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Papp on Junkin: “He got the figures right” Column Six Special meeting on Town finances raises almost as many questions as it answers; Province to send advisor to Pelham
Miss Sharon Keller BY SAMUEL PICCOLO
The VOICE
I
N THE E A R LY 1980S, an educator named Jimmy Britton heralded the arrival of the “Age of the classroom teacher.” Miss Sharon Keller, who died last week at 58, began teaching chemistry at E.L. Crossley Secondary School just after Britton declared this age to have arrived, and she, likely more than anyone Britton could have envisioned, represented its most accomplished practitioner. For the tens of thousands of students who attended Crossley during her time there, Miss Keller was as fundamental to the school’s character as its Gaugul mural. Word began to spread last Thursday night among current and former students: Miss Keller had died. The next morning, teachers at the school confirmed that the rumours were true. Miss Keller’s death was as shocking to the E.L. Crossley community as it was saddening, and we are told that Miss Keller, who had been off work recovering from shoulder surgery, was in the school shortly before she died. It is said critically of some teachers that they retreat to their rooms and shut the door; it may be said approv-
BY SAMUEL PICCOLO and DAVE BURKET
The VOICE
In front of 200-plus residents in the E.L. Crossley high school cafeteria on Wednesday night, a pair of auditors from the accounting firm KPMG presented the results of two financial reviews of the Town, and Town Treasurer Teresa Quinlin presented a more general report on the state of Pelham’s finances. While Mayor Dave Augustyn said that he was pleased with the information provided, former Councillor Marvin Junkin’s account of a closed-door September 5 meeting with KPMG was markedly different from the public presentation the firm made on Wednesday. Councillor Peter Papp acknowledged that the presentation was different in tone from what Council previously heard. “I think that they covered a lot of ground,” said Papp. “They may not have answered all the questions, and if there are some areas that need to be re-stated, we’ll do that.” As Papp was leaving the cafeteria, a resident confronted him and said, “All you guys on Council are saying that Marvin Junkin’s a big fat liar.” “No, we’re not,” responded Papp. “He’s not a liar. He got the figures right. It would have been nice if he had stayed with us to get through it all. He’s not a liar…. I have nothing against Marvin.” See MEETING Page 19
From left, Councillors King, Rybiak, Durley, and Accursi before the start of Wednesday’s presentation.
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PUBLISHER’S CORNER by Dave Burket
She’s available as a consultant: Former Voice editor Sarah Whitaker remembers the last municipal election, when Marv Junkin, Richard Rybiak, and James Lane were running for Ward 1’s two seats. As we reported last week, Council is likely to appoint Lane to the seat vacated by Junkin on his resignation in early November. Since the Voice went to press before Monday evening’s Council meeting, we don’t know for sure that Lane was appointed, but the odds were high that this will be Lane’s third time occupying the seat, all without being elected. Back at the last election, in 2014, Lane had already been appointed twice. Whitaker remembers joking with him that his campaign slogan should be, “I’ll end up on Council anyway, you may as well vote for me”… Mixed messages: Speaking of Council (and I’d much rather be doing almost anything else at this point), we received a puzzling email shortly before press time from Councillor Peter Papp. Following last Wednesday’s special Council meeting at E. L. Crossley, where it turned out that the promised audit results were not, in fact, delivered, but rather a superficial summary of them instead, Papp spoke to our man Sam Piccolo. He confirmed that Marv Junkin’s assessment of Pelham’s debt was accurate, as least as presented during the now-infamous closed-door Council meeting on September 5. Papp also suggested that the depletion of the Town’s reserve funds to pay for capital projects was done, in some cases, without “the proper approval,” presumably meaning Council’s approval. This conversation was recorded (as are almost all Voice interviews, most especially with political office-holders). Papp’s email before press time requested that the paper “rescind” his comment, noting that he had taken legal advice before making the request. This put the paper in an odd position, since we knew the quote was accurate. By press time, neither Papp nor his solicitor, nor anyone copied on the exchange from Pelham Town Hall, had answered our logical follow-up question: Did this mean that Council was, in fact, aware of the reserve fund depletion before being informed of it by KPMG on September 5? As ever, we continue to welcome clarity on this and other Town finance questions from the Mayor, any councillor, the Treasurer, and the former Treasurer, Cari Pupo… Two weeks to go: There are two more Voice issues before Christmas, so if you have a hankering to sell something, get those ads in now! There will be no paper on December 27, as this falls in the middle of the one week a year we take a break, which this year in particular can't come soon enough… Enjoy that Super Moon!
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PRELUDE TO SANTA The mild temperatures made the warming fires less essential, but attendees still enjoyed keeping their backs to the flames at Pelham's Christmas Market, held last Friday evening under the arches on Pelham Town Square. VOICE PHOTO
CHAMPS Pelham PeeWee won the 33rd Annual Doug Robinson Tournament in Lincoln recently with a 2-0 shutout. They went down in the first game but came back to win the last three. SUPPLIED PHOTO
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Vol.20 No.48
CELEBRATING OUR 20TH YEAR
Wednesday, February 8, 2017
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Column Six
Growing up British
Vol.20 No.32
Wednesday October 12, 2016
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Apple Day comes to Fonthill
BY JULIE MANNELL
Special to the VOICE
W
BALLOONING INTEREST Grade 6 student Jinja Shepherd explains her experiment on static electricity at the Glynn A. Green Public School's annual science fair last Friday. See story, page 3. NATE SMELLE PHOTO
Public meeting tonight on school issues BY VOICE STAFF As questions continue to mount regarding an email that Pelham Mayor Dave Augustyn quietly sent to a District School Board of Niagara trustee last summer, Augustyn has agreed to address the issue at a public meeting scheduled for this evening, Wednesday, Feb. 8, in Fenwick. Nancy Beamer, speaking for “Names Matter,” a Pelham citizens group lobbying the DSBN to reverse its decision to rename a local public school, confirms that the meeting will be held at Fire Station #2, known locally as the Fenwick Fire Hall, starting at 7:00 PM. While the Mayor has agreed to ap-
Under pressure, Mayor to address email revelation, other E. W. Farr matters pear, says Beamer, DSBN officials associated with the school-naming process have either declined to attend or have not yet responded to the group’s invitation. DSBN Chair, Dale Robinson, to whom Augustyn’s email was addressed last June, has declined to appear, says Beamer, asserting that she would be
“on holidays.” The Voice was unable to independently confirm Robinsion’s intentions. She did not respond to repeated requests for comment on E.W. Farr-related matters before presstime. Beamer, whose group maintains an email list of some 580 residents, says that all members of the public are invited and encouraged to attend the meeting. “We would especially welcome parents and children who are unhappy with the name change,” she says, referring to the contentious decision by the DSBN to consolidate two Pelham See MEETING back page
HEN I WAS young, my father and I would go for long drives along the rural routes of Pelham. We’d blast George Thurgood and roll down the windows because we loved the smell of the breeze, the sensation of crisp Niagara wind beating our cheeks and tangling our hair against our summer-kissed skin. My father was not a sentimental man. He worked in factories and had a Gordon Lightfoot mustache and never shed tears over injuries. Yet something about the Pelham landscape, the hilly backdrop to his childhood and the childhoods of our ancestors, drew him in. He’d stop by a farm or a gathering of woods and, surrendering his manly veneer, tell me a story about the town. This place is precious. This is the earth that granted us life. Here is the place where we happened upon love or here is a site of devastation. On one particular drive sometime in the late ‘90s we stopped at a tree with a plaque. “This tree looks dead,” I said to my father. “It sure is getting there, Julie.” The Comfort Maple is supposedly Canada’s oldest See COLUMN SIX Page 14
Part 2 of 2: Coronation to embarkation
BY VOICE STAFF
A construction error was discovered following the opening of a traffic calming chicane on Haist Street north of Hwy 20 last Monday that prevented large vehicles from passing through. One resident living in the neighbourhood said he contacted the Town after seeing a small schoolbus get stuck as it tried to get through the new traffic calming measure. Later that day while driving behind a cement truck, he said that he became concerned for the public’s safety when the truck had to turn around because it couldn’t get through. “If a small school bus and a cement truck can’t make it through what about a fire
BY HEATHER McLAREN ROHRER
Special to the VOICE
A
Repair measures underway last week to correct a construction error in the chicane. truck or an ambulance?” he said. While waiting for the contractor to return to fix
the mistake, the Town has taken measures to temporarily allow passage for vehicles through the neigh-
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bourhood in the short-term. Manager of Public Works Ryan Cook said that after discovering the issue with
the chicane the morning it first opened, the Town See CHICANE Page 5
Petition-inspired changes coming to 2017 Summerfest BY NATE SMELLE
The VOICE
Representatives from the Pelham Summerfest committee Candy Ashbee and Bill Gibson presented council with a final report on the 2016 Summerfest at the Council meeting on Monday, Nov. 21. Prompted by a story in the Voice in August about a merchant petition to move Summerfest from Pelham Street, in September Town staff met with various stakeholders to hear their complaints, promising at the time that changes in the way Summerfest was mounted would be con-
sidered. The main concerns identified during the community engagement process were security, parking, ensuring customer can access all businesses in town, and liability for damages. How to get all Pelham Street businesses to participate and finding ways to make it beneficial for them to set up a booth were also determined to be of high priority for the committee as they plan for next year’s event. Gibson told Council that the committee is addressing these concerns in a variety of ways. To improve parking, they intend to create bet-
ter signage for out-of-town visitors to designated parking areas and shuttle services. To make participation in Summerfest more enticing to local businesses, they plan to implement a tiered-charge for booths. Under the new system, Pelham Street business owners will be charged the least, other local businesses will pay a slightly higher fee, and vendors from outside Pelham will pay the most. In response to more specific issues for individual businesses, they will also slightly alter the footprint of the event and make adjustments to security. Another way the committee plans
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to improve the 2017 Summerfest is by sponsoring and working with the organizers of the Thursday Night Bandshell Concert series to select the artist performing on the first night of Summefest. They also intend to make more use of the smartphone app they launched in 2016. "We are really going to push it this year," Ashbee said. “It really helps to get people to see what events there are so they can plan out where they are going. We will be able to actually help the merchants and local businesses adSee CHANGES Page 5
FTER LUNCH ON Saturday, Mum and Dad had my afternoon cut out for me. Mum had more brass than anyone I knew, and it had to be cleaned. In addition there was the set of silver fish-knives and forks which were never used, but which had to be cleaned and put back in their velvetlined box. Next was a walk to the newsagents to pay for the daily delivery of the Daily Mirror. As I said, Dad was a printer, but when he was 37 he had been rejected for a job, as being too old, by the printers of the Beano. For that reason, my favourite comic was not allowed in the house, but while I was paying the papers, the newsagent let me have a 'shoofty' at the Beano. I'd explained my predicament and he understood completely. Sundays were different again. Dad would play golf on summer mornings and billiards in winter. Then he'd stop for a 'refresher' at the local and would pick up the prawns, cockles, winkles or whelks we'd be having for tea later. Meanwhile, Mum was roasting the 'joint' and potatoes. I got to make the Yorkshire pud, and mint
See COLUMN SIX Page 14
Full service. Full-time Realtor. Your Fonthill real estate connection.
BY VOICE STAFF
While shopping in Fonthill between Friday and Sunday, keep an eye out for Beavers, Cubs and Scouts in front of local stores with bushels of apples. As part of the annual Apple Day campaign, Scouting youth of all ages will be trading apples for donations. The yearly fundraising drive is an important way for young Scouts to connect with the communities they are serving, says Leah Marie of Scouts Canada. “The Apple Day campaign holds a great tradition of being able to have youth interacting within the communities they live in,” she says. “All of the Apple Day donations stay directly within the group that re-
The goal is to have these youth develop into confident and well-rounded individuals
ceives them, enabling youth to have experiences that build character, challenge them, and allow them to try new things. The goal is to have these youth develop into confident and wellrounded individuals, better prepared for success. Apple Day helps to achieve that.”
“Any money raised during Apple Day goes towards improving the Scouting program by providing more outdoor adventures for youth, camping equipment, canoes and paddles, training and many other endeavours that the youth want to experience,” says Marie. Scouts Canada has some 100,000 members across Canada, and carries out programs for boys, girls
Joining their principal, Karen Simpson, at the Sept. 19 Council meeting as part of a delegation from EL Crossley Secondary School, students Abby Loewen and Neenah Williams presented Council with a list of reasons that they should immediately approve the construction of the new sidewalk proposed along Hwy. 20. The asphalt side-
walk/trail is slated to be built between the south side of the road from Timmsdale Crescent to the high school. Because of the large volume of motor vehicle traffic travelling at high speeds through this area, and because of the necessity for students to tread this path on a daily basis, many residents would like to see the sidewalk go in sooner than later. After delivering to Council a petition containing
Many residents would like to see the sidewalk go in sooner than later the names of 450 students calling for a safer walk to school, Simpson handed the
podium over to Loewen and Williams to plead their case. Loewen told Council that because there are a lot of students who have work placements and coop placements during the school year, this is the only route for many of them to travel. As one of the students facing this predicament, Williams said she has had no other option but to walk along the dangerous highway.
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and youth ages 5-25. This year the 3rd Fonthill Group, which includes Beavers to Ventures (youth ages 5- 25) will be hitting the streets to drum-up support. Over the weekend, Scouts will be set up in Fonthill outside Sobeys, Tim Hortons, Target Gas station, Fonthill Shopping Plaza and the Pioneer Gas station at the corner of Hwys 20 and 24.
Town Council approves sidewalk to serve E. L. Crossley BY NATE SMELLE
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Second year Beaver with the 3rd Fonthill Group, Russell Letford offers a fresh apple to shoppers in Pelham during the 2015 Apple Day campaign. SUPPLIED PHOTO A longtime Canadian tradition, Apple Day began in 1932 in Saint John, New Brunswick, when Scouts handed out 21,000 apples as a way to say thank you to the community. In return for their generosity, many people offered them donations. From then on Scouts have reached out through Apple Day to raise funds for their programs.
