Ashby/White Lake Road access debate continues to fester

Darcy Alkerton, a resident in the Ashby Lake region, appeared as a delegate and presented documentation that, he said, contradicted claims made by Mark Mieske at the previous meeting, which was held in Denbigh on September 21.

At that time Mieske said that he was within his rights to block an illegal road that passed through his property. A public right of way is located at the edge of the property, and passes over a bridge and a creek.

On Monday, Alkerton presented a map and an agreement from 1975, which indicated, he said, that the public access right of way on the property had been moved to where the road that Mieske has blocked is located.

“I see here that the agreement was completed and signed, but was never executed by the township,” said Reeve Hogg.

“I guess so, but the road has been in use since then. It's not something an ambulance can use, but an ATV or even an SUV can get through. The other way around adds 27 kilometres and takes 20 minutes or more,” said Alkerton.

“I think we need to consult our lawyer on this,” said Councilor Bill Cox. “This is new information to us. And I will like to go see it. I've never been there.”

Deputy Reeve Helen Yanch, the only other member of council present, as both ward 1 councilors, Fritsch and Thompson, were absent from the meeting, said she would also like to see the property.

The matter is likely to return to Council on October 19 in Denbigh, when Alkerton said a number of neighbours who use the road are likely to attend.

“I would also like to say that no one has ever made threats about this, as has been claimed,” said Alkerton.

A half-dozen supporters of Mr. Alkerton were at the meeting on Monday, as was Mark Mieske.

Quinte Conservation reports on Solar Power

Council received a document prepared by Terry Murphy, General Manager of Quinte Conservation, on the impact of solar panel projects on the Quinte Watershed, which has its headwaters in Addington Highlands.

The concern that Murphy's report pointed to is the impact of large solar farms on the forest cover in the Quinte Watershed region. Over the entire watershed, the forest cover is well above provincial targets in all aspects. However Prince Edward County, at the south end of the Quinte Watershed, has a much lower level of forest cover, and it is in Prince Edward County that solar projects for over 405 hectares (1,000 acres) have been approved by provincial bodies.

“Large solar farms may cause land degradation and habitat loss ... the creation of solar farms demands clearing and grading of land. This can cause soil compaction, potential alteration of drainage channels and increased runoff and erosion ... Solar farms could have negative impacts on groundwater recharge. Longer term studies need to be done in this area,” says the report, which also says that wind facilities “offer opportunities to share land use with agricultural facilities that solar farms do not.”

The report recommends, among other things, that municipalities should have more input on the location of solar farms and that the conservation authority do a full site evaluation on each proposal before it is approved. It also says that the province should be lobbied to promote hydro where dams already exist, of which there are a number in the Quinte watershed.

“Dams that are already in place for other reasons can be used to produce green energy and have no negative impact on the environment.”

Although there are currently no solar projects in the works in Addington Highlands, Reeve Hogg said it was good to have this report in hand for future reference.

Organizers of this year's Flinton Community Jamboree spread their net wider than usual in an effort to attract even larger crowds to the annual Flinton event, which has been gathering momentum since its inception years ago.

Kaladar resident Andy Anderson took the reins this year as the festival's lead organizer and when I spoke to him on the last day, Sunday August 2, he was thrilled to report that between 260 and 300 trailers had attended the three-day festival, which housed upwards of 500-600 guests. “Overall this year's jamboree has been a howling success,” he said.

Typically the Jamboree has predominantly been a bluegrass/country venue but Anderson said organizers this year added some '50s and '60s music, which “proved to be a very good move.” Eddy and the Stingrays headlined Saturday night's line up and played a close to three-hour set that generated numerous encores and kept the crowds entertained until 11pm.

Also new this year was a 24 x 32 foot plywood dance floor that was installed to the left of the main stage area. Anderson said it was filled to capacity all afternoon and evening on Friday and Saturday. “In years past people have been dancing in the gravel and we felt we needed something new for them this year, so we raised money in the community from our sponsors to build the dance floor, which has been a huge improvement and I was thrilled to see that it was used as much as it was.”

The event was put on by the Flinton Community Jamboree Committee and headed up by 18 key volunteers, who were assisted by a number of additional community volunteers that included students, who received community hours for their efforts. The committee also served up an early morning Sunday breakfast to over 400 hungry early risers and the Flinton Rec Committee fed hundreds of hungry festival goers throughout the event from their on site canteen.

The well-known six-member band, Pickled Chicken of Denbigh, entertained jamboree goers on the Sunday afternoon when I visited. The band features Dave Guest, Joe Grant, Peter Chess, Susan Fraser, Mike Gibson and Mark Rowe, who delighted guests with their repertoire that included musical favorites by John Prine, The Marshall Tucker Band and more, as well as some of the band members' own original tunes like Joe Grant's “Hold Your Fiddle Low, Joe”, a song inspired by advice he received as a youngster from his fiddle-playing grand father. Long-time fan and spoon player, Bernie Parsons, who has played numerous times with the band, kept the beat on a pair of wooden spoons from his lawn chair throughout their performance and also played on stage at a few of the open mic opportunities offered up to guests.

