[3:22] Well, good evening everyone.
And welcome to the Township of Mapleton
[3:26] Council meeting for Tuesday, September
8th, 2026.
[3:31] I just call this meeting to order.
If you can, please rise for O Canada.
[3:44] » [music]
[3:51] » O
>> [music]
[3:53] » Canada
[3:56] » [singing]
[4:01] [music]
[4:04] [singing]
[4:10] [music]
[4:14] [singing]
[4:18] [music and singing]
[4:24] [singing and music]
[4:29] [music and singing]
[4:34] [singing]
[4:39] [music]
[singing]
[4:44] [music]
[4:49] [singing]
[music]
[4:56] [music]
[singing]
[5:01] [singing]
[5:03] [music]
[singing]
[5:15] » Is there any declaration of pecuniary
interest?
[5:19] Seeing none, we're going to turn it over
to Mr. Barron.
[5:23] » Thank you, through your worship.
I'd like to take this opportunity today
[5:28] to to introduce our newest staff member,
Martin Cloutier.
[5:33] I'll say it Martin now from this point
on. Martin comes up to comes to us from
[5:38] French River.
I got I got to say we we we scoured the
[5:42] province to try to find the best
director of infrastructure and it was it
[5:47] was a long time coming, but we did uh
have the pleasure of interviewing Martin
[5:51] on two occasions. And
there's a reason he's here. He was by
[5:56] far the uh uh the best candidate uh to
fit Mapleton's needs. So, uh
[6:01] we're very appreciative. One of the last
uh
[6:04] this is how we we know he fits. One of
the last questions we asked, the last
[6:07] interview question in fact, was uh what
NHL team do you like? And he answered
[6:11] didn't answer Montreal. So, he was good
by us.
[6:15] So, uh but uh there's a lot of things I
can say, but you probably want to hear
[6:19] directly from Martin um and and maybe
his background. So, yeah.
[6:23] » Thank you, Mayor Eddy. So, uh Martin, uh
welcome on behalf of council and the
[6:26] township to Mapleton. We look forward to
having some great things come from you
[6:31] and if not,
we still look forward to it. Uh so, go
[6:34] ahead, Martin. Tell us a little bit
about yourself and uh
[6:38] go.
>> Well, thank you, everyone. Um
[6:42] as uh introduced by uh
Mr. uh Mayor
[6:45] Uh my name is Martin Cutie. I come from
uh the the great municipality of the
[6:50] French River up north. Um I've served 7
years as the public works manager out
[6:55] there and I have uh a good background in
uh roads infrastructure asset management
[7:02] and uh fleet operations. Got lots to
learn with uh the municipality out here,
[7:07] but grew up in a small um farming
community, very used to what I'm seeing
[7:14] out here and uh hopefully I can
uh adjust to a a more
[7:20] uh farming community compared to my
hunting and fishing uh days up north.
[7:24] But, uh I'm very happy to be here and uh
to give it my all and uh help out the
[7:30] community as best I can. So, thank you
once again for having me here.
[7:35] » The great community of French River, not
as good as Mapleton, but pretty darn
[7:38] close, right?
Well, welcome, Martin.
[7:44] Okay. of minutes. Moved by Councillor
Woodhams, seconded by Councillor Ottens,
[7:48] that the minutes of the Township of
Mapleton Council meeting held on August
[7:51] 11th, 2026 be confirmed as circulated in
the agenda.
[7:54] Any comments?
All in favor.
[7:58] It's carried.
[8:06] 4.2, moved by Councillor Ottens,
seconded by Councillor Woodhams, that
[8:09] the minutes of the Township of Mapleton
special Council meeting held on August
[8:13] 25th, 2026 be confirmed as circulated in
the agenda. Any comments?
[8:19] All in favor.
It's carried.
[8:26] We have no matters arising from minutes.
We'll go to item number six, which is
[8:29] matters under the Planning Act.
So, we're going to a public meeting.
[8:34] This is a public meeting under the
Planning Act to hear comments from the
[8:36] public and agencies and give
consideration to application ZBA 2026-10
[8:41] for proposed zoning bylaw amendment.
Subject lands are located at part lot
[8:46] 12, concession 12 with an address of
7550 12th Line. A portion of the land
[8:51] subject to this amendment is
approximately 1 hectare in size and is
[8:55] currently vacant.
Purpose and effect of the proposed
[8:58] amendment is to rezone the lands to an
appropriate zone to permit a parochial
[9:02] school.
The rezoning will may also address MDS 1
[9:07] reductions to the surrounding livestock
facilities if required.
[9:11] This rezoning is a condition of consent
application B1526,
[9:15] which received provisional approval in
July 2026 from the Wellington County
[9:20] Land Division. Mr. Clerk, statutory
requirements, please.
[9:25] » Thank you, sir. Staff can confirm that
property owners, Mapleton staff, and
[9:29] agencies were provided with required
notice.
[9:33] There's a comment summary included in In
planning report.
[9:36] On-site postings completed August 12th.
Source water comments
[9:42] from the risk management inspector
are dated August 12th and there's no
[9:46] concerns expressed.
GRCA comments are included with no
[9:50] concerns.
And the County of Wellington comments
[9:53] from planner Jamie Barnes are attached.
Thank you.
[9:57] » Thank you, Mr. Clerk. Now, I'll hear
from the planner, Linda Redden.
[10:01] » Thank you, Mayor. Through you to
council. This is, as already stated, um
[10:07] a condition of the consent application
that was before this
[10:11] council a few months ago
uh that received approval from land
[10:16] division.
Um
[10:18] and so now this is one of the conditions
they're fulfilling. We have no concerns
[10:22] with the application and I just want to
point out um that I know there have been
[10:26] some concerns raised uh with respect to
the road that serves this new lot. Um
[10:33] and there was a condition um placed um
from our public works director at the
[10:39] time that was formed a condition of the
consent that they have to enter into an
[10:44] agreement with the township the
Mennonite community or the Mennonite
[10:47] community that's building the school
have to enter into um an agreement with
[10:51] the township to upgrade that road
as far as the new lot. Um and then it's
[10:57] also
seconded in the planning report as well.
[11:01] So, that is part of the consent. So, the
lot cannot be created until that
[11:06] agreement is in place and securities are
collected and then the road will have to
[11:11] be upgraded at the time that the school
goes in.
[11:14] » Thank you, Linda.
Do we have any comments from the school?
[11:20] No. Okay.
Any comments from those in attendance?
[11:24] Please indicate so and state your name
and address of record. First, hear those
[11:28] in support of the zoning application.
Anybody here wishing to speak in
[11:31] support?
Do we have anybody here wishing to speak
[11:35] in opposition of this?
[11:38] Any questions for council?
[11:42] Councilor Woodham.
>> Thank you, Mayor Davidson. Um I believe
[11:47] this would be a question to Jim Gross,
the
[11:51] Parks Rec Manager. I'm reading your
little sign.
[11:55] » [laughter]
>> Public Works, sorry.
[11:58] Um we received actually in the package
again, um there's still the letters from
[12:04] Wayne and Anita Schneider, the letter
from Eileen Mike Downey and Teresa
[12:08] Campbell. In in our correspondence
section, there's actually a letter from
[12:12] Liz Sammons.
And
[12:16] I think there
a lot of their questions are on the road
[12:20] itself and as the planner had said,
there is stipulations that the road
[12:24] needs to be upgraded. But they're asking
is um I know we've had our roads need
[12:30] study. Can you just maybe explain a
little more about that? And what would
[12:36] the cost be
to get our roads
[12:40] like they're asking for them to be
improved?
[12:47] » Through you, Mr. Mayor. That like that
specific road or are you talking all of
[12:51] our
minimal maintenance roads?
[12:56] Okay. Matter of fact,
there is exactly
[13:05] It was
[13:08] 50
55 km of minimal maintenance roads in
[13:14] this municipality
as per center line.
[13:17] So that's actually 110
lane
[13:22] lane lane trial
roads, right?
[13:26] To do we to bring them up to standards,
which means full dig out
[13:29] um up to our standards,
it's running about $400 per linear
[13:34] meter.
[13:37] So, if you take that number and multiply
it by
[13:40] 400, you're looking at about
$22,208,000.
[13:47] That's just the road.
Now, you've got
[13:50] 100 and some kilometers of ditches to
prepare cuz several of those roads
[13:55] do not have ditches at all.
There's cornfields right to the edge of
[13:58] the road.
So, if you start adding those numbers
[14:03] together, it comes out to
approximately, now, I did this on
[14:07] Saturday morning, these numbers,
about $27,208,000
[14:13] to do
basically all our I call them minimal
[14:16] maintenance roads.
I don't like calling them no maintenance
[14:19] roads because we do grade them from time
to time.
[14:22] Two or three times a year type thing.
