A dedicated crowd defied some rainy weather on Saturday to celebrate concurrent events, the ribbon cutting of a newly constructed rest stop in Ompah and the unveiling of 5 murals painted by North Frontenac artists Fred Fowler, Marlene Leeson, Cathy Owen, Linda Rush and Katie Ohlke.

North Frontenac Mayor Ron Higgins, flanked by Council and resident members of the township economic development task force, welcomed everyone and presided over a ribbon cutting ceremony in front of a modern, aluminum enclosure that is one of the key elements to the rest stop, which also includes a porta-potty and a gravel parking lot.

The lot where the rest stop is located steeped in recent North Frontenac history as it was purchased by the township several years ago as the preferred location for a new township fire hall/Frontenac County ambulance base.

That project went to tender, but the projected price for the fire hall portion was higher than North Frontenac Council were prepared to go. The ambulance base was built at Robertsville, and a set of upgrades were done to the existing Ompah fire hall across the road. The towsnhip did have to invest more into what is now the rest stop lot because of soil contamination from a former gas station on the site.

As part of the ceremony, committee member Darwyn Sproule recalled the history of site, which was originally the location of a primary grade school which burned down, then a store and service station, which also burned.

“It’s a good thing the structure we put up here is made of metal,” Sproule said.

The project was completed with support from a number of groups, organizations, and businesses, including; Hydro One, the Frontenac Community Futures Development Corporation, Francis Manion Construction, and West Palmerston Cottages, the Easter Ontario Trails Association, and the Ottawa Valley ATV club among others.

“Providing a welcome place to stop while driving along one of our scenic roads is part pf our economic development strategy,” said Higgins. “You can see how much community involvement it takes to make things happen.”

The second part of the ceremony was certainly more colourful, as the five murals, which were leaning against pickup turcks in the lot, were unveiled one by one by the artists who took up the challenge to crate them. Sgt. Sharron Brown, detachment commander of the Frontenac OPP supervised a lottery of sorts, as the location where each of the murals are being installed was determined by each artists pulling the name of a township hall out of a hat.

The results were as follows. The Fred Fowler mural is going to Snow Road, Marlene Leeson’s is already installed at the Ompah hall, Cathy Owen’s will go down the road to the Clar-Mill hall in Plevna, the Linda Rush’s is bound for the Barrie Hall, and the Harlow hall will be the home of the Katie Ohlke mural.

The murals will be installed on outside walls of the halls for maximum exposure to the viewing public.

The project was inspired by Arlene Uens of Mountain Grove who initiated and completed her own mural project, putting hers up on private property throughout Mountain Grove.

Uens was on hand at the unveiling and said is nice to see how North Frontenac Township has supported the local project.

With the work all done, the crowd headed over the hall for a free BBQ courtesy of the fire department, and cake and coffee in the hall.

Central Frontenac Mayor Frances Smith and Kingston Frontenac Public Library Board Chair Claudette Richardson cut the ribbon officially opening the brand new Mountain Grove Library last Friday. The library, which is attached to the fire hall, was made possible through a $110,000 grant by the federal Ministry of Innovation, Science and Economic Development under the Canada 150 Community Infrastructure Program. “We all need books, we all need to read and we all need to learn,” said Smith.

The Frontenac Community Arena (FCA) Board of Directors is pleased to announce that it is the recipient of a $30,000 Ontario150 Community Capital Program grant. These funds will help fund the capital costs of replacing the Arena’s 30-year-old dehumidification system with a new, more energy-efficient Desiccant system.

“Our community arenas act as a hub where people come together to share and grow; the Ontario150 Community Capital Program grant is providing for improvements at Frontenac Community Arena will help secure the continued enjoyment and enhance the benefits of this much-loved facility,” said Randy Hillier, MPP for Lanark, Frontenac, Lennox and Addington.

Administered by the Ontario Trillium Foundation, these grants will help non-profit organizations, municipalities and Indigenous communities to renovate, repair and retrofit existing community and cultural infrastructure. The one-time, Ontario150 Community Capital Program has been designed to help honour Ontario’s past, showcase the present and inspire future generations.

