(absent: Councillors Robinson, Schjerning, Sleeth, and CAO Orr)

By-Law enforcement: Neighbour’s Livestock

Trevor Piat of Harrowsmith spoke of his neighbour’s increasing number (currently 6 or 7) of horses on a three-acre residential lot. The horses frequently cross into Piat’s garden, causing damage and posing a danger to his small children. Previous appeals to the Township for enforcement of the livestock by-law have had no result. Council agreed to have the by-law officer look into the problem, and they also discussed the dual responsibility of neighbours to maintain boundary fences.

Unassumed Roads

In response to a request from Council for a listing of all unassumed roads in the Township and a process that could be used for assuming some of them, Public Works Manager Segsworth said the information was not readily available, for many of the Township’s over 600 private lanes traverse portions of unopened road allowances. To establish a process for identifying all these roads and following through on locating, and having them upgraded then assumed, “would be a significant undertaking for staff, and there would be other initiatives that will be delayed.”

Process to Redesignate Land from Rural to Agricultural

As requested, Planner (and acting CAO) Mills outlined the somewhat lengthy process to redesignate rural land to agricultural on the land use schedule. He noted that if the subject land is in Soil Class 1, 2 or 3, the redesignation was unlikely to be supported by the province unless the landowner wished to have the change made.

Water Access To Canoe Lake from James Wilson Road

In August, James Campbell applied for three severances for waterfront lots on Canoe Lake, accessed from James Wilson Road. A number of residents have expressed concern about a beach area that has been in common use for many years. Although the area in question is part of the James Wilson Road allowance, the exact boundaries are a matter of local dispute. Council recommended that the area be surveyed, the road allowance be widened and the boundaries be clearly delineated. Should this not provide adequate public access to the water, the fall-back position would be to ask for designated parkland instead of cash-in-lieu as a condition of severance.

Portland Heritage Society

Deputy Mayor McDougall reported that the open hours for the new Museum have been irregular, but at Christmas there will be a celebration week, followed by a regular schedule of open hours.

Next Meeting

There will be no Council meeting Sept 29: Tuesday October 06 will be the next meeting of Council.

North Frontenac to go slow on new office project

North Frontenac Council has deferred consideration of a report prepared by Councilor Denis Bedard, which presented a number of options to deal with the working conditions in the township office complex on Road 506 between Ardoch and Plevna.

The report was the subject of a public meeting on August 31 as well as numerous written responses from constituents that were included in the agenda package for the regular meeting of Council on Monday, September 21.

Of five options mentioned in the report, only three are being considered by Council. They range in price from just over $500,000 to renovate the existing building, to $900,000 to renovate and build an addition to the existing building, to $1.63 million to build a new 5,000 square foot office at another site and renovate the existing building for use by the Public Works department. Half of the current building is already used by Public Works as a garage.

Although it is the most expensive option, the plan to build at a new site is favoured by the fact that there are water problems at the existing site. A report that was prepared eight years ago indicates that treating the water at the existing site would be an expensive option in the long term. Of four companies contacted, only one was willing to quote on the job.

“The water is basically untreatable and there would be no guarantee with any of our systems” said one of the companies.

The township has received 50 written comments from members of the public over the past two weeks, most of them expressing opposition to building a new office because of the cost and resulting impact on property taxes.

“I was surprised at the very strong opposition to spending $1.5 million. In view of those comments, I am certainly not willing to make a recommendation to go ahead at this meeting,” said Councilor John Inglis.

Mayor Ron Higgins said he had not expected Council to move quickly on the project.

“At this point all we are looking for is to defer this to the budget,” he said. “The message we need to get to the public is that we are not making a decision at this time.”

Deputy Mayor Fred Perry said it might be an idea to look again at treating the water at the existing site.

“We did that study eight years ago. Maybe the technology for treating water has improved in that time?” he said.