The Flinton Community Jamboree continues to attract music lovers from near and far and over the years it has become one of the best bluegrass/country, and now oldie rock venues that the north country has to offer.

The Flinton Community Jamboree, originally The Flinton Country Bluegrass Jamboree, is all set for another successful weekend with three days of non-stop entertainment from Friday, July 31 to Sunday, August 2 at the Township Rec Centre.

This year will mark the 11th consecutive festival, which was originally started by Donna, Duane and Willard Thibault in order to raise the money to build a roof over the skating rink at the Flinton Township Hall. The Jamboree has fully established itself since then, growing more and more popular each year, with last year having over 225 trailers in attendance.

The festival has changed hands from the Thibaults to new chairman, Andy Anderson. This change has allowed the Thibaults to sit back and enjoy the jamboree after years of working overtime for their community.

Anderson, along with many of the same volunteers from previous years, will be taking on the organizing in order to keep the tradition alive. Carolyn Hasler has offered to continue with the canteen and food organization. Profits will be returned to the community, dispersed among several organizations. Charlie Patton will be emceeing this year, and MT System/Limestone Music will be engineering the audio for the duration of the weekend.

The Land O’ Lakes Cruisers will be the “house band” this year. The original trio of Cathy Whalen, Doug Mumford and Ralph DeFoe had a good idea when they wanted to start a dance band. The band expanded and evolved into the Land O’ Lakes Cruisers.

Today, Cathy Whalen remains the only original member of the band and performs with four gentlemen, forming a group that’s primarily a dance band featuring classic country music. The Land O’ Lakes Cruisers will be playing at the Flinton Community Jamboree Friday night at 8:45 pm and again on Saturday at 4 pm.

Also featured this year will be the popular Eddy and the Stingrays and their 50s and 60s music. They'll take you on a nostalgic trip with doo-wop, tear-jerkers and rock and roll standards on Saturday, August 1 at 8:30pm.

Cost is $35 for a weekend pass (with rough camping $55); 13-16yrs half price; 12 years and under free. Friday and Sunday the cost is $10, and Saturday cost is $25. Please note that after 6pm, admission for the Saturday evening shows, which feature three great groups - Sweet Grass, the White Family and Eddy & The Stingrays, lowers to $15.

The Flinton Community Jamboree will be jam-packed with other country and bluegrass acts as well, including the Pickled Chicken band, Lionel Grimard and Eleven Roses, and many more.

The full schedule will be published in next week’s edition of the Frontenac News (Thursday, July 23). The weekend will be enjoyable for all ages; dancing and music appreciators will especially welcome this year’s festival.

For tickets and reservations call Karen, 613-743-4829; vendors please call Cathy 613-243-3112. For more information visit flintonjamboree.ca 

AH Council rejects “unwilling host” motion

In the end, Tony Fritsch was able to buy time, but he did not win the vote that counted the most.

In front of a crowd of over 100 loud supporters in the normally quiet confines of Addington Highlands Council, Fritsch read out both a motion and a postion paper supporting it.

The upshot was a proposal that would have pre-empted the debate over whether to consider requests for support from from NextEra or RES-Canada for wind turbine projects in Addington Highlands.

“Now therefore be it resolved that the Council of The Corporation of the Township of Addington Highlands will not provide a Municipal Support Resolution for any Industrial Wind Turbine Project; and that Council declares the Township of Addington Highlands as ‘Not a Willing Host’ for Industrial Wind Turbine projects,” read the operative clause in the motion.

Councillor Kirby Thompson seconded the motion, and then said that “he has thought long and hard about the matter” and has come to the conclusion that the position taken by opponents to the proposals “is convincing and I feel that wind projects are not appropriate for our township.

Deputy Reeve Helen Yanch said that she has been accused by people who oppose turbines in the township of having a conflict of interest and should not vote on the matter. She co-owns, with her husband, a gravel pit in the township, and since wind projects lead to road construction which will require gravel, she has a conflict of interest.

“All I can say is that this is ridiculous, and I will not recuse myself from this vote,” she said. The township has sought legal advice on the matter as well, the News has learned, which concluded that there is no “pecuniary interest” in Yanch owning a gravel pit and voting on the turbine issue.

In a recorded vote. Councillor Bill Cox, Deputy Reeve Yanch and Reeve Hogg voted against the motion, Councillor's Fritsch and Thompson in favour, and the motion was declared defeated by Clerk Christine Reed.

What followed was a chorus of boos and shouts, leading to a five minute recess being called. Three OPP officers, who had been at the back of the hall, took positions at the front. It took about ten minutes for the meeting to re-start.

Addington Highlands neighbour, North Frontenac, which was approached by NextEra, one of the companies that is making a proposal in Addington Highlands, declared itself an “unwilling host” for wind projects last month. North Frontenac Mayor Ron Higgins, as well as Councillor Vernon Hermer, were in the audience at the meeting.

They, along with most of the audience, left during the recess.

After the recess, a motion to provide “support in principle” for the two wind turbine projects that re before Addington Highlands Council was read into the record. NextEra is proposing a 77 turbine |(up to 200 megawatt) project in the township, and RES-Canada has a 40-60 turbine (up to 170 megawatt) project in the works.

