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Serving the Mapleton Community
Community News Volume 45 Issue 25
Drayton, Ontario
1 Year GIC - 2.06% 3 Year GIC - 2.36% 5 Year GIC - 2.71% Daily Interest 1.75%
Friday, June 22, 2012
Seniors’ apartment building close to completing final hurdles for zoning
Local stop - Hamilton resident John Varty was in Drayton on June 15 as part of his cross-Canada tractor tour to film a documentary about farming. He quit his job as a history professor to concentrate full time on the project, which included several days in rural Wellington County. photo by Chris Daponte
Cross Canada tractor trek makes stop in Mapleton Township by Chris Daponte DRAYTON - “I’m one of those guys that said, ‘piss on this, I’m not farming’,” John Varty recalls. Instead, he earned his PhD and became a history professor. His career path marked a definite split from tradition, as for the preceding six generations his family enjoyed a proud farming heritage in Hastings County. But it was his decision last summer to abandon his Hamilton apartment and position at McMaster University that really ostracized the 41-year-old from his family. “My mom is mad at me,” Varty said with a laugh on June 15 in downtown Drayton aboard the mobile farmhouse he is pulling across Canada behind a Massey Ferguson 1660 compact tractor. His goal is to film a documentary that highlights how food is produced as well as the difficulties faced by farmers. “I wanted it to be less academic and have real meaning to the people I deal with,” Varty said of interviewing farmers aboard his temporary travelling home. The drastic decision to leave his job - he also taught at McGill University and south of the border at Yale University - was prompted by two major incidents in his life: turning 40
and also a serious bout with blood clots in his lungs which doctors still can’t fully explain. “I wanted to do something with more meaning,” Varty said, noting he can always return to being a university professor. He decided to film a farming documentary, but having no experience in the field, he also knew marketing the project would be vital. One night, out of the blue, he came up with the idea to drive a tractor across Canada to interview farmers. On July 1, 2011 he launched his fact-finding trek at a tractor dealership in Charlottetown, PEI. The dealership provided the tractor and Massey Ferguson, along with Home Hardware and Kal Tire, is sponsoring the journey. “What Dr. Varty is undertaking is truly a unique project in every sense of the word,” Rajesh Joshi, director of marketing at Massey Ferguson, said in a press release. “It’s not every day you hear about an individual who wants to hit the road to connect with farmers to better understand who they are, what they do and how they work.” To date, with the help of fiance and project partner Molly Daley, he has talked to hundreds of farmers and amassed over 140 hours of film
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footage - most of which he found surprising. “I expected a lot of crusty old farmers,” Varty said. “But I have been blown away ... the response has been phenomenal. Guys are saying, ‘Anything that gets done is helpful’.” Varty’s trek was put on hold last November after reaching Sault Ste. Marie, and re-launched again on June 14 in St. George, with “stop number one” in Mapleton Township last weekend. His visit to Mapleton, which boasts 52,000 hectares of farmland, was prompted by University of Guelph student Melisa Luymes, who is working on her masters degree in rural sociology. “I rely on people like Melisa to get me to places,” Varty said. “Local people open local doors.” Luymes, whose family has a farming history of its own, including almost 40 years as part of the Mapleton agricultural community, said her thesis work is very close to what Varty is trying to accomplish, so it made perfect sense for the two to meet - with the added bonus of bringing Varty’s tour to rural Wellington County. Wim Denhartog, who’s farm is just outside Arthur, was one of the local farmers interviewed by Varty. Continued on page 8
by David Meyer MAPLETON TWP. - After several years of delay, Drayton might soon be getting a seniors’ apartment building. Council held a public meeting on June 12 to consider an application by Wellington Construction Limited of Palmerston to remove a holding designation from the lands so a 17-unit apartment building could proceed. The applicant is also proposing eight single family homes. The subject land is part of lots 18 and 19, Concession 10, block 49 and part of block 48 at Andrew Drive West in Drayton. The reason the proposal had a holding designation was council needed time to ensure proper servicing for waste water was available. County planner Linda Redmond, acting for Mapleton, told council it has “seen this one a few times. It is the final one.” Council has also been working under a minor handicap with zoning applications because it has two zoning bylaws - its old one is still in place and the new one had yet to be approved. That meant council had to contend with two sets of rules in planning issues. Redmond had some good news about that, telling council the new zoning bylaw was slated for final approval on June 13. Redmond said the original application had always stated
