Month: November 2012

Both the Matilda and Williamsburg waste disposal sites have a limited lifespan, and South Dundas township officials want the residents of South Dundas to do what they can to prolong the life of these waste disposal sites.

One way to prolong the lifespan of the waste disposal sites is to reduce the weekly two bag limit down to one bag weekly, but South Dundas council is not willing to take that step …yet.

At the October 31 special meeting, council spoke at length about the need for the public to be educated on the use of the sites and the impact misuse will have on the community.

Presently, South Dundas pays almost $40,000 a month for garbage and recycling pickup. Officials warn that amount could easily double, or more, when South Dundas no longer has access to its own waste disposal sites and that day could come within the next few years.

Based on the current deposition rate, the anticipated date the Matilda waste disposal site will reach full capacity is 2015, and the Williamsburg site will reach full capacity in 2017. 

“We as residents need to do our share for the environment,” said South Dundas mayor Steven Byvelds. He believes if each resident improves their own waste management they will easily reduce their waste to about one bag weekly, which is where the municipality wants to set the limit within the next few years.

The province of Ontario sets the recycling target at about 60 percent of waste being diverted from landfill, but South Dundas is far from that, diverting less than 20 percent from landfill through its recycling programs. 

Council and staff agreed that a concentrated public education campaign is needed to promote recycling in South Dundas.

As part of a review of the municipality’s garbage bylaw, staff proposed eliminating cash transactions from taking place at the waste disposal sites through the implementation of a voucher system, however council was not happy with the proposed changes. Council opted to keep the sites operating, as is, with a cash system. 

Other discussions at the October 31 meeting will likely result in a couple of changes to the existing garbage policy.

Residents will no longer be allowed to take two bags of household waste to the dump each week for free. The practice was put in place for those who happened to miss their roadside garbage pick up day. With the new policy, that will no longer be an option. Those wanting to take those bags to landfill can expect to pay.

Council asked staff to investigate the possibility of allowing those with documented medical incontinence issues to exceed the existing two bag limit.

Staff is also putting together a new fee schedule that will eliminate the separate rate category for farm waste. Farm waste will be treated as commercial waste.

[…]

 A large portion of the Morrisburg Industrial Park is in danger of being designated a provincially significant wetland, and if that happens the Counties planning department is working to ensure that the designation doesn’t hinder South Dundas’ growth potential.

County Planner Michael Otis discussed the issue with South Dundas council at the October 31 special meeting. 

“Obviously, we want South Dundas council’s input and support for our proposals,” Otis told council.

“This wetland issue has being going on for some time,” said Otis, explaining that the province has the clout to make the designation which will definitely hinder development to about 140 hectares of the Morrisburg Industrial Park. 

“They reviewed 10 drafts of the County official plan and not once did they indicate it was a wetland,” said Otis. 

However, now in this five year review of the official plan, they now have another opportunity to make the wetland designation.

The Counties will ask the province, if the provincially significant wetland designation is made, that the province allow an equal amount of land in a new location to be designated as an employment district in the official plan.

If the trade off occurs, the new employment district will be at the west end of Morrisburg, on the north side of County Road 2, west of the communications tower.

“This is a defendable type of solution,” said Otis.

Otis also explained that along with this request to the province, they will also ask that about 136 hectares of land south of County Road 2 in the same area be earmarked for residential growth in South Dundas. 

This would be in lieu of previous efforts to designate many smaller areas such as Brinston and Stampville for settlement growth. The province prefers that residential growth be slated for areas that the municipality would be willing to fully service such as this one at Morrisburg which borders on fully serviced land.

“This is a really good trade off that is workable,” commented South Dundas mayor Steven Byvelds.

“Hopefully the province will be amenable to it,” said Otis.

South Dundas will pass a resolution supporting this Counties proposal at their next meeting.

These new designations would have no immediate impact on the lands which are privately owned. 

What they represent is a theoretical change in thinking about how and where growth should occur within the Counties and specifically within South Dundas.

For development to occur, at the municipal level, the lands would need to be re-zoned and likely fully serviced. That is only likely to occur, if and when an application for development is presented.

Byvelds was especially supportive of the proposal presented to South Dundas council last week because at the Counties council meeting he saw a proposal that would have seen a similar type of trade off. However, the trade would have involved neighbouring South Stormont gaining the employment district designated land that South Dundas was losing. 

“That I could not have supported,” Byvelds told The Leader. Otis said that proposal was taken off the table because it wasn’t fair for one municipality to benefit from the other’s misfortune.

[…]

The first major review of South Dundas’ personnel policy since amalgamation, 14 years ago, has revealed a number of quirks that council is planning to change.

“I’ve never been anywhere else that I’ve gotten paid to go to a council meeting,” said Steve McDonald, South Dundas’ chief administrative officer at a special council meeting. McDonald’s career in municipal administration spans 30 years.

The day-long session, held October 31, gave council the opportunity to conduct a lengthy, line-by-line review of this and other policies.

Once council approves a bylaw change to the existing policy, the practice of paying managers to attend council meetings will come to an end in South Dundas.

When the new policy comes into effect, township heads of department will, instead of receiving $100 per meeting attended, be entitled to time in lieu.

Changes to the policy will also formalize the now informal system, require proper documentation and put a limit on the amount of time in lieu that can be accumulated and used in one year.

