Renewable Energy Proposals:

Council heard a presentation at Committee of the Whole from Jeff Allan of First Ontario Energy Inc, a company that is proposing to construct three or four large solar farms in the township. He said these installments are quiet, shielded from public view by well-maintained tree buffers (initial plantings must be 60% of total mature growth), set back a minimum of 20 meters from any neighboring residential property. The initial construction will provide short-term local employment. Provisions would be put in place to return the land to its original state at the end of the project’s 20-year lifespan.

This project is still in the early stages: Mayor Davison reminded Council they would likely get proposals from other developers.

Later in the meeting, Planner Mills showed maps highlighting township-owned properties where there is potential for the township to develop its own energy projects, either alone or in partnership, as a source of municipal revenue. Mills emphasized that it was coincidental that the two presentations came to Council on the same night. There was minimal discussion, as neither presentation required a decision. CAO Orr suggested Council might wish to develop a process for dealing with further similar proposals.

Ontario Parks Expropriation of Township Lands:

In late 2012, representatives of Ontario Parks approached the township planning department about acquiring all the township unopened road allowances that abut Frontenac Park. They have the right to expropriate these lands, but would be expected to pay fair market value: the township by-laws have established prices for sale of unopened road allowances. The price of road allowances lying within 300 feet of water is $2.41/square foot: bush-land is $0.21/square foot. Initial assessment shows the area of land in question would be just over 1,000,000 square feet: Parks is expected to come forward with an expropriation proposal some time this spring. Mayor Davison questioned whether the parks had ever purchased the many township road allowances that run through the park’s interior.

Canada Post Mailbox Assessment:

Canada Post will be conducting safety assessments on roadside rural mailboxes on RR#1 Hartington and RR#1&2, Sydenham some time in the next two weeks. When a mailbox is deemed to be in a location that compromises the safety of the mail carrier, the Canada Post team will try to find a nearby location that will be acceptable.

Portland Landfill Manager Resigns

Councilor Robinson said he wanted to make it clear that his wife had not been fired, but had chosen to resign from her position as manager of the Portland landfill site. Mayor Davison thanked Councilor Robinson and his family for their 21 years of service.

“Is that a sport, getting your mail?”

Councilor Robinson said that the land where the Harrowsmith mailboxes are located was originally donated to the township on the understanding that the property was to be used for sports, only. “Does that mean that Canada Day activities cannot be held there?” asked Mayor Davison. CAO Orr has agreed to check the wording of the deed.

South Frontenac receives fire report 

Fire Hall Study Report Lynn Quann, of Emergency Management and Training Inc. summarized the findings and recommendations of a four-month study of South Frontenac’s Fire and Rescue services and equipment. This had been commissioned by Council as an aid to budget planning.

Quann complimented the fire department on the quality of their training which met both Ontario Fire Marshall and Health And Safety standards, and on the excellent quality and maintenance of both vehicles and equipment.

He recommended the fire department develop a strategic plan, including goals and objectives, for the next five years, using information from the Township’s 2013 growth study. Although a large section of the report reviewed the conditions of the fire halls and outlined recommended repairs and upgrades, Councillor Vandewal commented “I was pleasantly surprised the facilities were not as badly off as I’d feared.” The report called for more time (the equivalent of one full-time employee) to be spent on fire prevention and public education. Recruitment and staffing is an ongoing issue for all volunteer fire departments: South Frontenac is no different, with a low number of firefighters at three of the least busy firehalls.

In summary, Quann said “Your volunteers are truly dedicated to the community they serve, and your Council, CAO and Chief are sincerely committed to ensuring the safety of the community and the firefighters of SF.”

Rideau Heritage Route Tourism Association:

AnnMarie Forcier of the RHRTA described some of the ways the Township could benefit from connecting with this association, which serves to link communities, events and tourist attractions in the general area of the Rideau Canal and neighbouring districts. She distributed maps and tourist guides, which feature hiking, biking and paddling trails. More information is available on the website www.rideauheritageroute.ca.

