The Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) came into effect in 2012, and in an effort to bring awareness to the fact that the private sector must comply with certain accessibility standards under the act, the Frontenac Accessibility Advisory Committee (FAAC) and the County of Frontenac have proclaimed April 3-8 as Accessibility Awareness Week.

The aim is to increase awareness of accessibility in the four townships across the county by sharing successful stories and highlighting local businesses, groups and individuals who are making a difference through their #AccessibleFrontenac Twitter campaign.

Janette Amini, manager of legislative services and the clerk at the county, hopes that by devoting the week to issues of accessibility, the word will get out to private business owners. “Our focus is to inspire local businesses and make them aware of the standards that need to be met to comply with the AODA, while assisting them in creating the types of policies they need to put in place and letting them know that we are here to help in any way we can”.

Part of the awareness campaign has been focusing on local businesses in the county that have made an effort to meet the regulations. In 2013, the county in partnership with the FAAC created the County of Frontenac International Day of Persons with Disabilities Access Award, which is awarded annually to a business in the community that has shown leadership and commitment to meeting the AODA requirements.

In 2015 the award went to Verona resident Doug Lovegrove, a long-time member of the Verona Community Association, who was recognized for producing an AODA training booklet/manual that outlines topics regarding accessibility and customer service for persons with disabilities. Lovegrove uses the manual to train volunteers in the Verona community.

Previous recipients of the award were the Verona Lions Club (2013) and Joe Ryan and Brenden Hicks of Accessible Living (2014).

The campaign also tells the stories of the many businesses that were also nominated for the award. Amini stressed the fact that a more accessible county is good for business.

The ultimate goal of the AODA, which was passed by the Ontario government in 2005, is to create a fully accessible Ontario by 2025. Amini looks to the hard facts of an ever-increasing aging population and the fact that today, 1.8 million Ontarians have a disability. That number is expected to grow to 16% of the total population by 2026, and by 2035, 40% of the population of Canada will have a disability. The fact that persons with disabilities have the spending power of $21-$25 billion and that in Ontario improving accessibility can create up to $9.6 billion in new retail spending and $1.6 billion in new tourism spending are some very concrete reasons for local businesses to meet the new standards.

However, profits are not the only reason that business owners are encouraged to comply. The AODA outlines five areas of standardization that need to be met, including: customer service; information and community employment; transportation; and the design of public spaces. Meeting the needs not only can mean increased profits but also the rewards that come with creating a more diverse workplace and one where persons with disabilities are given an opportunity to reach their full potential as employees.

For more information about this topic visit www.ontario.ca\accessibility or contact Janette Amini at 613-548-9400 ext. 302.

It has been a number of years since absenteeism among paramedics at Frontenac Paramedic Services and both nursing and non-nursing staff at Fairmount Home was flagged as above the industry targets for those sectors.

The County's human resources staff have been gathering data on absenteeism ever since, in an effort to determine if absenteeism mitigation efforts have had an effect. The latest rolling average suggests that Fairmount Home staff are still off sick more often than the target, which for nursing staff is 10 days or less off sick per year for 80% of employees and for non-nursing staff is 7 days off sick per year for 80% of employees. 67%% of nursing staff and 71.5% of non-nursing staff met the target. The 67% figure for nursing staff represents an improvement over the 64% figure from the previous period, but for non-nursing staff it represents a drop from the previous period, when 86% of staff met the target.

As for paramedics working for Frontenac Paramedic Services, who have a target of 12 sick days for 80% of employees, the numbers continue to lag. Only 58% of paramedics met the target, down from 65% the last time around.

In presenting the numbers to a meeting of Frontenac County Council a couple of weeks ago, CAO Kelly Pender said that specific circumstances, such as a flu outbreak that sent a number of paramedics home in the middle of their shifts last December and lasted three to four more days in most cases, “had a significant impact on the statistics”.

For their part, Frontenac County politicians wondered what they can do with the numbers.