“We are very pleased to be a recipient of a Ontario150 Community Capital Program grant. It will support the replacement of aging equipment vital to ice making process,” said Sherry Whan, Central Frontenac Township Councillor and Arena Board Chair.

“This important Capital project along with work completed over the past two years is vital to the Frontenac Community Arena operations,” said Tim Laprade, Arena Manager. “This work reflects the Arena Boards continued commitment to investing in infrastructure that will reduce our energy consumption and support ice activities,” added Laprade.

The Ontario150 Community Capital Program is administered by the Ontario Trillium Foundation, an agency of the Government of Ontario and one of Canada’s largest granting foundations.

Eric Kohlsmith, from the Mississippi Rideau Septic System Office (MRSSO) made a presentation to Council on Friday regarding the results of their 2016 Sewage System Re-inspections.

The MRSSO made 67 voluntary re-inspections in North Frontenac in 2016. 90% of the inspections were cottages and almost 2/3's of the inspections were done on Kashwakamak and Missassagagon Lakes.

The MRSSO had planned on inspecting the North Frontenac Parklands campsites as well but were thwarted by low-water and drought conditions.

“The past year our response rate has increased,” Kohlsmith said. “The protocol is looking at systems that are 10 years or older and haven't been re-inspected in the past.”

“The goal of it is education,” Kolhsmith said. “We're looking to make sure the system is operating properly, not necessarily meeting today's standards.”

The MRSSO reports that 62% of the systems they inspected were septic tanks with leaching beds. Earth pits, composting toilets, and privies, were the second most inspected systems at 25%.

The report also detailed distances that septic systems exist to surface water. Just under half of the systems inspected were at least 30M away from water. The other half were somewhere between 15M and 30M, which meets the Ontario Building Code, yet doesn't meet zoning by-law requirements.

The report also revealed that 78% of the septic tanks they inspected were made of concrete.

Kohlsmith's report showed 55% of the systems they inspected needed remedial work done on them. This could include something as simple as the system needing a pump out or as intensive as baffles inside the tank needing replacement or repair. The MRSSO recommended replacement for 3% of the systems they inspected.

The program will be continuing into 2017.

Palmerston Beach Enhancement
Cille Harris and Steve Sunderland, members of the Palmerston Beach Community Organizing Committee, made a presentation to Council regarding restoring the Northern part of Palmerston Beach.

The proposal they made includes 3 phases over 3 years and would eventually replace the staircase, install accessible picnic tables, and pave the parking lot.

The committee looks at the enhancement of the beach as a great opportunity to boost tourism and build a new place for community to meet.

Sunderland, a former landscape architect who has designed over 200 parks, brought a detailed drawing to Council to help them envision what the committee has in mind for the area.

Harris said that the re-opening of the trails in the area has been an extraordinary success and “being an active group we'd like to do something else.”

The staircase leading down to the beach is currently in disrepair and the beach is covered with gravel that has eroded from the driveway into the parking area and beach.

“You'd need a backhoe to build a sandcastle on that beach,” Sunderland said.

The group is hoping that in 2017 they could start phase one, which would include an engineering assessment, beach sand, some landscaping, gravel on the driveway, parking lot, and pathways, and 3 picnic tables.

The community contribution for phase one is estimated at $19,000 and the committee is looking for the Township to remove the stairs and pave the entry, which they currently say is a safety concern for cars trying to exit the parking lot. This contribution from the Township is estimated at $8,800.

Phase two of the project, slotted for 2018, would include a 50M stone retaining wall, a concrete and stone stairway, 3 accessible picnic tables, and an accessible pathway to the beach. The community contribution for this would be approximately $22,200 and the Townships contribution would be $10,000.

Phase three, in 2019, would include installing a wooden sun shelter, 3 more picnic tables, storm drainage, paving the parking lot and access road, and upgrading the washroom facilities. This stage they've estimated will cost them $13,400 and the Township $44,200.

