SERVING THE MAPLETON COMMUNITY
THE
COMMUNITY NEWS VOLUME 51 ISSUE 20
DRAYTON, ONTARIO
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638-3328
THURSDAY, MAY 17, 2018
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Special meeting set to discuss splash pad servicing funding By Patrick Raftis
Bicycle Safety - Drayton Heights Public School student Ashton Wilhelm practices bicycle safety with Moorefield firefighter Jeff Rooyakkers at the Kids Safety Day held at the PMD arena on May 9. Students in Grades 1 and 4 from Mapleton Township attended the event. Photo by Caroline Sealey
MAPLETON – Township council wants more information before deciding on a request to help fund the cost of installing water and electrical services to a new splash pad planned for construction in ABC park this spring. Splash pad committee members Erica Klaassen and Lorrie Spaling asked council to assist with the costs of running water and electrical services from the road to the splash pad during a project update at the March 27 meeting. At the time, public works director Sam Mattina said the committee and township staff were getting prices for the work, which Mattina estimated at between $15,000 and $20,000. Council directed staff to investigate the cost of the work and report back. In a report to council, committee members noted they
had raised $90,000 toward the project, with more fundraising yet to come. In April, the committee announced the Drayton Kinette and Rotary Clubs were successful in securing $150,000 from the Ontario Trillium Foundation in order to purchase and install splash pad equipment. At the May 8 meeting, Mattina reported that two quotations for the project had been received, with the lowest coming in at $31,060 and the higher quote at $36,255, both excluding HST. A recommendation to accept the lower quote was deferred at the suggestion of councillor Michael Martin. “I’d love to have further consultation with the committee to see where they’re at with their financials,” said Martin. “It’s a fairly significant chunk that we haven’t budgeted.” Marlene Councillor
Ottens expressed concern a delay could impact the project completion date. “I’d like to see it happen this summer,” she stated. Mattina pointed out the end of May is the target to begin construction on the project, with a goal of completion in early July. “So councillor Ottens is correct. Time is of the essence,” said Mattina, who pointed out there is money in a parks reserve fund that could be directed to the project. At Mayor Neil Driscoll’s suggestion council agreed they could set a special meeting to deal with the issue in a timely fashion. Council deferred the recommendation to accept the quotation and set a special meeting for May 15 at 7pm to meet with the committee. Discussion and direction on the township’s water tower project will also be on the special meeting agenda.
County looking at child care spaces in Mapleton schools “One of major changes that’s happened in child care is there has been a lot of funding that has come to child care and that’s always welcomed and very much needed,” said Artuso. She explained the province has replaced its Ontario Early Years Centre programs with EarlyON family and child centres. The new centres also replace the Better Beginning Better Futures program, Child Care and Resource Centres and Parenting and Family Literacy Centres.
By Patrick Raftis MAPLETON – This municipality is among the top priorities in a push by Wellington County’s Children’s Early Years Division to expand the number of licensed child care spaces and support services for families and children in local municipalities. On May 10, Children’s Early Year’s Division director Luisa Artuso updated Mapleton council on recent developments in family support structures.
“The ministry of education thought early years sectors would be closely aligned together because we have to follow the same sort of philosophy in teaching of young children,” Artuso explained. “Rather than independently contracting out to various agencies to provide those family support programs, they gave them over to the municipalities to sort out and plan for … that is why they changed name to Early Years divisions, because we do family support programs as well as manage the child
care centres.” The division, said Artuso, has a very broad mandate. “Basically what we need to do is be there for families, whichever way that they need us to be there for them, and whatever it is that they need. We have to be that go-to and go-through place where families with young children come to for any support they require. We also have to provide child-based programing through play groups and drop-in programs for parents,” she said noting division is also tasked with
providing families with links to recourse provided either through its own agency or “out there in the community.” Ensuring the availably of licenced child care spaces in local communities for children, from birth to age four, is among the division’s key mandates. Data from the 2016 census indicates there are 9,950 children in that age range in the Guelph-Wellington service delivery area, with 1,620 spaces available, enough for 16 per cent of the popula-
tion. However, many of those are concentrated in Guelph, which has a 1,315 spaces for 5,940 children, a 22% coverage rate. Wellington County, by contrast, has only 305 spaces for 4,010 children, a rate of only 7.5%. “When you get memos from the ministry, they’re saying across Ontario we’re at 20, we’re going to expand the system so we have 40 - and we’re saying, well, that’s nice but we’re not quite at 20 just yet,” said Artuso. At 22%, Artuso said, SEE CHILD CARE » 3
New front windows eliminated to reduce hall renovation costs By Patrick Raftis MAPLETON – Township council has removed plans for two windows in a bid to keep costs down on the Maryborough Community Centre renovation project. At the May 8 meeting, council was presented with a recommendation from public works director Sam Mattina to approve an additional expenditure of about $43,605 plus HST to complete the project, to be funded from surplus funds from 2018 bridge and culvert capital
projects. Mattina explained in a report that on Feb. 18 council authorized staff to proceed with additional expenditures of $219,500 to complete the project. “That initial estimate amount has fallen short of the actual submitted quotations to perform all of the scheduled items, including the stage option chosen by council through a subsequent resolution … The additional shortfall being realized is $43,605,” the report states. Councillor Michael
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Martin expressed concern about mounting project costs. “We’re up at $820,000 already on a renovation,” said Martin. “How confident are you that these quotes that we are getting are fair market value quotes and what sort of systems do we have in place to try and ensure that?” “Our architect, VG of Branford, has been very diligent in gathering the quotations with the contractor and negotiating each particular one. We’ve had quite a number of change orders … I’m
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confident they have a great paper trail of all these transactions and counter offers and discussions on these quotations, so I’m confident that VG has been quite vigilant in getting us the best prices for these change orders.” Extra light not needed Martin asked if any of the additional expenditures being requested could be eliminated in light of the overruns. “The only item I can see from the list that can be eliminated is the new windows at the front of the building,”
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Mattina responded. “With the installation of the patio door to the back it brings in substantial light now to the lower hall … They’ll be no advantage to having the additional light from the other end of the building.” Councillor Dennis Craven asked about the timeline for completing the project. “Is there any hope this will be ready by mid-June?” he asked. “There is a significant amount of work still to be done … I’m hoping that if
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we get moving right away, we get approval, the contractor has committed that they will complete this project by the due date of June 30,” Mattina responded. Council agreed to eliminate the front windows, saving roughly $11,500 and approved the remaining additional expenses totaling about $32,000. The township received a provincial contribution of $259,800 through the Ontario 150 Community Capital Grant Program for the project.
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