A colonial reminder

Mayor Vandewal opened the meeting by acknowledging that on September 9, Queen Elizabeth will become the longest-reigning Sovereign of Canada. Council has proclaimed Wednesday, Sept 9 to be a day of celebration in Her Majesty’s honour.

Proposed Mandatory Peer Reviews for All Developments

Councillor Sleeth had made a notice of motion that; “Council require peer reviews of all technical studies for all developments.”

In a report , CAO Orr detailed a number of reasons why the motion, as worded, is far too broad and might lead to unintended consequences. He recommended the motion be deferred until a more thorough policy could be developed. Sleeth agreed, adding a time frame of 60 days for the revised motion to come back to Council. Councillor Sutherland suggested the County and CRCA should be asked for their input to the policy. Council agreed, and deferred the motion.

Classification of Agricultural Land

Council agreed with a notice of motion proposed by Councillor Sutherland, directing staff to ask the Ministry of Food and Agriculture why the area of class 1 agricultural land between Boyce Road, Petworth Road, Road 38 and Watson Road was zoned rural rather than agricultural. The motion also asked the Planning Department to explain how Council could rezone rural land to agricultural. (Mayor Vandewal suggested that there were other parcels of land in the township that this could apply to: Sutherland agreed, but said these could perhaps be identified and dealt with at a later date, rather than delay addressing the Hartington issue.) The motion was seconded and passed.

Corporate Communications and Service Level

Councillor Schjerning spoke to his notice of motion to direct staff to develop a policy which would standardize staff responses to inquiries (ie, the computerized equivalent of designing township stationery to be used in all staff communications, and a policy setting optimum response times to queries.) Council referred the matter to the Corporate Services Committee.

Ontario Community Infrastructure Fund (OCIF)

Public Works Manager Segsworth proposed that reconstruction of the Sunbury Road be submitted for OCIF funding under the recently announced second round (deadline Sept 11). This surface treated road is part of the 401 EDR, and needs reconstruction to be able to withstand the very heavy traffic loads demanded of an emergency detour. The project is estimated at $5,000,000, with the Township’s share of 10%.

Lease Renewed

Council agreed to renew the Frontenac Society of Model Engineers’ five-year lease of the overflow parking lot of the Battersea ball diamond, with additional permission for the group to construct a 10’x40’ storage facility (resembling an old-time railway station) to house their model railway equipment.

Unsanctioned Outdoor Music Events

Council responded to complaints about amplified public concerts advertised to be held on the site of the annual Loughborough Lake Guitar Festival (which is sanctioned by Council) at other times of the year. They will ask the by-law officer to investigate and take appropriate action.

County’s 150th Celebrations Deemed a Big Success

Council congratulated the County for throwing a well-attended three-day party in Harrowsmith’s Centennial Park last weekend. South Frontenac’s Public Works Department was praised for their excellent work in upgrading and preparing the park for the event.

September Meeting Schedule

There will be no COW meeting on Sept 29, the fifth Tuesday in the month.

At a hastily organized second public meeting to discuss a proposed 13 megawatt solar power project in close proximity to Inverary, representatives from Canadian Solar Solutions faced angry local residents.

Originally Canadian Solar had planned a single public meeting for the project, on Monday August 17 at the Invista Centre on Gardiners Road in Kingston. Since the Invista Centre is located a significant distance from the site of the project, and in a different municipality, a second meeting in Sydenham, at the meeting room in the public library, was convened on August 19. The second meeting also used a question and answer format, whereas the first had been set up as a Open House.

The project is sponsored by Suncorps as well as Canadian Solar, and Dillon Consulting has been hired for technical support. Representatives from all three companies were on hand.

Many members of the audience were carrying yellow signs calling for the project to be abandoned, and when the questioning began the tone was angry and sometimes aggressive.

The project is set to be located on two sites. The northwest corner of one of the larger properties is at the junction of Perth Road and Davidson Road. It extends south and west towards Holmes Road, and the second property is located to the west, on Davidson Road near the junction with Latimer Road.

There are 15 or so abutting properties to the lots that are proposed for the solar farms and those particular property owners were well represented at the meeting.

One of the first questions had to do with location.

“My wife and I, we understand about solar energy and the need for it, but why here? Why are you doing it right here where there is a major road and people are moving in all the time, and there is farming going on? Why here?” asked one man.

Tyler Balding from Canadian Solar, said that the reason his company, and a number of others, are developing proposals in the South Frontenac and Rural Kingston area, is that province is pushing for solar power generation in eastern Ontario.

