After 18 months, two open houses and two public meetings, North Frontenac Council passed the Township’s Zoning Bylaw at its regular meeting last Friday in Plevna.

One of the more controversial aspects of the new bylaw concerned the designation of Areas of Natural or Scientific Interest (ANSI) and Coun. Vernon Hermer asked what effects taking them out of the Zoning Bylaw but leaving them in the Official Plan would have.

“If you apply for a building permit on land within an ANSI, it will be the same as any other application,” said Clerk/Planning Manager Tara Mieske. “But, if you want a minor variance, severance, or plan of subdivision, then yes, it will trigger the need for studies.

“But, it will not require a zoning bylaw amendment.”

Council did amend its procedural bylaw to allow one member of the public to speak before the bylaw was passed.

After Council passed an amendment to Section 3.36 of the Zoning Bylaw (which governs allowing recreational vehicles like motorhomes on single family dwelling lots as well as dwelling lots) to allow such vehicles “once in a 90-day period,” resident James White apologized for coming late to the discussion but said he’d just found out about the regulations and since he had a rather large property to which he wanted to invite several family members who had such vehicles, he wanted to know if he’d be allowed to have “more than one trailer” on his property for a reunion.

“Life is not a bylaw, it’s life,” he said. “Freedom is one of the reasons people want to live back here.”

Mieske assured White that “there are procedures to allow for things like that. You can come and apply for an exemption to allow it.”

• • •

Responding to a request from resident Wendi Hudson to reduce speed on a portion of Myers Cave Road, Coun. John Inglis proposed adding more electronic signs that show a driver’s speed.

“I’ve seen more and more of these signs and I know that some councilors say they don’t work (but) I’d like to see us buy a few more of them and move them around,” he said. “It’s probably a technology that’s getting cheaper.”

Inglis said that as far as getting drivers to slow down, at least in his own case “they kinda do work.”

Coun. Vernon Hermer concurred.

“There’s one going into Tweed and you notice it,” Hermer said. “And they’re pretty accurate too.”

Council resolved to look into buying more of the signs.

• • •

A request for private lane assistance on Mills Lane in Cloyne by resident Mark Bernacki was flatly refused by Council.

“We don’t do work on private lanes,” said Dep. Mayor Fred Perry. “And we don’t have anything to do with ATVs in there.

“It would be a president for private lanes and there are a lot of them.”

Coun. Gerry Martin agreed.

“I live on a private lane,” Martin said.

“I do too,” said Perry.

Removal of the term ANSI (Area of Natural or Scientific Interest) from the text and schedules of North Frontenac’s Zoning Bylaw was probably the most significant revision to emerge from the special Council meeting last Friday in Plevna.

Just what effect that might have on future development is unclear however as the term still remains part of Frontenac County’s Official Plan, which, as county planner Megan Rueckwald pointed out, supersedes any township document.

There were 10 changes in total, including several definition changes (pod, tiny home, recreational vehicle) as well as regulations allowing principal storage units on waterfront lots at least 150 metres from the water and the policies for recreational vehicles on vacant lots (maximum 14 days in a 90-day period). Another change clarifies that mainland parking and water access is not required for existing water access lots but will be required for any new water access lot.

“We’re going to need an encyclopedia to understand all these definitions,” said Coun. Vernon Hermer.

Still to be added to the bylaw are the addition of American safety standards to the RV definition, the removal of accessory dwellings from industrial zones, the inclusion of current zoning mapping of unstable soils rather than the draft mapping for such soils, a definition for lot of record and the establishment of a minimum lot size.

“Hopefully, this will be passed in July,” said Tracy Zander, of ZanderPlan, who wrote most of the bylaw. Zander noted that there have been “two public meetings and two open houses” for this bylaw.

One thing that won’t be changing however is a provision to allow raising more than chickens in backyards.

Despite Dep. Mayor Fred Perry’s suggestion that “chickens” be changed to “fowl,” a lengthy discussion on the exclusion of roosters and peacocks, Clerk/Planning Manager Tara Mieske provided the definitive argument to not changing the wording when she said: “We’ve consulted on this bylaw with the public for four months and I’m not comfortable (with that big a change). People will call and we’ll (staff) have to explain what the bylaw permits.”

