Fall Fair Organizer Unhappy About Need For Township Permits
On a sad note, I must report unfortunate incidents that happened mere hours before our fall fair this year. After many many years of looking after the ordering of the tents we use at our fair, we received an email from the building inspector from the township.
He informed us that our tents were erected without permits and are now subject to possible building code infractions. Unfortunately, the township office staff does not know what our fair is all about, and that it has been run on the same place since the early 1900s, on land that the Aberfoyle Agricultural Society had donated to the township in the 50s with an agreement that we have full use of the facility’s for our Annual Fair.
When I asked at the township why nobody had ever requested a permit in the 10 years I had set up tents, the response was “well you have been putting them up illegally, and now you need a permit”. The members of the fair board took this as a clear blow to the stomach, as now we were on the hook for an extra $1164.00 dollars mere hours before our fair had even began.
Our tent supplier had told us he sets up in over 40 different municipalities and had never ever seen the treatment that Puslinch was giving to our fair. He felt it was very unfair and not right. We had to pay an engineer an emergency fee to get him to stamp drawings last minute on Friday afternoon. The transparency in the office and how things are run are very shocking, as we sure felt we were dealt a low blow like this hours before our fair.
Since most of the grounds were built by Fair Board volunteers over the years, many of the people who spent free time building the soccer field, pull track and erecting various other parts of the property got a bad taste in their mouth. Getting public to volunteer in a small community is already hard, try doing it when your treated this way!
The revolving door in the office at the township is very hard to work with, and it has hit our fair hard. Please see attached email from township. Please Share this so everyone knows how things are done here. (And FYI you need this permit if you put a tent up any larger than 10×10 and even on private property)
Vince Klimkosz
Hi Vince,
I have attended the property of the upcoming fair and noticed the installation of 3 tents. During my inspection I met with Don McKay and informed him that the 3 tents require a building permit. The associated cost of the application is $260.00 and must be accompanied by the following information.
- 1. Complete application form.
- 2. Site plan with accurate location of the tents (I have documented location of tents and am able to provide the site plan).
- 3. Manufacturers specs.
- 4. Fabric specifications certificate. Material shall meet the requirements of CAN/ULC S109 or NFPA 701.
- 5. Floor layout of all 3 tents (including tables, chairs, etc).
- 6. The large tent must (40’ x 80’) be designed by a Professional Engineer Licensed in Ontario.
- 7. Inspection report for the installation of the large tent (an engineer is required to inspect the installation of the tent due to its overall size).
Please ensure that the above information is provided as soon as possible, as it is an offence to erect these tents without a permit. Upon receiving the necessary information, We will expedite the issuance of a building permit, so as not to cause further delays regarding the fair.
Regards,
Adam French
Chief Building Official
Township of Puslinch
7404 Wellington Rd 34, Puslinch ON N0B 2J0
P 519-763-1226 F 519-763-5846
I can’t help but think the Time of Volunteer groups and trying to make a better community has come and gone. The logistical policies and a lack of staff that are from the Township is making volunteer work more and more Difficult on fewer and fewer Volunteers. Many of which are older and have been doing it for so long. As for our Staff at the Township office. I am not saying they need ti live in the township. But it sure would be nice if they took a greater interest in what our volunteers do in the community and be proactive in helping them instead of waiting till they have broke the rules. The Fair this past weekend has been going on for how long. It seems wrong to me that our building inpecter waited till the day of the Fair to come to the volunteers. As he is paid staff. Could he not have come forward in advance. And tried to be a greater part of the community and tried to help. Maybe I am wrong in my thinking. If I am then maybe my time of volunteerism is coming to an end.