“The province has asked for projects to be built in certain areas. All of northern Ontario is blocked off, and lately they have filtered us further, down to certain areas of eastern Ontario. These two sites that we are looking at are great locations, because of transformer capacity and because they are not classified as farmland but as rural,” said Balding.

A key factor for the proponents is the fact that there is a transformer that borders the large Perth Road/Davidson Road site, and there are high capacity Hydro One lines linking the smaller site to the same transformer.

Members of the audience challenged the assertion that the area is not agricultural. “My family has farmed there for generations,” said one man, “and while we may not be class 1 farmland, it is land that we have improved over generations, and we have worked to improve the land all that time. We make our living by working the land, not covering it up.”

There are seven classes of soil in Ontario and land that falls into class 1-3 is not available for solar farm development.

However, according to a representative from Dillon Consulting, the fact that the Municipality of South Frontenac has gone to the effort of identifying prime agricultural land as part of its Official Plan process over-rides provincial soil classification.

“In this township it is only prime ag lands that are restricted,” said the rep.

The majority of the issues raised had to do with the project being an incursion into a region that has seen steady and increasing residential development over the last 20 years.

“I moved to this community because I love it,” said a resident. “You should have come to see us before going forward with this.”

Council wastes no time in rejecting proposal

Flash forward six days, to Tuesday, August 25. The scene is the South Frontenac Council chambers, just meters away from the library meeting room. Most of the same people are in attendance, but Canadian Solar has a smaller delegation on hand, just two people, one of whom is Tyler Balding. As well, while only Mayor Vandewal attended the meeting in the library last week, the entire Council is at this meeting, sitting around the horseshoe-shaped council table.

The first delegate to address Council was Tyler Balding. In his 10-minute presentation, he said the company had listened to the public and was prepared to increase setbacks, ensure that neighbours were not impacted, and would gladly adhere to any conditions Council put forward in exchange for a motion of support.

After he spoke, the first question from Council came from Councilor Ron Sleeth.

But instead of asking a question, Sleeth put forward a notice of motion that Council reject the proposal out of hand and make that known to the province, the IESO, and other parties.

Council voted to waive the rule that notices of motion are deferred until the next meeting, and then voted unanimously in favour of Sleeth's motion.

Mayor Vandewal then asked if any of the 20 people who were also on the list as delegates, all of whom were going to speak against the proposed solar farm, still wanted to address Council.

A few did, including Mike Phillips, who said that he was told by a Canadian Solar employee that if the project is not supported by him and the township, the company will make no effort to shield his property from the solar panels if the project ends up being approved without municipal support.

“I should point out to everyone that our vote does not mean the project will be rejected by the IESO. We just represent a certain amount of points in the procurement process,” said Mayor Vandewal, “We've done what we can, but it is out of our hands now.”

All told, South Frontenac has supported two solar farm projects under the large scale procurement process; two others were pulled by the applicant; and they have now rejected one. The deadline for applications to the IESO for large scale solar projects is September 1, and a decision is expected in November.

A number of smaller projects under the Feed in Tariff or FIT program have also come before Council in recent months, and they have supported 25 of 26 that came to them.

It has been a long, slow, dance of sorts, but it seems that the County of Frontenac and the Ontario Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing (MMAH) are about to come to terms over the County's first Official Plan.

Joe Gallivan, the Manager of Planning Services for Frontenac County, said on Tuesday that after a lot of meetings, emails and phone conversations, staff at the Ministry of Municipal Affairs “basically get where we are coming from as far as the kind of Official Plan that fits for Frontenac County”.

On several key issues, such as development on private lanes and setbacks for waterfront development, Gallivan said the ministry has allowed for the kind of softer language that will allow Frontenac County to both encourage the kind of development that county residents are looking for and remain within the parameters of the latest Provincial Policy Statement, which is the basis of all planning activities in Ontario.

“There are some issues of wording where I think they are off base or unclear, but most of them are not important enough for our purposes to fight over,” said Gallivan.

For that reason he recommended that Council accept most of the revisions requested by the ministry in their draft response to the Official Plan that was submitted by the County several months ago.

On 18 specific wording changes in the plan, however, Gallivan recommended that Council not make the changes suggested by the MMAH.

These include a number of measures that, in Gallivan's view, do not belong in a regional plan because they refer to specific locations, such as the Village of Sydenham in regards to water systems. These he said would be best left to the discretion of the Township of South Frontenac's own Official Plan.

Other changes are either unclear, or based on false assumptions.