Corey Klatt, the manager of Community Development, prepared the water report eight years ago. He said that he could contact the same companies again to see if there have been any changes.

The matter was then deferred to the budget process of 2016, which will get underway sometime this fall.

SunEdison comes calling

Utilia Amaral, Managing Director, Strategic Affairs, and Jonathan Frank, Director, Business Development, from SunEdison Canada, spoke to Council at the invitation of Mayor Higgins about the potential for a large scale solar farm in the township.

SunEdison Canada is a division of SunEdison, which Amala described as the largest solar energy company in the world, with $5 billion in market capitalization, 5,000 employees, and 1 gigawatt of energy in operation at 800 sites worldwide.

She said that now that the deadline has passed for the first phase of the Independent Energy Service Operator of Ontario (IESO) Large Renewable Projects procurement, there is time to start looking at projects for the second procurement, which will likely be initiated in the middle of next year.

Although Sun Edison has been involved in some of the smaller rooftop or ground mounted solar projects that are common in the region under the Feed in Tariff (FIT) program, Jonathan Frank said, “Our main interest is in the larger projects. We have built one 90 megawatt project and several in the 40 megawatt range. The economies of scale make those projects more viable for us.”

Utilia Amali said that one of the advantages she sees in North Frontenac is the access to the electrical grid that has been offered by Hydro One.

The hydro corridor, which runs though North Frontenac practically in sight of the township office, has been allotted 170 megawatts in capacity from projects along its path, which has piqued the company's interest. She also said that the amount of sun in the region, although it is less than in the Napanee to Brockville strip just north of the 401 where many solar projects have been built in recent years, is still viable for solar power production.

“The problem I see that we need to overcome is the amount of trees on the land and the terrain,” she said.

“We were thinking about using some land that was cleared for farming and is no long being used for that purpose,” said Mayor Higgins.

“If you could gather some information for us about potential locations, that would be helpful,” said Amali.

In terms of the amount of land that is required, Jonathan Frank said it takes about seven acres of solar panels for every megawatt of solar production.

Community Hall Governance

Based on a change coming from the township's insurance company, council is no longer required to approve the membership of the local committees that handle booking and maintenance of the five community halls, although staff will still keep a list.

“If we don't need to be involved, we shouldn't be involved,” said Councilor John Inglis.

Since it will be the next meeting before a change can be made, Council was still required to deal with a request from the Snow Road Hall committee.

On September 2, at a special meeting at the hall, “it was acknowledged that the president and the board term of office ended” said a letter from Fred Fowler to the township. The letter goes on to say that at the meeting, which was moderated by Alice Gilchrist, the following people were nominated to form an interim board: Fred Fowler and Robert Quigley, Laurie Ryder, and Connie Halliday. A new board will be elected at a meeting of the hall membership on October 21.

Council approved the new list of names to manage the operations of the Snow Road Community Centre. By the time the new board is elected in October, they may not have to.  

New public works manager appointed

Council passed a motion officially appointing a new public works manager. John Badgley will be taking on the role that was left vacant back on June 16, 2015 following the township’s decision to sever its contract with former works manager/CAO James Zimmerman.

Since that time council has been working without a CAO. In the interim Kyle Labbett took on the role of public works coordinator along with his regular post of waste management supervisor and Steve Reynolds has been working as the public works supervisor. The only background information that came forth at Tuesday’s meeting is that Badgley will be soon be arriving from outside of Ontario.

Request for assistance to repairs of Big Gull Lake boat ramp denied

Last month, Central Frontenac made a request of North Frontenac to help with repairs to the boat ramp at Big Gull Lake. When the matter was brought up in North Frontenac the request was denied. In a subsequent letter explaining the denial, the reasons given were budget pressures from a number of other boat launches in North Frontenac that also require repairs. Councilor Bill MacDonald proposed sending a letter to North Frontenac staff requesting that they provide assistance in the future. Councilor Cindy Kelsey agreed and suggested sending a letter requesting North Frontenac’s financial support in their 2017 budget, since it is mostly North Frontenac residents who use the boat launch. She also pointed out the fact that as it is now, the boat launch poses a safety threat to snowmobilers.

