[music]
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our home [singing] and ned >> [music]
» True love [singing]
in all of us [music]
with [singing] glory hearts [music] we see
the children [singing] and free
from [music]
Canada [music] we and unorder. [singing]
[music and singing]
Glorious and [music] free. [singing]
Oh, [music]
we stand on [singing] God [music] for thee.
Oh [music and singing] Canada,
we stand on God [singing and music] for
the
» We have regrets today from councelor Utton who's not feeling well. Any
declaration of pecunary interest? Seeing none, item 4.1, which is
confirmation of minutes. Moved by councelor Reed, second by
councelor Martin, that the minutes of the township of Mapleton council meeting
held on May 12th, 2026 be confirmed as circulated in the agenda. Any comments,
questions? All in favor? It's carried.
Matters arising from the minutes. Mr. Clerk.
» Thank you, sir. Just a note, quick note of apology to those people who struggled
with their downloading their agenda. We are with I Compass good company and
we're lucky to be with them. But uh in this place it was the worst kind of
problem which is random. So we checked around um mostly it was working. I
checked here, I checked at home and it was working. But uh and Carl checked for
me too. It wasn't internal and the answer was just to republish the agenda.
So those who struggled, just let me know as quick as you can and we'll get it
fixed up. Thanks. >> Thank you, Mr. Clerk. We don't have any
matters rising under the planning act delegations and
uh we have here we have Konosoga Crest Seniors living and with us today we have
chairperson Keith Macintosh. Um Keith, we are here to talk about your project.
You want to give just a little bit of an overview? Your pictures are up on the
board. >> Okay. Thanks very much.
» Just hit the button there, Keith.
» The lights on. It's on. Thank you. Thanks, Mayor uh Davidson, and thanks so
much for uh for welcoming us here today. I've got uh my fellow uh board of
directors and uh David McCauley and and Grace Slott with me who are all part of
this project. We've been in uh we've been providing seniors care in one form
or another in uh in Mapleton or Drayton. Drayton initially, but then Mapleton
since 1983. Uh we're a proven operator. We've got 32
units uh uh now which are in very very high demand. In fact, uh we can't meet
the demand and so often uh people uh don't leave their name on the waiting
list because it's too much of a demand. But uh we're looking at building a new
40 unit on three-story facility here. As you can see in the uh in the rendering,
uh a combination of uh two-bedroom, onebedroom, and uh and studio suites. We
think it'll be a great uh addition to the uh it'll be a great addition to the
community. Uh we uh as as far as seniors care goes, uh I think it allows uh
within Mapleton to age in place, which is what our vision was when we first uh
first came up with the idea. Certainly thanks to uh Mapleton Council and and
and Wellington County, none of this would have been available. Uh Mayor
Davidson, you and I have spoken for some time about this and and certainly the
monies that have now been made available are going to be made available are are
are an enabler to make this happen. Uh, I can't tell uh the group uh how happy
we are with the leadership and support we got from yourself, council uh CEO uh
um Manny Baron and uh uh uh chief of uh director of finance Patrick Kelly. It
was just an absolute pleasure to move through to where we are today. Uh we uh
we are presently working on uh with architects and engineering firms etc. to
get all of the upfront work done. We're getting very close to that. We're
getting very close to selecting an architect. Uh done select. We've
selected an architect. So, uh so it's uh it's an exciting project. Uh certainly
we're going to continue to need the support of uh the uh of our federal
government, the Canadian government, and our provincial government to realize uh
this project. Uh the monies we're getting from uh Mapleton are are
certainly instrumental. the monies that we're going to raise ourselves with the
support of the local community are key, but certainly we're looking to uh to
Build Canada, which is a federal program to help us with a large share of the
monies that we're going to need. So again, on behalf of uh a Konosto Crest
board of directors, I'd like to thank Mapleton Township and uh and Wellington
County for your support. we've got an opportunity to really do something in
this in these communities that's going to serve it for the next 50 to 75 years
and I think that's exciting. Thanks very much. Thank you Keith. And as you
alluded to, Welton County Council approved the community housing
development fund policy back in May of 2025 based on the funds previously
raised for the continuum of care project. And the goal is to develop uh
development of housing to address availability gap between low and market
housing and subsidized housing. Speak a little bit more about that. We have
warden of the county Chris White. Chris,
» thanks. Thanks, Craig. Yeah, I guess I I'm sure you're all well aware of the
housing scenario we've got in the county and throughout. And so we ended up with
$7 million out of the continuum of care. We weren't sure what to do with it. We
could have just returned it to social services for regular housing, but we
thought with each of the townships trying to struggle and come up with some
innovative ways to come up with some housing, we just thought give everybody
a million bucks. It's seed money. I mean, what's a million bucks? Get you a
set of stairs. But I mean, so we're doing that locally. We're doing um some
seniors and there's a big big demand for that. And each of the townships are
coming up with little innovative ways. We're trying to be as flexible as
possible to make sure that this money can get out the door and and bring some
housing in. So great project you guys have brought forward. The thing looks
fantastic. Greg, you've been working hard on this and so we're really pleased
to have this money find a home. Um because there are tight deadlines and um
so if you can get the money and get housing built then I think we're we're
ahead of the curve. So I just want to thank your council for supporting it and
for someone showing up with an idea. That's what we're looking for.