So,
[14:25] but the the going rate is
I actually worked it out and I worked it
[14:30] out to about 390 a meter,
but I touched base with a couple
[14:34] engineering firms and they said you're
almost guaranteed it's going to be 400 a
[14:37] meter.
So, if you do that math,
[14:41] all the If you take all the
kilometers of I call them minimum
[14:46] minimal maintenance roads,
it works out to about $27,208,000.
[14:53] Follow up?
>> Yes. Thank you. Through you, Mayor
[14:56] Davidson.
So, in the agreement that's going to be
[15:00] placed that the road is going to get
built up, I had my personal tour
[15:06] and my tour guide who used to work with
the township showing me all these roads.
[15:11] So,
um he was inquiring and I'm inquiring,
[15:16] it will there be a turnaround for the
plow or is this one that we will plow or
[15:20] will this be one that we subcontract
because I knew I do know we subcontract
[15:25] out sometimes.
>> I have met with them on site. They are
[15:28] going to put turnaround in and we will
be plowing the road back to the
[15:32] turnaround. The turnaround will be
adequate to turn a snow plow around.
[15:39] And I I met them on site and told them I
actually gave them a set of drawings
[15:43] of what we did in a previous
location where they brought the road up
[15:48] to standards.
So, they have the drawing of what it
[15:52] basically has to be.
So.
[15:58] » Thank you.
[16:03] Um to the planner.
Maybe to Jim.
[16:09] It's part of the requirements that they
fulfill is to this for this road to
[16:16] upgrade it with a turnaround.
Who pays for that?
[16:24] » They are paying for everything.
To bring the road up to our standards as
[16:29] per the
the drawing that I had given them, which
[16:32] we accepted in a previous location.
And the turnaround we discussed where
[16:37] the turnaround when we met on site.
And
[16:41] everything
seems to be in order. So, it's just a
[16:44] case of
once they get to the point where there's
[16:47] time to sign the agreement then
they can they would they will do the
[16:51] work. We're not doing it like it's their
their expense.
[16:54] » And just to follow up on that,
this will include ditches and it'll
[16:58] remain a gravel road.
>> It will remain a gravel road.
[17:01] » Thank you.
Councilor Martin.
[17:06] » Uh thank you, Mr. Mayor. Um this is the
most I've heard Jim speak at council in
[17:10] about 4 months. I'm going to keep that
ball rolling if you don't mind.
[17:14] Um
So, Jim, philosophically speaking, this
[17:17] is just
off the top of your head. So, the specs
[17:20] of the roads for like, say, the third
and the fourth in Marlborough, the sixth
[17:25] and the eighth of Peel, and then the
12th, are are all of our roads kind of
[17:30] built to the same specs?
[17:34] » The [clears throat] road The road
standard is 7 m of top,
[17:37] 3/4 m of shoulder on each side,
and the ditches are on a 3:1 slope
[17:43] off of that.
[17:46] Min- minimum.
A lot of our roads have a lot deeper
[17:50] ditches than that that we plow every
day.
[17:53] But, anything new that's being built,
that's the standard that we've accepted.
[17:59] And so, that's that's where we're
heading with
[18:06] » And that was off the top of his head.
There was no prep in there. So, thank
[18:09] you, Jim.
[18:14] » Uh do we want to keep the roll going?
Anything else for uh
[18:19] No, there we go.
>> Go ahead.
[18:22] » Uh through you, Mayor. Um I'm just
wondering where this is going to be
[18:25] located if we've thought anything about
uh
[18:29] roadway safety or speed at this point or
changing the speed of that road, knowing
[18:33] the school would be be there.
[18:38] » Through you, Mr. Mayor. Um council
adopted
[18:42] uh bylaw
three or four years ago
[18:46] that all parochial schools in the rural
townships will have a 60
[18:52] km zone.
They are all posted at this point.
[18:56] So, that is something that would be have
to post, and it would have to be added
[19:00] to the bylaw.
>> Thank you.
[19:02] » It was about 6 years ago. Yeah. Was it 6
years ago? Okay.
[19:09] » Thank you.
>> Anything further?
[19:14] Thank you.
[19:18] This public meeting is now concluded.
Thank you for attending.
[19:26] I do have the resolution here moved by
Councillor Woodham, seconded by
[19:29] Councillor Ottens that the Township of
the Council receive for information
[19:33] planning report ZBA 2026-10 dated
September 8th, 2026
[19:38] regarding part lot part lot 12,
concession 12 and municipally known as
[19:42] 7550
12th line.
[19:46] Further questions from Council.
[19:51] All in favor.
It's carried. Thank you.
[20:01] Moving on to delegations.
We are very fortunate again to have the
[20:07] Youth Wellness Hub of Ontario, the
Wellness and Guelph. And we're actually
[20:10] talking the Palmerston Hub, which is the
most important to us here in Mapleton.
[20:14] Uh we have Jeff and Tiffany both here,
so welcome.
[20:21] » Thank you, Mayor Davidson, Council,
staff, community. It's a pleasure to be
[20:24] here again with you.
Um
[20:27] I'm going to start to say a few words
and Tiffany's going to do most of the
[20:29] heavy lifting today as as Tiffany leads
our teams here in Wellington County and
[20:33] certainly deserves the credit for all
the hard work that we're our teams are
[20:35] are doing here and the impact they're
having on young people. So, I'd have
[20:37] Tiffany share share some of the great
stories we've got to share with you
[20:40] today.
I want to start just by talking a little
[20:42] bit about um a tour we had with folks
from the Youth Wellness Hubs of Ontario
[20:46] provincial office. We brought them
across across Wellington County and
[20:49] across our sites here in Guelph quite
frankly to brag a little bit about the
[20:52] work that's happening here. And we came
into the hub in Palmerston. It was in
[20:55] May it was a May it was a Monday on in
May
[20:57] and as always the place was full of
young people. Uh uh you walk in you walk
[21:02] in the hub and the first people to greet
you actually were two team members from
[21:04] public health. It's not uncommon to have
our public health team members in the
[21:07] hub and they're doing some uh some uh
education awareness promotion around
[21:12] around around primary care and around
around health for young people as they
[21:16] come in and just connect with youth in a
in that real informal way.
[21:19] Further on you move into the hub, you
see Jody Caldwell. You may know her as
[21:22] Jody from the family the family health
team. Jody works with our team closely
[21:26] to provide primary care for young people
right within the hub here, you know, for
[21:29] young people across Mapleton and across
across Minto as well.
[21:32] A little bit further along you see
Mallory. Mallory's a
[21:35] one of the
mental health team members from the
[21:37] Canadian Mental Health Association who
works across northern part of the county
[21:40] and she's in the hub working with some
young people in the hub that day as
[21:42] well.
A little bit further along you see you
[21:45] see McKenzie who's our mental health our
our mental health substance use
[21:48] clinician. You see Sarah who who does
our our outreach work within the hub.
[21:52] You got Liz who young people meet with
when they first walk in the hub and
[21:54] access service. Plus
plus Dana one of our youth ambassadors
[21:58] within that within that space. And it
was just a wonderful example of what
[22:01] we've been trying to build here for 5
years. And this is the fifth anniversary
[22:04] of that hub opening. And we have shared,
you know, through
[22:08] you know, through through Manny and and
across the council
[22:11] celebration we've got on on September
24th and we love to have council that
[22:15] can make it to it, staff as well, our
community to be a part of that be a part
[22:18] of that day. It's 12:00 at the hub and
we'll get you out by about about 1:00
[22:22] 1:15. Just to see some of the young
people that are being impacted and the
[22:25] work that's happening here.
But it's so it's amazing to think about
[22:28] just in 5 years what's happened around
you know, our hub here locally becoming
[22:33] the busiest youth hub in the province,
right? In fact, across across the
[22:37] province every single day 20% of visits
who come to a Youth Wellness Hub across
[22:41] the province come to us here in
Wellington County and in Guelph. We
[22:44] continue to be the busiest place for
young people.
[22:47] And that becomes in part large part
because of leadership from our
[22:50] communities in around here that said we
need to do something different to help
[22:52] young people.
And we are doing something different to
[22:55] help young people as well. So I'm going
to turn over to Tiffany to walk you
[22:56] through what that's looked like in the
last year since we've been last here to
[22:58] formally update you. And I'm going to
jump back in at the end to talk a bit
[23:01] about what we're thinking about what's
next from here. It's okay. So, where do
[23:03] you want to kick off?
>> All right. Next slide.
[23:08] Wonderful. So, this year we saw over
8,000 young people through our doors in
[23:13] Palmerston. The Palmerston Hub, as Jeff
said, continues to be the busiest. We
[23:17] see upwards of 50 youth a day. Um and
whether that's just to hang out, they
[23:20] might be just dropping by for a snack,
they might be accessing our wellness
[23:23] services, and no one's the wiser as to
what you're there for. And you could be
[23:27] accessing all of the above or just one
thing.
