Addington Highlands Council -
Sept 2/08
By Jule Koch Brison
Property issues create roadblock for Flinton
Bridge
Last fall the Flinton bridge, which
is located on the Deer Rock Lake Road, was found to have serious
problems and was closed. An alternate route allows access to the Deer
Rock Lake Road but a new bridge has not yet been built.
At Tuesday’s council meeting in
Flinton, Deputy Reeve Helen Yanch said, “People are upset and
wondering when we’re going to get at it… they don’t want to
have to go through another year.”
Reeve Henry Hogg explained that the
delay is caused by the fact that the property beside the bridge is
not crown land, as was the case when the township recently built a
new Hartsmere bridge, but is privately owned.
He said, “I’ve met with the
property owner to try to work out the property issues... It is a
difficult situation to try to resolve”. Hogg said that the township
had hoped to build a two-lane bridge, but the property issues seem to
preclude that option
The township has directed Jewell
Engineering, the company that built the Hartsmere Bridge, to develop
options for the bridge. An environmental assessment will have to be
done and public meetings will be held in the fall.
SHELDRAKE LAKE RFP: The
Sheldrake Development Committee, was recently struck in the
Skootamatta District Ratepayers Association (SDRA) because of
concerns over a Request for Proposal (RPF) regarding 20 acres of
crown land off Sheldrake Lake Road. A delegation from the committee,
consisting of Bill Garnish, Laurie Hitchcock, and Derek Mendham,
attended the council meeting. “We’re not against development per
se,” said Bill Garnish, “we want to be part of the decision
making”.
Several years ago the township
started to investigate whether it would be feasible for a developer
to build a four-season resort in Addington Highlands. Several sites
were looked at, but much of the crown land in AH falls within the
Algonquin Land Claim territory.
In consultation with the Ministry of Natural
Resources, the township eventually found a 77 acre piece of Crown
land on Sheldrake Lake, outside of claim territory, that was made
available for development, and this April an RPF was posted on the
Lennox and Addington County website.
The original 77 acres has since been dropped to 20
acres because the MNR only intended to lease part of it, and it was
difficult to interest anyone in developing property that they would
not own.
Presently, an appraiser has been hired by the MNR
to set a value for the property.
Deputy Reeve Yanch invited the Sheldrake
Development Committee to have a member sit on the Addington Highlands
Economic Advisory Development (AHEAD) Committee, and the delegation
agreed to look into the possibility.
NORTHBROOK SKATEPARK: The township
presently leases the land on which the Northbrook skatepark sits from
the Land o’ Lakes Lions, but the organization has asked the
township to take over ownership of the property because of insurance
concerns. The township already bears all the liability from the
skatepark.
Council decided to refer the request to the Rec
Committee for discussion with the Lions.
OPP REPORT: Detachment Commander Pat
Finnegan and Sgt. Greg MacLellan presented their report for May, June
and July 2008. The good news was that calls for service were down,
which Det. Commander Finnegan said is part of an overall 3-year
trend.
One major issue is emerging problems with ATVs.
Police have received numerous complaints, and Sgt.
MacLellan said that documentation, e.g. proper insurance and
licences, has not been found to be the problem; the problems are: too
many people on the machines, letting children operate adult ATVs
(sometimes with only bike helmets on), drinking and driving, and
having open liquor. He also pointed out that there are many
law-abiding ATV operators.
Councilor Louise Scott said, “Whenever I see
ATVs there are always two people on them.”
Deputy Reeve Yanch said she doesn’t complain
because she feels it wouldn’t help.
Det. Commander Finnegan said, “Don’t be afraid
to complain.” He also said that the problems are developing
everywhere in Ontario as municipalities “are persuaded and allow
ATV use on their roads”.
Councilor Janice Kerr also questioned the officers
about an incident in Denbigh that she had heard about, which she
described as “serious”. She said that a woman had called police
about two men who were revving chainsaws by her building and
threatening to burn things down, but was told by the dispatcher that
there was only one officer in the area and he was not available.
Det. Commander Finnegan said he would investigate
what had gone wrong. He said that for a serious incident such as Kerr
described, “We would never just say, ‘there’s no one
available’. We would bring in people from other detachments if we
needed to…. We would always find a way no matter how busy we are.”
CLOYNE 150 YEAR ANNIVERSARY: Council
approved funding of $500 for the Cloyne Historical Society’s
celebration of the 150 year anniversary of the village of Cloyne, to
be held in August 2009.
ST. PAUL’S CHURCH: Council agreed to
waive a $200 tipping fee for disposing of insulation that had to be
removed from the basement of St. Paul’s Church because of flooding.
The church said that the flooding was caused by road work, which
council determined was done by the county. Council will take up the
matter with the county.
BELL LINES CAUSE PROBLEMS; Roads Supervisor
Royce Rosenblath reported that because of problems locating Bell
Telephone lines, construction that they’ve started in Northbrook
has become a “real nightmare”. He said they’ve found lines
“strung along roads … within 3 inches of the pavement .. there’s
no logic to it.”. He said that paying to locate the lines has
become an added expense and in some places they won’t be able to do
proper ditches because of the lines.
