Month: April 2012

Shannon Geraghty, treasurer for South Dundas, made a recommendation to council at the April 3rd meeting on behalf of the Park Pals committee.

Geraghty recommended that council “authorize a transfer from the Parkland Reserve Fund in the amount of $2,000 contingent upon the committee, through fundraising efforts, raising the balance for the landscaping work at the Waterfront Dog Park.”

According to Geraghty’s report, “the scope of the work to commence at the dog park includes:

• An irrigation system that will over spray the heavy traffic areas of both the large and small dog park areas which will help to make the seeding and fertilizing efforts more successful.

• Excavation and installation of a gravel pad inside the entrance to the large park as a means to deal with the wear and tear incurred due to people/pets arriving, leaving, and congregating at the entry area.

• Installation and supply of electrical wiring including trenching, conduit, wire, sand, cement, etc. in order to allow for a light fixture to be installed between the two parks.”

During council’s discussion, deputy-mayor Jim Locke said, “I have no doubt that the group will fulfill their obligation. That’s good.”

“They do a good job,” agreed councillor Jim Graham.

Councillor Evonne Delegarde and mayor Steven Byvelds both expressed concern over the addition of the light fixture and how it may or may not fit into the plans of the Morrisburg Waterfront committee.

Byvelds had additional concerns as to the process for electrical hook-up and for ongoing payment of electricity charges at the dog park.

Geraghty pointed out that the current water and sewer charges for the dog park are being paid “from funds raised by the committee.”

The Park Pals committee is looking to SB & D Landscaping Co. of Iroquois to complete the work.

“The total cost including HST along with the rebate that municipalities currently receive,” reported Geraghty, “the cost that would be required to be financed through transfers and donations would amount to $6,989.97.”

“The committee currently has applied for a lottery license to conduct a Mother’s Day Draw for May 13th,” he reported. “They will be printing 1,200 tickets and selling them at a cost of $5 per ticket.”

He said the group hopes to make $5,000 in profit from the draw.

According to Tracey Veinotte, co-chair of the Park Pals committee, “we have some good prizes.”

The six prizes include: an ipad 3, a $200 Canadian Tire gift card in a Coach wristlet, a $100 gift card from Valumart in a Fossil wallet, a Swarovski pearl and crystal necklace, a manicure and pedicure from Pamper Me Esthetics, and a home visit from Mobile Hair and Make-Up Service.

The draw will take place on Mother’s Day, May13th at 1 p.m.  at the South Dundas Dog Park in Morrisburg. 

The fun part, according to Veinotte, is in the delivery. They plan to personally deliver the prizes to the door of each winner on Mother’s Day.

Once the Park Pals committee has secured their portion of the required funds, the township will transfer the $2,000 from the Parkland Reserve Fund and give it to the group.

[…]

The Iroquois Waterfront Advisory committee has begun the process of gathering information.

They requested council’s help in producing and distributing questionnaires to those people in the “Iroquois Ward.”

South Dundas council agreed to the request at the April 3rd council meeting in Williamsburg.

According to an email sent to the township from the Iroquois Waterfront committee’s Howard Kirkby, the group plans to use the responses to the questionnaire to create a detailed summary report.

In addition, “this report will then be provided to the public along with our upcoming interim report for public discussion in an open meeting to be scheduled. We plan to submit a final report to council by September.”

[…]

On April 3rd, South Dundas council approved clerk Brenda Brunt’s recommendation “that council authorize Bowfin Environmental Consulting to proceed with a species at risk assessment for the vacant land on County Road 8.”

The recommendation follows closely on the heels of the previous meeting when South Dundas council approved the recommendation to declare the 397.31 acres of land opposite the Williamsburg Disposal Site on Church Road as surplus land.

As previously reported, because the property is currently zoned as Rural Special Exception 22 & 27 as well as Wetlands, the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) has set out a list of conditions that must be met before the land can be sold. 

Included in this list of conditions is a species at risk inventory for which Brunt has already begun the process.

She told council last Tuesday, “I’d sent out the requests to three contractors and only received one back. I’m asking council for permission to sole source this.”

 “The time line is tight. MNR  thinks it’ll take between three to six months,” she continued.

Brunt reminded council that “Bowfin has been used previously in the township in the Industrial Park in Morrisburg.”

Deputy-mayor Jim Locke and councillor Jim Graham were both concerned with the cost of the project, but Brunt assured them that “we’ll try to save every cent that we can.”

She reported that “the upset limit of the project is $10,705 plus HST. The cost of the project will be expensed against the proceeds of the sale.”

[…]

Early Saturday morning, April 7th, the South Dundas Fire and Emergency Services was called to a home on Merkley Street in Morrisburg.

