After about four decades on municipal council, Paul Emile Duval thinks it is time for him to retire from politics.

Duval represented Vankleek Hill when the village was its own municipality and then later when the provincial municipal amalgamation processs in 1999 made it part of the new Champlain Township. He was “a young 45”, as Duval described himself with a smile, when he first decided to run for the village council.

“I figured I could make a change, and I did,” he said, during a phone interview.

Two years ago, Duval said, is when he began considering that his current term on council might be his last one. He feels he has accomplished all of the important things he wanted to do for his constituents and for the municipal as a whole and it is time to setp aside and let someone else get involved.

Looking back over the years that he has sat on council, Duval noted that there are many things that he is proud of being involved in for the benefit of the community.

“Helping to build the new Vankleek Hill Arena,” he said is one of the main achievements for him.

He credited the strong support of Donovan Mahon, Doug Folkard, Doug Hall and Mac Hall, his fellow members on the arena committee back then for the teamwork involved in getting the project off the ground.

One other achievement he was proud to be involved in was getting the water supply agreement signed between Vankleek Hill and the Town of Hawkesbury. At the beginning of the last decade, the village still depended on several wells for its water supply and those wells were either nearing capacity or in need of replacement. Duval noted that getting connected to the Hawkesbury municipal water system was a great benefit for Vankleek Hill then and now given that the cost for the mainline extension then was about $1 million.

“At the time, many thought it was a lot at $1 million,” said Duval, as recalled all the council discussions and public meetings about the matter. “Looking back, it’s a good thing we did. It would have cost a lot more now.”

Looking ahead to November and his last council meeting, Duval expressed satisfaction with all he has accomplished as a councillor.

“If I could help people, I’d always help them,” he said. “I’ve worked with a lot of mayors, and it’s been a very good experience.”

He chuckles when asked what he plans to do after November.

“I’ll take it easy, I think,” he said.