Official Plan Review

Planner Lindsay Mills asked Council’s direction concerning three outstanding issues where Council differs from the recommendations of the Ministry of Municipal Affairs. Council agreed to: 1) Support the proposal to permit five severances from a lot that existed in 2000, using information from the recent Growth Study done earlier this year. This study justifies the need to allow some continued development in the rural areas of the township. 2) Permit development of waterfront lots on private lanes, as long as these lanes have been constructed to the minimum standards required by the township, to allow access by emergency vehicles. 3) To not extend the boundaries of Sydenham Village, until it can be clearly shown that the water treatment plant has capacity to serve an enlarged area.

The updated Plan will be brought to a public meeting, before going to Council for draft approval, then forwarded to the Province for review and final approval.

Trailers: if we’ve warned you once...

In 2004,a bylaw was passed prohibiting the use or keeping of a trailer on any property other than a trailer park. Those already existing were to be removed or licensed until 2010, by which time they would all have to be removed. In 2009 this deadline was extended to 2015. In 2005,169 trailers were licensed: in 2013 that number has dropped to 94. However, CAO Orr reports that the Township has received indications that there are an increasing number of unlicensed trailers, and that old trailers have been replaced with new ones, contrary to the Township’s rules.

Council agreed to look at budgeting funds to pay for a new inventory of trailers presently in South Frontenac, so the Council in 2015 will have full information when they face the task of removing all trailers that year.

Who Owns the Desert Lake Causeway?

A lengthy letter from the Desert Lake Property Owners’ Association raised questions about the ownership and management of the causeway at Desert Lake, particularly in relation to the public’s use of the causeway for recreation and the associated risks and liabilities. Planner Mills reported that he has been advised by the township solicitor that the township does not own the causeway: it is “unpatented land owned by the Provincial crown’, and as such, falls under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Natural Resources. Council agreed that they should take a leadership role in connecting the MNR with the the lake association, to address the association’s concerns.

Fate of Parham Library still Unknown

In a verbal report to council regarding the fate of the Parham Library, Central Frontenac's chief building officer, Jeremy Neven, reported that moving the library portable to township property as a temporary solution and ensuring that it has adequate washrooms facilities could likely impose a cost of close to $40,000. He said a similar project cost North Frontenac Township $38,000.

This opened up a storm of disagreement among councilors after it was established that moving the portable to the Parham fire hall was not an option since there are not adequate washroom and parking facilities there.

Asked if it would be possible to rent the current facility from the school board in the interim, Cathy MacMunn replied that she was continuing to look into that as a possible option. Mayor Gutowski strongly opposed putting money into moving the portable to township property at this time. “We do not have anything allocated in the budget for this move. I am very sorry to say this but I think we have to face the music. I don't think this is viable and don't see it as the best use of our taxpayers' dollars.” Councilor Norm Guntensperger put forth a motion to use the Piccadilly hall as a temporary location until other arrangements can be made. “That is what I see as the most cost effective option at this time. The Piccadilly hall is under used and is equipped with the required facilities so it would be a win/win situation. If we opt to lose the library now, we will likely never get it back,” he said.

Councilor Tom Dewey agreed. “A move to Piccadilly would be the cheapest and easiest way to deal with the situation right now.” Further discussion about how much use the library would get in Piccadilly and the resulting non-use of that hall for other functions were other issues raised.

Councilor Frances Smith said that a move to Piccadilly might result in less use of the library but said that council should continue to look into other possible options, like renting space elsewhere. “I think we need to keep investigating this,” she said. A final motion put forth to move the library temporarily to the Piccadilly hall was defeated, leaving the fate of the library still undecided.

New Ad Hoc committee to review township hall usage and rentals fees

Much discussion followed a report by Jeremy Neven outlining the structure of costs and rental fees for the six community halls in the township. The halls' rental fees, which range from $40 to $110/day and $5 per hour in some cases, are often free for non-profit community groups. The cost of operating the halls after fees are paid is close to $30,000. Neven suggested four options in his report: 1) keep the existing rates and accept the revenue shortfall 2) close one or more of the halls 3) increase rental fees or 4) introduce cancellation fees.

It was finally decided that more information was needed before overhauling the halls' fee structure. “These places are the hearts of our communities and we need to discuss this with the public before making a final decision on this”, said Mayor Gutowski. She then suggested creating an ad hoc committee made up of councilors and representatives from the various rec committees and other community group users to discuss the issues and to bring a report back to staff. Jeff Matson, Norm Guntensperger, Wayne Millar and the mayor all volunteered to be part of the committee.

