Council here has approved the use of all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) at the Drayton Fair.
Recently, Mapleton council banned the use of ATVs and other off-road vehicles on municipal land, while in other areas of the township users must adhere only to provincial ATV regulations.
The Drayton Fair, set for Aug. 10 to 12, is held at the Drayton Mapleton Agricultural Society fairgrounds, which is owned by the municipality and under the ATV ban.
“I neglected to take into consideration that the organizers of the Drayton … Fair depend on ATVs to properly run their event,” CAO Manny Baron wrote in his report to council.
“ATVs are used extensively and are an important part of the fair weekend.”
In order to use ATVs during the Drayton Fair organizers need permission each year from the municipality.
Baron suggested that instead of the fair coming to council year after year with the same request, “it was better customer service to just extend it for a number of years. They don’t have to come to us every year for something that just absolutely makes sense.”
Councillor Dennis Craven asked whether the Drayton Fair should come back to council next year to evaluate how the ATVs were used.
“How it goes, how they behave and so on,” Craven said. “And … if it’s gone well this year, then approve it on an annual basis rather than this time, the first time, on an annual basis.”
In the resolution it states that “authorization be reviewed with the Agricultural Society should there be any areas of concern.”
“Internally we discussed that exact motion and we’re going to go monitor, make sure everything is as it usually is; they’re going to be respectful … we are going to monitor,” Baron said.
Mayor Neil Driscoll asked what would happen with Christmas parades.
“They often use these vehicles and honestly things I didn’t think of at the time of passing the bylaw,” Driscoll said. “So we should contact our fire chief and our Optimist Club who organize our … Christmas parades ands ee if there’s going to be a conflict there.”
Council unanimously passed the resolution allowing the Drayton Fair to use ATVs.
Council also passed a bylaw allowing for a noise bylaw exemption for the Drayton Fair on Aug. 10 from 8am to 1am, Aug. 11 from 8am to 1am and Aug. 12 from 8am to 6pm.
