A few weeks ago there was a municipal election, as some of us vaguely remember. However, because of the way things are set up by the province, the election is followed by a bit of a dead zone, a month or so when the soon-to-be-former councils continue to meet as the new council members wait in the wings.

In early December that will all change and the full implications of the October elections will start to be felt.

The changes that are coming are vast. Of the 16 council members in South and Central Frontenac, 12 will be new. The mayor-elects in both townships are new as well, although both Ron Vandewal (SF) and Frances Smith (CF) have significant municipal experience.

While four of the six members of North Frontenac Council are returning, the mayor-elect, Ron Higgins, has never sat on council before.

Members of council don't ride along with grader operators, inspect building sites, or cover waste sites with fill, but they do oversee budgets and take responsibility for the overall direction of the townships. They also send two members each to Frontenac County Council, the mayor and one other, who will be selected at the first meeting of the new councils in December.

Because of the changes at the township level, there could be as few as one returning member (Dennis Doyle) to the eight-member Frontenac Council, which will meet for the first time on December 17. Two other current members of the council, John McDougall from South Frontenac, and John Inglis from North Frontenac, were re-elected in their own townships, but if they are to return to the county they will have to survive a vote at their own council.

Frontenac County Council oversees a $40 million budget.

The reality that will be faced by all of these radically changed councils is that municipal operations are heavily regulated by the provincial government, and the ability for them to effect change is limited. They will also have to learn how to navigate between the expectations of the voters and the fact that the first thing they learn when they attend orientation sessions is that council's role is to develop policies, and township staff are in charge of implementing those policies under the direction of the chief administrative officer. They are warned against the urge to micro-manage township staff.

This will no doubt frustrate many new members of council, who will think, sometimes rightly so, that this kind of talk is all about protecting the status quo and blocking change.

In addition to the changes in hte municipal world, three of the largest public sector institutions serving northern Frontenac County are about to change as well.

Bonnie George, the administrator who has steered Pine Meadow Nursing Home through a multimillion dollar redevelopment project, is leaving just as the project is about to be completed. Pine Meadow is not only the largest employer in Addington Highlands, it is also the long-term care facility of choice for residents of northern Frontenac County, Addington Highlands and parts of Stone Mills township.

Don Amos, the executive director of Northern Frontenac Community Services, the largest not-for-profit agency in Frontenac County, and a major employer in the Sharbot Lake area, is also leaving, for a job in Kingston.

Just like the politicians, neither of these two individuals provide direct service to their organizations’ clients and the day they leave their jobs the staff at both agencies will simply carry on as before, but Bonnie George and Don Amos have both been the face of their organisations to the public and to provincial funders, and have both been responsible for long-term planning.

Finally, we learned this week that Lanark County OPP will no longer be overseeing the Sharbot Lake detachment (see NF Council report). That job will be going to the Frontenac OPP office, based in Hartington, a move that is long overdue. The Kingston court (and its Sharbot Lake satellite) deal with cases generated in Frontenac County so it just makes sense to have all policing under the same umbrella as well. The changeover also means that Sergeant Sharron Brown, the relatively new commander of the Frontenac detachment (as of April) will be the senior OPP official in all of Frontenac County.

All of the institutions and municipalities mentioned above have long-standing responsibilities in our region and they all operate according to regulations and well established practices, and certainly not at the whim of their leaders.

Still, when they all face these kinds of changes, the institutions themselves can be altered in unexpected ways over time.

The biggest news in this election in Addington Highlands came on Tuesday, after all the votes had been counted.

While it was no surprise that Henry Hogg won re-election handily, receiving 923 votes to 363 for Gerald Bray, it was what he said afterwards that is the real news.

“My planning is that I am not going to keep my election signs.” he said, signalling that this will be his last term as reeve.

His greatest concern looking forward to the next four years is policing costs.

