In 2008, politicians in Lennox and Addington (L&A) County were faced with the option of closing the Denbigh Ambulance Service and re-allocating resources to the south end of the county to satisfy an ever-increasing demand. At that time they resisted.

In 2012 the same issue was before Council and that time they cut the Denbigh service in half, opening a new base in Loyalist Township and allocating one of the Denbigh shifts to the new base.

Now, County staff recommend making Loyalist a 24-hour operation, and closing Denbigh. They also propose to start up a service in Stone Mills within a year or two. The arguments are the same now as they were in 2012.

The Denbigh ambulance was called out 190 times last year. Meanwhile there were 542 calls for service from Loyalist Township during the 12 hours a day when the Loyalist base was closed. On one level moving the shift looks like a better allocation of limited resources.

There are other factors, however. Those night calls in Loyalist were handled mostly by nearby Kingston-based paramedics from the Frontenac County service (80%) or from L&A paramedics in Napanee. The service would be quicker if they came from Loyalist, by a matter of minutes.

If there were no Denbigh service, most of those 190 Denbigh calls would be answered by paramedics stationed in Northbrook (20 minutes from Denbigh), unless they are out on standby somewhere or on a call of their own. In those cases the ambulance will need to come from Renfrew or Bancroft (40 minutes away) or the Frontenac base in Robertsville (60 minutes away).

The time factor is dramatically different

Moving the shift would save five minutes or so in the response time for 542 calls to Loyalist, but could increase the response time by 30 to 75 minutes for calls in the large Denbigh catchment area.

Which is more important?

Once again, as happened in 2008 and 2011, municipal politicians are faced with these kinds of life and death decisions that should never be forced on politicians at this level.

Another factor is at play in the staff report.

Closing the Denbigh base is being proposed as the first link in a chain of changes that would result in improved service in Loyalist Township, Stone Mills, and the City of Napanee. Politicians from all three of those jurisdictions would be working against the individual interests of their own constituents if they support the Denbigh service over these enhancements.

Asking a politician to work against the interests of their constituents, particularly where emergency services are concerned, is an easy sell. Yet that is what Addington Highlands Reeve Hogg and Deputy Reeve Yanch are faced with doing this week. The first step will be to play for time by seeking a deferral, and even if that works it is hard to see what the next step will be.

In order to make an impression, there needs to be community support from Denbigh for Hogg and Yanch when they make their pitch for the Denbigh service to L&A County Council.

The activists from Denbigh who led the public fight the last time around will likely be the same people who will have to come out this time.

Interestingly enough, these are the same people who have been leading a bitter and sometimes personal fight against Addington Highlands Council when it comes to wind turbine proposals from NextEra and RES Canada.

That fight has been focussed on Hogg and Yanch in particular and is by no means over.

Different issues result in different sets of allies and enemies.

Police seek to get upstream

At his semi-annual report to Addington Highlands Council, Detachment Commander Pat Finnegan of the Napanee/Kaladar detachment said that based on a four-year rolling average of statistics there is nothing standing out in Addington Highlands.

“None of the categories, such as Break and Enters, Domestic Assaults, etc., indicate any significant changes,” he said.

He did say that as the result of a six-month investigation by a drug unit made up of members of the detachment and others, into an alleged crystal meth operation, arrests were made this year, including that of one resident of Addington Highlands.

“Apart from that it has been quiet; nothing special has gone on aside from two fatalities from motor vehicle accidents, including an ATV collision and a tractor trailer accident in the fall,” he said.

He also said that as the result of consolidating the administrative team at the detachment headquarters in Napanee, which resulted in the Kaladar detachment no longer being open to the public, waiting lists for things like criminal checks have dropped dramatically, in some cases from a three-month wait to same-day service.

“I would also like to let Council know about a new program we are undertaking. We will be meeting once a month with professionals in social services, addictions, mental health, and others to see if we can't identify individuals and families who are at risk of getting into a situation that may end up involving police or other emergency services. By following a protocol and identifying families that are in that precarious state, we can approach them, as a group, and make them aware of the services that are available from all of us. The idea is to get upstream from situations. By the time police are normally involved they are way downstream. We will have more about this in the future. There is a similar program in Frontenac County,” Commander Finnegan said.

Massive Yard Sale on Canada Day

Councilor Fritsch informed Council that a group is planning a Highway 41 yard sale on Canada Day. People with properties along the highway will be encouraged to hold yard sales, and some larger lots will be used for groups sales as well.