“I'm not sure what these numbers are telling us,” said Councillor John Inglis.

Measures taken to mitigate against sick time have had mixed success. After paramedics were approached to discuss sick time last May, 12 paramedics launched grievances that are now in arbitration.

Waste management measures deferred

The waste management committee of the township met recently and discussed two potential changes. One would decrease the amount of waste going into the sites and the other would increase revenue.

The first measure is to stop allowing all construction waste at dumps. Instead, the committee contemplated allowing only a single truck or trailer load, and to have that material tossed into a bin and hauled away rather than filling up the waste site itself.

“That would result in people dumping in their backyards; at least that's my opinion,” said Reeve Henry Hogg.

The second idea was to eliminate the practice of allowing a free bag of dumping for every box of recycling that people bring to the dump. Recycling would still be free, but it would cost $2 per bag of waste.

“I don't think there are too many places where you don't have to pay something to dump garbage,” said Councilor Bill Cox.

“We already have the free bag in place, and it's hard to change something that people like and are used to. If we do, I would like at least one of you to come with me to each cottage association meeting,” said Reeve Hogg.

“People are paying extra in taxes because of the free bag, but the cost is hidden so they don't mind,” said Cox.

Council decided just to receive the waste management report, and Councilor Fritsch indicated he would bring the issues back to the table through a notice of motion at a future meeting.

Organisational review

Craig Davidson from Hybla Consulting brought a preliminary draft of an organisational review. He recommended establishing a chief administrative officer/clerk treasurer position as a new senior staff position, who would supervise a public works manager, the fire chief, and a chief building official/bylaw officer/facilities manager, as well as a deputy clerk/office manager.

“My concern is that once we have a CAO and a bunch of managers, we will end up with names on the Sunshine List in a few years, and that is something we cannot afford,” said Reeve Hogg.

(The Sunshine List contains names and salaries of public servants in Ontario who earn over $100,000 per year)

Bill Cox pointed out that change is needed in some of the township's operations. “We have council members managing buildings, ordering repairs, such as the Denbigh Community Centre and the Family Health Team in Northbrook, and that is not what Council should be doing,” he said.

Davidson said he would consult with Council and staff and will bring back a further draft proposal.

Budget yikes

The preliminary draft budget that was presented at a special meeting before the regular council meeting by Clerk/Treasurer Christine Reed, included a 5.5% increase in operating costs, due in part to increases of $107,000 (a 17% increase) in OPP billing, and a new budget line of $80,000 to go towards loan payments for the Northbrook fire hall.

However, it was the capital budget that caused the most concern. That budget includes a rolloff truck ($250,000), a backhoe ($150,0000), a cardlock fuel monitoring system ($120,000), and other items, for a total cost of $550,000.

Those expenditures led to a total budget increase of $430,000, almost 18%. Reed said when contacted the day after the meeting that the number did not go over well with Council. She said she received instructions to change the equipment purchase portion of the budget. As she had noted in the budget document, at least one item, the rolloff truck, could be struck from the budget and the amount put in reserves for a purchase at a later date. That, in itself, would cut the increase to under 10%. Further budget meetings are set for April, with adoption scheduled for May 2.

K&P Trail update

Trail proponents and the county's economic development department have a goal of completing the K&P Trail as far as Sharbot Lake by Canada Day, 2017, Canada's 150th anniversary.

The trail is now complete from the bottom of the county at Orser Road, just east of Road 38, all the way to Tichborne. However, to complete the last eight kilometres of trail will be more complicated than the first 50 or so were.

While the section of trail that is now complete was (almost) entirely owned by the county after they purchased it from Bell Canada, who acquired it from Canadian Pacific, the section now being looked at was sold off to private owners. There are 22 land owners who own sections of the former K&P rail line, some who own a few metres and some three or more kilometres.

Marcel Giroux and Wayne Robinson, who both have decades of history in the Tibchborne to Sharbot Lake corridor, have volunteered to meet with landowners and negotiate agreements.

