MORRISBURG — Poop. It’s brown, it stinks, it sticks to the bottom of your shoe. It happens. Unless you are in Meadowbrook Park in Iroquois, where you complain about it. Not because poop is everywhere in the park, but because people cleaned up their dog’s poop.
Yes. All of the other issues concerning the Municipality of South Dundas are solved. The lack of an Economic Development Officer for the municipality; no clear vision for bringing jobs or development to the area; no plan for implementing any vision for the area; no strategy for tourism; and as recently as the writing of this column, the “parting of ways” between the municipality and Chief Administrative Officer Stephen McDonald. Nope. All issues solved, so council spent the better part of 30 minutes talking of a resident’s poop concerns.
I applaud the council for taking that time, 30 minutes of it, to address the resident’s concerns and doing so in a public forum. However, 30 minutes? Really? 30 minutes to talk about poop in a trash can. Council’s resolution to the issue, put a sign up saying don’t put animal poop in the trash can. So much for poop and scoop. I can’t see anyone wanting to carry a bag back home if out for a walk with the dog in the park.
Is this change for the better?
Since the change in council after the 2014 Municipal Election, South Dundas has started to see some real change. First the Economic Development Officer leaves, now the Chief Administrative Officer “mutually decided to part ways”.
I can understand a change in the top chair if the council had issues in dealing with administration to implement a vision or changes and there was resistance from administration. This was the case with South Glengarry during the last term of council. It isn’t clear if this is the case here in South Dundas because in order to have issues with implementing a vision or changes, you have to have an actual vision or changes to implement. So far we haven’t seen one from this South Dundas council.
Since taking office, this current council has spun its collective wheels on nearly ever file presented, from wind turbines to economic development to tourism. Say what you will about the previous council; like them or not, there were things actually being done in the township. The same cannot be said right now. Maybe that will change. With council now per-occupied with personnel issues, there isn’t much time now to focus on a vision, even if there was a vision there.
Maybe this is why councillors were so eager to deal with such a grassroots issue from the community, such as poop. At least something could be done about that, and it doesn’t take much vision.
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