Central Frontenac Council - Aug. 13/11

Jeff Green | Sep 15, 2011

By Jeff Green and Julie Druker

Friends of Arden approach FCFDC, with support from township

A couple of weeks ago the Frontenac Community Futures Development Corporation (FCFDC) put out a call for community groups seeking to “improve the vitality of their village.”

It was as if the FCFDC was describing the Friends of Arden.

“If you are an association, group of engaged citizens or a municipality interested in improving the vibrancy of your community the Frontenac CFDC would like to hear from you,” they wrote.

In their letter to the FCFDC asking that Arden be chosen for the FCFDC initiative, the Friends of Arden described the series of meetings and initiatives they have conducted over the last year or so.

Central Frontenac Council has thrown their support behind the Friends of Arden. At their meeting this week, Council directed staff to send a supporting letter to the FCFDC, urging them to choose the village of Arden.

“I think the amount of activity that has already been undertaken in Arden, by the Rec. Committee, the Legion, two active lake associations, and the Friends of Arden, make this an excellent opportunity for Arden and for the FCFDC. I whole-heartedly support sending a letter of support for this,” said Mayor Janet Gutowski.

In their own letter to the FCFDC, the Friends of Arden describe their ultimate goal as that of turning Arden into a tourism hub in Frontenac County.

Garrison Shores condominium agreement finalized

Central Frontenac Township has signed off on a land condominium agreement for the ill-fated Garrison Shores housing development.

This means that after almost 30 years of legal limbo, the property owners on Garrison Lake will be able to get deeds to their property, which will give them, for the first time, the opportunity to sell if they wish to.

The process was held up for years because the lots were undersized, among other factors, and there were disagreements between some of the Garrison Shores property owners. One bone of contention was the fact that under the condominium agreement, much of the shoreline has been allocated to specific landowners, when it had previously been held in common.

The condominium agreement has been through numerous processes involving Frontenac County, the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing, and the Ontario Municipal Board.

When it came to Central Frontenac Council this week, Councilor John Purdon said, “There are a number of minor errors in the text which need to be fixed before this is registered, but I agree we should finally move ahead with this.”

“Hallelujah,” said Mayor Janet Gutowski, “it's about time this was settled. I can't imagine the stress this has caused over the years in households where investments had been made and there were no legal deeds and people’s money was left in limbo.”

1000 Islands Concrete – Another long-standing issue in the Arden area has been resolved. Councilor Jeff Matson reported that he has been in contact with Bob Castle, the owner of 1000 Islands Concrete in Brockville, about the depot they have been working on setting up at the former site of the Arden Station garage and restaurant.

“He told me that the settlement ponds have been dug on the site, the berms are built and cement is being poured for two ramps. They are hoping to have trucks in for spring, after half loads are out, and are talking about a building going up next summer to house trucks and materials,” said Matson

“We are fortunate they didn't walk away from this,” said Mayor Gutowski, referring to delays that added costs to the new business venture and kept it from starting up for four long years.

When 1000 Islands Concrete mixes their first batch of ready-mix concrete sometime next spring, it will have been five years since they first applied for a zoning bylaw amendment in March of 2007.

Construction on pace for a good year -

While August was not a banner month for building permits, 2011 is still in pace to be the strongest construction year in at least three years. Values to date this year are $5.76 million, up from $5.37 million last year, but last year’s total included a $665,000 public housing project. In 2009, during the heart of the recession, the January to August total was only $3.28 million. Permit fees are also up, at $72,000, up from $63,000 in 2010 and $40,000 in 2009. To date 10 new residential units have received permits this year, down from 12 in 2010 but up from 6 in 2009.

Public works issues

Beaver baffle attempt to get underway -

(Don't talk about this to any of the local beavers you know, especially the beavers living near the Long Lake Road)

Public Works Manager Mike Richardson said that after council gave leave for the department to look at building a beaver baffle somewhere in the township, a landowner on Opeongo Road, off of Long Lake Road, came forward to work with the township on his property.

“Some of the circumstances at that location are working in favour of the beaver so some patience will be required there, but we are going to give it a try,” said Richardson.

