Central Huron Assesses the Need for Some of its Properties

By Bob Montgomery

Central Huron's Mayor says he was a little surprised to find out how much property the municipality owns.

Jim Ginn says they took an inventory of their properties about a year and a half ago and found the municipality owned about fifty-six properties. Those properties were part of the discussion at a strategy meeting they held last week. Ginn says if they're being used that's great. But he says if they're not being used maybe they should be looking at selling them. Ginn says they do a full inspection of their properties every ten years or so and it's time for that now. They'll look at how the properties are being used and if there are any expenditures due on any of the properties and then make a decision on what to do with them.

Ginn says he doesn't think there are too many that are empty, but in some of the smaller hamlets there are things like ball diamonds or halls or work sheds that aren't being used much and if you have five or six properties in every hamlet that aren't been used, they start adding up. He says given the impact of inflation and the increased cost of the things the municipality has to buy, they're not doing the taxpayers any favours by hanging on to a property that isn't being used or serving any purpose. He says in that case they might consider selling it or putting homes on it that might generate some revenue. Ginn says the new councillors have been in office for about a year now so they have a feel for the situation and now would be a good time to make some of those decisions.