South Frontenac Council – Feb 2/16

Jeff Green | Feb 03, 2016

Council supports Basic Income Guarantee

In response to a presentation at a Committee of the Whole meeting last week by Debra McAuslan, Council considered supporting a motion that was forwarded by the City of Kingston in support of the concept of a Basic Income Guarantee (BIG) in the Province of Ontario. Speaking to the motion, Deputy Mayor Ross Sutherland said that the BIG would be an improvement because a lot of people who have little or no income, “own some property, and “are ineligible for support under current programs that insist applicants need to have no assets before they can obtain benefits.”

The BIG motion was approved, in a split vote.

Insurance extension

The township's insurance policy is due for renewal in June, and Treasurer Fragnito told Council that the chief administrative officers and treasurers from across Frontenac County have been discussing joint tendering for insurance services.

“I suggest we renew our policy for only six months to allow that process to take place. Then we can decide which way to go,” she said. Council agreed.

Surface treatment

The contract for surface treatment of a number of roads in the township this year, as part of the already approved capital projects for the year, has been granted to the lowest bidder, Smith Paving, at a price of $2.53 per metre for a single surface and $4.74 for a double surface. The prices are up marginally from last year.

“I'm a bit surprised that the price has gone up when oil, which is the major cost in paving, is now at $30 a barrel,” said Mayor Vandewal.

“I wonder about that myself,” said Public Works Manager Segsworth. “The pavers asked us to commit to paying more when oil was going up, but now that it is going down they are still bumping up the price.

Interim Chief Building Official appointed

The township has appointed Jeremy Neven as interim chief building official (CBO). The duties are an addition to Neven's CBO role in Central and North Frontenac. CAO Wayne Orr said that before hiring a full time CBO, he would like to see the first draft of an administrative review that is currently underway.

“We can't wait too long, though,” said Orr. “We can get along like this in the winter, but things change when the weather warms up.”

No Canada 150 grant

The township has received a letter from the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario informing them that their application for funding under the Community Infrastructure Program for Canada 150 has been rejected. The township was seeking support for a $200,000 upgrade to the Storrington Centre in Sunbury. More about Johnson's Point

In response to a report for information from Frontenac County CAO, Kelly Pender, which will be considered by Frontenac County Council later this month, Deputy Mayor Ross Sutherland asked South Frontenac to make one more attempt to influence how the County deals with a plan of condominium that has been languishing at South Frontenac Council for over 18 months.

The developer has taken Frontenac County, which is the approving body for plans of condominium, to the Ontario Municipal Board because no decision on their application has been rendered within the prescribed time frame.

Although the County is the approving body for plans of condominium, it is South Frontenac that has been working on the file until now. Pender's report outlines two options for County Council: do nothing and let the developer win at the hearing, in which case the county may have to pay all the applicant's legal costs; or engage a lawyer and make a presentation to the municipal board. A decision on those options will be made at a meeting on February 17.

Sutherland proposed a motion that South Frontenac Council inform the county that “South Frontenac Council has significant concerns with approving waterfront lots in the vicinity of provincially significant wetlands.”

“When County Council looks at this, they need to be aware that this is a major concern we have with this plan of condominium,” said Sutherland.

“I have pointed them towards all of the material that we have received on the matter,” said CAO Wayne Orr, “and it is also available to the public.”

The motion was approved. The municipal board hearing is set for April.