Central Frontenac council –
October 28, 2008
By Jeff Green
Central
Frontenac snow routes approved by council
As
the prospect of an October snow storm was looming, Central Frontenac
Council gave their approval to a snow removal plan that has been
under development by Public Works Manager John Simcock and the works
department for several months.
The
plan includes ten snow routes, and increases to the number of small
and dead end roads that are plowed by three different contractors for
the township. It is set up to work with military-style precision.
“The
amount of service, our call out times, the chain of command,
everything will be very quick. I think the level of service will blow
the doors of whatever we've done before,” Simcock said.
He
said it would take 6.85 hours to plow the entire township.
In
going over the routes, Councilor Frances Smith said she noticed that
in order to eliminate doubling back, the plan calls for some
secondary roads to be plowed before major roads. “I wonder if
people won't find themselves driving over plowed gravel roads and
then running into deep snow when they reach the hard-topped roads,”
she asked.
“With
the time delivery we are talking about, that shouldn't be an issue,”
Simcock said.
The
crews were planning to do a dry run through the routes on Tuesday
afternoon, and although Simcock said the “routes will need some
tweaking,” he is confident the system will be run smoothly. “Every
operator is trained, every route is documented, we're ready to go,”
he said, after pulling out a series of township maps to show members
of council the planning process that has been undertaken by his
department.
“We
gave you a job to do and you did it, I've got every confidence in the
world,” said Councilor Bob Harvey. “Go to it, but when the first
two or three snowstorms come, we'll be looking at it.”
Council
approved the snow removal plan as presented.
The
plan is tied to a road capital improvement plan that Simcock had
outlined on another township map, and a tender for the privatization
of maintenance for Road 38 has been put out. If the price is on or
near what the township is paying currently, it will go forward as
well.
Kennebec
Hall needs work right away -
In
the first report he has delivered to council since taking over
responsibility for township facilities, Chief Building Official Ian
Trickett started off by discussing a recent excavation of the back
wall of the Kennebec Hall which, he said “turned out to be a minor
nightmare. The block has not been parged, it is not damp proofed,
there is no foundation drain in place, and it was backfilled with
clay. It adds up to a comprehensive list of everything you are not
supposed to do.”
Luckily,
Trickett thinks the wall can be repaired rather than replaced, and he
also has found that the septic bed for the hall “shows no signs of
malfunctioning”.
He
estimates that it will cost about $10,000 to fix the wall. As to the
possibility of getting the work done before winter, Trickett said
that depends on when winter comes. “If it snows and the snow stays
then we're out of luck, but if we get a break with the weather we'll
be ok. It does not take that long for parging to set,” he said.
Township
Chief Administrative Officer Mark Hall said, “The next portion of
this is to obtain quotes for the work.”
Ian
Trickett also presented a written report outlining issues ranging
from septic pumping in all facilities, which will now be done on a
scheduled basis, to the roof repair at the Parham Fire Hall, the
tender for which has been awarded. An inspection of the fire hall has
turned up several more items of concern, however, some of which were
serious health and safety issues that will be prioritized and
budgeted for in future years according to the report.
The
water supply and the septic system at the Oso Hall are both problem
areas that have been identified.
Fire
master plan to be presented on December 8 -
At
their previous meeting, council had requested a statistical and
information report from Fire Chief Mark MacDonald to learn of call
volumes at the various stations.
CAO
Hall said that the fire chief asked that council wait until December
8, when he will present a comprehensive report and will bring a fire
master plan with him for council's consideration.
“I
think we should see the fire chief more often at council,” said
Councilor Guntensperger.
Council
supports mayor on county governance – Mayor
Gutowski discussed her decision to oppose a Frontenac County Council
decision to spend $35,000 for consultation on the future makeup of
county council, and to take the money from federal gas tax funding.
“I
think ultimately it is a political decision in any case,” Gutowski
said. “I didn't think we needed a consultant. We should all give
our own thought to this, and I'm confident we can come up with
something that works. Most of us feel there is not enough
representation.”
“I
came from the old days when there were 29 people at the table and
that was not always a good thing,” said Councilor Frances Smith. “I
served as deputy mayor in Central Frontenac one year and it certainly
wasn't a very big job. I think having the mayor and deputy mayor sit
on county council would make logical sense. That's my two cents. I
don't think it takes a consultant to do this.”
Gates
on Pit road – The
Pit Road, which is south of Arden, runs right through a
township-owned gravel pit. Because of the rules in the provincial
pits and quarries act, all quarries must be secured for reasons of
public safety. So, even though the Pit Road is a township road, it
now has locked gates on either side of the township gravel pit. The
road is not normally used by residents, except those who use it to
access Crown land during hunting season.
Anyone who needs to access the Crown land through Pit Road should call
the township office to arrange for a key.
