A unique partnership between the municipality of Chatham-Kent and volunteers in Shrewsbury is paying off.
On May 29, a team of about a dozen people made up of The Rondeau Bay Waterfowlers', the Shrewsbury Community Association along with several community members got together to build a completely new Shrewsbury Dock.
According to Mark Lucio, owner of L's Bait shop in Shrewsbury, the old dock was beyond a state of repair.
"With the dilapidated dock, the docks were loose and floating around so it was dangerous," he explained. "Most of them had been ripped apart and floated away right after the ice went out. So it was very dangerous."
Lucio said the idea to fix the municipally owned dock has been in the works for over a year, however, water levels were too high to get the job done safely. That's when the Waterfowlers', who put the original dock in, decided to pitch in and lend their services.
Photo courtesy Mark Lucio
Upon further discussions with Mayor Darrin Canniff, Lucio said they agreed on a unique partnership idea between the municipality and the group of volunteers that everyone would benefit from.
"Chatham-Kent paid for the material and we did the labour so it's a win-win," Lucio explained. "Chatham-Kent saves some money and we get the project done."
The project took around four hours to complete, a job that could have normally taken the municipality several days to finish with a much heftier price tag. By eliminating a third party building company and many of the strict formalities that come along with it, the project only set the municipality back $2,200 for the cost of supplies.
"[Mayor Darrin] Canniff knows, Chatham-Kent knows, if Chatham-Kent does a project, it's probably four times as much money then if people come together with volunteer work," said Lucio.
Lucio called the experience an amazing one and said he's hoping to see more work done between the municipality and community groups.
Ward 2 Councilor Mary Clare Latimer, who was on hand for the project, echoed these statements. She said partnership opportunities like this are one of the reasons she decided to run for council. She added that she's certain this won't be the last time residents will see something like this happen.
"That's how a municipality grows," she said. "We should not be in the business of running endeavours, we should be in the business of enabling the community to grow and meet their needs. They know what they need and it's up to us to enable that."
