| Jul 13, 2016


A packed house greeted Central Frontenac Council at the Kennebec Hall for their annual meeting in Arden. The agenda was full because Council only meets once a month in the summer, and it wasn't until after the supper break, prepared by the Friends of Arden and the Kennebec fire crew, that issues of particular concern to the Arden area were raised.

Terry Kennedy, president of the Friends of Arden, made a presentation to Council on behalf of his group and 12 others in the community.

He started by expressing the community's gratitude to the township for recent work, mentioning the hard-topping of Henderson Road; the replacment of the entrance sign to the park; and the providing of fill for the memorial garden that is being planned for the hamlet.

He then talked about a number of initiatives that are underway or are being planned for the community, ranging from work on the trail known as the Matson Mile and improvements to the Cenotaph, to updating the local business brochure and improving the landscaping in public spaces.

Ongoing needs, some of which will involve support from the township, include cleaning up the Mill pond at the center of Arden, which has become choked with algae. The state of the Arden Road has been an ongoing concern for many years, and Kennedy said it has an “impact on some of the other things we are trying to do, such as finding ways to begin to fill what is largely a retail vacuum.”

Both the Big Clear and Kennebec Lake associations have been involved in an ongoing discussion at the township level about a mandatory septic re-inspection program, and Kennedy said they are planning to “keep working with the township to bring it forward to implementation”.

Kennedy concluded by saying that there has been a “willingness for Council to provide assistance, which has enabled the community to undertake and complete many initiatives that would otherwise not be possible.”

He said he hopes Council will continue to “extend its support where feasible and reasonable.”

Building starts leap ahead in June

When Chief Building Official Jeremy Neven came to Council in mid-June with disappointing news about a lack of building permits being taken out in May, which resulted in a cumulative $2 million drop in construction activity compared to last year, he said that he anticipated bringing more positive news in the coming months. That prediction came true, as there were permits issued for almost $2.5 million in construction in June alone, bringing the year-to-date total to $3.7 million. Suddenly the township is $450,000 over the pace that was set last year, and a whopping $1.4 million more than in 2014.

Permits for six new residential units and two new seasonal units were the highlights of the 24 permits issued in June.

OPP not coming back to Hinch school

Following up on concerns expressed at the previous meeting of Council over township staff allowing the OPP to use Hinchinbrooke school for training purposes without charging a fee, Jeremy Neven reported that he had contacted the OPP to find out if they were interested in coming back. They said they were and he told them they would have to make a formal request and there might be a fee attached.

Then after media reports from that meeting, Neven said that he heard back from the OPP Emergency Response Unit, which had used the building, and was informed they were no longer going to be holding training events in Central Frontenac.

Strat Plan moving forward

Penny Sharman, who held senior roles in North Frontenac and Stone Mills townships before spending six years with the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing, has now turned to consulting.

She met with council in June to kick-start a strategic planning process. In her preliminary report she made note of 37 initiatives that were discussed and talked briefly about how she has narrowed them down. She said she is prepared to bring forward a draft plan to the August meeting of Council unless there were concerns over the direction she was taking. When none came forward, Mayor Frances Smith said Sharman could go ahead and prepare the draft plan.

The plan will go to council and the public before being considered for adoption in the early fall.

Official Plan review and private roads

Joe Gallivan appeared as the township's planning consultant to put forward a schedule for the completion of both an Official Plan review and a Comprehensive Zoning Bylaw review for the township by the end of the current term of Council in 2½ years. The review had been delayed until Frontenac County completed its own Official Plan earlier this year, which will make it the approving body for the Central Frontenac plan when it is completed.

As the staff planner for the County, Gallivan has spent several years bringing its plan to completion.

In his role as county planner, Gallivan also reported on the recently completed private roads study for Frontenac County, highlighting some of the detail as it pertains to Central Frontenac.

The study shows that of the 166 private lanes in Central Frontenac, 121 are not candidates for further development, and of the other 45, only 13 can accommodate five or more new lots.

Still, Gallivan said that there are 111 vacant lots on private lanes in the township, and the potential for another 74 new lots to be created on the existing private lane network, so 185 of the 580 lots the township is projected to need by 2036 to accommodate demand can come from private lanes.

The requirements for development on these lanes is more stringent than it was in the past, but thanks to the County's lobbying efforts and the private lanes study, the Ministry of Municipal Affairs has reversed its long-standing position and is permitting this further activity on private lanes.

Seniors' housing

Joe Gallivan and Janette Amini, the clerk of Frontenac County, briefed Council on its role in developing a seniors' housing project in the township. One of the strategic goals of Frontenac County is building a small seniors' housing project in each of the four townships. Frontenac Islands is furthest along in the process. It has a piece of land picked out and is shopping for a developer.

South Frontenac is at the pre-development stage, and Central Frontenac is just now ready to start working on it. In order to start, a task force needs to be established. Under County rules, that task force is to include the mayor, two county council appointees (Councilors Tom Dewey from Central Frontenac and John McDougall from South Frontenac) and an appointee from Central Frontenac Council.

Councilor Bill MacDonald said he was willing to sit on the task force, and he was duly appointed by Council.

The task force will be ratified by the county at their meeting next week, and will start its work after that. Its first job is determining what the housing needs are for seniors in Central Frontenac. Both Frontenac Islands and South Frontenac have determined that units designed for market rent are appropriate, but Central Frontenac may be looking at a subsidized rental units.

“If you go the route of subsidized housing, there is grant money available,” said Amini.

Grass cutting and gravel contract

Supervisors Rick Commodore and Steve Gould, who together are handling the role of public works manager on an interim basis, reported that there have been some delays in the grass-cutting efforts on the sides of township roads this summer because of vehicle breakdowns and difficulty accessing parts. However, they said crews are working on the back roads in Olden District, and an outside contractor, Matson Construction, has stepped forward to do the work in Kennebec.

“We expect to catch up soon,” said Gould.

They also brought tenders for the supply of gravel to the township garages in Olden and Hinchinbrooke districts. The lowest bidder for both contracts was Gemmill Sand and Gravel, at $77,000 for Olden and $86,000 for Hinchinbrooke. This was lower than the bids from Crains' Consruction ($98,000 and $107,000 respectively) and Robinson Excavation ($106,000 and $119,000).

Councilor Dewey thanked Commodore and Gould for all the effort they have made to keep the department moving after its manager, John Badgley, parted company with the township last month (see Whatever happened to ... John Badgely)

Crow Lake to get seasonal speed bumps, signage

Karen Leahy, owner of the Oaks Resort in Crow Lake, said the residents of Crow Lake appreciate how the township has handled their request that the township do something about cars that speed through the narrow hamlet on a daily basis.

Township staff proposed, and council accepted, that removable speed bumps be installed at either end of the hamlet, with appropriate signage.

As Steve Gould from the Public Works department explained, the design of the recycled rubber product they plan to purchase from BMR Signs is such that larger heavy vehicles such as fire trucks, ambulances, and transports will not be affected because the speed bumps are narrow, but the cars and motorcycles that often speed through the hamlet will have to slow down.

The total cost of the speed bumps and signs is $1,433 and they will be removed before snowfall so they will not interfere with snow removal efforts.

Council authorized the purchase.

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