03 | 08 | 2014 VOLUME 19 | ISSUE 10
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Woolwich comes to animal shelter agreement with Humane Society Council split as higher fees are part of new contract replacing deal that hasn't been updated since 1966 STEVE KANNON
Forty firefighters spent more than eight hours Monday battling a blaze at a 19th century house between Maryhill and Conestogo.
[WILL SLOAN / THE OBSERVER]
Fire destroys Woolwich house dating back to the 1860s WILL SLOAN It took 40 firefighters, 32,000 gallons of water and more than eight hours to extinguish a blaze on Monday that consumed a 19th century home between Conestogo and Maryhill. The house, located at 1364 Durant Rd., was being
used as a rental property. While neither the owners nor the tenant were present at the time of the fire, three house cats are believed to have been lost. Officials are still investigating the cause of the fire, which is believed to involve deteriorated electrical wiring. “Because of the damage, it’s pretty hard to tell. It could
be rodents, or anything like that,” said Woolwich deputy fire chief Dale Martin. Firefighters from Conestogo and Maryhill stations, supported by Breslau and St. Jacobs, responded to the alarm at 12:01 p.m., but it took until 6 p.m. to get the situation under control. The house’s metal roof posed a challenge for firefighters, as
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did the extreme cold weather (bottoming out at -17°C). “At one point we had to take a truck in to get it thawed out,” said Dale Martin. “There were some hoses that were frozen. But that just goes with winter firefighting – we dealt with it.” Damage is estimated at $330,000 to the property home contents.
Working under a 48-year-old agreement isn’t working anymore for the K-W Humane Society, which wants more money from Woolwich Township. Meeting this week, councillors reluctantly agreed to a new deal. The organization provides sheltering services to the 150-170 dogs and cats from Woolwich dealt with each year at its Kitchener facility. Some are strays collected by bylaw enforcement officers, while most are found or unwanted animals dropped off by residents. Under the previous agreement, signed in 1966, Woolwich has been paying about $4,000 annually in the past five years, sums the Humane Society says don’t come close to covering the cost of providing the service. The new fiveyear contract would jump
the rate to $15,000 for 2014, with cost-of-living increases annually. The new deal provides a flat fee for sheltering up to 250 animals per year. If that number is exceeded, the township will pay an additional $150 per animal, according to a report presented March 4 by bylaw enforcement officer Tony Wood. Mayor Todd Cowan, who voted against the deal, balked at the cost increase, arguing the township shouldn’t have to pay all at once for the Humane Society having been “asleep at the switch” in terms of increases over the years. He also decried the “negotiation tactic” of presenting the township with a bill for $30,000 for 2013 – what the services provided would cost at the non-contract rate – then agreeing to drop it down to SHELTER | 2 SCHOOL & OFFICE SUPPLIES THAN
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