Developer Terry Grant has submitted a revised proposal for his Hartington subdivision, which scales the plan down from the original 47 lots to 13, all of which would be located within the hamlet of Hartington.

Hartington resident Michelle Foxton came as a delegate on behalf of her neighbours, many of whom were present, to express concerns about the current proposal. She thanked Council for their continued willingness to hear the community, and listed some questions which she said still have not been addressed.

Foxton focussed primarily on the ASC assessment of the nitrite/nitrate levels on the property. (ASC is the company hired by the developer to comment on the independently commissioned Macintosh Perry report, which in turn had peer reviewed the original Malroz environmental investigation/assessment of the site.)

ASC says that nitrate levels are high, but “Thirteen lots are proposed within the Hamlet, with the remainder of the property being vacant for the foreseeable future. On this basis and utilizing the full 45 hectare property for nitrate dilution, the anticipated nitrate loading for the proposed 13 lots would be well below the 10 mg/l (MOE) criteria.”

Foxton said that because there was no guarantee that the rest of the property would not be developed in the future, this was not a satisfactory answer, and recommended a maximum of 7 or 8 lots instead of 13. Signs held up by several audience members supported this.

Other remaining concerns included: lot frontages, uncertainty about hydrofracturing - has this been done, and if so, when and where, and what effect may it have had on the groundwater? Why has the provision for parkland been removed? Is there danger of future contamination from the corner of 38 and Holleford Road? Is there any way the community could be consulted about the aesthetics of the subdivision, i.e., the addition of a long stretch of chain link fencing and in one place, a high board fence, neither of which were seen to be compatible with the hamlet?

Planner Mills presented a lengthy revised report with a preliminary list of 27 draft plan conditions for the proposed 13-unit subdivision. He said that he had received more comments that day from Macintosh Perry, but had not had time to read them.

Council members seemed to prefer reducing the subdivision size to 7 or 8 units, and asked for a definitive answer about the question of whether or not fracking had taken place.

Mayor Vandewal reminded them that no matter what Council might recommend, final approval did not rest with South Frontenac, but would be based on the County’s interpretation of the recommendations of the environmental and engineering reports.

“The County will not approve a plan that cannot be defended at the Ontario Municipal Board no matter what our Council recommends,” he said.

Harrowsmith Community Improvement Plan (CIP)

Anne Marie Young, the County’s Economic Development Officer, announced that Harrowsmith had been chosen as recipient of this year’s Community Improvement Plan. Although initiated by the County, the actual program will be carried out by the township, and will begin with public meetings and community consultations. The goal of the program is to provide seed money (total $70,000) which can be issued as matching grants to assist in projects chosen by the community. Last year, Verona used the program to improve facades, signage, and general “sprucing up” of the village. Harrowsmith is seen as the gateway to the Frontenacs for anyone travelling north on Road 38.

2016 Budget Report

Treasurer Louise Fragnito reported on some budget details that would need Council approval before the final draft budget is brought to the December 1st Council meeting.

Six items have been put on hold pending follow-up reports to Council in early 2016: radio communications, baler (for recycling), playground equipment for Bowes Park, Storrington Centre, Fermoy Hall and Glendower stairs. Fragnito assured Council that these projects, representing a total of $586,000, are included in the budget so they can be completed once Council has further information.

She also listed ‘updates and additional information’ that will provide the funding necessary to establish a SCBA (Self Contained Breathing Apparatus) reserve with an initial amount of $40,000, as requested last week by the fire chief.

The adjusted budget now represents $28,061,653 in reserve transfers and $16,534,642 to be raised from taxation, for operating and capital expenditures. “These adjustments align with Council’s direction and amount to a 2.0% or $26.22 impact on the average phased-in residential property.

MacMunn hired as new clerk/administrator in Central Frontenac

After holding an in camera meeting last Thursday (November 19), council has appointed Cathy MacMunn as the township's new clerk/administrator.

The decision came about following the recommendations to council by Frontenac County Chief Administrative Officer Kelly Pender in a “State of the Organization” report, in which he suggested three options for council and staff to address what he termed their existing “leadership gap” after former CAO Jim Zimmerman was let go in late June.