Council tables budget until County passes theirs

Following a presentation to council by Vicki Leakey of KMPG of Kingston, in which she reviewed the township's financial statements and gave a brief auditor's report, CF Treasurer Michael McGovern outlined the adjustments made to the operating budget. There were $150,000 in cuts matched by additional items added to allow for the council's goal of a 2.5% tax rate increase.

Following a few minor adjustments to those cuts, Councilor Tom Dewey asked McGovern how the budget might be affected by the fact that the County has yet to set their budget. “When we know the County rates, we will make our own adjustments accordingly,” McGovern replied.

Councilor Frances Smith did not like the idea of rushing to pass the budget. “If the County rate goes down, we could opt for a 1.5% rate increase instead of 2.5% . I see no reason to rush this through. I think we should wait another month”, she said. McGovern did not agree. “I'd like to move forward with this now because the asset management plan will take 4-6 months to get together.”

When the final motion was read, Councilor Smith suggested tabling the budget approval until the next meeting, adding, “I strongly believe that if there are savings at the County level, they should be passed along to the taxpayers instead of trying to add more projects. A 2.5% increase is a lot of money when you are only bringing in $1,000 a month.” When the final motion was read council decided to table the budget until County passed theirs.

Council approves a 50% increase in By law and Animal Enforcement fees

A motion was passed to re-hire the company Frontenac Municipal Law Enforcement to take care of animal control and by-law enforcement in the township. Company representative Ken Gilpin appeared before council and responded to queries about why his fees have increased by close to 50%. He responded that his fees have remained the same since 1997 and the increase reflected the higher costs of doing business. Council agreed to rehire the company for another year.

Frontenac County Council met for over five hours on March 8 to work through their 2013 budget, and they devoted most of their regularly scheduled meeting on March 20 to the same topic.

Finally, after cutting another position, a part-time finance clerk ($24,000), and making a number of other cuts, it seemed like it was time to vote. Overall county spending was slated to be up by 5%, to over $40 million from $38 million in 2012, but because most of those costs are covered by payments from the Province of Ontario and the City of Kingston for ambulance and long term care services the county provides to Kingston residents, the amount to be paid by county taxpayers (about $8.25 million) was actually down marginally from 2012, - 0.34% Nonetheless, when the votes were all counted, the budget was defeated by 6 votes to 3.

For the record the draft budget was supported by both representatives from Central Frontenac, Mayor Janet Gutowski and John Purdon, as well as John Inglis from North Frontenac, and No votes came from North Frontenac Mayor Bud Clayton, David Jones and Mayor Dennis Doyle from Frontenac Islands, and John McDougall and Mayor Gary Davison from South Frontenac (Davison has 2 votes because he is the mayor of the largest township)

In one of the few other items on the agenda, Council disbanded their finance committee and approved the establishment of a Committee of the Whole, although how and when the Committee of the Whole will meet has not been established.

Although it was not clear until the vote took place that the budget was not going to pass, there were indications earlier in the meeting that certain members of the council were not happy with the direction the budget was taking.

“We see actual spending from last year and then we see that staff are asking for more than that, so we say cut the budget. And every time we do that we are told we can't do it. Are they saying we should just sign the check and be quiet?” said Gary Davison early in the meeting.

“We ran a surplus last year of $250,000 and now we can't drop the budget. That's nonsense,” said David Jones.

For her part, Warden Gutowski wondered what council was really after.

“Council asked for a line by line budget instead of giving clear direction to staff. And now some of you don't like the numbers you are seeing,” she said.

Although the budget document as a whole was rejected, three items received pre-approval: the $2 million re-build of the Frontenac Auditorium at the Fairmount Home/County offices complex in Glenburnie; the building of a new ambulance base in North/Central Frontenac; and cutting a 12-hour shift from the Palace Road ambulance base in Kingston.

When contacted later, Warden Gutowski said she did not know what the six members of Council who voted against the budget are looking for.

“Before the vote I asked if anyone wanted to look further at any part of the budget, and no one put up their hand. So I called the vote, and it went down. I can see no direction coming from that vote, so we’ll just have to see what happens at our next meeting. I have no plans to call any additional meetings.”