Before the motion could be debated, Tony Fritsch moved that it be deferred. Kirby Thompson said that he “was a bit too overwhelmed right now with all that has happened to concentrate on this”, and supported the idea of a deferral. The other three members of Council agreed and it was decided that a special meeting to consider the “support in prinicpal” motion be held on July 20th at 9:00 am, in Flinton at the Recreation Centre.

If approved on the 20th, support 'in principle' would give the township and each of the companies 6 weeks to complete negotiations and finalize “Community Vibrancy Agreements”, so that a final motion of support can be passed before the companies submit their bids to Ontario's IESO (Independent Electrical Service Operator)

Bids that include a motion of support from the local municipality will receive added points when the IESO opens the bids.

After a set of public negotiations last month, Res and NextEra have both offered over $10 million in direct compensation to the township over the 20 year life of the projects if they win the bid and end up building in the township.

Interestingly enough, the member of Council whose intervention can be most credited with doubling the offers from what was initially on the table from both companies, is Councillor Tony Fritsch. It was on his recommendation that the council asked each of the companies to for twice as much as they had initially offered. And they each complied with the request.

However, if Addington Highlands does support one or both of the projects, they will be turning their backs on another economic development offer. This one was proposed by a relatively new township resident, Scott Annan, at the start of Monday's meeting.

Annan is an Ottawa-based IT entrepreneur who founded Mercury Grove, a software company and startup incubator, guides.co, a website for lifestyle guides, and an active leader in the Ottawa technology sector, who has been a seasonal resident on Ashby Lake since 2013.

Saying that the township should not be trapped into looking at an either-or scenario, with one side being preservation of the environment and the other one being economic development via wind-turbines. He proposed a third option. Through a special tax levy, whereby residents will pay between $40 and $100 extra on their tax bills over a 5 year period, he said the township can raise its own “community vibrancy fund”. This fund, coupled with $5 million in investment dollars from Ottawa based entrepreneurs that Annan said has already been committed, and more to come, the township will be in a position to foster its own economic development.

He proposed that the initiative be anchored by a $40 million lodge and conference centre to kick start a 4 season tourism sector. Further initiatives “could include micro-breweries, artists, agri-food, tech & research “field offices”, accommodation & tourism-based businesses,” he said in a Power Point Presentation.

A preliminary meeting regarding this initiative was held two weeks ago at Hunter's Creek golf course, which was attended by MPP Randy Hillier and North Frontenac Mayor Ron Higgins as well as community members. Invitations to the meeting were sent by email to the Reeve and Council members from Addington Highlands, but at the last minute, for which Annan apologized to Council.

Although it was not stated in Annan's presentation, he confirmed to the News, via email, that at least as far as his participation in the initiative is concerned, support by the township for the current wind turbines projects is not compatible.

“Unlike some other proponents for economic development, neither I or other members of interest want to dictate terms - we want to work collaboratively with town council and all stakeholders,” he wrote in reference to the two companies. “Having said that, if they refuse to collaborate and sign agreements that result in over 100 industrial wind turbines to the area against the communities wishes, it doesn't make sense to continue the plan or to invest time and money in the region,” he added.

Other delegates before Council included Dan Carruthers and Charles Birchall. Carruthers is also an Ashby Lake resident who has been active in both BEARAT (Bon Echo Area Resients Against Turbines) and the economic development initiative that was outlined by Annan. He spoke briefly about the pitfalls of the projects and then introduced Birchall, who is the lawyer that BEARAT has retained to fight the projects.

Birchall outlined the steps that the projects would have to undergo if they win the IESO bid. These include a number of environmental assessments, and potential avenues.

“Wind projects tend to lead to litigation” said Birchall, referring to the case that he is closely identifies with, the Ostrander Point project near Picton that recently had its environmental approval revoked over impacts that a service road would have on a local population of Blanding's turtles, which are on the “Species at Risk” list in Ontario.

Companies sweeten offers as Addington Highlands set to vote on wind farm support motion

Addington Highlands Council met in special session on Tuesday morning (June 30) to respond to information that had been provided to them by RES-Canada regarding a wind farm proposal in the township. Included in the information package is a proposal for a Community Vibrancy Fund. The fund includes payments to the township if the township supports their project and the project ends up winning in a province-wide procurement process to supply wind power to the electrical grid.

RES has made it public that they have offered $2,000 per Megawatt of generating capacity each year for 20 years. According to the web information about the project, it will generate between 100 and 170 MW, depending on its final configuration. Before discussing the details of their offer and hearing a counter offer from the township, Stephen Cookson from RES addressed some concerns of residents who were at the meeting as observers. He said that RES will adhere to a 750 metre setback between their turbines and any “noise receptors” such as homes or campgrounds, which is 200 metres greater than the provincial standard. He also said that in cases where turbines are installed on private land under lease from private land owners, they would make payments to the neighbouring property owners as well.

As well Cookson said the company has made some changes to their proposal in response to concerns from local residents. One of them is to move the turbines that were to be located on the north side of Ashby Lake further back, and away from the north side.