Mayor Frances Smith said that at Thursday’s meeting, council unanimously opted for the clerk/administrator option as “a leadership model” and the position was offered to Cathy MacMunn the following day.

MacMunn said she took the weekend to think it over and speak with her family.

MacMunn, who has been working at the township for the past 34 years in a number of roles, said she is pleased.

“What gave me the biggest push in making the decision is that I had the support of both council and staff. I look forward to continuing to serve the public in my new role,” she said

Ad hoc committee to plan for township's first re-use centre

Councilor Victor Heese brought a request by numerous residents who he said are willing to support and volunteer at a re-use depot if one were to be created in the township.

Heese recently looked at a number of existing re-use centers, including those in McDonalds Corners in Lanark Highlands, and at Glen Tay Road in Tay Valley, which are both working well. Council agreed to appoint an ad hoc committee to set the rules and regulations. Heese said that once it was up and running the site could be handed over to volunteers. Council encouraged Heese to go ahead with the plan.

Contaminated sites policy

In his financial report to council, Treasurer Michael McGovern reported that the $80,000 put aside by council in their 2015 budget for further investigations into possible contaminated sites is not required.

Councilor Dewey suggested putting the $80,000 in reserve funds for other unexpected expenses, such as the recent emergency Raymo Road bridge rebuild. Councilor Brent Cameron suggested holding the funds for any possible future contamination issues. McGovern said that Cameron's idea is a sound one but that smaller amounts could be accumulated for such a fund in the future.

Council accepted McGovern's report for information.

Council agrees to go RED

Cathy MacMunn outlined for council the Rural Economic Development (RED) Program, which County Council is currently leveraging as a means to support possible future projects put forth in each of the four townships in Frontenac county. The program provides cost shared funding support (up to 50% for municipalities) for projects deemed to strengthen rural Ontario. The aim of the program is to “better position” rural communities, organizations and businesses to create jobs and attract investment by encouraging collaboration and local partnerships, thereby providing benefits to more than one community.

A teleconference call that took place in November this year between county and township staff, resulted in the recommendation that one regional/partnership application from the county be submitted for the program's January 15, 2016 deadline.

That application will be geared to the Frontenacs' economic development charter themes, which include “Trips and Trails; Food and Beverages and Rural Life styles”. Council seemed excited by the possibilities and councilors Brent Cameron and Jamie Riddell, who both currently sit on the township's economic development committee, said that they will bring the news to the committee's next meeting.

Dogs in the halls request denied

Erin Godfrey sent a letter to the township, asking to rent the Oso hall for dog training classes. The township has no policy in place regarding bringing animals into their municipal halls. Numerous councilors brought up possible issues of cleanliness since the hall is often used by individuals and organizations who are serving food. Council denied Godfrey's request and said they will consult staff about the issue and get back to her.

 Holiday office closures

Signs and notifications at the township offices and on their website will notify residents of upcoming holiday closures and any relevant emergency contact information.  

North Frontenac set to invest $900,000 into existing office/township garage

At a meeting to lay the groundwork for their 2016 budget last Friday, November 20, members of North Frontenac Council came to a decision about the future of their township office.

They decided to spend about $500,000 improving the cladding, insulation and air flow in the office section of the existing building. They are also planning to build a 1,500 square foot extension to the front of the building at an estimated cost of $400,000.

Earlier this year, Councilor Denis Bedard prepared a report that outlined six options for Council to consider.

Option 1, to do nothing, was not considered a viable option because “from a health and safety point of view the building as it is now is inadequate” said Bedard.

When the report was tabled in the late summer, Council responded favourably to option 3, to build a new office at a township-owned property in Plevna and keep the existing building as a garage. The estimated cost of this option was $1.63 million.

In September, Council received a flood of letters and emails from residents expressing dismay over the plan for a new building, many citing the cost as more than taxpayers can handle after years of tax increases and the impact of a jump in OPP costs that will be felt in the coming budget years.

When the issue came back to Council last week, Mayor Ron Higgins said, “There are some issues that need to be addressed. From staff I see that heating issues are a priority and a public washroom is also a priority. We can address these things one at a time.”

