Centre Wellington council is facing budget challenges again this year, and when it began the first of three scheduled meetings on Feb. 17, there was a line-up pleading special causes.
Treasurer Wes Snarr said in his report the township is expected to raise $18.8 million through property taxes and the user pay budget for such things as sewer and water is about $7.5 million.
He reported the operating budget proposes no new positions other than the inclusion of Centre Wellington Chamber of Commerce staff the township has been paying on contract for the past several years through an annual fee to the chamber.
Snarr said because the township has been directing and managing that staff, its pay equity consultant has advised the employees are deemed to be township employees for the purposes of pay equity legislation. He said the impact is “minimal.”
Snarr said the draft operating budget has no significant changes to existing services, but there are increases being budgeted for gravel resurfacing and dust control.
There is also a proposed increase for winter road work, mainly to take into account a 16% increase in the cost of salt, thanks to the tornado that struck Goderich last year, damaging the Sifto Canada plant there.
Hill Street blues
Tracy Fleming, of Hill Street in Elora, asked council to do something about the drainage problems that have plagued that area for 40 years. The subdivision was built under the aegis of old Nichol township, with gravel roads, poor drainage, no catch basins, sidewalks or services. A farmer’s field drains into the area and has often turned into a river when crossing the road.
Fleming invited councillors to drive the street, now part of Elora. She said the road and area are “poor at the best of times” and conditions are particularly bad in the freeze and thaw of this winter.
She said flooding and ground saturation mean families have to be careful when they do laundry, flush toilets or do dishes. Further, if people go away and their sump pumps fail, there is flooding in their basements.
“Picture yourself having to lay sandbags around your home to prevent flooding,” she said, noting there are no shoulders for the road, deep ditches that are a danger to area children when full of water and ponds created there are a breeding ground for mosquitoes, which could cause an outbreak of West Nile virus.
There is also possible well contamination.
Fleming said the township has done some work, replacing culverts at driveways and deepening the ditches, but the residents want more done.
She wondered if the township can at least schedule work in the area on its five-year capital plan and “not continue with 40 more years of Band-Aids.”
Councillor Mary Lloyd asked if the area could become a municipal drain.
Public works director Ken Elder explained such a drain would have to include two farms to the west of County Road 7. Those, he said, would make up more than 70% of the affected area, but if the owners refuse to take part, the drain cannot legally proceed.
If there was a drainage petition, “They would probably disagree with it,” Elder said, because they would face most of the costs for little benefit. Drain costs are allocated according to size of property.
Councillor Fred Morris said council toured the street this year and, “Your presentation puts a face” on the problem. “We will certainly consider your presentation and request.”
Street crossing
Mark Ewing, of Fergus, foresees problems with the safety of children after the new Walmart at the north end of Fergus is up and running.
He asked for a pedestrian crosswalk at the intersection of Parkside Drive and Highway 6.
Ewing said there is a controlled intersection at Highway 6 and Strathallen Street.
“When the Walmart store opens this will present major safety concerns for us as parents with kids who, for one reason or another, would like to cross Highway 6,” he said.
He added children would likely want to take a shortcut across the store’s parking lot, to gain a more direct route from Parkside Drive West to the Strathallen Street crossing.
Ewing said some parents are so worried about the safety of their children they are considering pulling them from St. Joseph Catholic School located on the east side of the highway.
Ewing said there are enough children using the current crossing to warrant an adult crossing guard.
He told council that during the construction the increased signs did “very little” to affect the behaviour of drivers.
“This is on a King’s Highway where people are running lights,” he said.
Council had no questions and Morris promised council would review Ewing’s concerns.
Saving the ash tree
Toni Ellis, of Neighbourwoods, told council there is a major problem with the emerald ash borer in Ontario.
She asked for $15,000 to begin treating trees to protect them from the pest that has been moving east from Windsor after devastating ash trees in that area.
She said the money would allow treatments of 40 to 45 trees that are the largest ash trees in the township. She added the treatment would need to be repeated in two to three years “and possibly more after that.”
Ellis said that will give the group time to get new trees started to replace the ash.
She explained the insect flies, lays eggs in ash trees, and the destruction starts from the top and eventually kills the tree. Ellis noted that in the west part of Ontario, a number of ash trees were cut down to create a “firewall” to stop the insect, but workers later learned the bug “jumped the firewall.”
She said only a licenced person can legally treat the ash with chemicals injected into it, but Neighbourwoods has found someone who will do it at a bargain price.
She also noted the ash tree was planted in the wake of Dutch Elm disease, because ash trees grew rapidly, and because they resisted salt.
Ellis noted that Centre Wellington is in a lower risk zone from the ash borer.
Heritage
Ian Rankine was also present to advocate for a heritage district for Victoria Crescent in Elora.
Rankine told council there was $20,000 allocated for the cause last year, and another $25,000 is suggested in the budget.
He said he does not believe the $25,000 is needed if the council appoints him, Bob Jackson and Beverley Cairns to a special committee to continue the work.
He also asked the township to appoint others to the committee, including the director of planning.
Kathy Baranski, of Heritage Centre Wellington, asked council to consider budget changes for that group.
She said the group has discussed the $20,000 in the reserve fund for the heritage district for Victoria Crescent, and it “would be better used to pursue some heritage design guidelines that would be useful in the community improvement areas.”
She added Heritage Centre Wellington would partner with the economic development committee on that venture and hoped to expand the guidelines to cover all of Centre Wellington in the future.
She also stated it would be nice if council could find funds for both projects.
Business improvement area
Jackie Fraser, president of the Fergus Business Improvement Area, presented her group’s budget prior to the budget talks.
She said the group is “excited” about the coming year and the focus will be on beautification and “setting the table for business.”
She noted the BIA cut its administration costs by 81% last year by terminating the full-time employee. She noted the big project for the year will be the lighting project for Templin Gardens and the Grand River, which will have its grand opening this Friday at about 7pm.
She said the BIA has also set aside $8,500 for facade improvements, and hopes to dovetail that incentive with a community improvement program grant.
