Feature Article December 18, 2003
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Central Frontenac Council December 8It was down to business for the new council in Central Frontenac last week. There were a couple of lingering issues from the previous council to be dealt with, along with the appointment of committee members for 2004.
Villalta turnaround Lawrence Villalta appeared before Council to discuss the ongoing saga over bussing his children to school. Mr. Villallta lives on a lane that has been maintained by the township, but has not been assumed by the township. In order for the township to assume Villalta lane, the lane would have to be brought up to the township standard, according to the townships official plan. To do this would require up to $50,000 in repairs, according to a report prepared this summer by Public Works Manager Bill Nicol. There are many township roads that do not meet the township standard, but the official plan says that any new road must meet this standard.
There was some possibility raised at a previous meeting to the effect that a lower standard could be applied to lesser-travelled roads. The township might then be able to take on Villalta lane as it stands, and put in a turnaround for a school bus for a minimal cost.
The School Board has told the Villaltas that they are entitled to bus service because their house is more than 0.8 km from Hwy. 38 but the school board will not send a 72-seat bus down the road. Instead, they offer to send a feeder bus in to pick up the three young Villalta children. However, the catch is that the School board will not send buses on a road that is not a township road. At last weeks meeting, the council, based on their reluctance to override the official plan, Council decided not to consider taking on Villalta lane as a township road.
Contacted this week, Muriel Villalta said, as far as were concerned, its a dead issue. Well have to make arrangements to drive our kids to the highway each day. We wont be going back to council about this.
There was some talk at council about the possibility of looking at the standards for smaller roads but no changes are foreseen in the near future.
IOOF tax rebate The Mayflower Lodge of the International Order of Oddfellows and Rebekahs own a lodge in Parham which has been made available for township functions. Since amalgamation, the township has rebated to the Oddfelllows the amount they pay in property tax on the building in return for the free use of the hall. The request for rebate came to the new council last week and council agreed to rebate the $643.18
Line Fences This is something that has been simmering all year. Early in the spring, four neighbours on the Bell Line Road, Mel Conboy, Josh Middleton, Darren Castleman, and Lorne Smith, invoked the Ontario Line Fences Act, asking Central Frontenac to build a fence along the K&P Trail. A court decision in South-western Ontario has made it clear that municipalities are responsible for 100% fencing costs on all assumed railway lands.
The township recognised their obligation in this matter, after a couple of visits from Mel Conboy, and put $20,000 towards fencing along the K&P Trail adjacent to the four properties. The fencing work was subsequently done.
Mel Conboy came back to one of the final meetings of the outgoing council and asked for assurance that the remainder of the fencing requirements on the property, which will cost another $7-10 thousand, will be done in 2004. The outgoing council gave no such assurance, at least not to the satisfaction of the four neighbours, and a letter was sent to the new council from Donald R. Good, lawyer for Mssrs. Conboy, Middleton, Castleman, and Smith.
Donald Good has been involved in line fences litigation before, and was involved in a court ruling in South-western Ontario that was quoted by Mel Conboy when he made his initial request for fencing last spring.
Goods letter states that my clients are holding the township absolutely liable for any damages that occur as a result of inadequate fencing along the right-of-way. It concludes by making a request that fence viewers be brought in to settle the dispute between the four neighbours and the township.
Council took the position that fence viewers are only to be brought in when there is a dispute, and in this case the Township has taken on its responsibility to do fencing, spending $20,000 this past year and committing to continue work in future years based on the amount of money available in future budgets. Therefore the request to bring in fence viewers was denied
Committee appointments At its inauguration meeting on December 1, Faye Putnam was elected Deputy Mayor for the next three years. Faye Putnam has represented Olden District since the founding of Central Frontenac in 1998 and served for several terms in Olden township before that. By selecting her as Deputy Mayor, Council has maintained the practice of moving the deputy Mayors position around the different districts. Lloyd Lee of Hinchinbrooke was Deputy Mayor from 1998-2000, and Jack Nicolson of Kennebec held the post from 2001-2003.
Faye Putnam is a good choice for Deputy Mayor because she has shown herself to be a very capable Councillor, said Mayor MacDonald of the appointment.
Central Frontenac must appoint members for the three Conservation Authorities that are responsible for territory within the township. The Conservation Authorities receive levies from the townships and the township representative must consider the environmental and financial needs of the township to the Conservation Authority. Council made the following appointments: Rideau Valley Conservation Authority, Bill Guigue; Mississippi Valley Conservation Authority, Logan Murray; Quinte Region Conservation Authority, Jack Nicolson.
Central Frontenac also has a central recreational Committee as well as placing township representative on each of the four district recreational committees. Council made the following appointments: Central Frontenac Recreational Committee, Jack Nicolson and Bill Guigue; Hinchinbrooke Rec. Ctte. Janet Gutowski; Kennebec Rec. Ctte. Logan Murray; Olden Rec. Faye Putnam; Oso Rec. Ctte. Frances Smith.
Other appointments included: NF Arena Board, Bill Snyder and Bob Harvey, and CPR Trail steering Ctte., Frances Smith.
