News

These three young students, under the guidance of teacher Carrie Gilmour, are the alternating authors of the Seaway District High School column which appears in The Leader weekly. Dana Rodie who is considering a journalism career, is strongly interested in sports, and analyzes team play. Stormy Howard checks out events to see what is new, and likes to write about Seaway’s involvement in the community outside school. Ryan Morrison is interested in creative writing and regularly talks to people in the school, taking notes and looking for stories. Dana is in grade 10, Stormy and Ryan in nine.

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Chances are when residential property owners in South Dundas opened their mail from the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC) this week, they learned that their property values have increased since the last assessment in 2008.

Not surprising as the trend is the same across the province of Ontario, which shows an average increase in residential property values of about 18 percent. Narrowing the scope to Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry residential property values have increased a little more at 18.4 percent,  and in South Dundas alone, that average increase is 19.53 percent.

All increases will be phased in over four years.

Waterfront residential properties are still showing increases, but after the huge assessment increases in 2008, the increases this time are much more moderate at about 17 percent across the province. The smaller increase is due to reduced demand.

Property assessment values on farmland have taken a huge jump since 2008. Looking at the entire province, the average assessment increase on farmland is listed at about 34 percent, but that average is much higher when looking at the local picture. Looking at all of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry the average increase on farmland is a whopping 71.9 percent. Narrowing the scope to South Dundas, that average assessment increase on farmland is 49.92 percent.

Property assessment values are based on recent property sales, and with farmland, based solely on area farmer-to-farmer sales. As a result, the farming community has likely seen this assessment increase coming because they know better than most that farmland is in high demand and selling prices reflect that demand.

In a community with such a large agricultural base as South Dundas, one may think that these huge assessment increases will amount to a huge financial boon for the municipality, but the impact of these increases will be relatively small.

Although there are many variables that could affect the overall number, South Dundas treasurer Shannon Geraghty estimates that the overall increase in farmland assessments will mean additional tax revenue for South Dundas of just over $35,000 in 2013, the first year of the four year phase in.

Although farmland occupies a significant portion of the South Dundas landscape, properties classified as farmland presently account for less than five percent of the $4.9 million worth of taxes levied on South Dundas property owners.

It is provincially mandated that the farmland tax rate be one quarter of the residential rate. On a farm, the home and one acre of land are taxed at the regular residential rate. The remainder is taxed at the reduced rate.

The bulk of the tax burden in South Dundas falls on residential property owners, who carry 72 percent of the tax load. Other property tax classes including commercial, industrial, multi-residential and special/exempt are seeing very small increases in property values of about three to five percent.

In South Dundas commercial property taxes cover about 12 percent of the total levy, industrial and multi-residential carry about three percent of the burden and other categories such as pipeline and managed forest and others together carry about 10 percent of the tax load.

MPAC assesses all property in Ontario every four years. “The assessments provide the foundation on which municipalities across Ontario base property taxes. It is the accuracy of MPAC’s assessments that help ensure property owners pay their fair share of property taxes and nothing more,” reads their Market Snapshot document.

An increase  in assessment does not necessarily mean an increase in property taxes.

If the assessed value has increased more than the municipal average, an increase in taxes is likely. However if the increase is less than the municipal average a decrease in taxes should result.

In a recent media release, Michel Contant, account manager in the Cornwall MPAC office said, “MPAC’s role is to accurately assess every property in Ontario. Property owners should ask themselves if they could have sold their property for its assessed value on January 1, 2012. If the answer is yes, then their assessment is accurate. If not, we are committed to working with them to get it right.”

Property owners can check the accuracy of their assessment at www.aboutmyproperty.ca. 

This website allows owners to easily compare the value of their property to others in their neighbourhood and community. Registration information is included with every notice mailed out this fall.

If property owners believe their assessment is not correct, they have the option of filing a request for reconsideration and MPAC will review their assessment free of charge.