“The consultant has provided an estimate of $500,000 for insulation and siding and windows. You can't piecemeal that; you have to do it all at once,” said Councilor Bedard.”

At this point Councilor Wayne Good said, “To put money in the existing building is like putting a motor in a 50-year-old car and thinking that you have something. $500,000 is total waste of money. I don't agree with it at all.”

At this point in the meeting, the idea of dealing with the problems in the existing building and putting in a new section, which will include washrooms, a foyer, and proper office space, was proposed.

“We should use a new addition for offices, not a council chamber as the consultant said. That would eat up all the space,” said Councilor John Inglis.

“I agree with John,” said Wayne Good, “if we get the staff into the new part, put in washrooms, and then gut the old section and think about renovating it later, I could see doing this.”

Ron Higgins said that a cost of $900,000 can only be taken on as a loan, because of immediate budget pressures.

Jeremy Nevens, the township's chief building official, was asked if he could seek verbal quotes from architectural firms that could put together preliminary drawings, based on information about the space needs for staff, showing how a new addition could be built and organised.

“We can use verbal quotes rather than a formal process as long as the cost is under $20,000, according to our procurement bylaw,” said CAO Cheryl Robson.

“I think I can make those calls. There are a number of good firms available to do this, as long as I can get the specifications about what is there now and what the needs are,” said Nevens.

“This will take us a year to set up, and we will start building in 2017,” said Higgins.

Manager of Community Development Cory Klatt was then asked if he can find updated information about the water at the site, which has been an ongoing problem for years.

Fire chief, treasurer positions filled

At their meeting this week, council announced that Eric Korhonen, who has been the interim fire chief, has been hired as the permanent fire chief. Kelly Watkins has also been promoted to the position of treasurer.

Sitting as a Committee of the Whole, Frontenac County Council had their last look at the 2016 budget on November 12, and are set to approve the document at a meeting this week.

The budget was developed with a target for operational costs of a 1.2% increase, based on the annualized Consumer Price Index increase as of August. Although costs were higher, a reserve fund was used to get to that number. On top of that, Council approved two extra expenditures of $30,000, one for a study and one for an allocation to the sustainability reserve fund, bringing the increase up to 1.9%.

Then, another $56,000 (0.65%) was put aside for replacement costs for county-owned buildings, bringing the total increase to 2.55%.

The only outstanding item is a potential donation to Pine Meadow Nursing Home, which will be decided before the budget is finalized (see Pine Meadow on page 1).

If the County does decide to support Pine Meadow, and does so over five years ($21,150 per year) it would increase the overall budget by 0.25%, bringing the overall increase to 2.8%.

Before sending the budget to this week's meeting for approval, South Frontenac Mayor Ron Vandewal asked, “Can I make my comments now or should I make them later?”

“You might as well make them now,” said Deputy Warden Frances Smith, who was chairing the meeting.

“I will not support the budget. I did not support the Economic Development strategy or the cost. I am not in favour of 2.5%. I will be voting no to this,” said Vandewal.

“Do you have a number that you could support?” asked Smith.

“I do not want to go over 2%,” Vandewal replied.

“Should we bring this back on the 18th of November or do you want to bring it back in December?” Smith then asked Vandewal.

“I won't be here next week, so December is best for me,” said Vandewal.

“I might not be here on December 16,” said Warden Dennis Doyle.

A motion to consider the budget bylaw on November 18 was approved. In a recorded vote, only Ron Vandewal voted against the motion.

Funding request is defeated in a 4-3 vote

(Update on this story. Tom Dewey of Central Frontenac has decided not to support the motion. Higgins still against it. The motion being voted on is for $105,750 over 10 years. There are only 6 members of council in attendance. 5 have indicated how they will vote. 3 for and 2 against. The final vote comes down to Natalie Nossal from Frontenac Islands. Recorded vote nossal votes no, motion defeated in a 4-3 vote.)

North Frontenac mayor, Ron Higgins, said he will be voting against a proposed grant of $125,000 for Pine Meadow Nursing Home when it comes up this week at Frontenac County Council.

The home, which is located in Northbrook, has asked the County for money in the past to help with capital projects. They asked for support on a yearly basis in the run-up to the rebuild of Pine Meadow, which was completed last year, but Councilors representing South Frontenac and Frontenac Islands have always voted as a bloc against the funding, ensuring that it has never happened.

