By Chad Ingram

Published June 16 2016

Minden Hills township will offer to sell a piece of the township office property to Greystone Construction to house the propane tank for the condo building the Huntsville-based company is constructing along Newcastle Street.

Council received a staff report detailing a request from Greystone to house the 1000-gallon propane tank for the 15-unit condominium complex it’s building in Minden on municipal property.

“Staff has been approached by a representative of Greystone Construction with a request to install a 1000-gallon propane tank beside the township’s propane tank located behind council chambers” reads the report from environmental and property operations manager Ivan Ingram. “Greystone has advised they do not have a location to place the propane tank required to supply the condominium development at the building lot west of the County of Haliburton building.”

The project is being constructed next to the county office on Newcastle Street and backs onto the Minden Hills township office property. The township previously sold six parking slots from the municipal parking lot at $500 apiece to the company. Residents of the building scheduled for fall completion will enter its indoor parking lot from Pritchard Lane which runs through the Minden Hills parking lot.

“They failed to leave enough room on their property to accommodate the tank” Ingram told councillors adding he had concerns about liability and setbacks.

“This is a big company” Ingram said. “We sold them spaces before.”

His recommendation was for the township to sell an additional parking space to the company for the housing of the tank.

Councillor Pam Sayne said the township should be charging more than $500.

“We’re actually giving them a pretty good deal for a parking space” Sayne said. “I think it’s worth more.”

Councillor Jeanne Anthon said she thought a propane tank would look ugly plunked in the parking lot.

“This is very unfortunate” Anthon said.

“Obviously we’re supportive of the project” said Reeve Brent Devolin “but this is a mulligan on their part.”

Devolin agreed that $500 was a low amount for any piece of property the township would sell the company for the accommodation of the tank.