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Although the full contract is not yet in place, South Dundas council has signed a letter of intent with R.J. Bourgon to allow work to start on the renovation of the former Morrisburg Collegiate Institute. 

The letter, approved by council at the Oct. 16 meeting, allows the contractor to start to mobilize on site, get their bonding in place and start the abatement process for the removal of the asbestos.

Council expects to have the contract ready for their approval at the next council meeting.

There have been a few changes to the scope of the $4 million project that are expected to result in some cost savings. They are now spelled out in an addendum being reviewed by the contractor. The addendum better defines the scope of the work to allow the contractor to better pinpoint the project cost and take into account any potential savings.

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Cruickshank is proud to named one of the 50 Best Employers in Canada, ranking 38th, based on a study conducted by Aon Hewitt, a global human resources consulting and outsourcing solutions organization. The competitive study, now in its 14th year, measures employee engagement through employee surveys and attracted over 150 submissions from organizations across the country.

“I’m thrilled and proud of our employees, who are the reason we’ve been honoured with this recognition, says company CEO Steve Cruickshank. “Their dedication and drive are vital to our success, and they make our company a wonderful place to work.”

The Best Employers in Canada study recognizes companies who demonstrate their commitment to employees through a number of factors, including company environment, leadership qualities and opportunities for growth. Results of the survey are provided to each organization to help them continue to improve programs, recruit leaders and grow the company.

Steve Cruickshank notes that the Best Employers in Canada program offers an excellent opportunity to better understand what employees need to thrive. “Our success lies in our commitment to a safe, healthy work environment that allows our team to fully demonstrate their expertise,” he says. “The Best Employers program is a critical tool that helps us continue to develop that environment for mutual benefit and success.”

Founded in 1956, Cruickshank is a leading road, bridge and infrastructure construction services firm. The company, which operates in both Canada and the U.S., has significant experience in both the private and public sectors, and has developed a strong reputation for getting the job done right – every time.

Along with being ranked as one the Best Employers in Canada, Cruickshank is a 2011 winner of Canada’s 50 Best Managed Companies program, a national award that recognizes Canadian companies that have implemented world-class business practices and created value in innovative ways. Cruickshank has also been ranked on the top 50 Best Small and Medium Employers for the past three years and was named one of Canada’s Green 30 employers by Maclean’s magazine in 2011 and 2012.

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A recent construction progress meeting regarding the construction of the Iroquois wastewater treatment plant has revealed that the project is presently about two weeks behind schedule.

At the October 16 council meeting South Dundas chief administrative officer Stephen McDonald reported that the project being behind schedule by two weeks has no impact on the funding for the project.

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Firefighters from all three South Dundas fire stations fought a fire on Pages Corners Road last Friday.

At 7:30 a.m., October 19, firefighters rushed to the scene of a structure fire at Xolanda Farms, where the large tarp building used for hay storage was fully engulfed in flames.

“Crews quickly extinguished the flames,” reported Chris McDonough, fire chief for South Dundas Fire and Emergency Services. “Then the long process of extinguishing the hot spots began,” he noted, adding that the rain made it difficult for the crews because it was forcing the smoke to stay at ground level. A contractor was called in with an excavator to separate the burning bales of hay. Crews remained on scene until about 5:30 p.m.

The fire was caused by a Bobcat loader’s exhaust igniting combustibles (possibly hay) in the coverall building.

A previous fire, in the same structure approximately three years ago, destroyed only the outer shell of the building, so the owners were able to use the same frame and replace only the tarp. The fire chief is awaiting an engineer’s report to determine if once again the steel structure is salvageable before making an estimate of damages.

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Food bank usage in Dundas County continues to rise.

“Our usage is up 10 percent over last month,” said Brian Cox, a director with the Dundas County Food Bank who was at the Morrisburg location Friday morning to receive the large amount of food delivered by Ken Rundle, owner of the Morrisburg Giant Tiger store.

Cox thanked Rundle for the quantity of food and funds he delivered, courtesy of Giant Tiger shoppers. “This food is deeply required,” said Cox.