When the matter came up last week at a meeting of the Committee of the Whole of Frontenac County Council, this time to pay for replacement bay windows in the older part of Pine Meadow, Councillor John McDougall from South Frontenac indicated he would be supporting the motion. This would give the elusive fifth vote needed for a majority in the nine-vote council (there are eight members of Frontenac County Council, and Ron Vandewal has two votes by virtue of being Mayor of South Frontenac).

But then Ron Higgins spoke.

“I struggled with this myself, but I can't see that the County of Frontenac should start supporting other homes. Based on the budget restrictions that we have in pace, I can't vote in favour, just from the fiscal responsibility perspective. I know I will hear about this,” he said.

Deputy Warden Frances Smith and Councillor Tom Dewey, both from Central Frontenac, as well as North Frontenac Councillor John Inglis, along with John McDougall, all indicated they would support the request. Ron Vandewal said that since he was already set to vote against the proposed 2016 Frontenac County budget because it includes a 2.5% increase, “so I can't support this because it will add even more to the budget.”

Warden Dennis Doyle and Councillor Natalie Nossal, both from Frontenac Islands, did not speak to the motion.

Frontenac County is the owner and operator of the Fairmount Home, which is located adjacent to the county offices. As a municipally run home, the 128-bed Fairmount Home receives $2.7 million from municipal taxation in addition to provincial funding and resident fees towards its $12 million annual operating budget. City of Kingston ratepayers contribute about $1.8 million and Frontenac County ratepayers will pay $908,920 towards the home's operating expenses in 2016.

By contrast, the 60-bed Pine Meadow Home receives only the provincial funding and resident fees with which to finance its operations.

Betty Hunter, a member of the Pine Meadow Management Committee, made the pitch for funding at the regular monthly meeting of Frontenac County Council on October 21.

“We are looking for only capital support,” she said at the time, “not operating funding, but this is a matter of some urgency for us. Pine Meadow is not located within Frontenac County, but neither is Fairmount Home. Pine Meadow serves a high percentage of residents from North and Central Frontenac.”

Pine Meadow received $250,000 over 10 years from the County of Lennox and Addington towards its rebuild and expansion project, which was completed a year ago. Like Frontenac County, Lennox and Addington also operates its own municipal home in Napanee, the John Parrot Centre.

In his report regarding the application for funding, Frontenac County Chief Administrative Officer Kelly Pender expressed the concern that supporting “a long-term care facility outside of our geographic boundaries will open the door for other facilities in neighbouring communities that routinely receive County of Frontenac residents.”

He also said that he was concerned about the “ability to pay” argument, which could surface in contract negotiations with unions and arbitrators representing Fairmount Home staff.

“If we can afford to financially support long-term care outside of our jurisdiction, the argument that we can only keep salary increases to the cost of living for our own employees would be weakened,” he said.

Pender also told the Committee of the Whole last week that he had requested financial statements from Pine Meadow after receiving the funding request in October, but had just received them and had not had a chance to look at them.

Ron Higgins then proposed a deferral of the motion to support Pine Meadow pending a review of the finances, and the matter was deferred until a meeting this week,

Since last week's meeting, the funding request has been clarified by Pine Meadow. The request is now $105,750. Pine Meadow administrator Margaret Palimaka said the Home would be happy to receive the money over five or even ten years.

“We would be happy to receive anything,” she said.

The proposal is included in the agenda for the county meeting that is set for Wednesday, November 18.

(This story will be updated at Frontenacnews.ca to reflect the results of that meeting)

A delegation from Frontenac County, including Pender, Fairmount Home interim administrator Steve Silver, and North Frontenac councilor, John Inglis, paid a visit to Pine Meadow in late October to meet with staff and administration.

Township to deal with MNR beaver dam

Addington Highlands has the go ahead to remove a beaver dam and “harass, capture or kill beavers” on a piece of Crown land that is located on the east side of Hwy. 41 at Mazinaw Hill, north of the entrance to Bon Echo Park.