“The plan is to run this all along the length of the highway, from Pembroke to Napanee,” Fritsch said.

Official Plan amendment

The township's planning consultant wrote to Council about a last-minute working change the Ministry of Municipal Affairs is seeking for the township's Official Plan update.

To a section limiting the creation of new lots to two new ones from a single large lot, unless a plan of subdivision process is undertaken, the words “As a general rule” are to be taken out.

“That means that even if someone owns a 200 or 500 acre lot, they can only create two new lots, and there will be no way around it,” said Reeve Hogg. “I don't think we want to do that.”

“What's the alternative if we say no to this?” said Councilor Fritsch.

“We have to appeal to the Ontario Municipal Board,” said Hogg. “We need to find out how much that will cost.”

Staff will talk to the planner and get a sense of what it might cost if the township does not go along with the ministry demand and launches an appeal.

Too much roadwork?

A question came in to Public Works Manager Royce Rosenblath from Councilor Kirby Thompson about the activity by the roads department on the paved Matawatchan Road last Saturday, when there was a mix of drizzle and freezing rain in the forecast.

“The truck passed by the road repeatedly, even though the road was bare,” said Thompson.

Rosenblath was anticipating the question. He handed out a copy of a document called Minimum Maintenance for Municipal Highways from the website of the Government of Ontario.

The document outlines the standard for the prevention of ice formation on roadways “preceding an alleged formation of ice on a roadway”.

Roads departments are expected to monitor the weather and “treat the roadway to prevent ice formation,” it says.

“But the road was clear,” said Thompson.

“And the crews were out to make sure they stayed that way,” said Rosenblath.

“I suggest that we need to communicate to the public that the crews are doing their job in these kinds of circumstances; that they are not out trying to get overtime pay when they are not needed,” said Councilor Tony Fritsch.

“The crews would rather be home with their families, I can assure you of that,” said Rosenblath, “but then again I would rather hear that the roads are too well maintained than that they are not maintained well enough.”

Following their regular meeting in Glenburnie on December 16, members of Frontenac County Council along with Neil Allen, chair of the Frontenac Accessibility Advisory Committee, presented South Frontenac resident Doug Lovegrove with the 2015 County of Frontenac International Day of Persons with Disabilities Access Award.

Created in 2013 through the County of Frontenac in partnership with the Frontenac Accessibility Advisory Committee, which includes citizens from North, Central and South Frontenac, and the Frontenac Islands, the award honors persons, groups or organizations that “have made or are making a significant contribution beyond legislated requirements, towards improving access for persons with disabilities in all corners of the Frontenacs”. Lovegrove, who is a long-time member of the Verona Community Association (VCA), was recognized for producing an AODA, (Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act) training booklet/manual, which outlines topics regarding accessibility and customer service for persons with disabilities. The act aims to have in place by 2025, various standards relating to accessibility as they apply to buildings and structures, goods and services facilities, accommodations, employment and more.

When interviewed after receiving the award, Lovegrove said he was surprised but pleased at being chosen. He said he decided to create the booklet when the subject of the AODA was brought up years back at a meeting of the VCA. “I recall telling members at the meeting that this [the AODA] is something that we are going to have to abide by and it was back then that I decided to move forward on creating a booklet that would make the information easy for people to access and understand.”

He designed the booklet originally as a training manual for VCA members but since that time he has made it available to community groups, organizations, businesses and other service providers wanting to better understand the types of standards that the act is aiming to achieve. Lovegrove, who worked as a technical instructor in the military, said that creating this type of manual was right up his alley. “I just took the information and put it into a format that would make it more accessible to people and the community at large”.

Lovegrove stressed that one of the aims of creating the booklet was to make people more aware. “As we are all aging and acquiring various disabilities that may include vision, hearing, mobility and a number of other issues, my hopes are that people become more aware of the challenges that people with disabilities face. I am hoping that people in our communities will be encouraged to make the necessary changes that can make a big difference in people’s lives.”

Lovegrove, who has been an active volunteer in his community and a member of the VCA for 20 plus years, said that he himself is slowly reducing the amount of volunteering he does in his local community. “With that in mind and by creating this booklet, I am hoping to see others carry this important issue forward.”

