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Jeff Green | Mar 20, 2008

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North Frontenac has time left at waste sites

Guy Laporte from the engineering firm Totten, Sims, Hubiki (TSH) brought reasonably good news about waste disposal to a meeting of North Frontenac Council last week. (March 13)

The five waste sites that remain open in the township (Ardoch, Kashwakamak, Mississippi Station, Plevna, and Road 506) will all be able to accept waste for at least 10 more years, and based on current estimates, the township has 20 years of cumulative life left in its dumps, up from 15 years when TSH first estimated the cumulative life back in 2002.

Laporte credited improvements in recycling as well as improved operations, along with a tendency of TSH to be conservative in its assessment as reasons for the improved picture.

“When I say 20 years, that's easily 30 years if we keep going in the way we've been going,” Guy Laporte told council.

North Frontenac could look to some of its neighbours as it considers how to maximize the life of its dump sites. Lanark Highlands, another client of TSH, will be temporarily turning all of its sites but one into transfer stations, and concentrating all dumping at a single site.

“In this way they can purchase one good compactor and concentrate on getting maximum use from each site. When one site is full, they will then move to another site and proceed in this fashion,” Laporte said.

Another option would be the one that South Frontenac has taken, commissioning a waste master plan by TSH.

“How much does a master plan cost?” asked North Frontenac Chief Administrative Officer Cheryl Robson.

“The South Frontenac master plan is $20,000. Mind you, they chose not to do public consultation as part of theirs, but that's the ballpark range,” Laporte replied.

Based on current estimates, the 506 dump has 17 years of dump life left; the Ardoch dump has 24 years, the Kashwakamak dump has 10, the Mississippi Station dump has 29, and the Plevna dump has 10 years.

Guy Laporte also updated council on ongoing environmental monitoring that is required at all waste sites, and the post-site closure activities and monitoring at the Ompah, Cloyne, and Fernleigh sites.

An application to operate Household Hazardous Waste Transfer Stations at the 506, Mississippi Station and Plevna sites has been submitted to the Ministry of the Environment and it is anticipated approval will be received to initiate the service in 2008.

Hall troubles – A report by a township task force on the future of the township’s community halls was discussed at length at a special budget meeting on February 28.

The report called for a standardised rental agreement for all halls so they can be centrally administered, and included other recommendations about the operation of the halls.

In the minutes from that meeting, Mayor Maguire is noted as stating that he expected “something more” from the task force report. “The report cites maintenance work needed at each hall ... however the long term picture is not included and I have been telling people at council and the county that the task force is looking at a long-term plan,” he is recorded as saying.

Major questions regarding the future of the beleaguered Clar/Mill hall, which has been vacated by the public library because of a mould problem, the future of the Ompah hall and fire station which has its own deficiencies, and a lack of space at the township office, remain as issues that council needs to deal with. As well, a lingering question about whether the township can maintain five small community halls in the long term has not been settled.

With all of these issues remaining outstanding, council decided to put money into the 2008 budget for the Clar/Mill and Ompah halls, to ensure that all health and safety issues are dealt with.

NF joins CF on ICSP – North Frontenac Council received notification that the Council of Central Frontenac is urging the County of Frontenac to put a halt to approving the framework for a county-wide integrated community sustainability plan (ICSP) which is slated to set up a points system whereby $2 million worth of federal gas tax funding will be doled out in the County over the next 3 years.

Citing a lack of consultation at the township level, North Frontenac passed a motion endorsing the motion Central Frontenac Council approved at their meeting earlier in the week.

The ICSP framework is slated to come before the Frontenac County agenda at the monthly meeting this week.

Rural Routes funding request denied – The Rural Routes Transportation Service has received funding from Frontenac County this year. They are receiving $20,000, and the county set an additional $20,000 aside pending the development of a county-wide transportation system.

This has left rural Routes with a shortfall and they have therefore sent a request for supplemental funding to North, Central and South Frontenac townships. In the case of North Frontenac, the request was for $7,000.

At the county level, Mayor Maguire has been a staunch supporter of Rural Routes, but he did not favour a direct financial contribution from the township.

“I guess before we get involved in what I properly think is county business, we should think twice. The county is on the hook for that second $20,000 and until that issue is resolved I don’t want the county to say '”Well. it's your property, you are obviously funding it,” Maguire said.

“I agree”, said Councilor Fred Perry, ”if we support this we are letting the county off the hook.”

Rural Routes has requested $15,000 from Central Frontenac, and $4,000 from South Frontenac. A table that was included with the request to North Frontenac presented information about Rural Routes services in 2007. There were 4354 trips provided by the service, covering almost 260,000 kilometres, and 6,777 volunteer hours. Of those trips, 247 originated in North Frontenac, 2890 in Central Frontenac, and 180 in South Frontenac.