County Council meets on April 17.

Frontenac County Council had poked and prodded at their 2013 budget for a couple of months, and they had managed to get it to the point where county ratepayers would be paying no more than they did last year. The requisition to the townships was down by 0.34%.

To get to this point, both Chief Administrative Officer Liz Savill and Treasurer Marian VanBruinessen had been told they could not hire extra staff to run their offices, as they had been requesting.

So, in a sense it is not surprising that Warden Gutowski asked Council to pass the budget last week. The County needs to tell all of its funders, which include the City of Kingston and the Government of Ontario, as well as the four Frontenac townships, how much money to send in this year.

But the vote was lost, soundly, 6-3.

What does that mean?

At the very least it means that the Council must meet again, sooner rather than later, and must find some way to decide which budget items need to be reviewed, and what changes need to be made in order for at least two votes to switch from no to yes. The clock is ticking and we are already into the second quarter of the year.

What happened last week was, in part, another demonstration of the disconnect between the warden and the majority of Council. Only two of the other seven council members (as mayor of South Frontenac, Gary Davison has 2 votes) were willing to stand with her and support the budget.

More significant however, is the fact that in comments throughout the budget process and in the vote as well, council demonstrated a lack of faith in the material presented to them by the county treasurer. In particular, Councilor Jones from Frontenac Islands talked repeatedly about staff “squirreling away funds to reserves” and at one point last week Mayor Davison commented “Are they telling us we should just be quiet and sign the cheque?”

Marion VanBruinessen has been the County Treasurer since municipal amalgamation in 1998, and CAO Liz Savill has also been in place since then. For members of council to feel comfortable making these kinds of statements in open council meetings, in front of all of the county managers and the media as well, is more than a breach of decorum.

When a Council openly questions the motives of their most senior staff, you have to start wondering where this is all going. Council has to know that they do not have a complete understanding of the numbers, and if at the same time they do not trust the people who are providing them with those numbers, what are they going to base their decisions upon?

I have never sat on a municipal council, but I have been on a number of boards for not-for-profit corporations that receive public funding. I know that as a board member, as long as I have a basic faith in the integrity and the competence of the senior people in the organisation, the burden of responsibility for spending public funds rests lightly on my shoulders. If that faith wavers, that burden becomes a heavy one.

In spite of all the rhetoric, as extreme as it has been, I'm not sure that Frontenac County is quite at that point

Early this week, I interviewed Dennis Doyle, the mayor of Frontenac Islands and one of the major voices of dissent on County Council. I asked him what he is looking for in the county budget. I asked him how much of a cut he wanted to see in county taxes. Was it 3%? 5%?

He said his concern was not so much with taxes but with the overall operating costs of the County, whether those costs are covered by local taxes or by other levels of government. In particular he is concerned about the increases in operating costs at Fairmount Home, the land ambulance service, and county administration. He also said there is an urgency to address this in 2013 because it is the third year of this council's mandate, and next year will be an election year.

After two years of attempting to make some real change in the direction of county finances, Doyle feels that this is the year that this council will either make its mark or will fail to do so.

That explains, at least from his point of view, why the majority of council are willing to confront the warden, the CAO and the treasurer. Doyle feels, rightly or wrongly, that it costs more to do things in Frontenac County than it does elsewhere, and he wants that addressed, both in the budget and in a subsequent debate about the size and uses of reserve funds by Frontenac County.

The question is, are there any real savings to be found in county operations, and if so, where are they?

But given the state of relations between the players at the county table, there is a more basic problem to be solved. An equilibrium must be found, respect must be re-established; there must be a level of trust between the Council as a whole and the senior staff.

Once lost, trust can be harder to find than savings.

County  Transportation Master Plan

The County of Lennox and Addington will be holding a Public Information Centre on their Transportation Master Plan. The purpose of the meeting is to present and gain public input on the master plan and consultation process; traffic data and analysis; existing conditions; problems and opportunities; and the next steps in the study. It will be held on Monday September 23 at the Northbrook Lions Hall from 5 to 7pm.

Dropbox for tax payments

The township will be installing a secure dropbox for residents to drop off their tax payments at the new Addington Highlands Community Centre in Denbigh.