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Column Six It doesn’t get better than Autumn
Longtime Scouting tradition dates to 1932
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Column Six
BY VOICE STAFF The District School Board of Niagara is requesting that the Town of Pelham cede a portion of Cherry Ridge Park for use as a soccer field to serve the students of the new Wellington Heights Public School, formerly the E. W. Farr Memorial Public School, in Fenwick. Currently under renovation and expansion, the new school will combine students and staff from the previous school and Pelham Centre, where classes are being held while construction continues. Two letters, containing virtually identical text but signed by different authorities, were sent last week to nearby residents of the park, as well as to parents of Pelham Centre students. “The DSBN is currently building onto Wellington Heights Public School on Alsop Drive,” states the letter. “The size of the school's addition means the existing small soccer field will be eliminated. The Town and the Board have been discussing the possibility of working together to create a field for both the school and the
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The Niagara Regional Police Service is committed to reducing impaired driving offences through education and the apprehension of offenders through enforcement programs like RIDE. Impaired driving is still the leading cause of criminal deaths in Canada and destroys thousands of lives every year.
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Margaret Tilbert, Lilla Kostelac, Helen Wismer, and Susan Crone brave the traffic at the Arc De Triomphe.
In an effort to bring further attention and deterrence to driving while impaired by alcohol or drugs, the Niagara Regional Police Service reports the names of those people who are charged with an alleged criminal impaired driving offence in the Region. None of the following charges have been proved in court. In addition to being charged, these individuals are also bound by a Ministry of Transportation 90-Day Administrative Driver’s License Suspension and are prohibited from operating a motor vehicle on a roadway. The public is encouraged to contact the Niagara Regional Police Service Traffic Safety Hotline or Crime Stoppers to report those who are driving in contravention of the suspension. The following individuals have been charged criminally with impaired driving by alcohol or drugs, driving with a blood alcohol concentration above 80 mgs of alcohol in 100 ml of blood, or refusing to provide a breath / blood sample.
“I start work at 2:30 PM and school lets out at 2:15 PM so I can’t take any other route,” Williams explained. “I have had friends, family, teachers and other community members reach out to me in the past about how this is unsafe and how there should be another alternative for us.” Looking ahead to winter, when she will need to walk this path three or four times See SIDEWALK Page 2
HERE IS NO BETTER time to cycle than Fall. It matters not whether you’re new to the sport, a seasoned recreational cyclist, racer, touring rider or mountain biker; we all have reason to look forward to autumn. Summer’s heat has faded, and the streams of sweat that ran from soggy helmets into our eyes are now just slight perspiration. Fitness is peaking from lots of saddle time, making those tough climbs of Spring a breeze in Autumn. It’s hard to beat the feeling of beginning a crisp, cool Fall ride with a slight shiver, knowing your efforts will soon warm you perfectly. The hues of Autumn are outstanding. A Pelham route as simple as following our southern boundary is one that would make most Toronto cyclists jealous, especially when our forests and fields are ablaze with colour. Begin from Harold Black Park, and zig-zag south along Effingham Rd toward the Welland River. If you’re new to cycling, it’s important to know south is the direction away from any hills. If you avoid the morning and evening weekday rush hours caused by those travelling through Pelham between Wainfleet See AUTUMN Page 3
Indulgence Bakery Mossimo’s Pelham Street Grille Sobeys Fonthill Peter Piper’s Pubhouse DeVries Fruit Farm Beamer’s Hardware & TV Fonthill Library Black Pearl Fish & Chips Bob’s Boys Antiques Moku’s Family Health Pharmacy Fonthill Fitness Fenwick Pie Company McDonald’s Fonthill Legion Semenuk’s Gas Bar Target Store Tim Horton’s Giant Tiger Pelham Town Hall Pub on the Hill Zee Lube Express Care Lazy Loon Minor Bros Stores Avondale Stores A-1 Market Sobeys South Pelham Grill on Canboro Pelham Library Ridge Berry Farm Circle-K
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ANALYSIS
Nov. 29: Questions answered, questions raised BY VOICE STAFF Last week’s presentation by the auditing firm KPMG answered some questions about Pelham’s finances while simultaneously raising others. As of this week, here’s what we know and what we don’t. For easier reading, numbers are rounded.
The 3.3 acre land purchase and credit-swap scheme What we know. ● The Town approached the owners of this East Fonthill property in 2014 hoping to acquire about one-third of the 8.9 acre parcel. The owners informed the Town that they were not interested in selling only portions of the land. The Town says that it did not have the funds, or wish to take on debt required, to acquire the entire 8.9 acres, so it approached the Allen Group to see if it would purchase the full parcel of land with the idea that the Town could later buy from the Allen Group the 3.3 acres it wanted. ● The Allen Group negotiated a purchase price using an appraisal paid for by the Town of $202,000 per acre. It acquired title to the land in May 2015. The purchase price was based upon the land being zoned for agricultural use. The total price for the 8.9 acres was $1.8 million dollars. ● Later in 2015, instead of purchasing the 3.3 acres it needed to build Summersides Boulevard through conventional means (i.e. cash or loan), the Town issued “Municipal Credits” to the Allen Group—IOUs, in other words, that could be used like cash to pay any future fees that the company might owe the Town. ● The Town negotiated with the Allen Group to value the 3.3 acres of land it wanted not as agricultural, but as if it were building permit-ready, even though nothing about the land had actually changed since the Allen Group bought it. The Town contends that this valuation was required under a by-law to compensate developers for their “lost opportunity cost.” KPMG did not state whether the by-law actually applied in this case. ● The Municipal Credits did not technically constitute debt in 2015, according to KPMG, since the Allen Group could not compel the Town to pay out these
credits. (However, the credit mechanism was clearly stipulated in a written agreement between the parties.) ● Even before the Allen Group had transferred title for the land to the Town, the company was re-selling the Municipal Credits it had been given. The company approached other developers, offering the credits at a 5% percent discount. One developer so approached was Rainer Hummel, whose Niagara-on-the-Lake company has substantial holdings in East Fonthill. Such re-sale was permitted by the original agreement, but the Town’s lawyers contended that the land title should have been transferred first. Hummel, who had never encountered such a scheme, says that he first took his concerns to Pelham’s CAO, Darren Ottaway (Ottaway denies this), then some months later to the Region. ● In summer 2016, the Town decided that the credit scheme was an “unanticipated burden of administration” and bought back the unused credits from the Allen Group for $3 million in cash. Councillors were told that no loan was needed to cover this amount, although former Councillor Marvin Junkin says that Council was not told where the Town had found the $3 million. ● This Municipal Credits agreement was not subject to the Development Charges Act and thus could not have contravened it. What we don’t know.
● Whether the Municipal
Credit scheme was created as a way to mask what otherwise would have appeared as long-term debt on the Town’s financial statements. ● Why the Municipal Credit scheme was not disclosed in notes to the Town’s 2015 financial statements. This information would be a material disclosure for certain users—for example the Region/Infrastructure Ontario and the Town’s bankers. It would have highlighted the impending transaction and may have changed minds regarding approving financing in 2016. ● Why the Town agreed to appraise the 3.3 acres the way it did, as if the land were fully serviced with water, sewer, gas, and electric. It would appear that Town by-laws relating to Parkland Dedication give the Town the ability to negotiate the value of Parkland Over-Dedica-
tion by any method desired. Why the Town chose this extraordinarily more costly method is a question that the Voice has asked KPMG, the Town, and the Town’s lawyers, with no response. In an interview with the Voice this past spring, the developer Rainer Hummel, approached by the Allen Group when it was still selling its excess Municipal Credits, characterized the deal as looking like “bonusing,” a form of municipal bribery that is illegal in Ontario. ● Where the Town got the $3 million dollars necessary to buy back the Municipal Credits from the Allen Group in summer 2016. Then-Treasurer Cari Pupo told Council that the $3 million would be paid out from the Town’s operating bank account. But as the balance of this account was just $554,000 at the start of the year, this explanation appears unlikely. ● Why the Town recorded future development charges as a current account receivable asset in 2016. Regional Audit Chair Tony Quirk says that this approach “created revenue out of thin air.” KPMG only presented the journal entry that was made. It did not conclude whether the entry was appropriate. The Voice has asked the Town, KPMG, and Deloitte, the Town’s 2016 auditor, to clarify the accounting standard used to justify this approach, a question that has also gone unanswered. Summary
● In 2015, the Allen Group
bought 8.9 acres of agricultural land for $1.8 million dollars—$202,000 per acre. ● Eight months later, the Town agreed to buy 3.3 acres of this land for $3.5 million in credits (which became $3 million dollars in cash when the credit scheme was suspended)—$928,000 per acre. ● Why did the Town spend $3 million dollars for 3.3 acres in 2016, when it could have spent $1.8 million dollars for the entire 8.9 acres just a few months earlier in 2015?
General Town finances What we know. ● The Town’s reserve funds are nearly empty. The Treasurer has confirmed that the Town has minimal cash on hand to cover these funds and that reserves were expended on capital projects in 2016 and prior years. ● The Treasurer has con-
firmed that the Town’s cash position will likely not be better by the end of 2017. In fact, it could be worse, given that the Town’s Line of Credit may be maxed out at $3 million at the end of this month. ● Based on the Town’s 2015 audited financial statements, five of seven of provincial financial indicators showed a challenge of “Moderate.” Two showed a challenge of “High.” Per KPMG, ratings of “Moderate” on just two of the seven prompt follow-up contact from the province. These indicators are likely worse for 2016, as the Town took on yet more debt. ● A Municipal Advisor from the province will be visiting Pelham in January to discuss the financial situation with the Town Treasurer. ● In July of this year, KPMG found that the Town had $17.2 million in approved but not-yet-acquired loans. Last week, KPMG said that it “understands” that this figure is now $9.9 million. ● The Treasurer has confirmed that the Town needs $9.9 million in debentures in 2019 to primarily finance projects that were completed in 2016 and prior years. (Though she suggested that some of the $9.9 million may be financed through other methods.) She indicated that the Town would not take out any new loans or debentures in 2018 other than $15 million from Infrastructure Ontario, relating to the new community centre (which she says will be fully repaid within one year). What we don’t know. ● On which capital projects—and when—reserves funds cash was used. ● Why the Town chose to ignore Public Sector Accounting Board (PSAB) recommendations and deplete itsreserves to fund extensive capital projects through “internal borrowing.” Such measures may have been taken, for example, to keep conventional long-term debt such as bank loans or debentures from appearing on the Town’s financial statements. ● Whether this internal borrowing was always done with Council’s approval. Councillor Peter Papp and former Councillor Marvin Junkin have said that it was not. ● Why the Town didn’t immediately inform lenders when new information about the lackluster state
of the Town’s finances was presented to Council on September 5. ● Why the Town did not respond to, or publicly acknowledge, communication from the province regarding its “Moderate” and “High” financial challenge when first received. The Voice has learned that this communication was made prior to former Treasurer Cari Pupo’s departure. ● How the $17.2 million in approved but notyet-acquired loans found by KPMG in July was been “updated” to $9.9 million. No details have been provided as to which capital projects in the 2017 capital budget have been cancelled or delayed. ● What alternative financing plan is in place for the $7.8 million to be recovered from developers, should the real estate market cool. At present, only an increase in property taxes appears to be the back-up plan. ● What future long-term debt beyond 2019 will be required to be taken out to fund required capital expenditures. ● The revised balances for projected five year (and beyond) Development Charge and Parkland Dedication Funds. Still to come. It should also be noted that no real information was provided last Wednesday with respect to the 2018 operating budget, and the potential for a property tax increase. (One resident in the audience posed this question to the Treasurer during her presentation. It went unanswered.) Neither the Town nor KPMG will say when the full audits will be released. At this point, only KPMG’s PowerPoint presentation has been posted to the Town’s website. As of press time the Town had yet to confirm whether a follow-up meeting will be scheduled, at which residents will be allowed to ask questions of KPMG, the Town Treasurer, the Mayor, and Council. Pelham’s Public Relations and Marketing Specialist Marc MacDonald said that the matter would be discussed by Council during its regularly scheduled meeting on Monday evening. KPMG has not responded to, or acknowledged, any question posed by the Voice since the firm’s presentation last Wednesday.
The Mayor, in his own words BY VOICE STAFF On Monday afternoon, November 6, about five hours before Marvin Junkin resigned from Pelham Town Council, the Voice invited Mayor Augustyn to an interview at Peter Piper’s in Fonthill. Present were the Mayor, reporter Sam Piccolo, and editor Dave Burket. The paper wanted to give the Mayor an opportunity to confirm or deny what it had learned from Councillor Junkin about the purported state of Pelham’s finances, based on audit results Junkin asserted were given to Council by KPMG behind closed doors two months earlier, on September 5. The Mayor was unaware that Junkin planned to resign, or that an article detailing Junkin’s allegations was set to run in our next edition. Late last week, responding to Voice coverage of Town Council’s special meeting held last Wednesday at E. L. Crossley, the Mayor requested that the paper “correct” our wording of his assertion, made in the following interview, that he was unaware that the Town’s reserve funds had been virtually depleted by “internal borrowing.” Junkin told the paper that KPMG made this fact explicitly clear to Council on September 5. Junkin further alleged that Council then passed a resolution authorizing the Town to obtain an $8 million dollar bank loan to cover immediate cash needs. The following is a verbatim transcript of the Piper’s interview relating to the reserve funds, and to Pelham’s total debt. We invite readers to reach their own conclusions as to the meaning of the Mayor’s words. BURKET: You and staff— or, let’s say, Council and staff, but you in particular—work closely enough with staff that you would be apprised, pretty much right away, if there were any significant differences in the Town’s financial situation compared to what had been publicly announced in previous periods. AUGUSTYN: Yes. So you’re saying the Town’s finances are absolutely fine, that they—
I would like to express my sincere appreciation to every one who attended our Christmas Happy Hour & Laser Launch Party last week. I am especially grateful for your support, encouragement and patronage. Because of your generosity, Pelham Medical Aesthetics, together with Pelham Medical Associates, is able to provide Christmas dinner and gifts to a local family in need.
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See MAYOR Page 17
Page 4
The Voice of Pelham, December 6, 2017
www.thevoiceofpelham.ca
OPINION
The opinions expressed in submitted commentary and letters to the editor are those of the contributors and not necessarily those of the Voice of Pelham.
