North
Frontenac Council -
May 22/08
By Jeff Green
North
Frontenac Mayor Ron Maguire was participating in a rural forum in
Kingston last week, so Deputy Mayor Jim Beam was called upon to chair
the regular council meeting on May 22.
Big
Gull Lake – At
a previous meeting, council had received a delegation led by David
Pattenden representing a group of island cottagers on Big Gull Lake
who were seeking to establish a dock on Crown Land in order to access
their cottage properties, since the existing marinas on the lake have
been closed.
A
group of residents on the lake, whose properties are located across
the bay from the proposed docking facility, have commissioned
commentary on the proposal by the firm Birchall Northey.
The
13 page report, which was sent to the Bancroft Ministry of Natural
Resources office, and copied to the Mississippi Valley Conservation
Authority and the township, argues that the “draft ESR
[Environmental Assessment Report] is fundamentally flawed, as it does
not consider all reasonable alternatives and it does not provide
adequate justification for the preferred alternatives”.
Among
the alternatives that are noted in Birchhall Northey's comments are
the purchase of one of the closed marinas by the island cottage
owners, the use of an existing marina located a w“10-15 minute”
boat ride away, or the purchase of private land on another, more
secluded bay.
Birchall
Northey also said that the environmental impacts of the proposal have
not been adequately evaluated.
Councilor
Lonnie Watkins said “I can’t see where these issues are coming
from. If people do not use the local marinas themselves, they end up
closing, and people need to do something to get to their island
cottages. I think the people who are complaining just don't want to
see a dock when they look across the bay.”
Deputy
Mayor Jim Beam said “I think a lot of the onus is going to come to
the ministry to respond to these people.”
“If
they have some complaints, they should come to council,” said
Councilor Wayne Cole.
“They
can come to council if they want but they need to have a real good
reason to make us try to stop this. As far as I'm concerned the
advocates for this dock are just trying to get to their cottages, and
they are paying for it themselves,” said Councilor Wayne Good.
Tenders,
tenders, tenders
The
roadside grass mowing contract was awarded for three years to Scott's
snow plowing and grass cutting service at a rate of $94.50 per hour,
a $5 increase over the bid from last year. They were the only bidder.
There
were three bids for the gravel crushing contract, which went to the
lowest bidder, Robert Young Construction of Peterborough for $40,700
including all taxes.
The
winter sand contract went to Gemmill Construction, the lowest of
three bidders, at a cost of $39,324 after taxes.
Pine
Lake concerns – Councilor
Wayne Cole expressed his ongoing concern about the proposed building
at Pine Lake by the Ardoch Algonquins, particularly in so far as
building permits are concerned.
In
response to these concerns, council passed a motion inviting a
representative from the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing to
attend the June 12 meeting with respect to permits and taxes and
other related items.
Uranium
levels high on two properties – Jim
Beam, the township representative to the Mississippi Valley
Conservation Authority (MVCA), informed council that of 80 wells that
were tested for uranium contamination in North and Central Frontenac
and Lanark Highlands, as part of a program sponsored by MVCA, two of
the wells showed “extremely high rates”. An earlier set of tests
showed a few wells with some uranium contamination, but only in the
lower range.
Solstice
gathering – On
June 21, a volunteer breakfast will be held at the Clar-Mill Hall,
and concurrent activities such as the skateboard park, games, face
painting balloon twisting, and a BBQ at noon will also take place,
with activities slated to finish by 1:30.
Harlowe
Road Cleanup – A
roadside cleanup of the Harlowe Road, all the way from Hwy. 41,
through Harlowe, and on to the Central Frontenac border, will take
place on June 14. For further information or to volunteer, contact
Wayne Good, at 613-336-0158
