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Inside PURE FUN
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2013
Road salt and streetlights pepper the budget
www.EMCQuinte.ca
Quinte West Hawks still soaring
By Kate Everson
Page 11
CENTENARIAN
There’s a good reason Cyril’s smiling.
Page 14
SPEEEEEED
Snowmobiles take to the ice of Moira Lake.
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Page B5
Please see “Streetlights” on page 5
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Quinte West Novice Hawks’ captain Kendrick Webster fights off a Whitby Wildcats defender in the opening game of their OMHA play-off series last weekend at Trenton. Webster scored four goals and four assists in the 16 - 4 victory. Photo: Ray Yurkowski Please see “Quinte” on page 19
No outside borrowing for local street projects By Ray Yurkowski
EMC News - Brighton With a handful of neighbours in attendance, the hot topic of the evening at a budget public meeting last week was municipal council’s decision to delay refurbishing Centre and Addison Streets in downtown Brighton. In fact, it was the only topic on the minds of those present. “The budget process this year, in my opinion, has been vastly improved,” said Deputy-mayor Craig Kerr, who presided as chairperson, as he opened the meeting. “We’ve had more public input than we’ve ever had before.” Last week marked the third public meeting as well as affording the opportunity to attend budget deliberations throughout the process. After second draft considerations, on January 15, council unanimously agreed to forward the budget, with a $5.9-million levy, for approval. As it stands now,
the municipal tax rate will increase 4.58 per cent. But the good news is the blended rate, which includes municipal, county and education, coming in at 2.18 per cent. That means an increase of $63.59 for the average Brighton property assessment of $251,000. Mayor Mark Walas took exception to the word unanimous, saying, “I believe it was more of a consensus than unanimous.” “I must, respectfully, disagree,” countered Kerr. “We did, in fact, pass a motion to recommend the budget and all hands went up.” Road improvements in the budget include resurfacing Allison Street, Towerline Road, Bauer Road, Newton Lane, Laird Nelson Road and Long Reach Road along with reconstruction of Centre Street, from Richardson Street to Chapel Street. But that didn’t sit too well
with a few residents who blame aging infrastructure for flooding problems in their homes. “I was promised my street—the sewers, the storm drains—would be fixed in one year,” Addison Street resident Gerald Davidson told council. “It’s now been three years and it’s still on the back burner. All I’m asking is, when is it going to be done?” “We had a great deal of discussion over this subject at a couple of the budget meetings,” explained Kerr. “But the fact is, doing the entirety of Centre Street would have consumed our entire roads budget for the year.” Kerr cited a road needs study, slated for completion within the next two months, “that will be giving us the priority on all the roads we need to do.” “The other part is the consideration Please see “No” on page 3
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EMC News - Quinte West - The cost of road salt for 2012 was $768,000 or around 8,800 tonnes of salt, says director of Public Works and Environmental Services Chris Angelo. For January, 2013, salt expenses already totalled $38,345 as of January 22 in a report to council requested by Councillor Jim Harrison. This is about 492 tonnes of salt. Last year for January the city had purchased over $80,000 worth of salt. The city will be holding a special council meeting relating to the city’s operating budget for 2013 on February 20 at 6 p.m. Economic development committee has been rescheduled to Tuesday, February 26, and the next Corporate and Financial Services committee meeting is March 6, all at 6 p.m. One of the items coming up in the budget is the installation of street lighting at major intersections in the city’s rural areas. Councillor Terry Cassidy asked for a report from staff to identify where lighting is needed. “Priority for the installation of streetlights at intersections shall be based on the status of the roads,” noted Angelo. This includes any accidents at that intersection at night, location to adjacent built-up areas, intersections with local roads, and current budget allocations. A Street Light Policy was prepared in 2004, with the users paying for the intersection in their area. In new subdivisions the developer pays for the capital expenses and then the cost of maintenance is apportioned to residents. The city has approved the cost of new lights where they would provide greater safety and visibility for all