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Serving the Mapleton Community
Community News Volume 45 Issue 44
Drayton, Ontario
1 Year GIC - 2.00% 3 Year GIC - 2.40% 5 Year GIC - 2.56% Daily Interest 1.65%
Friday, November 2, 2012
Mapleton insurance rates ‘stable’ despite high claims in public sector
Norwell Dairy expands - The grand opening of the new Norwell Dairy building in Drayton was held on Oct. 27. Cutting the ribbon to officially open the building were, from left: Mark Harding of Heritage Builders, Norwell Dairy project manager John Stevens, sales manager Rick Bauman, Wellington County Warden Chris White, Mapleton Mayor Bruce Whale, Perth-Wellington MPP Randy Pettapiece, Norwell Dairy partner Hilco Stevens, Perth-Wellington MP Gary Schellenberger, partner Larry Wood, partner Jack Bosman and after-market sales manager Kerry Reibeling. submitted photo
Norwell Dairy opens new facility
by Patrick Raftis DRAYTON – When Norwell Dairy moved operations into a new 14,000 square foot building in 1990, president and partner in the business Hilco Stevens said he “thought we would retire there.� However the company’s continued growth and success led to further expansion and the opening of a new 30,000 square foot facility in Mapleton’s industrial park in Drayton on Saturday. Although the company moved into the facility in January, the grand opening was held Oct. 27, with numerous dignitaries and a large crowd of customers and area residents on hand for the celebration.
Stevens said the company, which employs over 100 people, including about 65 at the Drayton location, is confident they are in the right spot. “We do believe with this move that, as Norwell Dairy, we are in the right location to serve the local dairy farmers.� Partner Jack Bosman said, “We wanted to show the agricultural industry and the community that we were committed to the agricultural community and to this community.� Local politicians who attended the event praised the company, which also has locations in Woodstock, Oakwood and Brinston, for their commitment to the local area. Perth-Wellington MPP
Randy Pettapiece congratulated “the owners of Norwell Dairy for staying in the community and ensuring that they are going to be here for many years to come.� Wellington County Warden Chris White added, “the county recognizes how important this level of investment is to our county and the community.� Mapleton Mayor Bruce Whale pointed out that Norwell Dairy is “one of the biggest providers of service to the dairy industry across the province. “I think that’s quite an accomplishment,� said Whale, who commended the company for “staying in agriculture and keeping your business in Mapleton Township.�
by Patrick Raftis MAPLETON – Municipal insurance premiums in Mapleton remain stable, Steve Smith of Frank Cowan Company Ltd., told Mapleton council members on Oct. 23. “That’s as a result of your excellent claims history,� said Smith, a record he credited to conscientiousness of municipal staff and council. Smith noted municipalities “remain something of a target,� resulting in high liability coverage rates. “Nobody’s responsible for their accidents anymore. They all have to bring everything
back to the municipality,� he commented. The township will pay an annual premium of $170,989 for all forms of coverage in the 2012-13 term. That’s up about 2.5 per cent from the $166,265 the municipality paid in premium for the 2011-12 term. The policy provides the municipality with municipal liability coverage up to $25 million per occurrence. A report on current market conditons provided by the Frank Cowan Company, which specializes in insuring public entities such as municipalities, notes the sector continues to
experience “significant� losses. “Some of these have been driven by landmark cases, but overall, frequency and severity of claims has increased dramatically. “As well the overall cost of claims, which takes into account escalating court awards, claims administration expense and the ever-increasing replacement cost of assets, has continued to rise. Insurers and reinsurers are extremely cautious about public entity liability exposures due in part of the complexity of services provided by public sector organizations,� the report states.
FEASTT proceeds donated to foodgrains bank MAPLETON - After the highly successful FEASTT (Fertilizer Efficiency and Strip Tillage Tour) was held on Aug. 22 at Clean Field Services (CFS) near Drayton, a donation of $1,350 was made to the Canadian Foodgrains Bank. The collaborative effort between CFS, Alpine Plant Foods and MK Martin was an intensive plot and demonstration event, showing strip-tilled corn and soybeans with various Alpine soil-applied and foliar-applied nutrient packages. Close to 200 growers attended from across the province and a bus load of Michigan growers attended the following day.