In one case, for example, the MMAH would like the County to make use of the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) database as regards endangered species.

“But we do not have a data sharing agreement with the MNR over that information, so we can't make use of it,” said Gallivan.

While there remain areas of disagreement, Gallivan expressed optimism for the first time in months, that the province will accept a version of the County Official Plan that is acceptable to Frontenac County Council, avoiding a costly and time-consuming appeal to the Ontario Municipal Board.

Once the Official Plan is accepted, it will be County Council, and not the Ministry of Municipal Affairs, that will be the approval body for local township Official Plans.

August 11, 2015

District 4 fire hall contract awarded

Fire Chief Bill Young recommended that council accept the bid by Guy Saumure and Sons Construction Ltd. at a total cost of $694,800 to build a new fire hall on the site of the existing District 4 Fire Hall, which is located on Wagarville Road next to the Parham fair grounds. The bid was the lowest of four received, with the next lowest bid offered by Tarasick Carpentry at just over $800,000. The highest bid was offered by Wemp and Smith Construction Ltd. at just under $970,000. Council accepted Young's recommendation to accept the bid. Although it is $95,000 over the initial budget, the bid provides for an expanded space designed to include a possible library/community space, which was not envisioned at budget time.

Council gives go ahead for Raymo Road fix

With the replacement culverts ready for Raymo Road, Public Works Coordinator Kyle Labbett brought a last minute report to council recommending that council approve his recommendations to award the contract to Crains Construction at a total cost of $346,760. That bid was $30,000 less than the one other bid that was received by the township from Arnott Brothers Construction. Council passed the motion unanimously, leading Labbett to say, “I am very glad to see this day.”

Labbett said that work will begin immediately and that barring any unforeseen circumstances, Raymo Road should be open to limited traffic by Labour Day, with a few touch ups expected after that.

Paving approved for Medical Centre Road and parking lot

Council approved Kyle Labbett's recommendations to have new pavement installed at Medical Centre Road at a cost of $31,000. Labbett said that “this has been something council has been putting off for a while and now is the perfect time to do it” because Thomas Cavanagh will be paving the new bridge section of Road 38. Council approved his recommendations.

Two of three boat ramp replacements approved

Council approved the recommendations by chief building officer Jeremy Neven to award the contract of replacing both the Long Lake and Eagle Lake boat ramps to Crains' Construction at a cost of approximately $23,000 each. Council had approved a capital expenditure during a 2015 budget review for three boat ramp replacements, the third being the Big Gull Lake boat ramp at an estimated $15,000 each. Council will be requesting financial assistance from North Frontenac Township to assist with the cost of replacing the ramp at Big Gull Lake in 2016.

¾ ton truck comes in under cost

Fire Chief Bill Young's recommendation to council to approve the $39,000 bid put in by Braden Ford for the purchase of a ¾ ton truck to replace truck #12 (a 1979 GMC tanker) that is “ past its useful life” was approved by council. The new truck, which will have to be outfitted with lights and sirens, comes in well below the estimated $75,000 cost.

Smiths Falls to deliver fire dispatch communications services in CF

Council approved Bill Young's recommendations that council enter into an agreement with the Corporation of the Town of Smiths Falls to provide fire dispatch communications services at a cost of approximately &13,500 per year. The service has been provided by Kingston Dispatch, who will be increasing their current costs of just under $10,000 per year to over $24,000. In his report Young stated that “fire services have suffered over the years with issues such as poor communication due to dead areas” and incorrect information coming through to township personnel. Young said he anticipates that the new service will rectify those issues and at a cheaper cost.

Council updates by-law allowing greater on road access for ATVs, ORVs and UTVs

Council approved a motion updating their current by-law in accordance with new changes by the province which increases road access for off road vehicles (ORVs), all terrain vehicles (ATVs) and utility terrain vehicles (UTVs). The new bylaw allows two seat ATVs and side by side ORVs on the shoulders of public roads. The law includes requirements that all drivers and passengers wear approved helmets and use seatbelts and foot rests where applicable; that children under the age of 8 not be permitted as passengers on ATVs and ORVs operating on the roads; and that the number of passengers be limited to available seating.

Fate of Parham library remains in limbo

In a letter and report sent by Patrica Enright, chief librarian and CEO of the Kingston Frontenac Public Library to Mayor Frances Smith, a number of issues were raised regarding the proposed options for a future library facility in Parham. The report outlines a number of guidelines designed to “provide an appropriate level of service” for Parham. Due to limited hours of operation and limited circulation at the former Parham branch, and due to the fact that the existing furniture and fixtures at the former branch do not meet current requirements and regulations, the report cited other self-serve options that might better serve the Parham community. These could include lockers or vending machines that would provide 24/7 service to customers, at a cost of $35,000-$40,000. Mayor Frances Smith pointed out that if the community wanted this sort of service, it could be located in the proposed community library space in the new fire hall.