In her report to County Council, Anne Marie Young notes that Robinson and Giroux “feel every person will want some kind of consideration/ compensation for the value of the trail they own.”

She said that a draft appraisal report has been completed to determine fair market value to establish a figure that can be used as a basis for negotiation. “Expropriation is also an option if need be,” she noted, and added that a meeting has been held with the county’s solicitor to determine a plan if that becomes necessary.”

For his part, Marcel Giroux is optimistic that amicable arrangements can be made with most of the landowners, but accommodations, not only of the financial kind, will need to be made.

“There are some places where houses have been built over the trail, or septic beds are on or near the trail, so we will need to find alternate routes,” said Giroux, in a telephone interview after the Council meeting

Giroux added that the most of the landowners who have been approached have been either supportive or at least neutral towards the idea of allowing a trail to go through their land.

He said that as negotiations continue, those pieces that have been secured will be completed to the high standard of the rest of the trail.

“We want to create some more momentum if we can,” he said.

There is an initiative aimed at consolidating the K&P trail north from Sharbot Lake through Central and North Frontenac into Lanark and Renfrew. A meeting was held in January with officials from the other counties, and further meetings are planned.

Upgrades to county offices

A report on necessary and desired upgrades to the county offices, which are located in what is called the “Old House”, was presented to Council. The “Old House” was originally constructed in 1919 by Colonel William H Fair, and is attached to the Fairmount Home and the offices of Frontenac Paramedic Services.

The report says there is ample floor space in the building for the current and future space needs of county staff. However, since it is a house and not an office building, much of the space is wasted and there is a lack of privacy in many of the offices, which are located in converted bedrooms, family rooms, etc.

Of the 13 issues of concern raised in the report, the most immediate has to do with washroom facilities and accessibility issues, which need to be addressed in order to comply with the Health and Safety and Accessibility acts. Other than that, the issues are more those of efficiency and costs of operating an older building.

Staff put forward eight wide-ranging options for Council to consider, from doing nothing, to decommissioning the building and constructing new offices, possibly within Frontenac County.

Council favoured the middle of the range, asking staff to come back with costing for option 4, “renovate for washroom accessibility and improved reception and improved productivity” and option 6, “Old House conversion to new use and addition to accommodate accessibility and productivity needs.”

North Frontenac tax increase sneaks in at under 3%

It was only by the slimmest of margins, but in spite of an increase in OPP costs of $173,000, which in itself represents an increase of 3.16% of the overall North Frontenac budget, staff managed to bring in a budget with an increase of 2.98%.

Although the OPP increase was offset by a $75,000 increase in provincial transfers, flat-lining the rest of the budget took months of effort from staff as well as council, which met numerous times in the fall of 2015 and again this winter to fine-tune the numbers.

By partnering with Frontenac County for IT services and waste management consulting, and Central Frontenac for building services, cost savings have been realized. There was also a reduction in heating costs.

The township was also one of 77 municipalities in Ontario (out of 144) to receive a grant under the Ontario Community Infrastructure Fund this year. The grant of $288,000 will cover 90% of the cost of a new culvert on Buckshot Lake Road. The township will also purchase two pickup trucks and a Sterling tandem truck.

The planned re-build and renovation of the township office is not included in this year's budget. The project will remain in the design stage this year.

Community Improvement

Once Council had approved their 2016 budget, Anne Marie Young and Reid Shepherd presented the final version of a Community Improvement Plan, which will be available for businesses in the entire township.

The program will include funding under four different categories: facade improvement, accessibility enhancements, commercial space funding, and municipal fees granting program. While in other Frontenac townships, individual hamlets were chosen for funding, such as Verona in South Frontenac and Sharbot Lake in Central Frontenac, all businesses in the Township of North Frontenac are eligible for funding support for improvements to their business location, including renovations and expansions of existing buildings. However, the program does not apply to new construction. There is a $2,500 limit for any single project, and an additional $2,000 for grants to cover municipal fees, such as building permits, for renovations and expansions.