“OK, let’s leave it at chickens,” said Coun. Wayne Good. “I’m done.”

The meeting ended on a somewhat sour note after Mayor Ron Higgins asked for public comments.

Resident Herbert Kent, who attends almost all Council meetings, tried to comment that Council wasn’t taking into account the ramifications some of their decisions but Higgins said Kent’s comments weren’t “pertinent to today’s agenda items.”

This led to a heated exchange between the two with Higgins threatening to have Kent removed.

Kent replied that wouldn’t be necessary and left of his own accord.

About 50 people showed up for the North Frontenac Septic Savvy Seminar Saturday at Clar-Mill Hall in Plevna and while organizers maintained the meeting wasn’t about mandatory septic inspections, much of the panel discussion and subsequent Q & A session featured a lot of discussion about it.

“This was not about inspection per se, it’s about starting to have an informed conversation,” said Bruce Moore, chair of the North Frontenac Lake Association Alliance and one of the organizers.

Following presentations on results of the Township’s septic survey, understanding septic systems, septic systems and lake health and understanding septic system reinspections, a panel discussion featuring North Frontenac Mayor Ron Higgins, Gord Mitchell of KFL&A Public Health, Eric Kohlsmith, an inspector with the Mississippi Rideau Septic System Office and Terry Kennedy of the Kennebec Lake Association ensued.

“I’m as concerned as much as anybody else about the health of our water,” said Higgins. “(But) I address is by saying ‘Is there a problem?’

“There’s not one lake I know of in North Frontenac that’s polluted.

“By establishing set-backs in our zoning bylaw, we are taking action pro-actively.”

“There are many sources of e. coli,” said Mitchell. “It doesn’t necessarily have to come from a failed septic system.

“You could have great bathing water but put a flock of geese on there and after a week, it’s not so good.”

Mitchell said his office couldn’t possibly handle mandatory inspections given that they represent nine municipalities.

“There’s a tremendous need for resources that don’t seem to be there,” he said. “I’m not of huge fan (of mandatory inspections) as there are better ways to spend money.

“But they can expose problems.”

Mitchell also said that the older the system (in the 25-30 year old range), the more likely it is to have problems.

“But just because a system is older, doesn’t mean it’s failing,” he said.

The panel also addressed other septic issues such as the perception that some current brands of toilet paper contain plastics and what shouldn’t be flushed into a septic system (such as tampons).

“I haven’t heard of plastics in toilet paper but some people collect it and burn it,” Kohlsmith said. “Moderation is the key.”

“If you didn’t eat it or drink it,” don’t flush it,” said Mitchell.

Higgins said any new regulations will likely have to come from municipalities and that there aren’t a lot of funds available for such things.

“The Province is making cuts without any plans,” he said. “When I put that question to the minister, he said ‘the plans have to come from you — you’re the ones who know your area.’”

The recent public works managers meetings to discuss Frontenac County’s Waste Management Review were something of an eye-opener for North Frontenac’s Darwyn Sproule.

“Being relatively new, it was a good education for me,” Sproule told North Frontenac Council at its regular meeting Monday morning in Plevna. “I was surprised at the varying operations.”

In his written report to Council, he said: “I found the report provided an effective review of the current operations, differences between the four Townships, potential efficiencies and practical ‘go forward’ initiatives.

“No doubt the study was challenging since our waste operations range from entirely rural with waste sites/transfer stations to rural without any landfills to urban communities with curbside pickup.”

He said there were some “good ideas” to come out of the meetings, such as sharing transport of recyclables and equipment like shredders.

But he also warned there could be big changes coming, especially in post-landfill scenarios.

“Our capacity is something we have to be aware of,” he said. “We may not have any control over it.”

He said the Townships need to work together closely on joint initiatives.

He also said he’s looking for volunteers to staff the re-use centre two half-days a week.

Coun. John Inglis was somewhat critical of the Waste Management Review.

“I see as incremental, rather than visionary,” he said. “There was a County report on energy from waste (and) this does ignore one part of the strategic plan.”