When the matter was discussed by members of council, Councilor Brent Cameron said he was disappointed by the stance that the library board has taken. “I still maintain that one of the reasons that the board is not willing to service this area is because they are putting all of their resources into the larger Kingston area branches”.

Councilor Bill MacDonald, who has sat on the library board for 15 years said that the decisions the board makes, “rely heavily on circulation numbers and that when circulation is low, the board cannot justify certain services”.

Council decided to hold a public meeting regrading the future of the Parham library in the early fall.

Other items

Mayor Frances Smith announced a successful $247,000 grant received by the County of Frontenac Trails Committee as part of the Canada 150 grants to expand the K&P trail from Tichborne to Sharbot Lake.

OPP costs

At a meeting that Mayor Frances Smith attended with staff at the OPP to get clarification regarding the 40% higher costs per household to Central Frontenac residents compared to those in North Frontenac, Mayor Smith reported that part of the costs are a result of higher OPP occurrences in Central Frontenac. She was also advised by OPP staff that residents who have made “mistake or pocket dial 911 calls” need to report them and meet with OPP staff immediately. The mayor also recommended that council set up a police service committee to meet with OPP staff periodically to discuss any issues of concern.

Township hopes to submit plan by mid-September

South Frontenac Council interrupted their summer meeting break to hold a special meeting on Tuesday, August 11. The only item on the agenda was a statutory public meeting to gather input from council and members of the public regarding the township's draft Official Plan, which needs to be reviewed every five years.

The draft plan has already been submitted to the Ministry of Municipal Affairs for comment, and was the subject of an open house in July that drew 50 people. Along with the draft plan, planner Lindsay Mills presented Council with a summary of all the oral comments from the meeting along with a number of written comments he has received, some as late as this week.

He pointed out a number of points of contention between what Council has said they would like to see in the plan and what the ministry is indicating they will accept.

In 2001, with the adoption of the first South Frontenac Official Plan, a limit of three new lots could be subdivided out of an existing lot, and Council has said it wants to increase that to five lots.

“The ministry has indicated they will not accept that but Council wants it to remain so it is still in the plan,” said Mills.

The ministry is also asking for a new provision, that both Mills and Council consider will be a detriment to township residents hoping to develop their properties without providing any improvement to the environment.

That provision is that all development within 120 metres of any body of water will be prohibited unless a full-blown environmental assessment is done.

“I think this is a problem for us. Our current practice is to seek comment from the relevant conservation authority about waterfront development and they essentially do what I would call a scoped study. If they indicate a full-blown study is necessary we require one. If this goes through it will add costs to private landowners that are not necessary and will change the pattern of development in the township,” said Mills.

As well, the ministry is requiring that “all private lanes be 'condominiumised'” said Mills, which he described as a “solution to a problem that does not exist.” Private lanes in South Frontenac are improved every time there is a new lot created on them as part of the approval process, and the township has been providing funding on an annual basis for the improvement of lane ways.

“Emergency vehicles are able to access properties on those lanes, which is what the ministry is concerned with,” Mills added.

Most members of Council had comments and suggestions to add to those from the public regarding the plan.

Councilor Ross Sutherland thought a provision prohibiting privately run common septic and water systems should be softened.

Councilor Ron Sleeth said the township should stand firm on the five lots, saying, “That has been a good model for development in South Frontenac, and is easier and fairer for property owners than a plan of condominium or subdivision.”

When asked by Councilor John McDougall if he will be waiting for Frontenac County to complete their Official Plan before submitting the South Frontenac plan, planner Lindsay Mills said that as far as he is concerned “It is full speed ahead; this has been delayed for too long. If the County OP comes in while this is in process, we will deal with that at the time.”

Members of Council and the public talked about the idea of introducing something in the plan about a “community fit” in addition to the technical requirements for a plan of subdivision.

Mike Keene, a township resident and planner with Fotenn, which is in the midst of developing two subdivisions in the township, said that the township might consider fine tuning the areas designated as hamlets in the township to fit the geography and patterns of development.

At the end of the meeting, CAO Wayne Orr said that a final draft plan will be ready for Council to consider at a Committee of the Whole meeting that is scheduled for September 8. “If that plan is acceptable, we can look at township approval on September 15, or we can put it off until later if Council wishes to do so.”