Ontario Municipal Energy Plan program

Council approved a motion to hire Posterity Consulting Group to prepare an application for Ontario's MEP (Municipal Energy Plan) program, a voluntary program designed to help municipalities better understand their local energy needs and conservation opportunities, set goals and develop implementation plans. Posterity Consulting has already been hired to conduct the mandatory reporting required for the township under the Green Energy Act's Ontario Reg. 397/11 (Energy Conservation and Demand Management Plans). The cost to develop the application for the MEP will be under $3000. If the township is approved for funding, the province would contribute 50% or up to a maximum of $90,000 towards developing the plan.

Ruttan’s bridge

Council approved a motion to sign a contract to enter into an agreement with the province to do construction on Ruttan’s bridge. The township will be receiving a grant for the work

Council Slams County Official Plan

In a five-page report that was received by South Frontenac Council on Tuesday night, Sept. 17, Mills praised the general layout of the County OP, which was authored by Joe Gallivan, the Manager of Sustainability Planning with Frontenac County. “The draft plan is well laid out … each section and subsection includes an introduction that explains the intent of each policy that flows from it … Also the document explains at the start that its policies are structured on the basis of six sustainability themes, namely: economic sustainability, growth management, community building, housing and social services, heritage and culture, and environmental sustainability. These six themes appear to be logical as a general basis on which to accommodate future growth and needs of residents … Joe Gallivan should be commended for his work on the Plan." Once he had finished praising Joe Gallivan, Mills set out a series of concerns he had with the plan. Mills said that while the County OP explains that it is intended to be a “high-level” regional plan, “in reality, under the present wording, the document is exactly the opposite.” He said that the policies in the OP are much too “intrusive into the decision-making authority of the municipalities.” He uses the example of the definition of agricultural land in the document. Regarding agricultural land, it lists every possible use that may be permitted on the lands. Secondary uses such as carpentry, welding, machine and small engine repair shops are listed. Mills says this level of detail has no place in the document. “The Plan should provide the introduction that explains the intent of the section and then simply state that ‘municipalities shall ensure that agriculture and the farming community are supported and protected’ or wording with a similar intent,” Mills wrote. Mills also expressed concerns over language used in the Daft OP, words such as "shall", "will", "permitted", etc., words that cause Mills to be concerned “that the County will be involved in every aspect of any planning approval”. While he says that he is not sure that is the intent of the document, Mill says that to make sure the County does not get involved in local matters, the “wording needs to be tightened up”. He also expressed concerns about the sections in the plan about forestry, regional roads, and regional community improvement plans. Lindsay Mills concluded his report by saying the draft County Official Plan “attempts to involve the County in all development. This too much intrusion into the affairs of local municipalities.” Although he says that the problem may be more one of wording than intent in many cases, he is concerned that the OP “has huge negative implications for the local townships and the Plan should be substantially revised accordingly” Mills recommended that South Frontenac Council endorse his report and forward it to the County as a township position regarding the OP. Before members of South Frontenac Council had their chance to comment on Lindsay Mills' report at their meeting on Tuesday night (September 17th) Mills told them that he has already had a discussion with Joe Gallivan about his concerns, and Gallivan has assured him “that he plans to reduce the second draft of the County OP by one half." This did not stop members of South Frontenac Council from attacking the County OP, and the County itself as well. “I don’t agree with where they seem to be going with it,” said Councilor Del Stowe, “they should stay out of it and let us do our own job. This degree of involvement in planning adds another tier, increases waiting time and costs: there is no benefit to it that I can see.” Councilor Ron Vandewal said he is concerned that the approach the County is taking “could choke off development”, and Councilor Larry York said “the County is too removed from the reality of the individual townships.” Even Public Works Manager Mark Segsworth had something to say about Frontenac County's role. “When it comes to roads we have shown that we don’t need an upper tier - we are demonstrating there is another way: collaboration between the townships. In my opinion, our future is in collaboration,” he said. Mayor Gary Davison said “The octopus gets bigger; they’ll have to pay extra staff to administer this. It’s all part of the issue at County council: there’s a hostile, divided environment.” Council unanimously passed a motion opposing the County’s first draft, and sent the full text of L. Mills’ notes back to County, and to all the other townships. Lindsay Mills assured Council that the County will make no decision about the Official Plan until they have circulated a second draft to the townships.

