Mayor Vandewal opened the meeting with the announcement that a closed session would follow the regular meeting, to discuss “legal and land issues.”

Proposed Process for Official Plan Adoption

Every five years, the Township’s Official Plan has to be reviewed and brought up to date. In December 2013 the Township Planning Department forwarded a revised draft of the Official Plan to The Ministry of Municipal Affairs for review and comments. This plan contained a number of internal changes and provincially mandated changes. In October 2014, the Ministry returned a number of comments which have now been addressed in the current draft plan. Next steps in the process are: June 2, Council reviews the draft, and on July 13 the public will be invited to an open house presentation of the Current proposed Official Plan. This will be followed on Aug 18 with a public meeting before the final draft comes to Council in early September for adoption, followed by submission to the Ministry for final approval.

Larcon Zoning Amendment

This concerns a proposed lot addition and rezoning of a one hectare parcel of land on the Wilton Road on the southern edge of Harrowsmith. The lot addition would have to be rezoned as industrial to match the already existing industrial zone of the property it will join. Neighbour Pat Lalonde has twice expressed her fear that this industrial property will damage her property value and be incompatible with a residential area. (The stated plan is to eventually enlarge the storage rental business that is on the existing industrial lot.) Planner Mills noted that the Township’s zoning by-law would require a site plan agreement with stipulation for a substantial buffer combining berm and plantings along the road front before any further development could take place on the property.

Mills also recommended that “open storage” be removed from the list of possible uses within urban industrial zoning. Further decision was deferred until it could be confirmed that all the neighbouring residents had received notification of the proposal.

Planning Department Proposal

Planner Mills asked Council’s approval of his intent to set aside blocks of uninterrupted work time. He proposes using Tuesday afternoon, Wednesday morning and Thursday afternoon to concentrate on review and assessment of large projects. CAO Orr supported this idea, saying that staff wanted Council to be aware of this change. Council agreed with Mills’ plan.

Over 700 guests enjoyed the official 100th birthday celebrations at Loughborough Public School on May 1. The celebrations were spread out between LPS and its big sister school, Sydenham High, with events also taking place at Sydenham's Grace Centre. Guests enjoyed student displays and art work and later in the evening they congregated in the high school cafeteria to enjoy a celebratory cake that LPS principal Helen Petersen invited Ginny and John Trousdale to cut. Guests then gathered in the high school gym for speeches by school trustee, Suzanne Ruttan, and school superintendent, Krishna Burra, who brought congratulatory words from the board’s Director Of Education Brenda Hunter. The formal portion of the evening’s events was masterfully emceed by Joel Horton and Abby Pajur and the absolute highlight was the play titled “One Hundred Years of Learning”, which was written and directed by Christine Harvey, and expertly performed by LPS students. Principal Petersen was thrilled with the hundreds of school and community members who came out to help students and staff celebrate what will long be remembered as a very special day in Sydenham's school history.

Ciao Giro Italia! Adios Vuelta a Espana! Au revoir Tour de France! The Tour de South Frontenac Cyclefest is about to take the cycling world by storm.

Well, the goal of the first ever event offered up by the nascent South Frontenac Rides Committee is not to identify the best cyclist in the world, but a more down to earth effort at promoting cycling in the township and introducing four cycling routes that start and finish in the Village of Sydenham. These routes will be featured in the first edition of the South Frontenac cycling route map.

The idea of a family-oriented cycling event to kick off the cycle route mapping project, which has been identified as an inaugural project by the four-month-old committee, was brought forward at a meeting in March.

“I was sceptical about it at first,” said Ross Sutherland, the rookie council member who got the South Frontenac Rides started by calling a meeting in January and now serves as the committee secretary.

“But the committee has 12 active members and they were just really keen. So we tried it and thanks to some really good organizers on the committee we have put together four diverse routes. We are optimistic that it will be a good event, as long as the weather co-operates.”

Running from 10 am to 3 pm on June 7 from the Loughborough Public School parking lot, the Cyclefest includes a skills rodeo, free helmet and bike repair advice, and a free BBQ in addition to the introduction of the cycling routes. There is a 13 km family-friendly route around Sydenham; a scenic Millhaven Creek route that is 35 km long and relatively flat; a more hilly Desert Lake loop (also 35 km.) and a shorter but more adventurous Little Long Lake route, much of which runs over un-paved, un-maintained township roads.