Once the plan is approved by the township it will go to the Ministry of Municipal Affairs. But the process will not be complete, particularly if, as is likely, the ministry will want further changes.

A complicating factor is that once the Frontenac County Official Plan has been approved by the ministry, the County will replace the ministry as the approving body for township plans

NF Council looking to update offices and public works building

At Monday's meeting, Council reviewed and discussed Councillor Denis Bedard's recent report regarding the options available to update their ageing municipal buildings.

A building assessment report from Greer Galloway in 2014 noted that the North Frontenac municipal office and public works buildings were in rough shape. The report showed that the current buildings lack potable water, accessible bathrooms, accessible council chambers, and that the building requires better insulation and ventilation.

“In terms of health and safety, the interior of the building has experienced moisture infiltration which has created frost, moisture, and mould in sections of the building,” the report stated.

Councillor Bedard, in his report, presented some of the different options North Frontenac has moving forward. These include renovations to insulate and combat the moisture issue as well as elaborate plans to demolish the current buildings and construct new offices and a new public works garage. Of the six plans that Bedard presented Council whittled them down to three ideas that they want to start discussing more thoroughly.

The three options they are looking at are:

1. To renovate the existing building. This would entail removal and replacement of the insulation and vapour barrier in the ceiling and walls as well as the replacement of doors and windows, at an estimated cost of $511,250.

2. To renovate the existing building, same as above, and also add another 1,500 square feet of office space at an estimated cost of $900,000.

3. To renovate the current office building to better suit the public works department and to construct a new building for the municipal offices at an estimated cost of $1,627,500. The former Ministry of Natural Resources building on Buckshot Lake Road was mentioned in the report as a possible location to build the new facility.

Council will be holding a public meeting on August 29 at 10am in the Clar-Mill Fire Hall in Plevna to present and discuss these ideas and to create a dialogue with the community to incorporate into their building plans.

Low-interest loans available to North Frontenac

Robert Keene, a representative from Infrastructure Ontario (IO), made a presentation to Council on Monday morning regarding the different type of loans that could be available to North Frontenac through their loan program.

Infrastructure Ontario is an agency of the provincial government and provides short-term and long-term financing solutions to municipalities at low-interest rates. These loans can be used for most capital expenditures, including new construction or renovations, emergency vehicle purchasing, waste management, and road improvement.

The funding the IO is offering is available to a variety of groups such as municipalities, Aboriginal health centres, long-term care facilities, and housing providers.

IO is offering two different types of loans. One is a “serial” loan where interest is paid out more at the beginning of the loan and then decreases as the term goes on. The other is an “amortizer” loan, which functions much like a mortgage payment. Keene explained that the “amortizer” loan is the one most municipalities use in their programs.

The current interest rate for a five-year loan is 1.43% and 3.12% on a 25-year term. These loans are available through the IO for terms up to 30 years.

In response to a request from North Frontenac Mayor Ron Higgins, Frontenac County Chief Administrative Officer Kelly Pender has produced a report into alternatives to OPP policing for Frontenac municipalities.

At the end of his 15-page report, Pender recommended not spending any more time or money looking into the matter.

“Our recommendation is that this report be received without further action …” reads the concluding sentence.

He said earlier in the report that Council could consider sending an “Expression of Interest” to both the City of Kingston and City of Ottawa police forces to see if either or both are interested in bidding on the service. However, he also advised that if either of them were interested, the County would need to conduct a study to look at all factors related to changing from the OPP to a neighboring municipal force.

That study would cost in the order of $20,000 in Pender's estimation, based on how much the City of Perth spent when they conducted a similar analysis in 2013, and Pender does not see any real benefit to spending that kind of money. All the information he was able to gather indicates that the cost of policing would go up substantially under a municipal force.

After conducting their own analysis, the City of Perth disbanded their own force and opted for a policing contract with the OPP, which brought savings to Perth in the order of $900,000 per year.

Pender also pointed out that municipal forces can only expand their service footprint in a contiguous manner, so in order for North Frontenac, for example, to make use of City of Kingston policing, both Central and South Frontenac would need to do the same,

Earlier in the report, Pender dismissed the idea of establishing an independent Frontenac County Police Force. “…There are significant barriers to entry,” he wrote, “including facilities, vehicles/equipment and communications. No attempt has been made to quantify those costs. Given start-up costs, the option to have a 'Frontenac Police Service' is not likely to be feasible.”

