Feature Article June 12,2003
LAND O' LAKES NewsWeb HomeLandowners & Council get together over fencingMel Conboy appeared before Central Frontenac Council accompanied by several of his neighbours on Monday Night. The issue at hand was the landowners request for fence viewers to determine if the township will be obligated to replace fencing that runs 1.55 kilometres between the K&P recreational trail and their land.
Conboy took pains to tell council he had no intention of causing council to spend huge amounts of money fencing all along the K&P and trans Canada trail as has been reported, he was simply concerned that his own cattle was kept off the trail. He suggested that students might be hired to do some brushing.
Mayor Bill Macdonald pointed out that agreeing to Mel Conboy and his neighbours request would open up the township to requests from all sorts of landowners, even those who have no specific need for fencing, and this could indeed cost the township more than it has resources to pay.
Councillor Marsden Kirk said I was talking to an individual last week who told me they would likely put in a request for fencing if the township was paying the tab only because it would make their property more valuable.
Mayor Macdonald said We need some time to find out if we can get some support from the federal government or another source before we could take something like this on.
Now if we got back to cost sharing 50-50 with the landowners, it would take care of all the frivolous claims, said Marsden Kirk.
Mel Conboy then reminded council that when the trail was originally taken by the township he had been in favour, provided the township pays for half the necessary fence between his land and the trail. I believe I communicated that in a letter, but I dont have a copy of the letter any more.
I took the time to look in the archives, and found the letter Mel sent, and it basically was as he remembers, Mayor Macdonald told council.
However, now that Mr. Conboy has made a request for fencing under Section 20 of the line fences act, which obligates the township to pay for the entire fence, any decision by council will set a potentially expensive precedence.
Council passed a motion to defer all the fencing requests that have come forward until they can research possible funding sources.
Dock project goes to tender
The Council delayed consideration of the matter of building a new dock at Crow Lake at its previous meeting pending receipt of an engineers report, which turned out to be the same report that was submitted by Federal Department of Fisheries engineers two years ago.
At that time the dock, which is owned by the Federal Department of Fisheries was in need of repairs. Nothing was done when the tender for those repairs did not receive any bids. The dock was subsequently destroyed by winds in April of 2002.
The new tender is based on the requirements of the township and Public Works Manager Bill Nicol said he expects there will be bids on it. It is expected the project will cost in the neighbourhood of $20,000.
The dock that will be built will be identical to the one the federal department of fisheries put up 25 years ago.
I am using the same plans they used then. If we decided to alter them, we would be required to go to consultants, have reports done, and seek approvals from various bodies. All of that would add cost to the project, Nicols said after the meeting.
During the meeting, some councillors asked whether it would be wise to seek funding before sending the project to tender. The department of fisheries has said it would pay up to $18,000 to have a dock built, provided the property is owned and operated by Central Frotnenac. As well, Bedford district of South Frontenac, which contains most of the water served by the public dock at Crow Lake, has expressed a willingness to pay up to $5,000, provided their contribution is matched by Central Frontenac.
Proponents of the plan to go to tender first and fundraise later argued it will give a fixed cost to the project, so financial negotiations can be done on that basis.
The motion to put the project to tender was carried.
Snider calls road plan unfair
Councillor Bill Snider from Hinchinbrooke district was surprised to find out that road work is planned for ssix roads this year. Road work is planned on Long Lake Road, Ardoch road, Crow Lake road, and Mountain Grove road. Snider was aware of these projects. But when Public Works Manager Nicol said that less extensive work will be done on Henderson Road, and a kilometre stretch of the Arden Road between the Legion and the Kennebec Hall, Snider lost his composure.
None of this was mentioned when we were doing roads at budget time, he said, adding we were only talking about four roads then, and thats why nothing was done about Wagarville road, which was taken back to gravel last year.
The fate of the Wagarville road is a sore point for Snider, as it is for the people living on the portion of the road which was in such poor shape that council decided to remove the pavement entirely, and leave it as a gravel road until funds are available to fix it properly.
Leo Van Der Ham and Bert Thompson, who live on the affected portion of the road, both expressed their disgust at the state of their road.
They keep putting gravel on the road and it keeps sliding into the ditch, so I wonder at the economy of the situation. Meanwhile it is a pretty heavily used road, with transports and commuter traffic going by, and I wonder about the safety of it, Leo Van Der Ham told the News.
We have received no assurances whatsoever that the township has any plans to repave the road, Bert Thompson said.
Councillor Snider has been asking to see the five year roads plan, which has been prepared, but the plan will not be released until the five year plans from all township departments are ready.
If the plan does include repaving the Wagarville road it might give some encouragement to residents, although the plan would not be binding on future councils.
Seniors of the Year
Four Seniors of the year, one from each district, will be feted at an awards luncheon at the Oso Hall following the council meeting on June 24. Shirley Peruniak, who has been the driving force behind the Oso historical society, will be unable to attend the ceremony because she will be in Quetico Park continuing a long term research project. Joyce Smith is the recipient from Olden, Evelyn Izzard from Kennebec, and the News own Doreen Howes is the recipient from Hinchinbrooke. The Arden Glee Club will provide the entertainment.