“We have learned a lot about mapping routes by putting these four together, so the event has already brought benefits,” said Sutherland.

So for cyclists of all ages, June 7 is a date to mark on your calendar. In 20 years when the Tour de South Frontenac has become a bucket list event for cyclists to attend, you'll want to say you were at the first one.

Council chose not to report back on the nature of the closed session held prior to the regular meeting.

Waste Disposal Issues

New Tipping Fees at Portland Council approved the schedule of tipping fees associated with the new weigh scale at the Portland waste site. Segsworth said the goal was to set fees that are in line with neighbouring waste sites, to avoid past problems with Township sites having been used for non-SF waste, because of our lower rates.

Beginning July 1st, rates for garbage will now be prorated from a charge of $110 per metric tonne. All waste entering the site will still have to be sorted to divert as much as possible from the landfill. Tires, grass, ashes, brush (residential), metal and flattened cardboard are all free. The base rate for any
amount of garbage up to 200 kg is $20. Councillor Robinson said he doesn’t think it is fair to charge $20, even for just one tagged bag. Councillor Roberts asked why tires are free.

Public Works Manager Mark Segsworth replied “Because tires generate revenue now.”

Commercial businesses who haul brush to Portland will be charged based on truck size, beginning with $50 for a one-ton. Public works does not anticipate revenues to decrease due to charging by weight instead of load.

Garbage and Recycling Collection Contracts Extended

Segsworth recommended that the township’s present contracts with Larmon and Snider be extended for two years, to Aug 2017, in order to allow time to collect hard statistics about the weight of waste being collected in Portland and Loughborough.

He said that he thinks the Township is being well served by the two contractors and the one township employee who do the current collection. Only Deputy Mayor McDougall spoke in favour of a one-year extension, instead of two. Several agreed that even with more accurate figures, the Township’s rate of recycling still will need to improve.

Perth Road fire hall

Councillor Revill said he wants to see the firehall project move forward, but he feels there needs to be more discussion before any particular design is chosen. There was brief discussion of the interrelation of site (not yet chosen) and design, as well as the question of ‘design build” vs beginning with an architect/consultant. CAO Wayne Orr said the matter would soon be coming back to Council.

Strategic Plan

Council approved their new strategic plan with one main addition: they replaced the phrase “being mindful of the need to achieve greater energy efficiencies” with the more specific “helping address climate change by improving energy efficiency and supporting renewable power generation.”

Shoreline Restoration and Enhancement (?) at the Point

Council approved the shoreline restoration project as presented, with the addition of a contained upland sand area and less  pebble beach area, using pebbles that are as small and smooth as possible.

Deputy Mayor McDougall said, “I’m ok with the shoreline restoration, but I can’t call it enhancement: it doesn’t do much to make the Point park more attractive.”

In informal discussion after the meeting, McDougall said, “We need an overall, longrange plan for making the point a place that the community can be proud of.” He, Councillor Schjerning and Public Works Manager Segsworth agreed that, while shoreline stabilization is urgent, the present piecemeal
approach to upgrading separate bits of the park is not the best way to move forward.

Students at staff and Loughborough Public School in Sydenham have been busy gearing up to celebrate their school's 100th anniversary. The celebrations will take place on Friday, May 1 from 4-8 p.m. with events taking place at Loughborough P.S., Sydenham High School and the Grace Centre.

A number of displays of students' work will be set up in the foyer at LPS and the school's Spirit Store will also be on site offering up a selection of LPS logo and crest-bearing spirit gear, including lanyards, t-shirts, scarves, school supplies, bracelets and more. The LPS school mascot, Leo the Lion, will also be making a special appearance. For those requiring a meal, the LPS school council will be putting on a barbeque at Sydenham High School and there will be a raffle with a number of prizes donated by local businesses and individuals, including a gas barbeque, travel accessories, and a number of gift certificates courtesy of Trousdale's General Store. An old-fashioned photo booth will be set up and those wanting a historic pic will be able to don period costumes.

Next door, at Sydenham High School, there will an anniversary cake cutting at 6:15 p.m., followed by speeches by School Board Trustee, Suzanne Ruttan, and School Superintendent, Krishna Burra.

