South Frontenac Council - Aug. 2/11

Jeff Green | Aug 04, 2011

Motocross Madness:

By Jeff Green

Both sides still disagree, but no decision on motocross track near Harrowsmith.

It was standing room only at a public meeting at the South Frontenac Council chambers on Tuesday night, August 2, as opponents and proponents of a motocross track on Bill Day’s farm squared off over a proposed arrangement that would allow for one motocross event this year and one next year, before the entire matter would come back to Council once again.

Before anyone had a chance to make their arguments, pro or con, planner Lindsay Mills informed Council that Council should delay any decision “until formal and legal access is established over the Cataraqui Trail into the subject area.”

Bill Day said that he has received an email from the Cataraqui Trail board confirming the access, and has a registration number for the approval, but Mayor Gary Davison said, “An email is not enough; we need the written confirmation, the actual paperwork that this has been approved and is registered on title before we can vote on this.”

“So why are we bothering with the public meeting if we are going to have to do this all over again anyway?” asked Councillor Bill Robinson.

“We have to do a public meeting and this is it,” said Davison. “We don’t have to have another one. When we get the legal documentation, we can put this to a vote.”

In his report on the proposal, Lindsay Mills recommended against Council approving it, as he had an earlier version of the proposal.

“From a planning perspective, the proposal cannot be accepted,” he wrote. “The use is prohibited outright by the Comprehensive Zoning By-Law and the Official Plan requires that in all cases it shall be demonstrated that the impact of a proposed use on adjacent land uses will be minimal.”

Based on the objections he has received, Mills concludes that the “impact on the community would not be minimal.”

Members of Council then waded into the debate.

“I specifically said I would support one event so I could see what happens. So that’s where I stand on it,” said Councillor Ron Vandewal.

A number of people living in neighbouring properties then spoke. They described the noise from motocross events that were held at the track last year, and said the noise is unbearable.

But another group spoke about the positive effects of racing on their children.

“I think Council should give Mr. Day something so that we can have this in our township for our kids, for our community and for recreation. It’s no different than your neighbour cutting his lawn for three hours,” said one person.

Others, including neighbouring property owners Eric Kirkman and Doug Pixley said the noise is unbearable and the proposal should be rejected outright.

Two other neighbours, Bill Hartwick and André Sauvé, said the noise is not that bad.

“I’m not complaining because I see kids being kids. I hear a small amount of noise. If you are going to get into noise, ban the jet skis on Sydenham Lake. Give Bill Day a chance. He’s trying to make a business. I have no problem with it. I live right there,” said André Sauvé.

Council is not scheduled to meet again until September 6, so unless council calls a special meeting there will be no motocross racing on the Day property this month.

The annual grass drag snowmobile and ATV races on the Day property will be allowed to go ahead on Labour Day weekend as normal, however, because they were established 30 years ago, before South Frontenac or any of its bylaws or Official Plan existed.

Fresh Eggs: Coming soon to a backyard near you?

by Wilma Kenny

Council had no problem passing an amendment to the zoning by-law that will permit township residents to keep up to 10 hens on rural lots that are between two and three acres in size. However, comments from the public meeting suggest that this may be only the beginning: several speakers argued that the township should follow the example of a number of other municipalities across Canada, and allow hens to be kept on smaller residential properties. One speaker commented that her neighbours’ hens made a lot less noise than the neighbours themselves, and another suggested that perhaps people could start keeping hens as pets, rather than agricultural birds. Speaking on behalf of the National Farmers Union, Jeff Peters said the new ruling was “too restrictive: one acre would be more reasonable.”

“We are approving hens on two acres, and now they’re asking for one - where will this stop?” asked Councillor Ron Vandewal.

“Let’s put this chicken thing to bed,” said Councillor Larry York.

“To roost,” corrected Vandewal.

Mayor Davison reminded council the issue could be reopened later, if necessary.

Livestock valuations top $2,500 in July

Predators killed six lambs, a heifer, a steer, and 21 poultry this last month. Ron Vandewal noted that livestock prices were slated to rise sharply, to come closer to actual stock values, and asked whether a bounty on predators might be less costly in the long run. Mayor Davison reminded him that this was a provincial, not a municipal jurisdiction.

The farmers’ reimbursements are paid by the province.

Public works contracts awarded

Council approved the bid of Hughson Barriers Inc. for the installation of steel beams on Westport Road at Wolfe Lake, and the installation of cable on Petworth and Buck Bay Roads, in the amount of $61,539.

Nedow Construction won the bid to supply winter sand to the Portland, Piccadilly and Bedford garages, and Keyes Sand and Stone will provide the Keeley Road garage sand.

Public Works Manager Mark Segsworth got Council’s approval to upgrade the Hartington parole yard by constructing a salt/sand storage facility with an attached drive-in/drive-out truck bay. This will allow the badly deteriorated and undersized Piccadilly facility to be closed next year. The original low bid from Storage Systems Construction was for $1,018,925, but deferral of some site works pared the cost down to $735,240, which will be covered from federal gas tax rebate funds.

Waste disposal site integration

Council approved AECOM’s proposal to undertake a review of the township’s waste disposal site operations for a maximum cost of $16,000.

One possible outcome of such a study could be the more efficient use of the township waste sites, by directing waste to sites that are nearing closure, and reducing operating hours at other sites, thus freeing up resources for purchases such as compaction equipment or weigh scales.

Councillor John McDougall asked whether this should go to tender. Mark Segsworth said that the price had been kept low, because AECOM was familiar with the township facilities, having done the annual reviews for several years.

Sports field lights approved in time for Bubba Bowl

Council approved the purchase, for $57,965, of lights and standards for the football field at The Point in Sydenham. This does not cover the costs and work of installation (trenching, cable, conduit, etc): it is hoped there will be some help from the community in this area.

Works Manager Mark Segsworth said that although it would be ideal to upgrade the watering system at the same time, it wasn’t possible. However, the lighting cables can be installed on the perimeter of the field without disrupting the field itself. The lights are designed to cast as little light as possible into the area outside the playing field.

Ashley Belanger, recreation director, got council’s approval of temporary road and boat ramp closure at the time of the Bubba Bowl game this fall, with the high school controlling the area that afternoon and evening. Public works will erect temporary fencing around the Point. The school board feels this should make it possible for the event to be kept alcohol-free.

Speed limits

In a 5-4 vote, Council approved the establishment of 60 km speed limits on Round Lake and Scanlon Roads.

Mark Segsworth’s suggestion that it might be a good idea to introduce a township-wide 60 km/hr speed limit on all township roads not presently posted with speed limit signs met with resistance from Council in spite of assurances that arterial roads presently posted at 80 would not be affected. This issue will be returned to the Public Works Committee for further discussion.

Segsworth reported that his office gets at least two requests a week for lower speed limits. Several councillors noted that this still represents a small proportion of residents.