A short March council meeting
by Brandon Mayer
This month’s regularly scheduled council meeting on March 12 was far shorter than last month’s meeting. Absent from the meeting was Deputy Mayor Theresa Bergeron, who was on vacation. When Mayor Tony Fraser asked his colleagues for disclosures of pecuniary interest, Councillor John Lennox declared a conflict of interest related to agenda item 5.5.c. In the agenda, this item reads “Key Information Report - 2025-2026 Proposed Ice Rental Rates”. The Councillor’s stated reason for the conflict was interest was “an unresolved matter”. He then proceeded to hand the Mayor a piece of paper, and the Mayor confirmed with the Councillor that he would be leaving the room during the discussion of the agenda item in question.
Following the mysterious moment, the meeting jumped into delegations, beginning with a presentation from Rebecca Luck of the SDG Library. The presentation focused on the Chesterville branch as a community “safe space”, the South Mountain branch as a “community hub”, and the Winchester branch as a perfectly located central space accessible by those from Winchester as well as those visiting other places in town. Morewood also has an “express depot”, which allows patrons to order library books to be delivered to Shelly’s Sea Shel Salon, and then return them to a dedicated return box in the village.
Councillor Lennox commented with an observation that children who go to the library to play video games on the computers will often show up with friends, who end up browsing reading material while waiting for their turn on the screen, thereby giving them reading exposure that they may not otherwise get. Councillor Matthew Uhrig chimed in with a personal note that his children love the library in his hometown of Winchester. Councillor Gary Annable added that he can see the Winchester library from his kitchen window, and regrets not visiting more often but vows to pay a visit soon.
The next delegation from Kelly Windle, chair of the Garden Party Market and owner of The Planted Arrow Flowers & Gifts. The Garden Party Market – referring to a series of markets that run between May and October in Winchester beginning in 2020 – became a committee of council last year as a way of receiving council’s support and guidance.
Kelly provided an update on last year’s Market series, which has seen someone of a decline in attendance in the warmer season, while the Christmas Market remains very popular. Vendors pay a fee to attend the Market and sell or advertise their products, but the Market itself lost about $2,700 last year, which was covered by The Planted Arrow. This year, there will be only two events – a Mother’s Day Market on May 10, and a Christmas Market on November 22. Vendor fees will be increased to help offset costs, and grant funding opportunities and a stronger volunteer base are also being sought.
A planned presentation from Art on the Waterfront was not possible as no one from the committee was in attendance. Instead, Councillor Annable, who sits on the committee, gave a very brief update explaining that sponsors are being sought and organization is still underway. He also noted that a couple of board members had a car accident, delaying progress during their recovery while their tasks are being handled by others.
A third delegation was then given by members of the Morewood Recreation Association. The Association hopes to organize a National Day for Truth and Reconciliation event on September 27. Councillor Lennox was very supportive of the idea of the event, and praised the organizers for putting so much thought into it. He asked what the significance of the event is for North Dundas, and an Association representative answered that no such events have ever been planned locally, meaning that those who wish to commemorate Truth and Reconciliation Day have had to travel elsewhere in years past.
Council then heard from the Interim CAO Calvin Pol regarding some proposed adjustments to municipal fees, including an increase to burn permit fees. Several routine bylaws were quickly passed. Council then moved to put a piece of municipal land in Hallville up for sale. The intention is for the sale price of the land to be put toward the cost of the new park in Hallville.
Councillor Lennox stood up and left the room right before the discussion on item 5.5.c began. The item was presented by Meaghan Meerburg, the Township’s Director of Recreation and Culture. It outlined the proposed ice rental rates for the Township’s two arenas during the 2025-2026 season, with a comparison between different municipalities within SD&G. Director Meerburg explained how rental fee increases help to offset rising costs, such as ongoing maintenance to the two aging arena facilities. She also pointed out that small fee increases helps ensure that repairs to the facilities are absorbed more by the main user groups than by the general tax base. Much discussion ensued. Mayor Fraser stressed how important it is to keep up the maintenance on the arenas. Councillor Uhrig asked if it would be possible to increase the rates more gradually.
User groups are understandably upset about the idea of fee increases, which is why a meeting is planned next month between the Township and user group representatives. Councillor Annable stressed the importance of negotiations between the parties. Councillor Lennox returned to the table following the discussion. He told the Times that the subject of his conflict of interest declaration was an unresolved personal dispute regarding an incident at a local arena, and he chose to recuse himself from any vote regarding ice rental rates to avoid perceptions of supporting rate increases as retaliation for the incident.
The meeting concluded after just over one and a half hours. The next regular meeting is scheduled for April 9. Meetings can be viewed in their entirety – even after the fact – by visiting https://www.youtube.com/@townshipofnorthdundas3550