Brinston Road closing April through November

As we head into the Christmas season, traditionally a season of giving, South Dundas council has been offered a rather unique gift.

A strong proponent for public washrooms in the Morrisburg Plaza has offered to gift a property to the municipality for that purpose.South Dundas council discussed the offer made by Douglas Grenkie at the November 6 council meeting.

Grenkie, who owns a property in the Morrisburg Plaza, south of Bo’s Barber Shop, is prepared to donate the property to the township for the main purpose of public washrooms in return for a receipt for income tax purposes for the appraised value of the property taking into account monies paid out for the ongoing interior renovations to the building.

“Although there is one bathroom facility now, the township or its agents would be responsible for the installation and costs of more toilet facilities including wheelchair accessibility,” wrote Grenkie.

“There’s a desire for a public washroom. Mr. Grenkie has offered the property, so we should pursue this opportunity if it’s a suitable location,” said South Dundas councillor Evonne Delegarde.

“I’d like to see a lot of documentation to see how we would operate a public washroom,” said South Dundas deputy mayor Jim Locke.

“A public washroom for the Morrisburg Plaza has always been an issue since I’ve been on council,” said South Dundas councillor Jim Graham. “I think we should explore this proposal a little more.”

“There are still some unknowns, so I would need to see some more information,” said South Dundas councillor Archie Mellan.

“It’s a generous offer,” said South Dundas mayor Steven Byvelds, saying that the municipality should at least entertain it as an option. 

Staff will do some research and provide input before council makes a decision.

[…]

 South Dundas council has asked staff to see the full job descriptions of two recently vacated positions.

The economic development officer and administrative assistant for planning/enforcement and public works have both moved on to new jobs elsewhere.

When a position becomes vacant, in accordance with the personnel policy, the CAO prepares a report to council outlining the recruitment process.

When council received this report at the May 5 meeting, they did not give it the expected approval, instead asking to see a report with the full job descriptions.

This request prompted the CAO to say to council, “If there’s a bigger picture that I’m not aware of, maybe we need a bigger more comprehensive review.”

Deputy mayor Jim Locke and councillor Archie Mellan, spoke about the need and importance of these positions, and suggested that the recruitment process move ahead as soon as possible.

However, the majority of council felt it was important to see these job descriptions, before moving forward in the process.
“This is the only time we have the opportunity for input,” said South Dundas mayor Evonne Delegarde. 

“I don’t think waiting two weeks is a big deal,” said councillor Marc St. Pierre.

“The CAO will bring the report back to the next meeting (May 19), and we will act right away,” said Delegarde.

[…]

Auditor’s report indicates the Municipality of South Dundas is financially healthy. Jamie Pollock of Craig Keen Despatie Markell LLP addressed the 2015 Draft Financial Statements at the August 16 council meeting. “It’s a clean audit […]