“There are a cluster of cottages on the south shore of the lake and this will remove the turbines from their sight lines,” he said. He added that the company is prepared to make changes right through the approval and fine tuning process if they end up winning the bid.

The township has consulted their lawyer after receiving the preliminary offers from both RES and NextEra, the other company that has a project proposal in the township. Cookson said RES is prepared to adapt their offer to respond favourably to the “15 or 20 items raised” by the lawyer.

Reeve Henry Hogg asked if the payments could be made as a lump sum when the project is competed and begins generating power instead of over 20 years.

“Look at Greece today. You never know what the value of Canadian money will be in 20 years,” said Hogg.

Cookson responded that RES is willing to go some distance towards front-loading the payments, and the details will be included in their up-dated offer, which will be in the township's hands by Thursday. The offer will also include an offer of payment during the two-year construction period, earlier than the norm, when payments are not made until the turbines are up and running.

Councilor Tony Fritsch proposed that the township make a counter offer to the RES $2,000 per MW. His proposal was for $3,500 per MW and an additional $3,500 for every linear kilometre of township land that is used for transmission lines, the same counter offer that the township made to NextEra at the beginning of June. He made a motion to that effect, which was supported by a vote of 3-1, with Deputy Mayor Cox voting against it.

NextEra was also on hand at the meeting, in the person of Ben Greenhouse, the project manager. He came to confirm that NextEra has submitted a new offer to the township in response to the counter-offer that the township had made. He said that, like RES, his company has incorporated the concerns of the township's lawyer into their offer.

The NorthPoint 2 project, which NextEra had been proposing to build in both North Frontenac and Addington Highlands, has been altered, however. It is now located entirely in Addington Highlands, and will include up to 100 turbines, with transmission lines running along Hwy. 41 in much the same manner as the RES proposal. The change seems to be a direct result of the North Frontenac Council's decision to declare the township an “unwilling host” for wind projects. Greenhouse said that the increased size of the project reflects, in part, the fact that when the final bid is submitted in September, projects can be smaller than presented at public meetings, but not larger.

“It gives us the greatest number of options,” he said.

He also said, after the meeting, that the offer includes a $3,500 per MW Community Vibrancy Fund. He also said that North Point1, which is located entirely in North Frontenac, will also be proceeding to the bid stage.

RES Canada held their formal public meeting on Thursday, July 2 in Denbigh. NextEra will be holding public meetings on August 6 (North Frontenac) and August 8 (Addington Highlands)

Addington Highlands will make a decision whether to support one, both, or neither proposal at their July meeting in Flinton, which starts at 1:00 on Monday, July 6.

Close to 200 visitors attended the third annual Touch-A-Truck event that took place at the Flinton Recreation Club, where a wide assortment of township and other vehicles were on hand for youngsters to explore. These included transport trucks, a Hydro One vehicle, various trucks from the local township and the local fire department as well race cars, ATVs, a hearse, a school bus, motorcycles and more. Sparky and Smokey the Bear were also on hand to entertain youngsters.

The event, which is put on by Lennox and Addington Resources for Children, (LARC), part of the Ontario Early Years programming, aims to make youngsters comfortable with the vehicles and staff who operate them and to teach them about safety issues.

I spoke to Becky Kavanaugh, a parent educator with LARC, who said the fun-based event is to give children a chance to explore and learn. “Young children rarely have an opportunity to get up close to these vehicles and understand what they do and the event also offers an educational component where we also talk about safety, which helps them to understand how the staff who operate them are there to help them.”

Kavanaugh thanked all the people involved who volunteer their time for the event, including members of the Flinton Recreation Club, who offer up the hall and provide all of the food that was available on site. A wide variety of door prizes and safety memorabilia were also handed out by the various organizations who attended.

URCA is an acronym that stands for United, Roman Catholic, Anglican in recognition of the three churches in the Village of Flinton that worked collectively to establish low cost housing for residents of Kaladar/ Barrie Township who needed it.

It's no coincidence that the project, which was needed in the North of 7 region back in the late 1980s as much as it is today because of economic and social conditions, ended up happening in Flinton. If it was left to bureaucrats to decide, the project would have undoubtedly been built on Hwy. 41 in Kaladar, Northbrook or Cloyne. Who would build social housing away from the transportation and economic corridor that is the lifeblood of the region?

It is partly the three churches in Flinton that made the difference, partly the close-knit nature of the community and partly the Freeburns, Rieta and Art. They ran the store in town, and got involved in the project in 1987. The first thing that needed to be done was to survey the need for housing, and Art spearheaded a door-to-door survey so everyone in town was contacted.

In the August 25, 1987 edition of the North Frontenac News, the headline announced “Flinton Housing Proposal Accepted” and the lead paragraph said, “On Monday, August 17, a housing corporation in Flinton received confirmation that its preliminary proposal had been accepted by the Ministry of Housing.”

8,700 proposals had been submitted by Ontario communities for funding, which only a small number received.

The optimistic committee, of which Art Freeburn was chair, expected to begin construction on 30 units of seniors' housing in short order, with the expectation that the project should be in its completion stages in 1988.

