Sep 05, 2018


Two men in South Frontenac are standing up and fighting for change.

Ron Sleeth and Norm Roberts, two Storrington District Councillors who were recently acclaimed to a second term with South Frontenac Township Council, are ready to push hard for improvements and upgrades in their community. 

“We like to think people are happy and satisfied with the representation we gave them,” says Sleeth, 74, a lifelong resident of Battersea. “We’d like to thank the residents of Storrington District for their confidence in us these past four years and for the next four years. We intend to work hard.”

Speaking in late August 2018, Sleeth and Roberts say they have enjoyed working with the mayor and the rest of council over the past four years. They are now ready to share their vision for their next four-year term on township council.

“To me, a community is only as good as the people who live there,” says Roberts who has lived in Inverary for the past 22 years.

Married with children and grandchildren, Roberts, 68, has been a member of the township’s recreation committee for 21 years. He is passionate about programs & services and hopes to use the next council term to complete washroom facilities at Gilmore Point Beach and finish renovating the Storrington Community Centre.

“I’ve been a big advocate of sports in Storrington,” says Roberts kindly. “I was one of the founders of the Storrington soccer program. I get things done behind the scenes. I push recreation, Ron pushes roads.”

“Norm and I work well together because we don’t overlap. We’re basically working on the same page,” says Sleeth who is passionate about municipal infrastructure such as roads and buildings.

According to Sleeth, Storrington District is scheduled for upgrades to Round Lake Road, Sunbury Road, Carry Place Road and Sunbury Village rehabilitation.

“We actually have quite a bit of money scheduled for over here,” he confirms. “Soon, there will be more development in Storrington than anywhere else in South Frontenac Township.”

Sleeth is quick to share his vision for the future, including decentralizing operations in Sydenham.

“Storrington has everything to offer and any future construction should be located here,” he says firmly. “It is the largest tax base in South Frontenac.”

Sleeth says the Inverary area is the ideal location for a potential new headquarters for the Township of South Frontenac, County of Frontenac and Cataraqui Region Conservation Authority.

“You have everything you need in Inverary,” he attests. “Decentralization of any new major development is important because it needs to be spread around. You have to spread the wealth around.”

Sleeth shares his plan for the district in detail.

“Public Works does a tremendous job looking after the roads and parks. You name it and it falls under Public Works,” he explains. “But we don’t have any public works equipment over here, it has to come from Sydenham every day. I’d like to see a new fire hall built north of Sunbury. I’d like to repurpose the fire hall in Sunbury and revert it back to a public works garage.”

Clearly passionate about making Storrington District closer and stronger, Sleeth explains his motives for standing up and fighting for his community.

“I’m passionate about the future of South Frontenac from being involved in politics so long,” he says with a smile.

“I’m a lifelong resident here. It’s such a unique place in the province that has everything from agriculture to small businesses and tourism. When you think about it, we’re only a 10-minute drive from Kingston. How can you live in a better area? Our volunteer organizations make Storrington a great place to live and play. People want to live out here. It’s our job to look at the bigger picture and evaluate where we are going to be in five to 10 years.

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