| Mar 27, 2014


Central Frontenac to honour Bill Snyder

Central Frontenac's meeting this week on Tuesday (March 25) started with the oath of office being taken by Phillip Smith, who is representing Hinchinbrooke ward until the election this fall.

At the tail end of the meeting Mayor Gutowski suggested that council sponsor some sort of permanent recognition for Bill Snyder, whose death last month precipitated Philip Smith's appointment to Council.

“I would like to see the township place something of lasting value at the Piccadilly cemetery, a bench or trees or something else. I was thinking of something that costs up to $500. Bill's heart and soul was in Piccadilly. He was fiercely supportive of the community. We are all proud to have known this fellow. I think it would be appropriate if the Hinchinbrooke members put a motion on the floor about this,” Gutowski said.

She then looked up to the ceiling and said “I know, Bill, that what you really want is the wrought iron fence all around the cemetery, but we can't afford that.”

Last year Bill Snyder attempted to convince Council to invest in a wrought iron fence to mark the limits of the Piccadilly cemetery but the proposal did not achieve majority support.

A motion authorising staff to investigate a memorial for Bill Snyder, in consultation with his family, was moved by Heather Fox, seconded by Philip Smith and supported unanimously by Council.

Budget increase cut to 3%

When the township received the audit and consolidated financial papers from KPMG, a lot of numbers were tossed around, but the only one that stuck in everyone's mind was the operating surplus of $380,000 for 2013.

With the township tax levy set to go up by 5%, Councilor Frances Smith suggested that some of the surplus be used to cut down on the increase.

“I am running for mayor, but aside from that I just look at the people that I know whose heating costs have gone through the roof, who have astronomical hydro bills, who are having trouble keeping their finances together. Let's give them a break, and still set aside some of the money for our own needs.”

Treasurer Michael McGovern said that after cutting the levy to ratepayers to a 3% increase, $240,000 would be left to establish a stabilization reserve.

“I agree that this is the best thing to do,” said Mayor Gutowski, who is running for re-election. “I'm comfortable we've done the best we can do with the budget. I will be voting in support of this.”

The motion was supported by Council and the budget bylaw will be brought before Council at their next meeting, on April 8.

New contract for fire dispatch – Fire Chief Bill Young brought a proposal to Council that what he called level 2 fire dispatch be contracted out to the Kingston fire department, which already provides level 1 dispatching for the township.

“Until now, Kingston would do the initial call, which we call level one, and then one of our members is assigned to report to the fire hall to take over from there.” said Bill Young.

The problem is that it is getting more and more difficult to find someone to fill that role, and there have been times when a crew member has had to be re-assigned from a fire scene to cover dispatch.

“All of our neighbouring services have already done this. Not only would it relieve us of some responsibility, it would be better for liability reasons because they are able to record every call and keep a complete record of times of calls, etc.” he said.

The cost of the new service will be phased in over four years, but at the end the cost will be over double the $10,000 or so that the township pays Kingston Fire currently for level 1 dispatch. It will phased in over five years, ending at $21,600 in 2018.

“What will happen after that?” asked Councilor John Purdon. “Will it keep going up over the next five years?”

“We haven't had a price increase until now, so I don't think it will keep going up,” Young responded.

Council approved the proposal after asking Bill Young to seek a contract with Kingston Fire Services to ensure the price will not keep going up after five years.

Frontenac Heritage Festival

Jesse Mills, who was taken on to help promote this year's Frontenac Heritage Festival and create a video record for promotion in future years, showed two videos, one he made of the whole festival and a second one devoted entirely to the Polar Bear Plunge. The festival video is being posted on the township site.

Mayor Gutowski thanked Mills for his work. She also said that while it is hard to put firm numbers to the economic impact of an event like the Heritage Festival, all the local restaurants reported they were full on the festival weekend, and the Arden Legion set a record at their fish fry.

“In addition to the good that the festival has done for our sense of community, the business community has seen a benefit as well, as have a number of charities,” she said.

Septic Re-inspection Task Force – Councilor Jeff Matson, who is chairing a task force that is looking into the possibility of a mandatory septic re-inspection program, said the task force has already met twice, and has talked to the two agencies that could take on the inspections, KFL&A Public Health and the Mississippi-Rideau Septic Inspection Office.

“This seems to be moving along much faster than I thought. We might have something to bring to council pretty soon,” Matson said. 

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