The Town of Minto will seek out developers for the Harriston Senior School property over the next few months, but proceed to open proposal requests, or list the property, in the spring if no purchasers come forward this winter.
Council accepted the recommendation in a report from CAO Bill White at its Oct. 23 meeting.
Last August, council agreed to have the school building cleaned and prepared for winter and viewing by potential purchasers. However at the Oct. 17 meeting, White reported staff have learned the “basic clean-up” costs will be around $10,000. The building had been left unheated by the Upper Grand District School Board last winter. The town purchased the property in the spring for $60,000.
White’s report advised against spending money on cleaning given that any developer is likely to demolish the building shell.
Staff are currently preparing marketing materials for the 6.5-acre site and has already received some inquiries on the property, White noted.
At a community meeting on Oct. 2, some support was indicated for a mixture of low-density development, or seniors housing and parkland on the site, while some neighbouring residents expressed concern about the possibility of high-density development.
Committee opposes rezoning
CLIFFORD – Minto’s Economic Development and Planning Committee (EDCP) is generally opposed to a proposal to re-zone a portion of Clifford’s main street to allow a residential development in what is currently a commercial zone.
Councillor Ron Elliott raised the issue at the Oct. 11 EDPC meeting, indicating the owners of the former Mansion hotel property have received interest from a potential purchaser who would like to build four senior town homes on the property. Under current zoning, 51 per cent of the property would have to remain commercial.
The minutes of the EDCP meeting indicate the committee “was largely in favour of keeping the property commercial.” The committee’s reasons included the existence of another seniors complex under development elsewhere in the village and a lack of commercial space remaining in downtown Clifford.
Short week works for works
MINTO – Public works staff here will continue working four-day weeks in the summer time, after Minto council agreed to make a pilot project involving longer hours and a four day week permanent.
Public works director Brian Hansen, in an Oct. 23 report to council, indicated the experiment this past summer resulted in reduced overtime hours. A comparison presented by Hansen showed staff put in just 185 overtime hours last summer, compared to more than 500 hours in each of the past two years, resulting in a saving of about $10,000.
Hansen noted the longer days match better with the hours kept by private contractors with whom staff work during the construction season.