“Some systems require a lot of waste to operate,” Sproule said. “But there are systems that require 24 tons a day, which is what Kingston produces.”

“When I look at this report, it seems to be a short-term solution,” said Coun. Vern Hermer.

“Some things are short-term,” Sproule said. “We used to get paid for much of our recycling but now we’re paying $80/ton to get glass recycled.

“The other thing we’re struggling with is Styrofoam, there’s no market for it.

“But by the same token, we don’t want to change what the public has been used to doing by bringing things in.”

Cost of dying going up

Council amended its Fees and Charges Bylaw to with respect to cemeteries. A lot costs $480.25 for a resident which includes interment rights, care and maintenance and HST. For non-residents the cost is $553.70. For Cremation lots, the cost is $264.42 (residents) and $335.61 (non-residents). Casket internment costs $734.50 and cremation interment $339.

“It’s going to cost us more to die,” said Coun. Vernon Hermer.

“It’s really not that expensive,” said Coun. Fred Fowler.

Will Elvis will be in the building?

When CAO Cheryl Robson brought up a request to use Council Chambers for wedding ceremonies, it caused Coun. John Inglis to quip: “We’re going to be just like Las Vegas.”

Which in turn brought this from Coun. Vern Hermer: “Are you going to dress up like Elvis?”

Higgins seeking efficiency; declares one Small Township deceased

Mayor Ron Higgins gave notice of motion that he intended to ask for a consultant to come in to recommend “efficiencies” in the way the Township goes about things.

When asked is the One Small Township project was “officially dead,” Mayor Ron Higgins replied “yes,” adding that he was returning a substantial “donation” check to the B.C. First Nations group who had intended to invest in it.

It started out as a plan to build a self-sustaining community of environmentally sustainable homes made of used tires and other materials, called Talking Trees. It then expanded into an initiative called “One Small Town” that was based on the concept of contributionism, and the philosophy of Ubuntu, as espoused by Michael Tellinger, the South African founder of the Ubuntu liberation movement.

Members of the community could contribute their labour towards a variety of initiatives in return for some of the benefits of the project. A simple example was a proposed apiary. By taking on some of the labour, contributors would not only get as much honey as they required, they would also share in the profits when the excess honey was sold.

The project, which was championed by North Frontenac Mayor Ron Higgins, eventually included a renewable energy component using lake water, as well as the potential for a self-contained

North Frontenac Council expressed its, somewhat reluctant, support for the venture on a couple of occasions, making sure to stipulate that the township was making no financial commitment.

In November of 2017, a group came to a meeting of council to formally introduce the concept. A home in Plevna was purchased and the first project, an apiary, was to start up in the spring of 2018.

Meanwhile, Ron Higgins was talking up the project. He appeared in CBC interviews and other public forums on social media. He told the CBC that the project was going to progress quickly.

"In two or three years time, once this is all done, we will go into the bigger $20-million projects," he said in an interview on CBC Ottawa on January 28, 2018.

Later, it appeared that that David Craig, who had spearheaded the Talking Trees tire home building project, began working independently from the group that was based in Plevna.

The Talking Trees – North Frontenac website indicates that a property has been purchased for the project and that 144 lots have been marked out. Of those, 5 are marked sold, 2 1.5 acre lots at a listed price of $66,000, a one-acre lot at a listed price of $44,000, and 2 ½ acre lots at a listed price of $22,000.

The site says that the lots will be formally approved in 2020.

“​Once the Plan of Subdivision has been approved, lots will be available conventionally. (approval for Plan of Subdivision expected summer 2020)” it says on the site.

Late in 2018, Mayor Higgins said that a first nation from British Columbia was set to invest in the project.

There has been no further formal word until this week, when the agenda for the upcoming meeting of North Frontenac Council was released. The agenda includes an administrative report from Mayor Higgins under the heading “One Small Town”.

The very short report consists of the three council motions that have been passed regarding the project, and the following comment.

“Based on intensive research and analysis, since November 2017, of the proposed One Small Town program, I have concluded that the implementation of the proposed program was not going to be a viable option and have closed this proposed project.”

