Locally grown

Construction project creating jobs and opportunity

Wade Watts on site at Sandbanks Summer Village on East Lake.

Wade Watts was injured serving as a soldier in Somalia more than decade ago. So when he recovered he needed a new trade. Construction proved the industry most willing to forgive his lack of high school diploma. He quickly moved up the ranks, taking courses along the way. Soon he became supervisor for one Ontario’s larger road and bridge builders.

But the assignments took him farther and farther away from his Dundas home and family— something he vowed he wouldn’t continue to do to his family. So Watts agreed to take a position with a cement firm near Bath. His wife was born and raised near Bloomfield so, for her, it was a bit like coming home.

A couple of weekends ago they toured the County, wandering through graveyards looking for ancestors. Wade picked up a copy of the Wellington Times and saw a Cottage Advisors ad looking for additional staff, workers and trades.

“I sent them an email indicating my interest and literally 10 minutes later I got a call,” recalled Watts. “Three days later I came up for an interview and I started last Monday.”

Watts is the new excavation supervisor for the entire site which will become Sandbanks Summer Village on East Lake.

Watts and his wife have sold their Dundas home and are currently looking to buy a home in the County.

Glen Dowds is the site supervisor for the project. He says more than 95 per cent of the employees on site are local.

“The other five per cent are suppliers who just aren’t available in the County,” said Dowds. “The majority of our supplies are also sourced locally.

“We advertise locally and that has been very successful for us. The ad that attracted Wade to us also led us to hire a new young labourer as well as a carpenter who is set to start on Monday.We’ve had a nice resurgence of trades call in too. All around, this series of ads was very successful.”

Dowds says Cottage Advisors’ buy-local policy has been a positive to the project.

“Local trades and suppliers get the first shot but they are proving up for the challenge,” said Dowd. “We still buy supplies and materials based upon competitiveness of pricing but County suppliers have been winning the business. Picton Home Hardware is our largest supplier. He is our largest supplier because he is the most competitive in his pricing.”

So far Cottage Advisors have about $8 million invested in the ground currently and expect that number to increase to $11 million by June, according to Chief Executive Chip Hall.

Cottages are moving briskly with phase one already sold out.