It did not happen like that. After dealing with government delays that put off the project time and time again, things came to a head about five years later. After spending hundreds of thousands of dollars in consultants, architects, well drilling, and lawyers, the government was on the verge of cutting loose from the project.

That was when Art Freeburn made his most important contribution. Furious that all his and the community's efforts were about to come to nothing, he demanded and received a meeting with government officials in Ottawa. He came home that evening with a promise that he could proceed with 16 units. But then he had more work to do convince a reluctant community that the units would be a mix of seniors' and family dwellings, when the community had all along been adamant that only seniors' housing be built.

Knowing that the government was not going to back down, Freeburn told the community that both kinds of housing were going to built, and that is what happened.

The project was completed in the mid 1990s, and Art Freeburn remained as Chair on the URCA Board of Directors until his death in 2007. A memorial to him is featured in the URCA office.

The current Board Chair of URCA, Linda Hume, took on the role at the urging of Art Freeburn.

“His greatest concern was that URCA continue to be governed by the people of Flinton,” said Linda Hume. She was interviewed at the URCA office as she was preparing for this year's AGM along with property manager Larry Pick and board member Christa Sheridan.

“He felt that if local interest waned the units would be taken over by the County of Lennox and Addington and they might start to deteriorate if that happens,” she said.

Larry Pick has been the property manager at URCA for a number of years.

“We have a very good relationship with the County staff who manage our waiting list and provide funding for us,” he said, “and they appreciate the need and value of local oversight.”

“We really need to make sure that we have a strong membership in our organisation,” said Linda Hume, “and we hope to get a good showing at our AGM this year to increase those numbers. The business end of the meeting takes 15 minutes and then there is a potluck. All people have to do is show up and register as members. It is not a big commitment but it will give us more to work with,” Linda Hume added.

With statistics showing that there are 20,000 low income people in Lennox and Addington according to the 2013 sector, agencies like URCA will be more and more important, especially north of 7, in the coming years.

“We hope for a good turnout on June 24,” said Linda Hume, “it should be a good night for a BBQ.”

Addington Highlands accepts offer from BEARAT to run survey

Addington Highlands Council has unanimously agreed to receive information gleaned from an online survey of residents to be conducted by a group that opposes wind power production in the township, with the reeve saying the results will “be one piece of information we will consider” when deciding whether to endorse wind projects in the township.

Bon Echo Area Residents Against Wind Turbines (BEARAT) will conduct the survey through Survey Monkey, a free service widely used to gather information from the public. Participants will be required to enter their Addington Highlands tax roll number in order to participate, and only one vote per tax number will be permitted.

Addington Highlands residents can access the survey from the township’s website, addingstonhighlands.ca; or from BEARAT.org

The group’s co-chair, Bob Haynes, is the president of the Buckshot Lake Cottagers Association, whose own survey of association members was identified by North Frontenac Council as one of the reasons that they decided to declare itself an “unwilling host” for wind projects last week.

It was standing room only at the Denbigh Hall on Monday night when the proposal by BEARAT was considered by Council, and there were some protestors outside the building as well, waving signs and wearing “No Wind Turbines” buttons. The same image can be seen on some houses and businesses on Hwy. 41 near Denbigh.

In addition to the predominantly anti-wind crowd, representatives from NextEra, the company whose North Point 1 and 2 proposals in North Frontenac and Addington Highlands have sparked all the opposition, were on hand.

Before the decision regarding the survey monkey proposal was made, Stephen Cookson from another company, RES Canada, presented details from his company’s proposal for a wind project. It is to be located entirely in Addington Highlands, mostly on Crown Land north of Denbigh, with a transmission corridor that runs along road 41 and then tracks south and west. It will linki with a Hydro transmission corridor to the west of Flinton at the township’s border with the Municipality of Tweed.

Cookson said that details about the RES project, including maps and other information, will be posted this week at the website Denbighwind.com. The company is sponsoring a public community meeting on July 2, from 6-9 pm, at the Denbigh Hall.

Cookson said his company, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of RES-America, is dedicated to ensuring minimal impact on landowners within the vicinity of its projects. He also said that while they are planning to construct “most or all” of their turbines and transmission lines on Crown Land, they have approached a number of property owners seeking easements, mostly for “transmission or road corridors but also as potential locations for a small number of turbines.

The RES proposal includes 57 turbines, and is slated to produce up to 170 MW of power.

In their submission regarding a Community Enhancement Fund, RES has upped the ante from the proposal made by NextEra. They are offering $2,000 per MW per year as well as a scholarship fund and extra money during the construction phase. For the purposes of the fund, Cookson used an estimate of 150 MW for the project, which would yield $300,000 per year for the township.

Cookson said that if the township is able to provide “support in principle” for the project at their meeting in early July, RES would be willing to negotiate the final terms of the compensation agreement over the summer, as long as a vote on final approval could be taken before September, when the project bid must be submitted to the Independent Electircal Service Operator (IESO)

Later this fall, the IESO will be approving 300 MW of renewable power production from one or more of the projects that will be submitted to them from across Ontario.

Council decided it was best to conduct negotiations with RES regarding compensation before they meet on July 6, and will hold a special council meeting on June 29 at 9 am in Denbigh.

