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Serving the Mapleton Community
Community News Volume 45 Issue 15
Drayton, Ontario
1 Year GIC - 2.20% 3 Year GIC - 2.45% 5 Year GIC - 2.76% Daily Interest 1.75%
Friday, April 13, 2012
Township invites public to strategic plan meeting on April 26 MAPLETON TWP. - The township is developing a 10-year strategic plan and is inviting residents, community groups and businesses to share their views and perspectives for the community up to 2022. “We are excited to engage the community in planning the future of the Township of Mapleton,” said Mayor Bruce Whale. The purpose of the exercise is the establishment of a collective vision and a plan to define ways to best use resources and communicate priorities to the
community. The township will also consider municipal planning documents such as the zoning bylaw and official plan, as well as the budget, to ensure resources are allocated appropriately and reported annually to identify progress, measure success and establish future goals. Residents are invited to participate in a survey, a community “conversation café” workshop and a school-based survey to include youths in the community. The consultation begins
with a resident survey available on-line at www.mapleton. ca, by picking up a copy at the township office or by emailing psinnamon@town.mapleton. on.ca. A public meeting is being held at the PMD Arena on April 26 at 7pm and is open to residents of all ages. For more information, please contact Mapleton chief administrative officer Patty Sinnamon at 519-638-3313, extension 24 or at psinnamon@ town.mapleton.on.ca.
Council grants permission for storage trailers - for one year by David Meyer MAPLETON TWP. Council has granted a man here permission to park storage trailers on his land, but it also made it clear the situation needs a permanent solution. On March 27, council gave John Martin a temporary use exemption to its zoning bylaw. Martin has twice had threeyear exemptions to park trailers on industrial land he owns at 6408 Yatton Sideroad (Part Lot 18, Concession 1). The property is just over 10 acres in size, with about seven acres as its main site and just over 3.3 acres for a driveway. Martin has a warehouse building with a ground floor of 15,000 square feet, according to the 2008 plan council has seen.
Martin has been storing and renting space for trailers there since 2005. The products in those trailers are obsolete or out of season. There are currently 35 trailers on the property but 17 of those are being stored for other people. Martin has told council he charges nominal rent for that storage. When Martin first approached council in 2005 he said he hoped to eventually build more storage space at the lot, but he has not yet done that. Planner Mark Van Patter, working for Mapleton from the county planning office, commented by stating he wonders why Martin could not set up paying the township an annual fee for trailers rather than seeking a zoning amendment extension every three years.
Van Patter noted the zoning bylaw was passed in 2005 for the property to remove a holding zone designation from the industrial zone. “This was to permit a new building of approximately 5,000 square feet in which manufacturing would occur. I don’t think construction ever occurred,” he wrote in his comments to council. Van Patter added, “Council should consider whether this form of storage is desirable in the present case or whether materials parts and product should all be stored within a warehouse. I would note that the site is in the interior of a lot and not readily available [or visible] from the road.” When council considered Continued on page 3
Future farmers? - Iris Nieuwland and Keirsten Vandenberg were among the youngsters who seemed to enjoy the 31st annual Drayton Farm Show last week at the PMD Arena. Thousands attended the two-day event organized by the Drayton Kinsmen. More photos on page 5. photo by Wilma Mol
Township hears details on budget and programs from GRCA officials by David Meyer MAPLETON TWP. Perhaps Mayor Bruce Whale best summed up a presentation from Grand River Conservation Authority officials on March 27. Whale and council heard all about a number of GRCA programs and lots of data, including the 2012 budget. The mayor told the officials no one has any complaints about the programs the GRCA delivers. “The big question is why can’t you do it for a little less money,” he said. Whale added, “Because we’re critical of the amount doesn’t mean we’re not appreciative of the programs.” The GRCA’s chief administrative officer Joe Farwell provided the facts. The Grand River watershed is 300km long and, at 6,800 square kilometres, is larger than Prince Edward Island. It flows from
Dundalk in Dufferin County to Lake Erie. The Grand has four major tributaries, the Nith, Speed and Eramosa Rivers, plus the Conestogo River that runs through Mapleton. It amounts, said Farwell, to over 11,000km of streams. He said the budget this year is $32.7 million, and that is down from $33.6 million the previous years. Farwell also noted the GRCA has leveraged its municipal levy so that $1 from municipalities like Mapleton is matched with $2 raised elsewhere. He added the per capita levy for the watershed is about $10. The GRCA’s budget includes 12% for special projects such as Trees for Mapleton. Mapleton’s levy is about $79,000 this year, an increase of just over 2%. Meanwhile, the GRCA is planning to spend $2.8 million
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at the Conestogo dam for major repairs this year to slow the water that comes out. That will improve the GRCA’s capability to handle high flows. Next, he said, is work on an “emergency spillway” that could cost as much as $20 million before it is complete. The GRCA is working with the Ministry of Natural Resources about a size that is consistent with the new rules. The costs will be determined by the outcome of those discussions. He added the municipal share of the costs could be spread over 10 years. Supervisor of conservation services Tracey Ryan told council the Rural Water Quality Program will be running again this year and that Mapleton Township has been “the largest uptake” for that program since it started in 1999. Farmers, mainly, have been
using its funding to improve water courses by helping with tasks such as keeping manure and cattle from streams. The county once provided $300,000 a year for that work, and now that has climbed to $400,000 as the perceived importance of water has grown. Ryan said now it’s not just farmers, but also people in urban areas who want to do such things as decommission wells, that can access funding. She reminded council that Wellington County lies in parts of six different watersheds but all parts of the county are eligible to use the funding. Ryan said the goal is “to find out the best combination of money to get things done.” She added the money in most of each of the working categories has been increased. When it comes to the Trees for Mapleton project, Ryan
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said the GRCA is hoping for stable funding for a forester. The one working on that the past year has moved on to a new post at the GRCA. Councillor Andy Knetsch asked what percentage of GRCA land is farmland, and if the board has ever considered selling it (board chairman Jane Mitchell and Mapleton’s GRCA board representative Pat Salter were in the gallery). Farwell said the GRCA has sold farmland in the past. He said an old workshop property was sold last year. But, he said the GRCA’s strategic plan is coming along, and when it is ready “it may result in some” land sales. Councillor Jim Curry asked about the county’s active transportation program, and if the GRCA is interested. He said many would like to see more trails, specifically one that
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extents to County Road 8. Farwell agreed, “There is real interest in trails.” He said the GRCA has also had discussions with Guelph, and provided Curry with a contact to consider the issue in Mapleton. Curry then asked about the Indian Treaty lands. Natives have claimed six miles on either side of the Grand River for decades, and he wondered if that includes the Conestogo river. Farwell said the GRCA’s interpretation is the treaty is for land only around the Grand River. “We don’t believe it affects the Conestogo.” County councillor John Green, who was also in the gallery, told council the county has a map of that land claim, and the Conestogo is not included on it. Council thanked the GRCA officials for their presentations.
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