Council suggested that the committee have a conversation with the Mississippi Valley Conservation Authority (MVCA) regarding the project as the beach is on MVCA property.

Corey Klatt, the Manager of Community Development, raised a few concerns about the project.

“You have to consider there are 4 other beaches,” Klatt said to Council. “They're great projects. They're enhancements. But there will be increased costs for the Council to take on in the future.”

“I can see us fixing up the stairs if they're a safety hazard, and the erosion of the road, but I can't see us investing in this project when there are other beaches,” Councillor Wayne Good told Council.

Council was going to discuss the item further once the committee spoke with the MVCA regarding the project.

Northern Exposure Revisited
Janice Powell, Chief Administrative Officer for the Lakelands Family Health Team, made a request to Council for $75,000, paid in 5 instalments of $15,000 per year for the next 5 years, to be used for doctor recruitment.

It is hoped that Addington Highlands will, again, contribute to the fund as well push the incentive up to $30,000 per year for a doctor to join the health team.

This incentive agreement would be similar to the one signed by Dr. Matt Dumas in 2015.

Powell explained to the Council that there is “fierce competition for physicians right now” and that it creates a struggle to recruit a doctor for the area.

The recent departure of Dr. Anne Wilson has left a hole in the Lakelands team and Powell expressed concern that, even with the incentive, finding the right doctor could take some time.

There wasn't much discussion from Council surrounding the decision.

“It's the most important,” Mayor Higgins said.

Council approved, in principle, the request for $75,000 to be used for a third medical agreement.

The Bellrock Community Hall Association raised funds for new washrooms, a new front entrance and a walkway to the Bellrock Community Hall, all of which were completed in accordance with the building standards for accessibility. The hall can now accommodate everyone wishing to attend the very active community programs, most of which are attended by seniors.

When compared to the fate of the former Sharbot Lake Public building, which was doomed to a slow decline followed by demolition at a hastily announced council meeting a couple of days before Christmas last year, the former Hinchinbrooke school building has a bright future.

That does not mean it will be opened up for public use any time soon, or perhaps ever. A report to Central Frontenac Council that was presented on the final meeting of the year on Tuesday (December 13), said that the lower floor of the building can be re-born as an accessible recreational building with a commercial kitchen for under $300,000. While Central Frontenac does exactly have $300,000 kicking around, grants could be available for such a project. What is more of a concern are the long term operating costs of such a public building, which is estimated at $60,000 per year by the community recreation centre committee that is spearheading the project, including over $30,000 in heating costs.

The feasibility study was overseen by Perth architect Geoff Hodgins, and included reports on the structural and mechanical soundness of the building. The report did not consider the cost of remediating any of the asbestos in the building, or the cost of removing an oil tank that is buried on the site. Both of these issues would need to be dealt with whether the building is renovated or torn down.
The windows and other elements of the building, which is 46 years old, were upgraded within the last 15 years. For that reason, as well as cost factors, the study does not recommend that any major energy efficiency upgrades be made to the building, the result being that heating costs will remain quite high.

In the summary of his findings, Hodgins said the following: “The former Parham elementary school building is in relatively good condition and could be retrofitted to serve the proposed use as a multi-purpose recreation and cultural facility. There are some substantial costs that would be associated with this retrofit, the most significant of which have to do with renovating the support system for the gymnasium to include a fully functioning commercial kitchen,  required upgrades to the mechanical and electrical system and accessibility compliance requirements. Should the design be made to proceed the result would be $8,500 square feet of fully functioning accessible space, with an additional $5,000 square feet of second floor space for development.”

In his response to the Hodgins report, Central Frontenac Chief Building Official (CBO)Jeremy Neven said there are a number of potential costs that are not included in the Hodgins report but need to be determined before he can confidently make a recommendation to Council on the viability of the project.

“The study appear to have been well done, but there are factors outside of its mandate that could cause construction costs to balloon substantially,” he said.

