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Mono Council vetoes request to open repair shop along Hwy. 89

August 21, 2020   ·   0 Comments

By Peter Richardson

Mono Council held a public meeting back on July 28 to discuss the proposed small vehicle repair shop that wishes to be opened next to Mrs Mitchell’s restaurant on Highway 89.

 The property had previously been a gas station and was now vacant and owned by Mr. Michael Bellissimo, of Alliston. Most of Mono Council were ill disposed to this proposal, as was the owner of the two restaurants, Heidi Blaufeldt. She felt that Mr. Bellissimo’s property in Alliston, would make a better location for this enterprise. 

She said that due to COVID-19, her establishments have been serving outdoors and the response has been so positive, that they intend to continue. The repair shop would pose a problem with noise for outdoor dining. She was also concerned that as a real estate agent, Mr. Bellissimo could resell the property and wondered what might be built there.

Despite the proposal meeting all the relevant laws, and the property already being zoned commercial, in the end Council vetoed the request, with the exception of Coun. Fred Nix, who apparently saw the obvious potential conflicts for doing so.

In other business, Council heard a report on the repairs to the Watermark Sewage Treatment facility, where a driveshaft failure had shut down operations. Coun. Ralph Manktelow wondered if this was an inherent fault in the plant design, or the shaft, or simply “one of those things”. Brian Parrott, one of those involved, said that studies were underway to determine this, but that currently the plant was operational again. The motion to release payment funds, for the repair, was carried. 

A lively discussion was heard concerning the new playground at the Fieldstone Parkette. Recreation Director Kim Heaton outlined the intended equipment and found opposition from several councillors. Amongst the objections, were the fact that there were two slides and a  teeter totter, with no swings. Both Coun. Manktelow and the Deputy Mayor John Creelman preferred the inclusion of swings, despite Mrs. Heaton’s explanation that swings required tremendous space requirements and are very expensive as a result. A teeter totter costs $1,500, compared to a single swing at $20,000. Ralph also objected to the inclusion of a quiet zone in the design, saying that the way to deal with hyper active children is to keep them busy.

Kim’s response was that there were two slides to accommodate two different age groups and that this was a normal design parameter. She felt that “office moms and grandmothers” approved of the calming room. She said that the addition of a swing would eliminate half of the other features, due to space and be very expensive. Coun. Nix voted to accept Kim’s plan, telling her to “go for it”.

The cost of the playground, designed and built by Play Power from Paris, Ont., would be approximately $150,000. When asked if the teeter totter could be replaced, the answer was yes, for a feature of equal monetary value. In the end Council approved the original design 

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