THE
SERVING THE MAPLETON COMMUNITY
COMMUNITY NEWS Volume 49 Issue 20
Drayton, Ontario
1 Year GIC - 1.82% 3 Year GIC - 2.00% 5 Year GIC - 2.40% Daily Interest 1.00%
638-3328
Friday, May 20, 2016
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Council throws support behind Rotary/Kinette splash pad project
Farm safety - Marlene Ottens, right, explains a display at the Wellington County Home and Farm Safety Association booth at the fourth annual Minto Community Safety Day. The event was held at the Palmerston Community Centre on May 16. Students from Minto Clifford and Palmerston public schools, as well as local home schooled students, attended the event. photo by Patrick Raftis Additional photo on page 4
Mission statement adopted for service review by Patrick Raftis MAPLETON - A mission statement and an outline have been approved as the first step in a planned review of municipal services here. Council has directed township staff to conduct a service review in response to public concerns expressed through the recent Township of Mapleton Council Report Card. In March, council directed staff to conduct a service review in response to the results of a survey aimed at obtaining feedback on its first year in office. Asked to rate council’s overall performance, about 13 per cent of respondents indicated they were very satisfied,
26% were satisfied, 34% were neither satisfied nor dissatisfied, 19% were dissatisfied and 8% were very dissatisfied. Council approved the statement and outline at the May 3 meeting following a staff report on the project from CAO Brad McRoberts. The statement indicates the purpose of the review is “To provide council with a comprehensive awareness of the services offered by the township and to identify those services which should remain as they are, (or be) made more efficient, enhanced, reduced or eliminated.” The report indicates the review is to be completed in time for any resulting recom-
mendations and council directives to be considered as part of 2017 budget discussions. The end of August was set as a target date for a draft service review report. “Council needs to be aware that this will be a staff-developed product and that this process will take considerable time and effort by all staff to complete,” McRoberts noted in the report. Staff was directed to consider the following while completing the service review: - everything is on the table; - no self or departmental promotions or justifications; - everyone follows the same structure; Continued on page 5
Council backs call for municipal support as condition for wind farm approval by Patrick Raftis MAPLETON - Council here has added its support to two resolutions opposing the province’s approval of wind farms in communities without municipal support. At the May 10 meeting, council supported a resolution from the Municipality of Dutton Dunwich where Invenergy was awarded a contract for the Strong Breeze Wind project without the municipality’s support. The resolution calls on the province to make a municipal
support resolution a mandatory requirement in the Independent Electricity System Operator’s process for awarding contracts. The resolution also notes the support of non-local First Nations communities was a factor in the decision to award the contract. It calls on the province to limit any points for aboriginal participation in a power project to First Nations with a comprehensive claim on the land where the project will be built. Council also supported a resolution from North
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Frontenac calling for a municipal support resolution to be a required element of the process. It also requests municipalities be required to pass such resolutions in open session following a public consultation process. The North Frontenac resolution also included the same request for limitation of aboriginal participation points as the Dutton Dunwich resolution and states that any announcement of successful bidders includes an explanation of points awarded to each bid.
by Patrick Raftis MAPLETON - Township council has thrown its support behind efforts by two local service clubs to build a splash pad in Drayton. On May 10, Mapleton council approved the minutes of the April 11 parks and recreation committee meeting, which include a resolution acknowledging a splash pad as part of the parks, recreation and culture strategic master plan. The resolution also calls on the committee to “reconnect to council to support the splash pad project with fundraising through the local Kinettes and Rotary Club.” Wanda Dobben of the Kinette Club of Drayton and Rachael Laforge of Drayton Rotary addressed council on the topic at the May 10 meeting. Laforge said the clubs have “teamed up to hopefully see a large project followed through for the betterment of our community.” Dobben said the club has already raised about $23,000 toward the project, which it would like to see completed in 2017. The splash pad committee will also be soliciting corporate donations and applying for a grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation, she added. “Thanks for coming. I’ve been waiting to hear from you guys about this project for a while,” said councillor Michael Martin, adding council can now “get the ball rolling and hopefully make some decisions.” The previous Mapleton council had passed a resolution supporting the concept of a splash pad in principle, but the current group, elected in October of 2014, had never formally dealt with the proposal. Driscoll Neil Mayor thanked the delegation for the information on the project and “for the hard work you’ve put into it so far.” In an interview, Driscoll said the action taken at the meeting doesn’t commit the municipality to a specific financial contribution. “We don’t have any money in the budget yet for the splash pad. We really have to wait until budget time to discuss it again,” he stated. “This just gives the committee direction that, yes, go ahead and raise funds; we support building a splash pad.” Meanwhile, said Driscoll, council will work with staff to “find the right location to put it that’s close to the water service.”
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An April 11 report to the committee from public works director Jamie Morgan notes possible locations include “the general area of Kinsman Park (wastewater servicing may be problematic) and ABC Park.” The report indicates the project is in the early stages of conceptualization, with a projected budget of $150,000. Two proposals under consideration have a budget amount of $160,000, but Morgan pointed out costs can be increased or decreased by adding or subtracting feature options. The report also indicates projected costs don’t include the extension of the water service needed to run the splash pad. The operating costs associated with a flow through system consist of water usage and staff time (pre-opening inspection first thing in the morning). The water usage costs per season are expected to be around $6,000 to $8,000 with the inspection anticipated to take
about 15 minutes each morning. A flow-through system, rather than recirculating water treatment system, has been recommended for the project, the report indicates. The cost to install a recirculating system is estimated at around $80,000. The report states the Grand River Conservation Authority would be part of the approval process in regard to location selection and direct discharge to the Conestogo River. The report also cautions the municipality’s water pressure and wastewater capacity issues could impact the project. “Currently, without additional water (or wastewater capacity if required) this project cannot be supported,” the report states. The township is currently considering alternatives proposed in a Municipal Class Environmental Assessment to increase the treatment capacity in order to accommodate the Continued on page 2
Sound of Music - Maddy Buhrow-Hayes, left, as Mother Superior and Beth Grant as Maria hit the high notes during a number from the Theatre Norwell production of The Sound of Music which played to capacity crowds at Norwell District Secondary School from May 12 to 14. BELOW: Mapleton residents Beth Grant and Drew Moore, who played Captain Von Trapp. Additional photo on page 8 photos by Patrick Raftis
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