North Frontenac Council Lost The Plot On Trail Grant Proposal

Jeff Green | Feb 14, 2024

On February 2nd, North Frontenac Council had a full agenda for their regular meeting, the Christmas political lull being truly over. Council worked through a series of requests, with little fanfare.

They listened to a detailed presentation about the township's various reserve funds, and the policies which have resulted in them being in a relatively healthy state.

Then came what, at first glance, seemed to be a simple request.

The long anticipated upgrade to the K&P Rail Trail into North Frontenac is set to commence. Frontenac County, the body that is driving this multi-year project, has completed the design work on the section from Clarendon Station in Central Frontenac, through to the Mississippi Bridge, south of Snow Road. It has been a complicated, difficult process, involving detours and some contentious land acquisitions and expropriations.

As anyone who has travelled that stretch can tell you, the existing trail is in a deteriorating state. It is hard to follow and is prone to flooding, and it hits a dead end at Road 509 well before the bridge as you follow it north.

Frontenac County is set to spend $500,000 in federally generated reserve funds to bring the trail to the smooth standard of the section running from the county border all the way to Clarendon (the trail runs from Lake Ontario to the county border through the City of Kingston. The County is seeking a Rural Economic Development (RED) grant from the Province of Ontario for another $250,000.

But in order for the project to be eligible for RED, it requires a commitment of funds not sourced from provincial or federal programs.

The local municipality, or some other local group, needs to have some 'skin in the game'. In this case that come to $80,000.

As well, in order to be successful when applying to RED, which Frontenac County as been over the years, support from the local municipal and user groups is very helpful.

So, when Frontenac County Manager of Economic Development Richard Allen came to North Frontenac asking for a motion of support and a nominal commitment of $5,000 towards the project, it appeared to be an easy one for council.

But it wasn't.

After Allen said that research into the existing section of trail has shown that while local users far outnumber visitors, there is a sizable draw for people who travel over 40 kilometres to use the trail,

Councillor Wayne Good said that he would not support taxpayer dollars going to a recreation project aimed primarily at attracting people from away to come to the township.

He said that since trails are used by a minority of residents, they should be financed on user pay basis, “not with taxpayer dollars.”

Councillor Micky Hermer said that for the money that has been spent on the trail, the county could have built the 401, and that he would not support it.

Councillor Stephanie Regent said that she was not against trails, but that since there are no existing businesses benefiting from the trail because Snow Road and Mississippi Station are retail deserts, she did not see how it worked from an economic development point of view.

Richard Allen countered by saying that the owners of the Clarendon Station had renovated the built with the intention of using the trail as a draw for customers, and Back Forty Cheese in North Frontenac site the trail as a boon to their thriving visitor-based business.

“It's a case of you build it and they will come” he said.

Deputy Mayor John Inglis said that the trail is a long term county project finally set to arrive in North Frontenac, and $5,000 is a bargain for the benefits it will bring.

Township staff also pointed out that their recommendation, should council decided to commit the money, would be to take it from parkland reserve funds, which are monies collected as a surcharge from road closings and severances, which can only be spent on recreation projects. The money needs to be spent within a set timeframe and a staff report about how to allocated $60,000 of those funds, which will be lost if they are not spent, will be coming to council next month.

Council voted down the proposal, with only two votes in favour. Mayor Lichty voted in favour of the expenditure, as did Deputy Mayor John Inglis,

Lichty then attempted to salvage the matter somewhat by asking council to pass a motion of support for the project, with no financial commitment, but others on council indicated they had already voted on the matter, and council moved on.

Richard Allen, participating virtually, said “Thank you for your time” and was gone.

What did Council miss here”

A lot. The trail has been moving towards North Frontenac for 15 years, and a lot of money, mostly grant money from various sources but some from county taxation, has been spent. Some of that money, 10 cents from every county tax dollar, has come from North Frontenac, for the trail that is now benefiting South and Central Frontenac residents and businesses. It has been expensive, but it is a community asset once built.

The county has expropriated properties in North Frontenac, a contentious move that may explain some local reluctance on Council towards the projects, but the expropriation has now taken place.

Everyone knows that the trail will be built, and it the $250,000 in RED money is not secured, it may have to come from County taxes, which would cost North Frontenac ratepayers $25,000, and not exactly create allies in the rest of Frontenac County.

The Parkland Reserve money is hard to find a home for. It cannot be used on roads, it cannot be used on salaries, using it on this project is a perfect fit and would not cost anything to North Frontenac ratepayers.

If there is any true logic to this North Frontenac Township decision, other than lingering resentment over the expropriation and all things related to Frontenac County in general, I cannot see it.

The trail may not be enough to bring a store, or a seasonal chip hut to Snow Road, but the lack of a trail certainly hasn't. There is also a mixed message here. Council just decided to commit to a full time economic development officer, out of ratepayer dollars, but did not consult with either that person or their longstanding economic development task force, before taking this decision.

It would take 5 members of council to revisit this decision, and reverse the vote. While two members of council oppose it in principle, there are 5 others who can change this.

It can be done, if there is political will, and it can only save North Frontenac ratepayer dollars.

It has taken 15 years to bring the K&P Trail from Lake Ontario to the North Frontenac border. There are still issues to be solved before it can be completed all the way to Lanark County to join the trail network and bring Frontenac County in line with tourism initiatives in Eastern Ontario.

But at least one piece could be completed quickly, and it is in North Frontenac Township's interest to help move that along.