Guiderail Installation Tender

Public Works Manager Segsworth reported on the tender results for installation of roadside protection (formerly guardrails, now guiderails,) on Harrowsmith, Clarke, Perth and Latimer Roads, as well as extensive repairs to a recently-damaged section of Moreland Dixon Road. Council approved the $77,862 bid provided by McIvor Enterprises. Inclusion of the unanticipated repairs which resulted from an auto accident raised costs above the budgeted $50,000. The overage will be funded from contingency, and the township will seek remuneration from insurance claims.

Road 38 Corridor in Verona

Five proposals were submitted for a Multi-modal Transportation Study and Improvement Plan for the Road 38 Corridor through Verona. This was awarded to Stantec Engineering, for $22,487. Multi-modal refers to the need to accommodate several very different uses of the relatively narrow corridor: private and commercial vehicles, pedestrians, bicycles, motorcycles, and atvs.

North Frontenac to request community paramedicine

As part of a push to make more use of the skills of paramedics while they are between calls, North Frontenac Council is making a formal request to include community paramedicine as an added service at the new Robertsville base, which is slated to open next spring.

“We were specifically asked by the Frontenac Chief of Paramedic Services to make this request for community paramedicine,” said North Frontenac and Frontenac County Councilor John Inglis. “It could be particularly beneficial for some of our elderly residents in the northern part of the township."

Community paramedicine, an initiative that has been championed by Frontenac Paramedic Services, can take a number of forms. In some cases, such as at Wolfe Island, it involves setting up clinic hours, wherein paramedics can test blood pressure and offer other pro-active medical services. It can also involve pro-active visits by paramedics to patients recently released from hospital or to the infirm.

Although it is gaining some favour with government officials and politicians, community paramedicine is not funded by the Ministry of Health. While 50% of operating costs for ambulance service is paid by the ministry, paramedicine initiatives are funded entirely by the municipal ambulance service providers. This leads to some unusual costing calculations.

In the Wolfe Island case, for example, the paramedics, who hold clinic hours at the medical centre that is located next to their base, are paid entirely by Frontenac County when they are providing service in the clinic. While they are sitting in their base next door waiting for a call instead of holding the clinic, half of their salaries are covered by the Ministry of Health.

Easy may be not be as easy as hoped

A proposal that was designed to help North Frontenac access some small scale sustainability project grant money from Frontenac County seemed to get more complicated as it was being discussed at Council. The idea is to put in a dry hydrant for fire crews as well as a boat wash station at Grindstone and Canonto Lakes. The county grant would provide 1/3 of the money, the township 1/3, and the respective lake associations the remaining 1/3. But as it was discussed at Council, it first became clear that the boat wash equipment, which might need maintenance, should remain in the possession of the lake associations, making it ineligible for the county money. The hydrants would necessarily remain a township asset, managed by the fire department, but at least in the case of Grindstone Lake, the land where the dry hydrant would be located could be owned by the Ministry of Natural Resources. The entire matter will require more study. Meanwhile the County money is still sitting waiting for a suitable applicant to come forward.

Catch-22, big bucks, and jelly beans

A recent review of the rules by which townships dole out licenses for various raffles and draws has revealed that contests that require any kind of knowledge or skill in order for a prize to be won cannot be given a license.

This might have a severe impact on fishing derbies next summer, and it has put the upcoming Conservationists of Frontenac Addington (COFA) Big Buck contest in doubt.

“Giving a prize for the largest buck that is killed, or the largest fish that is caught, even for counting jelly beans in a jar, is not permitted under the rules that we are supposed to follow,” said Township CAO Cheryl Robson. “It has always been that way, but we didn’t know it. The draws that COFA draws along with their contest are fine, but we cannot sell a license to do the contest itself.”

“COFA is having trouble determining how to proceed this year," said Deputy Mayor Fred Perry, who is a COFA member as well.