[23:30] We continue to see young people coming
in to our wellness services for various
[23:34] reasons. The top five continue to be
mental health, navigation, interpersonal
[23:39] relationships, education, and substance
use. So, although those appear to be
[23:43] separate reasons, they're all
intertwined and wrap-around supports
[23:45] available within the Hub are really
where we kind of thrive in that.
[23:51] This year alone, we had 25% of our youth
were new youth. So, which is a great
[23:55] thing to see. It means that those who
are aging into our catchment now know
[23:58] about us and they can come join us. Um
the schools are a great referral and
[24:02] they're sharing our information. Um
youth are hearing about us. Families are
[24:05] hearing about us. So, that's great to
see that they continue to come in.
[24:14] Thank you.
Um so, youth mental health continues to
[24:17] be one of the most pressing challenges
for youth across Ontario. Um local
[24:21] surveys of our youth accessing wellness
services at the Hub reflect similar
[24:25] trend among our Minto Mapleton. This
year, 77% of youth within our clinical
[24:30] services reported that their mental
health was fair or poor when they
[24:33] attended initially. 41% of those youth
uh disclosed self-harm or suicidality
[24:38] within that first visit. Representing a
fairly similar presentation to what
[24:42] we've seen in previous years. Um and
while the statistic highlights the
[24:46] ongoing need for timely access
accessible mental health supports and
[24:49] early intervention, it also underscores
the importance of continued investment
[24:53] in prevention, outreach, and
youth-focused services.
[24:58] All right. One that I'm very proud of.
So,
[25:01] 80 upwards of 88% that's a you know, a
rough there.
[25:05] Um, of our youth are accessing wellness
services within 24 hours. So, they walk
[25:09] in our door, they meet with someone,
someone catches them at the door and
[25:12] notices they're having a bad day, any of
the above and they're seeing someone
[25:15] within 24 hours. So, that might be an
outreach support, that might be mental
[25:19] health clinician, it might be a group.
So, anything within that but they know
[25:23] they have a person and they've been sort
of wrapped around and not told come on
[25:26] back in 6 months and we'll see you then.
You're coming back tomorrow and we're
[25:28] going to see you.
Um, one of our so, as we've been
[25:32] evolving our youth have been completing
feedback surveys after their clinical
[25:35] services. And some of the data and that
is pretty amazing. Youth are
[25:40] young people are satisfied with
services, they feel welcome and safe.
[25:43] Services are are found the right way to
help them.
[25:46] Questions that were asked were helpful
and my favorite one is that they would
[25:50] recommend the hub to a friend. So,
that's pretty telling if someone comes
[25:53] in for clinical services and feels that
they could share that with someone else,
[25:57] that means a lot.
Something we are just starting to do is
[26:00] to try to gather more information on our
drop-in services. So, young people who
[26:04] are just popping in to get a snack. So,
this year we've started gathering some
[26:07] data on their demographics and
statistics so, our satisfaction. So,
[26:10] trying to figure out what's going on, do
you like it, what's working for you.
[26:14] And this year 100% of youth in
Palmerston answered yes, definitely to
[26:19] the following pieces. They do you feel
find the hub welcoming,
[26:22] non-discriminating and comfortable? I
feel safe in the hub at all times and I
[26:27] would recommend the hub to a friend,
also important one. And then I know at
[26:30] least one trusted team member at the hub
I can go to for support. So, that's
[26:34] really telling that they're actually
connecting when they're in that space
[26:36] and not just physically, you know,
grabbing something that they do.
[26:39] Someone's interacting with them at some
point or another and they feel safe to
[26:42] do that.
All right, we're back to where would you
[26:46] go? So, this chart truly reflects the
benefit we bring to the community
[26:50] demonstrating that if we weren't here,
youth would go nowhere or not sure for
[26:54] their mental health concerns.
We continue to see our close neighbors,
[26:59] the school, as one of our biggest
referral sources.
[27:02] Um whether it be word of mouth,
referrals from teachers, counselors, or
[27:04] administration, or through outreach
promotion, the schools are a place where
[27:07] youth are hearing about us and helping
to get the word out.
[27:14] All right, some little success stories.
I always find these ones the hardest cuz
[27:17] there's so many. Um and actually my
second one I have a lot of data on too.
[27:21] So, this is one from uh from Palmerston.
So, after graduating high school, a
[27:25] young person who had occasionally
attended the Hub's drop-in programming
[27:28] began experiencing challenges at home
and with their anxiety. Unsure of what
[27:32] support they needed or how to access it,
they remembered the trusted relationship
[27:35] they had built with a Hub team member
and felt safe in reaching out.
[27:39] With By connecting with the Hub, they
were able to access outreach support,
[27:42] counseling services, and care from the
nurse practitioner. We were able to
[27:45] support this young person in looking for
housing, applying for a job, learning to
[27:49] budget, along with working through their
mental health needs with the counselor.
[27:52] What started as a simple step through
the door became a pathway to the help
[27:55] and guidance they needed during a
difficult time.
[28:00] I I have one more lovely little story.
This one we got an update on today, so
[28:04] I'll tell you that. So, two young people
who barely knew each other, um kind of
[28:08] acquaintances at high school, discovered
they'd both be attending the same
[28:11] post-secondary institution while they
were in the Hub. Um as they prepared to
[28:14] leave home, start this new school, live
independently for the first time, both
[28:18] were feeling extremely anxious about
this transition and we were hearing
[28:21] about that. So, while spending time at
the Hub, they learned not only were they
[28:24] attending the same institution, but they
were enrolled in the same program. And
[28:27] with this shared connection, they were
able to request to be roommates in
[28:30] residence and prepare for their move
together.
[28:33] The positive impact was immediate.
Having a familiar face and supportive
[28:36] connection significantly reduced their
anxiety and helped them feel more
[28:39] confident and excited about this new
chapter in their lives. And this
[28:42] experience truly highlights how the Hub
can create meaningful connections that
[28:45] support young people through the
important life transitions. And we did
[28:48] get a picture update today that they're
moved into residence and we've seen
[28:51] their picture together and they're doing
very well. So, that was exciting to
[28:54] hear.
[28:57] » Oh, but it's still me.
>> All right, our partnerships. So, strong
[29:02] community partnerships are essential to
providing coordinated wrap-around
[29:05] support to youth in Minto and Mapleton.
Our Minto Youth Action Council continues
[29:09] to thrive empowering young people to
develop leadership skills, contribute to
[29:13] the community initiatives, and build
confidence that support their future
[29:16] education and career pathways.
Through the partnerships with our local
[29:19] municipalities, schools, health care
providers, and community near
[29:23] organizations, we've delivered wellness
programming in day camps, after-school
[29:27] programs. We've provided suicide and
substance use awareness education within
[29:31] the schools, and support complex youth
through coordinated care planning with
[29:34] our community partners.
Our collaboration with the Minto
[29:37] Mapleton Family Health Team has expanded
access to primary care by offering the
[29:41] nurse practitioner on-site. Um she's
there twice monthly right now. And this
[29:45] partnership helps the youth access
health care in a safe, youth-friendly
[29:48] environment while strengthening that
integrated support. So, it's not about
[29:52] um attachment, it's about access and how
they can do that safely.
[29:56] And together these partnerships increase
access to services, reduce the barriers
[30:00] to care, and ensure youth and families
receive the right support at the right
[30:03] time.
[30:09] » And so, is is Tifty a shared
is
[30:12] We've got really busy places that are
impacting young people every single day.
[30:17] Young people
Young people feel seen, feel heard,
[30:21] are definitely welcome in the spaces,
and and the services are having an
[30:24] impact on those youth who are in the
hubs.
[30:27] Um you know,
you know, however, you know, across the
[30:30] across the the the community mental
health space, there are still long waits
[30:35] for for mental health supports. You
don't wait for a service at the hub, but
[30:38] across the community there are long
waits still.
[30:40] And uh and we have an opportunity to do
something about that here. And when if
[30:43] you if you go back to the the idea when
we open these hubs here, it was about
[30:47] bringing services locally here for young
people that were not available right in
[30:50] the community where where they are every
single day.
[30:53] Uh
it was about integrating and working
[30:55] better across the health care network.
And that's this this is where we're at
[30:58] right now. And we have this real
opportunity
[31:01] uh to start to dig into the wait side
exist across the community mental health
[31:05] system. So us and our partners at at
CMHA Waterloo Wellington are are on the
[31:10] path to eliminate wait times for young
people to access help. We believe we can
[31:15] do it by working better together.
