Delayed results could bring paper ballot back for next election

A dramatic last minute change of heart saved the former Morrisburg Collegiate Institute restoration project from being scrapped and the historic building from being slated for demolition.

After deferring the decision from the August council meeting, the final decision took place at the September 4 South Dundas council meeting. 

By the slimmest of margins South Dundas council voted to pursue the renovation of the old high school in Morrisburg.

At the meeting when the mayor first returned discussions to the table after the deferral, the majority opted to start over with a new plan.

When the mayor asked each council member to state their position for discussion before the final vote, deputy mayor Jim Locke and councillors Evonne Delegarde and Archie Mellan were in favour of scrapping the renovation project, tearing down the historic building, and starting the process from scratch with a view to constructing a new, smaller building.

Locke said, “I’ve done a lot of thinking on it, and I’ve come to the firm conclusion that it would be in the best interest of our taxpayers to invest in replacing the three storey portion of that building.” 

He suggested tearing down the old high school and building a much smaller new building to accommodate the municipality’s needs, excluding the library.

The relocation of the Morrisburg library branch to part of the vacated Morrisburg clinic space was one of the planned spin-off projects of the renovation.

Councillor Graham, who was firmly in favour of the restoration of the former Morrisburg Collegiate Institute at the August meeting, did not change his position.

He explained that, although it is a big project with a lot of money involved, in the worst cased scenario, the municipality will be looking to finance about $2 million, once the income from the agreement with the St. Lawrence Medical Clinic doctors and other internal funding allocations are taken into account.

“If we are lucky enough to be successful in our grant application, then we will only be looking for $1 million in our budget,” said Graham. “I don’t think we can afford to build new.” 

In his estimation, with a new build they would be looking for much more from the municipality’s budget. “Our budget couldn’t sustain $7 million. Restoring that building is the best thing, and the right thing to do for this community.”

The August 14 report to council showed that a new build of a 25,000 square foot building would likely cost between $6 and $7.5 million.

Councillor Delegarde continued to support a new build.

“The gap between rehabilitating the old building and building a new building is down to about half a million dollars to me,” she said explaining that she would like to see a 15,000 square foot one storey building like that of South Stormont.

“She’s a grand old, well built building, but I think it’s time we say goodbye to the old girl and build new,” said councillor Archie Mellan, who was struggling with this difficult  decision.

With three council members sharing the same opinion, South Dundas mayor Steven Byvelds said that although it appeared he was not going to get the opportunity to break a tie vote, he still wanted to make his opinion known.

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“I have faith in the work that has been done, in the skills of the firm, in the engineering that has been done and in the building,” said Mayor Byvelds. 

He added that resetting the project for a different one and delaying it for at least another year was a major challenge for him, and one that he took seriously into account through his decision making process. 

“I am disappointed to see council going in the direction they are going,” said councillor Graham. “If you do this, we’ve lost all the money we’ve put into the studies and plans, and are adding demolition costs. And, now what do we do for the doctors? If we do this, we could be looking at delaying having something for them two to three more years down the road. With this decision, we would be throwing a lot of money out the window.”

Councillor Archie Mellan then spoke up. 

“I’ve changed my mind on this six times today and I’m going to change my mind again,” he said. “I’d hate to see us lose that old building. I want to see the old high school kept. I’m not going to let her go. I say rehabilitate it. Let’s keep the old high school. I’m not going to change my mind again.”

After a recorded vote, requested by Delegarde, Mayor Byvelds said, “I know this was a challenging decision, but now we have voted as a council to move forward with this project.”

“I will support council’s decision 100 percent through this project,” added deputy mayor Locke. “We all ride the horse in the same direction, that’s the only way this works.” 

Council passed a motion to allow staff to negotiate with Robert J. Bourgeon & Associates Ltd., the contractor that submitted the lowest bid of $3,857,000 to get the renovation project started.

[…]

South Dundas municipal officials have been taking a hard look at the Morrisburg Plaza, and know that it is definitely in need of a rehabilitation.