Frontenac County is providing a $70,000 pool of money for the program, which will be handed out on a first-come, first-served basis for projects that fit the criteria of the program. Once that money is spent, the township may choose to invest its own money to extend the program. Most of the grants will require matching investments from the businesses involved. The Community Improvement Plan also includes municipally generated projects. For further information, contact the township.

Electoral reform – North Frontenac style

Based on a request from Mayor Ron Higgins, a document was received by Council about reviewing municipal ward systems by Quinto Annibale, a Toronto-based planning consultant.

Higgins said that if the township is interested in changing the current system, they need to do so by the end of 2017 in order for the changes to come into effect in time for the 2018 municipal election.

“Although I think we are striving to work together towards a common goal at council, and I have found this council has made great strides in that direction, I don't see us abandoning the ward election system,” said Higgins. “What we might do is cut down to one member from each ward, and a mayor and deputy mayor elected at large, by the entire township.”

Since there are two representatives for each of the three North Frontenac wards, and Barrie Ward is home to more than twice as many people as Palmerston Ward, Councilor John Inglis said, “What we could do is have two representatives from Barrie Ward, and one each from the other two, and the mayor elected at large.”

The matter was deferred.

Independent Electricity Service Operator (IESO)

North Frontenac will take the lead in the municipal response to the IESO regarding mandatory municipal support for renewable energy projects. Last week, the locations of wind and solar projects that were awarded contracts under phase 1 of the Large Renewable Procurement process were announced. Consultations are getting underway to determine the rules for phase 2, a process that will take over a year.

Mayor Higgins has been asked to develop a position paper on behalf of a number of townships, and Council gave him leave to do that work.

“The main goal is to ensure that municipalities have a veto over the location of wind or solar projects within their boundaries,” said Higgins.

Resistance from South Frontenac

Mayor Higgins said that it caught him by surprise when, at a meeting of Frontenac County Council, the mayor of South Frontenac did not want to allow him to report on the activities of the Rural Mayors’ Forum of Eastern Ontario, a group that Higgins founded.

“He seemed to feel that we were undermining the Eastern Ontario Wardens’ Caucus, and I explained that we are not trying to do that; and that we are working collaboratively with other organizations on a set of common issues,” said Higgins.

County Update

County Warden Frances Smith and CAO Kelly Pender presented an update of the County’s current projects and priorities This was followed by a brief discussion of problems caused by servers not sharing cell towers. Councillor Sleeth asked about planned upgrades of the County offices: Pender said that the building itself provides plenty of room but the current layout is awkward and there is no accessible washroom on the main floor. Upgrades will address these issues.

Lowered Cost of Closed Road Allowance

Planner Lindsay Mills asked Council’s direction on setting a fee for an ‘orphaned’ piece of closed road allowance on Concession VIII, Storrington. In most cases, road allowances within 300 feet of water are priced at $2.41 per square foot, the same as if they had water access. (Total cost of this land would then be $41,000.) However because this is a backlot, and to facilitate its becoming attached to one or more of the neighbouring properties, Council agreed to compromise and set the fee at the commercial lot price of $1.03 per square foot.

Recreation Facility User Fees

CAO Orr and Tim Laprade, Township Recreation Supervisor, asked Council for direction in sorting out the question of user fees for halls and sports facilities throughout the Township.

Since its introduction in late 2013, this has been a controversial issue which South Frontenac’s Recreation Committee has not been able to resolve. Some of the challenges have included:

• Most historical agreements are vague and unrecorded.

• Inconsistency in who pays fees for use of halls and fields, and how (in kind, donations back to community, set rates, etc).

• fees don’t reflect the true cost of maintenance and operation of facilities (and to what degree should they?)

• fear that fees would be a barrier to participation.

• fee-payers might demand higher levels of service and maintenance.

