THE
SERVING THE MAPLETON COMMUNITY
COMMUNITY NEWS Volume 49 Issue 05
Drayton, Ontario
1 Year GIC - 1.82% 3 Year GIC - 2.00% 5 Year GIC - 2.40% Daily Interest 1.00%
638-3328
Friday, February 5, 2016
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No A’s for politicians on Mapleton Township council report card
Skaters in Candy Land - The annual Weskate competition (Western Section of Skate Canada’s Central Ontario division) was held on Jan 30 and 31 at the PMD arena in Drayton. Over 300 skaters from 14 clubs, including Kincardine, Mount Forest, Durham and Walkerton, participated. The Drayton Skating Club won the bid to host the 2016 competition. Over 2,000 volunteer hours were put into the event. From left are Drayton Skating Club members Erin Schill, Kandice Roth, Julia Mantler, Evan Hills and Amy Cosens at the photo booth. The theme of the day was Candy Land. Organizers noted the stands were filled throughout the event. photo by Caroline Sealey More Weskate coverage on page 2.
Project still alive despite failure of 11th hour effort to include skate park in 2016 township budget by Patrick Raftis MAPLETON - While a last-minute attempt to have the Drayton skate park project included in the 2016 budget failed, Mapleton council left open the possibility the proposed facility could still be built this year. Councillor Michael Martin introduced a notice of motion at the Jan. 27 meeting to have the municipality contribute funding required to complete the project in the 2016 budget. Plans for the facility called for the one third of the estimated $100,000 cost to come from the municipality, with a third each to come from community fundraising and the Ontario Trillium Foundation. However the project has been in limbo since December, when the municipality learned its Trillium application was unsuccessful. Martin’s notice of motion called for council to up the township contribution to twothirds to get the project completed in 2016. Martin suggested the money be reallocated from within the proposed budget, so as not to add to the levy increase currently projected at just over 17 per cent in the draft
budget. With a vote to approve the budget scheduled for the next regular council meeting on Feb. 9, council passed a resolution waiving normal procedure and allowing immediate consideration of Martin’s motion. While conceding “the timing’s offâ€? on the motion, Martin said it was “borne out of a little bit of frustration personally, in that I really think this project needs to go somewhere ‌ I really think this is a project that’s gone on long enough.â€? Martin added, “I really would like to see this project get shovel in the ground and get this park up and going, otherwise honestly its going to be another year.â€? CAO Brad McRoberts said the question is “where do we find $33,000?â€? He added, “If there’s reserves in a park fund that we could draw from, that could be a fairly simple solution.â€? Treasurer Yufang Du advised council the township has a little over $50,000 in a parks reserve fund. “In order to get our tax increase down to 2.9 per cent (in the draft 2016 budget) we took some money out of our
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other reserve accounts. Are we going to be looking at a higher tax rate next year to replace those funds we didn’t put in reserve?� asked councillor Dennis Craven. McRoberts clarified the township did not take money out of reserves to lower the proposed increase, but rather deferred 2016 contributions to reserves. “We haven’t used reserves to reduce the tax rate,� he stressed. Craven also asked, “Is there any changes that we could make that would reduce that to a $66,000 skate park rather than $100,000?� “The concern I have is if we reduce it down to a smaller project, we basically would sacrifice the project. In the end you’re building something less than what you really want, just because that’s all the money you’ve got,� said McRoberts. “You could build something smaller. Would it meet what your community needs? Maybe not.� Mayor Neil Driscoll pointed out there are other options that could be investigated, including a suggestion offered at the Jan. 14 budget open
house that a skate park using portable ramps could be set up in the PMD arena parking lot. “We have to make sure we make the right decision for everybody,� said Driscoll. “I’ve got to answer emails as to why we’re not redoing the 6th this year, why we’re not redoing the 8th Line. It’s tough, but we’ve got to make a decision.� Martin suggested council reconsider its philosophy on projects of this nature, particularly the idea of relying too heavily on grant funding. “I think we should revisit using grants as part of a solution for these projects,� he stated. Councillor Marlene Ottens said she wished members of the Drayton Skatepark Committee were present so council could ask questions. She also said it might have been better if fundraising efforts had been directed to local farmers “instead of businesses in the community. “There’s a lot of money out there and just because you don’t live in town doesn’t mean you don’t participate in these things,� said Ottens. “Some people have said farmers aren’t Continued on page 3
Weekly Wag
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by Patrick Raftis MAPLETON - Council here received some poor grades and nothing approaching an ‘A’ on the first Township of Mapleton Council Report Card. In October council members passed a resolution to conduct a survey aimed at obtaining feedback on their first year in office. At the Jan. 26 council meeting CAO Brad McRoberts reported a total of 55 survey responses were received, of which 44 were completed online. While a number of the questions aimed to gather information, some required responders to directly rate council, or council members, in various areas. Just over 34 per cent of respondents said they had contacted council within the past 12 months. Of those, about 57% felt their concern was handled “in a timely manner.� Just over 50% of respondents believe councillors are visible at public events, while about 42% aren’t sure and around 8% believe they are not visible. About 78% indicated they felt it important for council to be at public events. Asked if they felt individual council members were “accessible,� 67% felt Mayor Neil Driscoll was accessible, while 4% felt he was not and 28% indicated they “don’t know.� Councillor Michael Martin, scored the next highest, with 39% rating him accessible, while 61% didn’t know. Councillor Dennis Craven
was rated accessible by about 37%, while just under 10% said he was not and 54% were unsure. Councillor Marlene Ottens was considered accessible by 34%, while 4% felt she was not and 62% were unsure. Councillor Lori Woodham was rated accessible by 31%, with about 6% stating she was not and 63% unsure. Asked if they feel council is “open and transparentâ€? only 33% responded yes, with 44% saying no and 23% unsure. Some of the comments accompanying responses to this question (names were redacted in the report) included: - “Why was our CAO fired?â€?; - “Exactly what qualifications does director of public works have that would make him a good CAO?â€?; - “Re: replacement of senior positions (director of public works). What accountable/ transparent committee consists of the mayor and CAO only? ‌ Is the municipality again going to spend thousands of dollars on an HR consultant (up to $20,000) to promote someone internally ‌?â€?; - “No reasons/grounds given for the decision to double (and more) size of township works building; no reason/ grounds given for the decision to go with a design that cost at least $2 million more than comparable facilitiesâ€?; and - “As a taxpayer I do not believe there should be any closed session meetings. My personal opinion is if it’s Continued on page 3
Township hires new public works director by Patrick Raftis MAPLETON - The township announced the hiring of a new director of public works on Jan. 28. CAO Brad McRoberts says new director Jamie Morgan “comes with a wealth of knowledge and experience related to municipal public works operations.� Morgan, who was manager of operations for North Perth, also worked previously with the Town of Minto and Kitchener-Wilmot Hydro. Morgan takes over the position from McRoberts who was appointed Mapleton’s CAO
last November and has continued to handle the public works portfolio on an acting basis. Council authorized the hiring committee, consisting of McRoberts and Mayor Neil Driscoll, to spend up to $20,000 to hire a third party to provide recruitment services. McRoberts told the Community News in an email the municipality engaged the services of Nigel Bellchamber and Associates with an upset limit of $15,000. “It was a very thorough process and council is more than pleased to have Jamie join the Mapleton team,� said Driscoll.
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