The Creemore
Ech
Friday, March 8, 2019 Vol. 19 No. 10
www.creemore.com
inside the echo
Raise Your Voice
Reading the Signs
Choir! Choir! Choir! next month
Naturopathic doc starts local practice
PAGE 6
News and views in and around Creemore
PAGE 8
Publications Mail Agreement # 40024973
Airport sale set to close Collingwood council has approved the execution of an amendment to the original sale agreement for Collingwood Regional Airport between the Town of Collingwood and Winterland Developments Ltd., concluding the due diligence period entered into on July 31. The sale is scheduled to close the end of March. “After an extensive request-for-offers process in early 2018, Winterland Developments Ltd. was named the successful bidder and demonstrated the ability to implement the needed investments into the airport for it to grow to a level that could never be reached under the ownership of a municipal government,” said a news release. “The Town of Collingwood is excited about the future of the airport and sees the sale of the Collingwood Regional Airport to Winterland Developments Ltd. as an opportunity for the airport, and regional business community, to grow and flourish.” Staff photo: Trina Berlo
The weather was nice enough to ski in shorts at last Friday’s OFSAA cross country ski race at Highlands Nordic. More than 700 high school skiers came from all over the province to compete in the provincial championships, hosted by Collingwood Collegiate Institute. See page 10 for more.
Roxodus officials try to put fears to rest by Trina Berlo An extensive operations plan is forthcoming, which will help answer questions about the logistics of pulling off a large-scale music festival at Edenvale Aerodrome, said organizer Mike Dunphy. He and his partner Fab Loranger were at Monday’s Clearview council meeting to address concerns about Roxodus, a classic rock festival July 11-13, boasting headliners Nickelback, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Kid Rock. Roxodus Music Festival is being advertised as a weekend of live music on two stages, food, camping, vendors, skydiving, helicopter and sightseeing rides. Dunphy, an area resident, organizes the Wasaga Beach Motorcycle Rally,
which he says is the largest annual motorcycle rally in Canada, attracting more than 75,000 motorcycles and organizes the Heroes Festival in 2018, attracting 25,000 people to Wasaga Beach for an airshow featuring the Snowbirds and celebrating the military and first responders. He and Loranger are the principals of MF Live and Roxodus. Dunphy said they purchased 170 acres of property to enhance the festival grounds for what they hope will become an annual event. He said the way the event plan is currently configured there is capacity for 40,000 attendees but there is potential to accommodate up to 100,000. Permits from various agencies are
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required to hold the event, road access, liquor licensing, food services and municipal bylaw compliance. Dunphy said those applications all hinge on the operations plan. The transformation of the property, including the clear cutting, and the lack of communication has been a cause of concern for neighbours. A neighbourhood meeting was held to address concerns. Dunphy said he has committed to providing security for residents living in the area and some type of compensation. Dunphy said they have partnered with industry professionals to ensure everything is done properly, including stage set-up, traffic plans and road upgrades. (See “Roxodus” on page 7)
Clearview budget passes Clearview council passed its 2019 budget Monday with only a minor change. The $75,000 earmarked for the ice pad at the New Lowell Recreation Park is now being funded from reserves, rather than coming directly from taxation. Councillors Thom Paterson and Doug McKechnie were the only two to support a reduction in the amount of money going into bridge reserves. They wanted to reduce the $250,000 allocation by half but others on council would have none of it. As a result, neither of them voted to approve the budget. The final numbers for the $47.2 million budget are: A 4.89 per cent increase to the Clearview portion, and a 2.85 per cent increase once policing, education and county taxes are factored in. That means a property assessed at $284,667 (the median average) would pay $3,262.75, up $90.36 from 2018. (All the numbers are estimates until the final tax rate is set later in the year.)
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