North Dundas Mayor reflects on first 100 days in office

North Dundas Mayor Eric Duncan believes his council has made a lot of progress in its first 100 days in office.

PHOTO CREDIT - Duncan_Eric

Winchester - Mar. 18, 2011 - North Dundas Mayor Eric Duncan has offered up a progress report on his first 100 days in office, and by the sounds of it, the young mayor and his council colleagues deserve some high marks.

In an email sent out to North Dundas residents on Thursday, Duncan outlined a number of steps that the township council has taken in the weeks since the municipal election.

"In this short time, council and staff have been working great together, and moving along quickly on many important initiatives. The respectful tone and positive attitude around the council table has really allowed us to get things done," Duncan writes in the email.

Duncan also states that the township is moving forward on all five of the commitments he made during the recent election campaign.

One of those commitments was to freeze the pay of the mayor and council for the next four years, and Duncan states the entire council has agreed to go along with the wage freeze.

As for his pledge to "tar and chip" all of the gravel roads in the township in 10 years, Duncan said they are establishing a roads committee within the next month or two to develop a long-term plan. What's more, Duncan said the township will be addressing some of the worst gravel roads through the 2011 budget. "Tar and chip" is a cheaper way to surface roads when compared to asphalt resurfacing.

In the email letter, Duncan also outlines the changes that are being made with regards to his commitment of reforming the township's planning and bylaw department.

"We have upgraded the planning and bylaw's assistant position to a more technical one. Our new employee will be focused on customer service and better communication with clients. We are guaranteeing building permits within 10 days and our target is to even improve it," Duncan writes. "Also, we are hosting a seminar in May for builders and planners about any changes to the Ontario Building Code."

Duncan said there's also been progress on his final two pledges, namely attracting and retaining new jobs and businesses, and marketing North Dundas to both new families and seniors.

"One of council's first major decisions was to move forward with the hiring of an economic development officer. This position would also focus on upgrading our website, improved relations with the business community, and an emphasis on better communications with both current and prospective residents," he writes in the email.

With his mayoralty win, the 22-year-old Duncan became one of the youngest mayors in Canadian history. In addition to his municipal duties, Duncan also works as the executive assistant to local MP Guy Lauzon.

The young politician is working hard to connect with residents in his municipality and get them engaged in local issues with the help of social media tools and his own personal website.