Concerns over potential impact of wind on Elks

Reg Genge, a seasonal resident on Ashby Lake and former Ministry of the Environment employee who studied water quality in lakes, has been involved in the fundraising arm of a group that is dedicated to the reintroduction of the Rocky Mountain Elk in Eastern Ontario. He said that he has heard that wind turbines can have an impact on the population of undulates, the general category of mammals that includes Deer, moose, and elk.

“By my calculation these projects will involve the clearing of a total of 540 acres of land, which end up being turned essentially into gravel and concrete. Would the township support clear cutting 540 acres and turning it into a parking lot? I don't think so,” he said. “At the very least the elk habitat will be diminished.”

(See note on ungulates)

Staff report on wind turbines

In response to a request made by Council at their meeting on June 1, Patricia Gray presented the results of research she has done into the impact of wind projects on property values, and into the perspective of Ontario municipalities where NextEra and RES-Canada have established or are developing wind projects.

As to the impact on property values, Gray presented a study that was conducted by MPAC (Municipal Property Assessment Corporation), which evaluates all properties in Ontario for the use of municipal tax departments.

The MPAC study concludes, “There is no significant impact on sale prices in these market areas resulting from proximity to an IWT [Industrial Wind Turbine], when analyzing sale prices.”

In the detail of the report, however, there is an indication that sales of rural properties within one kilometre of an IWT were impacted. They sold for about 2.5% lower than their assessed value, which fits within the MPAC parameters for accurate assessment, but is a lower figure than those within 2 kilometres, 5 kilometres, or more than 5 kilometres, which tended to sell for 1 or 2% above their assessed value. Of those properties within 1 km, having a full view of the IWT tended to lower the sale price as compared to those having a partial view or no view at all.

None of these impacts have affected the way MPAC does business however.

In a letter to the township, Michel Contant from MPAC said, “So far we have not seen any decrease in assessment due to wind turbines. In fact, we have defended that in court as well. That is not to say that down the road we could see an adjustment ... I can just state that currently we do not make any assessed value adjustments if you are living near a wind turbine.”

Patricia Gray reported that of the nine municipalities she approached regarding NextEra and the three she has approached regarding RES-Canada, she has received four preliminary responses from staff, three over the phone and one via email. All of the four responses have been related to NextEra projects. Of those, two were wholly favourable, one was favourable with some reservations, and one was negative.

The negative response, from Grey West Township, was delivered by a staff member who said the NextEra project in their municipality was completed when there was no municipal input into the decision to approve the project. The municipality spent $100,000 fighting the project in court, but lost. NextEra had initially offered a community vibrancy agreement, but the offer was pulled after the legal proceedings were initiated. The township has been able to obtain some more money from NextEra for security but remains reluctant to deal with the company, An attempt by NextEra to sponsor local projects has been rebuffed by Council “because they do not want NexEra's name on a rink or soccer field because there was so much controversy.”

Another municipality said the relationship with NextEra was difficult at the start because the company did not bring forward enough information, but that things have improved and they are working well together now. Two others said they would not be reluctant to enter into any future enterprises with NextEra.

Finally, Gray reported that in terms of construction permitting, turbines are valued at about $950,000 each, meaning the fees would be approximately $7,000 per turbine.

When Councilor Cox asked if the township’s permit fee holiday for commercial construction would apply, Reeve Hogg quickly responded, “This is industrial, the holiday does not apply.”

In terms of scale, a 50-turbine project would be a $47.5 million project. The average value of construction in Addington Highlands between 2011 and 2013 was $6 million.

Although the turbines may cost almost $1 million to build, the MPAC report said they are assessed at $40,000 per megawatt. If that is the case, a 150 MW project would generate $6 million in assessment, netting the township about $36,000 per year in additional tax revenue.

Ungulates and turbines

Scientific studies that have been published in recent years about the effect of wind turbines on ungulates (moose, deer and elk) have not shown any significant impact on behaviour, health or migratory patterns.

A study published in the American Midland Naturalist in 2006 concluded - “Although disturbance and loss of some grassland habitat was apparent, elk were not adversely affected by wind-power development as determined by home range and dietary quality.”

A controlled study was conducted using reindeer in an enclosed area with wind turbines in Sweden. It concluded that “The reindeer showed no systematic differences in the measured behaviour patterns ... that could indicate fright or stress as a consequence of the wind turbine or rotor movement.”

A study published in Ecology Letter analyzing the literature on the impact of wind turbines on wildlife concluded “Ungulates in these studies have shown no behavioural responses to wind energy.”

One article, however, published in 2013 in the journal Applied Energy said that not enough study has been done into the potential impacts of industrial wind turbines on terrestrial animals to draw any conclusions - “We conclude that more empirical data are currently needed to fully assess the impact of utility-scale wind energy development and operation on non-volant [flightless] wildlife.”

There are a number of large studies into the acknowledged impacts of turbines on bat and bird populations, including some that consider possible means of limiting mortality rates.

Wind, solar projects lining up at Addington Highlands’ door

The wind resource in the Denbigh region has drawn another company into the mix as the deadline for the Large Renewable Procurement (LRP) process from Ontario Power Generation approaches.

