SERVING MAPLETON AND MINTO
THE
COMMUNITY NEWS VOLUME 52 ISSUE 10
1 Year GIC - 2.80% 3 Year GIC - 3.10% 5 Year GIC - 3.50% Daily Interest 1.50%
638-3328
THURSDAY, MARCH 7, 2019
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Building report highlights growth By Aryn Strickland
Skating carnival - The Drayton and District Skating Club’s Night At The Museum carnival showcased local figure skater talent from beginner to senior skaters during two performances on March 2 at the PMD arena. From left: Dajung Yoon, 16, Sarah McIntyre, 18 and Sierra Martin, 17, skate a senior set together. Additional photos on page 8. Photo by Aryn Strickland
Move to ‘diversion centre’ model for waste facilities planned Minimum cost at transfer stations under consideration GUELPH – Wellington County is planning to transition its waste facilities into “diversion centres,� in an effort to extend the life of its current landfill site at Riverstown in Wellington North. On Feb. 28 county council approved a solid waste committee recommendation to begin the transition to a diversion centre model. Council also directed staff to further investigate the best future use of the county’s transfer stations, as part of an overall solid waste services strategy. The recommendation to move to a diversion model was based on a report to the committee by solid waste services manager Das Soligo. The report states the model is the most efficient potential use of the county’s waste facility infrastructure at this time. “This approach provides opportunities to increase diversion from landfill which will extend the operating life of the Riverstown landfill
site, while also allowing for future assessments of the optimal number and location of waste facilities in the county,� Soligo states in the report. The report indicates a provincial document (Strategy for a Waste-Free Ontario: Building the Circular Economy) indicates future “producer responsibility programs� will mandate producers deal with waste from materials like small appliances, electrical tools, batteries, fluorescent bulbs and tubes, mattresses, carpets, clothing and textiles, furniture and other bulky items. “There are often financial incentives for organizations to collect and manage these obligated materials,� Soligo pointed out. “The diversion centre model allows for the ability to separate additional materials from the waste stream, divert them from landfill, and potentially receive funding for doing so.� While endorsing the diversion centre concept, county councillors questioned some of the elements of the tran-
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sition plan, including a proposed $5 minimum fee for waste taken directly to transfer stations. Soligo explained the minimum was designed to encourage people to use curbside pickup, which results in waste going directly to landfill at Riverstown, rather than filling up transfer stations. That space, he said, would allow transfer stations to be used for storage and sorting of new materials which could potentially be diverted or recycled. “In order to free up capacity to manage new materials, there has to be less household materials coming into the site,â€? Soligo pointed out. Councillor Gre gg Davidson, chair of the solid waste services committee, stressed the $5 minimum fee is important, as the introduction of county-wide curbside pickup in 2016 has not been as effective as anticipated at curbing use of transfer stations. “Although there was a slight reduction ‌ it was not as significant as expected,â€? Davidson explained.
“However, we still need to press forward and there are redundancies within our current system as well as a desire to reduce new materials, such as leaves, yard waste and shingles, from our landfill.â€? Davidson noted the extension of capacity at the Riverstown site means cost savings for the county. “It is estimated that by reducing just leaves and yard waste, we can add two extra years to our landfill capacity and that’s significant,â€? he said. “For each year we add to landfill capacity we should also see financial savings anywhere from $300,000 to $1 million per year.â€? Some members of council were unclear how the minimum would work and how it would factor in such elements as county issued userpay garbage bags, or if the minimum would replace the per-bag fee at the site. “If I show up with 25 bags am I still going to pay only five bucks?â€? wondered councillor Chris White. Councillor Diane SEE WASTE Âť 3
WEEKLY WAG
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By Patrick Raftis
“Conformity is the jailer of freedom and the enemy of growth.� - John F. Kennedy
DRAYTON - Current yearto-date fees collected by the Mapleton building department are at a three-year high, according to a recent report presented to council on Feb. 20. According to the report, prepared by chief building official Patty Wright, “the three-year average of fees collected by the building department for the month of January is $14,491‌â€? The total fees collected for January 2019 is $23,624, a 63% increase over the three-year average. The total number of permits issued to date is 22. In January of 2018 the township had issued nine permits and 14 in January 2017. For the full year, the building department issued 373 building permits in 2018. The department reported actual revenue earned for 2018 was $575,683, about $188,179 more than the initially anticipated revenue of $387,504. “It’s nice to see that our building department was also very busy in 2018,â€? said Mayor Gregg Davidson. “Exceeding growth expec-
tations is a positive sign for our community and I anticipate 2019 will continue to build upon this foundation.� According to the report, the majority of the 2018 permits issued were agricultural at 31.1%. The next largest permit numbers were for residential accessory (decks) at 19% and new residences and renovations at 18%. Both councillor Michael Martin and Davidson congratulated Wright and the department for the reported response times to requests. On average, when the maximum legislated response time was 10 days, the Mapleton building department reported taking 4.4 days. “Those response times are phenomenal across the various categories and I know that that is something the people applying for permits with their applications find very important, so your turnaround on that is very impressive. So very well done,� said Martin “And I second that and from council thank the whole department; that’s amazing to see that kind of response time,� said Davidson.
January report indicates strong start to year for Minto building department By Patrick Raftis MINTO – While well down from last year in terms of construction value, Minto’s chief building official says building permit activity in January indicates a strong start for this time of year. In a Feb. 19 report to council CBO Terry Kuipers indicated eight permits were issued last month for construction valued at about $370,000. While lower than the $921,000 value of six permits in January 2018, Kuipers noted the 10-year average for Minto is $244,000 and 10 permits.
Agricultural construction drove the numbers up last January, with three permits issued for $648,000 worth of construction. No agricultural construction permits were issued last month. In his report, Kuiper cited two commercial permits for construction valued at $270,000 as highlights for January 2019. The commercial permits were for a new addition onto an agricultural commercial property and renovations to a commercial building to add two new apartments. “It’s only January so things aren’t too drop dead exciting,� Kuipers said.
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