Pender concludes that the best option for Frontenac County is to work through the Association of Municipalities of Ontario to “influence the reform of policing of Ontario in order to address increased costs to rural municipalities such as the four Frontenac Townships.

The context for Pender's look at this issue is a significant increase in policing costs in all four townships that came from a provincially mandated change in municipal funding for the OPP.

The new system was designed to make the funding system clear, when it had been anything but beforehand. It has resulted in large increases for rural and remote townships and decreases for towns such as Perth, Gananoque, and Smiths Falls.

The system is being phased in until 2019, by which time all Frontenac Townships will have seen major increases. The total bill for Frontenac ratepayers will have risen from $3.7 million in 2014, the year before the phase in, to $5.6 million, an increase of almost almost 50%. The raise in North Frontenac is the most dramatic, from $227,976 in 2014 to $845,817 in 2019.

Even then, North Frontenac ratepayers will be paying the lowest per household among Frontenac municipalities, at $203 per household. Central and South Frontenac ratepayers will both be paying around $300 per household at that time.

One of the issues of concern to North Frontenac is the fact that the new funding model considers all households in the same manner, not accounting for the fact that the majority of households in North Frontenac are seasonal residents, who are also paying policing costs where they reside for most of the year, and for the most part only require policing in North Frontenac in the summer months.

Recently the Frontenac OPP, which is housed in Hartington, took over responsibility for the Sharbot Lake detachment, which serves Central and North Frontenac. Historically, Sharbot Lake had been a satellite of the Lanark Detachment.

August 4th 2015 Denbigh Hall

Addington Highlands' Council passed six by-laws on Tuesday night providing support for Nextera Energy and RES Canada in their bids to install industrial wind turbines in the municipality.

To a packed room of local residents, Reeve Henry Hogg, Councilors Bill Cox and Helen Yanch voted in favour of both projects and their updated community vibrancy agreements. Councilors Tony Fritsch and Kirby Thompson voted against them.

Rosemary O'Connor, a local resident, was one of two delegations speaking out at the meeting in opposition to the the proposed wind turbines. She spoke about her frustrations regarding the July 20 meeting at Flinton Hall.

“No way should a decision about such a monumental project as this be made by just three people.”

O'Connor then told Council details about a conversation she had with Hogg regarding the negative impact these turbines might have on the area. During this conversation. she claims Reeve Hogg asked her to “just name me one person who has ever earned a living in Ward 1.”

O'Connor said “At the end of that conversation you [Hogg] inappropriately poked me in the shoulder and said 'if you're so concerned about your property value you can...' and walked away.

“You have lost your perspective. The vibrancy fund has caused you to place money ahead of the people you represent and the land they wish to protect and preserve” O'Connor said.

Paul Isaacs, another local resident, also spoke out against the proposed turbine project and offered the Council a list of reasons as to why they should be considering solar as opposed to the turbines.

He pointed out that solar panels could be mounted on the ground of the existing hydro line corridors and that they would have less environmental impact, bother fewer people, and even last longer.

“To put up a wind farm you have to build a lot of roads, you have to put up a lot of towers, you have to do a lot of blasting, it costs you a lot of money so your vibrancy fund goes down,” he explained suggesting that they could possibly get a larger vibrancy fund from a big solar project.

He then expressed his concerns for the township because of their lack of research done on the projects before making the decision.

The resolutions were then considered

“From my perspective our Council has not done a proper job of dealing with these [turbine] issues,” Councilor Fritsch said before the votes were counted and said he hoped that Council would “take their time and address all the issues, get further community input, and do their homework...”

“I'm still not sold on this,” Councilor Thompson said. “I haven't been given any argument for this.”

Thompson was also frustrated about all the questions they still had regarding the proposals and expressed concern still about the aviation lighting and decommissioning wording in the agreements.

“If the contract is done in 20 years they could still remain in place for another 30 because that's how long the contract is for the landowners.”

Thompson then made a motion to defer the decision until a later date but it was voted down by Councilors Cox, Yanch, and Reeve Hogg.

Council then voted to approve the community vibrancy agreements, municipal resolution of support, and a road use agreement with both Nextera and RES Canada.

The vote on all the motions was the same, 3-2,with Councilors Fritsch and Thompson registering no votes.

Most of the crowd in the packed hall stood up at this point and turned their backs on the council and remained that way for many minutes chanting, “Hey hey ho ho! Hogg must go!”

They then left and the meeting continued on.