Renewable Energy Systems of Canada, who first approached the township with a preliminary proposal for a wind project in 2008, returned on Monday with a presentation that was geared to attract the support of Council, and the public at large as well.

“We have a tradition of developing the lowest impact site possible by maximizing the setback from residences and points of interest,” said Stephen Cookson, the director of project development for RES Canada during his presentation.

NextEra, a company that approached the township earlier this year asking for support from the township for a project in the same area, is proposing a mix of sites for 80 to 100 turbines, some to be located on Crown and some to be located on private land, to produce up to 200 megawatts of power in Addington Highlands.

RES – Canada, on the other hand, is planning 30 - 50 turbines to produce between 100 and 150 megawatts of power. While Cookson said the sites would be a mix of Crown and privately owned land, used under lease agreements, they also said that the majority of the project would be located on Crown land sites.

The company has yet to complete all of the analysis it needs to do in order to finalise its bid, and one of the issues that needs to be confronted is that of grid capacity in the vicinity of the proposed turbines.

When contacted after the meeting, Cookson said that grid capacity to receive power from the Denbigh area was not made available in 2008, and that was why RES did not pursue a project at that time.

“We are hopeful that the grid capacity will be available this time around,” he said.

Cookson also said that RES would be presenting their plans at a public open house/meeting some time later this year.

“We have been having a lot of discussion, information and input within the community and with council ever since NextEra came forward with their plans,” said Councilor Tony Fritsch “and the issue of setbacks comes up often. Are you open to across the board, council-suggested minimum setbacks for all your installations?”

“We are open to suggestions, and we are committed to minimising impacts and generous setbacks. The constraint comes in when setbacks make a project unviable from a financial perspective, so it’s a trade-off,” said Cookson.

RES will also be making an offer for a community vibrancy fund before Council decides whether to support the project or not. NextEra has offered $1,750 per mw, which would come out to $350,000 per year if the township supports their project and they end up winning the LRP.

“We have two competing companies coming before us,” said Reeve Henry Hogg. “Are we obliged to support only one project?”

“You could support one, both, or none,” said Cookson.

“Is it possible that both would get built?” Hogg asked.

“It is possible, but not likely in this case, partly because we will be choosing overlapping sites on Crown land,” said Cookson.

Solar projects get support

Utlilia Amaral of SunEdison and Rob Hitchcock of Abundant Solar Farms both made presentations for small-scale solar farms, which are being contemplated under a small-scale renewable power projects procurement process that is also being sponsored by Ontario Power Generation.

SunEdison is proposing a 7-acre solar farm project on a private property on Wilson Hills Road, east of Northbrook, which will have a 500-kilowatt capacity.

Abundant Energy has four projects under development, all of the 500-kilowatt size. Their projects would be located at 2570 and 1548 Upper Flinton Road, and on Concessions 3 and 4, Kaladar.

Neither solar project developer offered any inducements to the township for a motion of support, but they both indicated that the impact on neighboring properties would be minimal, and that vegetation would be planted at the perimeter of the project sites, blocking public view of the panel arrays.

Council provided blanket support for the two projects and any other solar project that comes forward.

Budget approved, levy up by almost 5%

The 2015 budget was approved. The township will be levying a shade under $2.4 ($2,399,973) million from Addington Highlands ratepayers for local services, up about $113,000 from 2014 (the 2014 levy was $2.287 million) In percentage terms the increase is 4.9%.

When the township rate is combined with Lennox and Addington County taxes, which are up by 2.7%, and education rates, which are flat, the average Addington Highlands ratepayer will see a total increase in the 3% range on their tax bills this year.

Detachment commander explains operational changes – not costs

“There isn't much that I can do about the cost of policing, except come here and be a messenger,” said Inspector Patrick Finnegan, the Detachment Commander of the Napanee Detachment (with responsibility for the Kaladar satellite detachment) to Addington Highlands Council at a meeting on Tuesday, April 7.

“I guess that's why you carry ...” said Councilor Bill Cox.

“Right, that's why I carry a gun,” said Finnegan.

Staff Sergeant Greg MacLellan accompanied Finnegan to the meeting, which came about in response to a letter from Reeve Hogg that raised issues about the status of the Kaladar detachment.

Finnegan confirmed that the administrative position at Kaladar has been transferred to Napanee, and that there is no longer a sergeant (community officer) assigned to Kaladar.

He explained both decisions.

In the case of the administrative/clerk position, he said that although it was good public relations to have the office open to the public, there were fewer than 10 visits from the public per week, and the most sought after service, criminal record checks, is about to be outsourced to a private company and will no longer be handled by the OPP.

As well, as the result of some high profile events last year, particularly the attacks on Parliament Hill, the OPP has instituted new policies about security at police detachment offices.

“The buildings are to be closed to the public unless there is an armed officer in attendance,” said Finnegan, “so if a clerk was housed in Kaladar they would not be able to serve the public 80% of the time, while officers are out in the field.”

The advantages of moving the position to the Napanee headquarters to join with other administrative staff are numerous in terms of efficiency, Finnegan added.

So when the long-serving staff member at Kaladar retired, the position was moved.

