve the situation, namely, defraying the cost of operating the dumping station by installing a metered system that would charge customers based on use.
The future of the very community hall where the meeting was being held turned out to be a hot topic during the meeting itself. A number of residents asked council to clarify rumours swirling around a recent staff report that broached the possibility of moving Blyth’s library into the large space above the arena. Some expressed skepticism in the feasibility of such a move, and others asked if it wouldn’t be easier and more cost effective to build a new secondary building near the arena rather than renovating the second floor of an older building. Megan Lee-Gahan of the Blyth Kids Club expressed concern about potentially losing the club’s weekly meeting space, which they rent from the township on a weekly basis throughout the winter. “This is the space where hundreds of children come and enjoy themselves in a safe, friendly environment, making friends. If you take that away, where are our kids going to go?” she asked. Despite assurances from several members of council that this was just one of the possible options being considered at this time, it remained a point of contention throughout the meeting.
Local athletes advocated for optimizing the use of North Huron’s recreational facilities, including the baseball diamonds, which a number of people declared to be underutilized due to prohibitively high diamond rental fees. Joe Gahan, also of the Blyth Kids Club, expressed frustration at the difficulties he’s encountered while attempting to construct a proper soccer field for the children of Blyth. “It’s all just red tape,” he stated. The Blyth Campground was also brought up as one of North Huron’s hidden gems that could potentially earn revenue for the township, were they to increase advertising and invest more in nearby cultural events.
When Blyth resident Herman Mooy came to the microphone to calmly explain why he had quit his volunteer position assisting with the management of the Blyth Campground in the face of what he sees as recent mismanagement of the asset by the municipality, he said he disagreed with the decision to switch the campground’s payment method to a QR Code-based system, which he felt was not senior-friendly.
There were also concerns about the quality of the water in Blyth, the number of staff employed by the township, a lack of communication from council, and of course, the increasingly high cost of living in North Huron.
It was noted by a recent transplant to the area that North Huron seems to have some transparency issues in regards to official business like land transactions and the tendering of bids, citing the sale of Wingham’s airport as an example. Councillor Mitch Wright agreed with the man’s desire for more transparent governance, but explained that he had no insight on the airport issue. “That was before my time,” he told him.
At times, moderator Watson struggled to keep the meeting on track. A number of people spoke for far longer than the allotted minute, and occasional shouts and jeers were heard from the audience. The questions became increasingly pointed as the evening carried on, and a number of people voiced frustration at what they perceived as a lack of desire on the part of council to receive community input and help from potential volunteers. When the meeting was finally brought to a close, many of those who had been in attendance gathered in small groups near their cars or on front porches to continue the discussion.