Feature Article October 14, 2004
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Mountain Grove to get new fire building Central Frontenac Council Oct. 12
by Jeff Green
A temporary solution to the needs of the Mountain Grove Fire department will bring long-term benefits to the recreational infrastructure in the community. Central Frontenac Council unanimously approved a plan that was presented to them by Fire Chief Mark MacDonald on Tuesday night that will see the construction of a 40 ft. long building to house the Emergency Response Vehicle of the department.
The simple building, which will be built using volunteer labour to a budgeted cost of $20,000, will be built in the vicinity of the existing ice rink in the village, and will double as a change room for people using the rink. The Emergency Response Vehicle (ERV) is currently parked outside and the Fire department is hoping to have the new building constructed right away so the ERV will be under cover over the coming winter.
When asked by Council when he was planning on putting this building in, Mark MacDonald said, Id like to see the lumber trucks driving up and dropping off the trusses a week from tomorrow.
MacDonald also said that the final location of a new Fire hall for Mountain Grove is still being looked at, but the building being built this fall will be useful for storage in the future, no matter where the new Fire hall is eventually located.
Aside from Councilor Bill Guigue, who said he didnt think the building was necessary, Council expressed strong support for the proposal. The only major question had to do with the width of the building, which is projected at 16 ft. You might want to make it a bit wider, say 20 ft., so it can be a more useful building into the future, Mayor Bill MacDonald said.
A motion to go ahead with the project was passed unanimously.
OPP reportChris Amell from the Lanark detachment of the OPP appeared before Council to present the quarterly policing report. Mayor MacDonald expressed disappointment that Detachment Commander Salisbury, was not present.
Im disappointed that Gerry Salisbury is not here because I have some questions about the number of officers that are working in Central and North Frontenac, MacDonald said. Barb Gable, the receptionist at the Sharbot Lake detachment, is on vacation. Mayor MacDonald asked Chris Amell if the detachment office was remaining open during business hours. Amell said it was, but McDonald countered It wasnt open on the two days last week when I went there. MacDonald then asked Amell to go over the list of officers assigned to Sharbot Lake to determine how many are actually stationed in Sharbot Lake at this time. Central Frontenac and North Frontenac are paying a million bucks a year to the OPP. Eleven officers should be here, he said.
It was determined that nine officers are stationed in Sharbot Lake at this time. Amell explained that Sharbot Lake is clustered with Lanark and Carleton, and officers from the other detachments are assigned to Central and North Frontenac when necessary, making up for what looks like a decreased officer complement.
MacDonald said to Chris Amell I dont want to give the impression that we dont have policing here; we do, and I apologise for putting you on the spot when it is really Gerry Salisbury we need to talk to; but we have concerns about the visibility of the OPP in our communities.
Clerk Fox to be able to perform weddings
A new initiative of the Ministry of Consumer & Business Services to designate municipal clerks to perform Civil marriages led Council to consider whether Clerk/Administrator Heather Fox should undergo a training session and begin performing civil marriages. While Councilors Guigue and Snyder opposed the idea, Councilor Frances Smith said It would bring money into the township through fees, and will bring business to restaurants and maybe more rentals for the town halls, so I think we should support it. A motion was passed by a vote of 6-2.
Water testing
Last June, the provincial government announced it was going to review water regulation 170/03, which requires that township halls undergo engineering studies, either filtration or treatment, and subsequently, ongoing testing for dozens of chemicals. At that time, townships were informed that they could remain in compliance with the act at this point merely by posting signs at all township Halls saying the water had not been tested. This would satisfy the requirements of the provincial Ministry of the Environment.
It turns out that it does not satisfy Roy Beechey, the Program Manager for the provincial Ministry of Family and Community Services, who oversees the Ontario Early Years Centre. He has declared that the playgroup operated by the Early Years Centre at the Kennebec Hall in Arden must be moved to another location because of the existence of the signs. The water at the Hall is tested twice yearly by the Health Unit. A test in April yielded results of: total coliform 0, fecal coliform 0.
A debate took place at Council over whether to tender for the job of providing engineering studies on the water systems at the halls, or to wait until the Ministry of the Environment indicates what changes will be made.
I think we should start the process by tendering this. We dont have to go ahead and do anything until we find out what the province is going to do, but we know that we will have to do something with the water in the halls. If you think things are going to back to the way they were, you dont know this government, said Frances Smith
Councillor Jack Nicolson, who has talked to Roy Beechey about this, said, I agree with Frances. I think if we tell Roy Beechey we are dong something with the water, he may reinstate the playgroups.
Other Councilors disagreed strongly. Bill Guigue said We shouldnt go along with this; we should send the message to the Province that Regulation 170/03 is overkill. Councilors Harvey and Murray agreed with Bill Guigue. In the end the matter was deferred and Heather Fox was instructed to inform Roy Beechey that the township is in compliance with the water regulation at this time, and encourage him to allow the playgroup to return to the Kennebec Hall.
Goals and ObjectivesBack in February, Council considered coming up with a set of long-term goals to work on. The matter was put off at that time. Mayor MacDonald brought it back to the table. It was decided that a discussion of long-term goals could not take place in the context of an agenda-driven Council meeting, in the words of Mayor MacDonald, so a special Council meeting has been scheduled for November 30 to focus exclusively on long term objectives. Councilors are to submit their proposals in writing, by November 8, so they can be circulated to other members of Council. The November 30 meeting will take place at the Olden Hall at 7:00 pm. Members of the public are invited to attend.