The Voice of Pelham is a 1211858 Ontario Limited publication David Burket, Publisher 2-1428 Pelham St., P.O. Box 1489, Fonthill, ON L0S1E0
As We See It "Truthiness" sets no one free
I
T H AS H A PPENED AT last. The Town of Pelham has admitted its finances are not as sound as advertised. After months of denials, dark talk of political conspiracies, and a seemingly pathological reflex to cry “NPCA!” in reaction to any critical comment from Regional Council, last Wednesday night’s presentation in a high school cafeteria confirmed that Pelham’s books are far from healthy. Town Treasurer Teresa Quinlin, while displaying a sunny demeanour, confirmed that the Town has “minimal” cash on hand, saying that funds had been siphoned from reserve accounts to pay for capital projects, a practice that’s been quietly employed, it turns out, since at least 2010. Quinlin was quick to add that the Town was under no legal requirement to keep cash in its cash reserves. She failed to mention that the Public Services Accounting Board strongly recommends that it be done anyway. Almost as an aside, the Treasurer dropped the bombshell that a Provincial Municipal Advisor would be visiting Pelham to help
consult on a financial path forward. In other words, the province needs to see what in
In other words, the province needs to see what in blazes is happening in Pelham
blazes is happening in Pelham. Why? As KPMG revealed on Wednesday night, in five of seven key categories, the Town’s finances were either moderately or highly challenged. (All it takes is two “Moderate” grades to prompt contact from the province. Looks like Pelham has innovatively and vibrantly gone that extra mile once again.) Worse, this 2015 provincial assessment is two years out of date; it’s likely that a review of the intervening 24 months would result in an
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The Voice
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www.thevoiceofpelham.ca PUBLISHER & EDITOR Dave Burket publisher@thevoiceofpelham.ca NEWS WRITER Samuel Piccolo ADMINISTRATION Lori Gretsinger office@thevoiceofpelham.ca CONTRIBUTORS Larry Coté, Nick Saltarelli, Carolyn Botari, John Swart, Kirk Weaver
equally severe, if not more urgent diagnosis. While KPMG stated that there was no $17 million debt unreported on Pelham’s books, it confirmed that approved loans worth $17 million had not yet been acquired. These prospective loans are primarily to pay for capital projects already undertaken, and to replenish internally-depleted reserves. This method allowed the $17 million dollar figure to remain off the financial statements, without technically making these statements incorrect. This tactic—of funding projects using creative accounting— is what former Councillor Marvin Junkin says led to the Treasurer telling Council that the province would not have approved the community centre loan had it known what Pelham was doing. KPMG said that it “understands” that this $17 million has been modified to $9.9 million. How, and why, was left unstated. While all this would seem alarming to any reasonable person, the presenters were clearly on a campaign to suggest that the news See TRUTHY next page
Letters Trees, forests, and green apples Sometimes we cannot see the forest for the trees. Our new Town Treasurer reminded us of this last Wednesday, following her excellent presentation at E.L. Crossley. This is a beautiful and vibrant town, Teresa Quinlan said, and she is happy and excited to be part of it.
CONTACT YOUR ELECTED OFFICIALS Member of Federal Parliament
Electoral District: Niagara West
Dean Allison, MP 4994 King Street Beamsville, ON L0R 1B0 Dean.Allison@parl.gc.ca 877-563-7900
Mayor of Pelham David Augustyn mayordave@pelham.ca 905-892-2607 Ext 317 Members of Pelham Town Council
Member of Provincial Parliament
Ward 1 Councillor Richard Rybiak rrybiak@pelham.ca 905-892-2105
Sam Oosterhoff, MPP 4961 King St. East, Unit M1 Beamsville, ON L0R 1B0 sam.oosterhoffco@pc.ola.org 905-563-1755
Councillor Marvin Junkin mjunkin@pelham.ca 905-684-4870
Electoral District: Niagara West-Glanbrook
Members of Niagara Regional Council Councillor David Augustyn mayordave@pelham.ca 905-892-2607 Ext 317 Councillor Brian Baty brian.baty@niagararegion.ca 905-892-5317 Town of Pelham 20 Pelham Town Square P.O. Box 400 Fonthill, ON L0S 1E0 905-892-2607
Richard
Brown
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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR are welcome. Letter submissions should contain the writer’s full name, address and telephone number. Names only will be published. Names may be withheld if compelling reasons are provided. The newspaper reserves the right to change, condense or reject any contribution for brevity or legal reasons. All material in this publication is protected by copyright. Reproduction is prohibited without express, written permission of the publisher. ADVERTISING: The Voice of Pelham regrets any errors or omissions that appear in advertisements in this newspaper, however, we will not be held responsible for more than one absent or incorrect insertion or for any damages beyond the cost of space containing the error. The Voice is an independent, locally owned and operated publication.
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We are also happy to have you, Teresa, welcome to Fonthill. This old “forest and trees” saying reminds me of Henry David Thoreau, who liked to express his thoughts in similar “nature” metaphors. He said those who continually find fault and seem never happy have eaten “too many green apples.” As 2018 approaches and we start thinking of New Year resolutions, let’s hope that we will all stop eating so many green apples, and start seeing the forest instead of the trees. Ginette and Patrick O’Hara Fonthill
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The Voice of Pelham, December 6, 2017
Page 5
OPINION Letters
The Comfort Maple
continued
This tiny tree I give to you, To help you understand The beauty and the majesty That is Canada, your land.
The power of the poem From early childhood, over 80 years ago, I have enjoyed writing poetry, articles and short stories from a humble heart. Once, in grade 12 at P.C.H.S. (Port Colborne High School), I won a literary contest on “Canadian Citizenship,” and was in awe when I actually received a monetary reward. I doubled this by further submitting my essay to the Legion and once again copped First Prize. And there ended my ability to make a living by words
alone. It was no surprise to me that for Canada’s 100th anniversary a poem was germinating in my subconsciousness but little came of the idea. So, as the 150th approached I decided, “Well, kid! You’re nearly 85! It’s do or die” —well not literally, I hoped. I approached the office of Dean Allison and was referred to Brian Baty, our Regional Councillor who became the answer to my prayers— dedicated, dili-
gent, intuitive, hardworking, dependable and a positive thinker. After several meetings, and cups of tea, a plan formed to showcase my poem about our “magical maple” with the glorious stately and most beautiful tree — “The Comfort Maple.” This project has reached fruition and many schools, and many students and staff and yes, we taxpayers too, will benefit from the sugar maple trees which
will be grown by and cared for by 100 selected schools across southern Ontario. How lucky am I? How fortunate are we to live in Ontario, to be Canadian citizens, to have the opportunity to see a dream come true. My sincere thanks to Brian and the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Foundation and to our Voice for letting us all be heard. Shirley Lazarus Fonthill
TRUTHY
or had every reason to believe that the number was not correct—that he, and the rest of Council, were explicitly informed on September 5 that the reserve funds had, in effect, been raided by Peter to pay Paul.
our online reporting. In response, the Voice supplied the Mayor with his verbatim statements, taken from an audio recording of the interview. We’re still waiting to learn how $17 million became $9.9 million.
(In a Sunday night email to the Voice, the Mayor said he didn’t know how 17 became 9, and that he may have misunderstood our reporter’s clearly phrased questions. “I did not mean to say or imply that KPMG were
continued from previous page wasn’t so bad. The Town Treasurer was particularly upbeat, lauding, at one point, her co-workers for making Town Hall a wonderful place to work. Dazed and confused yet? So was the audience. KPMG’s monotone presentation was nearly unbelievably stumbling, something that Town Hall attempted to turn to its advantage. Mayor Augustyn asserted that the auditors’ stupor-inducing series of slides demonstrated the “finances of the town are in good shape.” Yet nothing of the sort was assured last Wednesday. This is another instance of our Mayor’s troubling tendency to make inaccurate statements about Town finances. On November 6, just hours before Councillor Marvin Junkin resigned and spilled the beans on the actual state of Town finances, the Mayor was asked pointblank by the Voice whether the reserve funds number presented in the Town’s 2016 financial statements was in fact truthful. He answered, “I have no reason to believe that number is not correct.” Yet on Wednesday, KPMG confirmed that the May-
I have no reason to believe that number is not correct
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confused about anything,” wrote the Mayor.) Last Wednesday’s presentation was a superlative example of “truthiness” in action. But a few facts that are accurate, mixed with broad
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905•714•1117 As the crowd filed out of E.L. Crossley’s cafeteria following KPMG’s presentation, the Voice asked the Mayor how the not-yetacquired debt number had gone from $17 million to $9.9 million. He answered that the auditors had been confused. Two days later, perhaps realizing how foolish it looked to be seen questioning the competency of auditors brought in to assure Pelham residents that all was well, the Mayor denied that he had said that the auditors were confused and requested a “correction” to
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Page 6
Letters
You’re
The Voice of Pelham, December 6, 2017
www.thevoiceofpelham.ca
continued
Of dice, eggs, pigs, and the TREB
Not really Canada Revenue
The “special” Council meeting played out as I suspected it would. The Mayor spent a lot of our money to put lipstick on a pig. And it’s quite an expensive pig we have bought it seems. He couldn’t find it in himself to allow or personally answer any questions. He let the “experts” do all the talking, as he always does. The Mayor is rolling the dice and putting all of our eggs in one basket, which he carries while stumbling along, making it up as he goes. How many times has the Mayor claimed that “garbled, confused, and inaccurate information” was at the root of public concern. I heard him mutter this in front of Regional Council. I read in quoted in the papers, and I saw him say it on television. Yet the former councillor about whom the Mayor makes these accusations has been vindicated, repeatedly, by another councillor still serving. Back to the eggs in a basket thing. The Mayor has only one plan. One path to redemption. One way out of this mess. Growth. A growing community needs development, he repeats. That’s why the Town has become a rather incompetent developer. Buying high, then buying even higher again. Why? To build his wonInvited derful woonerf. Remember the woonerf? You’ll all see it soon enough. The land deal in question was all about building a wider road than required for a real developer to build so that the Mayor can build his woonerf. The rolling the dice part
Pelham residents should note that phone scammers attempting to pose as Canada Revenue agents are again at work. The scam typically consists of a threatening voice warning you that the agency has launched criminal fraud investigation charges against you and that you should call them at a phony area code 613 number. The caller tries to make this seem as imposing as possible. Do not respond. Do not return the call. And, above all do not give them any personal information, access to credit card numbers, or money. Canada Revenue will never call you by phone on such matters. They are legal-
In short a lot of prospective buyers are effectively going to be shut out of this gas bag of a housing market comes in when you real- past. On-line realty sites are popping up as I write. ize that to make all of his Finally, in a last desperdreams come true, quite a ate, grasping manoeuvre, laundry list of events and the real estate cartel wants trends must go his—and the Federal government to therefore our—way. allow parents with RRSP’s People must still want, and must still be able to af- to give some of that money to their offspring to buy a ford, to buy a home in the new subdivisions carpet- home with no tax repercussions. Houses are so exing East Fonthill, and then pensive, they plead. What a East Fenwick. Yet a new mortgage cynical, destructive plan stress test comes into ef- that would be. In short a lot of prospecfect January 1. Interest tive buyers are effectively rates will effectively head going to be shut out of this 2% higher. The U.S budget and accompanying mas- gas bag of a housing marsive tax cuts are going to ket. There goes demand. Prices will fall and with be inflationary. Interest rates will continue to rise them development will slow, quite a bit. I think I there and here. Jobs, jobs, hear some eggs cracking. jobs are also inflationary, Anyway, as Bob Dylan yet another reason to raise has said, “The times, they rates. The Toronto Real Estate are a changin.” If you recall some of my columns Board, or TREB, just lost its big case to keep buyers from last spring and summer, I stressed the need for in the dark about the home diversification and investthey want to buy. TREB, ment in many different asand by extension every other real estate board in sets. A home is but one. In Pelham it could have been the land, www.edwardjones.com must now allow jobs and businesses, but members to freely publish consumer-friendly stats being a developer is much cooler, don’t you think? and related data, like price The Mayor must still history—something that US buyers have enjoyed for believe so, since he’s still a decade and longer. Now wandering around, one this will be an eye opener hand clinging hopefully to for the average home buy- that basket with all of our cracking eggs in it, while er—actually knowing what a property sold for in the nervously jiggling a pair of dice in the other, clacking past, especially the resent away, waiting to throw for the big win. www.edwardjones.com Jim Pitt Pelham
You’re Invited
Season’s Greetings
Season’s Greetings
When: Where:
When:Thursday, When: Dec. 7th & Friday, Dec. 8th, from 9am - 5pm
Where:10 Where: Hwy 20 E (Edward Jones Fonthill Branch)
nicolle.lalonde@edwardjones.com
Member – Canadian Investor Protection Fund
Member – Canadian Investor Protection Fund
ly required to do everything truly serious by snail mail, including notification of a re-audit or issues more substantive. If you have an electronic ‘My Account’ with Canada Revenue you might receive an e-mail from the agency asking you to access that account to see a message (such as the results of your most recent filing). Please note that a genuine message from Canada Revenue will never includes a link. Never use the respond function in your mail software, especially if you have any suspicions. Dr. Barry Boothman Fonthill
In for sticker shock I attended the special Council meeting on November 29. What an eye-opener. Our town is in serious financial trouble. It's unfortunate the meeting was not open to public questions, as I would have asked the following: 1) Why did staff and Council initially agree to the development credits scheme, only later to deem that the scheme was an "administrative burden,” that credits would "exceeded the needs" of the developer, and would "reduce cash flow" for the Town. Surely all of these headwinds could have been anticipated given the known terms of the deal. Why wasn't a cash flow forecast performed that would have indicated the upcoming cash shortfalls, especially in light of the "transferable" clause, where the credits were sold to other developers? So despite the reasoning to pay cash from the start being a cash flow issue, the Town came up with $3 million to pay out the development charges? In hindsight, would it not have been better for the Town to buy the entirety of the land in question (all 8.87 acres) for $1.8 million, sever off the portion needed for the road and park, and sell
the rest, rather than pay out all those millions in development charge credits and then cash? 2) Any audit that I have been part of in the private sector, performed by a reputable accounting firm such as KPMG, usually comes with an assessment of deficiencies—essentially an opinion of what should be done differently or more efficiently. That opinion seemed to be notably absent during the presentation. What was KPMG's view of the financial events that have transpired? Was there a better way to handle the development of these lands? What are best practices in development, development charges and land valuations that should be followed? If I read between the lines on slide 42, and with the comments delivered by KPMG in the meeting, it seems the Town would have been prudent to in fact buy all of the 8.87 acres, as KPMG reported that the Town indicated it "did not have the funds to do so.” But in fact, the Town did have the funds to buy back those development charge credits just a short time later. 3) Why do we continue to add debt to the Town, when Ministry of Municipal Affairs indicates to the Treasurer through its the Financial Indicator Review, that in 2015 (the last year available
for the report) five of seven metrics indicated the Town had a “Moderate” or “High” financial "Level of Challenge,” despite other Niagara municipalities being rated as “Low.” It would appear that Pelham is in significant financial peril. 4) During the Treasurer's presentation, she indicated the Town was considering issuing an additional $9.9 million in debentures in 2018 (or was it $5 million, she was not clear on this matter), which I think puts the Town close to the borrowing maximum of $37 million set out by the Ministry. How is this going to impact the Financial Indicator Review when next completed? What are the consequences of the poor rating of that assessment by the Ministry? Could our cost of borrowing increase as a result? The absolute icing on the cake was a graph that showed, if the Town issued another $9.9 million in debt, the Town's Annual Repayment Limit rate will grow from 15.7% in 2018 to a whopping 22.1% in 2019— an increase of over 40%. Guess where that increase will come from folks—you guessed it—your taxes. You read it here first —we are in for some serious sticker shock for our 2018 property tax assessments. Paul Robinson Fonthill
OPENING FOR MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY ON THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Pelham Cares Inc. is a non-profit charitable organization whom has been providing food assistance, medical transportation and youth recreation subsidies to low income Pelham families, for over thirty (30) years. Applications are invited to fill Director openings on the all-volunteer Board of Directors. Interested individuals ideally will have: A commitment to help promote the vision and mandate of our organization; Experience in business management or support; or Experience in community management or leadership; or Experience in financial management. All Board members are expected to: Regularly attend all board meetings and important related meetings; Be informed about the organization’s mission, vision and programs; Be actively involved, serving on at least one (1) committee; Attend at least three (3) program events annually. Please note that Board meetings occur at 9:00 a.m. on the third (3) Tuesday of each month (excluding July and August). Interested parties are asked to submit a cover letter and resume via email info@pelhamcares.org, or delivered to our office at 191 Hwy 20 East, Fonthill, L0S 1E0. Questions can be directed to 905-892-5300. For more information refer to www.pelhamcares.org.