Councilor Brent Cameron then said that “In fairness we need to revisit this at a point in time where their financial pressures are not as great as they are right now.”

Council agreed and Mayor Smith said that she would write the letter requesting that the Township of North Frontenac agree to pay their fair share in the future.

Swim Program Recommendations discussed

After reading the 2015 summer swim program report, Councilor Tom Dewey suggested providing the instructors with a second floating dock at Long Lake. In the report the swim instructors said that they were frustrated by having to daily move the existing dock there from deep to shallow waters in order to accommodate their young swimmers. Council passed a motion that included staff looking into the costs of meeting the recommendations suggested in the report. One hundred and nineteen young swimmers participated in the program

Three road allowances to be further investigated by staff

Council passed a motion regarding three separate requests for road allowance closures, requesting that staff look at the viability of those closures and the value of the cost of the lands prior to holding any formal public meetings. The closures include applications by Miller, Burbridge and Thompson.

Friends of Arden propose a memorial garden in Arden

Terry Kennedy, on behalf of the Friends of Arden, and Sarah Hale, on behalf of the Kennebec and District Historical Society, with the additional support of the Kennebec Recreation Committee, asked for township support to create a memorial garden to commemorate residents who have significantly contributed to the Arden community.

The proposed 0.12 acre site would be located on a small piece of township property across from the Arden mill pond. The proponents requested that the township approach Quinte Conservation; that staff provide an estimated 30 loads of fill for the project (at a cost of $4700); and that the proposed site receive routine township maintenance. Lastly, they asked that in recognition of work undertaken by residents, the township issue tax receipts to residents for their contributions to the project. Council passed the motion in support of the project but pointed out that legally they are not able to issue the requested tax receipts. Kennedy said that the initial phase of the project would involve the leveling and filling of the site and that this phase required the most support from council. After that Kennedy said that much of the work and expenses would be donated by members of the local community. The next step will be for the Arden residents to seek approval from Quinte Conservation.

Upcoming 40 year anniversary for the Frontenac Community Arena

Councilor Brent Cameron brought to council’s attention the upcoming planned celebrations in 2016 for the 40th anniversary of the Frontenac Community Arena.

A crowd was gathered outside the Denbigh Hall at 7pm on Monday night as a regular meeting of Addington Highlands Council was getting underway. They had been in the hall earlier for the performance of a new song by the Pickled Chicken String Band about the Wind Turbine Protest.

“We came here to show the council that we are not going away,” said Alice Madigan, a member of BEARAT (Bon Echo Area Residents Against Turbines)

The protesters remained outside the building as the meeting got underway. The turbine issue was not on the agenda.

Weslemkoon building project faces roadblocks

Valerie Peverly came to Council to see if a building permit she took out in 2007 could be reinstated. She explained that she and her husband obtained the permit with the intention of having a cottage built on a water access lot they own on the lake. They have an existing cottage on an adjacent lot and intended to build a new one. The project stalled, however, because the sawmill that her husband, Robert Peverly, operates in Peterborough, burned down that summer. As they focused on getting a new sawmill built, Robert also suffered knee problems, and required several operations over five years, culminating in knee replacements.

“I only tell you this to explain that we did not intend to delay this building project, but the circumstances did not allow us to do so until now,” she said to Council.

“We hear what you are saying and we sympathize,” said Reeve Hogg, “but the regulations have changed since 2006 and the permit is no longer valid.”

The circumstances are complicated by the fact that a minor variance that was granted at the time because of the location of the proposed building has also expired.

Valerie Peverly said that she has already submitted an application for a new septic permit and officials from Kingston Frontenac Public Health have been out to the property and are satisfied that they can issue one.