“We are looking at an increase of almost $100,000 this year and next year again, and a smaller increase in 2017. That will stop us in our tracks from planning to move the township forward. I campaigned in Weslemkoon Lake during the election. There are dozens of water access cottages there. All those people are already paying policing costs where they live year-round, and they will be paying a large share here as well. And what kind of service are they going to get on the water?” he asked.

Although he recognises it will be an uphill battle, “We have to look at something to address, but to be honest I'm not sure what we can do. But we can't ignore it."

Another change that is coming to the township is the impending retirement of Clerk/Treasurer Jack Pauhl, who has been with Addington Highlands since amalgamation and with Denbigh township for 23 years before that.

“I've known this day was coming ever since amalgamation, and fortunately we put a succession plan in place a couple years ago. Deputy Clerk Christine Reed will be taking Jack's position for the new council. That will be a change for all of us,” Hogg said.

“There are always issues coming forward, and budgeting is difficult, as are county issues, ambulance issues, etc.” he added.

Ward 1 (Denbigh)

Tony Fritsch led all vote-getters with 373, to be returned for a second time. Kirby Thompson won the other position with 321 votes, just 19 ahead of former councilor, Eythel Grant. Alice Madigan finished fourth with 247 votes.

Ward 2 (Kaladar) saw the acclamation of incumbents Bill Cox and Helen Yanch. Because Henry Hogg lives in Ward 1, an Addington Highlands bylaw sets out that the deputy reeve, and second Lennox and Addington County Council representative, will be the councilor from ward 2 who receives the most votes. Because they were both acclaimed, Yanch and Cox are effectively tied in public support.

Seeing this possibility a couple of weeks ago, Cox proposed that a coin toss would be the best way to settle who will serve in the position under this scenario, and Council agreed.  

Karen McGregor was very nervous as she joined the crowd at the Oso Hall waiting for the election results in Central Frontenac, and the fact the results did not come in until after 9 p.m. did not help matters much.

“How will we know the results from the other townships? Do I have to wait all night and phone around tomorrow morning?” she wondered. “I don't think I could take that.”

She needn't have worried. The results for the Limestone Board election from North Frontenac and Addington Highlands were submitted to Central Frontenac, so when CAO Larry Donaldson read out the results, he said, “These are the compiled results of all the votes.”

McGregor looked relieved but then came the moment of truth.

The totals for the two other candidates were announced first. Dave Kendall received 994 votes, Steve Magee 1057, and Karen McGregor ... 2748. McGregor's local knowledge was well received in all three townships, and her numbers in her home township were overwhelming. She received 1530 votes to 458 for each of her opponents in Central Frontenac alone.

McGregor will replace retiring incumbent Ann Goodfellow as the northern rep on the board.

The race for the northern seat was a polite affair, with candidates agreeing with each other on most issues during the numerous debates, but South Frontenac was another story altogether.

Incumbent Suzanne Ruttan was challenged by Lindsay Davidson on a number of fronts. Davidson charged that Ruttan was too much of an education insider to fight for the interests of South Frontenac residents.

For her part Ruttan said that she did not think that someone who had initiated court proceedings against the board would be a viable candidate to sit on that board at the same time.

(Lindsay Davidson is one of a group who have asked for a judicial review of the decision to close two secondary schools in Kingston and build a new one at an as yet undetermined location)

The third candidate, Lynda Hawn, struggled to receive much attention in the face of what ended up being a pitched battle between the two front runners.

The result was close, but Suzanne Ruttan held on to her seat on the board, with the support of 2737 people (49%). Lindsay Davidson received 2323 votes (42%) and Lynda Hawn 340 (6%).

Algonquin and Lakeshore Catholic District School Board – Procter returns

It took until almost noon the next day before the results for the ALCDSB Frontenac County trustee race between long-serving member Wendy Procter and Harrowsmith Catholic School Council member Jodi Cameron were announced.

Procter held off Cameron by 26 votes, 388 to 362. Her margin in North and Central Frontenac outstripped the 30-vote lead that Cameron had built up in South Frontenac, where she received 250 votes to 220 for Procter.  