» Great. Thanks Warden. Council, I do have the resolution moved by councelor
Martin, second by councelor Reid, the township of Mapleton Council receive for
information the delegation of Knosoga Crest Seniors Living uh Chairperson
Keith Mintosh regarding the recognition and presentation of the Township of
Mapleton's contribution of $1 million with the first installment being
$500,000. Any questions from council members or comments from council members
on this project? All in favor? Now I invite Thank you.
That's carried. I invite uh members of um of Konosoga Crest as well as the
warden and and we have here Earl Campbell who was our county counselor
come to the front and we take a photo big check
where they
We're going to squeeze in a little bit here.
» Right side up. Everyone Everyone else got to squeeze in.
» Squeeze in. >> Squeeze in.
» Got to get closer.
Thank you very much.
Thank you. >> Thanks very much.
All right. It's great to see that that project and wow,
there's a lot of work goes behind the scenes to get these projects off the
ground. And I know the council of Crest and their board of directors have done a
lot of work behind the scenes to get it to a point where they had this concept
drawing. And I can remember um Keith asking me to come and and have a chat
with him about what they would like to do. And that was a couple years back.
And when this opportunity came around for the million dollars,
um we kicked the can around here about who it was going to go to. And and um
then I I contacted Manny. I said, "Manny, what about this project?" And uh
he goes, "Hey, that will really work out well." So, we contacted Keith and had a
great conversation with Keith and what started out to be 20 units is now 40
units more, which is fantastic for the community. And it's all because of this
$1 million uh from the county of Wellington's program that was provided
to the township so that we could actually do something in our community
for seniors. So, I think this is fantastic. Thank you everyone.
Moving along,
we now have uh Mapleton Historical Society here. I got Karen Smart here.
So Karen, just come up to the podium and uh whoever's here with you, come up to
the podium. >> Thank you.
» Yeah, I would just like to introduce you to Abby Cooper here who will be speaking
first.
Good evening, Mayor Davidson and council members. Thank you for the opportunity
to speak with you today. My name is Abby Cooper. I'm the executive director of
Hearts Open for Everyone Hope. Uh, and I'm here to alongside our committee
members Karen Smart, who you already know uh, from the Mapleton Historical
Society, and Denise Dickisen, who's also part of Hope, to share a project that is
putting our region on the map, and that is the Queens Bush Settlement Mural
Project. [clears throat] This is a story of endurance,
collaboration, and a history that's literally under our feet here in the
Township of Mapleton. Karen's up next.
» So, um, a lot of this I hope will be old hat to you, but, uh, in case not, we're
going to fill you in on some background here. Um, to understand this project, we
have to look back to the late 1830s. At that time, this area was known as the
Queen's Bush. Was a vast un unorganized territory. Yet a thriving community of
2,000 black pioneers, many seeking freedom and a p and a place to belong,
carved out a life in the wilderness here. They weren't just passing through.
They were people of deep conviction, grit, and service. And many arrived
having served during the McKenzie Rebellion and the 1838 border
incursions, looking to establish permanent multigenerational roots. While
the settlement eventually spanned modern m municipal boundaries, Mapleton and
specifically historic Peele ca became the most significant part of this with
clearings, homesteads, and resilient families. The photograph shown here on
the presentation slide, this is an incredibly popular photograph because
there are so few of the Queens Bush people. This one was taken in 18 in 1920
in this township. shows Edward Hissen, his wife Mabel Lawson with their four
daughters, Elsie, Annabelle, Ada, and that's baby Alice in her grandmother
Maryanne Lawson's arms. Mabel and Edward built this family home along Sailing
Club Road, which of course at that time did not exist in 1912. Edward passed
away in 1949, but the house remained Mabel's home for 62 years until her
death in 1974. Edward Maple and Mabel and their sons
are buried right here in Glenn Allen Cemetery.
