The City of Morden (COM) and the Morden Chamber of Commerce (MCC) have met since a letter was sent to city council in early July inquiring about what is being done to address the wastewater treatment issue in the city.
Mayor Nancy Penner said the letter reflected the advice council gave to the MCC Advocacy & Governance Committee.
"We said to the chamber they could write to our local MLA and our local MP and advocate on behalf of the city that wastewater is an important issue that's restricting our growth."
Advocacy & Governance Committee Chairperson Stephane Warnock said, based on this advice another letter was sent out to members last week asking members to take part in a letter writing campaign.
"It was that meeting with the city and that encouragement that led us to drafting this letter. The idea behind this letter is to inform people at all of the different levels that this is a serious concern that we take very seriously. Our goal, as part of the advocacy and Governance Committee for the Chamber, is to hopefully provide that voice to our members."
Warnock was pleased to see the city provide a response to some of the questions for the members and this latest letter is also to garner feedback from them on the city's answers, to see if there are more questions, and to bring awareness to other levels of government about the seriousness of the wastewater situation in Morden.
He explained why.
"Right now, our goal is to speak with as many people as possible and gather as much information as we can and provide that information to our members. Our focus is on the letter writing campaign and raising awareness of this ongoing issue that not only business members, but to the community at large, is currently dealing with. We would like to gather as much information as we can and share that information with our members so that everybody can understand the situation that seems to be affecting everybody."
Penner said there is a lot of work being done behind the scenes on this top priority issue.
"A week ago, as a region, we met with the Minister of Finance, the Minister of Infrastructure, Municipal Affairs, the Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure. We all sat down at the table and talked about growth related infrastructure projects and how funding is holding us all back."
While Penner stressed this is the top priority for council and Morden, the city is not shut down for business.
"We are still developing our industrial park; we are open for business. We do have wastewater capacity. We just don't have a lot of it... We're not shut down for development. We're expanding our new industrial park. We're putting in sewer and water and those things, if we approve manufacturing business to come into town, their water requirements could be less than a household with a family of six living in that household. "
Warnock said the chamber wants to provide a voice for its members and recognizes the message is louder when echoed by local businesses and community members. He welcomes member feedback and looks forward to continuing to advocate on their behalf.