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UP TO
The Voice of Pelham, December 6, 2017
Page 7
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For the latest information, visit us at chevrolet.ca, drop by your local Chevrolet Dealer or call us at 1-800-GM-DRIVE. For the latest information, visit us at chevrolet.ca, drop by your local Chevrolet Dealer or call us at 1-800-GM-DRIVE. *<Chevrolet Holiday Bonus> total value valid toward the retail purchase or lease of one eligible new 2017 or 2018 model year <Chevrolet> delivered in Canada between December 1 – January 2, 2018. Total Value consists of $500 manufacturer-to-dealer Holiday Bonus (tax exclusive) delivery credit and manufacturer-to-consumer GM Card Application Bonus (offer applies to individuals who apply for a Scotiabank® GM® Visa* Card [GM Card] or current GM Card cardholders) (tax inclusive). GM Card Application Bonus credit value depends on model purchased: $500 GM Card Bonus on new 2017 Sonic, Cruze, Malibu (excl L), Camaro, Volt, Trax, 2018 Equinox; $750 GM Card Bonus on new 2017 Equinox, 2017 & 2018 Impala, Corvette, Colorado (excl 2SA), Traverse, City, Express; $1000 GM Card Bonus on new 2017 & 2018 Tahoe, Suburban, Silverado LD & HD. As part of the transaction, dealer may request documentation and contact General Motors of Canada Company (GM Canada) to verify eligibility. $500 Holiday Bonus is applied against eligible 2017 & 2018 MY vehicles purchased during the program period. 2017 & 2018MY vehicles not eligible for this offer are: exclusions outlined under GM Card Bonuses above, Spark, BOLT EV. This offer may not be redeemed for cash and may not be combined with certain other consumer incentives. Certain limitations or conditions apply. Void where prohibited. See your GM Canada dealer for details. GM Canada reserves the right to amend or terminate offers for any reason in whole or in part at any time without prior notice. Void where prohibited. See dealer for details. (0/60+$4,000 Total Value Finance Offer) Eligible 2017 Silverado Double Cab WT: Offer available to qualified retail customers in Canada for vehicles financed and from between December 1, 2017 to January 2, 2018. Financing provided, on approved credit, by TD Auto Finance Services, Scotiabank® or RBC Royal Bank. Participating lenders are subject to change. Rates from other lenders will vary. Representative finance example based on a new 2017 Silverado Double Cab WT. Suggested retail price is $46,440 including $1,700 freight and PDI, $100 air conditioning charge (where applicable). $0 down payment or equivalent trade-in required. $46,440 financed at 0% nominal rate equals $774 per month for 60 months. Cost of borrowing is $0 for a total obligation of $46,440. Taxes, PPSA, license, insurance, registration and applicable fees, levies, duties and, except in Quebec, dealer fees (all of which may vary by region and dealer) are extra. Dealers are free to set individual prices. Limited time financing offer which may not be combined with certain other offers. GM Canada may modify, extend or terminate offers in whole or in part at any time without notice Conditions and limitations apply. See dealer for details. ®Registered trademark of The Bank of Nova Scotia. RBC and Royal Bank are registered trademarks of Royal Bank of Canada. $4,000 Total Value. Limited time offer available to qualified retail customers in Canada. $4,000 Total Value is a combined total credit for finance purchases on select 2017 trucks; includes: $2,000 manufacturer to dealer cash credit (tax exclusive), $500 manufacturer-to-dealer Holiday Bonus (tax exclusive), $1,000 GM card application bonus (this offer applies to individuals who have applied for the Scotiabank® GM® Visa* Card [GM card] and to current Scotiabank® GM® Visa* Cardholders) (taxes included). $500 manufacturer-to-dealer Finance Cash (tax exclusive) towards the finance of an eligible new 2017 Silverado Double Cab at participating dealers. 2018 Silverado Double Cab Custom Edition Lease: Lease based on a purchase price of $45,137 for a 2018 Silverado Double Cab Custom Edition, includes $2,000 CDA, $1,000 Lease Cash, $500 Holiday Bonus and $1,000 GM Card Application Bonus (this offer applies to individuals who have applied for the Scotiabank® GM® Visa* Card [GM card] and to current Scotiabank® GM® Visa* Cardholders) (tax inclusive). Bi-weekly payment is $199 for 48 months at 2.9% lease rate on approved credit to qualified retail customers by GM Financial. Annual kilometer limit of 20,000 km, $0.16 per excess kilometer. $3,350 down payment required. Payment may vary depending on down payment trade. Total obligation is $23,621. Taxes, license, insurance, registration and applicable fees, levies, duties and, except in Quebec, dealer fees (all of which may vary by dealer and region) are extra. Option to purchase at lease end is $37,402. (0/60+$3,000 Total Value Finance Offer) Eligible 2017 Colorado: Offer available to qualified retail customers in Canada for vehicles financed and from between December 1, 2017 to January 2, 2018. Financing provided, on approved credit, by TD Auto Finance Services, Scotiabank® or RBC Royal Bank. Participating lenders are subject to change. Rates from other lenders will vary. Representative finance example based on a new 2017 Colorado. Suggested retail price is $32,760 including $1,700 freight and PDI, $100 air conditioning charge (where applicable). $0 down payment or equivalent trade-in required. $32,760 financed at 0% nominal rate equals $546.00 per month for 84 months. Cost of borrowing is $0 for a total obligation of $32,760. Taxes, PPSA, license, insurance, registration and applicable fees, levies, duties and, except in Quebec, dealer fees (all of which may vary by region and dealer) are extra. Dealers are free to set individual prices. Limited time financing offer which may not be combined with certain other offers. GM Canada may modify, extend or terminate offers in whole or in part at any time without notice Conditions and limitations apply. See dealer for details. ®Registered trademark of The Bank of Nova Scotia. RBC and Royal Bank are registered trademarks of Royal Bank of Canada. $3,000 Total Value. Limited time offer available to qualified retail customers in Canada. $3,000 Total Value is a combined total credit for finance purchases on select 2017 Colorados; includes: $750 manufacturer to dealer cash credit (tax exclusive), $500 manufacturer-to-dealer Holiday Bonus (tax exclusive), $750 GM card application bonus (this offer applies to individuals who have applied for the Scotiabank® GM® Visa* Card [GM card] and to current Scotiabank® GM® Visa* Cardholders) (taxes included). $1,000 manufacturer-to-dealer Finance Cash (tax exclusive) towards the finance of an eligible new towards the finance of an eligible new 2017 Colorados at participating dealers. 1 Vehicle user interface is a product of Apple and its terms and privacy statements apply. Requires compatible iPhone and data plan rates apply. 2 Vehicle user interface is a product of Google and their terms and privacy statements apply. Requires compatible smartphone and data plan rates apply. 3 Visit onstar.ca for coverage maps, details and system limitations. Services and capabilities vary by model and conditions as well as geographical and technical restrictions. Terms and conditions apply. OnStar acts as a link to existing emergency service providers. Not all vehicles may transmit all crash data. After the trial period, an active OnStar service plan is required. OnStar 4G LTE: Services and connectivity vary by model and conditions as well as geographical and technical restrictions. Requires active OnStar service and data plan. Data plans provided by AT&T or its local service provider. Accessory Power must be active to use the Wi-Fi hotspot. 4 U.S. Government 5-Star Safety Ratings are part of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA’s) New Car Assessment Program (www.SaferCar.gov). 7 Requires available 3.6L V6 engine. 8 Based on WardsAuto.com 2016 Small Pickup segment and latest competitive information available at time of printing. Excludes other GM models. 9 Requires available 3.6L V6 or 2.8L Duramax Turbo-Diesel engine. 10 Before you buy a vehicle or use it for trailering, carefully review the Trailering section of the Owner’s Manual. The weight of passengers, cargo and options or accessories may reduce the amount you can tow. **The 2-Year Scheduled Lube-Oil-Filter Maintenance Program provides eligible customers in Canada, who have purchased or leased a new eligible 2016 or 2017 MY Chevrolet (excluding Spark EV), with an ACDelco® oil and filter change, in accordance with the oil life monitoring system and the Owner’s Manual, for 2 years or 48,000 km, whichever occurs first, with a limit of four (4) Lube-Oil-Filter services in total, performed at participating GM dealers. Fluid top offs, inspections, tire rotations, wheel alignments and balancing, etc. are not covered. This offer may not be redeemed for cash and may not be combined with certain other consumer incentives available on GM vehicles. General Motors of Canada Company reserves the right to amend or terminate this offer, in whole or in part, at any time without prior notice. Additional conditions and limitations apply. See dealer for details. ▲Whichever comes first. See dealer for details. 1 Vehicle user interface is a product of Apple and its terms and privacy statements apply. Requires compatible iPhone and data plan rates apply. 2 Vehicle user interface is a product of Google and their terms and privacy statements apply. Requires compatible smartphone and data plan rates apply. 3 Visit onstar.ca for coverage maps, details and system limitations. Services and capabilities vary by model and conditions as well as geographical and technical restrictions. Terms and conditions apply. OnStar acts as a link to existing emergency service providers. Not all vehicles may transmit all crash data. After the trial period, an active OnStar service plan is required. OnStar 4G LTE: Services and connectivity vary by model and conditions as well as geographical and technical restrictions. Requires active OnStar service and data plan. Data plans provided by AT&T or its local service provider. Accessory Power must be active to use the Wi-Fi hotspot. 4 U.S. Government 5-Star Safety Ratings are part of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA’s) New Car Assessment Program (www.SaferCar.gov). 7 Requires available 3.6L V6 engine. 8 Based on WardsAuto.com 2016 Small Pickup segment and latest competitive information available at time of printing. Excludes other GM models. 9 Requires available 3.6L V6 or 2.8L Duramax Turbo-Diesel engine. 10 Before you buy a vehicle or use it for trailering, carefully review the Trailering section of the Owner’s Manual. The weight of passengers, cargo and options or accessories may reduce the amount you can tow. **The 2-Year Scheduled Lube-Oil-Filter Maintenance Program provides eligible customers in Canada, who have purchased or leased a new eligible 2016 or 2017 MY Chevrolet (excluding Spark EV), with an ACDelco® oil and filter change, in accordance with the oil life monitoring system and the Owner’s Manual, for 2 years or 48,000 km, whichever occurs first, with a limit of four (4) Lube-Oil-Filter services in total, performed at participating GM dealers. Fluid top offs, inspections, tire rotations, wheel alignments and balancing, etc. are not covered. This offer may not be redeemed for cash and may not be combined with certain other consumer incentives available on GM vehicles. General Motors of Canada Company reserves the right to amend or terminate this offer, in whole or in part, at any time without prior notice. Additional conditions and limitations apply. See dealer for details. ▲Whichever comes first. See dealer for details.