Uh we can have faster access for young
[31:19] people who are waiting for
community-based mental health supports
[31:21] right now through the Youth Wellness
Hubs. And And we're able to do that
[31:25] across Wellington County and Guelph
because of because of the the
[31:29] infrastructure we've we've developed
here, the partnerships that we've got
[31:31] across the community, and uh and and the
uh and and
[31:36] and the community that's willing to step
forward to help to help more young
[31:39] people. So what you're going to see here
is is enhanced connections to local
[31:43] services, more same-day support across
Wellington County. And it look like
[31:46] this. A young person who may be on a
waitlist for some complex for a complex
[31:50] treatment which there are long waitlists
for right now
[31:52] will be in the Youth Hub accessing
services in the hub. Maybe they're
[31:55] accessing a group as Tiffany mentioned
around anxiety. Or maybe it's one of our
[31:58] employment groups or or education groups
within the hub. Maybe they're they're
[32:01] part of a one of our one of our groups
that's focused on early interventions
[32:05] around disordered eating.
Or or groups that are focused around
[32:09] substance use within the hubs
themselves. We have opportunities given
[32:12] the infrastructure we've got, the
partnerships we've got to really dig in
[32:15] and make sure that no young person's
waiting for help within this community
[32:17] here. And so when we come back to see
you in a year from now, we'll be
[32:20] reporting on this to you. And we're
excited about where this can be for
[32:23] young people.
And we really believe that we can be a
[32:25] we can have a
this can be the kind of place that when
[32:28] young person needs help, there's help
available for the available for them
[32:32] right away when they need it. And so
we're excited about that. And that's
[32:35] what this this community, this council,
uh this community has has has you know
[32:40] has brought forward
to support
[32:44] to support young people in your
community here. Not only are you provide
[32:47] this wonderful make sure this wonderful
space available for you every single
[32:50] day, but it's also changing the way
young people are accessing the health
[32:53] care system as well. Places that work
for young people and I will say that on
[32:57] the positive side around around youth
mental health and youth wellness
[33:00] the data provincially is better than
what it was just just 5 years ago. We're
[33:05] seeing trends reducing around number of
young people who are presenting with
[33:09] real significant mental health mental
health concerns. That's good news
[33:13] stories that we should absolutely be
celebrating and it's taking a lot of
[33:15] leadership provincially for sure and
across the province. But for us here in
[33:20] in Wellington County, you know, that
township of Mapleton's been at the
[33:22] forefront of leading that leading that
work as well. So we appreciate you.
[33:25] We're happy to take any questions you
might have today.
[33:28] But you know, this is a place that is is
young people are better today because of
[33:31] this commitment from this council, from
your predecessors as well who stepped
[33:35] forward to make this happen and this
community as well. So thanks again for
[33:38] your time today and we're happy to take
any questions you might have.
[33:40] » Thanks Jeff. I think Tiffany and I
remember sitting down at a coffee shop
[33:44] having a conversation
before this started about this idea
[33:50] and how it's blossomed. You know, I
remember the first day we were there for
[33:54] the grand opening 5 years ago.
And um
[33:58] how it's evolved and changed and
servicing these young people just
[34:04] unbelievably grateful
that we have this for the kids.
[34:09] For the the uh
those that are that are struggling
[34:15] to have
88%
[34:18] within 24 hours get their first
appointment.
[34:23] You probably couldn't even have imagined
that
[34:25] » unheard of unheard of unheard of, yeah.
>> It's so incredible and I'm just uh very
[34:29] thankful and I appreciate both of you
and the entire group that helps these
[34:34] children. So, thank you so much.
Questions from council members?
[34:39] Councillor Robbins.
[34:44] » Um yes, thank you. Through you, Mayor.
Um just comments. I'm glad the stories
[34:49] of change um cuz I noticed that the age
range here is 18 or 12 to 25. And being
[34:55] right next to a high school, it seems
like the biggest draw would be the high
[34:59] school age kids cuz obviously proximity.
So, I kind of wondered how that 18 plus
[35:05] group would would be using the hub. Um
so, I was glad to hear these stories.
[35:10] So, you're open um in the evenings as
well so that people who are older could
[35:17] come there later is like what kind of
hours are you available to people?
[35:22] » do you want to take that?
>> Absolutely. So, our current hours are
[35:25] 11:00 to 6:00, Monday to Friday. Um that
being said, if a young person came to us
[35:30] and was working and needed a different
hour,
[35:32] we make it work. So, um what we noticed
was anytime we have shifted the hours to
[35:36] try to see what else, you know,
availability, we do tend to see the
[35:39] majority of our folks during that time.
So, it makes the most sense to be
[35:42] consistently open then, but we would
always find a way to support them
[35:46] outside of especially if they're
working. We want to make sure they can
[35:48] get that support.
[35:52] » Councillor Reed.
>> Uh through you, Mayor. Uh just a
[35:55] comment. Even as an adult, those three
words being seen, heard, and welcomed is
[35:59] so important. And hearing um
hearing that through your presentation,
[36:03] but also in speaking with some youth
that I know from Drayton that have
[36:06] attended, it is
the reason they keep going back. So, for
[36:10] me, that's
just goes to show the absolute um the
[36:14] necessity that you are, but also the
care that gets put into the programming.
[36:18] So, thank you.
>> Thank you.
[36:21] » Anything further? Councillor Martin.
>> Uh thank you, Mr. Mayor. Uh just a
[36:25] comment for both of you as well. Uh I
really appreciate the time you take
[36:29] every year to come out and throw some
stats at us.
[36:33] Um it's it's great.
Um
[36:35] if we get 100% stats more often, say
from finance, would be awesome. Or like
[36:40] infrastructure would be great.
Um but I'm just kidding. So, the
[36:47] um you know, being dad to a kid who I
day one of grade 10 uh today at Norwell,
[36:52] it's it's
it's awesome to see that there's
[36:55] supports like this in place.
Um
[36:59] and I know you had mentioned that you
know, it's one of the busiest hubs. You
[37:03] know, I it makes me sad a little bit,
but at the same time, you know, it's
[37:07] awesome that I'll just choose to believe
that maybe our kids are a little more
[37:10] self-aware
uh that perhaps they need uh assistance
[37:14] and supports. And I think when you have
um you know, kids feeling satisfied,
[37:20] safe, welcomed. What was the other one?
What's the other one?
[37:24] And would recommend recommend to a
friend, right? Like when you're getting
[37:26] that type of feedback, it's clearly uh
you know, a testament to your leadership
[37:31] that this program's been a success and
being accessed. Like there's no point in
[37:35] being next door to a high school if
a kid doesn't feel safe coming in,
[37:40] right? So,
um I think this is awesome and uh you
[37:43] know, hopefully that
96.7
[37:47] can maybe get bumped up a little bit
next year.
[37:50] And
so, yeah, thanks so much for coming.
[37:53] » If it's If you want to add I can add to
that uh to counselor Martin. Um
[37:58] The thing that we love about this model
is you don't have to be ill to come to
[38:02] the hub.
This is about wellness. And lots of
[38:05] young people are there because it's a
positive space, a place they are seen, a
[38:08] place they they do feel welcome. They're
not accessing any of the formal health
[38:11] care work we do. They're there cuz they
like the food we cook that day for
[38:14] lunch, right? They're They're there
because their friends are there. They're
[38:17] there because the team member that they
connect with is somebody that that that,
[38:21] you know, is cares about them and they
can feel that care. They're there to get
[38:24] help with their homework maybe that day.
Um the
[38:27] the healthcare piece is often this the
secondary reason they come in. There are
[38:31] some young people who come in and say,
"Hey, I'm struggling today. I could
[38:33] really use to see somebody." But most
youth who access service come in
[38:37] initially for those those rec reasons to
be in a positive place and then through
[38:41] those connections, through that trust,
through that rapport, that's when
[38:44] they'll access help should they need it.
Um and I think it it what it tempers
[38:48] down I hear from young people here
especially in the county, rural youth,
[38:52] this this this notion, this stigma
around mental health. It's like, you
[38:55] know, nobody knows why I'm at the Youth
Hub today. I could be there to play
[38:58] pool. I could be there for lunch.
I could be there to to to see them at
[39:02] the health clinician. Probably there for
all three, quite frankly. If I was doing
[39:05] that, I might be there for all three.
And and if you're talking to McKenzie,
[39:08] the mental health clinician, it's not
that's normal. You Everybody talks to
[39:12] McKenzie. And so having a conversation
with McKenzie is just something that
[39:15] that lots of young people do. And so it
also tempers down the stigma to access
[39:20] those resources.
Um it's one of the reasons that this
[39:23] integrated youth services model works so
well for young people cuz it it just
[39:27] meets them where they're at. And when
they need help, they go and access that.
[39:30] So that's that's one of the reasons that
that we are so successful. And quite
[39:34] frankly, the other reason is
location absolutely matters. Being next
[39:38] to next to to to Norwell is massive. You
know, these places need to be close to
[39:41] where young people are. And that's and
all of our sites that are busy are are
[39:45] that are connected to places where young
people are, for sure. Yeah.
[39:49] » Anything further?
I appreciate it. I I think I need to
[39:53] come back and lose at foosball again.
>> [laughter]
[39:57] » You have some really talented people
there.