Too late to save the home, the firefighters from the Morrisburg and Williamsburg stations were able to get the blaze under control in time to keep it from spreading to  neighbouring homes.

According to chief Chris McDonough, “one of my volunteers was going to work at five in the morning and he heard a crack and looked up to see a glow in the sky.”

By the time firefighters arrived at the scene, the home and its attached garage were completely engulfed in flames. With the home beyond saving, the primary goal became stopping the fire from spreading to surrounding homes. 

“There was exposure to the south,” said McDonough, “but we managed to stop it.”

“The guys did a good job. They had it knocked down pretty quick.”

The home was empty at the time of the fire and no one was hurt. McDonough estimated the damage to be in the vicinity of $260,000.

“We don’t have a cause as to what started the fire,” said McDonough. “It looks like it started in the garage area.” In fact, the car parked on the property was also destroyed by the fire, leaving nothing but a charred frame.

“I didn’t feel there was anything suspicious  with the fire,” he said.

His reasoning behind the determination included the following facts: damage was not over $500,000; there were no injuries or fatalities and no explosions. 

He did point out that the insurance company “is probably going to bring in a private investigator tomorrow,” April 10th. He reiterated, however, that he felt there was nothing suspicious. 

The Merkley Street home had been listed for sale at the time of the fire for a list price of $239,000.

[…]

April 7, 2012

An early morning fire completely destroyed a home on Merkley St. in Morrisburg this morning, luckily no one was injured in the blaze. Fire crews and police were still on the scene at 10 am. Watch next week's edition for photos and more information.

[…]

 

Media Release

On March 22nd, the Upper Canada District School Board approved the following policy – Fees for Learning Materials and Activities.

Every student, regardless of economic circumstance, has the right to attend school without payment of fees for learning materials, supplies, activities and textbooks. 

While no student should be excluded from participating in any school activity based upon the ability to pay, some school activities, enhanced programming and materials, and optional programs may require a fee for participation. 

[…]

 

On March 31st, SD&G OPP officers had occasion to conduct a traffic stop on Highway 401, South Dundas Township.

The stop resulted in the seizure of approximately 14 kilograms of suspected marihuana.

The 28 year old male driver was arrested and faces charges of: Possession for the Purpose Schedule II; Possession Schedule II Cannabis resin; and, Possession Schedule II Cannabis Marihuana.

He was held in custody pending an appearance in Cornwall court.

The approximate street value of the seized drugs is $70,000.

[…]

 

Media Release

On March 27th, Stormont-Dundas-South Glengarry MPP Jim McDonell entered the provincial budget lock-up, expecting to see a plan for creating jobs and ensuring economic growth.

McDonell could not hide his disappointment with this year’s budget which has spending up over $1.8 billion and no appreciable reduction in last year’s horrendous deficit of $15.3 billion.

“How could this Liberal government be pleased to promote a deficit for 2012 that’s three times the combined deficits of all the other provinces and ten times larger than that of Quebec’s, who are in second place!”

“We’ve had plenty of tough talk, but no tough decisions. To make things worse, many of the budget’s predictions are best-case scenarios, and rely on either public sector union’s good will or Dalton McGuinty’s spine.”

“Spending is up in most ministries and we are heading towards, what Liberal economist Don Drummond warned against, a 30 billion dollar deficit and 411 billion dollars in total debt by 2017. That equates to a debt of 30,000 dollars for every man, woman and child in Ontario.”

“The National Post predicts that there will be 30,000 less jobs in the province due to the job-killing tax policies outlined in the budget.”

McDonell had unflattering words for the budget’s lack of a clear jobs plan. “The Minister of

Finance stood in the Chamber and told 600,000 unemployed Ontarians ‘We’ll talk about it’.”

“The Jobs and Prosperity Council proposal is as empty as it is upsetting. Those unemployed Ontarians who want to see strong action on job creation don’t need more hot air and appointees patting each other on the back.”

“Look around the province; it’s the small businesses that drive development and employment. They need help to create jobs by reducing their fiscal burden and scrapping bad energy policies as a start.”

The need for austerity has been highlighted well in advance of this year’s budget by numerous stakeholders, economists, the Auditor General and Government Commissions such as the Drummond Commission.

There was a clear shared message of getting spending under control. McDonell commented: “The sheer amount of data and proposals on the table, including our own from the PC Caucus, could have enabled the government to make this budget a turning point in Ontario’s history. Instead, this budget doesn’t reduce spending, takes no tough action and has no vision for long-term job creation. I will join the PC Caucus in not supporting it. Ontarians deserve better”

[…]