Page 8
The Voice of Pelham, December 6, 2017
www.thevoiceofpelham.ca
After Mathias barn burns, neighbours rally to help BY VOICE STAFF
All that remains of the Mathias Farm barn following last Monday's fire. mastime she and her husband are always looking for an organization to support, instead of “adults buying adults things they don't need.” They were in the middle of this search last week, Duncan said, when they heard about the fire. “We’ve found who we’re going to support. They’re such good people, and we want to do anything that we can for them.” In addition to the GoFundMe page, the farm has also posted a list of the tools lost in the fire. “The barn was Tommy’s workshop too, and he had everything there. We never had to go to the hardware store. How do you replace decades worth of stuff? You can’t just go to Canadian Tire and say, ‘I’ll take one of everything.’” Secord and her brother have operated the farm since 1982, but it has been in the family since their parents bought it in 1952, and the two grew up working on it. “Our parents always taught us to be so independent,” said Secord. “But we can’t face this alone.” In the days immediately following the fire, Secord says that near-
by residents and farmers immediately came forward to help—and she learned a lot about her brother when they did. “So many people said, ‘Oh, Tom roto-tilled our garden, and he wouldn’t take any money,’ or, ‘Tom fixed this, or Tom fixed that.’ I knew that he’s always helped within the distance that he can drive the tractor, but still. He’ll never say no—and then he’ll never say anything about it after.” Since the barn also contained the water pump for the property (Secord and her husband live in one house, and Tom lives in half of the other, part of which is also rented out), a neighbour brought them a temporary fix so that they would have water. “And just simple stuff, too, like food,” she said. “You think: ‘I have a kitchen, I can cook.’ But I just don’t have time. I’ve been on the phone with the insurance, with the clean-up companies. There’s no time.” Meanwhile, Secord has been trying to ensure that her brother can keep working, since there are still
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soy beans to be harvested. “We had two old tractors survive,” she said. “But we have no air compressor for the tires, or any tools to fix anything. Even if someone lends us a compressor, there's no where to plug it in. And if it rains, there’s no where to put it to protect it.” Still, Secord said that her brother has continued to harvest the soy, even if Thursday’s rain made combining that day impossible. “He’s a working machine,” said Secord. “He’s sixty-five years old, and he still is so strong and works so much. There are some stories about him that are just unbelievable. One time, the grain bin was on the lane by a hill, and the wooden axle snapped, tipping all of the soy beans out down the hill. He wouldn’t let me rent a vacuum pump to pick them up. He took a grain shovel and stood out there for six hours shovelling four tons of beans up the hill, and then up into the bin. The vacuum was only going to cost $250, but he wouldn’t let me. He said, ‘By the time they’d get here, I’d be done.’ And he did it all.”
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Last Monday morning, Beth Secord, who owns and operates Mathias Farms with her brother Tom Mathias, was in Welland when she received a phone call: one of their barns was on fire. Seeing smoke, a neighbour poked his head inside the barn, near the corner of Effingham Street and Metler Road, and found a whole wall in flames. “There was an extinguisher there, but the fire was too big and it was too late,” said Secord, as she sat in her kitchen a few days later, looking out at where the barn had been. “My neighbour’s wife called 911 as he was looking. By the time I got here, it was all in flames.” Secord said that a cause of electrical fatigue has been identified, and that no one is at fault. “It’s not something that we could have seen,” she said. The absence of blame has not made coping with the situation any easier. “We had almost everything in there,” said Secord of the barn, which housed most of the farm’s machinery, including five tractors, a combine, sorting materials, tools, and other supplies. “Every day I think of something else that’s missing. Pretty much all we have left for the farm are ladders.” Secord said that while they are trying to take things one day at a time, the re-building process has been laid out to her, and “it isn’t pretty. Insurance will maybe cover half. So we can get half a barn, half a tractor, half of what we need to farm come the spring.” To cover what insurance will not, Secord is hoping for support from the community. “It’s already been unbelievable. Unbelievable—I’m really trying not to cry,” she said as her eyes grew watery. “But you really see what friends you have.” By Wednesday evening, just two days after the fire, some neighbours and friends had already set up a GoFundMe page for the farm. Mary Duncan, who lives nearby and is part of the effort to fundraise for the farm, said that at Christ-
On Friday morning, calls continued to come into Secord’s home from friends asking to see how things were going. One woman was phoning for the first time, and Secord sighed deeply as she explained the story again, concluding by saying that they were sleeping better. When she’d hung up, Secord smiled. “She called all the way from BC.” Secord kept emphasizing the important of the support from the community. “We need to have some sort of plan, or strategy for fundraising, but we’re too focussed on taking things one day at a time. The only way that I can handle it is if it’s in small bits. So our friends Vic and Miriam have organized the GoFundMe, and everyone knows to look out for used tractors and used equipment for us, while we look after the clean-up here.” She looked out her kitchen window to where a crew was working through the wreckage. “We’re hoping to have it cleaned up by Christmas. I don’t really want to be looking at that at Christmas.” The clean-up has advanced past the environmental containment stage, which was successful, and now comes deciding what, if anything, can be salvaged and what can be disposed of. Walking amid the charred ruins, where there was still a strong odor of burning, Secord pointed to her brother’s workbench, warped by the heat. Piles of wrenches lay on the ground, most of them warped as well. One bunch, evidently stored in some sort of plastic, were fused together at one end and poked out like the quills on a porcupine. Back behind where the barn had stood was a big yellow excavator. “That’s not ours,” said Secord. “The Duffins brought that over so that things could be moved around and the fire department could put water on all the covered parts that were still on fire or smoking.” She pointed to the ruins, and to the husks of tractors visible in the debris. “It just picked those up and moved them around like they were toys—like they were nothing at all.”
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The Voice of Pelham, December 6, 2017
COMMENTARY
Following Pelham presentation, Regional questions remain BY TONY QUIRK
Special to the VOICE
The KPMG presentation regarding Pelham’s finances last Wednesday night further emphasized the concerns that have been raised by the Region in its capacity as a creditor to the Town of Pelham. And it raised new questions and issues, specifically: The finances of the Town of Pelham are evidently in such dire straits that the Ministry is recommending an Advisor be consulted. They normally are called in when two indicators are moderate or high, the Town of Pelham has seven. And these numbers are two years out of date. This confirms my personal concerns about their debt level and is proof that the Annual Repayment Limit is not enough to rely on anymore. In the future, we need to see these indicators before approving debt and the mitigation strategies to deal with them. The presentation also confirmed my worst fears, that the Town of Pelham has been raiding its own reserves, contrary to Public Service Accounting Board recommendations but also that they have booked future revenue for Parkland
dedication fees as a current year expense artificially increasing their bottom line. If you look at this transaction in detail, you see it has amalgamated two separate transaction (the land purchase for debt) with the creation of artificial revenue in exchange for a future accounts receivable). They borrowed the money twice, in other words, once from their reserves, and once from bank). Finally, the Treasurer of the Town of Pelham confirmed that the Town of Pelham does not follow best practices with respect to policies regarding financial management. The list of lacking policies is pretty critical. I think, as creditors to the Town of Pelham, the Region should be requesting a deeper financial audit, especially as the Municipal Act makes all debenture debts of the lower tier our responsibility. The Town admitted they need $7.8 million in new borrowing to “replenish their operating reserves” and a further $9.9 million for future borrowing. That equates to over $17 million in debt—$7.8 million that
the Treasurer confirmed was taken from reserves. But my biggest concern is the fact that the auditor confirmed that the CAO of the Town identified land that was needed for Parkland to a developer so they could purchase it, because the Town didn’t have enough money, only to pay five times the value two years later. I am not sure that this sort of collusion is ethical, but it certainly isn’t smart. The next steps will be for the Audit Committee to meet on January 29, 2018 to receive other correspondence and deal with the unanswered questions that still exist after last Wednesday’s presentation. I know that Pelham residents are trying to enact section 9(1) of the Municipal Affairs Act, which can ask the Ministry to approve a forensic audit upon receipt of 50 signatures of taxpayers. I think they will exceed that number of petitioners. We may also wish to wait until the Minister responds. Niagara Region Councillor Tony Quirk is Chair of Regional Council’s Audit Committee.
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Page 10
The Voice of Pelham, December 6, 2017
The vast space that was once a Target. Remote-control car racers occupy just a small corner of the floor.
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The Voice of Pelham, December 6, 2017
Page 11
New age, new tenants, same space Past its first golden age, the Seaway Mall re-invents itself
I
n mid-October, the Premier of Ontario visited the Seaway Mall. Kathleen Wynne’s SUV pulled right past the main entrances and stopped by a side entrance at the mall’s northwest corner. Near the back of the empty flagship store, which used to be Target, Wynne officially opened the Niagara Launch Centre, a space carved out of the mall to be used as a shop classroom for Niagara Catholic high school students. The students did their best to keep working as Wynne took a tour, tightening the bolts on a hubcap and continuing to sand a table even as the Premier admired their work, though they stopped when she had finished her walkabout of the site and the speeches began. Wynne and the Launch Centre’s creator Marco Maggezeni—and everyone else—touted the Launch Centre as part of a restoration of emphasis on skilled trades in the education system. Wynne referenced a student named Josh with whom she had spoken during the tour. “I was talking to Josh during my tour, and I asked him what he liked about the program,” she said. “And he said, ‘This place is my school.’” But the opening of the Launch Centre was also a piece of restoration for something else: the Seaway Mall itself. See NEW AGE next page
The Voice of Pelham, December 6, 2017
NEW AGE
after Wynne’s visit, he recalled the way things used to be. “This area here used to be Zellers,” he said, gesturing to the space in front of the mall’s front entranceway. “There was Miracle Food Mart too. And a K-Mart. We had ‘em all.”
continued from previous page The Mall’s President, Michael Belcastro, has known Maggezeni for many years and was there to witness the opening. “This was Marco’s brainchild,” he said later. “He started off with a construction class in a vacant unit in the mall, and then he had this vision. The only one excited when Target closed was Marco.” Belcastro surely wasn’t excited when Target closed. The Target site, which was formerly Zellers, which was formerly Woolco, was the mall’s flagship store at 130,000 square feet. When it closed in 2015, there was nothing that could replace it. “There aren’t 130,000 square foot tenants in this country anymore,” said Belcastro. Both before and at the same time that Target shut down, the mall’s second flagship, Sears, also closed. At just 40,000 square feet, the Sears space was easier to fill, and the Mall has leased half of it to Harts Stores and the other half to Staples, which has moved from its old location next door to the mall. Both before and at the same time, there were a handful of other significant vacancies in the mall, holes which Belcastro and the rest of the management have worked creatively to fill. “The Launch Centre is the big one—that’s a couple hundred kids coming into the mall each day, feeding the food court—but there are a lot of other things too,” he said. “The Welland Library just opened up a branch. The Humane Society has a cat adoption centre. There’s Employment Solutions, and the City also has its Youth Innovations here, which is a hangout spot for kids.” Belcastro views the mall as having entered a post-retail phase— in that the mall is now just as much a community centre as it is a shopping centre. Belcastro would know. He has worked at the mall continuously for the past 26 years, beginning in marketing before working his way up to president. But even before then he worked at the mall, in the maintenance department at Woolco starting in 1975, the year the mall opened. As he walked through the mall on a Friday in October, the week
Most of North America’s shopping malls were built in the two decades immediately following World War II, and for this reason have been called “pyramids to the boom years.” Belcastro said that he had recently seen a picture from the Seaway Mall’s opening day and was surprised that he’d forgotten how large the cars were. Though the Seaway’s opening in 1975 came at the end of those “boom years,”—after the first oil crisis, after the ‘60s, after Vietnam—it surely was a different time, when the only alternative to in-person shopping was a catalogue, and when the only way to see a movie other than on television was to go to a movie theatre. Harvard Business School Professor Leonard Schlesinger has said that malls were built for “patterns of social interaction that increasingly don’t exist.” If these social patterns increasingly don’t exist, then neither do the malls themselves. There are some 1100 shopping malls in the United States, but up to one quarter of these are expected to close within the next five years. On YouTube, Dan Bell’s “Dead Mall Series” explores abandoned or soon-to-be abandoned malls. In his video tours of “dead” malls in the United States, Bell narrates as he passes empty food courts and shuttered shops. In some cases, such as in Bowie, Maryland, Bell breaks in shortly before a derelict mall’s demolition, shooting footage of cavernously empty spaces where department stores once stood, escalators fossilized, their cleated risers buckled. “Warning: Asbestos Inside,” reads a poster outside. Bell often falls silent as he walks, and in those malls that are still open but devoid of shoppers, we hear only gentle Muzak, capitalism’s natural background radiation. In his videos of abandoned malls—those in which Bell is essentially trespassing—he still dubs the Muzak over the final product.
Similar fates await many malls in Canada. Niagara Square Mall closed earlier this year, and is scheduled to be demolished. While the Seaway Mall presently has much better prospects—as Belcastro passed by the mall’s old Reitmans, he said proudly that it would be the only vacancy by Christmastime—standing inside the old Target is nonetheless an eerie experience. As Belcastro closed the door to the space from inside the mall, the noise faded into a short echo, replaced by the soft buzz of a few industrial lights. In one corner sat a racetrack for remote-control cars, used three nights a week and on Saturdays. But the rest of the 118,000 sq. ft. space was virtually empty. “Every time I walk through I just shake my head,” said Belcastro as he looked around, his voice reverberating a second later off the far wall. “It cost Target thirteen million to renovate this, and it’s no good to anybody. For the next person that moves in, everything’s got to go.” He pointed over to the side where the Niagara Launch Centre occupies a tenth of the space. “The loading bay is where the school is now. They kind of sneak some extra space sometimes and think I don’t notice,” he said with a laugh. “But I’ve known Marco forever.” At the opposite side of the space rest parts of a mural that used to reside on the outside of Sears. Painted in 1985 by Heinz Gaugel, who also created the mural at E.L. Crossley, all 128 panels were removed last year and taken indoors for restoration. “BLX, the local art organization are taking care of it,” explained Belcastro. “There’s a room in the back where they take each piece, clean it, and then project the image back on top and touch it up.” Belcastro locked the door behind him when he left. Back out in the mall, looking at the wall there was no indication of the void behind it. He walked past the Welland Library branch that opened earlier this year. The library has a sizable collection of books, movies, and magazines, but it also plays host to many events, especially those for kids and seniors. Providing a place for seniors is
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On the cusp of a brave new shopping world. a point that Belcastro returned to often as he walked the mall. “If you’re ever bored, come here at seven-thirty in the morning. We have five hundred registered mall walkers, and we open the doors at seven just for them. The stores don’t open until ten. For many, this is their life.” More people in the mall means more money will be spent in it, though Belcastro seemed genuine as he emphasised that that the mall provides a community for seniors. In addition to the services available—doctors’ offices, dentists, a diabetes clinic, community support services—the mall is a place for seniors to go that is not the same four walls of their living rooms. “They come here in the morning when I get to work, and they leave when I leave. They socialize, they go to the library to research stuff. This is what they do.” That both Welland and Pelham buses stop at the mall means that seniors without licenses can get there. “That’s one of the sad things, seeing these guys lose their license,” said Belcastro. “For the first time in their life, they have to figure out the busing thing. But then you see them after two months and they’re thinking, ‘Why didn’t I do this a long time ago?’” Belcastro was not wrong about the presence of seniors. Even at lunchtime, after the shops were open and the mall walkers fin-
IMAGE COURTESY JAMES TAKEO
ished their laps, the benches were still mostly populated by gentlemen and ladies of a certain age. As Christmas approached and the mall became busier, the demographic shifted, particularly on Saturdays. In the mall’s centre court, the obligatory Santa’s Village had been erected, and by the interior doors to the old Target there was another event, a “Princess Tea Party.” The doors to Target were open and on their track the remote-control cars were buzzing around at unbelievable speeds. The rest of the Target space was open and empty, the Launch Centre’s back corner was silent, and few of the lights were on. But the car-racing area was a bustle of activity. At long tables, young men sat hunched over the little vehicles, pulling off the outer shells, tinkering with—and fully re-building—the cars’ insides. Christmas music floating in from the rest of the mall was just barely audible, though a few dress-wearing little girls from the tea party had wandered in and stood watching the cars speed around. After a while, the cars stopped on the track, and the announcer for the races spoke into his microphone. “We’re going to take a thirty-minute break, so you can go out and get something to eat,” he said. “But be back at one sharp. If you’re not here, we’ll be starting without you.”