Doubt was then cast on the Peverlys' chances of obtaining a minor variance and subsequently a building permit when David Munday, a lawyer from Cunningham Swan representing a neighbouring property owner, also appeared before Council as a delegate. He said that when it comes to minimum setbacks from a water body, the key issue in the pending minor variance application is not only setback from the lake but also setback from a lowland/swamp on the Peverly property.

“The township's Official Plan talks about a 30-metre setback from any water body. Not to make too fine a point, we expect the township to follow its Official Plan in this case,” Munday said.

He also said that Weslemkoon Lake has been designated by the Province of Ontario as a Trout Sensitive Lake, pushing the setback for construction up to 100 metres.

Council received the Peverly and Munday presentations for information.

Trail or road, Council stays out of it

Mark Mieske, from the north shore of Ashby Lake, came to talk about a trail/road on his property that he has blocked off with rocks. At the previous meeting of council on September 7, a delegation came to Council complaining about the blocked road, which they said was a road that has been used for 40 years to access the lake and hunting opportunities.

Council did not take any action on Sept. 7.

Mieske brought pictures of the road, which he said was built in 1972 and had not had more than $500 worth of gravel applied since then.

“There is legal access to the lake through the public road, and this road, which is not a road but a path that can only be crossed by ATVs, is located entirely on my land,” said Mieske.

“There is nothing for us to do about this. As far as I can see, it is a civil matter,” said Councilor Bill Cox.

ATV bylaw

In response to requests from Mark Freeburn and the Napanee and District ATV club, the township will prepare a bylaw for the next meeting to permit 2 seater ATVs access to township roads.

“This will not effect Hwy. 41, which is controlled by the MTO, or County Road 29, just Addington Highland's roads,” said Reeve Hogg.

Former fire hall not available for storage

In response to a request from Andy Anderson to store materials for the Flinton Jamboree in the now abandoned Northbrook fire hall building, Councilor Cox said, “Aren't we trying to get rid of that building? This would be going backward, I think.”

Council voted to deny the request.

Hartington Subdivision Proposal

Council brought forward a deferred motion to forward the planning reports of June 24 and September 04 concerning this proposal, along with all related correspondence and the Township’s preliminary comments, to the County of Frontenac.

Councillor Revill suggested an amendment which would state that Council still has serious concerns about the proposal, and will comment further once the developer and Malroz respond to questions raised by the citizens’ consultant McIntosh Perry.

Councillor Sutherland asked about the 13-lot counter-proposal mentioned in some of the correspondence: planner Mills said the original large proposal was the one officially being discussed, until the Township receives formal information otherwise from the development’s planner. The amended motion was carried.

Solar Projects

A motion proposed by Councillor Sleeth concerning future solar projects was deferred until Sleeth could be present.

Council approved a motion of support for a FIT solar project at 3090 Forest Road, south of Sydenham.

Revised Official Plan

Council accepted the final draft of the Township’s revised Official Plan, as presented by Planner Mills. This version is the result of considerable discussion and public consultation over the past several months. It will now go to the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing for final approval.

Septic Re-Inspection Program

Council endorsed the Corporate Services Committee’s recommendation that staff be directed to investigate the feasibility and implications of septic re-inspection options and report back to Council.

Councillor Barr said that if requirements to have tanks pumped every 2 to 4 years should be recommended, there might not be enough resources in the Township to deal with the demand. However, it was noted that prior to developing any specific policies, consultation would need to take place with numerous other stakeholders including residents, associations, septic haulers and installers.

Bellrock Village Revitalization

Council approved Public Works Manager Segsworth’s recommendation to acquire two small pieces of property in Bellrock, in order to facilitate road realignment and improve drainage. Revitalization work has begun in Bellrock.

Sydenham Point Shoreline Restoration

Deputy Mayor McDougall reported that there will be accessibility issues to be dealt with at the same time as the shoreline restoration is carried out. Timing of the project is still uncertain.

