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03 | 24 | 2016 VOLUME 21 | ISSUE 11
KINGS IN TOUGH IN SECOND ROUND OF PLAYOFFS SPORTS PAGE 14
COMMENT PAGE 6
AN EMBARRASSING SPECTACLE AT WOOLWICH COUNCIL
Crown drops case against Woolwich mayor
A DAY AT THE BEACH ... SORT OF
www.OBSERVERXTRA.com
Council opts to build new fire hall in Elmira rather than renovate existing facility STEVE KANNON
LIZ BEVAN FINDING NO GROUNDS TO proceed, the Crown has closed the file on Woolwich Mayor Sandy Shantz. It will not continue with charges brought by a private citizen alleging improprieties under the Municipal Elections Act (MEA). Crown prosecutor Fraser Kelly presented his reasoning Wednesday morning to Justice of the Peace Bruce Phillips in a Kitchener courtroom. Kelly was brought in from London, Ont. to avoid any appearance of conflict from local prosecutors given that Shantz serves on Waterloo Region council. The ten charges were initially brought against Shantz by Elmira resident Alan Marshall last summer, alleging election donation fraud, misreporting of funds and incorrect filing of official election campaign financial documents under the MEA. Attorney Trevor Loughborough appeared as agent in court for Shantz. In a statement later Wednesday, Shantz says she is relieved the case is over. SHANTZ | 2
Breslau Public School students enjoyed Beach Day on Mar. 11 despite less than summery weather. Above, Lily Hopkins, Brooklyn Warden, and Madison Idzik read a good book by the beach, while Nick Carr and Cole Taylor splash around in the water table. [WHITNEY NEILSON / THE OBSERVER]
NEW AND SHINY WON the day, as Woolwich fire officials convinced a majority of councillors to build them another fire hall rather than renovating the existing building in Elmira. Presented with new numbers pushing up the cost of renovations, councillors meeting Tuesday night voted 3-2 in favour of building a new facility in the Lunor subdivision on Church Street West rather than sticking with the existing Howard Avenue fire hall. The new build remained at $1.7 million, while renovation costs jumped to $2.1 million from $1.6 million when council last discussed the township’s new fire master plan in the fall. A new build will require significant financing or new taxes to cover the cost, however, while the renovations could have
been funded fully by development charges, fees levied on the developers of new homes to cover the cost of future service upgrades. The shortfall on a new facility is estimated at more than $500,000 if the township can realize at least $800,000 from the sale of the current site on Howard Avenue. The fire department study puts the value at $800,000 to $850,000 for the one-acre property, about twice what it estimates it could get by selling the 1.5-acre commercial site on Church Street given to the township by the developer of the Lunor subdivision. Both Elmira councillors, Scott Hahn and Patrick Merlihan, voted against the new building, preferring to stick with the renovations and challenging the assumptions in the report. “We’re being sold on FIRE HALL | 4