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794 CANBORO ROAD @ MAPLE 905-892-9282
ANNOUNCEMENT to all patients Effective January 1, 2018, Dr. Bak and Dr. Grant, at Pelham Medical Associates, will be closing the walk-in clinic in order to concentrate on their family practices. We will continue to provide after-hours services for the patients of Drs. Bak, Grant, Lawrence, and Pauls. Thank you.
• • • •
Hair Cuts • Colour Barbering Wax and Sugaring Brow and Lash Tinting
Gift Certificates and Gift Baskets are available.
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www.thevoiceofpelham.ca
The Voice of Pelham, December 6, 2017
Page 13
Friday, December 8th from 4 to 7pm •20 local vendors •Kids corner •Pizza slices $1 each •Hot chocolate station •Santa visiting from 6-7pm and complimentary photograph •Door prizes and 50/50 raffle IT’S OUR FIRST ANNUAL
Holiday Vendor Showcase
The Niagara Peninsula’s premier retirement facility 1505 Lookout Street, Fonthill, ON www.lookoutridge.ca (905) 892-9218
Admission to the event is FREE, but we ask that you provide a non-perishable food item for our friends at Pelham Cares at the door.
Page 14
The Voice of Pelham, December 6, 2017
www.thevoiceofpelham.ca
Order in chaos Pelham Cares Food Drive runs like well-oiled machine BY VOICE STAFF As the food poured in to Pelham Cares’ ad hoc sorting centre on Rice Road on Saturday, dozens of volunteers moved ferociously, offloading bags of food coming in from house pick-ups and putting them onto carts to be taken to various sorting stations. The food drive is Pelham Cares’ main method of stocking its shelves for the year, and while it doesn’t weigh the amount of food coming in, there were surely many thousands of pounds collected on Saturday. Pelham Cares Coordinator Lori Grande, who was standing amid some ferns at the back of the greenhouse/sort centre, and who was just about the only one not running around feverishly, explained the system. “It’s hard to see what’s going on unless you already know,” she said. “But we have volunteers who go around to routes in Pelham, picking up food on doorsteps. They load up their cars and drop it off here at the front and back.” Grande pointed toward the doorway that led out to the dropoff area. “Then all the food is put onto those big metal carts and wheeled into the front of the sorting area. From there we have runners who pick the food out and bring it to the right table. There it’s put into boxes, and then back onto a metal cart to be brought back outside, where it’s loaded into vans to go back to Pelham Cares’ base-
ment.” Grande admired the proceedings. “Everything’s been going pretty smoothly so far,” she said, though added that it was too early to gauge just how much food had been collected relative to other years. Pelham Cares’ Christmas Food Drive has been ongoing for more than three decades, and Grande is confident that it’s one of the biggest events for a Town of Pelham’s size. “We have so many amazing volunteers,” she said. “Eighty of them here, and then fifteen more at our building on Highway 20. There are so many others out in vehicles picking up food, too.” In addition to the pleasant, flowery, smell wafting about, Grande said that the greenhouse is a great location for the food to be organized. Volunteer Pat Schofield, who moved to Pelham from the Barrie area four years ago, said that he too had never seen anything quite like Pelham’s food drive. Schofield’s unofficial title on Saturday was “Box Manager,” and he spent the morning assembling some of the roughly 1000 boxes that would be needed to transport the food. The boxes were stacked like honeycombs several cacti rows away from the food sorting area, but Schofield was moving them four at a time closer to where everyone was working. “We need a lot of boxes—one every minute for pasta—and
Hubbub coming through please, make way, make way. The Pelham Cares sorting scene last Saturday. people seem to be wasting time walking all the way back there, so I’m stacking them up here,” he said. Schofield has volunteered in the past, and thought that early in the day, this year’s drive was at least as big. “I haven’t seen as much peanut butter,” he said. “Which is good, because last year I sorted peanut butter, and I think there was too much.” Looking out at the sea of people carrying around boxes and bags, it was clear that the volunteers came from all corners of Pelham’s demography. “It’s a real cross-section,” said
sip, eat, chat, repeat!
Grande. “We have some who’ve been volunteering for a long time, and others who are new this year. It’s nice to have a mix between people who know how the system works and others who are here for the first time. Even the kids are really helpful—they know what all the food is and can bring it to the right sorting station.” Pelham Cares’ Treasurer, Sandra Warden, whose granddaughter helped out as a runner, was operating the volunteer sign-in table on Saturday, concurred with Grande’s assessment. “There was a hockey team just here,” she said, looking to the re-
VOICE PHOTO
freshment table, where the team, wearing their green Pelham jerseys, was eyeing the snacks and hot chocolate. “We invite all of our volunteers to come and have soup after. It’s a nice tradition,” she said. With Warden’s shift over, Grande took over minding the volunteer table as she kept an eye on the proceedings. Someone nearby mentioned that it reminded them of the North Pole. “Santa’s workshop just before Christmas—that’s a good way to put it,” said Grande proudly. “Once you see what’s going on in the chaos, it all makes sense.”
We invite you to experience the joy of Christmas through music, scripture and community
Spend the Christmas season with us! We’ve got a lot planned this December and you won’t want to miss it! Stay after the Service, enjoy a cup of coffee, and make new friends. Dec 9: “Star of Wonder” Children’s Musical - 3:30 pm Dec 10: Worship Service - 9:30 am plus “Star of Wonder” Children’s Musical - 11 am Dec 17: Worship Service - 9:30 am followed by Family Crafts & Pizza Lunch Dec 20: Wednesday Worship Service for Seniors - 2 pm
10 oz PRIME RIB SUNDAY DINNER $26 includes spring vegetables, roasted garlic mashed potatoes, Yorkshire pudding. FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK AND INSTAGRAM
1469 Pelham Street S. Fonthill, ON
905 892 6474 www.zestfonthill.com
Dec 24th - Christmas Eve “ThE ChriSTMaS STory” Worship Service - 9:30 am Family Service - 4 pm Scripture & Song - 7 pm Dec 31st - “LET iT Go” Worship Service with Communion - 9:30 am Children’s Program every week Nursery care provided for 0-3 yrs.
Pelham Community Church 461 Canboro Road, Fenwick 905-892-5922 www.pelham.cc
www.thevoiceofpelham.ca
The Voice of Pelham, December 6, 2017
Page 15
COMMUNITY EVENTS & CLASSIFIEDS
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Services
webmail account set-up, e-books, social media, editing and sharing your photos and more. Includes use of laptop or BYOG (bring your own gadget). BETTER OPTION MORTGAGE Saturdays 12:30 –HEALTH 3:30. Register and pay ahead in person. $5.00 per 1/2 EMERGENCY DEVICE FOR FOR MORE INFORMATION hour. Visit www.pelhamlibrary.on.ca S E N I O R S - F r e e E q u i p m e n t , or call 905-892-6443 for more details. CALL TODAY TOLL-FREE: No Income, Bad Credit Power of Sale Stopped!!!
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Dupuis have been exploring and performing time-honoured melodies from the stomping grounds of Quebec’s musical past. Using fiddle, accordion, harmonica, guitar, bouzouki and a number of other instruments, our three virtuosos blend boundless energyFARM with theWORKERS unmistakable joie de vivre found only in FRUIT FARM/GENERAL traditional Quebec music. Show runs from 7-9 p.m. Community Fruit farm seeking farm workers.
If your message to Pelham isn’t in our pages,
FARM LABOURER
Then it isn’t being seen.
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(905) 892-8690 advertising@thevoiceofpelham.ca
Events Listings
Pay $11.60/hour, 40-60 hours per week, must have own PELHAM LIBRARY CARD MAKING WORKSHOP Looking for seasonal/ transportation, must be able Putting on an event? full time help. Applicant Make six cards with fall a variety of techniques. Materials tothemes, handle 50learning lbs. comfortably, must be able to work Tell the town! working in rural area outdoors min. hours/week are40-60 provided. At time ofall registration, please enquire about tools needed. Community Event Classified weather conditions. Planting, in any weather condiads are available in blocks Tues., Sept. 16 10 – 12:30. $10.irrigating Pleasecrops register Visit www.pelhamcultivating, and ahead. tions and weekends. of 30 words, including hoeing crops strawberries and Lifting 50 lbs com-or call 905-892-6443 library.on.ca for more details. apples. Apply in person, 1367 headline for $8.85 + HST. fortably is required. Balfour Street, Fenwick Ontario Jobs included pruning, Ad booking and payment 10 – 5, Monday – Friday Planting trees, thinning deadline is Thursday Noon FABULOUS FENWICKfrom LIONS FISH FRY and harvesting fruit, to week of publication. Tastyand treats with funds heading straightMILL back into theprior community. Haddock, packing sorting CUSTOM Payment may be made over fruit.No Experience french fries and much more. Runs Sept. 9 from 4-7 p.m. the phone by credit card, Portable sawmill service. I will required. Must have or in person at our office by come to your home or farm and own transportation. Min custom mill your logs. Firewood cash or check. wage $11.60/hour. PELHAM MINOR HOCKEY EQUIPMENT & lumber also available.SALE Call Please drop resume Thanks for supporting Patterson,at905-401-4948 offBuy, at 825sell Canboro Rd, used Rob or trade equipment the Pelham Arena. Aimed to provide riverwood@primus.ca. your Voice! Fenwick Ontario L0S
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options for players in this upcoming season. Runs Sept. 6 from office@thevoiceofpelham.ca 9-12 in the morning. FOUND Found (Two Items). Birth
Support your local service clubs CELEBRATING OUR 20TH YEAR
Today's forgotten business stopped advertising yesterday
Bethany Christian Reformed Church 1040 Balfour St., Fenwick Concordia Lutheran Church 105 Welland Rd., Fonthill
CLA
COMMUNITY Events
PELHAM MUDFEST Certificate in Hurricane Road OCNA Network Classifi ed905-892-8690 Ads run on the year is Men and women will be back in the mud as the second area. Please come to the (AD CENTRAL) held at Bissil’s Hideaway. Fonthill Post Office with ID to Week claim. of NIAGARA REGIONAL EXHIBITION December 4
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Phone: 905-892-7898 Fax: 905-892-4811
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Everyone who's anyone 7. Proceeds for the Big Move stay in Niagara and support the Walker FamTAX INCL. ilyreads Cancer Centre. the Voice This ad is to be printed by all participating Ontario papers
WALKING CLUB Interested walking in Pelham? JoinEvents them Tuesdays at the Pelham Arena Places of inWorship and from 9-10 am and Thursdays at Fonthill Bandshell for 9-10:30 am. There First Presbyterian Tidings Church of God please contact jcook@ Pelham Evangelical Friends Church is no Church fee for this program. For Glad more information, 602 Metler Rd., Fenwick 1 Pancake Lane, Fonthill 940 Haist St., Fonthill pelham.ca or call 905 892-2607, ext 329. Fonthill Baptist Church 1414 Pelham St., Fonthill
Holy Trinity Anglican Church 1557 Pelham Street, Fonthill
Ridgeville Bible Chapel 418 Canboro Rd., Ridgeville
461 Canboro Rd., Fenwick
834 Canboro Rd., Fenwick
HAMPER DAY FOR PELHAM CARES Kirk on the Hill Presbyterian Church St. Alexander’s Roman Catholic Church 1344 Fonthill or bring a non-perishable 50 Pelham Town Sq., Fonthill Purchase fresh fruit and vegetables atHaist theSt.,Market foodChurch item to fill the hampers at the Pelham Farmers Fonthill United Pelham Community Church Market on Sept. 4. St. Ann’s Roman Catholic Church
Fenwick Church of Christ 765 Welland Rd., Fenwick
Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses 1369 Rice Rd., Fonthill
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42 Church Hill, Fonthill
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Page 16
The Voice of Pelham, December 6, 2017
SERVICE DIRECTORY Electrical Electrical
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WeContact are email currently accepting registrations for Rundate(s) info@fonthillelectric.ca our CARE WORKER CERTIFICATION course, Mar. 23, Apr. 6, 20, May 4, 18, @thevoiceofpelham.ca June 1, 15 and 29. which could lead to possible employment with Cost By: Date: our facility.$42 per insertion plus HST.
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Terms: Due on publication
The course content includes learning how to assist the elderly with daily care needs. Applicants should possess good customer service skills as well as enjoy working with seniors. Please send RESUME to the attention of: CWC Course. FAX: 905-892-9488 E-mail: lindsayrandall@lookoutridge.ca
DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION: December 31st, 2017
The public library as community builder BY KIRK WEAVER
CEO Pelham Library
The last column focused on the changes we hope to make in our facilities to respond to libraries’ changing role as community hubs. While the building is important to ensure efficient and effective activities, it is really the people inside and the things they do while there that are key to building a strong community. Communities with a vibrant public library are more likely to have a higher quality of life. Open spaces for children to play and take part in literacy programs allow parents to establish the groundwork for a pattern of life-long learning in their children. When children develop a thirst  for learning and participating in group events and activities they often become positive community builders in adulthood. Libraries can help create a positive community environment. Sometimes referred to as the “living room” experience, providing a safe, friendly and welcoming environment can facilitate social networking (the original kind). Through conversation, information
sharing and research activities the issues that are important in a community can be discussed, debated and solutions can be advanced.
