The North Grenville Municipal Council held a meeting on Tuesday, September 15. Here are the highlights from that meeting.
Terry Fox Run Day: Terry Fox Run Kemptville Organizer Steven Paterson presented to Council and requested that the flag be raised in Terry’s honour. This year celebrates 40 years since Terry Fox began the Marathon of Hope. While Terry lost the battle to the deadly disease, his passion and legacy live on. He is a household name and Canadians will not forget his incredible story of defiance and determination. Across Canada, schools and streets are named after him. Every year Canadians participate in the Terry Fox Run in his honour, and to raise money for cancer research.
Council declared Sunday, September 20, 2020 as Terry Fox Run Day and the Terry Fox flag was raised at the Municipal Centre. Members of the community are invited to participate in this year’s virtual Terry Fox
Run Day. To register visit www.terryfox.org.
CAO Operational Update: CAO Gary Dyke provided an update on the organizational changes made over the past year as outlined in his semi-annual operations update report.
Initiatives have been put in place since the beginning of 2020 for the municipality to become more efficient, open, transparent and accountable. Under Mr. Dyke’s leadership, progressive measures have been put in place to improve the overall management and administration of the municipality through the adoption of a strategic modernization program based on excellence in customer service and meaningful community engagement, and that aligns with the Council Workplan.
The update included the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on the community and efforts taken to re-focus and reprioritize strategies and service delivery methodologies for municipal operations. The report outlines how the Municipality of North Grenville responded to the COVID-19 pandemic in a progressive, responsible and strategic manner striking a balance between maintaining essential services, meeting the needs of the community, acting with financial responsibility and ensuring the safety of the public and municipal employees.
Also presented was a financial summary of municipal operations for the 2019 fiscal year. 2019 resulted in a traditional surplus reported excess of revenue over expenditure of approximately $436,000. A formal presentation will be made to Council and the public of the audited financial statements by the end of October.
The report can be found on the municipal website.
Love NG Marketing Campaign: Alphabet Creative consultants presented the next phase of the “Love NG” marketing campaign to Council and their plans for supporting local business. The goal of the Love NG marketing campaign is to engage local residents to support North Grenville businesses as they continue through, and recover from, the COVID-19 pandemic. This included the development of the Love NG website, aimed to support local businesses by driving traffic to loveng.ca.
Council approved the goals of the Love NG campaign and have directed municipal staff to continue to work with the consultants and Business Support Group (comprised of local business leaders and business support agencies) to further develop the concept and branding elements of the COVID-19 business support and shop local programs.
Municipal Asset Management Program: Council approved staff to apply for the Municipal Asset Management Program grant offered by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (“FCM”) in the amount of $50,000, which includes $10,000.00 in matching municipal funding