In his report, he recommended that council reserve any decision on the matter until “a complete and viable business plan is put forward detailing how capital costs for any and all renovations will be addressed and how ongoing operational costs for the building will be addressed.”

The community recreation centre committee also appeared before council as a delegation in response to the release of the study. Sue Campbell of the committee said that the they are asking council to allow them to take the lead in preparing an application to the Trillium Foundation for a “seed stream” grant which would be used to fund “development of a working business plan for a culture and recreation centre at the former Hinchinbrooke School site.”

Campbell said that the Trillium deadline is the end of February.

Councillor Tom Dewey asked about the status of the committee that is working on the project, and Sue Campbell said the were under the previous council. That status was not renewed, however, and that will have to be rectified in January, which will require that a councl member join the committee, likely one of the Hinchinbrooke Councilors.

Councilor Brent Cameron said “I’m personally supportive of the project, but we need to find a way to make the building self-sufficient.”
Meanwhile, as the building waits for its fate to be determined it will not be heated this coming winter. That poses a minimal risk of heaving, which is offset by $30,000 in savings.

COUNCIL BRIEFS

Building permit activity drops in November, but December is looking good
CBO Neven presented the construction permit report as of the end of November.

In November, permits for $150,000 in construction were issued, down from over $500,000 from last year, leaving a year to date total of just over $7.5 million, up from just under $7 million a this time last year, and $4.6 million in 2014. Neven said that the November numbers were down because a number of permits were delayed and he expects to issue over $1 million in permits this month, which could bring a record year end total for the township.

Fire report
Fire Chief Bill Young reported that the department has issued an rfp for the replacement of 32 twenty year old Self Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA) units.

“They have a 15 year life span so we need to do something,” Young said.

He  reported that work on the library addition to the Montain Grove Fire Hall will not be completed before the end of the year, as had been hoped, but will happen in mid-January.

“We had to wait too long for approvals from hydro, etc.” Young said, “but it has gone well and is almost complete.”

He also reported that a new software system, the Fire House records management program, has been installed and will automate tracking and reporting department activities, which will help the township comply with reporting requirements set out by the Ontario Fire Marshall’s office.

The hiring for a full time fire chief has been posted internally and an external posting is pending. The new hire was one of the recommendations of a report into the departments operations.

Council approved a request for $1670 for a street light at the Parham Fire Station and Public Library.

Train whistle presentation
Donald Lafleur of Crow Lake appeared before Council in support of his request that the township undertake the 8 step process to request from CP rail that trains passing through the four rail crossings in Central Frontenac cease to whistle.

Lafleaur said that the trains whistle 5 times at each crossing, for a total of 20 for each train, and there are anywhere from 3-10 trains passing near his Crow Lake property each day.

He said that at least two guests at his rental property have said they will not be returning because of the whistling, and presented  a petition signed by most of his neighbours.

In response Councillor Dewey said he wanted to make sure that if the township requests that the whistling stop it will not create any liability, a point shared by others on Council.

Lafleur said that it is the railroad, not the township, that will make the decision and the liability rests with them.

Council accepted Mr.Lafleur’s submission, and instructed CAO MacMunn to seek legal advice on the liability issue

On April 13, a public input and information session regarding the implementation of a Community Improvement Plan (CIP) for Harrowsmith was held at the Golden Links hall, with roughly 20 members of the community attending. The township plans to roll out the CIP this year and the meeting was led by County of Frontenac community planner, Reid Shepherd.

The meeting had two objectives. The first was to outline the CIP program, which offers $70,000 in funds to residents and business owners.

The primary elements of the CIP include grant and loan programs to residents and business owners to support facade improvements and commercial space funding, as well as help for municipalities to fund public space improvements and local infrastructure.

To date, CIPs have been implemented in Verona (2011), Sharbot Lake, (2012), Marysville (2013) and in North Frontenac this year. Shepherd said that the Harrowsmith CIP is nicely timed and will coincide with the plan to improve the village's main intersection at Road 38.