Syrian Refugee Crisis

Council agreed with the Association of Ontario Municipalities’ suggestion that all Ontario municipalities donate $100 to Lifeline Syria to aid in resettling Syrian refugees.

Welcome to New Staff Member

CAO Orr introduced Sherry Corneil, who has joined the Township staff as Human Resources/Legislative Compliance Officer.

Fireworks at the Cottage

Council recently changed the noise by-law in order to restrict fireworks to certain summer holiday weekends (at cottagers’ requests). Three letters were received in response to this restriction, expressing great disappointment at the change, citing the authors’ enjoyment of the tradition of summer-long fireworks at Bob’s Lake. Responded Councillor Roberts: “Guess you just can’t win.”

Are We Perhaps Trying to Move Too Quickly?

Councillor Schjerning suggested that the recently updated fencing by-law be even further updated, to change its all-Imperial measurements to Metric…

Revised Subdivision Proposal Questioned

Speaking on behalf of a number of the residents of Hartington, Michelle Foxton noted that FOTENN Planning’s current proposal for a much smaller development situated within the hamlet of Hartington appeared to be “an unmodified northern portion of the original proposal.” None of the outstanding water concerns had been addressed. Referring to a report/review by McIntosh Perry Consulting Engineers, which had been commissioned by the community, Foxton listed seven unresolved issues all relating to questions about water quality and quantity. She asked to see the response from Maroz Engineering (the company that did a peer review of the developer’s hydrogeological report on behalf of the Township), when it becomes available.

Mayor Vandewal replied that Council was presently holding back from commenting until they had the Malroz reply. Deputy Mayor McDougall agreed, and complimented Foxton on her community’s work, telling her not to be discouraged.

Sleeth said he was dismayed that Council did not seem to be getting good information; Vandewal said “You could hire ten consultants and get ten different opinions.” Foxton commented; “Perhaps there’s a gap between the information that comes in, and how it is interpreted to Council.”

Charlie LaFarge reviewed the history of the Hartington area’s land zoning slide from Prime Agricultural in 1997 to its present designation of Rural. He asked “what was the process that led to this change?” He also listed concerns about surface water flooding, citing current problems in the area, and described the proposed subdivision layout as “looking like wartime housing.”

Planner Mills then reviewed the comments from the public meeting about the subdivision, held July 7th. He summarized the concerns into four main areas: 1) water quality and quantity; 2) flooding and drainage; 3) effect on farming; 4) lot frontage and aesthetics. He said there were too many lingering questions about the hydrogeology for the report to be forwarded to the County at this time.

Mayor Vandewal said that the public comments could all be forwarded to County for their records: Council did not have to make their recommendation at the same time. CAO Orr said he needed direction from Council, or he would have to bring the issue back every meeting. Councillor Revill made a notice of motion to come to the next Council meeting, recommending the current information and comments be forwarded to the County planning department. “I don’t think anything’s going to happen too quickly on this,” said Vandewal.

Wetlands, Waterbodies, Wells and Granny Suites

Mills presented a review of comments both from the public and Council concerning the Township’s updates of the Official Plan. After discussion of several details, Council agreed the revised plan should come forward to a Council Meeting.

Proposed Procedural By-Law for Council

Fortunately for all, Council agreed not to open discussion on this very detailed 22 page document tonight. Councilors will, within two weeks, each submit a list of the clauses they wish to address. These will be collated, and the results will come back to Council in October for a decision on how to proceed from there.

Want to become more involved?

Deputy Mayor McDougall announced that the County has dissolved their Sustainability and Trails Committees, and are replacing them with a new Community Development Committee, which is seeking applicants to become “Sustainability Stewards”. Further information is on the SF Township’s web page, and the deadline is Sept 11.