So why Mapleton?
Because this is our distinct history. If you speak with elders of the community
today and ask what they recall of the historic black presence here, the very
first name that you're going to hear is Normmy Hen.
Norman was Babel and Edward's son. His great-grandfather, Dangerfield Lawson,
came to Queens Bush with his four children in May of 1844 and settled on
the seventh concession. When Norman Hiss left Glenn Allen
143 years later, it marked the departure of the very last local direct descendant
of Mapleton's Queens Bush Hope pioneers. For many years, the profound history
that's been kept alive by dedicated local groups from Mapleton Historical
Society. However, it hasn't yet been woven into a shared, highly visible
regional legacy. When we look at the origins of Mapleton's farms, we see a
story of incredible physical determination. Black pioneers cleared
the dense forest and built the first homesteads. and later black and white
settlers worked together as neighbors to build the literal foundations of
Mapleton today. Black excellence has been a functional part of this township
identity for nearly two centuries. Through this mural, we're hoping that we
can finally honor a story that's been right here the entire time.
Our vision is a large-scale professionally
curated mural at Earthscape Play in Wallenstein, located on one of the
prominent street facing buildings on line 86. Our advisory committee brings
[clears throat] together an incredible wealth of experience that includes
representation from, of course, Mapleton Historical Society, as well as Tracy
Lee, who's a fifth generation descendant of the original Queensbush pioneers.
Working alongside our other black menite and indigenous com committee members,
they ensure that every single detail of this project is deeply accurate,
collaborative, and rooted in historic truth. We've already secured
internationally recognized artist Cal Calcan to lead the design and he has
already delivered the second of three collaborative drafts. However, this
remains a project created by the community, not just for it. neighbors,
residents, and descendants have been coming together at our workshops to
share the specific stories, family names, and local symbols that they want
to see immortalized in in that wall. We're doing the work to ensure this
mural is a permanent, accurate landmark that our entire region can be proud of
when we officially reveal it this summer on August the 15th. I'll pass you on to
Abby now. That's okay. We changed things out.
This project is a major driver of regional tourism. We've already secured
the support of R04, Explore Waterl Region, Wellington County, and G tour
Tourism because they recognize the high value of historical tourism. To give you
an idea of the scale and the emotional pull of this project, we already have
descendants from across the United States planning their travel to our
region for the reveal event in August. This represents a direct economic
benefit to Mapleton's hospitality sector, creating measurable tourism
traffic for our independent retailers and local agricultural businesses. To
give you a sense of the opportunity, the neighboring Kissing Bridge Trail
welcomed 193,000 visitors in 2025, primarily cycle tourists from GE and
Toronto seeking local culture, landscape, and history. [clears throat]
By placing this mural along line 86, we position Mapleton to capture even a
small share of that steady visitor flow, converting pass through traffic into
meaningful engagement with your community and giving those travelers a
compelling reason to stop, reflect, and spend time in Mapleton.
Earthscape has proactively set up the space specifically for visitors,
including dedicated parking spaces and a thinking bench for reflection. There
will there will be a large interpretive sign with a QR code linking visitors to
an interactive map on our website complete with multilingual translation
tools and fully accessible fonts. This digital experience will also guide
tourists to other sites of interest, local agra businesses and historical
landmarks throughout Mapleton and the surrounding area.
We're fin we're incredibly proud of the public private partnership driving this
vision. Our partner, Earthscape Play, is dedicating $30,000 toward the artist and
site infrastructure. And uh the remaining $36,000 of our
$66,000 goal covers the critical work managed by hope and the advisory
committee, which includes deep dive historical research, extensive community
outreach, and a landmark reveal event. This portion also enables us to invest
in durable, sustainable engagement tools from a digital driving map to QR linked
content and interactive materials that ensure the project continues to educate
and inspire long after the mural is unveiled. We've already secured $6,000
from our regional tourism partners, including the collaborative funds from
Wellington County, and Hope is currently backstopping the remaining costs um with
our own internal funds to ensure we stay on schedule for the August reveal. We're
seeking support from every local municipality connecting to this history.