Reeve Hogg sent a letter to the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) in early September, informing them that a beaver dam has created a 'small lake' adjacent to the highway, and that when the dam inevitably gives way there is every chance of flooding on several cottage properties to the west of the highway on Mazinaw Lake. Flooding is also possible on Road 41 at the bottom of Mazinaw Hill, Public Works Manager Royce Rosenblath told Council in early November.

Subsequently, the township has received a response from Suzanne Shalla, the resource management supervisor out of the Bancroft office of the Ontario MNR.

Shalla said that the township has the authority to enter onto “Crown land to destroy a dam in protection of property, which includes travel corridors and utilities, with no prior approval required... As the municipality whose infrastructure is threatened by this dam, your staff are empowered to manipulate or destroy the dam in order to protect your property as needed.”

At their meeting in Denbigh on Monday night, November 16, Reeve Hogg asked Rosenblath if his crews can begin dismantling the dam.

Rosenblath said crews will dismantle part of it and will then engage trapper Eythel Grant to set some traps before pulling the dam down entirely.

“They are bound to be pretty aggressive now as it is near winter,” said Rosenblath.

Meeting with new MP

Mike Bossio, the newly elected federal MP for Hastings-Lennox and Addington, has requested a meeting with Council in the wake of his election in October as part of the Liberal Party victory nationally.

The township is interested in talking about what role they can play as far as welcoming refugees is concerned and will bring that up at the meeting, which is set for 9am on November 30.

AH to second stage of provincial funding

The township has received notification that after considering their expression for interest for funding under the Ontario Community Infrastructure Fund (OCIF) for a $900,000 construction project on Matawatchan Road in the northeast corner of the township, the project has been selected to move forward to the application stage. The application is due on December 16.

If the project is approved, which is not guaranteed at this point, it will receive 90% funding from the province and will need to be completed by the end of 2017.

Long memory hurts Greer Galloway

The engineering firm Greer Galloway, which has done work for 22 municipalities in south and north-eastern Ontario, sent a letter to AH asking that they be put on the township's list of approved vendors in order to bid on contracts in the township starting in 2016.

“Greer Galloway built a bridge for us in the 1980s and they were a metre off-line with it, leading to all sorts of costs that we had to pay. When we asked them to help pay, they said the MTO had approved the project so they were off the hook,” said Hogg.

“That was a long time ago,” said Councilor Tony Fritsch.

“Yes, but I remember, and I'm still here,” said Hogg.

Approval in principle for recreational program at Flinton hall.

Sara Clayton approached the township for free use of the upper floor of the Flinton Recreation Centre on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays through the winter for a sports and arts recreation program she is setting up for children between 3 and 17 years of age.

Council approved the request in principle, saying that Clayton will need to see what uptake the program gets and return with a final request.

Road work on Old Addington Road

Wayne Snider approached Council for permission to do some work on the un-maintained Old Addington Road for logging purposes. The request was approved.

As mentioned in previous South Frontenac council reports, there is a long-standing controversy about a small strip of sand

beach on Canoe Lake beside the James Wilson Road. James Campbell who claims the beach is on his property, has applied to
sever three neighbouring lots. As a condition of severance, South Frontenac Council suggested that public access to the beach be secured by taking a small portion of adjoining land to provide off-road parking.

Letters and delegations to Council have addressed both sides of the issue. Five members of the Campbell family and eight others have opposed the continued public use of the beach, citing a number of concerns such as; danger from a submerged hydro line, loss of property value, danger from traffic, noise, vandalism from swimmers, and fear of large beach parties. Three have mistakenly assumed ‘the taking of parkland’ means a large portion of land will be developed at taxpayers’ expense with playgrounds, picnic tables, etc.

One blames the threat of a park for costing him the sale of his nearby cottage.

Seven letters and three delegations have spoken in favour of maintaining this small piece of land as a public access to Canoe Lake. Council members viewed the controversial site on November 7, while on their road tour.

A notice of motion proposed by Councillor Sutherland Sept 20 was brought forward at this meeting. It recommends that the Township “secure a public beach/park on Canoe Lake on James Wilson Road at the west end of the causeway between Canoe Lake and Eel Lake in the severance process of the adjoining land.”

