North Frontenac Council - July 17

Jeff Green | Jul 19, 2012

Ompah fire hall/ambulance project officially dead

The joint North Frontenac/Frontenac County building project, which was to bring an ambulance post and a new fire hall to Ompah, has been formally rejected by North Frontenac Council.

The project was not formally on the agenda at the North Frontenac Council meeting on July 16 in Plevna, but the results of a Phase 1 Environmental Assessment on the Ompah property where the ill-fated project was to have been located were presented to council.

The engineering firm that completed the assessment, MALROZ of Kingston, reported that while the risk of contamination at the site is low, they still recommend that further assessment work be completed before the site is cleared for use as a building lot for a public sector project.

The key paragraph in the executive summary of the report reads as follows.

“It is our opinion that the potential for contamination of the subject site from the observed debris and small stain is low, based on the highly limited and localized nature of these concerns. There remains a potential for impacts to soil and groundwater arising from the former use of the subject site as a gasoline station and snowmobile shop, given that previous soil sampling was limited to the UST nest and that groundwater sampling for contaminants of concern has not been previously completed. A Phase II ESA, including soil and groundwater sampling, is recommended to assess these potential impacts.”

Township CAO Cheryl Robson that when she contacted MALROZ after reading the assessment, they told her they could do a partial Phase 2 assessment, which might be enough to clear the site for use, at a cost of $27,900.

While construction costs for the joint project were to be shared between the township and county, the environmental assessments are being shouldered by North Frontenac alone.

“The $27,900 may be enough, we don’t know,” said Robson.

“With the costs of these assessments, we are now about $300,000 short for the entire project,” said Mayor Bud Clayton.

The construction part of the project, which has been managed by Frontenac County Emergency Services staff, has been pegged at $1.14 million in total, based on the winning bid in a Request for Proposal process. North Frontenac’s share of that cost is $734,000 because the fire hall would occupy about 2/3 of the building. The cost of the land and the environmental assessments are not included in that $734,000 construction budget. Earlier this year, North Frontenac Council had committed to spending up to $550,000 on the project, including all related costs.

“At some point we have to decide on this project. I suggest we force a vote on that now,” said Councilor John Inglis.

Inglis then proposed a motion that North Frontenac proceed with the joint fire hall/ambulance base project, and proceed with the environmental assessment on the property.

In a recorded vote, the motion was defeated 7-2. Inglis and Betty Hunter, who both represent the Palmerston Canonto Ward, which includes Ompah, were the only councilors who supported the motion.

Inglis then made a subsequent motion to proceed with the environmental assessment without going ahead with the building project.

“Since we own the property, I think it is our responsibility to make sure it poses no environmental risk to the public,” said Inglis, in supporting his second motion.

“We have already spent $4,000 on the first assessment, and this one is an additional $27,900,” said Councilor Gerry Martin. “The property is not even worth $30,000. I suggest we leave it alone.”

Council voted with Martin, rejecting the expenditure in a 6-3 vote. Councilors Hunter and Inglis supported the motion, as did Mayor Clayton.

It is not clear what this decision means for the future of ambulance service in North Frontenac or the future of the Ompah fire hall.

Trouble in County land

During his briefing to Council on county matters, Mayor Bud Clayton commented on County Warden Janet Gutowski’s “presidential” attitude.

“The warden [Janet Gutowski] has been accused of being ‘presidential’ in changing the date of the regular July county meeting,” said Mayor Bud Clayton in reference to an exchange of emails between members of County Council over the last week.

Frontenac County Council was scheduled to meet on July 19, but that meeting has been put off until next Tuesday, July 24, at 9 am, according to the Frontenac County website

“She decided to change the timing of a regular meeting, which she cannot do according to the procedural bylaw. She said she would follow the bylaw, but that she was still going to change the date of the meeting,” said Clayton.

Clayton also said that he had not been informed about the July 24 date, even though it was posted on the County website on Monday morning.

Sharp decline in building activity.

The total construction value of permits issued in the first half of 2012 was down by almost $1 million (33%) compared to the first half of 2011. The total for 2012, as of June 30, was $1,916,755, down from $2,866,175 a year earlier. It was in the months of May and June that the decline hit in earnest. In May 2012, permits were issued for $317,250 in construction, down from $837,896 a year earlier. In June 2012, permits for $485,920 were issued, as compared to $908,600 a year earlier. $24,732 in permit fees has been paid thus far in 2012, down from $34,460 at the same point last year.