The second aim of the meeting was for county staff to hear what residents would like to see achieved with the CIP. Guests were split into groups to discuss and list their priorities, their visions for the future, and what programs and objectives they hope the CIP addresses.

Surprisingly, the guests all shared a similar vision. The main focuses appeared to be on facade improvement to some of the buildings in the village, and the hope of attracting new businesses to the area.

Beautifying the village center was also a common aim, and the addition of flowers, benches, and bicycle racks was suggested. Many attendees also agreed that a pathway should be constructed to connect Centennial Park to the trail, and that a community building at the trail hub with a washroom and other facilities would benefit trail users.

Regarding the types of programs to implement, many agreed that grant/loan programs be geared to attract new businesses, since many store fronts have been vacant in the village center.

Other suggestions were: building an outdoor skating rink; dealing with derelict buildings; rehabilitating the old cheese factory property; keeping St. Paul's United Church as a community hub; and looking into investing in more seniors’ housing in the area.

It was also agreed to expand the CIP target area to include the Golden Links Hall and the cemetery. Reid Shepherd said he was pleased with the turnout and the commitment shown by the attendees, who included not only community leaders but also county and township staff; namely, county planner Joe Gallivan, CAO Wayne Orr, John McDougall, Ron Vandewal, and Anne Marie Young.

The next steps will be for Shepherd to draft a plan based on the input from the meeting. The plan will be presented to council for their review, and will be followed by a public meeting. Shepherd will then seek council's final approval for the plan.

Terry Grant, who was originally planning to build 47 new homes in the vicinity of Hartington, but is now seeking to build only 13 homes on Boyce Road, is taking Frontenac County to the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB).

Through his planning consultants, FoTenn Planning, Grant submitted a revised application on August 4 of last year for the subdivision. Six months have now passed since that submission, and Grant has decided to appeal the matter to the OMB because he still does not have a decision on his application.

The planning act stipulates that decisions on applications of this sort should be rendered within six months of filing.

Even though Frontenac County is the approval authority for plans of subdivision, the matter has been handled, as all such plans are currently, by the council and planning departments of South Frontenac Township.

The matter was set to be dealt with by South Frontenac on January 19. At that time a report by township planner, Lindsay Mills, was to be considered. Mill's report included 27 conditions and recommended that it be “forwarded to the County of Frontenac as representing the Township’s conditions of draft plan approval for the thirteen lot Hartington Plan of Subdivision.”

However, in an in camera session before the regular council meeting that evening, a decision was made to pull the matter from the agenda. The matter has not come back to the table in the two meetings that have been scheduled since then.

For Terry Grant, the delay represents the last straw. He said he felt that the township council is responsible for delaying his first, larger application, and now they have delayed his second plan, putting off his building plans for this summer.

“My concern is that the elected officials in this township have not done their duty to uphold the bylaws of this township. We went through the entire process, 100%. We provided our own engineering reports, answered all of the questions from the township engineering consultants; we satisfied all the conditions. This should have been passed last fall easily,” he said.

Grant's frustration goes back to the fact that the first draft of his plan of subdivision, which straddled the hamlet of Hartington and some rural land to the south, met with resistance not only from a number of local residents, but also from some members of Council, who questioned some of the staff recommendations.

“I'm a general contractor. I'm not a licensed electrician or plumber; I'm not a framer. So when I build a house I ask the experts and follow their advice. But the council does not think they need to listen to their own trained professionals. As far as I'm concerned I got 100% on the paperwork, but 0% on the politics,” Grant said.

Grant added that he is not the only one paying for the delays. He said he can employ 40 people on his construction crews, and most of them are from South Frontenac. Also the delay in construction means a delay in turning vacant land into rate-paying homes. The 13 homes he plans on building will be worth about $350,000 each and could generate in the range of $40,000 per year in tax revenue.

As well, the cost of the OMB hearing will be borne not only by the ratepayers in South Frontenac, but those in the rest of the county as well.

