Central Frontenac Council
By
Jeff Green
Council defers web-casting proposal
The next time you are home alone on a
Saturday night, thinking that there are a billion websites out there
and nothing to watch, you might curse Central Frontenac Council for
deciding not to post their council meetings on the web.
The township’s information
technologist Charlene Godfrey prepared information about two live
streaming and web archiving services that are available so that
people within the township and beyond would be able to view council
as they carry out township business at their twice monthly 5-hour
sessions.
The cost estimate from one service
provider is $7,500 per year plus a one-time camera purchase of $600.
Another company offers the service for a $9,000 up front cost and a
$3100 annual service fee.
“Do we have any idea of how much use
others have made of this?” asked Councilor John Purdon.
“There are some municipalities that
are slightly larger than ours, but since we have so many people from
outside the region who cannot get to meetings, we are making this
proposal,” Godfrey said.
“My own view is that this might be a
bridge too far at this point,” said Deputy Mayor Gary Smith.
“I think we should defer this until
we get some information about the demand for it,” said Councilor
Frances Smith.
The motion to defer was approved.
Municipality lines up
behind seniors housing proposal
The proposal to build a
four-plex low-income seniors’ housing townhouse on Clement Road in
Central Frontenac is facing a hearing of the Ontario Municipal Board
(OMB).
Neighbours of the
proposed development have taken Central Frontenac Township and the
Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing to the OMB over the process
they used to approve zoning and land severance for the proposed
development.
While it is the
developer, in most cases, who must pay all legal costs defending the
approvals to the board, the developer in this case, North Frontenac
Non-Profit Housing, has no budget for legal representation.
Last week, Frontenac
County Council agreed to pay half of the legal costs for the housing
corporation, to an upset limit of $10,000.
At their own council
meeting on Tuesday night (November 24) Central Frontenac made the
same commitment, providing a $20,000 cushion for the cash-strapped
housing corporation.
“So often we go to the
OMB to defend the integrity of our official plan when we say no to
people who want to do things, and it is just a cost, but here we are
defending a seniors housing project and we will be creating new
assessment. It is fitting that we provide the support, especially
when seniors’ housing is recognised in our Official Plan,” said
Mayor Gutowski
The OMB hearing is
expected sometime in January.
Infrastructure Ontario – Council
received a presentation by Bob Keene of Infrastructure Ontario, an
agency that offers loans to municipalities for building projects and
large capital purchases.
Keen said that Infrastructure Ontario
provides interest rates that are similar to what banks offer to
municipalities, but they are able to guarantee rates for the life of
a loan, even a 15, 20, or 30-year loan, whereas banks’ interest
rates usually have to be renegotiated every five years.
Keene also said that the application
procedure at Infrastructure Ontario has been streamlined
Treasurer Judy Gay said she has looked
at Infrastructure Ontario in the past, and “the interest rates were
similar to the banks. The only difference was the onerous application
process.”
She said that the guaranteed interest
rate is something the township might take advantage of in the future.
Septic system maintenance program – A
draft septic system maintenance program was presented to council by
the chief building official, Ian Trickett.
The proposal includes stipulations that
property owners pump out their systems every five years and provide a
certificate of inspection to the township to that effect.
There was talk of a township subsidy
for the certificate program, and Ian Trickett said “The proposal is
to target the most sensitive area first, waterfront residential in
phase 1, general residential in phase 2, etc.”
The details of the plan are still to be
worked out, and CAO John Duchene said, “We are asking that this be
sent to our lawyer for an opinion at this time, and there is no point
us working out the details unless the lawyer says we can go ahead
with it.”
“I think the integrity of our
environment is important,” said Mayor Gutowski. “I think we
should take the next step.”
“We have neighbours that are already
doing this,” said Deputy Mayor Gary Smith, “we are behind the
eight ball.”
A legal opinion is being sought on the
proposal.
Building figures down – For the
second year in a row, Central Frontenac has seen a decrease in
residential construction activity. Permits for 26 new homes had been
taken out by the end of October, and 128 permits in all, for a
construction value of $5,185,000.
At the same time last year permits for
30 new homes had been taken out, and 152 in all, for a value of
$6,342,000.
By the end of October in 2007, permits
for 35 homes had been taken out, and 176 permits in all, for a
construction value of $7,083,000
Piccadilly Hall – Ian Trickett
reported that plans to construct a handicapped accessible washroom at
the rear of the Piccadilly Hall have run into a snag because of
structural issues at the rear of the hall. He suggested, for the
second time, that the rear should probably be rebuilt instead of
renovated.
Councilor Bill Snyder disputed this,
saying the hall might be off square, but it is in good shape.
Trickett recommended that a request for
proposal be set up to allow contractors to consider either a
renovation or a rebuild proposal, and this was accepted.
Rideau Valley Conservation Authority –
Del Hallet, general manager of the Rideau Valley Conservation
Authority, made a short presentation to council.
Hallet outlined the authority’s
mandate to protect water quality, reduce hazards, consider shoreline
conditions, improve watershed habitats, and work on public access and
education.
Hallett said, “We are quite blessed
when it comes to the area in which we work; our watershed is in
better shape than others across the province.”
He also referred to council’s earlier
discussion about septic maintenance, and said Rideau Valley, in
conjunction with the Mississippi Valley Conservation Authority,
“conducts septic re-inspections in five municipalities” including
Tay Valley and North Frontenac.
“We also understand the Kingston
Frontenac Lennox and Addington Health Unit is shifting focus away
from approving septic permits for new construction. This might be an
opportunity to for us to help out as well,” he said.
Deputy Mayor commends mayor over county
governance – Gary Smith attended the most recent meeting of
Frontenac County Council where an agreement over governance was
reached.
“I commend the mayor for an excellent
presentation. I think it will lead to better governance for the
county and improved relations between the townships and the county,”
he said.
