Although public attendance was low, residents had lots of questions and issues to raise at the Sept. 22 town hall meeting held at Heritage River.
Roughly a dozen members of the public attended, with a similar number of staff and local politicians.
Mayor Kelly Linton talked about local priorities and growth.
“We have an awesome community and I think everyone knows it,” he said. “We’re moving in right direction … but we have more potential.”
Quoting Winston Churchill, Linton said “Continuous effort – not strength or intelligence – is the key to unlocking our potential.”
Areas of focus for the meeting included:
– township advantages;
– pursuing healthy growth;
– open and transparent government; and
– updates on major community projects.
CW advantage
Linton considered one of the first advantages of Centre Wellington its central location in southern Ontario.
“We’re in the centre of big cities yet as long as we don’t have our density targets raised any more, we’re still not a big city,” said Linton.
At the same time, the mayor stated agriculture and farming is an important aspect of the community. With over 400km², it is a huge space “… and most of it is farmland.”
Linton also stated vibrant downtowns are also an important part of the community.
“While there are sometimes complaints about the availability of parking downtown, it’s a whole lot better to have parking issues than boarded up storefronts,” he said.
“We have so many advantages that many cities and towns don’t have. Our job now is to leverage these advantages.”
Healthy growth
Linton considered one of the challenges faced by Centre Wellington councillors is that the town is growing. He said there is a fear expressed by some that the town is growing too fast and that the community will not be recognizable in the next ten years.
Council’s job is to ensure growth is healthy and “Centre Wellington continues to be a place we can all be proud of,” he said.
Linton said “approximately 50% of the county’s forecast housing growth has been allocated to Centre Wellington and it is estimated that 48% of the county’s employment growth will occur in Centre Wellington.”
He estimates that by 2041 the township’s population of 29,885 will need to increase to 52,310.
“Obviously that puts some pressure on us as we grow.” He stated “we want vibrant urban cores that attract locals and visitors.”
The mayor also said the community needs to protect and enhance its heritage assets.
Linton noted work at the Elora Brewing Company and work just wrapping up on the 1929 bowstring bridge just north of Elora on Irvine Street.
“Protecting our heritage is important for healthy growth,” Linton said.
He said there also needs to be balance between residential and employment land uses, meaning the municipality needs to protect good land for industrial and commercial land.
He said “we also know that we need new residential neighborhoods with tree-lined streets and a mix of housing to accommodate a variety of preferences and income levels.
“When it comes to growth … we have some ideas of what we don’t want and what we do want … but how do we get there?” Linton asked.
The province has set density targets, initiated Places to Grow legislation “which has very clear direction on what we are allowed and not allowed to do,” he said.
That direction is given to Wellington County, which develops an official plan for the county.
“We can’t do whatever we want,” Linton said. “Just because we don’t like something … doesn’t mean we can stop everything from happening.”
Once the big picture document is in place, Linton said there are a number of other plans that need to be determined and finalized, including the transportation master plan, urban design guidelines. tree management program and water master plan.
Linton said “the bottom line is “we have a well-thought out plan to contribute to Centre Wellington growing in a smart and balanced way.”
Councillor Don Fisher added “this is a huge issue and effort for this township.”
“Most municipalities in Wellington County and across southern Ontario … we all deal with growth … but for many of them there is not enough growth,” said Fisher.
“Our issue is that we are in danger of being overwhelmed.”
That growth is happening as a result of many factors outside of the municipality’s control, Fisher added.
He said “If we don’t deal with this (growth) properly, this community will be unrecognizable in the next decade – and not in a good way.”
Fisher added the decisions made by council in the next few years will lay the groundwork to deal with that growth properly.
Councillor Kirk McElwain said, “We are evolving really fast … from a small town to a big town … without all the resources of a big town.”
McElwain said Centre Wellington has yet to make the full transition – “maybe in our heads, but not in our pocketbooks.”
Open government
Linton said one of the challenges is that over the years, the gap between citizens and government has widened and that council needs to continue striving to find new ways to connect with the community.
“At the same time, you can’t just run the town by surveys … it just doesn’t work that way,” Linton said.
The township now employs Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
In addition, Linton mentioned there are monthly mayor’s updates in the Wellington Advertiser, noting “there are a large amount of people” who read that Newspaper.
Linton also spoke of the township website, noting, “we are trying to use that more often to get out more information.
“We have some really bright people in our community and I’d like to entice them to become part of the solution.”
As for town hall and public meetings, Linton said “sometimes we get a good response, sometimes we don’t. One of the biggest things is the one-on-one face-to-face discussions citizens have directly with their councillors.”
Community projects
Linton said a few key projects underway include:
– Elora Mill Inn south side of Grand River. Linton hopes the shovel will be in the ground by November(ish); and
– the Victoria Street Pedestrian Bridge and public realm (2017). Linton said the money from the donation of the Jack MacDonald fund will be used to rebuild the bridge and undertake other downtown Elora improvements.
The mayor also spoke about current and upcoming road and bridge projects throughout the township.
When questioned about odours from the sewage pumping station behind the Elora LCBO at O’Brien Park, managing director of infrastructure services Colin Baker said the township was aware of the issue and is working on a solution.
He noted that station handles all the sewage flows in Elora at some point, adding, “Right now we’re looking at options.”
Linton noted a lot of work is planned for Fergus, including a right-turn lane on Tower Street and extension of the Tower Street centre median.
Plans are also underway for construction of the St. David Street (Highway 6) bridge in 2018.
The mayor was questioned why so much construction was needed.
Baker said most of the projects are related to the overall lifecycle of particular pieces of infrastructure. He noted some of the water mains being replaced could be 60 to 80 years old.
One resident suggested Centre Wellington had “the worst streets in the province,” particularly streets constructed in the 1950s and 1960s.
Baker said Colborne Street is one of the major projects planned for 2017.
Linton stated that before amalgamation, Elora didn’t spend a lot of money on infrastructure.
“Now taxpayers are dealing with the results of those decisions … of not requiring subdivision builders to put in that infrastructure.”
Linton said the township’s pavement management program is intended to address some of the problem streets where no major work is anticipated for the next decade or so.
“Instead of just leaving them … we’ve decided to scrape the old pavement off and place new pavement down.”
It does not involve road widening or doing work beneath the pavement level, but will clean up some of the worst urban streets, Linton said.