When contacted early this week, South Frontenac Deputy Mayor Ross Sutherland was surprised to hear that Grant had filed an OMB appeal.

“We were about to consider the proposal back in January and I thought they had made some good changes to accommodate our concerns. I was certainly inclined to support it, subject to what came up at the meeting. I did not support the larger subdivision because of concerns over water, which is an issue in that area, but the water sampling for the smaller one had better results, although the nitrate level was a concern,” he said.

What happened on January 19, according to Sutherland, was that township staff pulled the item from the agenda because of concerns that came out of a written report on the potential contamination of the ground water within the proposed subdivision from a former gas station on Road 38.

“We had received a verbal report that there did not seem to be a problem, but the written report that had just arrived that week raised concerns that staff needed to consider,” said Sutherland.

One of the benefits of an OMB hearing for Terry Grant is that once a matter is appealed to the OMB, it becomes the approving authority and their ruling is final

“At this point I just want to get in front of the Board so they can decide it once and for all, and I can get my project off the ground sooner and get my business back on track. I'm just a regular guy. I don't have the kind of money to let this sit for another year,” he said.

Frontenac County Planner Joe Gallivan confirmed that the OMB hearing is being held because, according to the planning act, a decision on a plan of subdivision needs to be rendered within six months of an application, and that date passed in early February. He said that the county will be responsible for its own legal fees, but not those of South Frontenac if they choose to have their own legal representation, and not those of Terry Grant.

He also confirmed that Michael Hickey, a lawyer representing Michelle Foxton, Charlie Labarge, John Lesperance and Wade Leonard, Hartington residents who spoke against the subdivision when it first came before Council, has contacted him and is requesting third-party status at the OMB hearing, whenever it is called.

At a special public meeting hosted by the Township of Central Frontenac at Oso Hall on Tuesday, September 1, Peter Young and Anne Marie Young from Frontenac County made a presentation to a small group of Central Frontenac residents regarding expanding the township's community improvement plan (CIP).

Councilors Jamie Riddell and Victor Heese pushed for a geographical expansion of the program at a council meeting back in April.

The plan aims to encourage and stimulate economic development by making grants and loans available to business and home owners for facade improvements, accessibility enhancements, and business start up funding.

Currently the funding from the plan is available only to businesses and home owners that fall within the boundaries of the hamlet of Sharbot Lake.

The total available funding for the program was set at $80,000 and to date just over $46,000 has been spent, leaving $33,000 remaining. Peter Young outlined possible options to expand the program by including the hamlets of Arden, Mountain Grove and Parham or making the funding available to residents across the entire township.

The public who attended the meeting suggested that it should be expanded to include the entire township. With the limited funds left in the pot, Anne Marie Young suggested other potential changes to the current plan that could include prioritizing funding for businesses only, reducing the total maximum funding to $2,500 per project, reducing the pay-back period for loans to three years from five.

Input from the meeting will be taken back to council, who will then discuss and revise the plan. It will be up to the township to change the by-law in order implement the changes, a process that could take a number of months.

For more information about the township's Community Improvement Plan visit the township's website at www.centralfrontenac.com

Last week, it was reported that Federal grants under the Canada 150 program were going to Frontenac townships.

Below is the complete breakdown of grants in Lanark Frontenac Lennox and Addington, including a grant that was just received by Frontenac County.

Carleton Place -$67,000 of funding is being provided to the Carleton Place Town Hall

Perth – The Table Community Food Centre will receive $45,600

Township of Central Frontenac - will receive $110,000 towards a new Community Centre & Library in Mountain Grove

Smiths Falls - $22,500 of funding for the Smiths Falls Public Library and an additional $60,920 in funding for the Smiths Falls Town Hall Tourism and Economic Development Centre

Township of North Frontenac - $23,000. The funding will be used to renovate the Snow Road Community Centre

County of Frontenac - $247,000. The funding is going towards the completion of the K&P trail project, which will link the Cataraqui and Trans Canada Trails when the section between Tichborne and Sharbot Lake is completed.