“Until the background check system changes, we are working with the township to see if at least the intake can be done here at the township office,” he added.

As far as a sergeant being assigned to head the Kaladar detachment, Finnegan said it was a good idea in principle, but never worked that well in practice. By utilising the sergeants under his command throughout the range of the Napanee detachment, which Finnegan said will likely have a name change to the L&A Detachment in the near future, he said he would be able to have two sergeants working at all times, which would improve supervision across the entire detachment. In the end this will bring benefits to Addington Highlands.

“We will be able to send a sergeant to Addington Highlands to oversee our efforts in serious cases, such as a sudden death or a domestic assault, no matter when the call comes in,” he said.

New technology that is coming in, including GPS technology which will track the location of OPP vehicles at all times, is intended to bring in a “service that is not confined by any boundaries” he said. “The closest office to a call will be sent to that call.”

The Kaladar detachment will continue to be staffed by officers who will report to Kaladar at the beginning of their shift, as always.

“Policing a large, sparsely populated area is different from policing a smaller, densely populated area, and we are working on doing both well. If there are issues that come up, I encourage the reeve and council to contact me immediately so I can address them,” he concluded.

URCA Housing

Linda Hume, the long-serving board chair of URCA Housing, a not-for-profit corporation based in Flinton, came to Council this week for two reasons. One was to seek a bit of support from the township, and, as part of a campaign to raise the profile of the organization, the second reason was to make sure the new Council is aware of what URCA does and how it operates.

The first thing that she did was to explain URCA's name.

URCA was formed in the late 1980s to address a need for rent-geared-to-income housing for senior citizens. In order to be eligible for government funding the organisation needed a community-based organization to sponsor a building project.

“The organization in Flinton that sponsored us were the three churches. That is where we got our name ... U for the United Church, RC for Roman Catholic and A for Anglican,” she said.

URCA was also required to build rent-geared-to- income units for families as well as the seniors' units, and that is why they operate eight seniors' apartments and eight family units.

The good news about URCA's operations was delivered by Larry Pick, the part-time property manager who oversees the buildings. Between the rent paid by tenants and the limited operating dollars they receive, URCA has been able to maintain a small operating surplus and has a limited amount of money in reserves for capital needs.

“We have put new roofs on the buildings in recent years and have replaced about half the furnaces,” said Pick.

The less good news, according the Linda Hume, is that the public profile of URCA is low, as is community support, and it is difficult to maintain a board of directors.

“A number of our board members have served for a long time and would like to retire from the board, but if we cannot get new people on the board we may have to make some major decisions,” she said.

To have the URCA properties run by a service manager out of Napanee would make it "harder to maintain the 'curb appeal' and would be more difficult to manage," Hume said.

She asked Council to help URCA generate more interest in the community. She then made two requests. First she asked if Council could pass on information that comes to the township about social and affordable housing, including information about grants. Secondly she asked for the use of the basement of the township hall for the URCA Annual General Meeting in June, rent free.

Deputy Reeve Helen Yanch said that since she is now sitting on the housing committee at the County she would make sure the URCA Board is aware of what is happening on that level. Council also approved the use of the township hall for free for the URCA Annual General Meeting.

Isaacs hits a nerve

Paul Isaacs delivered a submission to Council that was sparked by a meeting with a senior in the township who is facing a particularly difficult time making ends meet, a situation that is made more worse by the fact that the man and his wife are not “in the best of health” in Isaacs' words, and they had to deal with frozen pipes this winter.

“Council has an obligation to provide public presence to address these difficulties, whatever they may be, of its constituents,” Isaacs said.

But it was in the final paragraph of his submission, where he said “Council has no initiatives in place with respect to seniors. Council is showing no interest at all in its most vulnerable constituents” that Isaacs sparked a response from Councilor Tony Fritsch.

“I don't agree with that statement at all,” said Fritsch. “Not only do we make our halls available for seniors programming for free, we support Land O'Lakes Community Services with an annual grant; we support the Family health Team both in Northbrook and in Denbigh. Our fire chief keeps a list of vulnerable people in the township, so we know who to check in with first in case of an emergency. To say we 'show no interest' in vulnerable people is unfair.”

Reeve Hogg said the township's budget is always tight and if taxes were raised it would hit the vulnerable population the most.

“I'm not sure what you expect us to do,” he said to Isaacs.

“It could be a simple as writing a letter,” Isaacs responded.

“Who should we write a letter to?” asked Hogg.

“Ok, here is an example. Statistics Canada does not count food or fuel costs when they calculate inflation, but those are the costs that hit seniors on fixed incomes that only increase by the rate of inflation the most. You could write a letter to Statistics Canada.”

(Editor's note – a search of the Statistics Canada website indicated that food and heating costs, including electricity, propane and fuel, are included in the “basket of goods and services" used to calculate increases in the Consumer Price Index.)

Public meeting tonight re proposed wind project

A public meeting is set for tonight, April 9, at the Community Hall in Denbigh at 6:30 pm, to discuss a proposed wind project. Members of Council will be in attendance to hear public comment, and a representative from the proponent, NextEra Energy, will be on hand as well.