[40:00] Uh and and some pool sharks. I'm not
even getting into that. I'm not very
[40:03] good at that, either. But uh
I I I look forward to coming back and
[40:06] seeing you you seeing your folks and uh
just reminding people that fifth
[40:09] anniversary's coming up at the end of
the month on the last Thursday of the
[40:12] month.
>> that's right. Yeah.
[40:13] » Yeah. Thank you so much.
>> Thanks again, everybody. Thank you.
[40:16] » Uh resolution item 7.1 moved by
Councillor Otten and seconded by
[40:20] Councillor Woodham that Township of
Wellington North Council receive for
[40:22] information the delegation of Jeff
Hoffman and Tiffany Fagan, Youth
[40:26] Wellness Hubs Ontario, Wellington
Guelph, the Palmerston Hub, regarding
[40:31] what they're doing, who they're seeing,
youth needs, access, success stories,
[40:35] and the partnerships.
Anything further from Council?
[40:39] All in favor.
That's carried.
[40:45] And we'll go up to
uh number nine. So, we got the Building
[40:49] Department report.
Mike.
[40:53] » Uh thank you, Mayor and Council. Uh
pleased to report that we've had another
[40:56] strong month in August. We issued 30
port permits, brought in over $46,000.
[41:01] We're continuing to exceed our 3-year
averages month-to-month, and we are far,
[41:05] far above uh our year-to-date on
historical averages. So, we're uh
[41:09] expecting our revenue to exceed expenses
once again this year.
[41:13] » Thank you. Moved by Councillor Woodham,
seconded by Councillor Otten, that
[41:15] Council receive report BD 2026-11
regarding permit activity for the month
[41:20] of August 2026. Any questions for Mike?
All in favor.
[41:26] Carried.
[41:29] Next, we have Finance Asset Management
Program Annual Review.
[41:33] Aman's coming to the podium.
[41:37] Welcome, Aman.
[41:42] » Uh thank you, Mr. Mayor and members of
Council.
[41:46] Uh today I'm here to present our 2026
Asset Management Program Annual Review.
[41:54] Just to the presentation slides, thank
you.
[41:57] The presentation slides.
[42:01] If you go down,
down.
[42:16] » Just the first line of the presentation.
[42:31] I'm sorry. So, this review provides an
update on our progress in implementing
[42:36] our asset management plan, including
what we have accomplished over the past
[42:40] year, the improvements we made, the
challenges we encountered, and our
[42:44] priorities moving forward.
Our overall goal has remained the same,
[42:49] to ensure that our assets remain safe,
reliable, and sustainable for everyone.
[42:55] Next slide.
As we know, asset management planning is
[42:58] a legislated requirement under Ontario
Regulation 588/17.
[43:03] This regulation requires municipalities
to develop and maintain asset management
[43:07] plan with increasing level of details
over time, and to provide annual reviews
[43:13] that address the progress in
implementing them.
[43:16] The Township has met each of the
regulatory milestones, and we are now in
[43:20] the implementation and continuous
improvement phase.
[43:23] With annual reporting and 5-year asset
management plan update forming the
[43:27] foundation of the program.
[43:31] So, our years in review. During 2025,
the Township continued to invest
[43:35] significantly in infrastructure across
multiple service areas.
[43:40] Road and bridge projects included
approximately 20 km of road
[43:44] reconstruction on Side Road 16, Side
Road 15, Concession 5, and Concession 6.
[43:50] We also did two structure rehabs, BB 32,
MB 14, and one large culvert replacement
[43:56] on Side Road 15.
For facility and recreation investments,
[44:00] we did exterior painting at the arena
and the fire halls.
[44:04] Uh renovations to the council chamber,
as well as new playground equipment at
[44:08] the Kenneth Park.
We also did investments for water, waste
[44:13] water, and storm water infrastructure
improvements along with several fleet
[44:17] and equipment replacement to support the
service delivery.
[44:23] Next slide, please. Thanks.
In 2026, the township continues to
[44:28] advance major infrastructure projects.
Transportation investments included
[44:32] approximately 10.6 km of road
reconstruction on concession three and
[44:37] four as well as structure replacement
MB002 on side road 16 6 just south of
[44:44] highway Wellington Road 109.
For facility and recreation projects, we
[44:50] are doing the PMD arena skate floor and
refrigeration system. We did kitchen
[44:54] renovations at the Maryhill Community
Centre,
[44:57] the council chamber audio and video
upgrades, and the Drayton walking trail
[45:02] bridge. We've also done major water and
waste water projects, which include the
[45:06] increased treatment capacity at Mapleton
water waste water treatment plant, the
[45:10] Drayton pumping station expansion, the
Maryhill water system renewal, and the
[45:15] force main twinning.
We are also investing in new equipment,
[45:19] which includes one grader, a roadside
mower, and one tractor blower.
[45:25] So, so the levels of service highlights,
this slide provides a high level of
[45:28] overview of asset condition trends
across the township. Asset categories
[45:34] including road network, facilities,
water network, waste water network,
[45:39] storm water, and machinery and equipment
continue to experience a gradual decline
[45:44] in overall condition. This reflects both
the aging infrastructure and funding
[45:49] limitations.
On a positive note, we have seen
[45:52] improvements in fire services, fleet
assets, and outdoor recreation
[45:57] infrastructure as a result of our recent
capital investments while bridge assets
[46:02] remain stable.
[46:06] One of the key findings from our asset
management program continues to be the
[46:10] gap between infrastructure annual
requirement and available funding.
[46:15] While the township continues to make
substantial annual investments,
[46:19] infrastructure needs continue to exceed
available financial resources.
[46:24] The chart here outlines the progress
towards closing the infrastructure
[46:27] funding gap
for tax-funded assets through current
[46:31] practice, which increases allocations by
inflation, versus program progress from
[46:37] the AMP recommended strategy,
which increases allocations by
[46:41] equivalent of 4.4% annual tax levy
increase.
[46:46] If infrastructure funding remains below
the AMP's average annual requirement,
[46:50] the township will need to make an
explicit choice between increasing the
[46:54] funding allocations,
accepting increased infrastructure risk,
[46:58] or reducing levels of service.
Maintaining current service expectations
[47:03] without addressing the funding gap is
unlikely to be sustainable over the long
[47:08] term.
[47:11] On a positive note, though, this year we
continued to strengthen our asset
[47:14] management program through improvements
in people, process, and technology.
[47:20] From people's perspective, we have
increased our interdepartment
[47:23] collaboration, formalized asset
management responsibilities, and
[47:27] continued investing in staff training
and development.
[47:30] From a process process perspective,
asset management is becoming more
[47:34] integrated with the capital budget
process, and improvements to citywide
[47:38] work order system are providing better
information for operation planning.
[47:42] And from a data perspective, we continue
to enhance our GIS data and improve the
[47:46] accuracy, completeness, and quality of
asset inventory.
[47:53] Impediments to implementation. While
significant progress has been made,
[47:57] several challenges continue to affect
implementation. Financial pressures
[48:03] remain the most significant challenge
with rising infrastructure costs, budget
[48:07] constraints, and limited municipal
revenue leading to funding gaps.
[48:11] Staff capacity and competing priorities
also make it difficult to advance all
[48:16] asset management initiatives while
balancing day-to-day operations.
[48:20] Finally, evolving regulation, data
alignment, climate-related risks, and
[48:25] long-term planning require ongoing
effort and resources.
[48:31] Looking ahead, strategies for
improvement.
[48:34] For now, our focus will be on
strengthening decision-making and
[48:37] continuing to mature our asset
management program. We will continue to
[48:41] prioritize investment based on service
level, risks, and affordability.
[48:46] Additional effort will be directed
towards improving collaboration across
[48:50] departments and council,
building staff expertise, and expanding
[48:54] the use of work order management system
across the township assets.
[48:59] These steps will improve the data
quality of our data and support long-
[49:03] term infrastructure decisions.
[49:07] And our long-term targets remain the
same: improving the life cycle cost
[49:11] modeling, identifying cost-effective
intervention points, optimizing our
[49:15] capital investment decisions,
building long-term integrated financial
[49:19] strategies, and engaging public.
[49:24] As always, we recognize asset management
is a journey that requires continuous
[49:28] improvement and updates.
Every year, we improve our data,
[49:32] processes, and understanding of
infrastructure we own and maintain.
[49:36] But perhaps more importantly, we improve
our decision-making.
[49:40] For a rural municipality like Mapleton
with a large and diverse asset network
[49:45] serving a relatively small population
and tax base, the goal isn't about doing
[49:50] everything. It's about making informed
choices that serve us both now and in
[49:55] the future.
Thank you.
[49:58] » Thank you.
Great presentation.
[50:01] Resolution I have here moved by
Councillor and seconded by Councillor
[50:04] Woodham.
The council receive report FIN-2026-31
[50:08] and the presentation regarding the asset
management program annual review.
