A recurring theme at the final Wellington North all candidates meeting here on Oct. 23 was the township’s bungling of changes to its development charges bylaw.
Several of the 200-plus people in the audience grilled candidates about the matter, which saw the township lose two Ontario Municipal Board hearings, and under-collect charges to the tune of $229,000.
One resident asked incumbent mayoral candidate Ray Tout directly if he had any “regrets” about the way the township handled the issue.
Tout stressed “we have to move forward” from the development charges issue, though he did admit he had regrets about the matter.
He stressed the township’s motivation for the changes was to “increase and promote growth.”
Tout told the crowd the previous council had planned to increase the residential development charge to $24,000 over five years “which would make it quite non-competitive in our area” (the new bylaw lowered the residential development charge from $21,000 to $14,000).
Tout’s opponent, current councillor Andy Lennox, said the development charges bylaw was an “unfortunate scenario” that “we’d all not wish to repeat.”
He explained the original goal was to remain competitive but also ensure current ratepayers are not on the hook for infrastructure and other costs related to development.
Candidates agree
Tout and Lennox were in agreement on a number of issues posed by residents at the meeting:
– both opposed the sale of Wellington North Power (“it’s crazy to even think of that,” said Tout);
– both say the Arthur waste water plant is the township’s top priority moving forward;
– both feel recreation is the top priority for area youths (Tout said a skateboard park would top his list, while Lennox said accessibility to current services is his main concern); and
– both were generally in favour of “green” energy but stressed a cautious approach on wind energy until a study on possible health impacts of turbines is completed.
