BELWOOD – Centre Wellington Mayor Shawn Watters agreed with many Belwood residents that rural communities and their needs have been overlooked in recent years.
That’s going to change with the new council, he told some 40 local residents who attended his town hall meeting in Belwood Hall on March 2.
“We need to focus on the rural community,” Watters said.
“I understand there’s a distrust of government. We need to do more of this – to come in and talk more.”
A brand new council, including Watters, who is an experienced municipal and county councillor but new to the mayor’s role, was elected in October.
Council has spent many months going through orientation sessions to fully understand the many aspects of municipal government and what their responsibilities are.
Council passed the 2023 budget on Feb. 27 and will begin a strategic planning exercise that will set its vision and priorities for the next four years.
That explains why council hasn’t appeared to have been very active in the past five months, Watters said.
But they are raring to go, he added.
Councillors Lisa Hamilton, Kim Jefferson, Barb Lustgarten-Evoy, Bronwynne Wilton and Denis Craddock, plus county councillor Steve O’Neill, were also present at the Belwood event, along with numerous staff, to hear concerns.
Bridges
Watters opened the discussion by talking about bridges.
“Bridges are important in rural communities especially, because you can lose your sense of connection to the community without them,” he said.
Three projects slated for this summer should really help rural residents out Belwood way, he said.
Bridge 24-WG on 1st Line and bridge 16-WG and structure 4-E, both on the 5th Line, are to be replaced this year.
But Watters acknowledged there are many bridges throughout rural Centre Wellington that have been closed for years, and that’s hard on farms and families who have to detour around them.
Belwood Hall
Belwood Hall is a township facility and Watters said staff are figuring out how to add accessible washrooms.
They have until June 2025 to make all municipal facilities compliant with the province’s accessibility requirements.
He noted the floors and windows also need a refresh.
“We want to put some money into this facility,” he said. “It needs to be brought to another level.”
One attendee suggested the kitchenette could use some upgrades too.
It’s only good for making tea and coffee, the man said, and the community would be better served if real cooking could be done here.
Watters said they’d like to figure out a way to make the Belwood Hall washrooms open to the public without having to go through the hall.
That lead to the suggestion that the washroom facility by the ballpark, which has been closed and in disrepair for some time, should be torn down and a portable toilet installed in its place.
That would be safer – kids like to sit on the roof, one woman said. And a useable washroom near the diamonds would allow for tournaments and other uses.
Watters said staff is taking notes and will schedule a public meeting for more discussion on what’s needed and what’s possible for Belwood Hall.
Post office
Fire burned the building that housed the post office last November.
Since then, Canada Post has installed temporary postal boxes and is seeking a better solution.
Watters said the township offered the West Garafraxa works garage as a temporary solution, “but Canada Post is giving us grief on this,” he said, suggesting it could be because the postal code of the works garage is different from Belwood.
CAO Dan Wilson said Canada Post has not explained what it is thinking in terms of a temporary location for a post office and whether a trailer is being considered.
While grateful for the temporary mailboxes, some residents complained that with the recent heavy snow, the mailboxes are often buried and inaccessible.
“That’s not a Belwood problem; it’s everywhere,” said one man.
“It’s Canada Post’s responsibility to remove snow from the boxes.”
Watters encouraged residents to let Canada Post know their concerns.
Other concerns
Residents also complained about speeding on rural roads, the condition of gravel roads, and their concern that a subdivision proposal will impact their wells.
Watters pointed to the 10-year capital forecast as the roadmap staff use to decide when roads will be paved.
He said there should be a public meeting on the subdivision proposal in the spring, where residents can speak directly to the developer.
Geranium Homes is proposing a 118-estate home development near Belwood.
The plan retains the Fergus Golf Club north of Wellington Road 19 but would see the nine-hole course on the south side become 118 estate homes.
Ward 5 councillor Bronwynne Wilton shared her concern with putting housing on farmland.
“The more we pave over farmland, it’s lost forever,” she said.
“It’s important to keep the urban boundary as small as possible. But more housing in rural areas? I think we need to question that.”
Watters said he intends to hold town hall meetings in Fergus and Elora, but wanted to start with Belwood so people would know he means what he says about supporting rural life and saving farmland from development.
He said a second town hall later in the year might be a good way to report back to the Belwood residents on the concerns they raised at this meeting and the progress staff is making.