Then at 7 p.m. LPS students from grades 5-8 will perform a play titled “One Hundred Years of Learning”, written and directed by Christine Harvey. The play is made up of a number of vignettes including skits, songs and dances. It hearkens back to the area's first native inhabitants and covers the history of the Sydenham community and the school.

A number of events will also be taking place at Sydenham's Grace Centre, including an art show by LPS students in the main hall. Students from the grade7/8 challenge program will be offering up tours of the community garden that they are growing there, and which will provide fresh vegetables and other produce to the local food bank and to seniors at Sydenham's retirement residence.

Loughborough Public School has a unique history. Originally built in 1915, it has undergone two major expansions since that time, the most recent in 1993 when a new library, entrance way and new classrooms were constructed, which brought an end to its outdoor portables. The school has received awards. In 2002/2003 it was named the Associate School of the Year by Queen's University. It has also birthed a number of unique programs, including its annual Girls Active Living and Sports (GALS) conference, which was recognized by none other than Oprah Winfrey.

Helen Peterson, who has been principal at the school for the last four years, and taught there for five years, is thrilled to be a part of the school 100th anniversary celebrations. “This is a unique opportunity for students, staff and the entire community to celebrate 100 years of teaching and learning at Loughborough. Many of our students have parents and grand parents who went to this school and its great for our students to see, understand and celebrate how the school has changed so dramatically and adapted so well over the last one hundred years. In 1915 education looked very different to what it has become today and that history represents something interesting for students to learn about and understand."

When Grace United Church in Sydenham closed several years ago, it left the future of the former church building, a large stone hall, in question. It could have become a private home or apartments or a commercial space. Instead, it was leased and is now owned by Southern Frontenac Community Services (SFCSC).

The agency’s original intention was to divide the space up into offices. They stripped out the interior furnishings, removed the sloped floor, and realized that what was left was much too amazing to be lost. At the urging of the board, particularly chair Joan Cameron, Don Votary was hired to oversee the restoration. He repaired the original wainscoting and floor, insulated and painted the walls. He kept local artist Ole Jonassen’s 1950’s painting (directly on the back plaster wall) of the road into Bethlehem.

Although the primary use of the hall was and is day programming for seniors and various community groups, SFCS offered some local artists the opportunity to use the hall for local arts and cultural events. This became Grace Arts, a volunteer committee which hosts art exhibitions and live performances in Grace Hall.

Grace Arts is the public face of a volunteer committee of Southern Frontenac Community Services (SFCS) which hosts art exhibitions and live performances in Grace Hall, Sydenham. The committee includes representatives from across South Frontenac Township. Their mandate is “to recommend and organize uses of Grace Hall which celebrate, promote and support the diversity of creative expression in our South/Central Frontenac community.”

The hall opened with an afternoon variety concert that included a choir, vocal soloists, a poet, a composer/pianist, a country gospel singer, a folk singer and a harmonica solo. Since then a number of local artists: painters, paper-makers, photographers have hung their work on the walls, and have come to discuss their creative processes. There have been evening performances of song, storytelling and instrumental music.

If you would like to showcase your painting or other visual art, for further information please contact:

Hanna Back, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 613-372-5240 and Rose Stewart, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 613-372-3656

For music, poetry, storytelling, drama travelogue or something not on this list, contact either of the above or Nona Mariotti, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for further information.

We need volunteers to help with occasional tasks, such as putting up posters, helping with event set-up or take-down, or acting as events-greeters.

Many events are free or by donation. When admission is charged, it is to pay the performers: profits are earmarked toward upgrading the hall’s facilities. Better lighting, acoustics, and perhaps a moveable stage are all on the wish list. Whenever a group donates a portion of their services to programming needs of SFCSC, that event is advertised as a fundraiser.

Strategic Plan

Consultant Rob Woods presented a draft strategic plan distilled from his meetings with council and staff, and information received from recent public meetings. Woods said the most complex issue was that of growth and development, which requires a clear plan of the types of development that are desirable and where they should be located.

Development needs to acknowledge the importance of agriculture, be sensitive to environmental concerns, and be consistent with “quality rural/small-urban lifestyles,” he said.

Some comments from Council: SF’s “unique identity’ is not fully explained and references to the environment are weak, but acknowledgement of the importance of agriculture is good, and overall the process of creating the plan was positive and well-organized. A full text of the draft is available on the Township website.

