SERVING THE MAPLETON COMMUNITY
THE
COMMUNITY NEWS VOLUME 50 ISSUE 35
DRAYTON, ONTARIO
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Council approves plan to re-tender Maryborough Community Centre project By Patrick Raftis
Annual Alma Car Show a hit Sun and shine - The annual Alma Optimist Car Show at the Alma Community Centre drew a good crowd of classic cars and spectators on Aug. 26. ABOVE: Jim Maracle came from Barrie and picked up his three-year-old grandson Henry Wright from Fergus before bringing his 1962 Chevrolet Nova to the Alma show for the day. LEFT: Elwin May of Belwood brought his 1951 Chevrolet stake bed truck to the show. Photos by Jaime Myslik
MOOREFIELD – Mapleton council has authorized staff to reduce the scope of renovations at the Maryborough Community Centre here and to re-tender the project. Council made the decision to proceed with a two-stage renovation process at the Aug. 22 meeting. On June 6, council directed staff to proceed with the tendering of the Maryborough Community Centre project, based on pre-tender estimates and an approved budget of $599,120 plus a $72,000 contingency. Those amounts were combined with provincial grants and debenture funds to comprise the overall approved budget of $834,120. Staff was directed to design tender documents to allow council to choose between base and optional items once tenders are submitted. In January the township learned it was successful in obtaining $259,800 through the Ontario 150 Community Capital Grant Program for the hall in Moorefield, which was built in 1967. The township budgeted $266,700 for the project in 2017 and a further $10,000 is anticipated from a Wellington County accessibility grant.
Another $175,000 was diverted from other capital project budgets. However, if the project goes ahead with all options presented, a debenture of $210,000 beyond what is currently budgeted would be required to reach the total project budget of $834,120. The original tender for the project closed on July 25. However, submitted bids were substantially higher than the budget amount council had authorized. After consultation with staff and the project architect, VG Architects, The Ventin Group Ltd., reasons cited for the unfavourable tender results were a shortage of available capacity by contractors to do the work and the wide scope of work to be completed within a short time frame due to provincial grant funding guidelines. In an Aug. 22 report, public works director Sam Mattina explained the intent of the re-tendering is to identify the project’s base components as submitted and approved under the Ontario 150 grant, and to complete that base component work within the provincial grant timeline. The provincial grant funding has a project completion date of March 31.
“Subsequent to the provincial grant programs’ completion, a second tender (or negotiated procurement process) would procure ... ‘additional items’ in winter January 2018, with plan to complete that work by spring 2018,” Mattina states in the report. Staff and the project architect recommended reducing the scope of the overall project and re-tendering it in two phases in order to allow for work to be performed this fall and in the winter of 2018. “This will allow conformance to the provincial grant funding timelines by completing the base project work before the grant expiration date of March 31, 2018,” Mattina explains in the report. The revised base project will include only the necessary work to complete a substantive renovation that will comply with legislative requirements and qualify for the approved provincial grant funding. The revised base components include: - accessibility ramps, inside and outside of the building - a new entrance canopy; - lighting upgrades; - accessible washroom upgrades; SEE PROJECT » 3
Township garners public input on urban design guidelines By Caroline Sealey DRAYTON The Township of Mapleton has moved a step forward in preparation of urban design guidelines for Alma, Moorefield and Drayton. A community information session on the guidelines was held at the PMD Arena Complex on Aug. 17. Stempski Kelly Associates design planner Sean Kelly offered an overview of the process to councillors and about a dozen residents. “Urban planning is initiated to encourage investment in the downtown, to create jobs, to retain existing jobs and to improve the functionality and aesthetic appeal of the downtown,” Kelly said. “The outcome of the guideline process includes financial investments, busi-
ness expansions, physical improvements to private buildings and a reduction in vacancy rates.” In March, Mapleton council adopted a Community Improvement Plan. The first goal of the plan is to meet, find new investments, encourage new business startups or the expansion of existing businesses, and to retain and support existing businesses. The second goal of the plan is to establish improvements, find functionality in buildings and property, and ensure improvements are consistent with the township’s vision and goals. As part of the program, signs must promote Mapleton Township. The township’s role is to encourage private sector investment by participating
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in community improvements. “ Y o u must realize that rural communities have urban content,” SEAN KELLY Kelly said. “Constituents tend to say that a community has lots of green space because it has parks. Green space is not limited to parks. Communities need to celebrate and promote their rural space.” Kelly continued, “In urban planning, streets matter and are a vital public space. A balance is needed between the needs of the constituent and communal needs. “Communities need to rely on rural open space with surroundings that are fresh,
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clean, accessible, have character and are open for business.” Entry corridors are critical to urban design, said Kelly. Corridors include the main street, side access streets, gateways, portals, focus places and markers. Products that support these critical elements are site furnishings, greening, lighting and pavement. Communities need to decide if their downtown is a thoroughfare or a destination. Eight challenges have been identified in this decision-making process. The first four are using place character as inspiration, mixed aesthetics within streetscapes, deferred maintenance plans and challenges between pedestrian and
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“Progress was all right. Only it went on - James Thurber too long.”
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vehicular use. The last four are past efforts, references to the past, less appealing pedestrian environments and poor building to street relationships. Kelly suggested decisions need to be made around what embraces/promotes community. Downtowns need consistency in their aesthetics, he explained, noting projects by private individuals or the municipality should not be pushed off. Accommodations need to be made between vehicular and pedestrian uses. Less appealing pedestrian environments need correction. Building to street relationships should focus on easily identifiable entrances. “Past efforts need to be put into perspective by respecting the past, understanding the present and anticipating
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the future,” Kelly said. “Embracing the legacy is important. References to the past are a large stumbling block in communities.” Those in attendance were asked to complete a visual preference survey to provide input into the urban design project. Photos of businesses outside of the Mapleton area were shown and participants were asked to rate each photo. Photo categories included signs, awnings, secondary treatments, colour, window dressings and streets. “Results of the survey will be available to Mapleton Township approximately two weeks after the meeting,” Kelly stated. “From there the township will work to promote the Community Improvement Plan with implementation in 2018.”
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