Acknowledging that any recommendation will be to some degree controversial, Council agreed to ask Orr and Laprade to study the present situation (how much money in fees is currently being collected, vs the costs of maintaining Township facilities), and bring to Council recommendations re a consistent and fair fee schedule.

CF Council expands CIP to include entire township

Following a presentation by Reid Shepherd, community planner with the County of Frontenac regarding the Central Frontenac's Community Improvement Plan (CIP), council passed a motion extending the availability of the program's grants and loans to the entire township.

The change was motivated by a motion to include other communities, which was put forth by councilors Jamie Riddell and Victor Heese back in April 28, 2015 at a regular council meeting. When the CIP was first adopted back in August of 2012, the program was available only in Sharbot Lake. Council members were unanimously in favor of extending the boundaries and widening the scope of the program, though many differed about who exactly could apply and whether the program should be restricted to business owners or include institutions like churches and also residents who may want to improve their properties.

To date, of the $80,000 that was initially available in the program, ($70,000 through the County and $10,000 through the township), $27,150 in funding remains. A total of 11 projects have been approved, seven of which have been completed and four still yet to be. The CIP offers a number of incentive programs that include facade improvement, accessibility enhancements, business start-up funding, a community improvement loan program and a municipal fees grant program. Council will have staff advise how the remaining funding could be best used.

Auditor's consolidated financial statement approved

Breanne Bradshaw, senior manager with the township's auditors, KPMG, presented the 2015 consolidated financial statements for the township. Bradshaw was accompanied by Vicky Leaky and township treasurer Michael McGovern.

In the report's highlights, Bradshaw said that the township “is in a net debt position”, suggesting that the township “has financial capital purchases and future obligations”. On the topic of tax assessment and tax arrears, the taxable assessment for the township was up 5.4%.

In a summary of the report, Bradshaw said that the municipality received an “unqualified clean" audit opinion.

In ending her summary Bradshaw reported that council “will have opportunities in the future to consider setting capital levy as a percentage of operating expenses; developing a long-term financial strategy to fund projects using debt if the project meets specific criteria; and developing a reserve/reserve fund policy that provides guidelines for staff on the acceptable limits that council approves”.

Cost for toilets and storage at Oliver Scott Memorial site

Council received a letter from Lesley Merrigan who is heading up the Sharbot Lake rink project. She said the site is in need of storage and washroom facilities since the existing facilities are slated for demolition. Merrigan said because construction at the site is expected to begin this summer, a storage unit and two portable toilets are needed, which will cost $1380. She also asked council's permission to begin the demolition of the existing facilities in preparation for this year's upcoming baseball season. Council accepted the request for information and directed staff to report back to council regarding the viability of the request.

Re-Use Centre postpones proposed May opening

The Re-Use Centre Committee, which has met four times to discuss a mandate and its terms of reference, is currently in the process of approaching Community Living-North Frontenac with the hopes of entering into an agreement of cooperation with the Treasure Trunk, which is currently undergoing an operational review. The Re-Use Centre committee is preparing a presentation to the board of directors of CL-NF at their regular meeting on March 30 to better understand the future plans of the Treasure Trunk so that the committee can hopefully move forward with the plans for the center.

New organizational chart approved by Council

Council approved recommendations by Clerk/Administrator Cathy MacMunn and the Human Resources Committee to reflect the recent changes in positions and shared services with the County and other townships. The changes were made in two township departments. The building and planning departments have morphed into Development Services, and include a manager of Development Services/CBO and a Development Services assistant. The latter will also act as the secretary treasurer for the committee of adjustment. Further, public works has a new administrative assistant position.

Public Works administrative assistant appointed Cathy MacMunn updated council on the fact that Heather Robinson, a staff member at the township, has been offered the position of public works administrative assistant. A new front counter receptionist will be hired to fill Robinson's former post.

Opponents are breathing a sigh of relief, and the Township of Addington Highlands is no longer in line for a $10 million infusion of money over 20 years.

