Council news: washroom trailer to be connected to services to solve capacity issues
The Township of Clearview will allocate money in the 2026 parks and recreation budget to address problems with three washroom trailer units purchased last year. The portable trailer- style washrooms were positioned this year at Creemore Village Green, the Nottawa Baseball Park and Station Park in Stayner.
It quickly became apparent that the trailer in Creemore could not handle the crowds at major events. In a typical weekend, the holding tank would be full by Sunday evening or Monday morning. During major weekend events, once tanks were full, toilets were overflowing and washrooms had to be closed in keeping with Ministry of Health regulations.
Scheduled maintenance included weekly pumping by a local contractor and daily cleaning by parks staff for a total annual budget of $15,000. In fact, tanks needed to be pumped twice per week, and vandalism necessitated extra cleaning.
Washrooms inside Station on the Green building are unavailable for major events, due to the need to keep them for the use of people renting the facility.
Mayor Doug Measures suggested that the capacity issue could be resolved by connecting the trailer to municipal water and sewer services.
“It would be great if we could build permanent washroom facilities but that is going to take time and money,” he said. “In the meantime, we can install plumbing to connect the trailer to water and sewer, much in the same way you would connect an RV at a campground.”
Measures asked council to allocate $4,000 to install the connections, and said this is a significant opportunity for the public works and parks departments to work together.
Council agreed to start with the Village Green washroom trailer and then decide whether to proceed with more permanent installation of the two remaining trailers.
Budget goes through painful public input process
During a meeting that lasted more than three hours and was plagued by audio problems, Clearview council reviewed the staff proposed 2026 budget Monday when the public was given the opportunity to provide input.
There were 31 questions submitted to the online portal relating to the budget, of which 30 came from self-appointed watchdog Dave Witzke. They ranged from a query about mileage on a used grader to be purchased by the public works department, to a challenge about a new parks and recreation building to be funded through development charges (DCs).
Witzke asked where the money will come from with housing starts basically on hold. The mayor responded that the project is on hold until such time as the DCs are collected.
One question from the floor of council chambers focused on the township’s reliance on outside consultants.
Treasurer Kelly McDonald informed the meeting that last year’s cost for consulting was roughly $3.5 million.
Mayor Doug Measures acknowledged that it is a big expense, but says the township has an obligation to bring in consultants where staff does not have the required expertise, as is often the case with engineering questions.
The proposed budget is $39.1 million, reflecting a 1.99 per cent increase in municipal spending over last year.
Following some minor tweaks to the budget, Clearview Township residents can expect a property tax increase of 2.06 per cent next year.
Of each dollar collected, 56 cents remains in Clearview. The balance goes to fund county services such as long term care homes and solid waste collection; school boards, OPP policing and the Nottawasaga Valley Conservation Authority. The County of Simcoe recently approved its 2026 budget with a 3.5 per cent increase on its portion of municipal property taxes. In a news release, the county touts the budget as maintaining existing service levels while focusing on delivering value in today’s challenging financial climate.
Among the changes approved by council this week are $2,500 to improve the sound system in the council chambers, $5,000 to replace 23-year old-furniture in the lobby at the administration centre and $4,000 to connect the trailer washroom at Village Green park to municipal sewer and water services.
The mayor will present the proposed budget to council on Jan. 8. Council will then have 30 days to pass any amendments. Final adoption of the budget is scheduled for Feb. 7.
More information on the budget process and a department by department breakdown of proposed spending can be found at www.clearview.ca/ government-committees/corporate- finance/annual-budgets/2026-budget.
Mayor reluctant to accept recommendation for Creemore bus
Clearview Transit buses will not be returning to Creemore in the short term despite a transit study presented to council this week calling for modifications to the Stayner route and the addition of three trips per weekday to Creemore.
Mayor Doug Measures noted that the Creemore route was abandoned in 2020 due to extremely low ridership, and said he has not seen any demand for reinstatement.
“Having said that, if there are Creemore residents who want to see transit service restored, they should reach out to (township) staff,” he said. “For now, I think we should remove the Creemore route from this recommendation pending further discussion by council.”
A report by Left Turn Right Turn transit consultants found that the transit system has been virtually unchanged since it was launched in 2017. Consultant Matthew Lattavo suggested it is probably time to adjust routes to reflect changes in population density.
“There has been significant growth in the east and southern portions of Stayner,” he said. “The four most popular destinations on the Stayner route are Stayner Collegiate, the arena, the Superior Street residential area and the former Foodland location.”
He noted a significant increase in use of the stop servicing the new Foodland location at Highway 26 and Grand Trunk Road. Since 2023, the system has been providing 13,000-16,000 trips per year, which works out to an average of 2.5-3 trips per service hour. Lattavo says that is well in line with expectations for this type of local service with regional connectivity.
In addition to the scheduled Stayner route, Clearview Transit offers specialized door-to-door service for riders in Stayner and Nottawa with disabilities. Lattovo says 40 per cent of those trips go to Wasaga Beach and 59 per cent go to Collingwood showing that specialized transit plays a critical role in connecting Clearview residents to services in neighbouring municipalities.
The recommendation adopted by council will be cost-neutral, according to Lattavo, and will involve some route changes to eliminate tricky left hand turns. Buses will depart from the administration centre on Gideon Street and travel a clockwise loop through Stayner with connections to Simcoe County’s LINX system and Wasaga Beach. Changes will take effect in Spring of 2026.