Speaking to the motion, Sutherland said that he and Councillor Revill had, with Mr Campbell’s permission, gone on the beach
and measured out the road allowance and had marked out a small additional amount of property, less than the amount of parkland the Township would be permitted to take, which would, if added as a strip to the road allowance, secure the beach for public use.

He also said a hydro sign on the site only warns against digging or driving stakes: a hydro representative confirmed this, saying
the cable was buried three feet down and no danger to walkers or swimmers.

Revill spoke of a possible alternative beach access that could perhaps be created with some clearing of rocks. He said Campbell had been away and had not had a chance to look at and comment on the area they had marked off. Without Campbell’s support, Revill said he would not support the motion.

Mayor Vandewal suggested deferring the motion to the December meeting, to give Campbell a chance to view the proposal.
Discussion of the planner’s report was postponed until then as well.

“State of the Organization” report to CF Council

-The good, the bad and the ugly according to County CAO Kelly Pender

In an effort to make improvements in the state of the township's organization and to move forward in a positive manner, the Council of Central Frontenac earlier this year invited County of Frontenac CAO Kelly Pender to review its existing structure and report back to council with his recommendations.

At council's regular meeting on November 10, Pender presented his findings after reviewing budget and report documentation and conducting a series of confidential interviews this past summer with nine council members and 14 members of township staff.

Like a well seasoned diplomat, Pender reported the good news first. Pender praised staff and council as “good people, doing good work” in an environment where trust, honesty and good relations were the norm, adding that staff's financing arm seems “well positioned”.

On the not so good side of the scale, he cited “a general feeling of the organization lacking direction”, and the presence of what he termed “silos” i.e., a situation where departments and/or individuals feel that they are working in isolation. He noted feelings of a lack of consistency in applying policy; the lack of a safety culture; and the township IT staff displaying a love/hate relationship with software and network reliability.

He also sensed a frustration at the township’s ability to keep quality senior staff. He defined what he called "a leadership gap" where council, though largely unified, needs to be able to make “tough decisions” and to “chart a course, then explain it to staff and the community and then steer towards it”, as opposed to front line staff members taking control in the face of a lack of clear directives and a fixed chain of command.

This led him to talk about the current lack of a Chief Administrative Officer.

Pender said there are three options available to council: to maintain the status quo, where there is no hierarchy among senior staff; to establish the position of Clerk-Administrator; or to hire a Chief Administrative Officer to oversee all the township's operations.

He said the status quo is not recommended because it makes for a less cohesive, leaderless staff complement and “puts the mayor in an awkward position as the political and administrative head of the township.”

Establishing the clerk-administrator position would place the clerk of council, the job held by Cathy MacMunn, in a position of leadership over all operations of the township.

A Chief Administrative Officer is a similar role, except it gives that person full authority over all other staff. Essentially the chief administrator becomes council's only employee, who then determines the activities of everyone else, within the confines of the Municipal Act and clear job definitions.

Pender said that at least half of the provinces in Canada require that municipalities have a CAO in place, but Ontario does not, only requiring the position of clerk.

“That might change when the Municipal Act is renewed in a few years,” he said.

Regarding the township's fire department, Pender recommended engaging an external fire professional to review the department's operations, citing gaps and equipment needs and surpluses.

Other longer term recommendations include developing a business planning process and providing citizens with a five-year forecast of what to expect. Pender also suggested that the public works manager and the treasurer provide a fully costed report to council regarding the consolidation of the township's two public works yards.

Other recommendations included sharing human resource expertise with neighboring municipalities; targeting 2017 for the implementation of a new financial software program; implementing an ongoing asset management policy; committing resources to economic development; and reviewing the functionality of the township office's public foyer.

Lastly Pender recommended that council adopt a “community of communities” approach to governance that focuses on the overall benefit of the township as a whole rather than allowing one community to be pitted against another.

Following the report, council agreed there is much work to be done and invited Pender back to review their progress in a year's time.

Haven't seen Kyle in awhile?

When asked about the whereabouts of Kyle Labbett, Mayor Frances Smith said that it was the County CAO Kelly Pender's organization review that led to Labbett being let go last week.

