In response to a request from the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters, Central Frontenac Council discussed Sunday gun hunting at their meeting in Sharbot Lake this Tuesday. Last May council rejected a motion which, if approved, would have called for the Ministry of Natural Resources to institute Sunday gun hunting in the township.

Recently, the Ministry of Natural Resources extended Sunday gun hunting in those eastern Ontario townships that did pass motions last year calling for the measure.

In order to bring the issue back to the Central Frontenac Council table, a motion to reconsider must be passed by a 2/3 majority of council.

At this time, the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters only asked that Central Frontenac Council seek public input on the issue before deciding whether to reconsider the matter, and a proposal to hold a public meeting on Sunday Gun Hunting was brought forward this Tuesday.

The first sign that council might take a different view towards Sunday gun hunting this year came when councillor Frances Smith, who vigorously opposed the concept last year, said something should be done to address the over-abundance of deer.

“They’re cute little bambis, but not on the hood of your car. I’ve reconsidered; anything that leads to a decrease in the deer population, I’m in favour of.”

“Councillor Bill Guigue said, “To me it’s not a matter of the deer population, it’s a matter of recreational opportunities.”

While most of the councillors in attendance seemed more positively inclined towards Sunday hunting than had previously been the case, the prospect of a public meeting held little appeal for them.

Some councillors thought it would be better to reconsider the original motion on the spot, but councillor Logan Murray, who remains opposed to Sunday gun hunting, pointed out that two councillors, Snyder and Gutowski, were absent. An amendment to the original motion, calling on the public to express their opinion through letters or the internet, prior to the matter being brought forward for reconsideration by council, was accepted in the end.

Other items from council:

Bridgens Island Subdivision – A delegation from the Bridgens Islands Associates, a co-operative that has owned 45 acres of land on Bridgens Island on Eagle Lake for over 30 years, came to council to discuss a plan to “regularise” the land ownership situation in line of the township’s Official Plan.

Bridgens Island Associates has been the landowner on the Island for 30 years, and its members are the people who have lots and seasonal cottages on the island. Eleven of the members of Bridgens Island have built cottages already, but the final three members are now prohibited from building under the Official Plan. So, a proposal to obtain a plan of subdivision has been developed. Gary Racine, the president of the Bridgens Islands Associates appeared before Council explaining that the plan of subdivision will cost about $60,000, “and it has taken a lot of work to convince everyone on the island to go for it.” He asked that Council waive the 5% development fee that usually is charged when a plan of subdivision is granted, on the grounds that Bridgens Island Associates is a co-operative of cottage owners and not a real estate developer expecting to make a profit.

Council approved the request.

Aggregate Crushing- Danford Construction, who received the tender for constructing 2 km of the Arden Road at the Stone Mills boundary requested that they be permitted to take 8,000 tonnes of material from the Arden Pit in exchange for crushing 4,000 additional tonnes for township use. The normal charge for crushing is $2.00 per tonne. A similar arrangement was made several years ago.

Seeing the arrangement as being of net benefit to the township, council agreed to accept crushing services in lieu of cash payment for the material.