Feature Article February 6, 2002
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Central Frontenac Council - January 29by Jeff GreenIf there was any lull in municipal business over the holidays, it was clearly over, as council had a full agenda for its second meeting of the year.
The meeting began with a delegation from the Mississippi Valley Conservation Authority, led by general manager Paul Lehman. The Conservation Authority has been granted $1.25 million dollars by the provincial government to do a groundwater study of all regions within its domain, which includes a large part of Central Frontenac, and was seeking $2,200 from Council as part of the cost sharing for this study.
The project is one of the so-called Walkerton initiatives of the province, and the information gathered about pollution hot spots in Central Frontenac could be of use to council when making land use decisions in the future.
There was some skepticism expressed by councillors about the $2,200 payment, both as to the promise that this was a one-shot expenditure, and because Central Frontenac does not actually operate any municipal water systems. Therefore, it will have less use of the information gathered in the study than other jurisdictions might. Nonetheless, council approved the expenditure.
Lions Club Bingo - Sharbot Lake Lions Club President Ralph Gatfield appeared before council to explain the difficulty the Lions Club has run into with its weekly bingo. Between a decision to make the bingo smoke free, and competition from legalized casinos, Gatfield explained the weekly bingo has only raised $230 from July to December of 2001, and a decision is to be made on February 26 as to whether the Lions Club should continue to run it. Through its gaming license fee levy, Central Frontenac receives almost $2,000 per year from the bingo, and Gatfield requested this money be donated back to the Lions Club, thus making the bingo viable again.
The request was refused, since it would require a change in the by-laws that govern council, and this would effect the $10,000 that council receives each year from other groups for gambling licenses. It was suggested that the rental fee on the Oso Hall be lowered or eliminated for the bingo, although it is unclear how much this would help, because no one could confirm whether the Lions are currently paying rent on the hall.
OPP Report Five members of the OPP made their first report to council in over a year. Inspector Gerry Salisbury, who supervises the Sharbot Lake detachment, led the delegation and reported on the occurrences in this detachment over the past year. He also presenting a chart outlining the amount of service being provided by the OPP locally, in preparation for a proposed service contract renewal for the Sharbot Lake Detachment, due later this year.
Among the incident reports over the past year, Salisbury reported a real increase in the number of sexual assaults within Sharbot Lake detachment. (We will look into the implications of this in future issues of The News)
Community Services Officer Buff Chadwick also spoke, as did media officer Neil Fennel. Mayor MacDonald informed Inspector Salisbury that council was waiting for the contract renewal proposal, at which time council would consider its policing options. Council then turned to new business.
CGIS and 911 the most extensive item on the agenda concerned the decision about where to go now on the matter of the Global Information System (GIS) operation contract. CGIS, a Lanark based company has completed the work on the GIS system for Central Frontenac, which is integral to the establishment of a 911 emergency system, and is slated to come on line before the end of 2002. The GIS system has many other possible uses for the municipality, such as location of wells, septic systems and roads, which all have environmental impacts. CGIS has made a proposal to run the GIS system for Central Frontenac at a cost of $1,200 per month. However, Council Clerk Heather Fox reported there is a lack of computer expertise among municipal staff, and without further training or the establishment of a new position, staff would have no way of making use of the information CGIS will provide to the office. She also reported that North Frontenac Council was willing to pay half the salary of a part-time technical person, to be based in Sharbot Lake, provided Central Frontenac came up with the other half. Council voted to accept the contract with CGIS for one year, and to create a part-time technology position for one year, the details of which are to be worked out when budget discussions begin shortly. The next meeting of Council will take place in Mountain Grove on Monday, February 11, at 7:00 p.m.
