| Sep 15, 2011


Storage shed in dire need of repairs.

Maybe it's something about the weather in North Frontenac. Once again the township is facing the cost of repairing a salt/sand storage dome, this time the one serving the former township of Clarendon/Miller, which is in need of major repairs.

A couple of years ago the township spent some money shoring up the shed serving the Ompah area, a shed that started showing signs of wear soon after being built. Council set aside $12,000 this year to repair the Clar-Mill shed, but when their engineering consultant took a look at it they said the repairs could not be done for that price.

With winter coming on, township CAO Cheryl Robson asked council to approve going over the $12,000 limit for the repair.

“I think we should put an upper limit on how much can be spent without coming back to us, say $50,000,” said Councilor John Inglis.

“They said it would be more than $12,000, but I don't think they meant that much more,” said Robson.

Council approved the spending, with a $50,000 limit.

Ompah ambulance base still in limbo

At the most recent meeting of Frontenac County Council, a proposal from North Frontenac that would have initiated the ambulance base/fire hall in Ompah was deferred in order for staff from the county and the township to communicate and come up with concrete figures about costs and specifications for the new building so that county council can finally decide whether to go ahead with the project or abandon it altogether.

However, Cheryl Robson said she only returned to work from her summer vacation on the morning of the council meeting.

“I put in a call to Liz this morning, and hopefully we can set something up for later this week,” Robson said.

At their latest meeting, County Warden Gary Davison said he wanted some assurances that North Frontenac will be building their portion of the building to an acceptable standard. The other issue that has been holding up the project is the way construction and maintenance costs for the building are to be split among the county and the township.

Disaster Relief – Council committed $100 to the town of Goderich to help with disaster relief after a tornado decimated the town in August.

Apology and talk of amalgamation – Councilor Wayne Good said that he has apologized informally to Addington Highlands Reeve Henry Hogg for North Frontenac unilaterally cancelling a joint fire board committee meeting last month. Good particularly felt an apology was needed because Henry Hogg chairs the committee. Addington Highlands proposed October 27 as an alternative date, which North Frontenac has accepted.

The joint fire board oversees the Barrie/Kaladar fire service, and Mayor Bud Clayton said it is time the old names are replaced by the names of the amalgamated townships.

“There no longer is a Barrie or a Kaladar township. We should be talking about a North Frontenac/Addington Highlands Fire Service. It's the same with our Clar-Mill or Snow Road service. We've had a lot of conversations about amalgamation not working; part of it is that we continue talking about the old names, not North Frontenac. There is a lot more than that, but that's one of those items.”

“What about the cost of changing names? It would mean all new signs,” said Wayne Good.

“We'll have to look at that as part of next year's budget,” said Clayton.

Speaking of signs – A couple of months ago the township heard from Edith Beaulieu, who said that she has been waiting for a road sign for almost 20 years. The sign has subsequently been ordered, but when Mayor Clayton asked Edith, who was in attendance at the meeting, if the sign had come, she said, “Not yet. I guess it will be another 9 or 12 or 18 years.”

 

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