CF Council supports Elizabeth Street reconstruction

Council passed a motion at the regular council meeting supporting the proposed reconstruction of Elizabeth Street in Sharbot Lake as “a priority project” by authorizing staff to submit a letter expressing their interest in the Ontario Community Infrastructure Fund (OCIF) in the amount of $2,300,000. The reconstruction project, which was started in 2010, has been dormant for a number of years. The project includes a new storm sewage system as well as other changes that will “improve parking congestion, traffic flow, pedestrian safety as well encouraging economic growth.” By approving the expression of interest, council will be taking responsibility for project costs in excess of $2 million.

Speed Limit reductions approved and signage in place

Council passed a motion approving a speed limit reduction on Long Lake Road near the public beach where the speed will be reduced from 80km/hour to 60km/hour. An earlier motion approved by council reduced the speed limit on Road 38 near the Granite Ridge Education Centre from 50km/hour to 40 km/hour and new signage is now in place there.

Failed Tax Sale Policy draft review

Treasurer J. Michael McGovern fielded questions from council regarding a new RFP process that will enable staff to “put failed tax sale properties out to the public to determine an accurate value and in doing so, put the property back into an active status.” Currently when a tax sale fails, department heads decide whether to either vest or write off part of the taxes and re-list the property. McGovern's report states that while staff have had some success and some failures in writing off the taxes and re-listing a property, they have found that determining an accurate price can be difficult without outside assistance. The new policy aims to “return properties to a state where taxes are collected on a regular basis.”

Council supports county's Gap Analysis Study

In an effort to address and identify infrastructure and equipment requirements necessary to establish a county-wide communications system, the County of Frontenac in 2013 approved setting aside $25,000 in their 2014 budget for a propagation study for radio communications on behalf of the four lower tier townships. This resulted from concerns raised by the various townships' CAOs, and their fire and public works departments, who all agreed that a more effective and efficient communications system was needed to protect the safety of residents. They identified the way forward with the need for a study analysing the gaps in the communications systems. The four municipalities are aiming to each approve the study and have the issue placed on the county's September agenda.

Council approves Shared IT and GIS Services agreement

In April 2015 the Frontenac CAOs prepared and presented a report to their councils of a shared services model of which IT and GIS services were examined. The report states that though Central Frontenac is unique in that it already possesses a qualified and combined IT manager/GIS technician and 911 coordinator, the other townships have either contracted out the services or in the the case of North Frontenac, provided it in house. Currently the CAOs are proposing that the county become the service provider for the four local municipalities at no incremental cost. A shared service model has been developed, with the cost to be shared between the four municipalities. The shared services agreement aims to “see the benefits of a comprehensive management approach to IT and GIS services.”

Private E. Badour of the 20th Battalion to be focus of special Remembrance Day Video project

Council granted permission to John Stuart, manager of community relations with the Family and Childrens Services of Frontenac Lennox and Addington to film inside Oso hall, where the name of Private E. Badour of Sharbot Lake is listed on its memorial wall. Private E. Badour was a soldier killed during the Battle of Passchendaele in 1917 and has no known grave.

October 2015 is proclaimed “Public Library Month”

Council supported a request from the Kingston Frontenac Public Library to officially proclaim October 2015 as Public Library Month. The purpose is to raise awareness of the valuable role that libraries play in Canadians' lives.

There has been persistent opposition from a number of Denbigh residents as well as the group BEARAT (Bon Echo Area Residents Against Turbines) before and after Addington Highlands Council decided to support the bids by RES Canada and NextEra for wind generation contracts.

Reeve Henry Hogg, who has expressed his support for the projects ever since they first surfaced in early March of this year, has been the target of much criticism from the opposition groups, including Paul Isaacs, a Denbigh resident who has launched a public call for the Denbigh ward to secede from Addington Highlands entirely.

In the end, with Council deadlocked at two, it was Hogg who settled all three votes on the matter, each time by supporting wind power in Addington Highlands. Through it all, Reeve Hogg has said little about his own reasons for supporting the project.

“I was in a position of presiding over a process,” he said early this week in a telephone interview, “and not in a position to express my opinion except when I ended up having to vote on the motions that came forward”.