Annual Waste Site Reports

Guy LaPorte of Aecon submitted a brief illustrated annual report on the township’s waste disposal sites: his charts showed no increase in recycling over the past three years.

Public Works Manager Mark Segsworth said, “I beg to differ about Mr Laport’s comments in relation to diversion: the recycling numbers are hard numbers, (for they are weighed when they arrive in Kingston), and cannot be directly compared to the landfill numbers which are based on estimates.” Segsworth will bring his report on the present state of waste diversion to the next Council meeting. LaPorte had no comment. Later in the evening, Councillor Sleeth drew on his agricultural experience to comment that he felt parts of the waste site report had been “full of heifer dust.”

Waste Collection Contracts

Contractor Percy Snider was present to answer questions from Council, but none were asked. Segsworth said he had met with both Snider and Larmon, and felt he had a good working relationship with them, and they are providing a good level of service. He said he would be recommending extending their contract for one more year: “We are working toward developing a more consistent program. At present it appears that tendering by weight may not be as fair as tendering by numbers of households after all, as the nature of waste materials is beginning to change: newspaper and glass are being replaced by lighter materials.”

Additional Solar Proposal

Utilia Amaral of SunEdison briefly informed Council of a 205 acre site her company was proposing for a second solar project. It’s located on the Rodney Wallace property at the corner of Alton Road and Road 38, just north of Harrowsmith.

Dog Tags

CAO Orr asked whether Council wished to enforce the sale of dog tags by door to door followup with known dog owners. Given the amount of discussion this question had engendered in previous years, the present Council showed a remarkable lack of interest in further pursuing the sale of dog tags.

Onward with Oregon Orange

In spite of additional cost and difficulties getting tender submissions for specially coloured trucks for the Township fleet, Council agreed to keep the distinctive orange colour.

Sandhill Cemetery

Councillor Sleeth reported a number of concerns about the caretaking of Sandhill Cemetery near Battersea. He said stones had fallen, brush was not removed, and mowing was carelessly done. CAO Orr agreed to follow up with the contractor.

Karen Smith, Guider, 1st Sydenham Guides

The 1st Sydenham Girl Guides also recently participated in a local clean up of the shoreline area around The Point in Sydenham as part of the Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup and in advance of Earth Week. With the support of South Frontenac Township, which supplied bags and gloves, the Guides collected four bags of recyclable items and six bags of garbage. The Guides encourage everyone to do their part to help keep their community clean and help protect our common environment.

On April 11 the 1st Sydenham Sparks, Brownies and Guides had a successful Cookie Campaign and sold out! Thank you to the Foodland, the One Stop and everyone that supported GGC Cookie Day 2015.

The new kings of old-time music.

The Grace Centre in Sydenham is presenting the olde tyme music and modern showmanship of Sheesham and Lotus and Son this Saturday.

The trio are just back from touring Denmark and the UK to rave reviews. They are described as “dynamic and entertaining, a surprise and a delight; one of the most popular old-time and roots acts in North America”. They began as a fiddle and banjo duo, but soon added a variety of instruments and touches of vaudeville and old-time music hall to their performances.

The core duo of the band, Teilhard Frost (Sheesham), and Sam Allison (Lotus), first got together as part of a band called Flapjack. During tours with Flapjack they found they had a common love of Appalachian tunes and vaudeville, and by the time the band was winding down, they were ready to form Sheesham and Lotus. They have played all across Canada, including at the Blues Skies Music Festival, Millrace Festival of Traditional Folk Music, Summerfolk, Mariposa, Northern Lights Festival Boreal, Lunenburg Folk Harbour Festival, Barrie Folk, Little Slocan Valley Fest, Cree Fest (Kasheshawan, On), Champlain Valley Folk Fest, (V.T.), Shelter Valley Folk Fest, and the Winnipeg Folk Fest. They have acted as host to the main stage at both Peterborough Folk festival and Shelter Valley. In January 2010 they held a two-week residence at Queens University Faculty of Education, teaching harmonica, step dance, and square dance to teacher candidates. They have played theatres and concert venues all across Canada, coast to coast.

The newcomer to the band is Son Sanderson, who fills out the banjo and fiddle sound with the sousaphone and occasionally the French Horn.