“We looked at what jobs need doing and Kyle's combination job as public works supervisor/waste disposal coordinator was determined to be redundant. Kyle did a great job setting up waste management but that job is now done. Similarly the public works supervisor position is not and has never been a full time position”, she explained.

She added that with grants not coming in for large construction projects and with a number of larger projects now completed, it did not make sense to keep Labbett on.

Construction numbers healthy

Chief Building Officer Jeremy Neven was pleased to announce that as of the end of October, construction numbers this year are $6,417,300, compared to roughly $5 million at the same time last year. Permit fees to date are $91,000, close to double where they were at the end of October 2014 and a third again as much as at the end of October 2013. Similarly the number of residential units at 16 has surpassed the nine units built by the same time last year.

OCIF Grant for Sharbot Lake reconstruction denied

Mayor Smith regretted to announce that staff's application for government funding for infrastructure reconstruction of Sharbot Lake village was denied. Smith said that the application would be kept on file and updated so that when another round of grants is announced, staff can re-apply.

Putting a bounty on beavers

Councilor Jamie Riddell posed the question of possibly setting up a bounty on beavers since they are costing the township money in road repairs and maintenance.

Sign By Law review

Currently council does not a have a by-law in place regarding signage in the township. Cathy MacMunn, who looked into the matter, noted that a resolution passed to propose a by-law in 2001 was never completed, leaving council now without a by-law in place. Council and staff will be reviewing and proposing a new signage by-law.  

Long Closed Session

Council convened at 5:00 for a closed session to deal with several matters concerning litigation, labour relations and property matters. Following this, they came into Council chambers at 7:00 to commence the public part of the meeting.

James Wilson Parkland/ Beach

This is a contentious issue regarding a small patch of beach beside the James Wilson Road which has been used for public swimming for many years. James Campbell, who has applied for severance of three lots, claims ownership of this swim area, although he admits this strip of shore will become part of the road allowance once the road is increased to its allotted width.

Whenever a severance is granted, as a condition of approval, the property owner is required to pay a small percentage of its value (cash-in-lieu) to the Township’s development fund, OR the Township may choose to ask for a small portion (up to 5%) of the severed property as parkland. Most times, the development fund is preferred. However, in this case, Council is considering the merit of asking for a strip of land along the road to create a safer parking area for swimmers.

Five delegates spoke to Council and a number of letters have been submitted on both sides of the issue. Some speakers made pleas for cooperation in keeping the access to Canoe Lake open to the public, while one illustrated the degree of bitterness in the dispute by speaking of “gross, scary-looking people”, and making verbal attacks on individual councillors, and against several of the individuals who had supported keeping the lake access open to the public.

Referencing the principles of English Law that protect the commons, Robert Lovelace spoke as an area resident and a local Algonquin of the importance of protecting the public’s common use to resources such as air and water, asking for ‘mutual respect of our varied needs.’

Last Saturday, Council members had viewed the area in dispute during their fall road tour. They had no questions for the speakers, and there was no discussion: Mayor Vandewal said they would address the issue further at the next Council meeting.

Firefighters’ Equipment

Fire Chief Chesebrough asked Council to consider setting aside reserves for replacement of the fire department’s self contained breathing apparatus (SCBA). The department has 45 of these units all purchased in 2005, and warranted for 15 years. However, there have been significant changes in this line of equipment, and already it is becoming difficult to obtain replacement parts for the current SCBA’s. Total cost of 45 new units with their air bottles is estimated to be close to $500,000. Chesebrough suggested $40,000 be set aside in the 2016 budget as an initial step.

Sydenham Triathlon

For the past five years, the Township has partnered with Somersault Events in hosting a successful and popular Triathlon at ‘The Point’ in Sydenham. However, Tim LaPrade, Recreation Supervisor, is calling for a much more detailed agreement between the Township and the organizing group, clarifying conditions and responsibilities, before proceeding further with the partnership. LaPrade has outlined such an agreement for next year’s event, at which the 2016 and previous events will be evaluated, and recommendations made to either enter into a longer term agreement or issue a Request for Proposal for future events.

Budget Marathon this Saturday

CAO Orr handed out sturdy looking budget packages to Councillors, in preparation for this Saturday’s all-day budget-setting meeting. This document will be available on the South Frontenac website (under ‘civic documents’) by Saturday.