All three wind proposals in Addington Highlands and North Frontenac failed to secure contracts under the Large Renewable Procurement (LRP) for Renewable Energy Projects, the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) announced this morning. As well, all of the solar proposals in South Frontenac also failed.

Two wind projects in Eastern Ontario did succeed, however, including a 32 MW project in the Municipality of The Nation near Ottawa, and a 100 MW project in North Stormont. A large solar farm in Stone Mills, 54 MW, also made the cut.

North Frontenac Mayor Ron Higgins was quick to respond to the news that the Northpoint 1 and Northpoint 2 projects, both of which are at least partially located in North Frontenac, were unsuccessful.

“So happy” Higgins tweeted out as soon as he heard, but then said that the township needs to be diligent in opposing turbines in the future, as a second, and possible third round of renewable energy procurements roll out.

Over in Addington Highlands, where the township supported two wind turbine proposals, Reeve Henry Hogg was on vacation last week when the winning bids were announced. When contacted this week after his return, he said that there would be implications to the township's budget, which is being worked on this month.

“If the contracts were coming this way, we would have considered borrowing to help cover the increase in OPP costs, as we would have been expecting an infusion of cash in about three years’ time. We won't be able to do that now,” he said.

As a sweetener, the two companies that were seeking municipal support in Addington Highlands, RES-Canada and NextEra, offered $500,000 per year for the 20-year life of the contracts once turbines were installed.

“I don't know if the companies will come back or when the next round will take place, but I am not looking forward to it, although my position has not changed,” said Hogg, referring to the controversy last summer that surrounded the decision his council made to support the projects. Police were called in to two council meetings, but although there was some booing and catcalling, there was nothing resembling a violent encounter at either meeting.

Of the two companies that submitted proposals locally, NextEra was shut out across the province in both wind and solar projects even though they submitted nine bids (six solar and three wind). RES-Canada did win two contracts out of 11 bids. Both of them are wind projects, one in Chatham-Kent, and one in the vicinity of Hawkesbury.

Neither company has commented since the announcement was made last week.

Although the IESO said that 75% of the projects that were selected are located in jurisdictions that were “willing hosts” like Addington Highlands, almost all the wind projects that were chosen, including both in Eastern Ontario, are in townships that are “unwilling hosts”.

Since wind projects tend to spark more controversy than solar projects, it is perhaps not surprising that of 25% of projects that went to municipalities who opposed them, wind projects were over-represented as compared to solar.

The results also suggest that the diverging positions taken by North Frontenac and Addington Highlands were not a key factor in the final result, which seems to have been driven primarily by price.

The average price per kilowatt hour among the chosen wind projects was 8.95 cents, as compared to 15.6 cents for solar and 17.5 cents for water-powered projects.

The 8.95 cent price is lower than the average price paid by the IESO currently, which is just over 9.2 cents, meaning with this latest set of contracts, wind is headed towards the top of the heap among renewable sources as far as price is concerned.

All of this suggests that as the controversy over wind power escalates in Ontario, its economic viability is on the rise as well.

There were also three large-scale solar projects proposed for South Frontenac. Two were supported by the township and one was opposed. None of them were successful.

Lennox and Addington County Council is preparing to debate closing its 12-hour ambulance service in Denbigh and transferring it to a base in Loyalist Township. In a last ditch attempt to save the base, L&A wrote a letter to Frontenac, Renfrew, and Hastings counties, asking each of them if they are “prepared to assume a greater financial responsibility for the ambulance service located at Denbigh in order to maintain the service for your citizens”. In a report to Frontenac County Council, CAO Kelly Pender recommended against Frontenac County providing supplementary funding to L&A to keep the base open.

Pender said that providing funding to subsidize the operation of a service in another township runs contrary to the established practice of only paying neighbouring districts for actual cross-border ambulance calls.