[50:12] And further, the council approve the
asset management program annual review
[50:16] as presented. Questions to Aman.
Councillor Martin.
[50:23] » Excuse me. Uh thank you, Mr. Mayor. It's
for you.
[50:26] Uh thank you for uh your report once
again. I always find your uh
[50:30] infrastructure update um to be
fascinating and yet sobering at the same
[50:36] time. Um
I certainly appreciate your polite
[50:40] delivery uh alongside your very firm um
long-term projections of what this
[50:46] infrastructure gap looks like. Um
And I think it
[50:53] it's a very real
um
[50:59] thing that we need to contemplate as we,
you know, look at expanding services,
[51:03] expanding facilities. You know, that
technically we can't even afford what we
[51:07] actually have already uh as far as
replacement and renewal goes. Um
[51:12] And then it's secondly, it's also
um
[51:17] a reminder that, you know, to try and
find sustainable sources of funding
[51:22] arguably outside of our tax base, our
levy
[51:26] uh are something that we need to keep
pushing towards as well because, you
[51:29] know,
some of the numbers that uh that you're
[51:33] throwing out
um
[51:36] don't get better
uh as time goes along.
[51:39] And you know, it's it's nice to see that
there's been improvements uh in some of
[51:44] the service levels. It's kind of what
we're looking for, but it comes at a
[51:47] cost, arguably, of some other uh
some other services. So,
[51:51] um thank you for your time in putting
this report together. Um
[51:57] it's a very uh
uh
[52:00] like I said, sobering uh report and
and uh but I think it's a necessary uh
[52:05] report that we see. And uh I enjoyed it
a lot, so thank you.
[52:13] » Thank you, Councillor Martin, and uh
just along the same vein, they're
[52:15] looking for outside funding and
and it brings to mind the
[52:20] the farm tax rebate and and how
our municipality is is shorted about $8
[52:25] million a year from the province
giving us back what we actually owed.
[52:29] And if we had that $8 million
a month,
[52:33] how much rosier it would look. Correct?
>> That's like 2 years of funding short for
[52:38] that dressed, at least.
>> Yeah.
[52:41] So, you know, we'll we'll keep lobbying
the province and keep talking to them.
[52:45] We've
um been on them for many, many years. I
[52:49] know the
um Patrick and I have had many a
[52:51] conversation about this, and Manny as
well. We've actually delegated on a
[52:54] number of times
um with ourselves, with the county.
[52:59] We've done it with the Ontario
Federation of Agriculture. We just have
[53:02] to keep talking. I think um in um
the minister is a little bit
[53:08] you know, when last time we saw him,
he's a little bit like, "Why are you
[53:11] here again?" Well, we're here to talk
about farm tax rebate. Well, did we talk
[53:14] about that? Yes, but you haven't fixed
it yet. So, that's exactly what we have
[53:17] to talk about with them. Mr. Kelly.
>> Yeah, thank you,
[53:22] Mayor Davidson, and and it's a good
point to raise. I guess it stems off of
[53:26] Councillor Martin's comments about um
sources of revenue and the struggle that
[53:29] we have in a a predominantly
agricultural community. You'll you as
[53:34] well as well, this council and the next
council during the budget process will
[53:38] hear some some more statistics during
that, cuz we like to provide as much
[53:42] information as possible to support your
decisions.
[53:46] But I think our voice
as Mapleton should be able to get
[53:50] stronger at the provincial level given
our status across the province. There's
[53:53] a lot of studies came out in in recent
months that shows where we sit in in
[53:58] relation to municipalities across
Ontario in a in a specific piece that
[54:01] you'll hear about during the budget
processes is what's called the shift in
[54:05] tax burden. It's a calculation that that
outlines if if assessment wasn't
[54:11] weighted if it was just here's the
assessment on every property and taxes
[54:15] were allocated based on the assessment.
And then
[54:19] and then the weighted assessment being
when farms pay at 25%
[54:24] Mapleton's shift in tax burden
is the third highest in the entire
[54:28] province of Ontario.
That's the shift of taxes that otherwise
[54:32] would have been paid by
other properties that are being picked
[54:36] up by the residential tax base. So it
does highlight the struggle that we have
[54:40] here to to the presentation and and um
Aman's graphics and information in
[54:46] there. This isn't uncommon throughout
the province to be
[54:50] well behind the ability to close that
infrastructure funding gap and that's
[54:54] why
you'll have heard Aman note that it does
[54:57] have to be a pretty explicit choice from
Council and direction to staff about
[55:01] whether we're we're increasing how much
we're putting into those funds, whether
[55:06] we're we're scaling back
um
[55:09] what we're we're doing in other areas
and service levels or if we're just
[55:13] going to continue which would be taking
on that increased risk of some
[55:17] infrastructure failing. So it's a tough
spot to be in but we will continue to
[55:21] advocate for for our part of rural
Ontario and and all farming communities
[55:24] to make sure we get our fair share of
those provincial tax dollars.
[55:29] » Thank you for that Mr. Kelly. And and
just to
[55:32] for the public
third
[55:36] third highest in the province of that
tax shift.
[55:40] Specifically because of the farm tax
rebate. It has nothing against the
[55:43] rebate.
What's against is the province not
[55:46] giving us the funding that we deserve.
And that's the point that we still have
[55:51] to hammer at the province and we'll
continue to do that as as Mapleton
[55:55] moving forward.
Other questions for Aman.
[56:02] Thank you so much.
>> Thank you.
[56:05] » All in favor.
It's carried.
[56:13] We're going to move on down to public
works 9.31 the capital program progress
[56:19] report.
Jim Gross.
[56:25] Mr. Gross, you get to speak a lot
tonight.
[56:31] » Thank you council through you Mr. Mayor.
Uh we put together a little bit of
[56:36] Aman put together the the presentation.
I gathered the pictures. That's
[56:41] Jim did not prepare the slideshow.
[56:45] Okay, we'll start off the capital
projects here.
[56:48] That's our sidewalk project.
Correct? I can't see the top. Yeah.
[56:53] Yep, that's new sidewalks.
Yeah, we did new sidewalks on John
[56:57] Street in Drayton, Main Street, Union
Street,
[57:01] um Lazelle Street in Moorefield, and
Booth Street in Moorefield.
[57:06] So, that's replacements getting them up
to the standards of 5 ft wide.
[57:13] Uh this would be our asphalt patching
program.
[57:17] That was the fourth line
of the former Peel Township.
[57:23] Uh but it'll County Road 12. Anybody
that's drove that road,
[57:27] it was
>> [snorts]
[57:29] » really rough, and we spent a lot of time
out there patching.
[57:33] Um
probably 2 days, sometimes 3 days a week
[57:37] out there patching.
What we did is we got some HL2's asphalt
[57:43] and we put it through our shoulder
machine and we put the strips down the
[57:46] outside
which made just about every resident
[57:50] there jump up and down because they're
happy. It rides actually quite nice.
[57:55] I don't know if anybody's drove it
afterwards
[57:57] but it does ride a lot better.
[58:01] » [clears throat]
>> And
[58:07] kind of feel Oh, this is our Concession
3 and Concession 4 projects.
[58:11] Yes, well, we did Concession 3 from
County Road 10 to County 9.
[58:15] Um Concession 4 from County 9 to
about 100 m east of Sideroad 6 up on top
[58:23] of the hill.
Uh we pulverized it.
[58:26] Um graded it, packed it,
added gravel. Uh we put about 7,500 tons
[58:32] of gravel on
Concession 3
[58:35] and about 5,100 tons on Concession 4.
Um we did all the culverts a year ago.
[58:43] Replaced all the culverts a year ago.
So, we got it all put all that gravel
[58:47] on, packed it.
We basically get it ready for the paving
[58:51] crew and then we turn the site over to
them.
[58:56] So, that's uh
Yeah, in the pictures the paving crew's
[58:59] there.
McIntosh did all our paving. They got
[59:02] the tender this year for the paving.
And the pictures in the bottom is One
[59:07] picture is the finished product with the
line down the middle.
[59:10] And the other one is our shoulder
machine out there doing gravel on the
[59:13] shoulders.
So, we've done all them.
[59:18] All of those paving projects on any of
the hills
[59:21] where it always washes out, we actually
put paved gutters
[59:25] on every one of the hills.
And we tried starting doing that about 3
[59:30] years ago.
And we've had great success with it.
[59:34] We're getting no more washouts along the
edge of the asphalt.
[59:38] Seems to be working.
[59:42] Uh this is the Conestoga Drive
extension.
[59:45] Where the new school's going.
They were on hold there waiting to get a
[59:49] couple fiber bar vaults moved.
They got moved last week, so
[59:55] I saw the email today that the curb guys
are booked in
[59:58] They were hoping for late this week
start putting the concrete curbs in.
[1:00:03] And then after that it'll be basically
paving.
[1:00:10] This is
Oh, the top right picture.