Communities with a vibrant public library are more likely to have a higher quality of life Studies have shown some interesting things about people who go to the library: 25% learned about political or cultural organizations or leisure activities taking place in the local community. 20% went to the library with friends or colleagues to work together on a common assignment. 17% used the Internet at the library to contact friends via e-mail, to chat, or to participate in discussion groups.
16% used the library to learn more about local matters, social or political issues. 14% participated in organized meetings, such as author's nights, lectures, meetings with politicians. 10% used the library as a place to meet family or friends before going together to some other activity. We are confident that similar, or perhaps better, results would apply to the Pelham Public Library. We regularly hear from our current users that they believe the Library is a great place to build community. However, we also know that there are many people who haven’t used the library before or in a very long time. If you have a strong desire to learn about your community, to participate in addressing the issues facing your community, and making your community better, we encourage you to check out the Library. Inside you will find excellent staff, always willing to help. You will also find many other people with a similar desire to learn, grow, and build a stronger Pelham.
www.thevoiceofpelham.ca
MAYOR continued from Page 3 Well, they’ve been, they’ve been reported publicly, so, I, have. You know. I don’t. You’re saying that, you’re wondering if there’s other public reports, or you’re wondering if they’re different than what was published. No. There’s public reports that were published, and they were audited, and a third party, and, and 2017 will be audited. Okay. I don’t know what you’re getting at. You’re kind of circling around with your question. No, I’m just asking if they’re accurate, if the numbers are accurate. I have no reason to believe that they are not accurate. So, for example, the Reserve Funds, 2016, the end of of the calendar year 2016, $5.8 million and change, those funds were actually in the Reserve accounts at the end of the year. That’s what the auditor tells us, that those are the reserves, reserves and reserve funds. Those were audited and we were told this by an auditor. So you have no reason to doubt the accuracy of that audited statement. It’s clear these are audited statements. I’m not asking if they’re audited. I’m asking if they’re accurate. Council, um. When the auditor presents to us we ask questions, we review the audit, we do all those things. So… So you’re saying that you’ve not received any in-
The Voice of Pelham, December 6, 2017
formation in the interim to suggest that there’s anything incorrect about this number. These are the audited financial statements. They are truthful and audited and we have—you’re missing pages here where the auditor says where, that these are, to their, the best of their knowledge, all the audited financial statements and they match what information Council received. So Council will be— another one I remembered— Council, as we work our way through the budget, we will be looking at, you know, we approve, in the 2016 budget, for instance, the reserve balances, we look at the balances as we go forward, for the different accounts, so we look at those, those types of things. At the risk of being too persistent, could I get a yesor-no answer? Do you have any reason to believe that this number is not correct? I have no reason to believe that number is not correct. Okay. Total debt, at the end of 2016. $13 million and change. Again, any reason to doubt the accuracy of that statement? We realize it’s audited, we realize it’s been presented to Council— Same answer. No, there’s no reason. It’s been audited. The auditor’s gone through it. Right. If you have a problem with the audit, you should call Deloite. Right. So you’ve received no information in the interim that suggests that any of these numbers are not accurate. This is accurate as of De-
cember 31st, 2016. Right. And you’ve received no information after that time— Well, okay. Specifically for this, again, I don’t know what you’re getting at, I don’t know what context you’re doing. I mean, you’re just asking these— It’s not a difficult question to answer. No, but. Okay, so I’m going to expand on it, because it’s not black-and-white. Because, for instance, we took an additional debenture, which was well publicized, you guys covered it in your paper in June, June, July of this year. Right. So you would have to add that to that. And that report, from July or June, or whatever it is, does say how much the, what the debt is for the Town. And then those will be audited in the 2017 audit. And there was another report that came in, October of 2017, at the Region, um, because there were additional draws that people took. Port Colborne added debt to their—I think I wrote to you about that—Port Colborne added debt to their, um, what they were doing for their Operations Centre. And, um, West Lincoln added $21 million dollars….so those are in those reports. And you’ll see the number in there for 2017, so you’re asking has, has this changed. Yes, yes it has, because the year progresses and we took another draw on the— I think we’re wandering way farther afield than my question. My question was related just simply to Pelham’s financial statements,
Page 17
QUESTION PERIOD Former Niagara West - Glanbrook MPP Tim Hudak visited the Grade 5 class at Wellington Heights Public School on Friday, Dec. 1 to talk about being an MPP. The talk sparked some interesting, and tough, questions from the students. SARAH WHITAKER PHOTO and the Consolidated Debt amount at the end of 2016. Yes. This has nothing to do with Port Colborne, or West Lincoln, or the Region even. It has to do with whether or not this number is correct. That number is accurate to what the audited financial statements say to December 31st 2016. Right. We understand that’s what the statements say. Is the number, in fact,
correct, in light of any subsequent information you may have received since the audited statements were provided to you? No. I think. Yes, it’s correct. I don’t know how to answer it, because you’ve confused me on these yesand-no questions. It’s very easy…. There’s a good quote. “You’ve confused me on these yes-and-no questions.” Is it, is it correct? It’s
correct as it’s stated there on the 31st, 2016. Okay. So, yes— Absolutely no reason for you to doubt that this is— No. —forever and ever will be truly the picture of the Town’s financial health on December 31st, 2016. Correct. Good…. That’s it? Pretty much.
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The Voice of Pelham, December 6, 2017
COLUMN SIX continued from Page 1 ingly that Miss Keller took to hers and kept the door wide open. To Miss Keller, teaching was more religion than occupation, and the classroom was her temple. She was always there, often before seven in the morning and for several hours after the last bell. Her room was always open to those looking for extra help in calculating moles of magnesium or in re-trying an unsuccessful experiment. When in her room Miss Keller did far more than merely teach the curriculum. She was the driving force behind the school’s eco-club, breakfast program, and very nearly all of its green initiatives. She was a grant-writing machine, and the money that she acquired for the school— put towards trees, outdoor classrooms, and a picnic area, among others—is staggering. My sister, who is now a student at Crossley, was invited with a friend to organize an environmental workshop for elementary students in Mississauga. Even though she was away recovering from her surgery, and even though she was unable to drive during rehab, Miss Keller found her way to Mississauga in October, paid for her own hotel for two nights, and helped her students as she could.
Miss Keller had been entitled to retire for a couple of years, but chose to stay on at least until the end of this school year. She had retirement plans—she once told me that she planned to go to Antarctica—but she also told my sister that once retired she’d be able to devote “even more time to grant proposals.” To know Miss Keller was to know that everything she did, every moment-by-moment interaction she had, sprang from inner conviction. Chemistry is a difficult subject, and Miss Keller had no interest in permitting students to leave her classes with undeserved passing grades. For this reason she was treated with suspicion by students unaccustomed to such conviction. At a time when teachers are pressured to inflate marks, offer limitless chances, and seek some vacuous idea of “student success,” Miss Keller was a classroom teacher who still believed in classroom standards. We were all the better for it. And yet she knew that chemistry was not everyone’s calling. When I was in Grade 12, her class’s final exam was the morning after Barack Obama’s first State of the Union address following his re-election. By this time, my performance in Miss Keller’s class had made it obvious that any scholastic ability
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of mine lay in social—not hard—sciences. Instead of studying, I chose to spend the night before watching Obama and the subsequent dissections of his words. Several days later when I went in to view my mark, I saw, unsurprisingly, that I had not scored well. After I had explained the likely cause of my under-achievement, she shook her head sadly, but smiled. “You’ll always be best at what you love,” she said. Though invariably professional, Miss Keller was far from humourless. Her sense of humour was one made all the better by the way in which she could catch you off guard, sliding in a dry remark amid her seriousness and then grinning mischievously. In class once she overheard students discussing necrophilia and told them to return their focus to the subject at hand. Several minutes later, she again heard reference to necrophilia. “That again?” she sighed. “I thought that was a dead conversation.” Most of the class caught the accidental joke before she did, but when she realized what she had said, she laughed as hard as any of us. Another time, she recounted a rumour she had heard about the stores of a chemistry department at a shuttered Welland high school. “I heard that they took all of their sodium and potassium and rolled it into a ball,” she said, referring to the soft metals that react violently when put in water. “Then they threw it in the canal.” She cackled at the thought, both horrified at the prospect and clearly delighting in envisioning it. Even before I knew her, I had heard whispers that she had a phobia of banan-
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In April of this year, Sharon Keller at Crossley, with the author’s sister Tessa. as. When I eventually had the nerve to ask her if it were true, she laughed. “I’m not afraid of them,” she said. “I just don’t like the smell, and I definitely don’t like to eat them. There’s so much potassium in bananas!” Miss Keller was for me a mentor, role model, and constant reminder of how a classroom teacher can do things that others can’t, but she never did quite become a friend. Since my departure from high school—and university—some former instructors have slid effortlessly from being Mr. so-and-so to acquiring a first name, but this was not Miss Keller’s style. One former student of Keller’s, now in his forties and a teacher at E.L. Crossley, where he taught alongside her for many years,
once said: “She’ll always be Miss Keller to me. Not Sharon.” Miss Keller was fiercely private. Reportedly, her last will requested that no public memorial be held—not even at the school—and the memorial that will be held for her, in Sudbury, is said to be invite-only. (My sister and her friends will be organizing a shoreline cleanup in Miss Keller’s honour in the spring.) In all the classes that I had with her, and in all the lunch-breaks that I spent in her room, she would occasionally make reference to her childhood in Northern Ontario, or to trips that she had made or planned to make with friends. Often, though, efforts at inquiring into what she did when not at school were met with gentle but firm re-orientations that unfailingly
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returned the conversation to its original track. And so it was the way she wanted it. So I am left with the hope—belief, maybe—that Miss Sharon Keller lived a personal life as deep and as meaningful as she did professionally, because there is no one I have met who deserved more to be wholly happy. But while I have this hope and with it a foggy image of her unwinding on a Friday evening or lazing about on a Sunday morning, I will be happy to keep her in my mind just as I knew her: visible through her classroom’s open door, sitting on a stool behind her desk, her solar-powered dancing flower waving just front of her hand as she corrected, in red pen, the work of her students, whom I think she loved, and who I know loved her back.
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MEETING continued from Page 1 “I like what I do,” Papp told the woman. “Sometimes things don’t go the way they should.” “Then change it,” the woman said. “We are,” replied Papp. “I can’t say too much, but we are. There are things —that I can’t say—that have to be changed. That’s absolutely correct.” Papp said also that when the presentation was over, he said to a colleague on Council, “‘If you watch this, you think, ‘Maybe things aren’t so bad. Maybe things were done right.’” Then, apparently referring to the closed-door presentation Council received on September 5, Papp said, “That’s not what we heard.” Following the presentation, Junkin echoed Papp’s words. He recalled that on September 5, “The message was, ‘You’re [in deep trouble].’ The information the Treasurer presented tonight was mostly the same, but tonight it was painted in a rosy picture. On September 5th the Treasurer said that we wouldn’t have been approved for the community centre if Infrastructure Ontario had known about the empty reserves and the other debt that wasn’t on the books.” Junkin—who received a standing ovation from almost every member of the audience as he walked into the cafeteria shortly before the meeting started— said that it wasn’t made clear how long the $17 million in approved future debt had been floating around. (KPMG said on Wednesday night that this number had been “updated” to $9 million.) “The people on Council are all basically good people,” Junkin added. “I’ve never said anything personal about them. They’re just being led down a path that everyone on the outside can see is not a good path. I hope when they have the time to reflect they’ll see this.” KPMG’s presentation cov-
ered the Town’s 3.3 acre land deal with the Allen Group, a GTA-based developer doing business as “Fonthill Gardens.” The report included a complex series of documents and land transfers. The firm concluded that a parkland dedication agreement was not subject to the development charges act and thus could not contravene it. KPMG confirmed that the Town had negotiated a transaction with Allen Group that saw the land paid for through “municipal credits” rather than cash. “These credits did not constitute debt because the Allen Group could not compel the Town to pay out the credits,” asserted KPMG’s Karen Grogan, despite the scheme being agreed to in writing between the parties. Furthermore, KPMG confirmed that the Allen Group had subsequently sold some of these credits at a discount prior to the Town taking actual ownership of the land from the firm. Although the scheme had initially been approved by the Town, it was later deemed an “administrative burden,” and the Town bought back the remaining credits from Allen Group in the summer of 2016. KPMG reported that then-Treasurer Cari Pupo told Council that the Town would not need to borrow to complete the $3 million dollar purchase. No explanation was given during the presentation as to which funds were ultimately used for the buy-back. (According to Junkin, Council was informed that they could approve the buyback of the credits, but he says that they weren’t told where the money was coming from.) Unusually, KPMG did not provide an “assessment of deficiencies” or management letter that typically accompanies an audit, in which the firm would have interpreted the results and provided an opinion of the Town’s actions. KPMG also revealed elements of a presentation it made to Council in a closeddoor September 5 meeting, including its findings that
The Voice of Pelham, December 6, 2017 cash from the Town’s reserve funds had been spent on capital projects. Grogan said that while there was no legal require-
Now the community knows that the finances of the Town are in good shape, and in good hands
ment for the Town to cover the cash reserves with cash or liquid assets, “We do understand that there should have been cash on hand.” Town Treasurer Teresa Quinlin confirmed that the Town has nearly emptied its reserves, saying that these funds had been spent on capital projects. While, like Grogan, she said that there was no requirement to have the reserve cash on hand, the first priority of her “Financial Strategic Direction” is “replenishing the cash balances.” When asked if Council had been informed of the use of reserves for capital projects, Councillor Papp said that Council had received reports and that it had been told that “there would be lean years.” However, Papp told the Voice, “There were some instances where the reserves were depleted without the proper approval.” In response to allegations that the Town had an unreported debt of $17 million, KPMG’s Grogan said that this figure was not unreported debt, but rather debt approved by Council but not yet acquired. “We understand that this has been updated to $9.9 million,” said Grogan, asserting that the figure had changed since the summer. (After the presentation on Wednesday night, Mayor Augustyn asserted that the number was never $17
Page 19
million, and that the auditors had been confused because $17 million and $9 million “happened to be on the same page.” However, in a Sunday night email to the Voice, after an earlier version of this story appeared online, the Mayor said he didn’t know how $17 million became $9 million, and that he may have misunderstood the Voice’s clearly phrased questions. “I did not mean to say or imply that KPMG were confused about anything,” wrote the Mayor.) Grogan displayed a chart depicting the Town’s levels of financial challenge, and said that the Town ranked “moderate” on five of the seven indicators and “high” on two. “Two or more indicators showing moderate to high would prompt follow-up contact [from the provincial government] to remediate,” said Grogan. Teresa Quinlin confirmed that the Town has “requested” a visit in January from a municipal financial advisor from the province. In an interview on November 6, Mayor Augustyn stated unequivocally to the Voice that the reserve fund figures on the Town’s financial statements were accurate to the best of his knowledge. During their Wednesday presentation, KPMG confirmed that on September 5, Council was in fact told about the Town’s empty reserve funds. Wednesday night, Augustyn responded, “We’re a growing community, and we’ve invested in the groundwork of it. That’s where the money is—invested in the community, and that payment will come back to the Town as a result.” Augustyn repeatedly refused to comment on KPMG’s September 5 presentation to Council, and blamed the Voice for printing “confused and garbled things that got this huge uproar in the community, which is unfortunate.” “Now the community knows that the finances of the Town are in good shape, and in good hands,” said the Mayor.