Another 14 year practice, fairly unique to South Dundas, is to pay more for overtime on Sundays than Saturdays. Currently, overtime on Saturdays is paid at the standard time and a half, but on Sundays the rate is double time.

When South Dundas councillor Jim Graham asked why Sundays are treated differently than Saturdays, the only answer was, “That’s the way it has always been done.”

“That doesn’t mean it’s right,” said Graham, who suggested that practices like this one that are fairly unique should be backed up with some documentation to explain why.

“While most of this policy is fairly standard,” said CAO McDonald, “some things in it are unique.” His only explanation of these quirks, that were put into place long before he arrived in South Dundas, was that they likely represent what municipal officials of the day decided to include, representing the ‘best of’ the four policies of the former municipalities.

“Some of these policies are still here, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be changed,” said McDonald.

When proposed changes come into effect staff will only receive a day off for Remembrance Day if it falls on a weekday. 

The practice of January 2 being considered a holiday will be gone. Instead staff will be granted a floating holiday to use at their discretion. 

The floating holiday was a concession to show council’s appreciation of staff their efforts to keep the township office open between Christmas and New Year’s. Most municipal offices shut down for the entire week.

South Dundas councillor Evonne Delegarde suggested eliminating the two half days off that staff get on New Year’s Eve and Christmas Eve, however the remainder of council did not agree.

The Township of South Dundas has 30 full time staffers, including nine department heads (managers), five part time employees and 15 seasonal employees.

[…]

Friday, Jim Whelan of Sun Life Financial invited, customers, community officials, friends and neighbours to join him for an open house celebrating the relocation of his business from a home office to a storefront in the Morrisburg Plaza.

“I have always wanted a storefront and here I am,” said Whelan of his Main Street plaza location (in the former Allan Bell office) that he has now occupied since October 1. 

Whelan has 10 years experience with Sun Life offering life and health insurance, mutual funds and estate planning.

Friday, Bill Ewing, president of the Morrisburg Business Improvement Area (BIA) welcomed Whelan to the Morrisburg Plaza, saying that it is always positive to see the storefronts filling up.

South Dundas councillors Evonne Delegarde and Archie Mellan were on hand to offer their congratulations. “Congratulations and best wishes to Jim,” said Councillor Delegarde. “We are glad to see another business in the Morrisburg Plaza. “I’m glad to see Suds (Jim) in his new digs. It’s great to have him here,” added Councillor Mellan.

Mayor Steven Byvelds welcomed Whelan to the Morrisburg Plaza and said, “This gives Jim an opportunity to put his name out there is an accessible location, while becoming part of the BIA community, where he can help them work together to promote the plaza.”

“Small businesses are important to our local economy,” said Nicole Sullivan, South Dundas’ economic development officer. “Small business represents about half of the businesses in the area, so we are thrilled to see small businesses and entrepreneurs starting new ventures.”

[…]

“I believe that Hospice care is an extremely important part of any community,” said Hanna Rycroft, who turned the Basket Case, a Morrisburg business she co-owns, into a live radio satellite station on Saturday, November 3. 

“People can freely go to the hospice when they have the need. And families can be with their loved ones day and night, not in a hospital setting, but instead in a caring and home-like environment.”

Rycroft volunteered her business to be a local focus for the 4th Annual Telethon for Hospice on November 3. She also offered  people who dropped in to the Basket Case, and made a donation of at least $5, soup and cake.

The Telethon was organized by TVCogeco in conjunction with Variety 104.5 The goal set for the November 3 Telethon was $80,000. Rycroft hoped that area residents would help the Telethon make that goal.

“Hospices receive very limited provincial and federal funding,” Rycroft said. “Most of their funding comes from events like this one.”

“Many people may not know this,” said Angie Baker, general sales manager of Corus Entertainment, the parent company of Variety 104.5, 101.9 CJSS and the CornwallDaily.com, “but the Cornwall Hospice actually supports the people in this area. Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry, as well as Russell, are served by this hospice. It is really a vital part of this community as it is the only hospice that is near to local people. The next closest hospice is actually in Ottawa.”

This is the first time since the Telethon began that organizers have set up a satellite location during the fund raiser. 

“Because many local people cannot get TVCogeco, where the fundraiser is broadcast live, we decided to set up a radio connection here in Morrisburg. We hope people turn out to support us.”

On hand, broadcasting from the Basket Case was Courtney Chambers, the midday announcer of Variety 104.5.

Also on site were volunteers from Scotiabank.

“Scotiabank has made a $5,000 donation to the Hospice cause,” Hanna Rycroft said. 

The volunteers were on hand to greet the public and to help people complete donations forms. 

Rycroft hopes that awareness and understanding about the importance of Hospices is raised during the Telethon. 

“We had one lady visit today whose husband passed his last days in the Cornwall hopice. She told me that he said that hospice was like paradise. The people who work in hospice care are kind and good. They welcome those who need them.”

Rycroft particularly hopes that young people educate themselves about how important quality hospice care is for any community. 

She has also has a challenge for area businesses and individuals.

The Basket Case has pledged to donate $100 a month for the next 12 months to the Cornwall Hospice. She hopes that others will also make pledges so that the work of hospice care can continue. The telethon surpassed their goal, raising over $107,000, with the Morrisburg location contributing $5,000 to the total. 

[…]