Algonguin Lakeshore Catholic School Board Trustee

Wendy Procter – 15 years on the job

In 1999, Wendy Procter of Sharbot Lake was appointed by the Algonquin and Lakeshore Catholic District School Board (ALCDSB) to fill a vacancy. She has since run for the position four times and each time she was acclaimed.

This time, however, there will be a vote, and this provides her an opportunity to talk about her history with the board and her view of the job of trustee.

“Catholic education has always been an important part of my life. I really care about it, and my commitment hasn't wavered over the years,” she said.

She first became involved with the board in the early 1990s when she was working with others to found St. James Major Catholic School in Sharbot Lake, which opened in 1992.

As trustee, ensuring busing for high school students in the southern half of Frontenac County to Regiopolis in Kingston, and from the northern portion of the county to St. John's High School in Perth, even though it is a neighbouring board, has been a priority.

“My main focus is to make sure that Catholic students in our area can attend a Catholic school,” she said.

Most of the work of trustees is on developing policies and directives which guide the board; to focus on student achievement, with what needs to be done board-wide, and to bring the concerns of their schools and communities to the board.

“Since the board covers a vast area, every trustee has their own diverse issues. The board listens and acts on the information the trustees bring forward” she said.

She enjoys the meetings and feels it is important work that Catholic schools do, in both urban and rural areas.

When asked about the future of Catholic education she said, “This question has been asked since the system was formed over 160 years ago. History has shown that Catholic schools provide quality education and academic excellence. Over the next four years I intend to continue to advocate for quality Catholic education in our rural communities.”  

Algonguin Lakeshore Catholic School Board Trustee

Jodi Cameron – ensuring rural success

Jodi Cameron is running for trustee of the Algonquin Lakeshore Catholic School Board as an extension of her enthusiastic commitment to the St. Patrick’s School Parent Council, which she has been a member of for several years.

She has a daughter at St. Pat's and a son who is now in his first year at Regiopolis High School in Kingston,

“I joined the parent council to advocate for my kids, and it turns out to be one of the best things I have ever done,” she said.

She has been the treasurer for the Council for three years, a position she dropped when she put her name in for trustee this September. Although she joined the race for trustee near the deadline date for nominations, the decision came about after a summer of reflection.

Cameron works in Kingston for a heraldry company that produces coats of arms and other products, and since her children are now older she felt it was time to take the step of running for trustee

As the parent of a child who needed technological help in school because of dyslexia, she feels that as a matter of fairness rural schools need the same equipment and Internet access as urban schools. She sees the trustee as having a role in ensuring that those resources remain in place in the future.

“The fair distribution of resources is always an issue, whether it is smart boards or teacher student-ratio,” she said, “and as well there is a priority for me to see that the Catholic education system continues to be supported in Ontario,” she said.

Another issue that she sees as becoming more relevant is busing. The ALDCSB is a partner in Tri-board busing and as such is connected to the dispute between Tri-board and its local bus contractors who have taken it to court to block a new hiring process.

“Independent operators are small business people in our community. They’re our neighbours and are parents themselves. I’m not in favour of a policy that puts them at a disadvantage,” she said.  

Councillor

Kirby Thompson – taking a good look at the issues

Kirby Thompson grew up in Griffith, and spent most of his working years at a job in Arnprior, commuting to work from his home in Renfrew.

The idea of serving on Council came from talks with his father-in-law who was on a rural township council for several terms.

A couple of years ago, with his wife Bonnie, he purchased his in-laws’ home in Denbigh when they moved to Belleville. He knows the area well, not only because he is from Griffith but also because it is his wife's family's home.

“It was easy to move here because we are comfortable in the area,” he said. “I have lots of roots here; my mother was even a teacher in Denbigh at one time.”

He decided to run for Council because he has the time and the interest as well.

