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2 - Orono Weekly Times 1937 - 2012 · Celebrating 75 Years Subscriptions $38.09 + $1.91 GST = $40.00 per year. No Refunds. Publishing 48 issues annually at the office of publication. "We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canada Periodical Fund for our publishing activities." Wednesday, February 15, 2012 OrOnO Weekly Times - 5310 Main St., P.O. Box 209, Orono, ON L0B 1M0 E-mail: oronotimes@rogers.com or Phone/Fax: 905-983-5301 Publisher/Editor Margaret Zwart Production and Display Advertising - Roxanne Johnston Classified/Sports - Sue Weigand The Orono Weekly Times welcomes letters to the editor on subjects of interest to our readers. Opinions expressed to the editor and articles are those of the writers and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Orono Weekly times. Letters must be signed and contain the address and phone number of the writer. Any letter considered unsuitable will not be acknowledged or returned. We reserve the right to edit for length, libel and slander. If your retail or classified ad appears for the first time, please check carefully. Notice of an error must be given before the next issue goes to print. The Orono Weekly Times will not be responsible for the loss or damage of such items. $10-million plan It was a great day for Clarington when, in 2001, the federal government owned up to its responsibility, and signed an agreement with Clarington to clean up the radioactive waste site at Port Granby. Low-level radioactive waste from the uranium refining operation at Eldorado in Port Hope had been dumped at the site between 1955 and 1988. Eldorado Limited was a Crown Corporation at the time. In 2000, the federal government initiated Principles of Understanding with the municipality, outlining terms for the clean-up project. The plan to relocate approximately 450,000 cubic meters of radioactive waste from the eroding bluffs on the shore of Lake Ontario to an engineered above-ground mound 700 metres north was devised over the ensuing 10 years, and now the project is ready to move to the next step ­ the construction phase. It was with great fanfare that the mayor at the time, Diane Hamre, signed the agreement with the federal government, knowing full well that federal dollars were tied to the agreement. Clarington was given a $10-million payment from the feds as recognition of the fact that it would be the host community for a federal radioactive waste site for the next 500 years. The municipality was to put the money into a trust account, and under the terms of the agreement, the principle was not to be touched until the project moved into the construction phase. It would be reasonable to expect that the $10-million principle will be available to council this year. For the past 10 years the interest earned on the $10-million investment was used to lower the annual property tax impact on Clarington residents. This year, the amount allocated to the budget from the Port Granby fund was $250,000. In years when the interest rates were higher, the available money to offset tax increases was also higher. Once the $10-million becomes available, council will no doubt be inundated with petitions from special interest groups, pleading for some or all of the $10-million windfall for their causes. In February 2007, representatives from the Memorial Hospital in Bowmanville petitioned Clarington council for $2million towards its latest hospital redevelopment project. Council denied the request, but three years later, in February 2010 the mayor of the day, Jim Abernethy, presented a Notice of Motion to council that the municipality pledge $500,000 from the Port Granby fund to the hospital redevelopment campaign. He later withdrew that motion. Council will have to make some tough decisions on what to do with that money. If it spends the money on new infrastructure, besides no longer having the ability to use interest to reduce property tax impact, it will have to bear the added cost of operating and maintaining the new infrastructure. There could be a case made to spend the money on upgrading existing infrastructure, to reduce capital expenditure down the road, but you wouldn't have the "wow" effect of showing off what $10-million can buy you. Then there could be the temptation of council to use the money to buy votes: donating the money, closer to the next election in 2014, for projects that have the potential to appease a certain segment of the population that could get existing council members re-elected. And no matter what they do, they will be critisized from one segment or other. While the municipality has waited a long time to get its hands on this money, now that the funds will soon be available, it comes with huge challenges and responsibilities. It might be prudent for this council, in the absence of any vision or clear plan for this money, to freeze the funds for a period of time. The municipality needs to develop a plan for this money that will be in the best interest of the residents. There has been an argument made by the Port Granby residents that since they will be burned with the stigma of a radioactive waste site in their community, that part of the $10-million should be spent in their community ­ an argument not totally without merit. The $10-million is soon going to turn into a hot potato. Council has the ability to turn down the heat, allowing it time to decide how best to use the money before it turns into a hot political potato. Front-page treatment Dear Editor: I always enjoy reading The Orono Weekly Times, and found the January 25, 2012 edition to be of particular interest because of the front page photo. It was my pleasure to attend the 4th Annual Robbie Burns Dinner and Dance held at the Orono Town Hall to support the Clarington Museum and Archives. Carrying the haggis was a special honour, as was the front-page treatment you provided. Please accept my best wishes and thanks. Yours truly, John R. O'Toole, MPP Durham Corrections Traill did not support motion In last week's edition, in the story "Partner shuns the limelight," we erroneously stated that Councillor Joe Neal's motion regarding video recording of council meetings received unanimous support from councillors. In fact, Councillor Corinna Traill did not support Neal's motion to prohibit anyone from taking a video recording of a council or committee meeting from within three meters of the Council ring. We regret this error. Fill operation west of Mosport In our front page story last week titled, "2nd fill operation stopped," it was stated that the new fill site is at 3061 Regional Road 20, just east of Mosport. This was incorrect. The site is located just west of Mosport. Schedule bulky items The Region of Durham press release we published in our February 1st issue, which noted changes to the curbside waste removal service, contained an error regarding the collection of bulky items. Residents are still required to schedule collection of bulky items by calling 1-800-667-5671, contrary to the statement made in the published press release that calls to schedule these items was no longer necessary.