Jule Koch Brison | Aug 04, 2011


Northpoint Square in Northbrook is for sale, and owner Murry Northey attended the meeting in Denbigh to give council information about the complex, which contains several offices, since the township is looking to establish a new office/fire hall complex in or near Northbrook.

Council considered a request from two teachers from NAEC (North Addington Education Centre) for a $2000 grant to buy equipment for an Outdoor Learning Centre, which they are hoping to establish at the school. Councilor Helen Yanch said that while she thinks the proposal is a good one, she does not think that the township should be paying for it, but that the Limestone School Board has to step up to the plate. Deputy Reeve Bill Cox brought forward a motion to deny the request for the money, which was defeated in a 2-2 vote, with Yanch and Cox voting for and Councilors Tony Fritsch and Adam Snider voting against it. Reeve Henry Hogg did not vote in that round.

Councilor Fritsch then brought forward a motion to give $1,000 as a one-time grant to the project, and in a recorded vote, with Reeve Hogg and Councilors Fritsch and Snider voting for, and Yanch and Cox against, the motion passed.

Council denied a request for $1,000 from the Land O’Lakes Tourist Association to support their upcoming Vision awards.

Council discussed a draft Request for Proposal (RFP) for the Northbrook municipal building/firehall project. Councilor Fritsch requested that plans for a covered parking area in the RFP be removed as an unjustifiable expenditure. Deputy Reeve Cox also asked if air-conditioning would be needed in the whole building, and Fire Chief Casey Cuddy, who was in attendance at the meeting, replied that it would not be needed in the truck bays. With those and some other amendments, council voted to proceed with the draft, which will come back to council for further consideration before being put out.

Two requests were received for the township to assist with maintenance on the Hunt Road and Cross Lake Road, which are unmaintained township roads. Councilor Snider suggested that if the property owners were willing to share half of the costs, “It would be hard to say no” to the requests. However, except for Councilor Yanch, the other councilors felt that the township should obtain cost estimates first. Helen Yanch said that up until the last few years the roads had been “reasonably maintained”. Roads Superintendent Royce Rosenblath confirmed that in the past work had been done on a case-by-case basis, but a few terms of council back, he had been instructed not to do any work on roads that were not in the roads system.

Council voted to obtain cost estimates for the requested roadwork.

Council acceded to a request to waive dump fees for a cleanup of Skootamatta Lake.

Royce Rosenblath said that some people are still bringing black garbage bags to the waste sites – 20 bags were brought in recently - and asked if council could write letters to the parties in question reminding them that the township only accepts clear garbage bags. Council agreed.

Council awarded a tender for a tanker replacement for the Denbigh fire station, for $183,739, to the Dependable Truck Company. The price includes ULC certification.

The contractor who is presently working on the Northbrook Fire Hall had also won the tender for repairs to the Denbigh Fire Hall; however, he has since doubled his quote for one of the items. Fire Chief Cuddy asked if the tender could be awarded to the next highest bidder; however, council decided that the only fair way to proceed would be to re-tender the project. The tender already has been put out twice, as there were no bidders the first time around.

Support local
independant journalism by becoming a patron of the Frontenac News.