With that, it appears, the Mayor has, at the very least severed his involvement with “One Small Town” if he has not shut it down completely.

One North Frontenac Councillor, John Inglis, is not waiting until the council meeting next week before expressing his opinion about the demise of One Small Town.

“I am embarrassed for my township that we appear to have been so gullible. Even though Council backed away from the whole thing right at first introduction, and were questioned by the Mayor for being so negative, the public perception has always been that this was a township project. Unfortunately, this is the second promise of investment money from outside that has fallen through. The first was our Mayor’s promise that if we were able to keep wind turbines out of North Frontenac, investors were lined up to build hotel accommodation here. I actually believed that for a while. I’m sorry to say that I also believed there was a remote possibility that millions of dollars might come to this community as a result of the idealism of a group of urban visitors.” Inglis wrote on his personal blog on Tuesday afternoon (May 21).

The News called Ron Higgins late on Tuesday afternoon but he did not get back to us before our publication deadline at midnight on Tuesday night.

Higgins returned our call on Wednesday, but we did not speak until Thursday morning.

He said he had secured a contribution for the project but he found that the “organisation to get it kicked off just wasn’t going as planned. Conflicts were developing between different projects, and I could note get the kind of commonality I needed between the team leaders.”

By early March he said that he “had a nagging gut feeling that this isn’t right. We had a meeting with team members and I found out some things I had not known before. It was then that I pulled the plug.”

Higgins added that he is not connected with the Talking Trees project and does not know where it stands.

“I have maintained contact with the group behind the donation and I will be working on some individual projects that they may fund in the future, but I am no longer working on this as Mayor of North Frontenac, but as a private citizen.”

He added that the township never was asked to invest in the One Small Group project, but some staff time was spent developing a township position in relation to it.

(This article has been updated from the one that was included in the May 23 edition of the Frontenac News)

“There is much for all of us to learn about why a properly functioning septic system is integral to ensuring the safety of our drinking water and keeping our lakes healthy” according to Bruce Moore, Chair of the North Frontenac Lake Association Alliance.

The purpose of the three hour Septic Savvy workshop is to not only inform the public but to also receive input from the public on the topic of well-functioning septic systems and their impact on the environment and drinking water.

Septic system maintenance is not a new topic however there is new knowledge and lessons that have been learned about how to optimise the operation of household systems.

The workshop will receive current information and lessons that have been learned from the Federation of Ontario Cottagers’ Associations, Kingston Frontenac Lennox Addington Public Health, Mississippi Rideau Septic System Office, Mississippi Valley Conservation Authority, and the Township of North Frontenac

The Lake Association Alliance has partnered with the Township of North Frontenac to offer this septic smart workshop on Saturday, June 8 at Clar-Mill Hall, Plevna from 9-12 noon. In establishing this joint venture, the Alliance recognizes that North Frontenac established a voluntary septic re-inspection program many years ago. As the Township website stages “systems that are improperly maintained, older or outdated or malfunctioning may have a negative impact on the environment, lakes and groundwater”.

The North Frontenac Lake Association Alliance has created a quick survey to make it easy for the public to send in their views, whether or not they are coming to the workshop. Please take the survey at .

For more information or to register email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. last minute registration will be possible at Clar-Mill Hall on June 8.

It’s probably fair to say the most controversial aspect of North Frontenac’s new Zoning Bylaw has been the inclusion of the Palmerston Lake ANSI (Area of Natural or Scientific Interest).

To that end, Mayor Ron Higgins has been corresponding with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF) trying to get to the bottom of why it was established in the first place.

ANSIs in Ontario come in three flavours — Provincial, Regional and Proposed. In the Frontenac County Official Plan, Provincial and Regional ANSIs are recognized, including the Palmerston Lake one.

In a report to Council, Higgins wrote: “The MNRF has advised the Palmerston Lake ANSI is regional; however, the issue is that the current Council and staff has not been able to acquire the historical information and supporting documentation from MNRF to adequately address the concerns of our residents and the Township itself.

“Provincially and Regional significant ANSIs are treated the same in the County Official Plan, whereas MNRF does not have the same restrictions for regionally as Provincially designated ANSIs.”