Mapleton's own municipal cultural plan explicitly identifies artistic and
cultural diversity and cultural mapping as foundational pillars for defining our
your community's identity and advancing economic development and building civic
pride. Our project does exactly that. tangible mapping out of Mapleton's own
black pioneer heritage like the Hissen family lineage and transforming it into
a shared cultural resource that supports cultural learning, deepens community
identity, and strengthens long-term civic capacity for residents and
visitors alike. Your cultural plan also states that Mapleton's long-term
sustainability relies on regional collaboration. Um because of this
project, uh Bridges, Mapleton, Welssley, Willich, and Wellington County
supporting us is a direct actionable investment in that mandate. We ask
council to consider the local significance of this project when
determining discretionary fund allocations for the year. Beyond
financial support, in kind contributions such as assistance with local promotion,
staff coordination, or historical archiving in partnership with the
Mapleton Historical Society would make a tangible difference. To have the
Township of Mapleton as an official partner ensures that the stories of your
pioneers are told with it with the dignity, reach, and economic impact that
it truly deserves. Thank you, and we welcome any questions that you might
have. Well, thank you for the presentation.
That's uh that's an amazing project coming to this area and uh we know
Earthscape is a fantastic organization to work with and uh obviously you guys
are very passionate about your project that you're having here and and I think
it's great and well we had the plaque stolen,
right? So this is this is actually something really really good to to put
in place that on a big scale [clears throat] can't be taken away by
somebody. So >> congratulations. Fantastic questions,
comments. [cough]
Just making sure you're okay over there. >> Uh thank you for the uh for the
presentation today. I love it when folks come in here and quote our own
documents, uh, like our CIP and all that stuff. So, I think that's wonderful. Um,
for next steps as far as what Mapleton's contribution, uh, could look like, uh, I
know you talk about permitting, promotion, coordination, that type of
stuff. Uh, I'm assuming that's something that, uh, that would come through the
CEO's office to see what it is we can do. Um and then we could anticipate
maybe a report back with something that we could actually look at rather than
trying to concoct that all on the spot today. Um but yeah, just thank you. Um
like the mayor said, Earthscape has been a wonderful partner on a bunch of
different projects locally here in Mapleton and uh you know, we've
certainly got nothing but great things to say about them. So the fact that you
guys are partnering with them is wonderful, too. So um it looks like an
amazing project. >> Thank you. Thank you.
» Thank you. Any further? >> That's great. Thank you very much.
» Thank you. >> We'll be in touch.
» Resolution I have here is moved by councelor Martin, second by councelor
Reid that council receive information and delegation of Mapleton Historical
Society Representative Karen Smart and from Hope Denise Dickinson. And we have
Abby Cooper regarding the strategic partnership
Queens Bush Settlement Mural Project and Mapleton Cultural Plan regarding the
opportunity for the township of Mapleton to officially join the partnership and
provide formal support for this regional landmark partnership. Anything further?
» Go ahead. >> Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Can we include or
amend that uh for a request for a report back?
» Correct. Second for the council Woodm. Thank you. All in favor to the
amendment. It's carried. So tag on the line there and the CEO or
staff will report back on how we can support this project.
Anything further? All in favor? It's carried.
» Thank you everyone. >> Thank you.
Next we have up 7.3 we have Dorothy Keller. Dorothy, welcome.
» We're not in a rush. Take your time. >> I forgot my cane.
Sorry. As you know, Greg, I've
had my house up for sale. I lost the sale due to my neighbors.
Now, I understood that this was going to get
cleaned up and
the rooster was going to have to go, but it's just the same as it was. I took
pictures today that it's the very same. I had the rat guy come into my home
again today
and there's still rats in there. Now, in all the years I have lived out there, I
have never ever had a rat until these people put their chickens
and their goats and left their manure there.
And even the rat guy says that's where they're coming from.
I was offered, somebody else offered me some money for
the house. 10 acres of 10.1 acres of land, three bedroomedroom house, and a
big workshop garage. $540,000
because of the rats.
Like, we got to do something. I can't stand another winter out there, Greg.
That's why I wanted to get it cleaned up and get my place sold. And I've had a
lot of interest, but as soon as they find out about rats,
nope. Or they give me a ridiculous low offer. So, I'm asking you, please,
can we not clean up this mess? That's going to stink to high heaven come
summer.
» Thank you, Dorothy. >> Thank you,
» Michelle.
Michelle, do you have comments for this?