Anyone wishing to have a booklet can email him at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Previous recipients of the award were the Verona Lions Club (2013) and Joe Ryan and Brenden Hicks of Accessible Living (2014). The other nominees for the 2015 award included the VCA, the Township of South Frontenac, the Sharbot Lake Petro-Canada gas station, the Frontenac Gazette EMC, the Frontenac News and the Heritage News.

It is disconcerting that Central Frontenac Council purchased Sharbot Lake Public School on November 24 for $110,000, and five weeks later had to hold an emergency meeting just four days before Christmas to decide to tear down the building.

The emergency meeting was needed because after a site visit the week before, politicians and staff saw that the building was not viable and felt they needed a council decision before putting any more oil into the fuel tank of a building that needs to be torn down.

The decision they made on December 21 seems prudent enough, but why did they not pay this kind of visit to the building before they bought it on November 24.

Before spending $110,000 they should have made this determination. They should have known that they were facing an extra $150,000 in costs to clear the building and create a lot with a septic system and a well in the middle of Sharbot Lake.

No sense harping on the past, however.

With a quarter of a million dollars now sunk into that property, the council will consult with the public and then must decide how to make good use of the publicly owned property. The easiest thing to do would be to put in a five-unit housing project. Anything larger would put the property in a different category under the Ontario Safe Drinking Water Act, and will require an expensive water and waste water system to be installed and maintained over the long term.

However, given the amount of public money already sunk into the project, anything that is built should have a public use. Just building a five-unit townhouse to be sold on the open market would be difficult for the public to swallow.

It would perhaps be acceptable to Central Frontenac ratepayers to build seniors’ housing to add to the stock of low-income housing in the township. However it still seems that if the lot is worth $250,000 in public money to purchase, it needs to be turned into something that will serve the population of the township, not just five individuals or couples.

It behoves the township to look into the possibility of a larger, multi-use building on the property, one that incorporates a public use, perhaps even a commercial use, as well as seniors’ housing.

That would involve looking at the regulations for a large water system and determining how much it would cost to put one in. Before any of this can be decided the township needs to find out if it is even possible to put up a two or three-storey building in that location, given the size of the lot and its proximity to both basins of Sharbot Lake.

No matter what is built on the site, it will require money from at least one other level of government and/or the private sector, because the township doesn't have the money to build.

The township will also ultimately want to turn whatever is built over to an outside body, perhaps a for profit or not-for-profit corporation, to be responsible for maintenance.

Council does not want to saddle future generations with maintenance costs for a new facility.

All of this underlines the fact that the current council has made a leap into the unknown by buying the two public schools.

The same issues that apply to Sharbot Lake Public School apply to Hinchinbrooke Public School in Parham, although the details are different since the Hinchinbrooke School building is not being torn down, at least in the short term.

All of this is to say that this council will be defined by these purchases and what becomes of those two properties.

In general when townships build things; fire halls, municipal offices, garages, trails, municipal halls etc., they turn out to be community assets that are of value over the long run even if they are controversial at the time.

In 10 years will anyone remember that the township paid $250,000 for a lot?

Only if nothing of lasting value comes of it.

Glenburnie, ON – All five municipalities that make up the County of Frontenac are combining their Information Services (IS) starting today.

North Frontenac, Central Frontenac, South Frontenac, Frontenac Islands and the County of Frontenac are now all serviced by one team of IS professionals in an effort to create economies of scale and increase operational efficiencies.

The name of the new unit, which falls under the County of Frontenac’s Corporate Services Department, is Frontenac Municipal Information Services (FMIS). Hardware including computers and servers as well as software can now be acquired through shared procurement.

Under the direction of the five municipal councils involved, a committee of the Chief Administering Officers (CAOs) is looking at a range of shared services to ensure continued economic viability by streamlining processes.

“We look at streamlining and sharing processes in all the municipalities and it made sense to us to start with information services,” said County of Frontenac CAO Kelly Pender. “Information Services is the foundation from which all other shared services will benefit,” he said.

Frontenac Transportation secures five-year funding commitment from County

It has been a long time coming for Frontenac Transportation Service (FTS) to finally settle into its relationship with Frontenac County Council.

For years the Council was reluctant to commit to more than a one-time grant of $80,000 each year to the service, always under a neutral heading in the county budget - “Grants to Outside Agencies”.

The reason for this was a reluctance, expressed most often by former South Frontenac mayor, Gary Davison, to see the county “trapped into running an expensive transportation service. I'm afraid we will see costs increase every year until we are paying hundreds of thousands,” he said.