[1:00:16] That looks like the apron on uh
the bridge on
[1:00:20] Concession 8. We paved We paved the
aprons up to it.
[1:00:26] Not it?
[1:00:31] No, that's not it.
[1:00:39] Burtch's?
[1:00:44] Burtch's I did those pictures?
[1:00:48] That's got to be I don't know which one
that is.
[1:00:51] » Three America
>> The bottom one is MB02.
[1:00:55] The two at the bottom, the one on the
right?
[1:00:57] » The Side Road 6 bridge, south of
Wellington Road 109. The one that
[1:01:02] they're doing this year.
>> That's not the Side Road 6 bridge that
[1:01:05] picture.
And neither's that one.
[1:01:08] » Really? That's what
>> But the bottom The four at the bottom
[1:01:10] are MB02.
>> The four at the bottom?
[1:01:12] » The four at the bottom are MB02, which
is the bridge that they're working on
[1:01:15] right now.
Um they did run into some soft ground.
[1:01:19] They had to put extra piles in.
So there's two extra piles on
[1:01:24] each end.
The email I saw is they're hoping for
[1:01:28] the the framework to be coming the 15th
of September.
[1:01:34] They've got a lot of the the cement work
done now for the
[1:01:37] the the footings are all done and all
the
[1:01:40] but they're hoping the framework's
coming on 15th of September.
[1:01:44] That's the email I saw today.
[1:01:48] There, we have some pretty nice new
equipment. We have a
[1:01:52] brand new grader.
A neat 72 John Deere.
[1:01:57] Um
it's come it came with plow all the plow
[1:02:00] equipment, so it'll be set up for
plowing roads all winter.
[1:02:03] Uh beside that is a sidewalk machine.
That tractor came with a belly mower,
[1:02:10] a front blower,
and a front blade.
[1:02:13] So, it'll do sidewalks basically all
winter
[1:02:16] and it does grass cutting in the
summertime.
[1:02:21] Below that is a zero turn.
Um
[1:02:24] we had a zero turn that was
over the 30 horsepower and it
[1:02:30] every 2 weeks because it's on the new
emissions,
[1:02:34] they haven't got the emissions issues
straightened out yet.
[1:02:37] So, we ended up trading it in on
this one's just a little bit smaller, so
[1:02:42] it has zero emissions.
So, it's that it's that thing has worked
[1:02:47] like a top ever since.
So, a lesson learned, keep the
[1:02:51] lawnmowers under 30 horsepower, stay
away from the emissions
[1:02:55] because they have not got it figured out
in this small equipment yet.
[1:02:59] And beside that is the new roadside
mower for cutting grass.
[1:03:08] That is part of the trail upgrades. That
is the new bridge
[1:03:13] over the walking trail down behind River
Run
[1:03:17] down along the river.
There um ball diamond lights are listed
[1:03:21] there as well. They are ordered.
They're supposed to be going up by the
[1:03:25] middle of September.
[1:03:29] There is some more trail work to do yet.
We are hoping to get the stone dust put
[1:03:34] in from the
basically the main street to Wellington
[1:03:38] Street along the fire hall.
We're still hoping to get that done in
[1:03:42] September as long as it stays relatively
dry.
[1:03:45] As soon as the locates are done, it
should be done, too.
[1:03:49] We're hoping to get it done before the
end of September.
[1:03:52] Um
Next one, I got to turn the floor over
[1:03:57] to Amy on these ones because I have no
idea where they're at.
[1:04:00] » [laughter]
[1:04:02] » Thanks, Jim. Through you, Mayor
Davidson.
[1:04:05] We are all getting very excited about
the PMD arena floor and refrigeration
[1:04:10] project coming to completion in the next
few weeks.
[1:04:13] We
boards boards are in. It's looking good.
[1:04:18] They did work on the steps in the last
the expanding the steps there at the
[1:04:25] closer end to the warm area just to make
it a little more accessible there. If
[1:04:29] you remember, it was very narrow going
up and down there, so that's great. And
[1:04:33] right now we are on track for around
September 28th,
[1:04:37] which hopefully it will stay that way.
I'm pretty sure I hear from the same
[1:04:40] community groups every two or three days
just confirming that we're still on
[1:04:44] track. So,
we're still aiming for that date and
[1:04:47] things are looking pretty good there.
So, we're pretty excited about that.
[1:04:51] Next slide, Maggie.
[1:04:54] So, I can speak to the MCC kitchen. I
believe everyone has seen it.
[1:05:00] The kitchen is a beautiful. We're
getting lots of compliments on it, lots
[1:05:04] of feedback about it. And over this past
summer, we did see an increase in
[1:05:08] rentals in that facility that I I
the kitchen did impact making those
[1:05:12] upgrades.
Um
[1:05:14] it was a lot of work for summer camp
program to be taking down every weekend
[1:05:18] and going in early on Monday mornings,
but well worth it and the facility is
[1:05:23] definitely being used, which is
wonderful to see.
[1:05:26] Um Jim can speak to the other
facilities there.
[1:05:33] » Thanks, Maggie.
Yeah, in the bottom left there we have
[1:05:36] the theater had a bunch of pointing work
done to the bricks.
[1:05:39] There was a brick facing falling off and
coming down on the sidewalks.
[1:05:43] That was all done in early June.
Um the bottom right would be the sand
[1:05:48] sheds. Both sand sheds got painted.
Brightening them up so they That's done.
[1:05:56] Okay.
[1:05:59] And that's ends it for pictures.
[1:06:03] » Thanks, Jim.
Resolution 931 moved by Council Reed,
[1:06:07] seconded by Council Barton, that Council
receive report PW 2026
[1:06:11] 0.07 and the presentation regarding the
2026 public works capital program.
[1:06:16] Questions from Council.
To Jim or Amy?
[1:06:21] Councilor Barton.
>> Uh thank you, Mr. Mayor. Two quick ones.
[1:06:24] Jim,
the
[1:06:27] first one like on the fourth
um
[1:06:30] with the the paving work you did there,
what causes
[1:06:33] the outside to sag like that that would
cause that type of repair to be
[1:06:37] required? And then the second question
is around NB002
[1:06:41] uh that bridge, if the structure is
going in middle of September, when would
[1:06:46] you project that that would be reopened?
[1:06:51] » Through you, Mr. Mayor. Um the fourth
a lot of it
[1:06:58] some of it is horse damage and heavy
equipment on the outside edges is
[1:07:02] causing wheel tracks. And once you get
the wheel wheel and then the horses
[1:07:06] aren't causing much of it. It's more of
the heavy traffic.
[1:07:10] We're getting wheel tracks, then the
water lays there.
[1:07:13] You get the freeze thaw and it just
shatters the asphalt.
[1:07:19] Those shoulders should be a little bit
wider.
[1:07:23] The problem is we're running out of
property.
[1:07:26] It's hard to make the shoulders wider
cuz we have to keep the ditch on our
[1:07:28] property.
Right? So
[1:07:31] But then again, that road was paved
and I
[1:07:35] that one I
Amalgamation was in '99.
[1:07:41] I took holidays when I worked in Drayton
and I come out here when they were doing
[1:07:44] that road.
I'm going to say it was
[1:07:49] '90s
'96, '95.
[1:07:53] So that asphalt's been there a long
time.
[1:07:57] I did find out from a guy that lives on
the concession street now that you
[1:08:00] mentioned that.
That road was paved in 1991.
[1:08:06] That's the year he bought the farm and
he said they paved it a week after I
[1:08:08] bought the farm. That's how I found out
when it was paved. So
[1:08:12] it lasted from '91 till now, so
[1:08:16] generally 20 years of asphalt is
what you get.
[1:08:22] » I had the question about the bridge. You
had the second question.
[1:08:25] » There Yes, sorry. The the bridge
They're still shooting for
[1:08:31] late October.
So it's
[1:08:34] Yeah.
The the frame is the easy part. Setting
[1:08:37] it in place is getting everything else
cuz the deck's got to be poured and all
[1:08:40] that stuff, right?
Rebar's all got to go in the deck and
[1:08:44] there's got to be guardrails put up and
Yeah. It's it's not that it's almost
[1:08:49] done.
The framework is coming 15th and then
[1:08:53] from then on they got to basically build
around the framework.
[1:08:59] » Further questions?
Councillor Rogerson.
[1:09:04] » Yeah, I just I just want to make a
comment that your
[1:09:08] depth and breadth of knowledge of this
Township are like impressive. I feel
[1:09:13] like we could drop you blindfolded on
any road in this place and you could
[1:09:18] tell us exactly where you are, how many
tons of gravel were put in there, what
[1:09:21] year,
you know, what plants are in the ditch
[1:09:24] and what the drainage is.
>> what
[1:09:26] Councillor Ottens is? He's that little
guy they drop in Google Maps. That's
[1:09:29] him.
