North Frontenac Council - April 27, 2015

Jonas Bonnetta | Apr 29, 2015

Support for seniors in North Frontenac

At Monday's council meeting in Plevna, Catherine Tysick, a Community Support Manager from North Frontenac Community Services (NFCS) explained to Council the many different services they provide to seniors and physically disabled people who live in the area. Caregiver counselling, foot care, volunteer transportation, and Lifeline - a 24-hour monitoring system - are only some of the services they provide in the Frontenacs.

They also subsidize some housekeeping services for eligible seniors or disabled people. One of the goals of NFCS is to provide support so these people can continue to live in their own homes for as long as possible.

“A lot of the seniors we serve are in their 80's and above...” Tysick told Council. “Oftentimes there is only one pension...we really want to be able to help people stay at home as long as they can and as safely as they can because they want to be here,” she explained. “I've never met anybody who wants to move out of North Frontenac.”

NFCS was operating a Meals On Wheels program in North Frontenac for a long time but haven't been able to provide the service recently due to logistical complications with finding a local supplier, although they are starting up a nutritious frozen meals program that has seen financial support from Meals On Wheels.

“The residents of North Frontenac are very independent...we haven't had enough people that want Meals On Wheels enough to bring it from Sharbot Lake...” Tysick said.

NFCS depends on volunteers for many of their services. They offer transportation for people in need, at a subsidized rate. This can mean driving a senior to a medical appointment or to do grocery shopping.

One of the challenges that the NFCS faces is the small population, and therefore a small demand. Tysick explained that although they are in “very good-standing” with their funders, she worries that in the future the rural population won't be safeguarded against funding cuts because the funding is based on usage.

“We just want to spread the word that the services are available,” Tysick said. “If there are some holes...if there are some needs...there may be some things we can do...to get those needs met for your residents.”

Solar And All That Jazz

Bob Mady, from Jazz Solar, an Ottawa-based solar energy consulting firm, made a presentation to Council on Monday regarding the potential income North Frontenac could be making if they installed solar panels on some of their buildings in the township. The Feed in Tariff (FIT) Program, is designed for projects designated as generating between 10 kilowatts (kW) and 500kW of electricity. There is a program for under-10kW projects called the microFIT. These two programs, once controlled by Ontario Power Authority (OPA), are now controlled by the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO), the same organization that is in charge of administering the proposed wind turbine farm in North Frontenac and Addington Highlands.

Mady explained how a rooftop 10kW system, which costs approximately $30,000-$34,000 to get up and running, would provide the township with $4600 in annual income for the next 20 years, with the opportunity to profit over $55,000 in the long term. This system, under the microFIT program, provides the client with a protected rate, currently set at 38.4¢/kWh, that is locked in for 20 years. After the 20 year contract runs out, the owner of the system could, theoretically, stop feeding the grid and use the panels to power their building directly, with some additions to their system.

When the microFIT program was first introduced in 2009 the OPA was paying participants 80.2¢/kWh. The rate has dropped steadily, and Mady told Council that this will most likely be the last time the FIT program is offered.

(Note – the township has a micro-fit project in place on the roof of the township office)

Community Grants Policy to Set Deadline and $1000 Limit

Council voted on implementing a community grants policy on Monday. Non-profit community organizations sometimes request funding from the township. This policy would set a cap at $1000 per organization, and would set a deadline of November 30th, in order to be considered for the following year's annual budget.

“I'm gonna be a grinch here and say I don't like this,” Councillor Inglis said. “I think it's too extensive and bureaucratic...it's going to add layers of paperwork,” Inglis voted against the idea but was outnumbered in the vote. “I want to see a very simple set of guidelines...no dollar limits, no follow up reports.”

Corey Klatt, the Manager of Community Development, explained the reasoning behind the change. “It's putting some timelines on it so that we can do this at budget time.” The intention is that it will allow Council to better plan how they budget and allocate grant funds each year as well as better document what allocated grant money is spent on.

Mayor Higgins Gets a Passing Grade on Report Card

Mayor Ron Higgins presented the results of a survey he initiated requesting feedback from Council on his performance in his first quarter as Mayor. Overall the comments were positive, he said, and he himself echoed the main suggestion put forth that he “slow down” and not “expect too much too quickly”.