COFA holds its Big Buck contest each year at Bishop Lake Outdoor Store on the east side of Highway 41, the border between North Frontenac and Addington Hig

Although the township is loathe to take on the maintenance or ownership of any private lanes for fear that it will open the floodgates for similar requests from every private lane owner in the township, staff and council have looked favourably on a portion of Fanning Lane, which is off Bell Line Road west of Road 509.

The reason they are so inclined is that the road has really been theirs all along, even though it was maintained by Butch Fanning for 28 years before he died.

“The lane is located on a township road allowance, and there is a motion from 1985 that indicated Mr. Fanning was told to use the lane to access his property. It was indicated that the public works manager of the day would be upgrading it,” said Public Works Manager Mike Richardson.

“If this has been our responsibility all along, we should at least take it on now,” said Mayor Janet Gutowski.

“Essentially, Butch Fanning did our work all that time,” said Councilor Frances Smith.

The township will take on 245 metres of the road, until the lane splits with the township road allowance. The road will be renamed Fanning Road and a sign will be put up at the point where the township responsibility ends, saying “Road is not maintained beyond this point.”

Solutions to Crow Lake Village speed woes hard to come by:

A discussion about possible solutions to the problem of cars speeding through the narrow roadway in Crow Lake village served to eliminate a number of proposed solutions.

Councilor Wayne Millar asked whether rumble strips might be a solution, but Works Manager Richardson said they can only be used on paved highways; they cannot adhere to the surface treatment on township roads such as the Crow Lake Road. The idea of speed bumps was rejected as potentially posing a danger to public safety because they could send vehicles off the road into the buildings located next to or even lower than the roadway in Crow Lake.

“Contractors use that road all the time and speed bumps have been known to cause dangerous load shifts in trucks. That would be another potential hazard,” said Richardson.

The possibility of approaching the OPP to put in a speed metre for drivers to see as they enter the village was discussed, and will be looked into.

Construction activity says above 2012, but halcyon days are still far off:

While construction figures show values that are almost a half million dollars higher than this time last year, activity remains somewhat sluggish. Thus far in 2013, permits for 11 new residential units have been issued as well as 6 new seasonal units. In 2012 those numbers were 13 and 5, and in 2011 they were 12 and 10.

Construction values by the end of September 2011 were $5.7 million, as compared to $3.8 million last year and $4.2 million in 2013.

County OP gets easier ride in Central:

In contrast to South Frontenac, Central Frontenac’s planning consultant Glenn Tunnock was kind to the draft Frontenac County Official Plan. In a report that was presented to Central Frontenac Council for adoption, Tunnock made a number of specific suggestions, and pointed to a number of issues that he feels need clarification, but his overall assessment was that as it stands the County Plan will not impede Central Frontenac as it pursues its development goals.

“Based on our review, we would not anticipate the need for a shift in the policy direction of lower tier plans; however municipalities should see clarification on the expectations of the County for studies that may be required in undertaking the next five-year review of the local official plan, especially with respect to the capability of settlement areas to accommodate further development,” Tunnock concluded.

Council accepted Tunnock’s recommendations with no further comment.

Landclaim Meeting - The Township of South Algonquin is inviting members of other municipal councils and members of Parliament within the Algonquin Land Claim area to a public meeting in Madawaska on April 6. The meeting is being held to give other municipalities an opportunity to voice their concerns about the claim process and the Agreement in Principle. The invitation says that very little or no public input was requested by the Land Claim negotiating team, but that "The residents in the Land Claim area, both Native and Non-native are the people who will have to live with the Agreement forever, when passed."

The letter adds, "It is our hope that a unified voice of all concerned municipalities will have a positive effect on the Agreement."

Several members of Addington Highlands Council expressed an interest in attending the meeting.

Equipment for tender - Council Adam Snider brought forward a motion that all used capital equipment being disposed of by the township be done so by public tendered sale, and that staff and council members, and their immediate family would not be eligible to purchase the equipment. Usually the equipment is traded in when newer equipment is bought, so this policy would replace that practice. The motion was adopted.

Northbrook Canteen to be demolished - Council voted to go ahead with plans to demolish the old canteen building beside the old skating rink in Northbrook and re-route its electrical wiring. The building has not been used for several years. The rink boards will be taken down as well.

Senior of the Year award - Council is starting to seek nominations from the community for a provincial Senior of the Year award program