As owners of the canopy, sidewalks and roadways, upkeep of that infrastructure is the responsibility of the municipality.

Paint, general repairs, and replacement of damaged wood are some of the most pressing issues, when it comes to the appearance of the aging plaza.

In 2012, council set aside funds for some rehabilitation of the plaza, but not enough to get the work done, or even started.

“In 2012, the price to get the priority work done was $120,000,” said South Dundas chief administrative officer Steve McDonald, at a recent orientation session for council-elect. “Just to give you an idea, the Iroquois plaza project was $1.1 million, and we have $100,000 set aside.”

South Dundas manager of planning and enforcement Donald Lewis said, “What’s needed is not just aesthetics. There are other issues as well, and they are significant.” 

The Iroquois Plaza project was funded through a one time grant from the Province of Ontario called the Municipal Infrastructure Investment Initiative.

Manager of public works Chris Bazinet then spoke about the difficulties that arise with the potential excavation of a 12 foot deep sewer line that runs along a section of the Morrisburg mall.

Bazinet, informed the group that the sewer work done at the plaza earlier this fall, when a large area behind a portion of the plaza was dug up for days,  represents only about 30 per cent of the sewer work that needs to be done in the Morrisburg plaza.

He added that they have just completed a three month investigation of the area sewers, and that the deterioration of certain underground infrastructure is starting to present a service issue.

Morrisburg Plaza fund allocations will definitely be part of budget discussions which will take place in the new year.

“It’s time we look at imposing a special tax rate on the downtown sections,” said South Dundas deputy mayor Jim Locke.

That too will be a discussion for budget time. 

[…]

Within the next six months, the municipality of South Dundas should have the ability to hand out parking tickets, and collect fines from parking infractions.

South Dundas council and staff are in the midst of reviewing a bylaw that will regulate parking on all of South Dundas’ municipal roads and municipally owned property including the parking lots at the Iroquois and Morrisburg shopping plazas and waterfront areas, as well as parks across the municipality.

South Dundas council and staff members, including Donald Lewis, manager of planning and enforcement, Dan Tessier, building inspector and bylaw enforcement officer and new department hire Brent Mattice, went through the bylaw, line by line, with council at a special meeting held January 20, at the South Dundas Municipal Centre in Morrisburg.

With this bylaw, will come a major sign purchase to properly mark nearly 40 areas where parking will be prohibited or restricted.

The bylaw also sets out designated fire access routes. 

These routes include areas around South Dundas’ three fire stations, fire reservoirs, and most notably, areas of the Morrisburg and Iroquois Plazas. 

The area near the Morrisburg clock tower of the mall, has long been an area where vehicles stopping has long been an issue as they impede proper traffic flow at a busy intersection. 

Stopping will be prohibited there and along the roadway in front of the Mac’s store in the Iroquois Plaza.

This bylaw will finally give the municipality the power to ticket, and possibly even tow those stopping there illegally.

Generally, the bylaw states that motorists parking at the plazas, must park between the lines in a designated parking space.

This bylaw will give South Dundas the authority to ticket those illegally making use of designated wheelchair accessible spaces. 

While most of the 35 parking fines outlined in the first draft of the bylaw are $25 or $35, the fine for illegally parking in an accessible space is $300.

The bylaw outlaws any heavy truck, trailer or bus to be parked on any municipal road within the municipality of South Dundas. Those doing so could face a $50 fine, once this bylaw comes into effect.

Other standard parking rules such as not blocking driveways, intersections or fire hydrants, or parking that interferes with snow removal, will become ticketed offences, once the bylaw is enacted. 

The process to enact this bylaw is longer than others because it must receive provincial approval, which can take up to six months. It becomes law after the third reading, which takes place after provincial approval has been granted. The bylaw has not yet had first reading at the South Dundas council table. Some changes that arose from discussions at the January 20 meeting are being implemented before the document is made available to business organizations and the public.

“What we are going to need is a common sense application of what we are doing here,” said South Dundas mayor Steven Byvelds. “There’s a reasonable explanation to every rule here that we want to put in place.”

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