Good fences...

Jeff Green | Jul 14, 2011

Don Webster of Mississippi Station spends four days a week working for CP Rail, and as the father of a young daughter he is busy during the days when he is home, so he does not have a lot of time to pay attention to township matters.

But since he lives near the Mississippi dump site he noticed when a fence was put up in front of the dump. Webster worked for Lennox Fencing a few years ago, so when he noticed the fence looked a bit odd, he took a closer look.

What he found made him uneasy, as a ratepayer, and he felt compelled to send a letter to North Frontenac Township outlining some of the deficiencies.

This all took place last summer, and in September of last year the township had the original contractor do some repairs.

“However, there are still some major issues,” Webster wrote in a subsequent letter to the township. Those other issues include 19 separate items, as detailed later in Webster's letter, including concerns about gaps, incompatible hardware, and more.

When I met Don Webster outside the Mississippi dump site early this spring he showed me the fence.

“You can see that the fence is not properly stretched; there are missing stringers, and the footings for the posts are not deep enough. It will be down in a few years, and it was our tax dollars that paid for it. That's what bothers me,” he said.

Throughout last fall Webster was in contact with then Public Works Manager John Ibey about the fence, and another fence at the Ompah cemetery.

“In the end, after communicating with public works and members of the old and new councils, we still have a fence that is a definition of how not to make a fence,” Webster said.

Now that some time has passed, Webster is fed up with waiting for council to respond. He is going directly to the public.

“I'm sure everyone would agree that we need to hold this contractor accountable for the poor workmanship we've been getting. He either needs to step up and make the repairs or allow the township to hire a credible contractor to make the repairs at his expense,” Webster said.