>> Uh I'm sure it's Jim. We'll call you
[1:09:32] that from now on. So I just I just have
to say we have to find a way to somehow
[1:09:36] download all that knowledge. So if you
ever do go on vacation again, we have
[1:09:40] that somewhere in our record keeping,
but just kudos to the knowledge you
[1:09:45] have, Jim.
[1:09:48] » Um with that remark, you're making me
sound old.
[1:09:52] » [laughter]
[1:09:55] » No, it's all good.
Way before Google.
[1:10:00] » Right.
>> Um and and and and folks, just so you
[1:10:03] know, he was mentioning it took holidays
in what 95 96 and that's those are
[1:10:07] basically the last holidays he's ever
taken. So uh yeah.
[1:10:13] » Go ahead, Mr. Kelly.
>> Sorry, um sorry, American. Uh just Amon
[1:10:17] mentioned it in her presentation.
Councillor Ottens, for your perspective,
[1:10:21] one of the key advancements in the asset
management program that she listed is to
[1:10:25] deal with collaboration. And if
not that we're asking Council to come
[1:10:30] behind the scenes and watch us work
every day, but if you could watch the
[1:10:33] way that
Jim and and Amon and Jim and anybody,
[1:10:36] but the collaboration of getting that
information,
[1:10:39] a big willingness to share all the
information he has with everybody and
[1:10:43] we're obviously not letting him go
anywhere for a long time. So we're not
[1:10:46] worried about that, but the
collaboration piece is working really
[1:10:49] well to get a lot of that information
into our systems and the data available.
[1:10:53] So thanks for noting that.
>> Well, Jim can't go anywhere till Martin
[1:10:56] sucks every thing out of his brain, so
>> [laughter]
[1:11:00] » Uh we do appreciate it, Jim, and Amon
and and Amy for your your update here.
[1:11:05] And I certainly um those shoulders
you know
[1:11:10] I remember we we talked about it years
ago about us doing the work. And it here
[1:11:14] you are using a shoulder that you
usually use for gravel. Now you're doing
[1:11:18] it with the paving.
And our team is doing the work, saving
[1:11:22] our taxpayers all kinds of money. So
thank you for the work that you and the
[1:11:27] team have been putting in
day in and day out to make sure that our
[1:11:31] tax dollars are being spent wisely and
our roads and our sidewalks and our
[1:11:35] bridges are being upgraded
perfectly in this community. Thank you,
[1:11:40] Jim.
Anything further?
[1:11:44] All in favor?
That's carried.
[1:11:54] Item 10.1
Moved by Councillor Martin, seconded by
[1:11:59] Councillor Reed, that bylaw 2026-043,
being a bylaw to appoint drinking water
[1:12:04] source protection risk management
inspectors and alternate risk management
[1:12:08] officials, be hereby read a first,
second, and third time and finally
[1:12:11] passed the 8th day of September, 2026.
Questions on this?
[1:12:16] All in favor?
It's carried.
[1:12:24] Next one, item 10.2. Moved by Councillor
Reed, seconded by Councillor Martin,
[1:12:27] that bylaw 2026-044,
being a bylaw to amend zoning bylaw
[1:12:31] 2010-080
for the Town of Mapleton, be hereby read
[1:12:36] a first, second, and third time and
finally passed the 8th day of September,
[1:12:39] 2026. Questions on this bylaw?
[1:12:44] All in favor?
It's carried.
[1:12:49] We have a number of items for
correspondence here.
[1:12:56] Anyone wish to speak to any of these
items for correspondence?
[1:13:00] Councillor Otten's noted earlier, the
one Dark Story Councillor would have
[1:13:03] noted earlier, the one for Liz Savis was
the first one up here.
[1:13:12] Councillor Martin?
>> Yeah, thank you, Mr. Mayor. Uh just to
[1:13:15] that point about Liz's letter, um I
don't pretend to be a farmer. I'm more
[1:13:20] like a occasional hand. Um but
as far as farm use for uh some of the
[1:13:26] secondary roads and the uh
and no winter maintenance roads, uh
[1:13:31] um
it's unbelievable the uh
[1:13:37] they're way nicer to drive a tractor and
a wagon down rather than looping out on
[1:13:41] the county road to get back in the farm
lane. Um so, I think
[1:13:46] you know, we do have a roads needs study
that gets updated. Um you know, it might
[1:13:51] be something that we
we consider uh or at least turn our
[1:13:55] minds to to see what in fact that does
look like. Uh cuz those roads, you can
[1:14:00] tell like even the one across here, it
gets used, you know, heavily. Um and
[1:14:06] and so, I think that's not a small thing
uh cuz we certainly do see a fair amount
[1:14:11] of farm traffic even at on county roads.
Um
[1:14:15] so, if we can do our part, I think, to
at least review and look and see what
[1:14:19] that
It's it's going to come at a price,
[1:14:22] obviously, but um I think there's merit
to reviewing what that could be.
[1:14:29] » Thank you.
Others?
[1:14:35] Go ahead, Councillor Reed.
>> Uh through you, Mayor, for I just wanted
[1:14:39] to bring uh to our attention 12.3, the
notice of withdrawal of the draft
[1:14:43] approved subdivision in Glen Allan. Do
Do have
[1:14:46] any more information on that at all?
Or just that it's been withdrawn and
[1:14:50] that's what we have?
>> Unless the planner has any more
[1:14:54] information
on that withdrawal.
[1:14:58] For the Glen Allan subdivision, it was
just withdrawn by at the county level by
[1:15:00] the proponent.
>> Uh through you, Mayor. Um Michelle
[1:15:05] McCabe is dealing with that. So, she
might want to answer it.
[1:15:08] » All right.
Michelle.
[1:15:17] » Thank you. Through you, Mayor Davidson,
to Councillor um Amanda Reed. Do you
[1:15:20] have something more specific that you're
you're asking
[1:15:24] that you want to know about?
>> It was more just if we had known the
[1:15:29] reason why it was being pulled
at all. I just had someone question me
[1:15:34] on it the other day, so I wasn't sure.
I said we only had the information from
[1:15:37] the county that it was being withdrawn
at this point.
[1:15:41] » And as far as um public information
goes, I would say that is absolutely um
[1:15:45] accurate.
The uh the most we we talked about was
[1:15:49] the process.
And
[1:15:52] unfortunately, and we did try. We have
had several meetings, but um
[1:15:57] for whatever reason, they decided to to
pull.
[1:16:03] » Anything further?
[1:16:09] All right.
[1:16:15] Any notices of motion?
[1:16:20] Other business. Before we get into other
business,
[1:16:23] uh Amy, you'd like to talk to us about
the block party.
[1:16:30] » Uh through you, Mayor Davidson. Um
as you all are aware, we had our block
[1:16:34] party at the end of August. It turned
out to be a great event. It our
[1:16:39] businesses responded um for the majority
um in a great way and were took part in
[1:16:45] the event. We really weren't sure what
to expect as this was our first time
[1:16:49] ever doing something like this, but the
community definitely came out and
[1:16:52] supported the event.
Our downtown restaurants were very
[1:16:56] supportive. The event truly couldn't
happen without them taking part.
[1:17:01] Um,
from the bands to the restaurants to all
[1:17:04] the businesses and to everyone that came
out, we were so excited to see um, the
[1:17:09] turnout of the event. And we've had lots
of asks about, you know, when is this
[1:17:15] happening again next year? We had people
ask if we could do it every month and I
[1:17:19] said [clears throat] that's a little
much. So,
[1:17:21] » [gasps]
>> um, yeah, it was it was a a great
[1:17:24] evening, a fun time I think had by
everyone and and we'll potentially take
[1:17:28] a look at what we could do maybe for
next year.
[1:17:31] » Thank you, Amy.
It was a fantastic event. Councillor
[1:17:34] Woodham.
>> Thanks to you, Mayor Davidson. Just
[1:17:37] wanted to do a little shout out. Um,
it truly was worth the detour because,
[1:17:42] uh, my husband and I were there and a
lady sat down, joined us at the picnic
[1:17:46] table and, of course, we started
chatting. She was, um,
[1:17:51] from out of town, driving through, heard
it and decided to stop and see what it
[1:17:56] was all about. So, it definitely did
exactly, um, what we had wanted to is
[1:18:02] have awareness. We talked to her about
Drayton Festival Theatre. We talked to
[1:18:06] her about all the other, uh, great
things going on in Mapleton. So, kudos.
[1:18:11] It was, uh, well done through the county
and through your department.
[1:18:19] » Other business? Anybody else?
[1:18:23] All right.
Resolution 16.1.
[1:18:29] Moved by Councillor Martin, seconded by
Councillor Reed, that Township of
[1:18:31] Mapleton Council move into a closed
session to consider the following
[1:18:34] subject matters: litigation or or
potential litigation affecting the
[1:18:37] municipality, position, plan, or
procedure to be applied by the
[1:18:40] municipality. All in favor?
That's carried. 10-minute recess,
[1:18:45] please.