Central Frontenac
Council -
Feb. 24/09
By Jeff Green
Duchene hits the ground running
The first item of business at a meeting
of Central Frontenac Council on February 24 was approving the
selection of John Duchene as Chief Administrative Officer.
Deputy Mayor Gary Smith, who chaired
the meeting in the absence of Mayor Gutowski, said, “When John
Duchene was here for a year and a half as acting clerk, he did an
efficient job, and now that he is here full time he can do a lot
more”.
“I had an interesting conversation
with myself just before Christmas,” Duchene said before the
meeting, describing how he decided to seek a job that he had left
just four months earlier. He was hired on an interim basis when
Heather Fox took a leave of absence two years ago and held the job
until August, when he resigned. His replacement, Mark Hall, left the
job after a few weeks and the job was advertised again. This time
John Duchene applied for it.
As the meeting wore on it became clear
that many of the issues that were being faced by the township five
months ago are still on the table, and Duchene presented Council with
a draft issues report along with the unfinished business report that
Council looks at on a monthly basis.
“This is my list,” Duchene said of
the issues report, “I have not consulted with staff yet, but these
are issues that I recall, and it is sort of a work in progress. I
want to establish a team approach for this with department heads
taking ownership over their individual budgets”.
Members of Council said they liked the
list, but that didn't stop them from suggesting other items.
“One issue that's not here is salt
storage in Piccadilly,” said Councilor Bob Harvey, “I think there
is a big liability there; it is not appropriate where it is now”.
“You don't think the salt storage
facility has solved the problem?” asked Councilor Norm
Guntensperger.
“No, it hasn't. We are still exposed.
It shouldn't have been there in the first place, and it should be
moved now,” said Harvey.
Guntensperger had an issue he wanted to
see brought forward. “An upcoming issue is the tracking of
quantities: salt, gravel, etc.. We don't have paper trails as to how
this stuff is moving; there is a lot of estimation and trust of the
contractors involved ... More or less, sorta kinda is not good enough
when you are talking about millions of dollars, in my opinion.”
Guntensperger said the township might
have to consider purchasing their own weigh scales even if it is an
expensive proposition.
Tenders for buildings and grounds
maintenance contracts -
Contracts for grass cutting, hall
maintenance, etc. are all up for renewal next month. In a report from
Ian Trickett, chief building official, the value of all the contracts
that are up for renewal was listed at $43,550.
Included in the new contracts in
Sharbot Lake, for example, will be the grounds around the medical
centre and the public washroom at the beach. The township is also now
responsible for grass cutting and garbage pickup at the roadside park
on Road 38 in Godfrey, grass cutting at the Crow Lake schoolhouse,
and grass cutting at one of the fire halls.
The tender will recognise three
categories of maintenance: grounds maintenance, custodial services,
and for the first time, repair and maintenance services. In terms of
repair and maintenance the township will be looking to find one or
more general contractors who will be available for carpentry,
electrical, or plumbing work at a fixed hour rate.
The tenders are to be granted by the
end of March and will cover a three-year time frame, April 1, 2009 to
March 31, 2012.
Township and Personal Vehicles policy
- A proposed township and personal vehicles policy was approved by
Council. The policy includes the following provision: “The use of a
vehicle for private or personal reasons is prohibited. In particular,
no vehicle may be taken home with an employee overnight or on
weekends. A vehicle shall always be used strictly for Council
business, unless expressly authorised to do differently by a
resolution of Council. If any employee fails to observe this policy,
disciplinary action will be taken.”
Art show – A request by the Land
O’Lakes Artisan Guild (LOLAG) for permission to use the Sharbot
Lake beach and Oso Hall for their inaugural “Art by the Beach”
show was accepted by Council, although a request for free rental of
the hall was not. The show, which will run on Saturday & Sunday,
August 1 & 2, will feature the works of LOLAG members and also
art students from Sharbot Lake High School.
Wedding at Long Lake – Councilor John
Purdon had a few personal concerns about a request by Cristin Clark
to use the beach at Long Lake for her wedding ceremony on July 11,
with about 30 guests.
“It is a small beach,” said
Councilor Purdon, “and if it is nice weather people will be
swimming. It's not the place where I would think it is suitable to
hold a wedding, with children shrieking and all that, but I don’t
really have an objection to it; it's just my opinion”.
“You don't want to stand in the way
of love, in other words,” said Deputy Mayor Smith.
Council granted permission for the
ceremony to take place at Long Lake beach.
