High cost of living in Wellesley can't continue, mayor Joe Nowak says

In the village of Wellesley, it's hard to find a house for less than $500,000, says Wellesley township Mayor Joe Nowak.

No matter where you go in the township: Linwood, St. Clements, Wellesley, Heidelberg, there's a lack of entry-level or senior-friendly homes, Nowak says.

In the coming two years, the Region of Waterloo will undergo an official plan review and the region will look at where growth should occur.

"I think that'll be an opportunity for Wellesley to identify some areas where we can look for additional growth, where we can put a better mix of housing," Nowak said.

Nowak, who won his seat Tuesday night in the municipal election, sits on the region's committee for the 10-year master plan for affordable housing. A mini report is due out by the end of the year, he said, while a draft of the completeversion is expected next spring.

That plan will identify spots where developers who are interested in building affordable units in rural areas can go.

Nowak says his fellow regional councillors are receptive to hearing the problems in the region, but he will need to remind them about the issues faced by the lower tier municipalities.

Issues that also include space for business to grow in Wellesley.

"Right now we don't have one acre of employment lands available out here," he said, meaning the township can attract much in the way of new business.

Bus service not feasible

One of the reasons it costs so much to live in Wellesley is because everyone has to drive, Nowak says.

"For Wellesley, a bus route probably wouldn't be feasible just because we're so spread out so what they're thinking of providing would be some sort of an on-call service," he said.

Instead, the region is considering an Uber-like service for the township, where residents could hail a car to drive them places. The town of Innisfil, Ont., uses the ride-hailing service Uber and officials there say it's saved them more than $8 million in a year compared to using a door-to-door bus service.

"You avoid the thousands of dollars in investment in big buses," Nowak said, adding it's not a certainty but is something they're considering.

"At the end of the day, the cost to the region would be area-rated to the taxpayers to, in this case, Wellesley."

New fire hall, library,community centre

The villages within Wellesley also have some expensive years ahead. A new fire station will be built in St. Clements. If the Catholic school board goes ahead with a new school in St. Clements, the township has said it'll fund a library there.

In Hawksville, there are problems with the community centre and Nowak says residents there will have to decide whether to try to fix the centre or tear it down and build a new one.

Then in the village of Wellesley, there's a pond restoration project underway. While it's not a township project, Nowak says he wants to help however he can.

Preliminary cost estimates for the restoration work show, "it's going to be a lot of money," Nowak said.

The township also has about 40 acres of recreational land on the outskirts of the village of Wellesley, which Nowak would like to see developed in some way.

"I think we'll develop a 20-year plan for recreation but it would be get something, maybe some walking trails or some soccer fields in the short term," he said.