» Thank you. Uh, through you, Merrick. The, um, Officer Clemens has sent out
notification with a deadline and has followed up on the situation. The
deadline is not up yet, but I know that uh Officer Clemens did attend earlier
this week, which obviously means yesterday because it's only Tuesday
today. And the applicant or the person in question did ask why were we there so
much sooner and it was to at least be able to give an update to council that
things have progressed. They're not complete. That is absolutely correct,
but it is in progress. >> Thank you.
So,
» so Mrs. McCabe has has answered the question saying that there there is a
deadline that was put on by the bile officer. That deadline has not been met
yet. So when that that deadline comes up?
» Well, do we know when that deadline is? I do
not know. We we could actually we can get we can get that information. We can
get that information to Dorothy. >> Okay. Well,
» sorry, mayor. We we do not divulge >> case information. I mean, I can
certainly provide a deadline, but we don't do do followup other than we have
been out. It has been documented, letters have been been sent and we just
have to give them their their time. And like I said, we did go out so that we
could give an update here to council as well as to to for Dorothy for you to now
relay that to her. >> No, no, you can absolutely absolutely
tell her. >> Oh, and I would absolutely tell you
that. I just don't have it in I just mean but we don't we just don't give out
details this.
No, I absolutely can follow up with you tomorrow.
» Any questions from members of council?
» Okay. Thank you. >> Have the resolutions here. 7.3 moved by
councelor Reed second by councelor Martin Township Mapleton Council receive
for information delegation of Dorothy Keller of 7858 side 21 Arthur regarding
the repercussions of her neighbors livestock.
Anything further from council? All in favor? Carried.
Moving on to uh item number nine. So we have close to home the good neighbor
project. Sounds like a great project. Can't wait to hear all about it. Helen
» through you mayor uh Davidson. Um yes, I just am here to give um a progress
report on a project that we're starting here in the township of Mapleton called
the Good Neighbor Project. Um in my report, I had mentioned a bit of the
background um regarding this project. Um in September of 25, we had a seniors
advisory group meeting and part of our strategic plan. Um some of the members
uh thought that it would be a great opportunity to meet some unme unmet
needs of seniors in our community and this was the way um we decided that we
would try and and launch the program. Um, I would like to say that when we
came to the township to meet with Manny and Michelle and Amy, um, we really
appreciated their enthusiasm for the program. And in fact, we were surprised
to leave with our very first volunteer, Mary Manny Baron himself. So, I mean, it
really says something when you'll put your time behind a project. So, just
bringing this um to council for information. um just letting you know um
what we were thinking in terms of how the project would look. So, next slide
please. And we can just and that is the link to the Google um site that we set
up while we were um making sort of a draft to have a look to see how the
program might work. And so that is a live link in the presentation so people
can check that out if they would like to. Next slide please.
Um, so we know that Mapleton has good strong community and good roots and
that's why we want to start here because we feel like we have a good chance of
getting some volunteers to come out and help us with with the program. So the
idea is to meet seniors unmet needs with community members that can meet that
need. So it s sounds kind of simple but there are many things that don't take a
lot of time that seniors find challenging. So I was noticing with our
last person um when they were making their presentation how hard it is for
them to get around. So imagine a senior with mobility issues just trying to put
out their blue box in the wintertime. Now that's something that takes us
15 seconds maybe 30 seconds. we get to our car and forget that we were supposed
to put it out. But for someone who has mobility issues, um it can be really
challenging to get that blue box to the curb. And it's something that a good
neighbor could do in 20 seconds. So, we're not necessarily asking people, we
know how busy everyone is, to dedicate hours and hours of their time, but to
put out what they're able to do and then um match the seniors will be matched
with the volunteer. So, next slide, please.
So, we wanted to find an easy way to make this work. So, we created and I say
we um this was all the work of uh Johanna Brown. If it was the work of we
um as in myself, it would be two little squares. This is totally beyond me. Um
so we uh Johanna created these two forms and basically I need help or I can help.
So the I need help can be filled out by a senior themselves or a family member
and it clicks to a form where they can indicate what the need is. And I can
help is the same for the volunteer. So, they are able to indicate what kind of
things they're able to offer, whether it's picking up someone's groceries,
whether it's taking out someone's garbage, whether it's doing a fall leaf
um cleanup, those kinds of tasks. And so, um those two forms will take you to
an application. So, it's pretty easy, um to move through the the application
itself. Um next slide, please. So yeah, and this is just draft because we need
the help of um Amy and Michaela to get this so that it's incorporated actually
in the Mapleton website. This is um a Google um website which is not
compatible, but we wanted to get our ideas together in a draft form and
thought that was the easiest way. So and next slide please.