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BALLOONING INTEREST Grade 6 student Jinja Shepherd explains her experiment on static electricity at the Glynn A. Green Public School's annual science fair last Friday. See story, page 3. NATE SMELLE PHOTO
Public meeting tonight on school issues BY VOICE STAFF As questions continue to mount regarding an email that Pelham Mayor Dave Augustyn quietly sent to a District School Board of Niagara trustee last summer, Augustyn has agreed to address the issue at a public meeting scheduled for this evening, Wednesday, Feb. 8, in Fenwick. Nancy Beamer, speaking for “Names Matter,” a Pelham citizens group lobbying the DSBN to reverse its decision to rename a local public school, confirms that the meeting will be held at Fire Station #2, known locally as the Fenwick Fire Hall, starting at 7:00 PM. While the Mayor has agreed to ap-
Under pressure, Mayor to address email revelation, other E. W. Farr matters pear, says Beamer, DSBN officials associated with the school-naming process have either declined to attend or have not yet responded to the group’s invitation. DSBN Chair, Dale Robinson, to whom Augustyn’s email was addressed last June, has declined to appear, says Beamer, asserting that she would be
“on holidays.” The Voice was unable to independently confirm Robinsion’s intentions. She did not respond to repeated requests for comment on E.W. Farr-related matters before presstime. Beamer, whose group maintains an email list of some 580 residents, says that all members of the public are invited and encouraged to attend the meeting. “We would especially welcome parents and children who are unhappy with the name change,” she says, referring to the contentious decision by the DSBN to consolidate two Pelham See MEETING back page
HEN I WAS young, my father and I would go for long drives along the rural routes of Pelham. We’d blast George Thurgood and roll down the windows because we loved the smell of the breeze, the sensation of crisp Niagara wind beating our cheeks and tangling our hair against our summer-kissed skin. My father was not a sentimental man. He worked in factories and had a Gordon Lightfoot mustache and never shed tears over injuries. Yet something about the Pelham landscape, the hilly backdrop to his childhood and the childhoods of our ancestors, drew him in. He’d stop by a farm or a gathering of woods and, surrendering his manly veneer, tell me a story about the town. This place is precious. This is the earth that granted us life. Here is the place where we happened upon love or here is a site of devastation. On one particular drive sometime in the late ‘90s we stopped at a tree with a plaque. “This tree looks dead,” I said to my father. “It sure is getting there, Julie.” The Comfort Maple is supposedly Canada’s oldest See COLUMN SIX Page 14
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Part 2 of 2: Coronation to embarkation BY HEATHER McLAREN ROHRER
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A
Repair measures underway last week to correct a construction error in the chicane. truck or an ambulance?” he said. While waiting for the contractor to return to fix
the mistake, the Town has taken measures to temporarily allow passage for vehicles through the neigh-
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bourhood in the short-term. Manager of Public Works Ryan Cook said that after discovering the issue with
the chicane the morning it first opened, the Town See CHICANE Page 5
Petition-inspired changes coming to 2017 Summerfest BY NATE SMELLE
The VOICE
Representatives from the Pelham Summerfest committee Candy Ashbee and Bill Gibson presented council with a final report on the 2016 Summerfest at the Council meeting on Monday, Nov. 21. Prompted by a story in the Voice in August about a merchant petition to move Summerfest from Pelham Street, in September Town staff met with various stakeholders to hear their complaints, promising at the time that changes in the way Summerfest was mounted would be con-
sidered. The main concerns identified during the community engagement process were security, parking, ensuring customer can access all businesses in town, and liability for damages. How to get all Pelham Street businesses to participate and finding ways to make it beneficial for them to set up a booth were also determined to be of high priority for the committee as they plan for next year’s event. Gibson told Council that the committee is addressing these concerns in a variety of ways. To improve parking, they intend to create bet-
ter signage for out-of-town visitors to designated parking areas and shuttle services. To make participation in Summerfest more enticing to local businesses, they plan to implement a tiered-charge for booths. Under the new system, Pelham Street business owners will be charged the least, other local businesses will pay a slightly higher fee, and vendors from outside Pelham will pay the most. In response to more specific issues for individual businesses, they will also slightly alter the footprint of the event and make adjustments to security. Another way the committee plans
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to improve the 2017 Summerfest is by sponsoring and working with the organizers of the Thursday Night Bandshell Concert series to select the artist performing on the first night of Summefest. They also intend to make more use of the smartphone app they launched in 2016. "We are really going to push it this year," Ashbee said. “It really helps to get people to see what events there are so they can plan out where they are going. We will be able to actually help the merchants and local businesses ad-
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Haist Street traffic-calming measure a little too effective A construction error was discovered following the opening of a traffic calming chicane on Haist Street north of Hwy 20 last Monday that prevented large vehicles from passing through. One resident living in the neighbourhood said he contacted the Town after seeing a small schoolbus get stuck as it tried to get through the new traffic calming measure. Later that day while driving behind a cement truck, he said that he became concerned for the public’s safety when the truck had to turn around because it couldn’t get through. “If a small school bus and a cement truck can’t make it through what about a fire
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BY VOICE STAFF The District School Board of Niagara is requesting that the Town of Pelham cede a portion of Cherry Ridge Park for use as a soccer field to serve the students of the new Wellington Heights Public School, formerly the E. W. Farr Memorial Public School, in Fenwick. Currently under renovation and expansion, the new school will combine students and staff from the previous school and Pelham Centre, where classes are being held while construction continues. Two letters, containing virtually identical text but signed by different authorities, were sent last week to nearby residents of the park, as well as to parents of Pelham Centre students. “The DSBN is currently building onto Wellington Heights Public School on Alsop Drive,” states the letter. “The size of the school's addition means the existing small soccer field will be eliminated. The Town and the Board have been discussing the possibility of working together to create a field for both the school and the
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FTER LUNCH ON Saturday, Mum and Dad had my afternoon cut out for me. Mum had more brass than anyone I knew, and it had to be cleaned. In addition there was the set of silver fish-knives and forks which were never used, but which had to be cleaned and put back in their velvetlined box. Next was a walk to the newsagents to pay for the daily delivery of the Daily Mirror. As I said, Dad was a printer, but when he was 37 he had been rejected for a job, as being too old, by the printers of the Beano. For that reason, my favourite comic was not allowed in the house, but while I was paying the papers, the newsagent let me have a 'shoofty' at the Beano. I'd explained my predicament and he understood completely. Sundays were different again. Dad would play golf on summer mornings and billiards in winter. Then he'd stop for a 'refresher' at the local and would pick up the prawns, cockles, winkles or whelks we'd be having for tea later. Meanwhile, Mum was roasting the 'joint' and potatoes. I got to make the Yorkshire pud, and mint
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Apple Day comes to Fonthill BY VOICE STAFF
The goal is to have these youth develop into confident and well-rounded individuals ceives them, enabling youth to have experiences that build character, challenge them, and allow them to try new things. The goal is to have these youth develop into confident and wellrounded individuals, better prepared for success. Apple Day helps to achieve that.”
BY NATE SMELLE
Joining their principal, Karen Simpson, at the Sept. 19 Council meeting as part of a delegation from EL Crossley Secondary School, students Abby Loewen and Neenah Williams presented Council with a list of reasons that they should immediately approve the construction of the new sidewalk proposed along Hwy. 20. The asphalt side-
walk/trail is slated to be built between the south side of the road from Timmsdale Crescent to the high school. Because of the large volume of motor vehicle traffic travelling at high speeds through this area, and because of the necessity for students to tread this path on a daily basis, many residents would like to see the sidewalk go in sooner than later. After delivering to Council a petition containing
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T Second year Beaver with the 3rd Fonthill Group, Russell Letford offers a fresh apple to shoppers in Pelham during the 2015 Apple Day campaign. SUPPLIED PHOTO A longtime Canadian tradition, Apple Day began in 1932 in Saint John, New Brunswick, when Scouts handed out 21,000 apples as a way to say thank you to the community. In return for their generosity, many people offered them donations. From then on Scouts have reached out through Apple Day to raise funds for their programs.
“Any money raised during Apple Day goes towards improving the Scouting program by providing more outdoor adventures for youth, camping equipment, canoes and paddles, training and many other endeavours that the youth want to experience,” says Marie. Scouts Canada has some 100,000 members across Canada, and carries out programs for boys, girls
and youth ages 5-25. This year the 3rd Fonthill Group, which includes Beavers to Ventures (youth ages 5- 25) will be hitting the streets to drum-up support. Over the weekend, Scouts will be set up in Fonthill outside Sobeys, Tim Hortons, Target Gas station, Fonthill Shopping Plaza and the Pioneer Gas station at the corner of Hwys 20 and 24.
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Column Six It doesn’t get better than Autumn
Longtime Scouting tradition dates to 1932 While shopping in Fonthill between Friday and Sunday, keep an eye out for Beavers, Cubs and Scouts in front of local stores with bushels of apples. As part of the annual Apple Day campaign, Scouting youth of all ages will be trading apples for donations. The yearly fundraising drive is an important way for young Scouts to connect with the communities they are serving, says Leah Marie of Scouts Canada. “The Apple Day campaign holds a great tradition of being able to have youth interacting within the communities they live in,” she says. “All of the Apple Day donations stay directly within the group that re-
Office 905.892.1702
Many residents would like to see the sidewalk go in sooner than later the names of 450 students calling for a safer walk to school, Simpson handed the
podium over to Loewen and Williams to plead their case. Loewen told Council that because there are a lot of students who have work placements and coop placements during the school year, this is the only route for many of them to travel. As one of the students facing this predicament, Williams said she has had no other option but to walk along the dangerous highway.
“I start work at 2:30 PM and school lets out at 2:15 PM so I can’t take any other route,” Williams explained. “I have had friends, family, teachers and other community members reach out to me in the past about how this is unsafe and how there should be another alternative for us.” Looking ahead to winter, when she will need to walk this path three or four times
HERE IS NO BETTER time to cycle than Fall. It matters not whether you’re new to the sport, a seasoned recreational cyclist, racer, touring rider or mountain biker; we all have reason to look forward to autumn. Summer’s heat has faded, and the streams of sweat that ran from soggy helmets into our eyes are now just slight perspiration. Fitness is peaking from lots of saddle time, making those tough climbs of Spring a breeze in Autumn. It’s hard to beat the feeling of beginning a crisp, cool Fall ride with a slight shiver, knowing your efforts will soon warm you perfectly. The hues of Autumn are outstanding. A Pelham route as simple as following our southern boundary is one that would make most Toronto cyclists jealous, especially when our forests and fields are ablaze with colour. Begin from Harold Black Park, and zig-zag south along Effingham Rd toward the Welland River. If you’re new to cycling, it’s important to know south is the direction away from any hills. If you avoid the morning and evening weekday rush hours caused by those travelling through Pelham between Wainfleet
See SIDEWALK Page 2
See AUTUMN Page 3
Full service. Full-time Realtor. Your Fonthill real estate connection.
Niagara Real Estate Center, Brokerage Independently Owned & Operated
Office: 905.892.0222 • Sell: 905.321.2261 • debbiepine@royallepage.ca
You’re Invited - Conversation Café Enjoy free coffee, treats & a conversation! 9:30 – 11:30 am at Sobeys Fonthill
Sponsored by:
Seniors’ Advisory Committee
• Wednesday, December 7th – Mental Wellbeing Sobeys Fonthill
For more details, contact 905-892-2607 ext. 320 or visit pelham.ca/psac.
Fonthill & District
Christmas shopping starts here!
Saturday, 15 & Sunday Sunday, Oct. Oct 16. Saturday Oct. 17 18
10am - 4pm
Kinsmen Invite you to Come & Enjoy the Annual
FONTHILL
Centennial Secondary School, Thorold Road, Welland, Ontario
FONTHILL
Door proceeds in support of Special Olympics and Pathstone Mental Health
CELEBRATING OUR 20TH YEAR
Opening 2018
“
“
Pelham Panthers Basketball has grown to be the largest club in the region. Without the Pelham Community Centre we will struggle to meet this demand due to the lack of available and affordable facilities.
-Brian Bleich President, Pelham Panthers Basketball
Learn more about this vibrant, innovative, and caring project by visiting:
www.pelham.ca/pcc
Page 20
The Voice of Pelham, December 6, 2017
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EXECUTIVE PRIVILEGE The Fonthill and District Kinettes met at Old Pelham Town Hall to install its new executive. From left, Deputy Governor Courtney Lee, and Kinette President Cindy Ripley, Vice President Carla Iggulden, Treasurer Patti Keller, Past President Betty Twomey, Registrar Wendy Dyck, and Membership Director Lola Bronn. SUPPLIED PHOTO
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Henry Knaflec, Ruby the dog, and firefighter Yvon Audette launch the Fonthill Volunteer Firefighter Association's annual Toy and Pet Food Drive. Food and supplies, and unwrapped presents may be dropped at Town Hall, the library, Pelham Cares, Fire Station 1, and all local banks and the credit union.
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