MORRISBURG – The Morrisburg Downtown Business Improvement Area is no more.
South Dundas council unanimously agreed to dissolve the Morrisburg BIA at its June 24 meeting.
South Dundas Mayor Jason Broad did not participate in the discussions or vote after declaring conflict of interest on the matter because his wife’s family owns a business in the Morrisburg plaza.
With this resolution the municipality absorbs all of the assets and liabilities of the organization which has overseen plaza beautification and various events and promotions since its inception in 1988.
Although a list of those assets and liabilities was not presented to council prior to the decision, council was told that the BIA reserve is healthy with more than $40,000 of funds levied to the 37 member businesses over the years remaining in the account.
With this resolution, the municipality assumes responsibility for the BIA office, which has only been used for storage in recent years.
The municipality will take over the beautification initiatives started by the BIA this year which is essentially upkeep and watering of flower beds in the municipally owned portion of the Morrisburg mall.
“It’s unfortunate the BIA is being dissolved, but it’s been a struggle,” said South Dundas deputy mayor Marc St. Pierre.
“This has been festering now for a while,” said councillor Cole Veinotte who was the council appointed member of the BIA. He told the council that the group of volunteers who remained involved with the BIA would like to continue in some fashion but without the structure of a BIA. He pointed to the Iroquois and District Business Group’s structure as a possible model.
“I think we’re open to moving forward and trying to create something that’s a benefit,” said St. Pierre. “But it needs to be self-sustainable and self-supportive.”
No BIA levy is being collected from the membership in 2024.
In 2023 $50,000 was collected from the 37 BIA members through the BIA levy which was an additional fee on the businesses annual property tax bill.