And um so here's the volunteer application. Um and when it's in Google
then it would populate a spreadsheet that we would be able to go to so we
would be um aware of when someone had filled out the sheet.
Um next slide. So, um this is just like around B uh
bridging the generations and we do think that the older adults in um Mapleton
bring so much to the community and you don't have to look around very far to
see where seniors are keeping things going in our community. If you look at
any of the historical societies or the church groups or um service clubs, many
many seniors dedicating their time to keeping this community strong. Next
slide, please. And so we also um made some draft um social media posts to
indicate what we're looking for. Um so we have two of those. And next slide,
please. And so um this sort of indicates what we
were thinking um and with the help of Amy and Michaela and your guidance would
like to bring um to the township. So, um I would say that um we always uh we know
from our interactions with seniors what what a lot of the needs are, but these
forms allow specific needs that the senior has identified.
And we um we always try to get this message across that asking for help
isn't a sign of weakness. So, um, we we often have people who don't recognize
when they need help and then that's when they have a fall or something happens to
their health. But if you um if you do reach out when you do need help, um it's
actually a sign of strength and insight into where you are in your journey. And
so um we feel that Mapleton is the absolute right place to start this
initiative. So thank you and I am happy to take any
questions. >> Great. Thank you Helen. Resolution moved
by council read second by councelor Martin that council receive report cth
20226-02 for information questions to Helen. Councelor Wood.
» Thank you through you mayor Davidson. Just more a comment. I just wanted to
say thank you so much um for all the work that the seniors for excellence
does. I know in my former position of working with the uh Marville Township
Housing Corporation, it was difficult for some of the seniors
just even to shovel off their patio once in a while, right? So, this is a great
opportunity. I'm not sure. I'm kind of on the fence. I will volunteer, but
pretty soon I'll be a senior, too. So, [laughter] but no, I don't need help
yet. But but definitely I think it's a fabulous opportunity and I think you
will be surprised how many volunteers you will have to to assist our seniors
in Mapleton. Thank you. >> Thank you.
» Other comments or questions Martin?
» Uh thank you, Mr. Mayor. You don't often get questions, so
» I was like I was like two. [laughter] >> Uh so I would echo councelor Woodham's
comments. seems like a really great program and a platform. Um the question
I have is um how it gets operationalized. So I
love the fact that you're doing VSC's and all that stuff, right? Like
protecting uh you know our vulnerable population is
a it's a must, right? Um but how does it work in the background? um if you've got
people. So, how does Manny know what to volunteer for if he's not sure what the
actual needs are and how like is that something that somebody on the
background facilitates and and joins up? I know for myself
um um if you you know you can offer
something maybe your capabilities are multiplatform and cut grass do a whole
bunch of things but if there's another need out there that's not identified uh
by somebody how do you how do you bridge that gap
» we were kind of struggling with what do we get first do we get the volunteers
um and then have them sort of let us know what what they're interested in or
do we get the seniors but if we have the seniors first and we don't have anyone
to match them with it's very disappointing right because seniors hear
that a lot you know oh I'm sorry there's a wait list for that or so what we were
hoping to do to get the program started was when we have our volunteers sign up
when we get those needs in would be to say um like to contact the volunteers
and say this is what this is the need that we have because we don't know the
specific needs. So people could be telling us all kinds of things and then
someone gets in touch with us and says I need this and we're like oh. So so that
was how we were um hoping to get the first few connections going and I think
as we get requests we'll be able to finesse the application form too so that
we can take off some of the things that we never are asked for and add things
that come up on a regular basis. So it will sort of be an evolving type um
thing. Um so we hope to have the the information on the Mapleton website for
July 1st to go live. Um and then we will um like we we will hopefully be getting
lots of volunteers. And I honestly think even if we had to
start like a halfozen good volunteers, we would find that we had um we would be
able to help a lot of people with that because a lot of these tasks aren't
major tasks like the garbage is an example. Um that does not take anyone
any length of time to do. Um, and also like I kind of envision a bit of a
education program. I don't want to say like education people just kind of roll
their eyes, right? But just sort of um having some success stories and maybe um
Tony down the road doesn't ever um volunteer for us, but he hears about how
somebody had help with getting their grocer.
