THE
SERVING THE MAPLETON COMMUNITY
COMMUNITY NEWS Volume 49 Issue 13
Drayton, Ontario
1 Year GIC - 1.82% 3 Year GIC - 2.00% 5 Year GIC - 2.40% Daily Interest 1.00%
638-3328
Friday, April 1, 2016
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Mapleton Fire Rescue plans alternate route during Drayton bridge closure by Patrick Raftis MAPLETON - Moorefield firefighters will become the first responders for non-structure fire calls to a section of the Drayton station response area due to a planned bridge closure this summer. Fire Chief Rick Richardson explained in a March 22 report to council that the Wellington County roads department has advised Mapleton Township of the need to close the Wellington Road 8 bridge in Drayton for construction in this spring. Richardson reports there is no “in town� detour available around the bridge, located beside the Drayton Fire station. The affected area includes Wellington Road 8 from the PMD arena to 8110, all streets west of the bridge including King, Queen, Wortley, Bedell Dr., Ridgeview and Main St. West, impacting 123 residences and the businesses on
Easter event - The second annual Easter Egg Hunt hosted by Mapleton Pre-school at the Drayton Fairgrounds was held on March 26. ABOVE: First time egg hunter Ayla Scholten of Drayton, with help from her mother Katie Scholten, was able to find a few eggs at the event. The hunt area was divided up for three age groups: 0 to 2, 3 to 5 and 6-plus, with 600 eggs in each of the three sections. Over 300 people attended the event, which raised $442. RIGHT: From left: front Nathan, Nicholas and Michael Pfanner; back, Mapleton Preschool teacher Lauren Rumph and volunteer Cathy Johnson. Winner of the “guess how many eggs in the jar� contest was Sawyer Signer. There were 179 in the jar and he guessed 177. Winners of the prizes were: 0-2 age group Cason Ewart; 3-5 age group Jules Basile; 6 and up Michael Pfanner. Organizers thanked sponsors Mornington Communication; Moorefield Transport; and Woods, Clemens, Fletcher and Cronin Professional Corporation. The school’s next fundraiser is a smoked pork chop take out dinner on April 14. photos by Caroline Sealey
Industrial Drive. A comparison was prepared using the route from the Drayton fire station to Wellington Street North, to Concession 12, Sideroad 15 and returning on Wellington Road 8 to King Street. A second route was driven leaving Moorefield fire station and continuing on Wellington Road 10 to Wellington Road 8 to King Street in Drayton. The route from Drayton station was 10.1 kilometres long and took 7:02 minutes to complete. The route from Moorefield was six kilometres and was completed in 4:37 minutes. Richardson said the dispatch center in Guelph will be notified to make the necessary changes once the fire department is notified of the specific dates for closure. During the construction period of spring to late summer, the affected area would
get first response for non-structure calls from the Moorefield station. All structure fire events would remain a two-station response with Drayton detouring the route performed in the study. Mayor Neil Driscoll noted the fire response situation was brought up by members of the public at the town’s budget open house in February. “I’m just very glad your department has looked into it so well and have a plan in place to look after it,� Driscoll told Richardson. Councillor Michael Martin asked if ambulance service operators would also be advised of the need for alternate routes. Richardson said Wellington County’s emergency planning department would ensure police and ambulance services are aware of the situation.
Two township employees on Sunshine List by Patrick Raftis MAPLETON – Two township employees are on this year’s “Sunshine List� of public sector workers earning over $100,000. It’s the first time since the Public Sector Salary Disclosure Act was introduced in 1996 that more than one employee of the township has made the list. According to the list released on March 24 by the
Ministry of Finance, Mapleton CAO Brad McRoberts earned $121,826 and received $854 in taxable benefits in 2015. Director of Finance Yufang Du earned $107,747 plus $857 in taxable benefits. McRoberts was the township’s public works director until November, when he was appointed as the replacement for former CAO Patty Sinnamon, who was terminated by the mu-
nicipality on July 1. Sinnamon was the only Mapleton employee to appear on the 2015 list, with a salary of $128,783 in 2014. Public sector employers are not required to list severance payments under the act, although employees who take their severance as extended salaries appear on the list if they receive $100,000 or more in the calendar year.
Weekend storms cause power outages
by Patrick Raftis MAPLETON - Ice and rain storms over a the Easter weekend caused scattered power outages around the township and triggered a flood watch for Drayton. Hydro One reported more than 125,000 customers without power after the March 24 storm. Locally, downed limbs left Moorefield and rural Mapleton residents without power for hours over the week-
end, but the lights stayed on for the most part in Drayton. Due to the hazards still posed by falling tree limbs, the Grand River Conservation Authority (GRCA) closed a number of properties to all visitors until further notice, including Conestogo Lake. With temperatures warming Sunday, melting snow combined with heavy rainfall created the potential for flooding and the GRCA put a flood
watch in effect until March 29. In Minto, CAO Bill White reported roads were sanded and salted prior to the ice storm “so that they were safe for careful travel during the storm. “Power outages were intermittent but relatively shortlived compared to areas south of Minto,� White noted, adding staff fielded many calls Thursday afternoon as trees and limbs started to fall. Continued on page 2
Council satisfied with strategic plan; will review industrial land development by Patrick Raftis MAPLETON – Council here has no plans to revisit the strategic planning process last conducted in 2013. After a review of the 2013 community-based strategic plan document Township of Mapleton - Building Our Future Together, council agreed on March 22 to accept the document for information purposes. “Is there a process for
tweaking this?� asked councillor Marlene Ottens, noting she saw a few things in the plan that were now done or “could be eliminated.� Mayor Neil Driscoll suggested council could have a special meeting to go through the plan. However CAO Brad McRoberts pointed out making changes to the plan would require public input. “It is a public process. There would have to have pub-
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lic meetings,� he explained. “If there’s things in here that are done, that’s okay, they don’t have to be updated.� The CAO continued, “The key thing if there’s something in here you say ‘We don’t want to do that anymore’ or if something is not in here that you do want to do - with strategic plans, a status report is typically what I like to see happen.� The plan review did trigger discussion on development of
additional industrial lands in the township. Councillor Michael Martin noted availability of industrial land was listed as “a strength,� in the 2013 document. “It’s possibly not a strength anymore because I think we have one serviced lot remaining,� said Martin. Driscoll pointed out the township currently has 25 acres of un-serviced industrial land - “currently farmland� - in its
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inventory. Councillor Lori Woodham suggested council should determine how it wants to proceed with development of that land. “I do not recall ever reviewing that as a council, this council, whether it would be appropriate for us to be the developer of our outstanding lands,� she said. Councillor Dennis Craven said, “I think we should be giving the private sector the first
chance to develop these lands.� McRoberts suggested a staff report be prepared on the potential for developing additional land. “Could that include an inventory of lands we own?� asked Craven. “That would be a separate report, a little more time-consuming,� said McRoberts, noting an inventory is being developed and will be presented to council in the future.
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