SERVING MAPLETON AND MINTO
THE
COMMUNITY NEWS VOLUME 51 ISSUE 36
1 Year GIC - 2.86% 3 Year GIC - 3.25% 5 Year GIC - 3.32% Daily Interest 2.55%*
638-3328
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2018
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Mapleton council rejects proposal for cannabis production facility in Drayton By Aryn Strickland MAPLETON - Council here has declined a proposal from a trucking company to purchase land in the Drayton Industrial Park for a cannabis processing plant. Council made the decision on Aug. 28 following a closed session discussion about the Autobahn Freight Lines proposal. The Brampton-based trucking service, which, according to its website, primarily hauls regular and hazmat truck loads from Canada and the U.S., entered negotiations with the township in June. On June 26 Autobahn representatives Harjeet Randhawa, an agrologist,
and Harvinder Singh presented the proposal in person to Mapleton council. Randhawa and Singh told council at the time the Autobahn Group was fronting the money for the processing plant, but ultimately the two businesses would operate separately once the facility was up and running. They proposed a 46,000-square-foot production and warehouse facility surrounded by eight-foot fencing on seven of the 23 acres available in phase two of the industrial park. From the beginning, councillors had concerns about waste disposal and odour pollution at the proposed facility. Randhawa explained
waste would be planted, after chopping and mixing it with cat litter, in accordance with Health Canada regulations. He added carbon filters would be used within the facility to control odours. Despite Randhawa’s assurances that the plant would adhere to Health Canada regulations, council ultimately rejected the application. A motion read by Mayor Neil Driscoll following the Aug. 28 closed session, stated council “has declined the offer of purchase from Autobahn Freight Lines.” The motion also directed township staff to “investigate the new provincial regulations and report back” to council.
Mapleton bringing back Harvest Festival this fall By Aryn Strickland MAPLETON - After a five-year hiatus, the township is set to host its Harvest Festival Fair on Oct. 13. The festival, which brings together community businesses and organizations to celebrate with local residents, was initially intended to be an annual event. However, the last Mapleton Harvest Festival was held in 2013, according to a report by economic development officer Trish Wake. “The event was well attended and contained more than 30 participants. For
some reason or another [it] has been dropped along the way,” the report read. At the meeting on Aug. 28, Wake was granted permission by council to use $5,000 left over from the township’s Canada Day celebrations budget to help re-establish the Harvest Festival. With limited time left to organize the event, Wake also wrote that the funds would help cover the costs of prizes, promoting the event, and staffing the set-up and clean up. It would also allow organizers to pay for more entertainers.
This year’s festival The free event will be hosted in the PMD Arena in Drayton. Activities start at 7am with the firefighters pancake breakfast and demonstrations, and end at 10pm with campfire songs/stories. Other events already lined up include: a butter tart bake off, a harvest scavenger hunt, carnival games, a children’s Halloween costume fashion show and a pumpkin carving competition. Families are welcome to round off the day’s events with the Harvest dinner pig roast provided by the Drayton Chop House.
Local fair celebrates Autumn Treasures Autumn treasures - The 2018 Harriston-Minto Fall Fair is set to run from Sept. 14 to 16. The Autumn Treasures theme is featured on these outdoor displays which can be seen along Wellington Road 109 between Teviotdale and Harriston. The fair will feature livestock shows, a demolition derby, soapbox derby, mini-putt golf, a beef and pork barbecue and numerous other attractions. Photos by Patrick Raftis
Local man killed in mower rollover MAPLETON - A local man died Saturday after a riding lawnmower he was operating flipped over onto him in a deep ditch near Moorefield. Wellington County OPP responded to a 911 call on Concession 6 on Sept. 1 at
around 8pm. Initial reports indicated a man sustained grievous injuries when the riding mower rolled over on him at the steep embankment of a ditch. OPP as well as the
Mapleton Fire Department and Guelph-Wellington Paramedics Services attended. Stanley Arthur Elliott, 51, was pronounced dead at the scene. Police say foul play is not suspected.
Township applies for $5-million grant to help with wastewater system upgrades MAPLETON - The township has applied through the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) for a $5-million grant. If approved by FCM, the grant would “go to great length to help with Mapleton’s ongoing wastewater system development,” said CAO Manny Baron. At the Aug. 28 meeting, Baron informed Mapleton council the township is past the preliminary stage and FCM, which is handling applications for federal funds, acknowledged in a recent email that the applica-
tion was valid. “It seems like the good news keeps coming for the Township of Mapleton,” Baron said. Though there is no guarantee the municipality will ultimately receive the $5-million grant, Baron says he is optimistic. Baron also noted council has applied for a $1.19-million top-up grant from the Ontario Community Infrastructure Fund to help cover the cost of replacing the current pumping station in the wastewater system. In March, Mapleton began working with CIMA, an engineering consultant firm, fol-
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lowing an initial report that found the wastewater system in the township would not be sufficient to meet projected growth in the area. The township owns and operates a wastewater conveyance system and a lagoonbased wastewater pollution control plant that together manage wastewater for the communities of Moorefield and Drayton. In 2017, an Exp Services review found that, based on Wellington County 2011 to 2041 forecasts for population, housing and employment, the Mapleton wastewater system would fall short of demand.
CIMA was brought on to peer review the Exp Services findings and suggest possible solutions. Following the review, CIMA suggested a two-stage process for the wastewater capacity expansion. First, it was recommended the township re-rate the system, meaning increase the amount of wastewater being treated in the system, from 750 to 1,300 cubic metres per day. An interim re-rating approval - to 900m3 daily was issued two weeks ago by the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change. The second-stage sugges-
WEEKLY WAG
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By Aryn Strickland
“People rarely succeed unless they have fun in what they are doing.” - Dale Carnegie
tion was to improve the pollution control plant, including upgrading the existing pump or constructing a new pumping facility. CIMA also recommended the township budget $5.2 million for upgrades to the treatment facility to implement a reliable ammonia removal system. Council and staff are currently in the process of selecting an ammonia removal technology. Two weeks ago, Baron and councillor Lori Woodham went to Montreal to meet with Veolia, a transnational company that deals with wastewater management, to
BILL’S
discuss ways to aerate wastewater. Council also met with representatives from Nexom wastewater company to hear suggestions for lagoon treatment. To help with the decision between different improvement solutions, Woodham asked if councillors could view Mapleton’s lagoons. “I think by seeing it again and seeing our system, it would help making our decisions going forward,” Woodham said. Mayor Neil Driscoll supported the idea and asked staff to circulate potential dates for when they could all view the plant together.
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