At the first presentation to Council in March by NextEra, Hogg was inclined to support the proposal on the spot, which is something he now says “may have been premature.”

For one thing, delaying acceptance resulted in a significant increase in the “community vibrancy fund” that the township will receive if either company succeeds in the bidding process and ends up putting up turbines in the township.

As well, the township ended up doing research on turbines, talking to other municipalities where both NextEra and RES have constructed and are running projects, attended presentations by the companies, and heard from the public.

“None of that has changed my view about the turbines,” said Hogg. “I felt they were good for the township from the start and I still feel that way.”

Hogg said that he has not only served as reeve of Addington Highlands for many years, but has lived and worked in Ward 1 of the township for 40 years. "I was the only member of council from Ward 1 who has made his living and raised our family in Ward 1".

One of the critiques of the decision to support the turbine companies was that the Ward 2 politicians out-voted the local Ward 1 politicians who opposed them, but Hogg takes exception to that argument, because with him the majority of Council comes from Ward 1, which is slightly less populated than Ward 2.

“When you look at Highway 41 north of Bon Echo and see the number of businesses that are boarded up, restaurants that are closed, it tells you that the local economy could not sustain them,” he said. “Even if there are only a few jobs created by this, a few is better than none.”

He related that what the research township staff has done and the information he received from other municipalities indicate that turbines don't cause either adverse health effects or a drop in property values and have been of net benefit to the local economies wherever they are located.

“We looked at these things; we had our staff do research and this is what they found,” he said. “Some of the people who are against it are saying it will harm our tourism base and the pristine wilderness. We don't have a tourism base; we never have. We do have cottages, of course, and they are crucial to us keeping anything going at all, but that isn't tourism. We also don't have pristine wilderness; everything was logged in what is now Addington Highlands 200 years ago.”

He said that most of the opposition is based on people not wanting to see turbines, even at a distance, from their property or their township.

“To me, people come up with arguments against them mainly because they don't want to see them. We had the same reaction when we wanted to bring an eco-lodge to Skootamatta Lake a number of years ago. But in this case, they can go ahead even without our approval, and if they do go ahead, I want to be on the inside instead of on the outside looking in.”

And far as the process that council went through before passing a motion of support, he said that he never talked to any of the council members before the vote about what they were planning.

“I didn't think that was appropriate, but I kind of knew the way four of the five of us were going to vote.”

He does admit, however, that the opposition to turbines caught him by surprise.

“When RES first came here in 2008, nobody said a word against it, and when we put it in our Official Plan, nobody said anything, so I was not ready for what has happened, but then again there are 4,600 permanent and seasonal residents in the township and we have only heard from 50 to 100 people against this. When I look down the road at the long-term needs of Addington Highlands, I see this as a potential benefit if it goes ahead. Nothing I have heard has made me think any differently about it.”  

Township to assume maintenance of Norcan Lake Lanejon

Council approved, in principle, a request made to Council to assume three-season maintenance on Norcan Lake Lane

Norcan Lake Lane is a municipally-owned, privately maintained three-season road and the residents submitted a petition to request that North Frontenac assume the maintenance.

“It's being used by more than the residents,” Councilor Dennis Bedard said. “It's being used by a large number of the public who access our services. Why should we be asking the residents to pay the cost of maintenance when it's our public people using the facilities?”

Councilors Hermer, Inglis, and Bedard argued in support of the idea of assuming the maintenance.

“The landowners have been very co-operative,” Councilor Inglis said. “They've answered all the detailed requirements about why we would assume a road. One thing I don't know and I think we should find out is what the cost to the township will be. We should support this and begin maintenance on a 3-season basis.”

“I disagree. I won't back it,” Councilor Good said. “We've got too many rough roads to maintain and we're having a hard enough time doing that as it is with our budget…I think the previous council made a mistake doing one; I disagreed with that and that was on a sneaky basis that the previous council did that.”

