Results To Date - All candidates have now responded.

We are delighted to present the latest results from our Volunteers Charter for South Dundas - Candidates Survey.

Please click on the Full Response Link for each candidate to see their full response, including their very valuable comments and suggestions.

Questionnaire Answers	2018-09-27
Candidates
Name	Position	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	Full Resonse Link
BYVELDS, Steven	Mayor	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	Byvelds
DELEGARDE, Evonne	Mayor	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	Delegarde
EWING, Bill	Deputy Mayor	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	Ewing
GARDNER, Kirsten	Deputy Mayor	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	Gardner
GRAHAM, Jim	Deputy Mayor	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	Graham
BURTON, Michael	Councillor	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	Burton
JONES, Del	Councillor	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	Jones
LATULIPPE, Joyce	Councillor	10	9	10	9	10	7	10	Latulippe
LEWIS, Donald William	Councillor	10	7	10	10	10	10	10	Lewis
MELLAN, Archie	Councillor	9	8.5	8.5	8	9	6.5	9	Mellan
WELLS, Lloyd	Councillor	10	10	10	10	10	5	10	Wells

We are very pleased with the overwhelmingly positive responses and believe that, based on this, we can look forward to completely new and improved support levels for the South Dundas Volunteer Community following the election - no matter who is elected.

We are confident that we will be able to count on the commitments made here and can expect quick action by the new council to enact and implement the proposed Volunteers Charter for South Dundas - and the required ongoing followup changes and actions.

A Volunteers Charter for South Dundas

This topic is near to my heart and is the subject of a personal letter to the editor of the Morrisburg Leader this week (12 September, 2018 edition).

Since becoming a Morrisburg resident ten years ago I’ve been very impressed by the time, effort, energy and contributions made by volunteers in the South Dundas Community.  The importance, value and contribution of volunteers in South Dundas is sometimes not fully recognized. 

Meals on Wheels, Dundas County Hospice, Community Food Share, WDMH Auxiliary, The Dog Park, Earl Baker Park Gardens, Playground and Splashpad, Canada Day In Iroquois and Morrisburg, Beach Renewal Projects, Matilda Playground, Service Clubs, numerous fundraising projects, and many more activities thrive only because of the good will and hard work of our volunteer community. 

The capability to leverage the expertise, experience, time and effort of resident volunteers to fundraise and execute projects and services that otherwise would not get done, plays an enormous role in the well-being of our community. And all at little or no cost to taxpayers.

In my own experience volunteering, I have felt that Municipal Council and staff do not always provide sufficient proactive support and encouragement needed to complete projects easily.  In speaking with other volunteers there is a shared sentiment that their efforts on behalf of the community could be made much easier, more efficient and effective (and much less frustrating and time consuming) with more proactive support from the Municipality, from the initiation of an idea through to completion.  

It is my strong opinion that we need a Volunteer Charter for South Dundas to be adopted by the new Council to be elected in October.  

A draft of the questions that could be used to formulate the charter is presented here. I am looking for feedback and ideas, especially from active volunteers in the community. I am forwarding this list of questions to all Candidates for the Municipal Election and solicit their feedback for the information of all voters.

 To give your own opinions on the subject  CLICK HERE to fill out the questionaire yourself.

Questions for all Candidates (& all active volunteers):

In order to get specific information about candidate’s views on support of volunteers in South Dundas, I am asking that all candidates provide responses to the following questions – rating each question from 1 to 10 – (where 1 is strongly disagree and will not support, to 10 – strongly agree and will support as a high priority if I am elected).

1. There is an important requirement for proactive support to volunteers from the Municipality - both from the Mayor, Deputy Mayor and elected Council Members – AND from Municipal Management and employees.  
2. There is a requirement for a formal process to consider and approve Volunteer Projects along with other Council business at regularly scheduled meetings.  This will legitimize and better recognize Volunteer Activities as an important part of Community business.
3. Municipal Government should provide proactive encouragement, help and support through all phases of approved volunteer projects, including prompt acknowledgement and replies for volunteer queries and requests for help.
4. The new Council should designate, appoint and announce Volunteer Ambassadors (Council & Municipal Management) to represent the interests of community volunteers.
5. A Volunteer News and Information section should be added to the Municipal website.
6. The Municipality will diligently explore direct municipal funding of Third Party Liability Insurance for “Normal” low risk approved volunteer projects. This could drastically reduce the need for volunteer groups doing it themselves directly – with a simple, easy and quick approval process. This will address a major volunteer headache and discouragement issue – likely at low cost to taxpayers.
7. In Council’s consideration of Volunteer Proposals looking for Approval, Council will make every effort to give a prompt and clear directive to next steps required and who is responsible and when. 

For responses received before the election, I will compile the results and share them with the community weekly via updates to this web page and a follow up letter to the editor before the upcoming municipal election on October 22, 2018 .

Some Examples Volunteer Projects & Activities from the last ten years:

Just think for a moment about how much we would lose without their involvement.