Arden bridge project delayed – A project to rehabilitate the Arden Bridge, which was budgeted at $60,000 this year, has turned into a larger project than the department expected.

“It will cost about $120,000 to do the project and it is not the kind of project than can be done in phases so I recommend we wait and do it next year,” said Richardson. “The Arden Road itself needs to be re-done, which is a major project, and we need to make sure this project fits with that rebuild.”

Jeff Matson and Tom Dewey, both councillors from the Arden area, asked that if the project is not done this year at least some clean up of the site be done.

Tendering for winter road maintenance -

Three-year contracts for winter maintenance on a number of gravel roads were up last year, and were extended for one year. Mike Richardson recommended putting those contacts up for tender for a two-year contract, during which time his department will look closely at some of the roads that may no longer have year-round residents living on them.

He also recommended putting the Road 38 winter maintenance contract out to tender for one year, because the contract for the South Frontenac portion of the road runs out next year and it might be possible to work together with South Frontenac to streamline the administration of contracts for the maintenance of the entire road, from the edge of the City of Kingston all the way to Highway 7.

Some members of Council wanted to simply extend the existing contracts for the gravel roads and Road 38 for one year, but a motion to that effect was defeated in a 5-3 vote. Councilor Matson declared a conflict of interest and excused himself during the vote.

The township will proceed with the tenders.

Clear bags muddy the waters

Council discussed what would become of bag tags now that the township is selling clear bags for garbage disposal.

“As of April 1, 2012, bag tags on garbage bags will no longer be acceptable at the dumps and only the clear bags that are sold by the township will be suitable for dumping. Clear bags are being sold now, and bag tags are no longer being sold. People have six months to use up their tags,” said Councilor Norm Guntensperger, who sits on the township's waste management committee. “That was approved by Council when we brought in the new waste management bylaw.

“We put this information out in the tax bills, it has been brought to the attention of lake associations, and it is on our website,” said Mayor Gutowski. “We will have to continue to let people know about this, but on April 1, bag tags will no longer be acceptable so people need to use them up before then.”

New Recreational baseball hits

In a delegation made to council Cory Thompson, Chair of the District 2 recreation Committee, was pleased to report that his plans to start a new recreational baseball league in Central Frontenac, which originally met with some opposition, proved to be a very successful in its first season. A total of 89 children, ages 4 and up, participated and Thompson reported that 67 of those children had never played baseball before. “The kids loved it and their parents did too and it really worked out very well.” The league received an outpouring of support and donations from the community including a donation of $3000 in used equipment, which was distributed to the participants. Cory reported that many of the children are now continuing to play the game at school and at home. Owen Tryon made logos for t-shirts that were given out to the players at the end of season party that took place in Arden. Players’ parents were generous and donated their time and Cory said their feedback was incredibly positive “We'll see where it goes next year but this year shows that there are lots of kids and their parents who are very enthusiastic about it.”

Mayor Gutowski thanked Cory for all of his work and said she is pleased to support non-competitive participation in this recreational league, which gives all kids a chance to play the game. “Encouraging kids to get outside, get active and have some fun with family and friends is definitely something that I support.”

Bear spotted at the Mountain Grove ball field

Before he left, Cory Thompson also mentioned that it had been reported to him that a large bear was spotted at the Mountain Grove ball field. Reportedly, the bear seemed overly interested in the ball game being played. Anyone playing in the park should take appropriate caution.

Motion passed supporting OFIT

Council passed a motion supporting a letter sent to council by Glen Morrow, President of the Carleton Automotive Towing and Recovery on behalf of the Ontario Federation of Independent Towers. The letter said that a Request for Proposal by the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional services would effectively “transfer the authority of vehicle impoundments from the Ministry of Transportation to the OPP.”

It stated that the RFP would “have a negative effect on the overall capacity of your local towing industry to serve the community” and further, that the RFP had been “tendered without consultation with you, our municipal representatives and without us, your local tow service providers.”

Councilor Frances Smith agreed with the independent towers, and said “I'm not sure if this is a big issue for us but we need to use common sense here and support our local towing companies.”