Council debated whether or not the road needed to have a new engineering study before they could assume the responsibility on it.

“If they're going to do an engineering study they might as well start with a lot of the roads we have now that we do maintain,” Councilor Bedard joked.

In this case a new study was not ordered as the township already recognizes Norcan Lake Lane as a 3-season road.

Councilor Wayne Good requested a recorded vote on the motion. Councilor Good and Deputy Mayor Perry both voted against assuming the maintenance on the road but were defeated 5-2. The 3-season maintenance would be assumed at the beginning of 2016 if the road meets all the requirements of the public works manager.

A request was also made to assume the road maintenance on Norcan Lake Lane for four seasons. The residents that made the proposal would need to do an independent engineering study, paid for by the residents and approved by the public works manager, before the township could look at approving the request.

NF Council says no to paying for Big Gull Lake boat ramp upgrades

Council voted against supporting the new construction of two boat ramps on Big Gull Lake. The Township of Central Frontenac asked that North Frontenac cover 50% of the expenses associated with the construction of two new pre-cast concrete boat launches on Big Gull Lake to be located in the Township of Central Frontenac.

Council denied the request for their 2016 budget deliberations on the basis that they already have boat launches on the lake and that they should be investing in infrastructure upgrades in North Frontenac and not Central Frontenac.

“I'd rather see us put money into our own boat launches than into somebody else's,” Councilor Wayne Good said.

“I'm in favour of what Councilor Good says,” Mayor Ron Higgins said. “We're going to have our own fiscal challenges this budget...”

Township looking at purchasing speed spy

Council discussed the idea of purchasing a Speed Spy to use in the Township. A Speed Spy is a portable, data-collecting box that can monitor traffic speeds and times of traffic peaks.

“The OPP suggested we buy one of these to prove we have a speeding problem in our hamlets,” Councilor Martin said.

“I don't believe we should spend taxpayers’ money buying equipment to aid police enforcement,” Councilor Hermer said. “We already pay them enough money now. We contract them to make sure people are safe.”

Councilor Martin asked Jim Phillips if the Speed Spy could be of use to the public works manager.

“It gives you the speed, the number of cars, and the time they went through,” Councilor Martin said.

“It is for traffic volumes,” Phillips said. “That would be useful.”

“We can monitor the number of visitors in the seasons,” Mayor Higgins said. “There's a bunch of different things we can use this for.”

Public Works Manager Jim Phillips is going to do some research into the device and report back to Council.

At a special public meeting hosted by the Township of Central Frontenac at Oso Hall on Tuesday, September 1, Peter Young and Anne Marie Young from Frontenac County made a presentation to a small group of Central Frontenac residents regarding expanding the township's community improvement plan (CIP).

Councilors Jamie Riddell and Victor Heese pushed for a geographical expansion of the program at a council meeting back in April.

The plan aims to encourage and stimulate economic development by making grants and loans available to business and home owners for facade improvements, accessibility enhancements, and business start up funding.

Currently the funding from the plan is available only to businesses and home owners that fall within the boundaries of the hamlet of Sharbot Lake.

The total available funding for the program was set at $80,000 and to date just over $46,000 has been spent, leaving $33,000 remaining. Peter Young outlined possible options to expand the program by including the hamlets of Arden, Mountain Grove and Parham or making the funding available to residents across the entire township.

The public who attended the meeting suggested that it should be expanded to include the entire township. With the limited funds left in the pot, Anne Marie Young suggested other potential changes to the current plan that could include prioritizing funding for businesses only, reducing the total maximum funding to $2,500 per project, reducing the pay-back period for loans to three years from five.

Input from the meeting will be taken back to council, who will then discuss and revise the plan. It will be up to the township to change the by-law in order implement the changes, a process that could take a number of months.

For more information about the township's Community Improvement Plan visit the township's website at www.centralfrontenac.com