Council rejects solar project over timing

South Frontenac Council has been friendly towards industrial solar projects that have come to them in search of support as part of a provincial procurement process that has a deadline of September 1 for final submissions. Not so with a proposal that just came to them this week from energy heavyweights Canadian Solar and Suncorps for a massive solar project on Perth Road and Davidson Road south of Inverary in Storrington District.

The project, which if built would cover almost 100 acres and produce 13 megawatts of power, is located in a part of the township that has seen much residential development recently, and the potential for further development was one of the reasons for council's kick back against the project, a point that was made by Mayor Ron Vandewal immediately after Tyler Balding from Canadian Solar made his preliminary pitch about the project.

“To me this is rather rushed. You haven't spent the time here to get our support,” said Councilor Ross Sutherland.

“We are a little behind the eight ball on this one,” agreed Balding, “but we do have the resources to make this work. We believe this is a project that could be of benefit to the community, and the country, and even humanity.”

Nonetheless, a motion of support for the project did not come forward from Council.

Mayor Vandewal said, “You can still hold your meetings, and submit the project without our support, we can't stop you from doing that, and maybe in the next round if you come back to us earlier on we will look at it, but not now,” said Vandewal.

From the audience, farming advocate Jeff Peters called out, “Back to Alberta with you,” a reference to SunCorps' base in the tar sands and other petroleum-related resources.

In a related matter, Council approved a resolution of support for the Bondfield solar project located on McAdoo and McCallum roads, also in Storrington District,

Modified proposal for Hartington subdivision

Recognizing the controversy over their proposed 47-lot subdivision proposal that straddles Boyce and Petworth Roads, Hartington, Mike Keene from Fotenn consulting presented a new proposal to Council.

The application seeks to create only 13 lots in this stage of the development, all of them located within the hamlet boundaries of Hartington, land which is earmarked for residential development in the township's Official Plan.

Although the road frontage for the lots is still 46 metres, significantly less than the township minimum of 76 metres, Keene said there are 10 other subdivisions in the township where the road frontage is 46 metres or less, setting a precedent for this development.

“We realize that when we came to you last month it was with a large development and there was public opposition. This time we are keeping to the hamlet, and we seek to demonstrate that the subdivision can work well in that location. We will not give up on the other part, but we are only seeking approval for this one at this time,” said Keene.

“I don't see any new information about the water issue. The water issue is paramount as far as I'm concerned,” said Councilor Ron Sleeth. “Water is the lifeblood of society and of all living creatures.”

“I'm not exactly sure what we could say,” said Keene. “We have studies from Malroz Engineering, peer reviewed, and comments from the conservation authority. We'd be pleased to provide more information if we knew what was required,” said Keene.

Keene added that this proposal keeps to the promise of doing a separate hydro geological study for each lot as the project gets going to satisfy concerns over water supply, a measure that is beyond what is required.

“If we went for the 13 lots would that not set a precedent for the rest of the proposal,” said Councilor John McDougall.

“We are only voting on this proposal,” said Mayor Vandewal. “If they come back as they said they plan to do, they start all over again.”

Council is now set to decide on the proposed subdivision at their next regular meeting on September 1.

Peer review of Johnson's Point subdivision Environmental Impact Study

Mike Keene was back before Council later in the meeting, this time to respond to a peer review to an environmental impact study commissioned by another of his clients, who are proposing a subdivision on Johnson's Point, on Long Bay at Loughborough Lake.

The peer review, by Mcintosh Perry, challenged assertions in the assessment done for the project by Ecological Services.

“It is the opinion of McIntosh Perry that the Environmental Impact Assessment report does not sufficiently demonstrate there will be no negative impacts on the natural features or their ecological functions on the subject property as per the requirements of the Provincial Policy Statement,” concluded Jeffrey King, the biologist who conducted the review for McIntosh Perry.

Specific species at risk that are of concern to McIntosh Perry on lands within or adjacent to the proposed subdivision include Blandings Turtles, which were seen on site by King, as well as snapping turtles and grey ratsnakes. Habitat for other species may also be affected, including the Eastern Whip-poor-will, Cerulean Warbler, and Least Bittern.

“It is strongly recommended that the MNR (Ministry of Natural Resources) be consulted prior to any further site alteration to: ensure proposed development does not contravene the Endangered Species Act and its associated regulations; and obtain any necessary approvals or permits required to undertake activities that have the potential for adverse impacts to species at risk and their habitat,” said King.

In his submission, Keen urged Council to wait for the response that he will send to Council in the near future, which, he said, will “address every point that is made in the McIntosh Perry review to the satisfaction of the Cataraqui Conservation Authority and the township ... I am confident that when you see our response you will be in a position to approve the draft development.”

