The Alma Optimist Club will be compensated for helping provide shelter and support to stranded motorists during a Dec. 14 storm last year.
Township council agreed on March 28 to the club’s request for compensation of $885.
A letter from the club explains Mapleton staff contacted a club member asking if the group could open the Alma Community Hall to accommodate motorists stranded in the area due to a winter storm during which Wellington OPP had closed several local roads.
Optimists Carol Geddes and Ted Farrelly opened the hall and welcomed 40 stranded people directed there by the OPP at approximately 1pm. Supplies were purchased to serve hot drinks and sandwiches.
By 5pm, approximately 25 people remained and the Geddes family, assisted with food prepared by neighbours, fed travellers an evening meal.
At 6pm, six truckers were brought in by the OPP from Wellington County Road 17 and another meal of spaghetti and meatballs was prepared with donated supplies and served.
By 11pm, four elderly people were accommodated overnight in the homes of two Alma residents. All but nine others were able to continue their journeys, and the nine remaining people were bedded down in the hall with donated blankets and pillows.
“While the Optimists had no cash expenses, the cost to staff and operate the hall for that 21 hours would have been an expense to the municipality if either Drayton or Moorefield had been used to accommodate the motorists,” states a letter from the Optimists.
“The cost of operating the Alma hall would have amounted to about $150 and labour (21 hours at $35) would have been $735. Therefore, the Alma Optimists Club would appreciate being reimbursed for $885,” the letter continues.
CAO Brad McRoberts commended the club for its actions.
“The plan was well communicated, well documented and well implemented and kudos go out to the Alma Optimists for stepping up to the plate,” said McRoberts, who added town staff indicated to the club it “should track any costs.”
McRoberts noted the Dec. 14 storm tested the communications system for advising local residents of the status of local roads and plowing crews.
Township plows were pulled from roads for a portion of the storm, but some confusion occurred when Wellington County indicated the county’s Mapleton plows were on the road.
Going forward, McRoberts said the township’s road status during storms will be posted on the “notices and closures” page of the county website. Local residents are encouraged to sign up for the county’s email notification service, he explained.
While pulling plows from a road does not necessarily indicate it has been formally closed by police, McRoberts cautioned, “if the plows are off the road, you shouldn’t be on the road.”
