HEATHER BOA Bullet News GODERICH – A brain-storming session between the county’s director of planning and lower-tier CAOs may uncover better ways to plan land uses across the county, a county councillor told the Committee of the Whole Day 1 yesterday.
“There might be some meat in it that we can change the system a little, we can get a little more done,” Coun. Deb Shewfelt said.
Shewfelt, who is also the mayor of the Town Goderich, said his council is considering whether to hire its own planning co-ordinator rather than relying on the county’s services. Prior to the tornado in 2011, Goderich was assigned a part-time planner, based on a formula that considers population and development activity. After the tornado, it contracted for additional services, and when the county set its 2012 budget, it boosted the level of planning services to one full-time planner.
Scott Tousaw, who is the director of planning, said a meeting was held between himself, the county’s CAO and lower-tier CAOs in the spring of 2012 with “a strong consensus coming out of that meeting to keep the planning function at the county level but to work with decision-makers to make sure sufficient resources were provided.”
He said the county planners process development applications in less time than the industry standards but fall behind in time dedicated to long-range planning.
Council left it to Tousaw’s discretion whether to meet with CAOs as a group or individually.
COUNCILLORS APPROVE WIND FARM ROAD USER AGREEMENT
A road user agreement between Huron County and Capital Power will allow an underground electrical collector system for a 270-MW wind farm north of Goderich to be built on county owned right-of-ways.
It took the two parties 18 months to hammer out a deal that also addresses new entranceways from county roads, over-sized and over-weight equipment travelling on county roads during construction, and other construction-related items, said Dave Laurie, who is the county’s director of public works.
“I think it protects the county and it protects our interests,” he said. The company is still required to apply for and pay fees associated with all necessary permits.
County councillors agreed to sign the agreement, which will come back as a formal bylaw.
The 140-turbine K2 Wind Farm in the Municipality of Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh is a partnership of Capital Power Corp., Pattern Renewable Holdings Canada ULC and Samsung Renewable Energy Inc.
HURON COUNTY HIRES NEW CAO
The appointment of a new top administrator in Huron County will be official by the end of the week.
Council is holding a special meeting on Friday to appoint its new chief administrative officer, whose first day on the job will be Jan. 28, 2013. The special meeting will follow its Committee of the Whole Day 2 meeting, scheduled for 9:45 a.m.
On Sept. 11, employment ended with the county for chief administrative officer, Larry Adams, director of finance and deputy CAO, David Carey, and director of human resources, Darcy Michaud, after being on non-disciplinary administrative leave. Its clerk, Barb Wilson, handed in her resignation on Sept. 5.
Heather Adams was hired June 6 as acting CAO on an interim basis.
A selection committee of five councillors, along with consultant Nigel Bellchamber, of N.G. Bellchamber and Associates, reviewed 45 applications and conducted interviews with a shortlist of applicants. Council interviewed two applicants Monday.
One Comment on "Committee of the Whole Notebook: Development applications processed faster than industry standard"
RE: Town of Goderich Planner. The very last thing we need in this Town isa Planner under the control of the administrator, the mayor and councillors. Planners, to really do a forward projection and administer the bylaws and county and town plans and properly look after the ratepayers’ interests must be free wheeling and be able to project into the future. The strength of our town’s best assets, which of course are the Ratepayers, and along with presenting a direction for our Town i.e. A LONG TERM GROWTH PLAN can only be done by a very competent planner with no one interfering.