Dear Editor,
1. I was pleased to read in the May 18th issue of the Meaford Independent (delivered to our mailbox today, May 24th) of the new agreement between the municipalities of Meaford and Owen Sound that provides for the continued operation of the Blue Dolphin pool near downtown Meaford. This is of primary interest to the residents of the town of Meaford as opposed to the residents of the municipality.
It is good to see continued cooperation between neighbouring municipalities.
2. Another great example of such cooperation is the agreement between Meaford and Owen Sound to allow residents of Meaford to have ongoing access to the Owen Sound library. This was put in place, very reluctantly under Mayor Barb Clumpus, a number of years ago, but is now seen to be beneficial to both communities.
3. Now we are in need of another cooperative agreement between these two municipalities that would provide for the continued use of the Owen Sound Composting facility that is located on the eastern outskirts of Owen Sound right on the border with Meaford.
It is my understanding that such agreement was withdrawn this Spring when Owen Sound found it necessary to improve security arrangements at the site due to misuse by residents both from within and outside Owen Sound. Such misuse involved both the dumping of non-acceptable loads and the extraction of free compost by commercial operations for sale at a profit.
The availability of free compost by local residents on both sides of the municipal boundary has been a great service that improves ecological footprint for all involved.
Once again, it is a great shame that poor behaviour by a few bad actors has ruined things for the general population.
I do hope that some form of cooperative agreement can be found that will allow such access to be reinstituted for nearby residents of the Township of Sydenham, as well as further afield in the municipality, even if it comes in the form of some measure of cost sharing for the increased security necessitated.
Steve Brockhouse, Resident of Leith
Editor’s Note: Meaford’s leaf and yard waste compost facility is located at 157859 7th Line.
