SERVING MAPLETON AND MINTO
THE
COMMUNITY NEWS VOLUME 51 ISSUE 30
DRAYTON, ONTARIO
1 Year GIC - 2.81% 3 Year GIC - 3.15% 5 Year GIC - 3.32% Daily Interest 2.55%*
638-3328
THURSDAY, JULY 26, 2018
www.jackfinancial.ca
Davidson withdraws bid for county council reelection to face Driscoll in race for mayor By Patrick Raftis and Chris Daponte MAPLETON – County councillor Gregg Davidson has withdrawn his bid for reelection to county council in order to seek the Mapleton mayor’s seat. Davidson made the announcement in a press release on July 24, just three days prior to the nomination deadline for the Oct. 22 municipal election. “We live in an amazing township, but one that has had its share of issues in the last few years that need to be addressed,” he stated in the release. A former police constable and business owner, Davidson has served as coun-
ty councillor since first being elected in 2014. He faces incumbent Neil Driscoll in the race to become Mapleton’s next mayor. Driscoll filed his nomination on May 1. Davidson said he wants to help his community and noted one of his top priorities will be to “balance fiscal responsibility with sound judgement.” Other races Current Mapleton councillor Lori Woodham has withdrawn her nomination for reelection and, on July 24, filed her nomination for the county councillor Ward 2 seat that is currently held by Davidson. The remaining three incumbent Mapleton council-
lors - Marlene Ottens, Dennis Craven and Michael Martin have all filed their paperwork to run for reelection. Paul Douglas, who previously ran for council in 2014, has also filed nomination papers for Mapleton council. Shawn McLeod of Mount Forest and Robin Ross of Palmerston are running for the position of Upper Grand District School Board trustee in the district including Mapleton, Minto and Wellington North. Andrew Finoro is running for Wellington Catholic District School Board trustee and Genevieve Grenier is running for the seat on the Conseil Scolaire Catholique MonAvenir (French Catholic) board.
Fire chief lifts fire ban in Mapleton MAPLETON - Fire Chief Rick Richardson has lifted the fire ban in Mapleton Township. On July 23, Richardson announced an end to the open air burning ban that was instituted on July 11 in
Diamond action - A batter for the Moorefield Giants Squirt girls team eyes up a pitch during a game against Mount Forest at the Moorefield diamonds on July 20. Photo by Patrick Raftis Additional photo on page 2.
MAPLETON – Construction activity during the first six months of 2018 was well ahead of last year’s pace. A report from chief building official Patty Wright presented at the July 10 Mapleton council meeting shows 48 building permits were issued in June, for construction valued at about $30.7 million. That’s up from roughly $7.1 million worth of construction generated by 60 permits in June of 2017. The building department issued 197 permits to the end of June, for construction valued at $59.1 - compared to 173 permits for $25.2 million worth of construction during the same period in 2017. Year to date permit fees
generated $337,457 in revenue, compared to $219,813 for the first six months of 2017. The industrial sector, with two permits for $25.6 million worth of construction, led the activity last month. Agricultural construction generated about $2.6 million worth of construction on 14 permits last month, and single family residential dwellings accounted for three permits and $1.8 million worth of construction. Year to date, the industrial sector is leading the building boom, with a total of six permits for construction valued at $26.8 million. Agricultural construction is next, with 75 permits generating $17 million in building activity, followed by single family residential with 15 permits and total construction value of $8.4 million.
HELD OVER
INCREDIBLES 2
Friday 8pm, Saturday 11am & 8pm & Sunday 7pm RATED PG AND RUNNING TIME 125 MINS
MAIN ST. W. PALMERSTON 519.343.3640 www.norgantheatre.com
“The three-year average of fees collected by the building department for the month of June is $65,826.39,” noted Wright in her report. “Therefore, the current month is just below the threeyear average. “Year to date numbers range from $146,164 to $238,249 over the past three years and the average of fees collected to date from 2015 to 2017 is $ $201,342. “The current year to date is above the three-year range and above the three-year average.” Mayor Neil Driscoll said, “Coming through the countryside of Mapleton the last few days you can see the building that’s going on. “I don’t know how you get to all those sites to do the inspections. So kudos to you and your whole department.”
‘‘
MAPLETON – The final tally for the township’s website redesign came in at just over $30,000. Economic development officer Trish Wake reported at the July 10 council meeting that the new website was launched on Nov. 17. In her report, Wake explained an application to the County of Wellington’s 2016 Business Retention and Expansion Municipal Implementation fund was submitted by former economic development coordinator Jaclyn Dingwall in November of 2016. “The application was for the amount of $25,000 to be used for the reconstruction of the website,” the report states. “The application was approved and process to reconstruct the website began. Esolutions was granted the tender and since then we have been working diligently on project completion until Dec. 2017.”
WEEKLY WAG
‘‘
By Patrick Raftis
“We still encourage safe methods of burning and the township regulations still apply.” The press release added, “We will continue to monitor the weather conditions for further updates.”
Website redesign cost $30,000 By Patrick Raftis
Industrial construction leads busy month for local building
response to dry conditions in the region. “The fire department wishes to thank the community for their patience and assistance in keeping our residents safe,” Richardson stated in a press release.
“Deep summer is when laziness finds respectability.” - Sam Keen
Since the website was launched minor issues have been resolved and training on how to update the website was completed. A financial report on the
project indicated the total cost was $30,833. Council received the report and directed that it be submitted to the County of Wellington.
Lottery win - Branislav Popovic of Moorefield won a $100,000 top prize in the OLG’s Instant Lottery Gold game. The winning ticket was purchased at the Little Short Stop store on Ottawa Street in Kitchener. Submitted photo
BILL’S
PAINT and COLLISION Specializing in... Collision and Complete Re-Finishing, One Mile East of Moorefield.
519 638-2048