At county budget meetings five or six years ago, the debate about the $80,000 grant would be one of the longest discussions in the $40 million budget exercise, but over time that concern has slipped away.

Part of the reason was that the $80,000 request never did jump up as Davison expected. The other part was that the service has continued to grow incrementally, providing rides to medical appointments, daycare services, and shopping for vulnerable sectors of the county’s population, including seniors.

By the time Davison was getting ready to leave municipal politics, he had changed his attitude towards the service. At a budget meeting in 2013, he said, “I would support a long term commitment to FTS, and if it needs more than $80,000, that's fine with me as well.”

The funding has increased, and now stands at $96,000 per year, a portion for administration, and a portion to help fund rides. Other agencies, such as Ontario Works, the Local Health Integration Network and the Ontario Disability Support Program pay for rides for their own clients, and other clients pay fees themselves.

Louise Moody from Northern Frontenac Community Services (NFCS) the lead agency for FTS, and David Townsend from the partner agency Southern Frontenac Community Services (SFCS) made their annual visit to Frontenac County Council in mid-December. They were able to report that FTS has provided 5,852 rides for clients in South, Central, and North Frontenac, and that the volunteer drivers who provide the service traveled over $650,000 kilometres and received over $250,000 in reimbursement for mileage.

The numbers have increased over time and are set to increase again at the end of the fiscal year in March of 2016.

FTS service is delivered out of an office in Sharbot Lake.

“We like to have three days’ notice to help us match drivers to rides, but we are able to find rides within a day when clients need them,” said Louise Moody.

“The biggest concern we have is with volunteer drivers. We have about 60, 30 in South Frontenac and 30 in Central and North Frontenac, but we are always looking for more,” said David Townsend.

“With the average age of our drivers becoming older and older, we are getting caught by the same demographic shift that the entire county and region are seeing,” he added.

“I wholly support this service,” said Councilor John McDougall. “They are covering a need and doing it efficiently.”

His view was echoed by that of Councilor John Inglis from North Frontenac.

South Frontenac Mayor Ron Vandewal asked if $96,000 per year for five years was going to cover FTS costs.

“We see no need for an increase,” said David Townsend.

Councilor Natalie Nossal from Frontenac Islands asked whether the service was planning to expand to Wolfe and Howe Islands.

“We have looked into that and the VON [Victorian Order of Nurses] provide transportation in Kingston. They said that if we can find drivers to bring people to the ferry dock in Kingston from Wolfe Island they can take them from there. The same is true for Howe Island, but we need to know if there is a need and if drivers can be found on the islands,” said Townsend.

“If it can be arranged, we can dispatch the rides for the islands just as we do for the rest of the County,” said Louise Moody.

Twenty years ago, Frances Smith won the confidence of two dozen, mostly male, members of Frontenac County Council and was elected warden. At the time she was the reeve of Oso Township.

None of them knew it at the time, but all the reeves and deputy reeves on the Council at the time were destined to be the last to hold their positions on their own municipal councils.

“As soon as I was elected warden, the government announced they were forcing amalgamation in and I spent my year as warden – 1996 - at endless meetings as we negotiated how amalgamation was going to work in Frontenac County,” Smith said as she donned the chain of office for 2016. “I am hoping that this year will not be quite so busy or difficult.”

Many of the issues that are on the county agenda currently, such as shared services, are part of the long-term working out of the relationships between the County and its member municipalities that started when Smith was last warden in the mid 1990s.

This time around the election was a mere formality. As the sitting deputy warden, it was a virtual certainty that she would take her turn as warden in 2016, as it will be for South Frontenac Mayor Ron Vandewal in 2017. Vandewal was acclaimed to the position of deputy warden just after Smith became warden in a similar manner. North Frontenac Mayor Ron Higgins is slated to serve as deputy warden in 2017 and warden in 2018, the final year of the mandate for this council.

Only the municipal mayors, of whom there are four in Frontenac County, are eligible for the position of warden, which carries administrative, political and ceremonial responsibilities. The position also comes with additional pay. The base salary is $22,500, but the total can go as high as $28,500 when per diems and expenses are included. This is a jump from the $14,138 upper limit that County Council members receive. (All members receive additional pay for their roles on their own township councils).

The warden represents the County at regional meetings such as the Eastern Ontario Wardens' Caucus and at provincial events such as the annual Rural Ontario Municipal Association/Good Roads Conference in February and the annual Ontario Municipal Association Conference in August.