FEASST DONATION - A donation of $1,350 from the FEASST event was presented to the Canadian Foodgrains Bank. From left: Dennis Frey of Clean Field Services, David Mayberry from the Canadian Foodgrains Bank, Keith Martin and Bruce Kraemer of MK Martin and Ken Brett from Alpine Plant Foods. submitted photo
Lot owners seek answers on Mapleton MDS waiver issue
by Patrick Raftis MAPLETON – Mapleton council is hoping to have a solution soon for several local landowners whose plans for their property are on hold due to confusion over Minimum Distance Separation (MDS) provisions in the township’s new comprehensive zoning bylaw. In July of 2010 Mapleton council passed a new comprehensive zoning bylaw that waives MDS1 requirements for existing lots that are less than 9.9 acres. However, the bylaw did not come into effect until June 2012 due to an OMB appeal of the bylaw on an unrelated matter. Alwyn and Lori Woodham attended the Sept. 25 council meeting to express concerns over the exemption, due to the potential impact on their farming operation on County Road 10 near Moorefield. Several small lots, created in the 1970s, exist near the couple’s farm.
Because the lots are within MDS1 radius, building could not be permitted without a specific waiver. However, the Woodhams were concerned the change to the comprehensive zoning bylaw would allow the lots to be built on, effectively restricting future expansion on their farm, as the farm would then be bound by MDS2 regulations. All of the current members of Mapleton council who were in office at the time of the bylaw change have stated they were not aware of the MDS waiver provision when passing the bylaw. Tracy Cronin, of Woods, Clemens and Fletcher, an Elmira law firm, appeared before council on Oct. 23 to outline the position of the owners of the lots near the Woodhams’ farm. Cronin told council that in July 2010, Tony and Mary Ann Giesen contacted the township to inquire about the impact of
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the new comprehensive zoning bylaw on the lots they owned along County Road 10. Cronin said the couple was advised by both township staff and county planning staff that the new bylaw contained a provision exempting these lots from MDS1 requirements. The Giesens attended the township council meeting at which the zoning bylaw was passed, at which time, Cronin says, no objections were raised to the exemption. Cronin stated the Giesens “were specifically assured after the passing of the bylaw the exemption from MDS1 would enable them to sell the lands as building lots, provided the buyer was aware that the parcels would need to be consolidated into a one-acre parcel.� The new zoning bylaw requires a minimum lot size of one acre for a building permit to be issued. Between the spring of 2011 and August of 2012, three cou-
ples, Barb and Gary Huber, Chris and Brittany Huber and Dennis and Tiffany Gleeson, purchased several of the Giesens’ lots. Cronin said all of the couples were advised by township staff that building permits could be issued for the lots as long as they were consolidated into single parcels of at least an acre. On Sept. 24, the Gleeson’s applied for a building permit on their consolidated lot. On Oct. 16, Cronin said, her office received notice from the township’s solicitor, Scott Galadja, indicating the permit could not be issued. ‘Strict reading’ Cronin states that Gladja used a “strict reading� of the bylaw to conclude the consolidated lots were not “existing lots� as of the passage of the bylaw and therefore not covered by the MDS1 exemption. Cronin said such a strict interpretation of the bylaw “would nullify the entire inten-
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tion of the bylaw and result in this exemption having no purpose and no point in law.� Cronin said the purpose of creating the MDS 1 exemption in the bylaw was to permit such lots to be used as building lots. “This was the understanding of the township staff and planners and the information that was consistently communicated to the public,� she stated. “The exemption contemplated building lots, but no building lots could exist until the lots are joined,� said Cronin, adding the “only reasonable interpretation is that the zoning attributes attached to these existing lots must be retained in the one acre lots which they now comprise.� Cronin asked the town to reconsider its position and issue the Gleesons, who are currently renting a place to live while the issue is sorted out, a building permit, or to take steps to amend the wording of
its bylaw “so as to fit its strict interpretation with the intended purpose.� Mayor Bruce Whale replied that “we will certainly take all the information that you have provided into consideration and hopefully we can reach a solution fairly quickly.� Council then moved incamera to meet with the township’s solicitor for close to an hour. After the in-camera session, Whale advised the delegation “our solicitor has requested a week to take into consideration all the information that has been provided by you and hopefully try to pen some options and a solution to this situation as quickly as possible.� Whale said he was hopeful there would be further information in “a week to 10 days.� Council held an additional in-camera session at the end of the Oct. 23 regular meeting.
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