North Frontenac Council – Apr 29/16

Jonas Bonnetta | May 04, 2016

The Grass is greener for businesses

At Friday’s council meeting, David Bergstrome, from Rocky Shore Cannabis, presented his proposal for a 6,000 square foot marijuana growing facility he wants to build in North Frontenac. He was hoping to get support, in principle, for his idea.

Bergstrome, whose family has been cottaging on Kashawakamak Lake for over 50 years, explained there is a growing need for marijuana in Ontario because of its use medicinally, and because the general public, as well as the medical industry, are becoming more educated about the drug. He said that the proposed 2017 legalization of marijuana for recreational use would stress an already under-supplied market. With the demand continuing to increase, Bergstrome said that the gaps in supply would be “met by illicit producers.”

Bergstrome's proposal for Rocky Shores Cannabis included details regarding the regulations put in place by Health Canada. He explained that plants have to be tracked from the moment they are sown in the ground right up to the shipping process. He also went into detail regarding the security precautions that would need to be in place in order to pass certification. Bergstrome said that all the work would be done within the windowless facility and that the regulations call for perimeter fencing, 24-hour video monitoring, and a reinforced concrete vault in which to store the dried product.

He is currently looking at North Road as a proposed location for the project based on its accessibility and low traffic and, if the project gets the green light, he hopes to use local labour and materials when possible during the construction process. He also said that he would expect one Canada Post truck per day and that it wouldn't negatively impact the traffic in the area.

When asked about potential employment opportunities for locals, Bergstrome said that initially he thinks they would be hiring about three people to trim and tend to the plants, as well as for security.

Bergstrome's long-term vision includes plans to eventually expand to a 60,000 square foot building on the same property.

The power consumption on a growing operation like the one Bergstrome has proposed is big. He said that with a proposed layout of one 1000-watt lamp every six feet, and the current price of electricity, he has estimated his hydro bill at over $100,000 a year.

“Any business that can benefit the township is good for us,” Councilor Wayne Good said.

Council voted in favour of endorsing the proposal in principle.

Disaster Recovery
Petr Sizow, a representative from the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing (MMAH), made a presentation to Council on Friday regarding two new programs they launched in March of this year.

The Disaster Recovery Assistance for Ontarians (DRAO) and Municipal Disaster Recovery Assistance (MDRA) programs are in place to help municipalities and their residents deal with rebuilding and operations in the aftermath of a disaster. Under the MDRA program, the municipality can request funding from the province to cover incremental costs not originally budgeted for if the area is hit by a disaster. Eligible expenses, under the MDRA, can be: repairing essential infrastructure; engineering assessments; rental vehicles; safety equipment; and repairing supply roads to get goods into the area.

The program only kicks in when the costs incurred are equal to or more than 3% of the municipality's tax levy. Once the eligible expenses hit that 3% threshold then the province covers 95% of the costs related to the disaster.

Some councilors wondered if the program could potentially be helpful in the case of an ice storm, like the one in 1998, or wildfires in the area. Sizow agreed to report back to council with more details.

Potential tax increase for homeowners on dammed lakes

A portion of the costs of maintaining and repairing dams owned by the Mississippi Valley Conservation Authority (MVCA) could be put on ratepayers that have houses or cottages on the lakes.

The MVCA owns and maintains 11 dams as part of a control system for the Mississippi River water system. In a staff report, Paul Lehman, the general manager of the MVCA, explained that when the dams were constructed, or assumed, by the MVCA, there were provincial grants available to cover 50% of the costs, as well as an additional 35% as a supplemental grant to cover construction, operation, and maintenance costs. Now only the 50% grant is available for operation and construction. This leaves a question mark about who should cover the balance of the money.

“Ottawa is refusing to pay their share of maintaining these dams,” Councilor Gerry Martin said, “...which is flood control for the City of Ottawa. In the Conservation Act, there is a clause that says benefitting municipalities will pay a share of the rehab of the dam in their own municipality.”

One of the dams in need of attention, which was built in 1910, is on Kashawakmak Lake.

“Kashawakamak Lake is a large dam and it needs to be totally replaced,” Martin said, “It's one of the few structures in Ontario built with no steel. It's totally concrete....They're proposing to put a levy on our residents that live, for example, on Kashawakamak Lake, and expect us to cherry-pick all those properties and apply that tax to those properties on Kashawakamak. If this goes through for the Kashawakamak dam, the precedent will be set for other lakes”

“I think we'd better get mentally ready for that,” Councilor John Inglis said.

“I'm totally disgusted,” Mayor Ron Higgins said.

Councilor Martin speculated that the costs could be as high as a $1 million per dam. These costs, if put to North Frontenac ratepayers, would result in outrageous tax hikes. Martin points the finger towards Ottawa and their refusal to contribute to dam rehabilitation upstream but also at the MVCA for not having an asset management plan in place to properly budget for these large infrastructure renewal projects.

“This isn't over by a long shot,” Martin said.

Buckshot Creek culvert replacement on 509

In February of 2015, the township received a grant of up to $288,000 toward replacing the Buckshot Creek culvert on Road 509 through the Ontario Community Infrastructure Fund. The original estimated cost for the project, when they submitted their application, was $320,000, which included the project management costs, permits, and engineering design.

The township only received two bids on the project, although there was significant interest in the tender when it went out, and both bids were well over budget. The lowest bidder was Crains’ Construction Ltd., in the amount of $473,401.07 including HST. The second quote they received was over $1.6 million.

“A lot of that is our lack of services,” CAO Cheryl Robson said in explaining to Council why the quotes they received were so high. “We don't have accommodations for larger construction firms for their staff to stay here, or even to feed their staff. It makes it really hard. Their costs are going to go up because they have to pay their guys to drive to hotels.”

The replacement of the Buckshot Creek culvert was considered a high priority when a bridge study was done two years ago.

“I'm concerned if you don't move forward with it then the (grant) money might not be available to us,” Robson said.

Council voted in favour of giving the contract to Crains’ Construction.