“One group that I know something about is the cottage population. I've talked to a lot of cottage owners and I know they feel that the burden of taxation falls on them and it makes it difficult for them to remain in the township,” he said.

He added that the lack of commercial activity means that the township is unable to make life easier for residential ratepayers.

“We have Bon Echo Park, which is a draw to the township, and if we can open up to more than one season we would have a chance to attract visitors,” he said.

He said that if elected, he will take on the issues as they come.

“I know that taxes are the biggest thing, and that certain roads need fixing, but I can't make any promises. Once I get on Council I can have a serous look at all the roads. I will also have to work with the other councilors. There's lots of stuff going. I'd have to see what can be done to deal with all the issues,” he said.

Councillor

Alice Madigan – bring back a thriving community

Alice Madigan remembers that when she was young, Denbigh and the surrounding area was thriving.

“There was always something going on. It was a thriving community back then,” she said.

Madigan was raised at Slate Falls, near Denbigh. She left the area and moved to different parts of the province, eventually settling in Carleton Place. She worked as a materials manager and at other jobs in the financial sector. In 1991, with her husband, she purchased a cottage back at Slate Falls.

Sadly, her husband died in 2007 and in 2010 she moved back to Slate Falls on a permanent basis. She joined the Denbigh Recreation Committee, and is still an active member. When the emergency services department of Lennox and Addington recommended cutting service in Denbigh, she became chair of the group that sprang up to oppose the cut from a 24 hour to a 12 hour a day service. The group, which still exists, is called the Denbigh Ambulance Network.

“We did what we could, and we are not happy about the outcome. We are still worried about losing everything but we also know that we really need a 24/7 ambulance because of the distances involved,” she said.

She is also concerned about the state of the local economy and would like the township to do whatever it can to attract and maintain businesses.

In her view, one of the major flaws of the current council boils down to communication.

“What I've heard from people is that they never know what's going on with the council. That's a big thing. I would work on improving communication, actually allowing the community to have a say in decisions that will impact them,” she said.

She said it is easy to make promises but one councilor can only do their best to listen and learn and serve the community.

“It's not that important what I think about the issues, it's how I represent the concerns of others that really counts,” she said.

Councillor

Eythel Grant – long serving councilor seeking a return

Before losing out in the 2010 election Eythel Grant had been on Council for 27 years, going back well into pre-amalgamation days in Denbigh township.

He said that he enjoys serving on Council and this summer when he saw that no one seemed to be coming forward he decided to run once again.

“I think when I put my name in, Alice Madigan was the only who had come forward, and then two others came in so we now have an election race,” he said.

He is a lifelong resident of Denbigh ward and spent his working career with the Ministry of Natural Resources, and apart from stints in places like Dryden and other far-flung locations he worked at Bon Echo Park as a fire officer for 25 years until his retirement.

Even though he did not sit on Council for the last four years, he said that he thinks “Council has done a good job; all in all a pretty good job, although of course there are a few issues where I didn't 100% agree with their decision.”

One decision he did not agree was the acceptance of a 12-hour ambulance in place of a 24-hour ambulance service in Denbigh.

“I'm not sure they shouldn't have stuck to their guns instead of accepting a lesser service,” he said.

Another issue he would like to see resolved as soon as possible is the Denbigh waste site.

“My understanding is that it is ready to be opened but the final decision has been slow. There must be a way to get that open soon. My concern is that it won't get opened before the Vennachar site is full and we will end up having to pay closure costs, which are higher than operating costs,” he said.

The other item he mentioned was Bridge Street In Denbigh, which he said is in terrible shape.

“It's getting so rough there that it needs to be improved. I don't think they'll go for it right away but maybe during this term of Council we can get it done,” he said.

One project that was in the works while he was on council has come to fruition, the re-purposing of the former Denbigh school.

Councillor

Tony Fritsch – retaining businesses a priority

It took a long time for Tony Fritsch to decide to run for a second term as ward 1 councilor. He only brought in his nomination in early September.

