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Feature Article April 29

Feature Article May 13, 2004

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Bag Tags an emotional issue in North Frontenac - and other items from NF Council meeting May 10, 2004

On Monday night there was standing room only in the Council Chambers as Ed Giffin, owner of Tumblehome Lodge, made a presentation to Council on their new bag tag policy.

Councillors Hunter and Hook were absent due to personal and family health problems, leaving the mayor and four councillors on the hot spot about the garbage issue. Around 23 members of the public attended.

Mr. Giffin represented a fledgling organization of busi-ness operators and ratepayers that first met on May 3 in the Ompah Hall, and started by saying that citizens are "frustrated and angered by the policies created bygovernments... Policies generated from Ottawa, To-ronto - and in this case Plevna, are imposed arbitrarilyunder the guise that they are in the public's interest... without consulation, consensus, or consideration as to costs to the individual or business."

He said that North Frontenac has three industries: tour-ism, logging, and the service sector, and the first two will be badly hurt by the implementation of bag tag and tipping fees. He stressed that operators of resorts and lodges set their rates in the winter, well before council's decision, and that the extra costs would have to be borne by the operators because of "poor planning by this council".

Giffin also challenged the municipality about the rates paid by Bon Echo Park, which "is in direct competition with similar businesses in our municipality", and said that the province, which owns the park, should be charged extra fees, or told to solve its own waste dis-posal problems.

According to Giffin's calculations, North Frontenac would gain substantial revenue from bag tag fees. He said $337,376 would be raised if all 3,244 households in the municipality took one bag a week to the dump, and asked where the extra revenue was going.

He asked that Council: delay implementation until after more public meetings could be held; or change the proposed system to give each household two free bags a week, charging $1 per bag for extras; and that Bon Echo, since it had precipitated the problem, should be charged special dumping fees.

Giffin ended on a conciliatory note, saying, "Garbage is everyone's problem. It's not an 'us' versus 'you' thing. We all have to work together as a community." The audience applauded Mr. Giffin after he finished.

Councillor Clayton, chair of the Waste Management Committee, gave a rebuttal to Mr. Giffin's speech, stressing that the need for the municipality to change its waste disposal habits is not an option, but an abso- lute necessity. "They are going to close the dumps, and you can put that in stone," he said, adding "It will be sooner, rather than later."

Clayton quoted MPP Leona Dombrowsky as saying that garbage is a thing of the past; that in Europe, where they have no room, there is no garbage any more; everything is recycled or composted, with heavy fines for non-compliance. He said that recycling is presently at about 8% in the township, whereas provin-cial guidelines ask for 60%. Contrary to the figures given by Mr. Giffin, Clayton said that the municipality would be lucky to raise $30,000 with the bag tag program, which is designed to be revenue neutral. Recycling costs are presently $20,000, and will be going up to $60,000.

Council as a whole stressed that recycling would allay the bag tag costs for households, as ratepayers can exchange bags of recyclables for free bag tags. Councillor Cybulski said that he had not been a great proponent of the tags, but that his viewpoint had changed as he surveyed a dump one day and realized that if he had four hours to salvage all the recyclables thrown over the bank, he would never have had to buy a bag tag for the rest of his life.

Councillors spoke of their own extreme frustrations with upper levels of government. North Frontenac has already spent $40,000 trying to get a certificate of approval for the Hwy 506 site, and do not yet have it.

They cited examples of unreasonable demands such as that a well be drilled at the base of a dump site -why? - "If we ever decide to check the water." Another was that the township hire a "Vector Inspector", a vector being anything that could carry diseases (spiders, seagulls, etc.) Council refused.

During the first part of the meeting, a member of the audience attempted to speak, but was disallowed, and left, asking, "What's the use of coming to council?" Council moved on to discuss other issues, but returned to the subject just before adjournment, when Mayor Maguire opened the floor to the audience. Mindy Kring of Kring's Cottages reiterated Mr. Giffin's point that businesses would suffer from having set their rates before they knew about the new fees, and asked Council to delay implementation until September 1. She said, "I already wash the toilets; I'm not going to sort the garbage [of guests] too." Kring felt that at the one public meeting in March, Council had dictated what was going to happen without asking for public input.

Clerk Administrator Penny Sharman said that one reason for bringing in the bag tag system now is the problem with Bon Echo Park's garbage. The park presently pays some fees - admittedly not enough; however since the municipality is not allowed to treat the park differently from anyone else, if tipping fees are not universally applied, North Frontenac would be forced to accept the park's garbage for free.

Mayor Maguire advised Kring to submit her concerns in writing, saying he was sure the Waste Management Committee would consider the points that had been raised during the evening.

The bag tag system took effect on May 15.

CROWN LAND ROAD MAINTENANCE FEES: The second most contentious issue of the evening was by-law 14-04, which raised non-residents' seasonal fees for use of Crown Access Roads to $40 per vehicle, and also would have required each ATV to have a separate permit. Ratepayers pay half of the fees.

Councillors Cybulski and Smith opposed the bylaw, with Cybulski saying that he had received a number of calls from people upset about the increase. He has been told that the MNR is also concerned, but does not know if that is true. Cybulski was especially worried that the people who sell the permits would be subjected toanger from the public. Councillor Clayton defended the increases, saying the Crown Land Access Program would have to shut down without them.

In the end the bylaw was amended to exclude the clause requiring each ATV to have a separate permit, and squeaked by in a three to two vote.

WILD RICE PLAQUE: The request of the Ardoch Al-gonquin First Nation and Allies that Council install a plaque commemorating the "Rice Wars" of the early80s is at an impasse due to AAFNA's refusal to change the proposed wording on the plaque, wording that council considers to be confrontational. The matter was deferred pending further consultation with the Municipal Advisory Committee on Land Claims.

COTTAGE ASSOCIATIONS: There could be as many as 40 cottage associations in the township, and a meeting with them will be held on Saturday June 12 at 10 am at the Clar-Mill Hall. The meeting will be to share information and attempt to engage cottagers in the activities of the township. The public is welcome to attend.

COUNCIL MEETING DATES: Starting June 10, council meetings will be held on the 2nd and last Thursday of the month. June & August evening meetings will be held at the Barrie Township Hall; July & September at the Ompah Community Centre

TOWNSHIP BEAUTIFICATION: Steve Smart of Smart's Marina said he found all the signs on trees disgusting and asked if Council had considered banning them. He suggested billboards at intersections.

Councillor Clayton said they would work on the problem and something would be in place before the end of the present council's term.

Smart also suggested that negative reactions to Council's decisions could be avoided if members of the public sat on the committees. Mayor Maguire replied that reconstitution of the committees was indeed being considered.

With the participation of the Government of Canada