Giant Tiger recently wrapped up their food drive whereby the cashiers asked customers to make a donation to the food bank. 

One of the donation options was to donate $5 for a whole bag of food which included canned tomatoes, canned beans, caned flaked tuna, canned flaked ham, can flaked turkey and canned beans.

These food bags were tailored to feed the specific needs of this food bank.

“These items collected are among those that the food bank distributes on a regular basis and are always needs,” noted Dundas County Food Bank administrator Donna Quesnel. “Ken made an excellent choice in selecting these items and we are grateful to the Giant Tiger customers who purchased this food.”

Donations made equated to 75 bags of food, including $450 worth of food product. Another $150 in cash donations was also collected.

Rundle credits the community with the success of the food drive, which he plans to do again next year. “The support of the community was great. They are the ones who made this happen, we just facilitated.”

In seeing the most recent statistics showing increased need, Cox is pleased to have this food drive and others taking place. While the DC Youth plan on collecting food on Halloween, Creepy Creek Camp is accepting food donations for the food bank and the OPP Auxiliary are also planning an upcoming food drive.

“These are all deeply needed and appreciated,” said Cox.

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Hamlet signs in South Dundas are fading and deteriorating, and it has become much more noticeable now that our neighbours have replaced their existing signs with new, redesigned hamlet and welcome signs.

South Dundas councillor Archie Mellan brought the issue to the South Dundas council table Oct. 16 to bring to staff’s attention the need to do something with a couple of existing signs that need repairs. 

However, discussions steered instead towards highlighting the need to re-sign the entire municipality with new, uniform redesigned hamlet and welcome signs.

“We seem to have a wide variety of them,” said Mellan. “It would be nice to see something done like our neighbours to the north. Their new signs look nice. I do realize there is a cost to make everything uniform.” 

“We do need to renew our signs,” agreed South Dundas mayor Steven Byvelds. “Signs boast of where you live and North Dundas, in their second time around, have done a really good job. The signs give you a good sense of where you are.”

“Our signs are starting to fade. I think for now we’ll patch up what we have and work towards a new plan,” said Mayor Byvelds. 

As part of an upcoming report about the Upper Canada Region branding concept, South Dundas clerk Brenda Brunt says that the issue of signs will be discussed.

“Also, all the traffic on the 401 needs to know who we are and what we have to offer,” said Byvelds.

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From a 15 year old with peach fuzz on his top lip that grew into a proper moustache by the time he was 18, now South Dundas Mayor Steven Byvelds has never been without a moustache. 

That could all change at the end of this month if the residents of South Dundas take up the challenge being issued by Mayor Byvelds in support of the Flash a ‘Stache effort to help fight prostate cancer.

“I am issuing a challenge,” said Byvelds. “If $1,000 in donations are made, I will cut off my forever moustache.”

Saturday night at the Dundas County Hospice Hoedown Jan Clapp convinced Byvelds that he should participate in the Dare to Flash a ‘Stache fundraiser benefitting the Winchester District Memorial Hospital Foundation and the Ottawa Region Cancer Centre Foundation to fight prostate cancer.

“It definitely took some convincing,” said Byvelds, “This is a pretty big leap for me.” 

Although, now that he has decided to participate, he sincerely hopes people will take up the challenge and donate to this very worthy cause.

“I think each one of us knows someone who has battled prostate cancer,” he says. 

In addition to helping to raise funds, this effort helps to raise awareness so that people get checked and through fund raisers like this one ensure that the hospitals have everything they need to provide treatment.

There is only one week to reach Byvelds fund raising goal, so he asks that anyone interested in taking up the challenge by making a donation to the Dare to to Flash a ‘Stache effort do so before October 31.

Donations can be made online at www.flashastache.ca, click on Sponsor a Participant and type in Steven Byvelds and follow the steps. For those not comfortable with donating online, contact Byvelds and he will help facilitate the donation process. He can be reached by email mayor@southdundas.com or by phone 613-652-2271.

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