Higgins went on to say “this issue is a concern for our Township and residents as many wee unaware of the Palmerston Lake ANSI designations due to the omission of this requirement in past Official Plans and residents stating they were never involved in any consultations by MNRF at the time (other ANSIs were shown on the 2003 Official Plan).”

“They (MNRF) haven’t provided their justification for designating,” said Coun. Vern Hermer.

“I suggest we delay the procedures until the MNRF responds,” said Coun. John Inglis.

“There are other aspects of the bylaw people need,” said Higgins.

“Perhaps some amendment where ANSIs can be revisited,” said Coun. Fred Fowler.

“At the public meeting, the ANSIs will be on the map,” said Clerk-Planning Manager Tara Mieske. “But, it’s a draft.

“If, after the public meeting, Council decides to take the out, they can.”

Higgins said he’d work with the County to get its Official Plan amended.

Township to rescind firearms bylaw

Mayor Ron Higgins said he’d received two complaints concerning the discharge of firearms in the Township and so the Township’s firearms bylaw was on the table at Friday’s regular meeting in Plevna, complete with a series of amendments.

However, there didn’t seem to be much support for the way things were worded.

“It’s too encompassing, too broad a brush,” said Coun. Gerry Martin. “This is going to prevent people from hunting ducks on Malcolm Lake.

“We’re up here in hill country (and) we’re hillbillies.”

Coun. Fred Fowler, himself a retired police officer, said that any complaints should be investigated by OPP officers and perhaps the noise bylaw applied.

“If there are charges to be laid, they’ll lay them,” he said.

CAO Cheryl Robson agreed.

“Why do we even have this bylaw?” she said. “It’s all covered under the Criminal Code, the Hunting Regulations or it’s just not our jurisdiction.”

“I recommend we rescind the whole bylaw,” said Coun. Vern Hermer.

And that’s just what they decided to do.

Council asked staff to bring back a bylaw rescinding the firearms bylaw next meeting.

Good Roads report

Public Works Manager Darwyn Sproule’s trip to the Good Roads Conference was informative, he told Council.

“The age of the ‘expert’ is declining,” he said. “There is so much information available.”

But, with all the advancements in electronic communication and information, there is a bit of a downside, he said.

“Complaints are now easier to make,” he said. “And, with email, they can be made faster, which means people can complain while they’re still angry whereas in the past, they had to take time to write a letter, giving them an opportunity to calm down.”

While the Ottawa area and the Muskokas have been battling floods all spring, mainland Frontenac County has pretty much escaped the worst of things.

All three townships have posted warnings on their websites but only North Frontenac has had to do much flood fighting of any note, and that hasn’t been bad, said Director of Emergency Services/Fire Chief Eric Korhonen.

“When they opened the dam on the Mazinaw, it created some flooding on Head Road,” he said. “We’ve had water over the road in Plevna, a little bit of flooding on Kash and in the Snow Road area, there have been five or six homes flooded along the Mississippi.

“We’ve given out about 3,000 sand bags and I’d really like to commend the citizen volunteers and firefighters who have risen to the occasion,” he said. “We’ve had seven culverts go and seven road washouts but the Public Works Department has really been on the ball.

“There’s no need to call an emergency.

“If residents have problems, they can call us and we’ll have firefighters run out there with pumps.”

In Central and South Frontenac Townships, flooding has been virtually non-existent.

“We’ve fared very well compared with others,” said Central Frontenac Emergency Management Coordinator/Fire Chief Greg Robinson. “We have had some road washouts and flooding but no houses have been flooded.”

Robinson said when Central has flooding issues, it’s commonly in the Depot Lakes area but this year they’ve been more concerned about the northern areas.

“The Salmon River is high,” he said. “We’ve been preparing for flooding and we do have a sandbag program but we haven’t had to implement it.”

“(South Frontenac) is in excellent shape, comparatively speaking,” said Fire Chief Darcy Knott. “We haven’t had any significant issues.”

Knott wanted to remind people that the Township is holding a Touch-the-Truck event May 9 from 5-8 p.m. at the Keeley Road Garages in conjunction with United Way, where people can see and touch the equipment emergency personnel use including police and paramedics.