And then he's like, "Oh, Mabel down the street. I could lend a hand to Mabel."
and it's never through this official program. So, it's sort of like we want
to have two we want it to spread with our own volunteers, but we also want
people to kind of open up their eyes and look around and see how they can help
their community. That was a very long answer. So, no wonder no one ever asked
me a question. [laughter] >> Actually, I take your answer as you know
as long, but usually councelor Martin's questions are quite long as well.
[laughter] it works out.
Anything further, Kather Reed? >> Uh, thank you through your mayor. Um, I
I know that this is very much directed to adults helping adults. Has there been
any thought to like our younger adult community or teens mowing lawns and
doing things or is that not something in this scope yet? Like if I have a son
who's 12 and who would he'd help the world if he could, but like putting
garbage out and stuff, is that something that we could foresee happening? like if
there's easier tasks for local neighbors.
» I see that. Yes, I do. I think that's great. And the one thing that's great
about intergenerational um relationships is that it um fosters
different conversations and different relationships because when we're with
our peers and I'm a like I'm older myself, right? And when I sit around
with a bunch of my friends, like we all kind of talk about, well gosh, is this
happening to you or is that happening? But if I'm sitting with a group of
younger people, the conversation changes, right? And I think there's a
great benefit to both groups for that. So I could see how that could happen.
It's just I we would need to put some thought into how to engage those younger
people because um the younger people if they're engaged right from the get-go
then they grow up to be fantastic volunteers and fantastic community
members. So it needs some thought for sure, but it's a great one.
» Council Martin got a followup. Okay, call a question. All in favor? It's
carried. Thank you. Thank you, Helen. >> Thank you.
Moving on to 9.2. Aman, your report. Thank you.
» Okay. >> Thank you everyone. Um, this report is
for information regarding the awards of contracts RFP 202517
hotmix paving and RF 20264 bridge MB2 replacement.
The detailed breakdown of both projects is included uh within the report for
council's review. Uh the 2026 hotmix paving program was tendered in December
of last year 2025 which was significantly earlier than we have done
in previous years and prior to many municipalities finalizing their budgets.
So by going to the market early, the township was able to take advantage of
more favorable conditions. As we all know, contractors had greater
availability at the time, which allowed them to better plan their crews and uh
avoid increases in fuel cost, labor, and material costs, which ultimately led to
more competitive bid pricing. Um also clarification to the report I want to
say is like the awarded amount of $965,527
and 555 cents reflects only the paving tender itself. The total cost of the
praing program will be higher as it also includes the additional components such
as pulverizing the existing ash vault placement of granular a shoulder gravel
line painting as well as our internal staff cost for labor and equipment.
These items were not included in the tender amount but will be tracked as a
part of the overall project. Uh while we do not anticipate while we do anticipate
that there will be a lot of costs saving the exact amount is not yet known. Uh
and yeah and everything else has been included for the MB00002 project. It was
well within the budget and we're here to answer any questions if council has.
Thank you. >> Thank you. Resolution 921 moved by
councelor Martin, second by council Reed, that council receive report FYIN
2026 task 22 regarding the award of contracts for the 2026 hot mix paving
program and the replacement of bridge MB002 for information. Questions for
Aman
Woodm. >> Thank you through you, Mayor Davidson. A
question to Aman then. So thank you for clarifying that because I was trying to
do the math. So we're thinking that it could be up to 1.3 million for the
pulverizing existing ashvault supply and delivery of the road granu a then
because that's the difference or we feel that it would be less than that.
» Uh through you Mr. Mayor. Uh we I would anticipate that the total cost would be
less than $1.3 million. Uh like we have already tendered out the
gravel and the pulverizing and I while I do have those numbers other numbers are
yet to be determined like our internal costs and equipment. Uh we have also
never really gone out for tender that far like in advance like we went out
like people like 2025 I did two paving tenders for 2025 and 2026 so there will
be cost savings not 1.3 because we still have to like uh account for all th those
costs but I think after Patrick would be able to answer speak to that a little
bit. Sure. Thanks, Aman. And through you, mayor. Yeah, I think we we did kind
of predict not to this extent of savings um of what can happen when we get this
budget approved in a timely manner um and tenders out on the street quickly.