Council then went back in-camera to complete unfinished business from their earlier meeting.

Commercial fee holiday nixed by province

For 11 years, building permit fees have been waived for commercial construction in Addington Highlands. The idea was to encourage commercial enterprises to locate in the township, and the permit holiday was advertised on the township website. It no longer is.

On several occasions members of North Frontenac Council brought the idea of matching the permit holiday in North Frontenac, mainly because the commercial hubs of the two townships are located on either side of Hwy. 41 in the vicinity of Cloyne, and businesses on the west side of the road had an advantage over those on the east side.

But every time the idea was raised, staff in North Frontenac hastened to point out that a commercial building permit holiday was not allowed under the Ontario Municipal Act.

It turns out that North Frontenac staff were right, and in the last couple of weeks Addington Highlands received a letter from the Ministry of Municipal Affairs informing them that they must re-instate the fees.

While the permit holiday was no secret, it had never been formally brought to the ministry's attention until they received a letter.

“They would not say who informed them about it,” Addington Highlands clerk, Christine Reed, told Council at their meeting on Monday.

Reed added that the township could bring back the holiday if they institute a Community Improvement Plan, which would allow them to collect the fees and then grant back all or part of them as part of an economic development strategy.

“It involves a process, however, including an Official Plan amendment and other measures,” said Reed.

“I don't think it has brought a whole lot of new businesses to Addington Highlands over the years,” said Reeve Henry Hogg, “it just meant savings for existing businesses who did upgrades they were probably going to do anyway.”

While the fees are, apparently, now required for commercial building in Addington Highlands, they may be going away in North Frontenac. North Frontenac is instituting a Community Improvement Plan in the entire township, and will be in a position to offer grants to businesses to offset those fees.

Report on Organizational Review deferred

Council received a report from Craig Davidson, a consultant based in North Hastings. Davidson was also the former Chief Administrative Officer of Hastings Highlands until his contract ran out in 2014. The report was based on a session held with all members of Addington Highlands Council and Clerk Reed on October 22.

Based on the session, Davidson wrote, “It was noted that there is a general lack of accountability in the present municipal structure and at times council does not know items like how they are performing financially compared to the approved budget and that, especially in the office, there was the inference that all employees report to council; in other words, no one is responsible to anyone other than to council.”

While he said that some members of council thought that “perhaps what is needed is an office manager”, he added that from his own perspective “What is needed is more of a manager of the municipality rather than one who is managing the office activity only.”

Other municipalities in the region employ a Chief Administrative Officer (CAO). All staff operate under the authority of the CAO, whose job it is to interpret the policy goals of Council within the confines of the Municipal Act, and direct staff to carry those policy goals out.

However, as was pointed out in the report, Addington Highlands Council has been wary of adopting such a system. “There was a fear noted by some that the CAO model was tried in a neighbouring municipality with little success ...”

The two-page report was received by Council for information, and while the report talked about next steps, no further meeting was scheduled at this time.

Grudgingly, interest waived for late payment of taxes.

Township resident Sharon Turrin requested that interest in the amount of $31.36 be waived in her case. She wrote to Council, saying that two post-dated cheques for $627 each were sent in time for the 2015 taxes on her property but were either lost in the mail or within the township office and were never cashed. She received a notice and came in to pay the taxes, including the interest. Saying that she has never been late with taxes before and as she did send the cheques, she asked for the fee to be waived.

“It is her responsibility to monitor her bank account to ensure the cheques were cashed,” said Councilor Tony Fritsch.

“That's what I would do,” said Councilor Bill Cox.

Nontheless a motion to waive the fees was proposed by Cox, and was passed, with only Deputy Reeve Helen Yanch voting against.

“That sets a precedent,” said Clerk-Treasurer Reed.

Christmas in Flinton

“Is Christmas coming already?” said Helen Yanch as Council considered a request from the Flinton Recreation Club to put up a tree in front of the Flinton Recreation Centre/township office.

The rec. club will pay all the costs and, in the words of club director, Joel Hasler, “We assure you that every precaution will be taken to keep the tree up safely for the duration of the Christmas season.”

Council approved the request.