South Dundas holds strategic plan meeting

nnMORRISBURG – The draft strategic plan for the Municipality of South Dundas was presented and discussed at a public meeting on June 19.nnThe plan, presented by Mayor Jason Broad, outlined the draft vision of council for its 2022-26 term as it is nears the midpoint.nnBroad explained that there were unforeseen delays in getting to this point, and that the plan was only a draft.nnFor the first half of the meeting, the council reviewed the plan, offering suggestions for improvements or clarifications to the draft. Councillor Tom Smyth highlighted the section on promoting community hubs.nn“A community hub doesn’t have to be a building,” he said. “Our waterfronts are a hub.”nnSmyth spoke of the outpouring of support for repairing the damage from recent vandalism in the Morrisburg Waterfront.nnCouncillor Cole Veinotte highlighted the need to champion volunteers in the community more.nnBroad highlighted the three pillars of success in South Dundas in the plan: operational excellence, growing and connecting the community, and sustainable/dynamic growth.nnIn the growth area, it was highlighted that using planning initiatives for sustainable development in South Dundas would also “maximize the utilization of municipal lands for resale purposes.”nnCouncil was quick to jump in on this point, with Councillor Danielle Ward saying that this did not mean that parks like the Morrisburg Waterfront Park was up for sale.nnBroad said the municipality is going to have a public meeting about some of the municipal land and potential uses. This was promised in 2023 after the land across the street from Seaway District High School currently used as a school parking lot was under consideration for use as community housing project location. That public meeting has yet to be held.nnThe second half of the meeting saw the floor open to questions and comments from the public, of which there were about 15 people in attendance.nnJames Guest, a new resident to the municipality asked if this was the “mission statement” for staff.nn“If it is, why don’t we see the words transparency and accountability,” he asked.nnBusiness owner Janice Saunders asked about increasing high speed internet in the rural areas. Broad explained that the Eastern Ontario Regional Network is working on projects, but it should be added to the strategic plan as well.nnTransportation Manager Jeff Hyndman added that Rogers Wireless is working on the accelerated high speed program focusing on Coons and Snowbird Roads currently.nnWhile agreeing with the comments that South Dundas is a great place to live, resident Sandra Dobry was more critical of the plan.nn“The statements are generous and kind, and all the positive thoughts of it, but for me there isn’t enough detail to be able to say it’s a good strategy or not,” she told council. “And the one item that’s missing from all this the price tag, which always makes the difference – and how exactly are you going to cover that price tag?”nnShe continued, “It’s like if you ask someone if they are in favour of world peace, the only answer is going to be yes. It’s a good beginning, but I find it very high level and there really isn’t a lot of meat for me to call it beyond that.”nnMayor Broad responded that the plan are the pillars for them to work from.nn“The price tag comes from our budgeting, our budgeting sessions, and what we can afford on a yearly basis,” he explained. “But these are the activities that we want to improve on as well.”nnAnother resident, Emily Moss, asked about what kind of business vision there was, pointing out different flavours of communities like Almonte, which focuses on small, independent businesses, while Carleton Place that prioritizes “a suburb feel.”nn“Do you see yourselves prioritizing one direction over another because it does influence the types of businesses that you would be willing to attract or accept,” Moss asked.nnBroad said that council has not. “We are going to take public opinion on that over the next 30 days.”nnMoss also offered a recommendation on the point of diversity and inclusion in the report, that the images should include different skin colours and not just range of age.nnBroad said the plan was only a draft and not final. He invited comments over the next three weeks, leading to the July 17 council meeting.nn“We’ll come back and approve what the pillars are, and then start working on the actions,” he added. “It’s a dynamic plan, so it’s not static that we’re going to print a thousand hard copies and this is what we’re going to live by.”nnA digital copy of the draft plan is available on the municipality’s website, at southdundas.com