Over in neighbouring Addington Highlands Township, things haven’t been quite as quiet, said Road and Waste Management Supervisor Brett Reavie.

“We’ve had a couple of washouts (including Hughes Landing Road where crews worked through the night to correct the situation) we’ve worked on,” Reavie said. “We’re busy for sure.

“Rose Hill Road is still down because we’re waiting on getting a culvert.”

He said area waters are still high, especially in the north.

“It’s been a little extreme because of the amount of snowfall we had all winter,” he said. “And in the north, it’s tending to stick around because it didn’t get the thaws that the south end of the Township got.

“The north didn’t get the melts the south got and so it’s tending to come all at once.”

Usually, when all the stacking chairs at a North Frontenac Council meeting are filled with warm bodies, it means somebody’s getting an award.

But the crowd at last Friday’s meeting was in no mood to give anybody an award. They were there to voice their concerns about the Township’s new Zoning Bylaw.

Zoning Bylaw discussions, as a rule, don’t tend to draw crowds. But two aspects of this one would seem to have created considerable concerns — commercial forestry operations and Areas of Natural or Scientific Interest (ANSI).

In particular, the ANSIs in North Frontenac seemed to draw the most interest.

Some ANSIs date back as far as the late ’60s and were created by the Province of Ontario under the MNR to protect significant areas of biological or geological interest, including old growth forests, unique flora and fauna, species at risk, fossils, mineral deposits or geological structures. Perhaps the best known is the Niagara Escarpment and one new one under consideration is the Marble Lake Stromatolites- arguably the oldest fossils on the planet. ANSIs designated as “provincial” are considered among the best examples of certain aspects in the province.

“We’re not even close to passing the bylaw yet,” Mayor Ron Higgins told the crowd. “This is my No. 1 priority.

“I’m on it every day.”

He said there’s another public meeting on the agenda, likely near the end of May “but we’re not near ready yet.”

In a report to the Township, Megan Rueckwald, manager of community planning, County of Frontenac said there are currently eight confirmed ANSIs within the Township and three more ‘candidate ANSIs.

The confirmed ANSIs are:

The Plevna Cedar Swamp (life sciences, regional)

Snow Road Station Esker (earth sciences, provincial)

Hungry Lake Barrens (life sciences, provincial)

Within the Madawaska Highlands Land Use Plan:

Palmerston Lake (life sciences, regional)

Evergreen Mountain (life sciences, regional)

Summit Lake (life sciences, provincial)

Fortune-Schooner (life sciences, provincial)

Centennial Lake (life science, provincial)

The candidate ANSIs are:

Bishop Corners Schoolhouse (earth sciences, provincial)

Ore Chimney Mine (earth sciences, provincial)

Marble Lake Stromatolites (earth sciences, provincial)

Most of the ANSI lands are on Crown Land, however, the Plevna Cedar Swamp, Snow Road Station Esker, Palmerston Lake and Fortune-Schooner overlap with privately-owned land.

And that’s where the points of contention come in.

“When I read it, it clearly indicates the ANSI (designation) totally applies to Crown Land,” said Coun. Vernon Hermer. “My opinion is that they’ve (MNR) made mapping mistakes and they don’t want to appear foolish.

“That’s why they’re stonewalling.”

“According to the map, it applies to Crown Land, not private land,” said Higgins. “So we’re contesting it.”

“We’ve had like 18 instances of invasive species, gypsy moths being one example,” said Dep. Mayor Fred Perry. “How do we know these things are still there?”

Being designated and Environmental Protection zones doesn’t in itself preclude development in these areas but it does require some studies that wouldn’t necessarily be required in other zones (at a cost of $2,000-$5,000). Also, certain activities (mining, lumbering, hunting) may be restricted depending on what’s being protected in the ANSI.

“And, if you remove the EP in the Zoning Bylaw, a study still has to be done because of the Township and County Official Plan requirements,” said Rueckwald.

The Palmerston Lake ANSI seems to be garnering the most attention. Among the features being protected are a rare form of orchid, and a rare moss, a Great Blue Heron colony, nesting ravens and calcareous-based hardwoods.