Council did not wait to hear back. They approved a motion by Ross Sutherland to refer the matter immediately to the Ontario MNR. The ministry will be asked to comment on the impact on the provincially significant wetland in the vicinity, as well as the viability of up to a dozen species at risk that may have habitat in the vicinity of Johnson's Point.

Winter maintenance extended to a number of partially maintained roads

Public Works Manager Mark Segsworth said his staff have prepared a comprehensive list of partially maintained public roads in the township and will present a criteria later on for extending winter snow removal to those roads that satisfy specific criteria in terms of condition and use.

In the interim, he said the township could approve extending winter maintenance immediately to those partially maintained roads that include or lead to properties that are now occupied by full time residents.

The cost of the increased maintenance will be $80,000 per year.

Council approved Segworth's proposal, and those who are affected will be contacted by the township so they know not to enter into private maintenance contracts for the coming winter.

Tenders approved

A tender for the reconstruction of the Village of Bellrock was awarded to the lowest bidder, Crains' Construction, at a cost of $1.289 million. The tender for the Massassauga Road culvert was awarded to Arnott Brothers Construction, at a cost of just over $241,000.

Council will meet in special session next Tuesday to talk about the draft Official Plan.

Late last week, Central and North Frontenac townships received word that they are the recipients of grants under the Canada 150 fund.

The largest grant will go to Central Frontenac. They will receive $110,000 towards a library and community centre in Mountain Grove.

“The vibrant and growing community of Mountain Grove will benefit greatly with a new community centre and library, and I am very happy that they received all the funding they requested,” said MP Scott Reid in a press release that came out on Friday, July 31.

The grant will not go towards a brand new building, said Central Frontenac Mayor Frances Smith, but rather to an addition to be built onto the township fire hall in Mountain Grove.

“We had planned to build a 1,000 square foot library branch, but it will likely need to be larger because of accessibility requirements in modern branches,” said Smith, who added that the township will be contacting the board of the Kingston Frontenac Public Library to talk about moving the Mountain Grove branch to a new space.

Among the good news for Central Frontenac is the potential cost savings that will come from closing down the building that currently houses the Mountain Grove branch. The branch is currently located in the former Township of Olden offices, which since they were vacated by the fire department several years ago, are not being used for any other purpose except storage of records. Reduced maintenance costs in the entire building will lead to savings in the municipal budget.

While the new library is not going to be a full-fledged community centre, “It will include meeting space for the public,” said Smith.

The other project that received funding in Frontenac County was the Snow Road Community Centre in North Frontenac. The funding of $23,000 will be combined with $41,000 in funding from the township and $7,000 that was raised locally to make up a $71,000 pool of money for a series of upgrades. The largest of these is the addition of a 15' x 25' vestibule at the front of the building, which will cost $45,000 to build, according to John Kittle of the Snow Road Community Centre .

Kittle worked with Cory Klatt from the township on the grant application, and said the users of the hall, which is now in used over 20 days a month for various events, will make good use of the new entrance and vestibule. The rest of the money will go towards an upgrade to the kitchen as well as a proper air conditioning system for the building.

The Snow Road Community Centre is located in a converted 19th century school house that served the community as a school for over 60 years. There are some current members of the Snow Road Community Centre who attended the original schoolhouse, back in the 1960s

“The integration of historic facilities with the modern community here in North Frontenac is one of the many things that make it such an interesting and wonderful place to live,” said Reid.

Although it was not part of the funding announced this week, the Snow Road Community Centre also announced they are planning a related project for the 150th anniversary of Canada in 2017.

“The community is planning to research, document and showcase the area's history with our heritage schoolhouse as the focal point,” said John Kittle.

The project has already been bolstered by locating a number of photographs from the early 1900s, when Snow Road was more of a commercial hub than it is now.

There are also seven people who use the center today who went to the Snow Road school, and the project will include interviews about their memories of their school days.

The Canada 150 grants were announced on Friday, just two days before the government was dissolved with the calling of an election on October 19. The grant application deadline was in early June. In Scott Reid's now former Lanark Frontenac Lennox and Addington (the new riding is Lanark Frontenac Kingston), grants were also given to projects in the communities of Smiths Falls, Carleton Place, the Town of Perth and Lanark Highlands.

The grant in Perth is going to The Table, a comprehensive community food centre. It will be used to enhance accessibility as well as other upgrades. The amount of The Table grant as well as information about the Lanark Highlands grant were not available this week from Scott Reid's office.