Smith said she does not have any over-riding goals for her year as county warden.

“The thing about the county is it's a steady-as-she-goes kind of ship. Having said that I would like to see the trail initiative get moved towards completion and to see the economic development plan get underway,” she said.

Although when she was warden the last time it was in the Oso township, pre-amalgamation days, Smith has been involved in local politics as a member of Central Frontenac Council since 2003, so she has seen the county develop from the perspective of township councilor for a dozen years before taking on the role of Central Frontenac mayor and County Council member a year ago.

Central Frontenac Township paid $110,000 each for the Sharbot Lake and Hinchinbrooke schools and their surrounding properties.

The township announced the purchases after a council meeting in late February, but the purchase price was not revealed at that time.

There are no firm plans for the use of the schools and township staff have not yet evaluated whether one or both of the buildings can be renovated for an alternate use in a cost-effective manner. Another alternative would be to remove the existing buildings and make use of the properties as building lots.

The need for asbestos mitigation will also have to be evaluated, as that had not been done prior to the completion of the sale.

When she announced the purchase, Mayor Frances Smith said that a public process will be undertaken to determine future uses of each property. She also said it is possible that the Sharbot Lake property might be converted to seniors' housing, and that the Hinchinbrooke site might be a good location for a single public works office and garage for the entire township.

Consolidating public works garages was one of the recommendations of a report into Central Frontenac Township operations that was completed this fall by Frontenac County Chief Administrative Officer, Kelly Pender.

Concerning the Wild Parsnip

Ken Gilpin, who is the weed control officer as well as the bylaw control officer for North Frontenac, came to council to talk about options for dealing with the problem of Wild Parsnip, a noxious roadside weed that has been gaining ascendancy throughout southern Ontario and can be found in North Frontenac.

Gilpin said that Lanark County has introduced a herbicide spraying program to deal with wild parsnip, and that South Frontenac has put money in their 2016 budget to deal with noxious roadside weeds, although they have not yet decided whether or not to go the route of spraying.

As far as the obligations of property owners who have the weed on their land is concerned, Gilpin said that there is an Ontario Weed Act that requires him to order weed removal when an infestation on one property threatens to impact the functioning of a farm, “but aside from agricultural uses, the Weed Act does not prescribe anything else” he said.

“The township does not deal with the poison ivy problem. We just ignore it. I'm wondering why we seem to want to deal with just wild parsnip,” said Councilor John Inglis.

“There are numerous noxious weeds, and they don't stay in one township. Unless every other municipality does, I don't think we should touch it,” said Councilor Wayne Good.

Council received Gilpin's presentation for information, and Mayor Higgins said he will see what other townships of Frontenac County is doing before bringing the matter back to Council.

Rural mayors to look at OPP funding model

Mayor Higgins said that the new Rural Mayors' Forum of Eastern Ontario (RMFEO)) will be addressing OPP funding at their January meeting. Based on a report prepared by three of the mayors in the 13-member organization, the intention is to point out a number of errors in the funding formula to the provincial government.

“We recognize that the funding model is here to stay, but there are flaws that we can address. For instance if someone puts in an apartment above a small store, it is considered two residences, but an urban shopping mall is only considered one, and cell towers are also counted as residences,” said Higgins.

Higgins also said that since municipalities pay 40% of the cost of running the OPP, “We should have a say in the OPP budgeting.”

He said that once a decision is made at the January meeting of RMFEO, a presentation will be made at the Ontario Good Roads Association/Royal Ontario Municipal Association meeting in Toronto in late February.

No refuge in NF

Council decided to receive, but not act on, a request from a group based in Addington Highlands that is trying to bring Syrian refugee families to Cloyne, to be housed for a time at the Bon Echo Hotel. The request was for the use of the Barrie Hall, which is located across the road in North Frontenac, as an administrative center.

“I don't think there is a chance that the government will send refugees here,” said Councilor Vernon Hermer.

“It is probably the worst place for them. No work; no one from their community; no resources,” said John Inglis.

“They also want us to let them know if there are any empty houses for rent in the township. I'll tell them to contact a realtor because we don't keep that information at the township,” said Ron Higgins.

Speed limits changed

Based on a report by Public Works Manager Jim Phillips, a proposed schedule of road speeds on gravel roads in the township was tabled. Phillips recommended the limit be set at 60 km per hour on some roads, 50 on others, and 40 on some smaller, more treacherous roads and sections of roads.