Obviously, having Aman um on our team to have these tenders ready to go with
support from from Jim and the rest of the folks um on their side is huge. um
the fact that that council approved a budget late in in 2025 and we can get
teners on the street. This shows the true benefit to that. At the same time,
um we do build budgets based on what our general market prices at the time.
Ashvalt price index pieces can can inflate the cost substantially the
longer that you wait. So, um, while we did have savings on this project in this
year, there'll be other projects that didn't get out as early where we'll see
some cost overruns or closer to the budget, um, I'd say the township does a
really good job of of estimating um, our need. Uh, last year, you'll recall we
did get um, external funding for Side Road 15. And when that external funding
showed up, we brought forward a report that said, "Hey, now that we have excess
funding, maybe we considered another project." The challenge with that this
year, because maybe I'm just inferring what council might be thinking, but the
challenge with that this year, if we were to try and say, "We've saved on
this one. Let's jam in another project." We don't have projects that are ready to
go um for those funds. So essentially, whatever savings we we realize at the
end of the year, at the end of this project, when all costs are incurred,
they don't go anywhere. They go directly into the infrastructure reserve fund and
get used for future capital. So, hope that adds a little more context.
» Thank you. Further questions? Aman, can you advise council and the
huge audience we have online? Um, how many kilometers are we doing
this year of paving? >> Uh, we're doing 9.36 kilometers of
paving this year. >> That's amazing.
» Thank you so much. If there's nothing further, all in favor, it's carried.
Moving on to uh public works which is preliminary acceptance of block 90 Glen
Avalid subdivision.
So I have the resolution here moved by councelor Wood second by council read
that council receive report PW2026-06 regarding block 90 Glen Avalid
subdivision for information and further council accept the recommendation from
RJ Burnside and Associates Limited and grant preliminary acceptance of block 90
of the Glen Avalid subdivision. Any questions from council on this report?
All in favor? It's carried.
Next, we have a report on the Murfield and Drayton concession booths.
Jim.
» Okay, Patrick. Thanks, uh, Mayor Davidson. Um, and, uh,
Amy Gross is unavailable for the meeting tonight, so I said I'd cover for her on
this one. So essentially, uh, council did, um, direct staff to explore the
potential to open up concession booths at both Ball Diamonds, um, in Murfield
and in Drayton. So, what this report simply does is is asks for council's
approval to issue an RFP, which would go out, a pretty simple RFP, which again,
we got Aman's expertise to help out with that, would go out on the street to seek
anybody that might be interested in running the concession booth or
concession booths. um it would be evaluated in our regular process for
evaluating them and then brought back to council to determine whether um we want
to move forward with that option. So, it's a fairly simplistic report but more
outlines that we don't have the resources internally on staff to run
open up and run a concession booth and we weren't interested in hiring staff
and managing those concession booths. But if somebody from the public is
interested in it wants to put in a proposal, it'll be available and we'll
we'll advertise it in the public for that.
» Thank you, Mr. Kelly. Resolution I have moved by councelor Reed second by
councelor Woodham that council receive report RECC 2026-03 regarding the
Morfield and Drayton concession boosts and further council approve the issuance
of an RFP for the operation of outdoor seasonal concessions within municipal
parks questions
Martin. >> Uh thank you Mr. Mayor. I just want to
say thank you for the report. Uh I'm assuming
Patrick kind of what you inferred that there would be the ability for somebody
to uh do one or both. Correct. Um >> that's correct. Okay.
» All seasons uh underway. Uh lights are on an awful lot. There's certainly a lot
of noise happening down there. So, uh it sounds like the timeline's pretty
aggressive, too. So, I think that should be excellent.
» Thank you. >> Thank you.
» Anything further? All in favor? It's carried.
On to item 10, which is approval of bylaws.
10.1 moved by councelor Woodham, second by councelor Reid. That bylaw number
2026 to 029 being a bylaw to dedicate certain lands within the township of
Mapleton as part of a public highway. We hereby ready first, second, and third
time. finally pass this 26th day of May 2026.
Questions on any of these? All in favor? Carried.
Nothing on item 11. We have item 12. There
a number of items from Push.
Anybody wish to speak to any of these 17 items?
Not seeing any, we'll move to item 13. Any notice of motion?
Item 15. Other business.
All right. Moved. Item 16 moved by councelor Reed, second by councelor
Woodham. The town shall be able to council move into a close session to
consider the following subject matters. the security of the property of the
municipality and personal matters about identifiable individual including
municipal employees. All in favor? Right. It's carried. 10-minute recess