Dresden’s council representative wants to see the ServiceOntario options remain in town, despite the uncertainty surrounding where and who will provide those services.
North Kent Coun. Joe Faas told the Sydenham Current that the Municipality of Chatham-Kent was unsuccessful in a bid to continue providing certain provincial services at the Dresden Municipal building.
“The contract was due, the Municipality reapplied, and were unsuccessful,” Faas said.
The services include the administration and issuance of driver and vehicle licensing, health cards, and provincial identification.
Faas said staff at the service centre in Dresden do not have much information about who the successful bidder was.
“Or whether they were local or not,” said Faas. “They are hoping to hear more information in the next three weeks.”
Faas said Dresden is the only service centre in Chatham-Kent that houses the ServiceOntario options.
He said the reason was because McKellar’s Flowers used to house the services, and decided to not to renew their contract around 2003.
“The Municipality took it over to ensure the services would remain in Dresden,” Faas said.
Faas said the Municipality saw this as an opportunity to enhance existing services for Dresden residents and offset operational expenses at the Dresden Municipal Centre.
Faas said he is disappointed the Municipality was not awarded the contract.
“It is important to the Dresden community. I’m still hoping it stays in town. If not, people will have to go out of town for those services.”
Faas said having the ServiceOntario options in Dresden is important for bringing traffic to town.
“Especially to the downtown core.”
Faas said not a lot of information is known at the moment.
“Not a lot of people know about it yet. There has been some chatter about it on the streets.”
Faas said he believes car dealerships would be concerned about the MTO options leaving town.
“People would have to go out of town… the car dealers rely on this option in Dresden every day,” Faas said.
The current contract is set to end on December 23 of this year.
While nothing has been confirmed, sources say four potential scenarios could play out, including:
– A new Dresden business/applicant could be awarded the contract.
– Another ServiceOntario vendor/applicant may be awarded the contract.
– Dresden could lose such Provincial services.
– Or the Province may return to the Municipality in September with a request for them to continue providing the services.
We’ll provide more information on this story when it becomes available.