there were plans for a three storey apartment building. She added that provincial Places to Grow legislation is encouraging higher densities in urban centres and the proposal fits with that intent. She said there is no particular seniors’ housing in the area. One area resident, Mirda Marek, appeared to have no objection to the proposal, but was concerned about more single family housing lots being available in that area. He said he already had one but is interested in the sale of others there. Redmond explained there are plans for other single family homes, and he should talk to the developer about that. She noted the apartment building will back onto the parking lot of a grocery store. There was no formal opposition to the proposal. Councillor Jim Curry told council his main concern is not so much with the apartment as it is with the sewage connections. He wanted assurance that the sewage lagoon has enough capacity to handle the sewage from an apartment building. He cited a 2008 R.J. Burnside engineering report on the number of units for waste water available at the time. Chief administrative officer Patty Sinnamon said Burnside has done an update and “allowed another 29 units.” But Curry wanted to be sure of that. He asked public works director Larry Lynch if there is the possibility of problems.
Lynch said current work on the sewage lagoon is 95 per cent complete and he hopes it is finished by July 1. He added there seems to be plenty of capacity because there are two large cells that are currently empty that can take overflow if required. “We have lots ... We shouldn’t have any issue,” Lynch said. Curry asked when the lagoons can be emptied. Lynch said the Ministry of Environment determines when that can happen and how much can be released. “What’s there, I don’t see any problem,” said Lynch. He added there would be some transfer of sewage from once cell to another, likely in the coming week “because it’s getting full.” Lynch said the township is also doing a study on what is coming out of downtown Drayton to the lagoon from houses, and said he foresees no capacity problems from waste water from houses, but he is unsure what might enter the lagoon from the ground. Mayor Bruce Whale suggested the township obtain flow volumes from the Ontario Clean Water Agency that works with the township so that a situation like last year, when the township needed major work at the lagoon due to capacity issues, does not occur again. Council then concluded the public meeting and later directed staff to prepare a bylaw for the next meeting on June 26.
Only one bid received; Water tank to be purchased from local firm by David Meyer MAPLETON TWP. - When it comes to obtaining a water tank for a township truck, Mapleton council learned on June 12 its best - and only option was to buy locally. Director of public works Larry Lynch submitted a report to council on the bidding for the fabrication of a truckmounted water tank and recommended that it be purchased from Husky Farm Equipment in Alma. The cost of the tank is $11,733. Lynch sought bids from a total of five firms. But James Bauman (Gem-Brook) of Woolwich Township, C-Max of St. Jacobs, Reist Industries of Elmira and Vacutrux of Elmira all responded that they either
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do not manufacture water tanks or they do not manufacture thin wall tanks. When the issue came to council, councillor Jim Curry asked Lynch if he had considered a tank made from heavy gauge plastic. Lynch said he had asked about that at a recent Association of Ontario Road Superintendents meeting and learned that type of tank runs about $18,000 and there is only $15,000 in the 2012 budget for a new tank. And, Lynch added, the plastic tanks are smaller. Curry asked about the companies that said they do not make such tanks. He said he was “kind of surprised” that only one of the five manufacturers actually fabricates the
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tank the township needs. Lynch said he had to consider where to stop seeking bids. He noted those companies make all kinds of tanks, from the type that haul sewage to those that carry milk. He added they are all thick walled and heavy, and he wanted to stay away from that type of tank. Lynch added the first question he received from those companies was, “Why aren’t you going to Husky?” Lynch said in his report that when he priced the same tank in 2010, Husky’s bid was only $40 lower than the bid this year, and he said in his report that is “a good price.” Curry said, “I’m glad a local [business] got it.” Council then accepted the bid.
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