This is a show not to be missed by lovers of music in the Sydenham area and beyond.

The show will take place on Saturday April 25, 7:30 pm at the Grace Hall, Stagecoach Road, Sydenham; $12 advance, $15 at door. For information call the Grace Centre at 613-376-6477. Grace Centre is a fully accessible venue.

The regular meeting convened slightly late, due to a closed session with the Township solicitor, re the Johnston Point developer’s appeal to OMB.

Auditor’s Report

In his spoken report to Council, auditor Howard Allan softened what seemed to be a somewhat critical report, describing most of the issues addressed in detail as ‘housekeeping’.

These included comments about adherence to the township's procurement policy. In two cases, the purchase of gravel and an equipment rental contract, more than $25,000 was spent on an item that was 'sole sourced' and the transactoin was not then recorded in the minutes of a council meeting, which Allan said should always happen in the future. He expressed concern over reconciliation of items such as bag tag sales, building permit and development charges and tonnage charges at landfills.

As well, he pointed to long standing un-funded cost of $471,000 for Sydenham that the township is hoping to cover with future development within the village. Allan recommends that since this will likely not be settled within this term of Council, it should be financed in some way as the township looks at water rates and long term capital plans for the water system.

Allan said that, despite the issues he highlighted, over all 2014 had been a good year for the Township; “We believe the financial management at the township is very good: operations are breaking even and revenues are coming in for capital projects.”

However, the province is introducing a new indicator called ‘asset consumption ratio’ which advises a municipality to be setting aside sufficient capital reserves to be able to comfortably address the accumulated amortization of infrastructure as it ages. South Frontenac’s capital reserves for this purpose presently are almost 9% (slightly lower than the previous three years), while 20% is suggested to be a more appropriate figure.

To address this, Allan recommended drawing up a ten-year financial plan, something the township is much closer to having now than ever before. He praised Treasurer Fragnito and CAO Orr for their excellent work. Mayor Vandewal agreed that the Township “has been very well served by its staff.”

Larcon Rezoning Application

Planner Mills recommended rezoning in the southern edge of Harrowsmith, which would combine two applications dealing with the same property: a lot addition which would enlarge an existing industrial lot where a storage business is located, and a severance to create a residential lot with reduced frontage. Pat LaLonde, a resident who lives across the road from the property in question, expressed concern that the expansion of the industrial property would result in the filling of a drainage ditch, and would lower her property value by introducing storage lockers right across the road from her home.

Mills explained that there was a 20 metre setback from the front property line, and emphasized that the Official Plan encouraged industrial development in hamlet areas.

Later in the meeting, Councillor Revill requested the final reading of the rezoning by-law be deferred until the planner had an opportunity to make recommendations about berms or plantings to shield industrial activities on the property. Mills said he would meet with Ms LaLonde to discuss what combination of set-back and berm might allay some of her concerns. The motion was deferred.

Johnston Point

Councillor Sleeth brought back his notice of motion to have an independent peer review of the environmental study on the Johnson Point subdivision, but asked to remove the requirement that the developer cover the cost of this. At Mayor Vandewal’s suggestion, he replaced it with the requirement that if the cost of the peer review came above $3.000 it should come back to Council for approval. The motion passed.

Councillor Sutherland’s information report about Johnson Point which had been distributed to councillors April 14, was included in the Agenda material, to go on record. It includes a county map that chractersizes the entire bay which is next to Johnston Point as a wetland, and quotes section 5-2-10 from the OP which quite clearly requires a Lake Impact Assessment, and makes no mention of trout lakes.

Light from Communication Towers

Councillor Robinson said he had had complaints from Colebrook Road residents about the bright flashes of light from the new tower on Highway 38. Orr said this was outside Township control: these lights are mandated by the Province for aviation safety.

Death and Taxes

Treasurer Fragnito sought Council’s approval to cover the Cemetery 2013 & 14 deficits of $28,427 from Township’s cemetery lot addition reserves. When asked why cemetery rates could not be raised instead of using taxes to subsidize the cemeteries, CAO Orr said the deficit is as high as it is, because sales of burial plots dropped off when the rates were raised two years ago.

“Eventually, people will have to start purchasing plots again, and the situation will begin to rectify itself,” he said.