“The request from the County of Lennox and Addington [is] to assume a larger share of the cost of operating the Denbigh base. This request is contrary to the general intent of a seamless service delivery model and represents a shift from the generally accepted “incremental” cost recovery system. It is not a model that can be supported by staff,” wrote Pender.

He then wrote that there “may be opportunities to investigate alternative management models that would allow L&A to enhance their service delivery while achieving a measure of cost containment,” although the report contains no details about those models. The closest base to Denbigh that is located in Frontenac County is the one at Robertsville, close to an hour's drive away.

Renfrew and Hastings counties will be considering the request from L&A at their respective meetings later this month.

The Denbigh base responds to 133 calls per year, on average. Of those 34, about 25% are located in Frontenac County.

The L&A proposal is for Frontenac County to pay 25% of the $750,000 annual cost of maintaining the service, phased in over three years. That would translate into $62,500 this year; $125,000 in 2017; and $187,500 in 2018 and annually thereafter. 

Municipal councils set policy; they set budgets; and they provide oversight to ensure that everything is running well. It is not their job to run the township; that is the job of township staff.

There is indeed a grey area in all this. Councilors are elected, and the people who elect them expect them to make sure everything is done right; that the garbage is picked up on time; the dumps are safe; the roads are cleared; property values will be protected; environmental regulations will be adhered to; etc.

They need to sometimes poke their noses in operations to make sure everything is being done right, but they also need to be careful that they are not just getting in the way, slowing things down and making the township less efficient.

So, when Council starts to interfere directly in township operations on a routine basis, there is a problem. And that is what is happening at South Frontenac as far as planning is concerned.

Council meetings these days are dominated by discussions among councilors on planning issues. Reports and recommendations by the planning department, technical reports by engineering companies and environmental authorities, and legal opinions from township lawyers - all are routinely dismissed by members of council, who have no formal expertise in any of these areas.

In the most contentious case before Council currently - a 13-lot subdivision in Hartington - there is a well-organized opposition that has made use of all the resources at their disposal: making presentations to council, writing to council, and hiring their own technical consultants.

These are all legitimate parts of the prescribed planning process, and eventually the reports prepared for the applicants, the County of Frontenac (which is the ultimate deciding body) and opponents, will all be put to the Ontario Municipal Board for a decision. No matter what Council had done in this case the matter was headed that way from the start. If Council recommended approval, and it was rubber-stamped by the County, the opposition would have appealed, and if they said no the proponents would have appealed.

However, what they have done is delay, and that has led to an appeal based on the delay, not an appeal based on a decision.

Even two weeks ago, after the appeal was launched, council delayed their decision once again. There was a crowd of opponents in the room saying they should vote no, and a township planner recommending they vote yes, based on 35 conditions. Council did neither. They ordered a report to look at all of the other reports.

For one thing, township money will be spent on this new, unnecessary report. Whether Council supports this project or opposes it will likely have little impact on the OMB decision. The OMB will look at all the technical reports, the opinions of planners, lawyers, etc.

They will measure this application against all the other decisions that have been made elsewhere and on the rules that have been set out locally and provincially.

What Council's delays will do, however, is affect who pays for all of this.

The applicant will be seeking legal costs, and council's dithering, their refusal to trust their own planners and the peer reviews by engineering companies, will all be cited as grounds for the township to reimburse the costs of the applicants.

This will cost the ratepayers and will also be a deterrent for developers who are attracted to South Frontenac.

There are reasons for residents, and councils, to be cautious about development. That's why rules need to be in place and enforced.

In South Frontenac, those rules are in place and being enforced, and Council is helping no one by meddling in areas where they do not have any expertise.

I don't have any idea if the Hartington subdivision is a good thing or an environmental disaster waiting to happen, and I've read most of the reports and letters.

The point is, I don't think South Frontenac Council knows any better than I do. Planning needs to be a process based on clear rules. Once it becomes political it is going to be slow, contentious, and expensive for all involved.

That is what happened here, and it is time that South Frontenac did things differently.