At first glance, the smoking bylaw North Frontenac Council passed at its regular meeting last Friday in Plevna seemed a lot more ominous than it actually turns out to be.

For example, one section contains the phrase: “No person shall, smoke or vape within 20 metres of any point on the perimeter of the outdoor grounds of a community recreational facility and public areas.”

Now if you interpret that to mean the property lines of Township facilities, you might conclude that the bylaw extends into private property. For example, in the case of Barrie Hall, that would mean extending across Hwy 41, into Addington Highlands Township and onto the home of Addington Highlands Reeve Henry Hogg. It would also mean that in some cases, it would extend into Crown Lands (for example some boat launches).

But that’s not the intension, Clerk/Planning Manager Tara Mieske said Tuesday in an interview.

“It only pertains to Township-owned facilities and property,” she said. “The bylaw was updated to come into line with the updated Smoke-Free Ontario Act, which now includes cannabis and the bylaw is designed to reflect that.”

This means smoking is restricted to 9 metres from the entrance to a Township building and 20 metres from the ‘perimeter’ of a children’s playground, sporting area or recreational facility, but it doesn’t extend past the Township-owned property, she said.

“This includes the ballfield and tennis courts in Cloyne but not Township beaches and boat launches, or things that don’t have a roof like waste sites,” she said.

It also doesn’t include things like the Township garages and municipal office (although the 9 metres from the entrance still applies), she said.

Technically, the 20 metres doesn’t include fire halls but in some cases (notably Ompah and Snow Road) the fire halls are attached or adjacent to recreational halls and/or libraries where the 20-metre restriction does apply.

One other unclear aspect of the bylaw is what constitutes smoking.

“Smoke and Smoking includes carrying or holding of a lighted tobacco product, a lighted cannabis product, an activated electronic cigarette, or a lighted or heated water pipe,” would seem to prohibit the First Nation smudging ceremony, common at Powwows and other gatherings.

Mieske said that hadn’t been considered in the wording of the bylaw and she’d research the matter before bringing a report to Council.

• • •

On March 26, Mayor Ron Higgins sent an email to Central Frontenac Mayor Frances Smith asking about Central’s plans to fix potholes on Road 509 and Ardoch Road.

“How’d you make out?” said Dep. Mayor Fred Perry.

“You saw her response,” said Higgins.

“Although they did do some work,” said Coun. Gerry Martin.

“I didn’t agree with this action at all,” said Coun. John Inglis. “It was unnecessary and the tone wsas insulting.”

For the record, here are the two emails.

From Higgins to Smith:

“Frances, I was asked by Council to contact you about the road condition of 509 (near Ardoch Road) and 2-3 bad spots on Ardoch Road. We have been getting a number of residents asking if we knew what Central Frontenac was considering with regards to repair. They are concerned about vehicle damage due to bad road conditions.

“Would it be possible to provide us with any plans your Township has in regards to this issue?”

Smith’s response:

“Good morning Ron. I think it is the swamp on the flat that you are talking about. We are quite aware of it and as soon as the thaw permits, we will be dealing with it.”

• • •

With about a dozen members of the public in attendance at the meeting, Mayor Ron Higgins asked for a motion to move the public question period up on the agenda so that those members of the public who wished to could comment on the question of ANSIs (Area of Natural or Scientific Interest) in North Frontenac’s Zoning Bylaw could be heard.

Only Coun. Wayne Good voted against the measure.

Later in the meeting, Council voted to end the restriction that a public question period only be permitted if the Council meeting takes under three hours.

North’s meetings commonly exceed three hours. By comparison, Central and South meetings rarely exceed two hours and South has one or two meetings a year under a half hour.

• • •

In response to Kerry Skipper’s request for a Pickleball court in Cloyne, Coun. Fred Fowler challenged Dep. Mayor Fred Perry to the first game.

Fowler declined to offer Perry some sort of handicap even though Perry recently had surgery on his leg.

Pickleball is a racquet sport combining elements of badminton, tennis and ping pong using a whiffleball of some sort.