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Serving the Mapleton Community
Community News Volume 45 Issue 14
Drayton, Ontario
1 Year GIC - 2.20% 3 Year GIC - 2.45% 5 Year GIC - 2.76% Daily Interest 1.75%
Friday, April 6, 2012
Council unanimous in decision to stay out of court for turbine appeal by David Meyer MAPLETON TWP. The only appeals against the NextEra Energy Canada wind turbine proposal will be coming from citizens, after council rejected a municipal appeal last week. Council met behind closed doors for nearly an hour on March 27 to consider advice from its lawyer, Guelph solicitor Peter Pickfield. They then re-opened the meeting and unanimously agreed (councillor Neil Driscoll was absent) they could not spend taxpayers’ money on an appeal that was unlikely to succeed. Earlier in the meeting, Preserve Mapleton Incorporated, the citizen group opposing the turbine project, had president Tyler Struyk remind all councillors they campaigned against wind turbines. Struyk invited council to be part of the judicial appeal against the approval of NextEra’s 10-turbine project southwest of Arthur. He asked council to support a notice of motion by councillor Neil Driscoll from
the previous meeting that would have council instantly informed if NextEra Energy Canada applies for a building permit. Struyk also asked for a written response to the group’s request for a township judicial appeal and invited council to be a part of the court proceedings that were to begin this week. Later in the meeting, council unanimously supported Driscoll’s motion, even though Driscoll himself was absent. But, after meeting for nearly an hour in a closed session, council was unanimous it would not be part of a judicial appeal. Mayor Bruce Whale said in an interview after the vote that Preserve Mapleton Incorporated, a group of citizens opposing the Ministry of Environment approval of the NextEra project, might have a better chance in court from a private perspective than the township would have from a municipal approach. Preserve Mapleton Incorporated has filed not only a court appeal, but also an Environmental Tribunal Appeal.
Unusual notice of motion passes unanimously by David Meyer MAPLETON TWP. Procedural issues at municipal councils often mean wrangling about the finer points of the rules - but one arose here on March 27 that nobody had ever seen before. The previous meeting, councillor Neil Driscoll presented a notice of motion. Such notices are a politeness that inform other councillors something is coming for them to
think about. Driscoll’s motion was “that the township directs staff to request that the chief building official provide immediate notice to the township, through the chief administrative officer/ clerk, of any applications for building permits submitted by NextEra so that the township can, at that time, review the application in the context of other required approvals for the Continued on page 5
Ending on a high note - Davin and Andrew Grose of Alma were silver medal winners at the final high school snowboard race of the 2012 season. The pair races with the Centre Wellington District High School team. The final competition was held at Beaver Valley Ski Club. submitted photo
Petitioner complains about condition, safety of road by David Meyer MAPLETON TWP. Residents on Sideroad 6 of old Maryborough Township have watched their road get worse over the years, but now they say it is downright unsafe at times. On March 27, Trevor Misch presented council with a petition from 22 residents living on Sideroad 6 between Concession 8 and County Road 8. He said along that 1.5-mile stretch there are 37 residents and lots there for three more homes. Misch acknowledged he knew when he moved there the road was gravel, but said it keeps deteriorating. “In years past, after typical grader maintenance and dust control, the road would remain
relatively free of potholes and ruts for several weeks before showing signs of wear and tear,� he said in a written statement to council. “In the past few years the same grader maintenance treatment would result in only a few days of smooth road surface before potholes and ruts would begin developing again.� Misch said there are 23 licenced drivers living on the stretch of road, and with the weird weather lately, there are days it is very unsafe. He said he almost had an accident there by losing control of his vehicle, and several of his neighbours have told him similar stories. “All our concerns are the same,� he said, adding it is
“primarily safety.� He said the road might be normal one day, but that depends on the weather. He said this spring is “the worst in years,� and added at times it is “ridiculously messy.� He said while driving only 60km/h his vehicle suddenly turned sideways. Misch said he is unsure why the road is suddenly worse, but added it could be due to increased traffic, or simply that heavier trucks are travelling on it, but, “The road is losing its ability to handle traffic.� He added his neighbours like to walk on the sideroad, but this spring it is “too messy and too dangerous to walk on.� Misch said paving it would be one solution.
Mayor Bruce Whale told Misch this is the year Mapleton will work on roads on the old Maryborough side of the township. Whale said the issue is trying to build up the road’s base. He explained many of Mapleton’s roads were not built well in the early days, but to dig them up and rebuild them from scratch is too expensive, so the township is trying to build them up with gravel. Whale also noted the township’s road tour will be early this year and council and staff will take a look at that section. But, he said, there are “no guarantees.� The mayor concluded, “I know it has been a particularly bad winter on our roads.�
Green brings a wide variety of county news to Mapleton council by David Meyer MAPLETON TWP. - A familiar face returned to the council chamber here on March 27, but this time former mayor John Green was on the delegation side and sitting in the audience. Green, currently a county councillor representing Mapleton, brought council a wide variety of news - but he admitted he was uncertain about some financial implications. That is because the provincial budget was set to be released a few hours after his
address to council. Green was acting warden in the absence of Chris White, who Green said was in Toronto that day to “get the bad news� first hand. Green noted Mapleton has not yet finished its budget and he explained that for this year, the county held its tax increase to under two per cent in order to allow struggling lower tier municipalities to raise their rates without a huge overall increases in total taxes. He said the low increase was a first for the county in many years, and Main St. W. Palmerston
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might not happen again. Green said the move “allows you to increase your rates five or six per cent or maybe more and still have an [overall] increase of three per cent.� Green noted the county is building a new OPP station in Teviotdale, and it is finishing major renovations to the Harriston library. In that latter category, he noted Fergus is the last Carnegie library to be renovated. Mapleton did not have a Carnegie library (such librar-
ies were built at the turn of the 20th century though donations by American multi-millionaire philanthropist Andrew Carnegie) so Drayton got a state of the art library. “It’s very expensive to preserve libraries,� Green said. There is another major county project coming. The county garage on County Road 7 is being replaced. Green said there have been some difficulties but the project should start soon. “I suspect we’ll be turning sod in the next few months,�
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Green said. He said the warden, along with Centre Wellington Mayor Joanne Ross-Zuj, has been working to preserve the partnership the province had with the OLG and horse organizations. The provincial government threatened to break that deal, suddenly calling the horsemen’s groups’ share of slots revenue a “subsidy� and indicating it would be stopped. Green said the county is lobbying for the protection of the horse industry because it represents 60,000 jobs in
Ontario and if the OLG money is discontinued “a lot who are employed will be no longer employed.� Green said he has heard the move might be “a stop-gap for a few years.� The province is awash in a sea of debt and deficits, and needs cash to start controlling them. Some good news in the Don Drummond report to the province on how to reduce its deficit is the province is likely to continue to upload social service costs. There were two Continued on page 4
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