“I suggest that, based on what I've been hearing from residents, we amend the schedule by putting a 40 km sign on Sunday Lake Drive, because the residents there have been clear that it is what they want for their children,” said Councilor Denis Bedard.

“I did this on a technical basis for all the roads, not on the basis of requests,” said Phillips.

When it became clear that an amendment to the schedule was not going to get the support of Council, Bedard asked for a recorded vote on the main motion. It passed 7-2, with Bedard and John Inglis, the two representatives from Ward 3, where Sunday Lake is located, both voting against it.

Mileage rates to stay at 48 cents; pay increase at 2.4%

Council decided to maintain the mileage paid to council members driving on township business to meetings and events other than council meetings at 48 cents per kilometre.

As well, staff and council will receive a cost of living increase of 2.4% in their pay next year. The increase will be calculated based on a 2.4% increase to the average township staff salary, which works out to a 33 cent per hour increase for all staff members.

“Just so everyone knows, what we do is different from what the county does, and the County CAO is dead set against it. What we do is give the same increase to all employees, not matter how much they make, instead of a percentage increase. So an employee making $15 an hour would go to $15.33 and an employee making $60 an hour goes to $60.33. [Former mayor] Bud Clayton said that if the cost of a loaf of bread goes up the same amount no matter how much an employee makes, a cost of living increase should result in the same increase,” said Councilor John Inglis.

The concern expressed by County CAO Pender when Bud Clayton proposed this kind if increase was that it would tend to compact the salaries from the top to the bottom of the scale, and in time could lead to senior managers leaving for greener pastures in other locations.

“There are other ways to deal with that,” said Deputy Mayor Fred Perry, “perhaps through changes to the salary grid or merit increases.”

“This is something we should think about,” said Mayor Higgins, “but we can leave it for this year.”

Land Rezoning: Bedford and Storrington Applications

Planner Mills brought an application for a zoning by-law amendment which would create three new waterfront residential lots and a lot addition, in part of lot 21, Concession XI, Bedford District. All but one of the lots will require a 40 meter set-back from the shore as requested by the RV Conservation authority, and the large remaining property will continue to be zoned RRC (Recreational Resort Commercial) to accommodate an existing five tourist cabins and single detached dwelling. There were no comments from the public. Council passed the by-law.

An application to permit a secondary dwelling within an existing house on Ormsby Road, Storrington, was postponed until the Health Unit could clarify its decision about whether or not the existing septic system is large enough to accommodate one more bedroom.

2015 Private Lane Report

Public Works Manager Segsworth reported that the Private Lane Upgrading program was more successful than ever this past year. For several years, Council has budgeted money to be used to subsidize up to 50% of eligible expenses incurred by residents who upgrade their private lane to Township standards.This year, 27 lane groups applied for a total of over $95,000. “We have achieved significant strides in improving access for emergency vehicles (through this program),” said Segsworth.

Harrowsmith to get CIP Funding in ’16

Council approved the community of Harrowsmith as the next location for Community Improvement Plan funding. The County will facilitate the process of creating the program design with the input of Harrowsmith residents, and is prepared to commit $75,000 toward the project over a 5-year period.

Management Compensation

In keeping with the established practice of following the percentage change negotiated with the CUPE bargaining unit for unionized workers, Council approved a 1% adjustment to the Management salary grid for 2016. This same rate will be applied to all members of Council.

Year End Review

CAO Orr presented a list of highlights from 2015 which included: enhanced focus on community engagement through public meetings and open houses on a variety of issues, implementation of online agendas and meeting minutes, revised procedural by-law, strategic plan adopted, official plan updated and submitted for provincial approval, and reconstruction of Bellrock village. Congratulations were offered to staff, community volunteers, and fellow council members for a busy and productive year.

Frontenac Community Arena

Councillor Revill, as one of the two South Frontenac council reps on the arena board, reported that this year there has been a push to modernize the ice plant and operation to comply with Ministry of Labour standards. Plans for 2016 include replacement of both ammonia compressors, replacement of ice surface lighting and new spectator heaters. The arena has about $233,000 in reserve for capital replacements.

The Arena Board plans to reduce energy usage in all parts of the operation through energy-efficient equipment upgrades. Their goal is to provide good ice and an attractive setting that will draw in more users.

Meeting Schedule

This was the final 2015 Council meeting: COW will be Jan 12, and the next Council meeting will be Jan 19.