“The reason I took a long time to consider is I know how much work is involved. It's a bit of a mindset. I was sitting on the fence through most of the summer. I finally came to the conclusion that I wanted to commit another four years to the township,” he said.

He thinks that the township has some “pretty large challenges in front of it.”

He notes that the township has grown little over the last 10 years and low growth is projected over the next 20 years.

“Our priority is to retain the businesses we have and if possible encourage new ones. We do that now, and whenever we get a chance we connect businesses with our business advisor from the county. But the reality is that we will be facing increased costs in a community that is not growing. It only means the burden on the existing taxpayers will grow.”

A couple of the ward 1 issues that are on people’s minds are the future of the ambulance service and the Denbigh waste site.

The ambulance service was cut from 24 hours to 12 hours per day, and he thinks there will be more pressure coming from the County, once the new County Council is in place.

“I expect the ambulance will come to the table again over the next year or so, and we will be in for another fight,” he said. “As far as the Denbigh waste site is concerned, the community has been waiting for a long time for it to re-open and the ministry keeps delaying. The ministry hinted earlier this year that they may be re-opening it later in the year, so we'll see,” he said.

One of Fritsch's major efforts over the last four years has been the redevelopment of the former Denbigh school into a multi-use municipal building, which he said is now about 2/3 complete.

“I and many others have put a lot of time and work into that complex, and I don’t really consider that to be part of my council responsibilities. I do that as a volunteer, even though I report to Council on an ongoing basis. I suppose it will be a few years before that is all wrapped up. It has been a complicated process and expensive, but the building is an asset to the community now and will be more of an asset when completed,” he said.

Reeve

Henry Hogg – Long-serving reeve seeks another term

In the 16-year history of Addington Highlands Township there has only been one term, 2004-2006, when Henry Hogg has not been the reeve. He took a break from Council to focus on his school bus business during those years.

Other than that, even going back 15 years before amalgamation, Hogg has been a fixture in local politics, and in on three occasions, 2003, 2010 and 2011, he was the warden of Lennox & Addington County.

During most of these years he was also running a marina, a bus company, or both. Now that he has sold off his businesses, Hogg is enjoying his retirement from the business world by devoting more time to family and the township.

“I enjoy being reeve, and there are projects that I would like to see brought to completion, but of course that is always going to be the case,” he said. “I would like to get the fire hall in Northbrook finished, and I would like to see how we can work collectively to deal with the entire policing issue. I think there are some pieces missing from the way it has been rolled out. For example, what about calls on Crown Land? Are they separated out from the billing? I don't think the province has taken into account our seasonal nature and the fact that we have no commercial base to draw upon to pay these extra costs, but we need to work with others in the same position to seek any remedy from the increased billing,” he said.

While the township is predominantly residential, Hogg would like to see the township go further in promoting itself for commercial development.

“I would like to look at all the permit and planning fees we charge for re-zoning and Official Plan amendments when an investor wants to bring in a commercial development. Maybe there is a way to make it easier, and cheaper, to start up a business in the township,” he said.

He thinks that the township is efficiently managed by the township office staff and said that succession planning has been a priority over the last year or so, which will ensure a smooth transition when pending staffing changes take place.

Among the priorities in the coming term will be to deal with succession planning in the public works department.

“I think we are under control and I think our expenses are fair. We do a pretty good job on the roads, and try to keep taxes down as much as we can. Over the years we have fully amalgamated the two former townships that came together to create the new township. Waste management and roads department practices are uniform throughout the township. That is not to say there aren't issues of concern in each ward, but we do a good job of working together,” he said.

Among issues that will come up early in the next term will be what to do with the current Northbrook fire hall when it is no longer needed, and how to keep the budget in line, given increased costs and very slow growth.

“We don't have much control over some of the larger issues that always seem to be thrown our way from the province, such as policing, or from some other source. The best we can do is to prepare and be ready to deal with circumstances that are out of our control; to run our operations, work hard at the county and keep things moving forward,” he said.