North Frontenac Council - Feb 13/12

Jeff Green | Feb 16, 2012

$1175 for new fire department crests – Council approved the purchase of 500 newly designed crests for the fire department. The crests were designed by Michelle Ross, who won a contest that was sponsored by the township's fire department associations. She received a large screen television, which was paid for by the associations, as a prize for winning the contest. The cost that will be incurred by the township is for the crests and for sewing them on the uniforms of current department members.

Rebates for recycling – The township will be receiving about $60,000 from Waste Diversion Ontario as a rebate for the recycling of 10 different categories of materials in 2011. As well the township recycled 13.25 tons of hazardous waste in 2011, down from 15.58 tons in 2010.

Council rejects levy for private road maintenance. The East Marble Lake Cottage Association sent a letter making an unusual request of the township. They asked if the township would consider charging a special tax to their members, above and beyond the normal taxation of their properties, to cover the cost of maintaining the private lane the association members use to access their properties. On the recommendation of the roads department and township solicitor, council opted not to take the Marble Lake cottagers up on the offer. Among concerns mentioned were the fact that the township has a policy of not taking on any maintenance on private lanes.

Dimestore fisherman is back - Council agreed to partner with the Land O'Lakes Tourist Association in seeking a $20,000 grant from the Eastern Ontario Development Program (EODP) to compensate the producers of an independent TV program called the Dimestore Fisherman for the cost of filming an episode of the program in North and Central Frontenac.

Included in the sample agenda for filming are a visit to Frontenac Shores, lunch at North of 7, filming at Fernleigh Lodge, a visit to the Ompah fish hatchery, and an ATV ride on the trails near Ompah. The itinerary is tentative because none of the operators who would be hosting the Dimestore crew have been notified of the project thus far. Filming would take place over the Canada Day weekend.

If the grant application is successful, the township will only pay a nominal fee, just over $100, to cover some HST costs.

Ompah fire hall costs – For the purposes of hiring a project manager for building the Ompah fire hall/ambulance base the township needed to put a dollar figure on the project. A price of $550,000 was recommended, a total that is higher than council expects the project to cost, but an amount that has been mentioned before, which could be covered with existing reserve funds and monies earmarked by the Ompah fire crew from fund raised dollars.

Councilor Wayne Good, who has made his views known on the issue in the past, did not argue about the cost, instead he merely asked for a recorded vote to have his no vote on the motion entered into the public record.

Mayor Bud Clayton said Council should not worry about the $550,000 commitment, which is only a maximum figure.

“That price will certainly come down,” he said.

The vote passed 5-1. (Councilor Gerry Martin was not at the meeting)